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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in EnglishMacedonian 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, Oktober 8, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY PREVAILS IN GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETSAthens, October 8 (MPA)A climate of uncertainty and insecurity is prevalent in financial markets throughout the world, reflected in fluctuations in the shares index.Yesterday’s dollar devaluation sent waves throughout the financial circles, having reached the lowest German mark parity in the last 20 months. The dollar is sold for284.2 drachmas. Meanwhile, Greece’s Minster of Finance and National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou stated that the impact of the international crisis has been kept under control in Greece and added that the Greek banking system is not subject to the risks abroad. [02] ANOTHER 10 PERCENT OF OTE SHARES TO BE LISTED ON ATHENS BOURSE, NYSEAthens, October 8 (MPA)Greece’s state-owned telecommunications group OTE is to proceed with another 10 percent shares sale by the end of next month, looking at revenue of approximately 320 billion drachmas.The final decision for the third round of shares sale on the Athens bourse and the NYSE was taken yesterday by the Minster of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou after he met in Washington with the ten conglomerate banks that will undertake the shares process. [03] CONTACT GROUP TO CONVENE TODAY OVER KOSSOVOLondon, October 8 (MPA)The Contact Group is to convene in London today in order to solely discuss the stance to be adopted after the refusal of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to abide by the UN resolutions.Meanwhile, the second round of talks held yesterday between US special envoy Richard Holbrooke and Mr. Milosevic bore no breakthrough. [04] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSSES KOSSOVO CRISIS WITH RUSSIAN COUNTERPARTAthens, October 8 (MPA)Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos discussed the Kossovo crisis with visiting Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev in Athens yesterday.Following the meeting, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that Greece continues to believe that all political and diplomatic efforts should be exhausted before NATO intervenes militarily in Kossovo. “NATO”, he added, “should act only to back up any political solution that results from negotiations” Greece is concerned that any escalation of the violence could result in the conflict spilling over into other Balkan countries and destabilize the entire region. In turn, Mr. Sergevev stated that NATO strikes on Serb targets would be akin to an act of war that could lead to more bloodshed. According to reports, NATO’s European commander, general Wesley Clark has submitted a written request to his Greek counterpart wherein he requests a response on whether or not Greece will take part in any NATO air strikes. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos has stated that Greece is asking the Alliance to take into account that Greece's situation is special, since it is a Balkan country. For now, Greece is hoping that no military action is taken. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated “there's a Greek saying that every war ends in peace.”\ “But,” he asked, “is it worth having a war in the first place?” [05] PRIME MINISTER TO MEET WITH DEFENSE MINISTER TODAYAthens, October 8 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to receive Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos today with whom he will discuss the course of Greece's four-trillion-drachma armaments procurements program and other issues.According to government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, no decision has been made yet on whether or not the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) will convene tomorrow. [06] STATE TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY SERVICEAthens, October 8 (MPA)The National Land Registry Service was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis in Athens yesterday, a project which he hailed as the biggest, most useful, most crucial and most developmental of the country's major products which constitutes, as he said, a precondition for Greece's modernization and development.The Service, according to Mr. Simitis, will be attached to the third Community Support Framework to ensure necessary funds for its completion. Calling the Registry one of the most significant government departments, Simitis said over the last 170 years governments have been unable to set up a proper registry due to people coming in with multiple claims for the same piece of land. "The deeds we've been shown for the Attica region add up to plots three times the size of the area", he explained. "No one knows exactly what belongs to whom." The Prime Minister stressed that setting up a proper land registry is a priority for his government. He said that the NLR extends to hundreds of municipalities and communities and to 1.1 million hectares with the participation of thousands of scientists and employees with many specialties. "We all have a historical, moral and social duty to contribute positively, the government, the