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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-10-29Macedonian 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, October 29, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] PAN-EUROPEAN NEONAZI GROUP MEETS COVERTLY IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, October 29 (MPA)Over 150 neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists from all over the world held a covert meeting in Thessaloniki on Saturday night, after an initiative taken by Greece's ultra-nationalist faction "Chrysi Avgi" (Golden Dawn).According to local press reports, the police authorities were aware of the said meeting in advance. The meeting, conducted in utmost secrecy, was held in a suburb north of Thessaloniki at a nightclub which was fiercely guarded by specially-trained dogs and whose interior was decorated with Nazi symbols. The attendees, having the characteristic ultra- short, crew cut, celebrated to the tunes of military marches while shouting pro-Hitler slogans. The official organizer of the event, which was dubbed the "Fifth Pan-European Youth Conference", appeared to be a so-called "Greek Coordination of Touring Groups". The participants, among them a female distant relative of Adolf Hitler, traveled to Greece from the United States, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Italy and Africa, as well as other countries, in order to discuss new strategies and plans of action in light of the new orders and relations that are developing in the world. [02] PREMIER WILL ANNOUNCE MEASURES TO COMBAT CRIMEAthens, October 29 (MPA)Prime Minster Kostas Simitis is to announce measures that will combat the rising crime rate in the country, according to reports.These measures are said to include the hiring of an additional 1,000 policemen, the increasing patrols transferring policemen from administrative duty to street posts and to fortify the police outfitting. Moreover, the Premier is expected to announce a package of health- related measures, the most significant of which will be the extension of hospital doctors' on-call duties into the evening hours. [03] JOHN GLENN TO ENTHRALL THE WORLD BY ADVENTURES IN SPACECape Canaveral, October 29 (MPA)John Glenn bid farewell to friends and families yesterday before a scheduled blastoff into history today.The 77 -year-old US Senator will be the oldest astronaut to fly a mission when he returns to space 36 years after he first made history as the first American to orbit the Earth. The mission will include experiments into aging, which NASA officials have given as the reason for Glenn's presence on the shuttle despite criticism from some former astronauts and interest groups who say it is merely a joy ride. US President Bill Clinton will attend the launch from Cape Canaveral where space fans have flocked by the thousands. [04] NATO RETAINS MILITARY THREAT TO ENSURE MILOSEVIC ABIDES BY DEADLINEBelgrade, October 29 (MPA)NATO has announced that it would refrain from threatened air strikes against Serb targets because Yugoslavia had met demands to reduce its forces in the Serb province of Kosovo and allow humanitarian groups to assist refugees who had fled the region.Nevertheless, NATO retained the military threat to make sure Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic carried out his pledges to abide by UN Security Council demands that he stop the repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo who are seeking autonomy. An international air-and-ground monitoring system also will monitor Yugoslavia's compliance. [05] SLOVENIAN PREMIER TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAY ON OFFICIAL VISITAthens, October 29 (MPA)Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek will embark on an official visit to Greece today where he will meet with President Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos.This marks the first official visit by a Slovenian prime minister to Greece. Mr. Drnovsek's visit is expected to focus on Slovenian efforts to join the European Union. Greece is one of the countries that has not yet ratified the EU agreement with Slovenia but is expected to place the issue on the parliamentary agenda soon. [06] TURKEY FAILS TO MEET COMPENSATION DEADLINE FOR TITINA LOIZIDOUNicosia, October 29 (MPA)The Cypriot government has announced that Turkey has failed to comply with the Titina Loizidou compensation deadline as imposed by the European Court of Human Rights.According to Cypriot news reports, Thalia Petridou, the Cypriot government's permanent representative in Strasbourg, Turkey has not yet paid the £320,000 in compensation following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in favor of Ms. Loizidou. "It seems that Turkey is not prepared to pay the compensation now or in the immediate future," ambassador Petridou stated from Strasbourg. Turkey has tried to divert attention by adopting a European Commission on Human Rights decision, which it says is contrary to the court's. Turkey has been ordered to pay the compensation to Ms. Loizidou for denying her access to her home and property in Kerynia. Any decision on