Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-02-22

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] US-GREEK COUNCIL ON BALKANS IN THESSALONIKI

[02] GREEK ECONOMY MINISTER IN LONDON

[03] MUSIC OF THEODORAKIS HEARD THE WORLD ROUND

[04] RUSSIAN DEPUTY PM IN ATHENS FOR STATE VISIT

[05] INVESTIGATION ORDERED OVER GREEK HACKERS

[06] KAKLAMANAKIS WINS GOLD IN CHAMPIONSHIP

[07] STATE COMMENDS GREEK AIDS RESEARCHERS

[08] OIL PRICES EXPECTED TO RISE THIS WEEK

[09] SIX-YEAR-OLD ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS HIS MOTHER

[10] GREEK BUSINESSMENS FEDERATION IN UKRAINE

[11] GREEK ON LINE BY THESSALONIKIS LANGUAGE CENTER

[12] GREEK AMBASSADOR ON VOICE OF AMERICA

[01] US-GREEK COUNCIL ON BALKANS IN THESSALONIKI

The initial meeting of the Initiative for Technological Cooperation in the Balkans (ITCB) joint United States-Greek Council was held in Thessaloniki yesterday, in an effort to promote U.S.-Greek joint business ventures in the Balkans, as well as the transfer of technology and private sector expertise to the region's countries.

The two governments were represented by U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Development Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Macedonia-Thrace Minister Yiannis Magriotis.

Mr. Venizelos stated that the most fertile areas for bilateral cooperation are the sectors of energy, telecommunications and information systems.

The Development Minister stated that ITCB will be given 70 million drachmas in funds from the National Economy Ministry, while additional monies will be sought from private enterprises and the Third Community Support Framework.

Minister of Macedonia and Thrace Yiannis Magriotis stated that the danger of new conflict erupting in Southeastern

Europe can be eradicated only through cooperation and the region's reconstruction.

Ambassador Burns hailed 2000 as "the year of Greek-American business cooperation" and stated that ITCB constitutes one of the most ambitious endeavors.

The creation for ITCB was originally proposed by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and was formalized in 1998, with the signing of a relevant agreement by U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley and Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou.

A.F.

[02] GREEK ECONOMY MINISTER IN LONDON

Greece's Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou outlined the strong points of the country's economy, during an international conference held in London yesterday.

Mr. Papantoniou was a keynote speaker at the conference titled "Developments and Prospects of the Greek Capital Market" organized by the "Economist" and the Athens Stock Exchange".

Namely, the Minister spoke on 1) the vast structural changes being promoted in Greece; 2) Greek investments in the Balkans; 3) the 2000-02 privatization program; 4) support measures for small-to-medium enterprises; 5) incentives for the development and application of new technologies; 6) the framework for developing the information society and 7) the international role to be carried out by Greece in the region of Southeastern Europe as the twelfth member of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

The Minister met earlier with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, with whom he discussed the course of the European economy and Greece's participation in the euro-zone with the submission of the country's application in early March and the prospect of a decision at an EU summit in Portugal, on June 20.

Mr. Papantoniou told Mr. Brown that Greece has fulfilled all five convergence criteria necessary in order to become the 12th European Monetary Union (EMU) member this June.

He was accompanied by the governor of the National Bank of Greece Athanasios Karatzas and the president of the Alpha Credit Bank Group Ioannis Kostopoulos.

A.F.

[03] MUSIC OF THEODORAKIS HEARD THE WORLD ROUND

Greece's renowned Mikis Theodorakis can at last feel justified, as he now becomes the first Greek modern composer to see his complete works published worldwide.

In a deal signed on Sunday, the parent company of Germany's Intuition Records, will distribute Mr. Thedoroakis' works world-wide, starting with an eight-cd selection of operas such as "Medea", "Electra" and "Antigone".

The cd collection will be officially presented when the opera "Electra" will open in New York.

A.F.

[04] RUSSIAN DEPUTY PM IN ATHENS FOR STATE VISIT

Russia's deputy Prime Minister responsible for emergencies Sergei Shoigu embarked on a state visit in Athens today, where he was received by Greece's Foreign Minster George Papandreou.

Mr. Shoigu relayed an invitation by Vladimir Putin to Costas Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis for a visit to Russia.

Mr. Papandreou also met today with his Czech counterpart Jan Kavan. The two men will be in Thessaloniki tomorrow to sign a memorandum of cooperation for the reconstruction of the Balkans within the framework of the Stability Pact in the region.

Messrs. Papandreou and Kavan, along with the Minister of Macedonia and Thrace Yiannis Magriotis, are to inaugurate the city's Greek-Czech Council.

A.F.

[05] INVESTIGATION ORDERED OVER GREEK HACKERS

The Athens prosecutors office has ordered an investigation in locating three Greek computer hackers who are believed to have sneaked into top-secret military archives in Arizona.

The investigation is taking place after a request filed by the U.S. Embassy in Athens, which demanded that Greek judicial authorities should place the hackers - if apprehended - at the disposal of American FBI experts.

