Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-09-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] MPA PROVIDES FULL OLYMPICS COVERAGE ON ITS SITE

[02] STATE RATIFIES 3rd CSF ABSORPTION, GRD 17.5 TRILLION

[03] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE YUGOSLAV ELECTIONS

[04] REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE

[05] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF WONDER STUDENTS IN THESSALONIKI

[06] EUROBANK-DEUTSCHE BANK TALKS ON THE EXPANSION OF THEIR COOPERATION

[07] THE NOVA BANK WILL OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 20

[08] GOODY'S-TELEPIZZA DEAL

[09] LOSSES OF 1.00% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[10] POLL: OVER HALF WILLING TO SIGN CHURCH PETITION

[11] GREEK FM ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT NY

[12] GREEK GOLD MEDALIST READY TO SAIL IN MISTRAL

[13] THE PUBLIC DEFICIT IN THE EURO-ZONE IN 1999 WAS 1.3% OF THE GDP

[14] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING IN NEW YORK

[15] SEARCH FOR THE LOCATION OF A SHIP BRINGING JEWS TO PALESTINE IN 1942

[01] MPA PROVIDES FULL OLYMPICS COVERAGE ON ITS SITE

The Macedonian Press Agency is to provide round-the-clock news briefs on the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, through a specially-created site at http://www.mpa.gr .

The said site was made possible through the significant contribution of OTENET and the assistance of Alpha television station, Alpha News and alpha sports radio stations and the Metrosport daily.

The MPA's site will feature vast news packages, photographs, video and other resources on the Olympic games, their history, past Games, as well as athlete profiles.

As the Internet is expected to be the most favored information format, given the time difference between Australia and Europe, the MPA will provide continuous coverage of the sporting events on its site, which -as of yesterday- has been upgraded from 1Mbit to 2Mbit.

A.F.

[02] STATE RATIFIES 3rd CSF ABSORPTION, GRD 17.5 TRILLION

The National Economy Ministry's bill on the absorption of the third Community Support Framework (CSF), which amounts to 17.5 trillion drachmas, was unanimously ratified by the Cabinet yesterday.

According to government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas, the 3rd CSF will enable the state to conduct a plethora of regional development projects.

Specifically, the funds will be allocated (by the year 2006) to boosting human resources, infrastructure and transportation, business competition, agriculture (which will get a share of GRD1.3 trillion from the CSF, with another ten pouring in from other programs), as well to new economy (one trillion), and the public sector, such as environment, education, health, welfare (600 billion).

A.F.

[03] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE YUGOSLAV ELECTIONS

The presence of Greece as an observer in the Yugoslav elections is an issue that will be dealt with through consultations, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, while responding to a question on whether Greek former foreign minister Karolos Papoulias has been invited to Belgrade as an observer, he stated that he is not aware of such a thing.

Mr. Reppas referred to the trip of foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou to the neighboring country stressing that he was the only foreign minister who visited Yugoslavia and reminded that Mr. Papandreou has urged for elections that will be held in the best possible way.

[04] REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE

The Greek government backs the efforts of the Cypriot government for the solution of the Cyprus problem, stressed Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas. He also added that the Cypriot government awaits for the response of UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to the letter it has addressed to him in order to determine its stance.

Mr. Reppas also denied that Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou exerts pressures on Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides.

The Greek government spokesman stated that the only legal entity is the Greek Cypriot and no one will allow the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot regime.

[05] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF WONDER STUDENTS IN THESSALONIKI

Two hundred gifted high school students from 13 countries, among them students from 14 Greek schools, will attend the international conference that will be held in Thessaloniki on September 18-25. The conference is organized by the municipality of Thessaloniki and the ministry of education in Victoria, Australia.

Among the issues that will be presented by the groups of students, who communicate with each other through the Internet, is genetic engineering, sports opportunities, development and heredity, social problems, personal life and personal data, etc.

[06] EUROBANK-DEUTSCHE BANK TALKS ON THE EXPANSION OF THEIR COOPERATION

EFG Eurobank Ergasias and Deutsche Bank senior executives will focus on the sectors of electronic banking and real estate in their talks held in Berlin today on the prospects of the expansion of their cooperation.

The international stock markets, the electronic payment systems and training issues will be the main points on which the senior executives of the two banks will focus their attention aimed at expanding their cooperation on those sectors.

Meanwhile, the basis for their cooperation in the sector of real estate management has already been set through the founding of the affiliate EFG Eurobank Properties.

[07] THE NOVA BANK WILL OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 20

"Nova Bank", the new bank of the Interamerican Group and the Portuguese Banco Comercial Portugues Group will open on Wednesday, September 20 with a presentation of its plans. The initial share capital of the new bank will be 50 billion drachmas.

It will initially open 45 branches, 37 of which will be in Athens and the rest in Thessaloniki with a personnel of 300 people.

The strategic goal of the bank for the next year is to expand its network while in the next three years it aims at the creation of a network of 120 branches.

[08] GOODY'S-TELEPIZZA DEAL

The Greek fast-food restaurant chain Goody's, which is trading in the Athens Stock Exchange, has made a dynamic entry in the pizza market after signing a deal with Spanish TelePizza Ltd. to found a joint venture which, starting in 2001, will undertake to open TelePizza fast-food restaurants in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria.

In the new Athens based company, Goody's will participate with 40% and TelePizza, which is the biggest European pizza chain, will have the rest 60%. The infiltration of Goody's in the pizza market will be quick as the business plan for the five-year period 2001-2005 provides for the creation of 50 stores.

