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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-08-04Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, August 4, 1998TITLES
[01] PRESIDENT ADDRESSES GREEK WOMEN'S POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONAthens, August 4 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos addressed the Greek Women's Political Association yesterday and called on all political parties to raise their women candidacy quota in the upcoming local administration elections.Europarliamentarian Anna Karamanou (PASOK) thanked the President for his sensitivity on the correct function of the democratic institutions in the country and remarked that Greece is deprived of the imagination, the ideas and the productive thought of women. "The absence of female creativity from the democratic institutions and especially from the elected local administration posts is tragic," Ms Karamanou said. New Democracy parliamentary representative Elsa Papadimitriou said that the Greek Parliament is significantly lacking not only in numbers, but also in ways of thinking. "It is not merely about decreasing the democratic deficit, it is mainly about using the creativity and the ability of the 51% of the Greek people," she said. [02] US AMBASSADOR AND GREEK DEPUTY FM MEET, BOTH SAY TENSION IS OVERAthens, August 4 (MPA)Following yesterday's meeting held between the US Ambassador in Greece Nicholas Burns and the Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis., the prevailing feeling was that the recent tension in Greek-US relations was over.Mr. Burns said that both Washington and Athens were working "very closely" on all issues of mutual concern. Moreover, the US Ambassador stated that his meetings with Mr. Pangalos, held last Thursday, and with Mr. Kranidiotis yesterday "effectively put to a close the recriminations between our two governments over what we thought were unwarranted comments made about President Clinton". He added that his meetings with Mr. Pangalos and Mr. Kranidiotis were "evidence" that the United States and Greece "can and will work together well in the future". [03] EUROPEAN COMMISSION APPROVES 60 MILLION ECU FOR PROJECTS IN GREECEBrussels, August 4 (MPA)The European Commission has approved more than ECU 60 million for transportation and environmental projects in Greece, which are to be funneled through the Cohesion Fund.Specifically, the Commission yesterday approved ECU 27.6 million for the road network in Greece, which is allocated for the construction of the Egnatia motorway, connecting the western port of Igoumenitsa with the Evros prefecture Greek-Turkish border crossing at Kipi. Moreover, the Commission allocated ECU 2.1 million for the Soufli liquid waste plant and ECU 1.9 million for the Kastoria liquid waste plant, while it approved ECU 4.2 million for the community of Sarti, Chalkidiki, ECU 1.8 mill ion for the island of Leros and ECU 3.6 million for the municipality of Keratea, Attica. [04] GREECE TO FACE YUGOSLAVIA IN TONIGHT'S GAME OF WORLDBASKET '98Athens, August 4 (MPA)Greece will play against Yugoslavia during tonight's game of the ongoing WorldBasket '98 championship in Athens.The Greek team yesterday suffered its first defeat by Russia, the score being 60-48.. The Greek team's coach said that the defeat was due to mistakes made during the game's last minutes. The Championships are being held at the capital's Peace and Friendship stadium. [05] FIRES RAGE THROUGHOUT COUNTRY, EAST ATTICA DECLARED IN EMERGENCYAthens, August 4 (MPA)Tens of forest fires are raging throughout the country, while the eastern region of Attica has been declared an emergency state.The Minister of Public Order George Romeos has stated that the fires are likely the work of arsonists. Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the main opposition party New Democracy said that while the country's aflame, the government is playing it cool. [06] CONFLICT CONTINUES IN KOSSOVOPrishtina, August 4 (MPA)Conflict continues in Kossovo among the Serb forces and the Albanian-speaking residents in the province's central and western region. The international community is intensifying its pressures on Serb President Slobodan Milosevic to put an end to the Serb force' use of violence against the Albanian minority.White House spokesperson Mike McCurry has once again appealed for a dialogue between the two sides. [07] CYPRUS: DON'T BLAME THE MISSILES FOR THE TENSION, RUSSIAN ENVOY SAYSNicosia, August 4 (MPA)Russian Foreign Ministry envoy Vladimir Tchizhov, currently on a visit to Cyprus, has expressed his concern about rising tension on the island, but said Russia's deal to sell S-300 missiles to Cyprus was not to blame for this.According to Cypriot press reports, the envoy, speaking after meeting Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides yesterday morning, blamed the tension on the deadlock in settlement talks. "Tension will exist for as long as the impasse continues and it is possible that it will increase," he said. "The S-300s are not the reason for which the dialogue stopped and there is no movement towards a solution." Mr. Tchizhov played down international opposition to the deal. He said his country was not under any pressure to cancel the delivery. There had been much "talk" about the missiles, but everyone now acknowledged Russia's right to sell arms and Cyprus's right to defend herself, Mr. Tchizhov