Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-11-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] ALBANIAN PM META ARRIVES IN ATHENS TOMORROW

[02] INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MEETING OF BALKAN MAYORS

[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE PRINSTON INSTITUTE CONFERENCE

[04] REPPAS ON THE CREUTZFELD-JACOB DISEASE SYMPTOMS

[05] THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS HAVE INCREASED IN GREECE

[06] PAPANDREOU MET WITH ALVARO DE SOTO

[07] PAPANDREOU MET WITH THE TURKISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS ASSISTANT

[08] SMALL GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[09] RAPID INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CANCER CASES

[10] GREEK MAN ARRESTED OVER CHILD PORN WEB SITE

[11] MONEY SHOW 2000 DECEMBER 9-10 IN THESSALONIKI

[12] INCREASED TRAFFIC AT THE GREEK-FYROM BORDERS

[13] GREEK SHIPS IN FINLAND'S COASTAL SHIPPING LINES

[14] "MAD COW" HUMAN FORM RESISTANT TO STERILIZATION

[15] MEAT & BONE ANIMAL FEED TEMPORARILY BANNED

[16] HELLENIC, S.E. EUROPEAN STUDIES CHAIR AT TUFTS

[01] ALBANIAN PM META ARRIVES IN ATHENS TOMORROW

Prime Minister Costas Simitis is to receive his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta tomorrow, December 1, with whom he will discuss issues of bilateral interest.

The Albanian Premier and the President of Albania's Socialist Party Fatos Nano are to be in Athens in order to attend a seminar on minority issues, organized by the U.S. PER Institute.

According to press reports in Tirana, the leader of Albania's main opposition party Sali Berisha refused an invitation to attend the seminar.

A.F.

[02] INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MEETING OF BALKAN MAYORS

The 1st International Friendship and Cooperation Meeting of Balkan Mayors will be held in Thessaloniki on December 8-9 with the participation of 30 mayors from Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, FYROM, Albania, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia as well as European Commission officials.

In the meeting will be examined the prospect for the implementation of a policy for the development of Balkan cities in relation with today's European reality. Specifically, the conference participants will consider common economic policy routes through the European Union, the exchange of know-how on issues of local administration and the cooperation at a cultural, tourist and sports level.

[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE PRINSTON INSTITUTE CONFERENCE

The conference organized by the Prinston University Institute that got underway in Athens today is aimed at contributing to the preservation of the stability in the region, the renewal of the confidence and cooperation ties among the states in the region and the preservation of the existing borders in south-eastern Europe, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas. Mr. Reppas rejected this way the views according to which, the conference was organized at the initiative of Albanian forces aimed at materializing a nationalistic plan for the creation of "Greater Albania".

Mr. Reppas stated that this is the second such meeting, the first one took place in Budapest in April, and it is held with the participation of Balkan government representatives to discuss issues concerning the stance, the cooperation and the communication of the Albanians who live in Albania and those who live in neighboring countries.

The conference will be attended by Albanian prime minister Ilir Meta and foreign minister Paskal Milo. Representing the Greek state will be the Greek ambassadors in the Balkan states.

On the second conference, that also takes place in Athens with the participation of the Kokkalis Institute, Mr. Reppas stated that it will be attended by politicians, businessmen and government officials.

[04] REPPAS ON THE CREUTZFELD-JACOB DISEASE SYMPTOMS

The Creutzfeld-Jacob disease symptoms of a 55yearold woman in Ioannina, north-western Greece, are not related with the "mad cow" disease, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.

Mr. Reppas stated that such cases have been observed in Greece in the past and are the result of other factors, underlining that they have nothing to do with the "mad cow" disease.

[05] THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS HAVE INCREASED IN GREECE

The traffic accidents in Greece have showed a new increase during last year and the insurance companies have been called to pay compensation of 165.9 billion drachmas increased by 12.42%. Of the compensation paid 152.7 billion concerned traffic accidents when the sum paid for the same purpose in 1998 was 136 billion drachmas.