The TelePizza stores specialize mainly in the delivery and take away market. The company started its activities in Madrid in 1988 and occupies a leading place in the fast-food market in Spain with a 25% share. On December 31, 1999 it had a network of 767 stores, 512 of them in Spain and 225 in different countries. Specifically, 44 in Portugal, 40 in Poland, 28 in France, 13 in Britain, 18 in Chile, 111 in Mexico and 1 in Morocco.

[09] LOSSES OF 1.00% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

The week ended for the Athens Stock Exchange with considerable losses of 1.00%. The general index dropped to 4.204,49 points, while the volume of transactions was at 155.3 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today 92 recorded gains, 259 had losses and 27 remained stable.

[10] POLL: OVER HALF WILLING TO SIGN CHURCH PETITION

More than half of respondents to a recent survey are willing to sign the church's ongoing petition calling for the listing of religion on public identification cards, according to a poll conducted by V-PRC on behalf of "Flash.gr".

Specifically, 50.5 percent of those polled responded that they are "very" or "quite" likely to sign the informal referendum.

Moreover, 48.7% are favoring an optional listing of religion on id cards, i.e. the bearer would decide if he or she wished to state religious affiliation, while 28.7 percent are in favor of making the listing of religion compulsory and slightly over 20 percent (20.2) are opposed to the listing.

As for the referendum in itself, 48.9% are in favor of the petition, while 42.1% are against.

A.F.

[11] GREEK FM ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT NY

Foreign Minister George Papandreou addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday, where he referred extensively to globalization, the oncoming Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Greek-Turkish relations, as well as the Cyprus issue.

"I pledge to you today that when the Olympic flame of our ancestors rises over the Athenian sky, it will light up more than a shiny stadium" Mr. Papandreou stated, adding "it will light up a whole aea fighting for peace, democracy and justice."

The Foreign Minister stressed that "our work in the next four years will start in the context of international organizations", which will set the stage upon which future global events will unfold.

The globalization of the economy, the increased power of the media, rapid developments in information technology, communications and biotechnology are just some of the challenges that will set the stage, he stated, adding that "for the next four years, Greece will take an active role in international fora to do its part in dealing with globalization."

Regarding the Balkan region, Mr. Papandreou said that stability in this area is the pre-requisite for Greek security "and we define stability to mean the practice of democracy, the strengthening of institutions that provide transparency and accountability, the reduction of economic inequalities and the rule of law in our societies and between our countries."

He further stressed the significance of Greece's EU and NATO memberships in influencing the neighboring countries.

As for Turkey, the Foreign Miniister stressed the uniting effect borne by last year's earthquakes that devastated both neighbors, "which generated a genuine feeling of human warmth between two peoples involved n historic strife."

Referring to the ensuing dialogue between the two neighbors, he stressed that Greece and Turkey have signed ten agreements "that will radically change the environment in which we interact," which he termed as "the beginning of a long process that will radically affect our lives in the coming years."

As for Cyprus, Mr. Papandreou stressed that "it is not a bilateral issue" and said that a solution to the Cyprus problem "can and should be seen as a win-win situation.

Furthermore, he added that UN resolutions pertaining to the divided island are not only important for Cyprus, they are "important for the moral standing of this all-important organization".

Double standards and inaction only serve to undermine the credibility of this organization, he said.

A.F.

[12] GREEK GOLD MEDALIST READY TO SAIL IN MISTRAL

Greek sailing champion Nikos Kaklamanakis, gold medalist in the Atlanta-held 1996 Games in the Men's Mistral, is going into Sydney's Games as a favorite for an encore, although his fiercest competition is from his Australian and New Zealand counterparts.

In addition to the Mistral race, which gets underway on Sunday, Kaklamanakis will also be the Greek team's flagbearer in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Olympic sailing is a grueling competition that features at least 10 races per class. It spans from September 17-24 and will take place on Sydney Harbour.

A.F.

[13] THE PUBLIC DEFICIT IN THE EURO-ZONE IN 1999 WAS 1.3% OF THE GDP

The public deficit in the Euro-zone countries in 1999 was at 1.3% of the GDP of those countries displaying a 2.1% drop compared to the previous year, according to figures provided by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat.

Based on the same figures, the public debt in 1999 corresponded to 72.2% of the GDP of the Euro-zone countries compared to 73.5% a year ago.

For the total of the EU member-states, the public deficit dropped to 0.7% in 1999 from 1.5% in 1998.

[14] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING IN NEW YORK

Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet in New York today with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem. It is a scheduled meeting that will last half an hour. A second meeting of the two men will be held tomorrow when the Greek foreign minister will give a formal dinner in honor of Mr. Cem and the Turkish delegation at a Greek restaurant in Manhattan. Mr. Cem is scheduled to address the UN general assembly tomorrow morning, while the Greek foreign minister has already delivered his speech yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the National Council of Cyprus meets in the presence of president Glafkos Clerides and the Cypriot political leaders to reach a final decision on whether the Cypriot government will attend the fourth round of talks on Cyprus held under the UN auspices.

[15] SEARCH FOR THE LOCATION OF A SHIP BRINGING JEWS TO PALESTINE IN 1942

Campaign for the location of the ship named "Struma", which was sunk by a Soviet torpedo outside the Istanbul port on the night of February 23, 1942 with 768 Jewish refugees from Romania on board, has been undertaken for the past few weeks, according to an article by Maryland University professor Lawrence M. Lesser published by the US newspaper "Baltimore Sun".

The sponsors of the search for the location of the shipwreck are the Turkish government and the US Holocaust Museum which has scheduled to hold an exhibition on the tragic ship, while a Canadian company has undertaken to film a documentary that will be aired in the United States, Canada and Europe.

According to the article, Britain had refused to give visas to the 768 Jews and Turkey did not allow the ship to continue its voyage to Palestine.

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