argued. Turkey has threatened to strike the ground-to-air missiles if they are deployed, and the US and EU have made their opposition to the deal clear. The government insists the missiles will come, but has put back delivery till October. Mr. Tchizhov also met with Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiannakis Kassoulides later yesterday and is expected to meet Turkish- Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash today. [08] GENOCIDE SUSPECT MILAN KOVACEVIC DIES IN CELL FROM NATURAL CAUSESBelgrade, August 4 (MPA)The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has announced that genocide suspect Milan Kovacevic had passed away in his cell on Saturday.The Tribunal's medical officer on duty reported that the death was due to natural causes, presumably a massive heart attack, according to the Tribunal. Mr. Kovacevic's family and his counsel were informed, as were the Dutch authorities and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The 47-year old suspect was detained by the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) on 10 July 1997 in Prijedor under an indictment issued by the Tribunal in March 1997. Mr. Kovacevic's trial began on 6 July 1998. He was facing charges of genocide, complicity to commit genocide, crime against humanity, violation of the laws or customs of war, and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions of 1949. [09] WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION WARNS: DIESEL EXHAUST MAY CAUSE CANCERVienna, August 4 (MPA)The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the connection between carcinogens found in diesel exhaust and lung cancer.At the European Forum on Transport, Environment and Health, organized jointly by WHO and the Government of Austria, scientists are examining a new class of potent mutagenic compounds found in diesel exhaust which is thought to be among the key factors contributing to lung cancer. Participants have also been examining evidence linking childhood cancer and motor vehicle exhaust. Dr. Gerd Oberfeld of the Austrian Medical Association told the gathering in Vienna that combustion engines are compromising the health of millions of Europeans every day. "People are suffering from increased coughs, asthma attacks, from acute and chronic bronchitis as well as from heart and circulatory problems," he said. According to WHO's most recent estimates, some 80,000 deaths a year can be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution caused by road traffic. Professional drivers and road workers face the greatest risk, followed by the elderly and the very young. "Redesigning our urban transport policies could bring massive health benefits for Europe," said Dr. Carlos Dora, an environmental epidemiologist at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. He pointed out that cars contribute to a sedentary lifestyle. "Increased physical activity, especially walking and cycling, will reduce death and disability from chronic disease and improve the quality of life." [10] UNITED NATIONS OBSERVES FRIENDSHIP DAYNew York, August 4 (MPA)The United Nations observed Friendship Day yesterday by holding a concert for children on the outdoor plaza on the grounds of its Headquarters in New York.The event was hosted by Nane Annan, wife of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with the participation of various actors and stars. Performers sang in front of a colourful backdrop: the Global Pooh Friendship Flag, which is made up of winning entries in an art contest sponsored by Disney. Each of the winners, who ranged in age from 4 to 75 years old and came from Australia, Japan, Mexico and the United States, received a trip to New York City with his or her best friend including a visit to the United Nations. Friendship Day is an outgrowth of National Friendship Day, established by the United States Congress in 1935. Last year on this day at Headquarters, Mrs. Annan presented Winnie the Pooh with the honorary title, "Ambassador of Friendship." The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Public Information (DPI) and Disney Consumer Products, a division of Disney Enterprises, Inc. [11] UNITED NATIONS TO HONOR THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLENew York, August 4 (MPA)Indigenous people from around the world are expected to gather at United Nations Headquarters in observance of a international day in their honor, observed annually on 9 August, but commemorated this year on 5 and 6 August.The first event marking the International Day of the World's Indigenous People will be a drum convocation at 11:30 a.m. on 5 August at the United Nations Visitors Entrance Plaza. Statements from Kofi Annan, Secretary- General of the United Nations, and Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will then be read. The International Day of the World's Indigenous People was created in the context of the International Decade for the World's Indigenous People. Both were proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994. The date of August 9 was designated as the Day because of its significance as the anniversary of the first meeting in 1982 of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. This date is viewed by many as the beginning of United Nations dialogue efforts on behalf of indigenous people. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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