According to the annual report conducted by the Insurance Companies Statistics Agency, private car drivers under the age of 25 were responsible for 15% of the traffic accidents, 48.91% of them were caused by drivers between the age of 26 and 45, while in the rest of the traffic accidents were involved drivers over the age of 45.

[06] PAPANDREOU MET WITH ALVARO DE SOTO

The recent developments in the proximity talks on Cyprus and the next steps promoted by the United Nations for the solution of the problem, dominated in the meeting of Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou with UN secretary-general special envoy Alvaro de Soto.

Mr. Papandreou stated that Greece backs the UN efforts aimed at reaching a solution on Cyprus soon, within the framework of the UN decisions and resolutions.

Mr. de Soto underlined that UN secretary-general Mr. Annan expects an in depth discussion of the issue and for this goal to be met he called on the interested parties to continue their negotiations in Geneva in January.

[07] PAPANDREOU MET WITH THE TURKISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS ASSISTANT UNDERSECRETARY

The EU-Turkey partnership relation was at the center of the meeting of Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou with Turkish foreign affairs assistant undersecretary Faruk Logoglu. Mr. Papandreou underlined Greece's firm position regarding the Helsinki conclusions and their inclusion in the partnership relation text.

Mr. Papandreou speaking to reporters characterized as useful the meetings he had with Turkish foreign minister Ismail Cem in Vienna and Mr. Logoglu, pointing out that they help the two sides to present their positions and make them understood.

He also reiterated that Greece is ready to agree on the EU-Turkey partnership relation text in the General Affairs Council on Monday, in the Summit meeting in Nice or in another EU presidency.

From his side, the Turkish official reiterated that his country does not want the Cyprus issue and the Greek-Turkish relations to be included in the short-term and the medium-term targets of the partnership relation.

[08] SMALL GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Small gains of 0.46% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today and the general index was at 3.245,77 points, while the volume of transactions was notably increased compared to the last sessions reaching 82.87 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 225 recorded gains, 111 had losses and 39 remained unchanged.

[09] RAPID INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CANCER CASES

A rapid increase in the number of cancer cases is recorded around the world and in Greece as well. According to the Athens radio station "Flash", over 20 million cancer cases will be recorded annually after 2020, based on the predictions of European Oncology Institutes Organization specialists.

Cancer is treated in Greece in just three oncological hospitals which serve hundreds of cancer sufferers on a daily basis.

[10] GREEK MAN ARRESTED OVER CHILD PORN WEB SITE

Greek police have arrested a Thessaloniki man on charges of creating and maintaining a child pornography web site on the Internet.

A former employee at a computer sales firm, 32-year-old Panayiotis Mylonas was apprehended by Attica police officers following two-month investigations on child pornography rings on the Internet.

According to the police report, Mylonas solicited child porn through his web site and exchanged the photographs with other pedophiles through the Net.

In his statement to the police, Mylonas, who now faces criminal charges, said that he acquired the photographs from individuals he met in various chat rooms.

A.F.

[11] MONEY SHOW 2000 DECEMBER 9-10 IN THESSALONIKI

Themed after "the new business fields, new employment opportunities and modern technologies in the sector of waste management", the Money Show 2000, set to begin in Thessaloniki on December 9.

The two-day conference, held under the auspices of the Greek-German Chamber in cooperation with the Region of Central Macedonia, will feature a presentation of state-of-the-art technology on waste management and recycling.

To be held at the city's Hyatt Regency Hotel, this year's Money Show aims to surpass previous attendance records, which reached more than 10,000 visitors on a per day basis.

A.F.

[12] INCREASED TRAFFIC AT THE GREEK-FYROM BORDERS

The traffic at the Greek-FYROM borders is on the rise. In the last three months over 300.000 private cars and about 25.000 trucks have crossed over to Greece from the four border passages.

Most of the traffic is recorded in the border crossing of Bogorodica.

