Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-01-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] SIMITIS: THE MOBILIZATION OF THE STATE MECHANISM WAS EFFECTIVE

[02] ALL TRANSACTIONS IN GREECE WILL BE IN EURO BY THE END OF JANUARY

[03] TURKISH SHIP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN EVIA

[04] STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED IN ATTICA, EVIA AND VIOTIA

[05] GREEK INITIATIVE FOR THE RESCUE OF ANTIQUITIES IN AFGHANISTAN

[06] ARCHBISHOP DIMITRIOS OF AMERICA WILL VISIT GREECE

[07] ARCTIC WEATHER IN GREECE

[01] SIMITIS: THE MOBILIZATION OF THE STATE MECHANISM WAS EFFECTIVE

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis expressed satisfaction for the mobilization of the state mechanism, after the briefing he had on the situation in the country as a result of the arctic weather conditions. The briefing made by Interior Minister Kostas Skandalidis took place at the Civil Protection general secretariat offices.

Mr. Simitis stated that this is an unprecedented situation for Greece and can be compared only to 1963 when a similar wave of bad weather had hit the country. He stated that similar extreme weather phenomena have been recorded in the rest of Europe as well, referring to Germany where heavy snowfall created traffic chaos.

Mr. Simitis stated that the weather phenomena are extreme and in spite of this the state mechanism was mobilized effectively enough. He said that it is expectable for such phenomena to create problems and difficulties and stressed that people should stay indoors.

[02] ALL TRANSACTIONS IN GREECE WILL BE IN EURO BY THE END OF JANUARY

Deputy governor of the Bank of Greece Loukas Papadimos expressed the belief that all transactions in Greece will be held in Euro by the end of January.

According to Mr. Papadimos, in the first four days of the circulation of the new currency a total of 500 billion drachmas ended up in the Greek banks to be exchanged for Euro. The sum corresponds to 17% of the total drachma currency circulation.

He also said that the drachma withdrawal pace is satisfactory and there have been no serious practical problems.

In Greece, Holland, Luxembourg and Germany, 50% of the transactions are being made in Euro, according to figures provided by the European Commission.

[03] TURKISH SHIP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN EVIA

A Turkish ship with about 270 illegal immigrants on board was located at the Evia sea region in very bad weather conditions as there are 8-9 Force winds blowing in the area.

According to a statement issued by the Merchant Marine Ministry, the ship came from Ismir, Turkey.

[04] STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED IN ATTICA, EVIA AND VIOTIA

The Political Protection General Secretariat, in a new meeting held on the severe bad weather that has paralyzed many regions in the country, decided to declare a state of emergency in the prefectures of Attica, and Viotia and in Evia.

Interior Minister Kostas Skandalidis stated after the meeting that the situation is under control and appealed to the people to stay indoors. He also called on the people to offer their help to those who face problems because of the extreme weather.

Mr. Skandalidis said that the state mechanism will be in a state of emergency until Monday and the priority will be to open to traffic the main road networks in Athens and rescue the motorists from their cars which are immobilized since yesterday at the Athens-Lamia road network due to the heavy snow. The Avlona army camp has sent blankets and about 2.000 food units to be distributed to them.

[05] GREEK INITIATIVE FOR THE RESCUE OF ANTIQUITIES IN AFGHANISTAN

An initiative has been undertaken by the Greek Ministry of Culture aimed at examining the state of the ancient treasures kept in Kabul.

In a meeting held in the presence of Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens it was decided that the initiative should evolve into a cooperation with UNESCO, the United States and the Russian Federation as well as the temporary government in Afghanistan.

The initiative is a follow-up of the proposals submitted by Greece in UNESCO's Inter-governmental Committee 11th Summit that was held in Cambodia last March for the return of cultural goods to the countries of their origin.

[06] ARCHBISHOP DIMITRIOS OF AMERICA WILL VISIT GREECE

Archbishop Dimitrios of America will visit Athens on January 12-18 at the invitation of the Greek government.

During his visit he will meet with President Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, Education Minister Petros Efthimiou, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and political party leaders. He will also meet with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece.

The Archbishop of America will also visit Thessaloniki and the mayor will honor him with the Gold Medal of the city.

[07] ARCTIC WEATHER IN GREECE

The National Weather Bureau predicts arctic weather in Greece with freezing temperatures for the next few days.

The temperature in Thessaloniki will be between -9 and -3 degrees Centigrade.

In the wider region of Athens there will be snowfall and strong winds and temperature will be between -2 to 2 degrees Centigrade.

Bad weather also hit the Aegean islands creating many problems in the sea transportation, while there are problems in the electricity supply and the road network.

The "Eleftherios Venizelos" Athens Airport that was closed due to bad weather opened at noon today, while motorists moving from and to the airport face serious problems due to the snow.

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