action against Ankara has been postponed until December 18, when a European ministerial committee will meet to examine the situation. Ankara claims it has no responsibility for what goes on in the occupied areas and says the court should address its complaints to the Denktash regime. Although Turkey disputes the "landmark" ruling for Cyprus, there is no precedent of a member state failing to comply with a Court decision. [07] UNDERSECRETARY OF SPORTS TO MEET WITH IOC PRESIDENT SAMARANCHLausanne, October 29 (MPA)Greece's Sports Undersecretary Andreas Fouras is to meet with International Olympics Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Lausanne today.The two men will discuss issues related to the 2004 Olympics which will be held in Athens. [08] PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION FOR OTE TELECOM SHARES COVERED BY 50 PER CENTAthens, October 29 (MPA)Public subscriptions for shares in Greece's Telecommunications Organization (OTE) have already climbed to 50 per cent, without taking into account the shares offered in the United States yesterday, thus pouring into the company's coffers over 150 billion drachmas.The subscriptions coincide with tomorrow's end of international book-building, divided into a secondary offering in Greece and one abroad, and the so-far encouraging signs have been interpreted as a potential two-fold increase in demand. The share's price close on Tuesday at GRD6,420, surpassing by far the bottom line of GRD5,850. Subscription title allocation is expected to be conducted during the weekend, in order to pave the road for November 2nd's listing on the New York Stock Exchange. On Monday, the general counsel of OTE George Chrysolouris will be the first Greek to declare the opening of trading on the NYSE. ΟΤΕ is Greece's largest company with a market capitalization of $11 billion, equal to roughly 10 percent of Greece's GDP. [09] GREEK PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TRAVELS TO BULGARIASofia, October 29 (MPA)A delegation from the Greek Parliament's committee for European Affairs is presently conducting a three-day official visit to Bulgaria, headed by the Parliament's vice-president and committee chairman Lukas Apostolides .The delegates will meet with the members of the Bulgarian parliament's foreign policy and European embodiment committee, the vice-president of the Bulgarian Parliament Ivan Kurtev and the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Antoaneta Primatarova. Moreover, according to the Bulgarian press agency BTA, the delegates will be received by the Bulgarian Vice President Todor Kavalgiev tomorrow. [10] US AMBASSADOR BURNS APPLAUDS GREECE'S ECONOMIC POLICYNew York, October 29 (MPA)United States Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns saluted the economic policy enforced by the Simitis government, during an address he presented on Tuesday in New York.Mr. Burns is presently in the United States to address the US Secretary of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council, speak to several universities and Greek-American organizations on Greek-US relationships, and meet with US officials. Within the framework of a conference concerning Greek-American business relations under the prism of the Olympic Games of 2004, Mr. Burns stressed that within a short course of time Greece has made leaps and bounds in its development and encouraged US businessmen to invest in the country. The conference was titled "United States-Greece relations: Business Opportunities for today, the 2004 Olympics and Beyond", and was attended, among others, by Greek Telecommunications Organization representatives, as well as officials from "Sigma Securities". The secretary-general in charge of the investment sector in Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance Elias Plaskovites pointed out that Greece's rate of development surpassed by one percent that of the European Union last year, reaching 3.5%. Moreover, Mr. Plaskovites outlined the rapid development of public infrastructures, a key priority of the Greek government, mentioning that during the period of 1993-1997, $22 billion were invested in infrastructures, among them two national highways, the Athens metro and the new airport. Lastly, the Greek official presented the incentives for investing in Greece, where he stated that subsidies range from 15-45%, while tax exemptions can vary from 40-100% of the venture's cost. [11] TOURISM VENTURES THRIVE IN GREECE, ANOTHER 318 FOUNDED IN 1997Thessaloniki, October 29 (MPA)Tourism is a sector thriving in Greece where 318 new businesses opened their doors in 1997 throughout the country, with a vested capital of GRD19.8 billion, a rate consistent with the domain's steady growth noted in the past five years where new tourism-related businesses amounted to 1,416 and invested capital amounting to GRD108.1 billion.The region where most of these new operations have been established is the Attica basin with 120 new companies, followed by the Cyclades cluster of islands, Crete, Corfu and Thessaloniki. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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