[13] GREEK SHIPS IN FINLAND'S COASTAL SHIPPING LINES

Finnish newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat" mentions in his tourist pages that the Greek shipping company "Superfast Ferries" will take over the new coastal shipping line linking the Finnish city of Hango with the German city of Rostock which will be in operation in May 2001.

The ships that will be used are being built in the HDW shipyard in the German city of Kiel, taking under consideration the weather conditions in the Baltic Sea, while the basic goal of the company is to offer a quick and safe trip to its passengers.

[14] "MAD COW" HUMAN FORM RESISTANT TO STERILIZATION

The human form of the mad cow disease, officially known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), may be resistant to sterilization, according to reports from Tulane University Hospital in New Orleans where eight patients who recently underwent operation with possibly infected medical instruments are now at risk for contracting the fatal disorder.

According to an article posted on the Internet's Salon magazine on October 30, eight individuals who underwent neurosurgical procedures at Tulane, are presently at risk of having contracted CJD; the instruments used in their operations had been used on an another patient who suffered from CJD, as a later autopsy revealed.

CJD is the human form of mad cow disease and occurs in about one in a million people worldwide. It is believed to be spread by prions, mysterious rogue proteins that are not really alive and thus cannot be killed. Resistant to heat and radiation, prions are unaffected by standard sterilization procedures used for disinfecting medical instruments.

According to hospital officials, the instruments were cleaned and sterilized each time following routine procedures. Weeks later, when the autopsy was conducted, the hospital ordered the surgical instruments destroyed, but they had already been used on the other eight patients, according to Dr. Alan Miller, Tulane University Health Sciences Center vice president for clinical affairs.

Because the incubation period for CJD can be decades long and the disease is generally confirmed only through an autopsy, the eight living surgery patients will have to wait an extremely long time to find out if they have been contaminated. They are receiving counseling and related medical care, Dr. Miller said in a prepared statement.

According to Salon, this is not the first time contaminated surgical equipment has been implicated in the spread of CJD; in 1977, two teenagers in Switzerland developed the incurable disease after having undergone surgery for brain tumors. The electrodes that apparently transmitted CJD had been cleaned, disinfected and sterilized using benzene, alcohol and formaldehyde.

Another example occurred last year in England after a woman suffering from depression and mood swings underwent Caesarian section. When doctors diagnosed her with probable CJD in January, the hospital was able to ascertain seven other women had had Caesarian sections using this theater kit, according to Dr. Rod Griffiths, West Midlands director of public health.

A.F.

[15] MEAT & BONE ANIMAL FEED TEMPORARILY BANNED

The European Commission has agreed on several new proposals to respond to the current Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, such as a temporary ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal (MBM) to all farm animals and a requirement that all animals over 30 months are tested for BSE to enhance consumer confidence.

Submitted by Commissioner for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Franz Fischler, and Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne, these proposals will be tabled during the specially convened Agriculture Council to be held on December 4.

The proposals also include a requirement that the current list of specified risk materials (SRMs), which must be removed and destroyed, should now also include the entire intestine of bovines of all ages; a "purchase for destruction" plan to remove all cattle aged over 30 months from the food chain, unless they have been tested for BSE to ensure additional guarantees and to rebalance the beef market; a flexible handling of public intervention to address the current drop in producer prices.

The Commissioners also proposed that the advances paid for the beef premiums be raised from the present 60% to 80%, in order to take the financial pressure off from beef producers.

A.F.

[16] HELLENIC, S.E. EUROPEAN STUDIES CHAIR AT TUFTS

A Chair in Hellenic and Southeastern European Studies has been established at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, in memory of the late Greek president Konstantinos Karamanlis.

According to a United States embassy press release, Athens University Professor Thanos Veremis was chosen to be the first chairman at the Medford, Massachusetts-based University.

The rotating post, established jointly by Tufts and the Karamanlis Foundation, will allow for several scholars to teach and perform research on related subjects.

The professorship is the first component of a future center for Hellenic Studies and Southeastern European Studies at Tufts.

A.F.

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