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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-01-21Macedonian 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, January 21, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] STUDENTS CONTINUE WITH PROTESTS AND ROADBLOCKS TODAYThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)Students throughout Greece are continuing their mobilizations in protest to the education reforms, by holding another round of rallies today in Thessaloniki, Athens and other cities throughout the country. Teachers have joined the protests as their unions have given them the go-ahead to hold a three-hour work stoppage today and a 24-hour strike on Monday. The Teachers Federation has rejected the Education Minster's (Gerasimos Arsenis) offer to hold another round of talks.Meanwhile, the secretary of the ruling PASOK party's prefectural committee in Rhodes, who injured a student during an incident at the road blocks, has been sentenced to 26 months imprisonment for bodily harm and perjury. A.F. [02] ESP CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROWThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)The "European Socialist Party" is to hold a three- day conference concerning southeastern Europe tomorrow in Thessaloniki, featuring the participation of the Party's leader and German Defense Minister Rudolph Scharping, the President of the European Parliament's Socialists Pauline Green and other Socialist leaders from European and Balkan countries.The delegates are expected to address the fermenting crisis in Kosovo. Greece's Defense and Foreign Ministers, Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Theodoros Pangalos respectively, will also be present, as well as the ruling PASOK party's central committee secretary Kostas Skandalides, the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis and EU Commissioner Christos Papoutsis. A.F. [03] US REITERATE WARNING TO MILOSEVICWashington, January 21 (MPA)The United States have reiterated their warning to the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, who, they say, is making a huge mistake in not considering the international community's will in regards to Kosovo.Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is to meet with her counterparts from Russia, Great Britain and France in order to decide upon the next course of action to be taken in regards to Kosovo. A.F. [04] BOMB EXPLODES AT OFFICE OF GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTAthens, January 21 (MPA)A home-made bomb exploded at the political office of the President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis yesterday evening in Athens.No one was injured, although individuals in near by offices -among them a young child- were in the building at the time. Extensive material damages were caused by the powerful blast. The covert group "Children of November" claimed responsibility for the attack. A.F. [05] GREECE IS FAVORITE DESTINATION OF AUSTRIAN TOURISTSVienna, January 21 (MPA)Greece is a favorite vacation spot for Austrian tourists, with over half a million having visited the country in 1998, according to data provided by representatives of Austrian tourist organizations.According to the director of Vienna's branch of the Greek National Tourist Organization (EOT), the number of Austrian tourists that visited Greece last year approached a record 600,000 while an upward trend is also anticipated this year. EOT is presently participating with a large pavilion at this year's International Tourist Fair in Vienna, which will be held until Sunday. A.F. [06] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER INAUGURATES BALKAN PEACEKEEPING CAMPThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)The Balkan Peacekeeping Force's training camp, with headquarters in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, was inaugurated yesterday near northern Greece's city of Kilkis, by Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos.The ceremony was attended by defense ministers, undersecretaries and chiefs of staffs from Balkan countries and the former Soviet bloc. The camp will be used to train officers and soldiers from NATO member-states and Partnership for Peace member- countries on organizing and participating in peace missions in crisis areas. In his address, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stressed Greece's wish for a peaceful settlement to the Kosovo crisis. "It is neither clever nor responsible to attempt to give a solution to the problem of Kosovo with military force," he stated and condemned what he called "phenomena of military force" which have reappeared in Kosovo. Moreover, the Greek Defense Minister said that a political solution must be found "within the borders of Yugoslavia" through the course of a dialogue, as the international community has requested. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos called on Yugoslavia to facilitate "step-by-step and in cooperation with international organizations" a consolidation of peace in the region, stressing: "Kosovo has developed into an international issue concerning international security." A.F. [07] GREEK AND ALBANIAN BANKS SIGN COOPERATION ACCORDThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)As a confirmation of a three-year course of economic ties, the governor of the Bank of Greece Lukas Papademos and his Albanian counterpart Skelkim Cani signed a bank agreement in Tirana yesterday, calling for cooperation in the monetary sector, statistical studies and bank supervision.Mr. Papademos, who yesterday concluded a three-day visit to Albania, met with the country's President Rexhep Mejdani, Prime Minister Pandeli Majko and also Finance Minister Anastas Angel. Following the signing ceremony, Mr. Papademos termed the agreement "the first typical step in prolonged bilateral cooperation which will strengthen interbank relations. Greece is closely watching the Albanian economy's progress and its positive steps towards decreasing inflation and the budget deficit in particular." He further added that the results of his contacts in Albania were very encouraging because the overall upgrading of relations between Greek and