The successful incursions into the U.S. military site were made from three computers belonging to the state universities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Hania.

According to university officials, anyone can have Internet access from campus computers.

A.F.

[06] KAKLAMANAKIS WINS GOLD IN CHAMPIONSHIP

Greek champion in sailing Nikos Kaklamanakis won the gold medal in the World Sailing Championship which took place in Argentina.

The 2001 World championships will be held in Athens.

A.F.

[07] STATE COMMENDS GREEK AIDS RESEARCHERS

Deputy Welfare Minister Theodoros Kotsonis congratulated the team of Greek AIDS researchers who have developed a new technique that may lead to better diagnostic procedures and therapies for HIV-infected individuals.

The Greek team's study, titled "Effect of recent thymicomigrants on progression of HIV-1 disease" was published recently in the British medical journal The Lancet and focuses on the thymus, a small gland close to the heart responsible for producing "T-cells", which are involved in the immune function.

The study was conducted by researchers Angelos Hadzakis, Yiota Touloumi, Roza Karanikola, Anastasia Karafyllidou, Titika Mandalaki and Cleo Anastasopoulou.

According to Dr. Hatzakis, of the Athens University Medical School, T-cells are central to the direct immune system and to healing virally infected cells.

To date, there has been no way of measuring the thymus which many scientists believed stopped functioning after the age of 30. However, newer studies showed this not to be the case and in fact, indicated that the thymus may be active after the age of 30, although its function is quite reduced, Dr. Hatzakis said.

A.F.

[08] OIL PRICES EXPECTED TO RISE THIS WEEK

Oil group Hellenic Petroleum is expected to announced a sharp rise in prices, for the third week in a row, as of tomorrow.

As of Wednesday midnight, gasoline is to sell at five drachmas higher per liter, with diesel bearing an increase of more than three drachmas.

The prices are expected to drop as of next week, as international prices in slow oil are on a downward course.

A.F.

[09] SIX-YEAR-OLD ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS HIS MOTHER

A six-year-old boy shot his mother dead yesterday while playing with a pistol he found in the back seat of a neighbor's car at Nea Karvali, near Kavala in northern Greece.

Xenia Dermindzoglou, who was sitting in the driver's seat and was just about to start the car, was shot in the neck and died on her way to the hospital.

Police are interrogating the car's owner and victim's friend, Regina Nasivalieva, 40, who was been charged with homicide from negligence.

The pistol, bearing a silencer, was hidden beneath a pillow in the back seat of Nasivalieva's car.

A.F.

[10] GREEK BUSINESSMENS FEDERATION IN UKRAINE

The Federation of Greek Businessmen (FGB) is to become active by the end of next month, establishing its headquarters in Mariupol, Ukraine and thus entering a vast, yet risky, market.

The federation is to include businessmen of Greek descent from 15 Ukrainian cities. Its mission will be to provide venture information to Greek businessmen who are interested in entering the Ukrainian market, but are also weary of the said country's unstable legislation and extensive red-tape.

The trade attache of the Greek embassy in Kiev Pericles Davanelos outlined the factors that render the Ukrainian market a risky one, referring to the structure of state agencies and the muddy institutional framework, as well as the country's legal system.

As such, Mr. Davanelos advises Greece's would-be investors to conduct a detailed mapping of the region and to plan their activities for at least a five-year range.

Nevertheless, in spite of the given hurdles, trade between Greece and Ukraine moved on a satisfactory level between 1992-96, skyrocketing to USD243.3 million, from the previous level of a mere three million dollars.

However, a significant drop (44%) was noted in the two-year period of 1997-98, when bilateral trade amounted to USD147.3 million.

A.F.

[11] GREEK ON LINE BY THESSALONIKIS LANGUAGE CENTER

A website (http://www.greeklanguage.gr) created by the Thessaloniki-based Greek Language Center is providing academic information as well as assistance for anyone who wishes to learn Greek or read up on the Greek language in general.

Offering information for teachers and students, the site also includes an encyclopedic guide, lexicography tools and on-line chat rooms for teachers and scholars.

The Center for the Greek Language acts as a co-ordinating, advisory and strategic organ of the Ministry of Education on matters of language education and policy. It operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and the shared responsibility of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture.

A.F.

[12] GREEK AMBASSADOR ON VOICE OF AMERICA

Greece's Ambassador to the United States Alexander Philon, developed the Greek plan for the reconstruction of the Balkans, during a lengthy interview with the Voice of America's television network Worldnet.

Mr. Philon stated that Greece, through a $330-million-program, is a significant contributor to the institutional reconstruction of the Balkan region, as well as to its economic development and restored security. The Ambassador pointed out that the program could be augmented by an additional 200 million dollars when Yugoslavia enters the plan.

In regards tot he name issue pending between FYROM and Greece, Mr. Philon stated that it is still the subject of bilateral discussions held under the auspices of the United Nations. He further added that trade and economic relations between the two countries have become exemplary, with Greece being one FYROM's key investors.

A.F.

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