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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-12-01Macedonian 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, December 1, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] CUSTOMS WORKERS ON STRIKE, FUEL AVAILABILITY AT STAKEThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)A score of problems have already arisen from the customs workers' rotating five-day strikes which began yesterday, among them fuel shortages.Meanwhile, mile-long queues of cars can be seen at the border stations of Kipon, Promahonas and Evzonon where striking customs workers are only allowing the passage of trucks carrying hospital and military equipment. In a hearing scheduled for today, the Athens First Circuit Court is to determine the strike's legality, as the Ministry of Economy has sought legal recourse by asking that the customs workers' action be declared illegal and abusive. A.F. [02] COUNCIL OF GREEKS ABROAD TO HOLD BOARD MEETING IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)The nine-member board of the Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE) is to hold its meeting tomorrow in order to review the proceedings of the organization's regular assembly.The meeting, to be held until Saturday, will feature the participation of the secretary-general of Greeks Abroad Stavros Labrinides, the chairman of the permanent cross-party parliamentary committee for Greek Abroad Grigoris Niotis and other committee members. A.F. [03] MILITARY OFFICIALS ACTIVE IN TURKEY'S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTSAnkara, December 1 (MPA)Turkey's military officials have made no effort to shield their involvement in the country's political affairs, as in a latest announcement, the country's General Army Staff calls on the political leaders to display the necessary degree of sensitivity and attention in forming the new government, by asking them not to involve the armed forces in the world of politics. A.F.[04] MINOR OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER EMBARKS ON TOUR TO AUSTRALIAAthens, December 1 (MPA)The leader of Greece's Democratic and Social Movement Party (DHKKI) Dimitris Tsovolas embarks on a tour to Australia today, following the invitation issued by Melbourne's and Sidney's Greek communities.Mr. Tsovolas will remain in Australia for nine days and will have a series of meetings with leaders of the Greek-Australian communities, government officials, and other state leaders of Greek descent. A.F. [05] NORTHERN GREECE'S PHYSICIANS EMBARK ON ANOTHER ROUND OF STRIKESThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)Northern Greece's hospital physicians are embarking on another 48- hour strike today, protesting the on-duty scheduling programs proposed by the Ministry of Health.The striking doctors are to also conduct sit-ins in offices of the hospitals' presidents and will gather in front of the Macedonia- Thrace Ministry. A.F. [06] FEW TRAINS CONDUCT ROUTES AS RAIL WORKERS PRESS ON WITH STRIKEThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)Workers at the Greek Railways Organization, (OSE) are continuing their a five-day strike which began yesterday, protesting a relevant bill tabled in Parliament which will be discussed today.Specifically, the rail workers will conduct three-hour work stoppages today, while beginning tomorrow until Friday they will hold 24-hour rotating strikes. A.F. [07] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TRAVELS TO OSLO, COPENHAGEN TODAYAthens, December 1 (MPA)Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos is embarking on a four-day visit to Denmark today, where he is scheduled to meet with his Danish counterpart Niels Helveg Petersen and with the Danish parliament's foreign affairs committee.Tomorrow and Thursday, Mr. Pangalos will lead a Greek delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ministerial summit in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek and the Norwegian parliament's foreign affairs committee. Mr. Pangalos will also be received by Norway's King Harald before returning to Athens on December 4. A.F. [08] ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER TRAVELS TO GERMANY TODAYAthens, December 1 (MPA)Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou is embarking on a visit to Germany today, where he will meet with the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.According to reports, the meeting will be in preparation for Prime Minister Kostas Simitis's visit to Germany where he will be received by the new German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Mgrs. Simitis and Schroeder will hold talks in view of the EU Vienna summit to be held on December 13, ahead of Germany taking up the Union's presidency on January 1. A.F. [09] GREECE USES ONLY 3% OF ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE, HALF OF EU MEDIANAthens, December 