Albanian banks is expected through the upgraded form of cooperation. A.F. [08] MONTENEGRO'S PRESS SECRETARY TO VISIT ATHENS THIS MONTHAthens, January 21 (MPA)The Press Secretary of Montenegro Bozidar Jaredic is to visit Athens between 23-28 of January, following an invitation issued by the Greek Press and Media Ministry's secretary General Yiannis Nikolaou.During his stay, Mr. Jaredic will hold a series of meetings with other press ministry officials, as well as representatives from Greece's National Radio-Television Council, the state-owned ERT radio and television stations and other media officials. On January 25, he will address an event organized by the ministry's International Relations Department. Held at the Foreign Correspondents' Association, the discussion will concern media-related issued in Montenegro, Yugoslavia and the wider region. A.F. [09] EUROPEAN POLL: GREECE ARE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTUREAthens, January 21 (MPA)The inauguration of the euro, has failed to shake the "blues" from most Greeks who, when compared to their European counterparts, don't seem to look forward to a bright future.According to a poll conducted by "Gallop International" in 55 countries, 74% of the Greeks expect the rate of unemployment to increase during 1999, while 47% of them believe that social conflict will also escalate. Overall, 41% of those polled believe that this year will be worse than last, while a mere 21% is optimistic about the future. A.F. [10] CYPRIOT FM TO MEET WITH US SECRETARY OF STATE NEXT MONTHNicosia, January 21 (MPA)Cyprus' Foreign Minster Yiannakis Kasoulides is to meet with the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington on February 17.According to State Department reports, Ms. Albright accepted Mr. Kasoulides' request for a meeting, given the present conditions in the Cyprus issue and the decision not to deploy the S-300 missiles on the island. During his visit to the US, Mr. Kasoulides will also travel to New York where he will meet with United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan. A.F. [11] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER ON SECURITY OF GREECE AND CYPRUSAthens, January 21 (MPA)Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos stressed that that the security of Cyprus and Greece is a common affair of both countries, responding to a question tabled during last night's parliamentary session on the S-300 missiles issue.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that he will meet with his Cypriot counterpart during the following days in Athens in order to review all discussions held with Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides. A.F. [12] NEW ROUND OF CONFLICTS ERUPT IN KOSOVOPrishtina, January 21 (MPA)Two Albanian rebels were killed and another two were injured during conflict that erupted yesterday evening in the village of Vaganica, during a Serb police raid.According to Kosovo's Serb press center, gunfire was heard throughout the day around the village, as a group of Armed Albanians, who on Monday attacked a Serb police car and wounded five officers, had entrenched themselves in a house and refused to surrender. Armed conflict also broke out at the Sipolie village while, in the town of Vucitern, a three-member Serb family was wounded when a bombshell erupted near their home. A.F. [13] BLACK SEA FIBER OPTICS AGREEMENT TO POUR IN THE MONEYThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)An agreement for the establishment of a fiber optics telecommunications system that will link seven countries in the Black Sea region, signed yesterday in Athens, is expected to breath new air to Greek investments in the region, as well as pour more money into the coffers of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE).The undersea system is to cost USD51 million and will link Varna, Odessa, Novorosisk, Tblisi and Georgia. The signing ceremony was attended Greece's Transportation and Communications Minister Tasos Mantelis and OTE's managing consultant George Symeonides. In addition to OTE, the agreement was signed by Armenia's Armentel, Bulgaria's BTC, Cyprus' CYTA, Slovenia's TELECOM, Ukraine's URKTELEKOM and Russia's WESTELCOM. Mr. Mantelis stated that the Greek government remains firm in its commitment to contribute at the fullest in increasing its "alliances" with the Black Sea region's countries. OTE's participation in the program amounts to 35%, a rate that corresponds to USD18 million. The Greek Organization will also chair the project's committee. The program is expected to be set into effect during the second quarter of the year 2000. A.F. [14] ERT BEGINS ITS RE-BROADCAST IN THE UNITED STATESThessaloniki, January 21 (MPA)Following numerous efforts spanning a period of months, Greece's state-owned television station (ERT-NET) has embarked on its program's broadcast in the United States, a target coveted by the Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE) since its founding.According to SAE reports, ERT's program will be rebroadcast in the US through the EABC company and it will be on a 24-hour cable basis, at a monthly rate of $14.99. ERT, in association with the SAE of the United States, will also make the program available free of charge to Greek-American organizations, provided that they meet certain requirements. "This move constitutes a vindication of SAE's efforts... a target we had announced during the first days of the institution's founding," stated the SAE-US chairman Christos Tomaras. A.F. [15] ALLIED FORCES DISPATCH FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TO ITALYBelgrade, January 21 (MPA)The Danish government has dispatched six F-16 fighter aircraft to Italy, in preparation for NATO's possible air strike in Kosovo.According to Belgrade's radio station B-92, 120 Danish soldiers are expected in Italy today, 12 of whom are pilots. The Netherlands is also dispatching eight F-16 to Italy, where another eight are already stationed. British Defense Secretary George Robertson also stated that four RAF military aircraft will arrive in Italy by the end of this week. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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