parties, social and scientific bodies, to ensure that in the 21st century Greece will have an NLR which constitutes an instrument of development and rational organization of issues related to the land," he said. He further said that the citizens' response, including that of expatriate Greeks, is positive. Some 500,000 citizens have submitted statements with ownership deeds for 850,000 cases of real estate which, as he said, is very encouraging. [07] GREEK-AMERICANS SUPPORT CLINTON, ORGANIZE LOBBYWashington, October 8 (MPA)As the formal impeachment process against United States President Bill Clinton is under way, Americans of Greek descent have formed an “Organization of Friends of President Clinton” and, in a letter forwarded to the Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), have launched an attack against independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr as well as the judicial and legislative systems.According to the organization, both the House’s judicial and legislative committees have been used against the President for a matter that has nothing to do with his task as the President of the United States, as they characteristically state. The said letter was forwarded to a large number of newspapers in the States and public figures, among them the leader of the Senate’s Minority Thomas Dasley, Senate’s Judiciary Committee chairman Orren Hutch, Senator Patrick Leahy, Leader of the Minority Richard Gephard, House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde and Rep. John Conyers. The Organization’s Presidium comprises the following persons: chairman Nicholas Rezevoulis, vice-chairman Elizabeth Kozyraki, Secretary Georgia Tsichli, Treasurer Kostas Papapoulias, Public Relations head Efi Pseta and legal adviser Lila Zelou. In the letter, the members emphasized that the whole matter concerning the Lewinsky scandal appears more like an interrogation than an investigation. “It is evident to us that both the judicial and the legislative systems where used by certain individuals for political reasons: to harm Mr. Clinton’s credibility.” They conclude their letter by stating that “it is especially worrisome that the President’s vilification and the undermining of the system is being performed by those whose task is to protect it.” [08] MPA PERPLEXED OVER USE OF ITS NAME BY NEW PRESS AGENCY IN FYROMThessaloniki, October 8 (MPA)The Board of Directors of the Macedonian Press Agency, was perplexed when informed of the decision taken by the government of FYROM to launch into operation a new press agency, under the name “Macedonian Information Agency” (MIA), a title that fully corresponds with our press agency’s name. As a result, the MPA’s Board of Directors has decided to take action in every direction and to employ all the legitimate means available for the protection of its title and all rights pertaining thereto.As it is known, the Macedonian Press Agency was founded even prior to the creation of the state of FYROM. The MPA has been in operation for eight years now, with an overall success recognized by the Greek media, as well as by the international press agencies and other news organizations which re-transmit, on a daily basis, the MPA’s news stories and other journalism-related material. Furthermore, our news agency’s immense activity and profound commitment are ascertained through the impact born by the MPA’s server onto the Internet, a server which receives over one million calls on a monthly basis from all over the world. Moreover, it should be stressed that the MPA was the first mass medium of information in the Balkans -and one among Europe’s first- to expand into cyberspace as of 1994. It should be taken into consideration that the MPA, in its effort to contribute to the promotion of a climate of peace, security and cooperation in the Balkans, developed significant activities by having a pioneering role in the founding of the “Association of Balkan News Agencies”, by creating -with the approval of the European Union- a “Balkan News Bank”, by organizing inter-Balkan conferences, etc. Moreover, the MPA carried out a significant role in the direction of news exchange between the news agencies and bureaus of the Balkan countries, including FYROM. This fact in itself illustrates the spirit of cooperation where the MPA’s policy stems from. From this point of view, the issue for us is not the creation of a news agency in any Balkan country; rather, we object to the use of “Macedonian Agency”, which constitutes a direct usurpation of our title, as this title has been internationally recognized since 1991, when it was submitted to and ratified by the Copyright Bureaus in 30 of the world’s most significant countries. As such, it is evident that the operation of an agency with such title in FYROM shall undoubtedly cause moral and real damages to the Macedonian Press Agency, given the usurpation of the MPA’s name and the resulting confusion in regards to the origin of the news. In response to the aforementioned usurpation, the MPA’s Board of Directors has resolved to denounce the said act as illegal, abusive and unethical and to undertake any means that will secure its title and the interests thereof. 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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