1 (MPA)Despite the fact that Greece is a country with abundant sources of renewable energy, it fails to exploit it at more than three per cent, a rate that is half the European average of six percent, according to Greece's Deputy Public Works, Town Planning and Environment Minister Theodore Koliopanos.Mr. Koliopanos spoke before delegates at an Athens-held conference on "Application of Renewable Sources of Energy, National Priorities and European Strategy" which began yesterday. Greek government officials and EU Energy Commissioner Christos Papoutsis also addressed the conference which is organized by the National Technical University. Among other proposals, Mr. Papoutsis stated that Greece should use renewable energy in the construction of facilities for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. A.F. [10] YAKOVLEV CRASH FINDINGS RELEASED: INEXPERIENCED PILOT, POOR UPKEEPThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)A committee of civil aviation officials has released its findings on the Yaklovev passenger plane that crashed last year, December 17, 1997, on a ravine near Mt. Olympus, killing all 74 people on board.The report claims that the accident was most likely caused by lack of pilot training and inadequate aircraft maintenance, while it clears the air traffic controllers who, according to the officials, acted in accordance with international aviation regulations. The report stated that the Ukrainian airliner's pilots were not experienced at landing at the "Macedonia" airport, while data decoded from the black box reveals there was confusion in the cabin over the indications of flight instruments just prior to the crash. A.F. [11] GREEK ATTORNEY IS NEW PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN BAR ASSOCIATIONThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)A Greek lawyer, Sotiris Felios, has been elected to serve as the new president of the European Bar Association, an organization that numbers 450,000 lawyers throughout Europe.One of Mr. Felios's priorities is to ensure the application of and adherence to legal ethics, as well as to establish a trans- European listing that would contain all the EBA members and their fields of expertise. A.F. [12] US AUTO INDUSTRY CONGLOMERATES DENY REPORTS OF NAZI COLLABORATIONDetroit, December 1 (MPA)Two of the world's largest automakers, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have vehemently denied accusations that they had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II by supplying vehicles and raw materials to the German military.In an extensive article published yesterday by the US daily Washington Post, it was reported that historians and lawyers researching a class-action lawsuit against Ford discovered evidence of contact and assistance between Nazi Germany and the two companies. According to the findings, a Russian woman, Elsa Iwanovat, who was captured and forced to work at a Ford plant in Germany filed suit in March against the U.S.-based automaker, alleging the company knowingly profited from slave labor. GM could face a similar suit, lawyers told the Post. In a press conference held in Detroit yesterday, representatives for both GM and Ford said that Adolph Hitler's regime had taken over the operations of their German subsidiaries during the war years. ``GM categorically denies that it aided the Nazis in World War Two,'' GM spokesman John Mueller said in a statement. ``The stale allegations repeated in the Washington Post today were reviewed and refuted by GM 25 years ago in hearings before Congress, when more individuals with first-hand knowledge of the facts were available.'' Similarly, Ford spokesman John Spelich said the company, like other U.S. businesses and government entities, maintained contact with the Nazi government until the United States declared war on Germany in December 1941 and cut diplomatic ties with Berlin. That made it illegal for U.S. firms to have any contacts with their subsidiaries in Germany. ``We basically had our factory taken away from us by the National Socialist Party government,'' he said, referring to the formal name of the totalitarian Nazi regime, which ruled Germany from 1933 until its surrender to the Allies in 1945. According to the report, Adolph Hitler made public statements in the 1930s that he admired Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor, and the production processes he established. A.F. [13] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ART AND PROPERTY LOOTED BY NAZISWashington, December 1 (MPA)An international conference to help determine the fate of art and property once looted by the Nazis is being held in Washington, featuring the participation of 44 countries, among them Greece.The conference constitutes a continuance of the last year's London conference which declared the establishment of a fund that will provide restitution to indigent survivors of the Nazi persecution. Stuart Eizenstat, United States Undersecretary of State and organizer of the conference, asked the delegations to turn the page on "this black chapter of history" by helping to right past wrongs. "As painful as it may sometimes be, we must not sweep these issues under the rug out of embarrassment, silence and indifference," Mr. Eizenstat said last night at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Museum and the State Department are sponsoring the four-day conference. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who found out only last year that three of her Czech grandparents died in the Holocaust, is scheduled to speak today at the conference's opening State Department session. Elan Steinberg, executive director of the World Jewish Congress, stated that it's not enough for governments, museums and other institutions to acknowledge they have custody of Nazi loot, including much that's difficult to trace to Holocaust victims and their families. "There must be real restitution, whether to individuals or to Jewish and humanitarian groups that help the survivor community," he said. "We are going to ask that the last prisoners of war be released to the rightful claimants or heirs," Mr. Steinberg said, adding that untraceable art and property should be auctioned to help survivors. Greece is represented at the conference by Greece's Ambassador in Washington Alexandros Filon, , History professor George Dertilis, Foreign Ministry's Historical Archives Director Fotini Konstantopoulou, the secretary-general of the Israeli Community of Thessaloniki Albert Hawel, History professor Hagen Fliser, and researcher Gabriela Etmektsoglou. A special edition issued by the Foreign Ministry and titled "Documents on the History of the Greek Jews", will be presented in a ceremony at the Greek Embassy in Washington on Thursday. A.F. [14] DELEGATION OF GREEK BUSINESSMEN TO MEET WITH FYROM'S GOVERNMENTThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)The Trans-Balkan and Black Sea Business Center (DIPEK) is to organize a mission to FYROM on Thursday, December 3, where Greek businessmen are to become acquainted with the country's new government.The event is taking place within the framework of the Greek Products Exhibit currently held at Skopje. FYROM's new Prime Minister and leader of the "Democratic Alternative" Liupco Georgievski is to unveil his government's policy during the meeting, this being his first appearance at an international level following his cabinet's formation. They meeting, which is held for a second successive year, DIPEK will present its "FYROM Business Guide" and its "Report on FYROM's Economic Cohesion". A.F. [15] RAILWAY TRAINS TO FACILITATE TRADE BETWEEN GREECE, BULGARIA,ROMANIASofia, December 1 (MPA)New railway trains are to facilitate the transport of commerce between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania as of next year, according to Sofia's daily "Trud".Customs officials will conduct product inspections only at the first and last stop, between the cities of Sopron, Bucharest, Sofia and Thessaloniki. Similar lines have been proposed for operation by experts from the Initiative for Cooperation in Southeastern Europe. A delegation of experts from Greece, Bulgaria and Romania met in Sofia yesterday, following the invitation of Bulgaria's vice president Evgeni Bakargiev, in order to examine infrastructure works that concern the wider Balkan region. A.F. [16] ONE IN EVERY 500 GREEKS TESTS HIV POSITIVE, 54 FULL BLOWN CASES PER YEAR IN N. GREECEThessaloniki, December 1 (MPA)One out of every 500 Greeks tests HIV positive, according to the approximation released by the Ministry of Health whose data reveal that there are 15,000-20,000 individuals who are carriers of the AIDS-causing virus in Greece.Also, assistant professor of medicine at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University Yiannis Doutsos told the Macedonian Press Agency that one person is added each week on the roster of AIDS- sufferers in Northern Greece. According to the professor, a large degree of the HIV carriers does not belong to the high-risk groups, while their median age is below 30. Moreover, one in every five HIV carriers is female, while 40% of them is diagnosed only at an advanced stage of the disease. "This illustrates that AIDS has expanded into all social strata and no longer affects specific groups," [professor Doutsos stated. While he stated that the virus's transmission rate seems to have slowed down at a state-wide level, he did add that the situation is worrisome as Greece, which ranked last on the AIDS- carriers list of EU countries, it now holds seventh place. Concurrently, according to other studies, only 20% of sexually active Greeks are involved in a monogamous relationship and only half use condoms. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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