Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-11-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] APPROACH ΤΟ TURKEY WITH AN OPEN MIND

[02] OLYMPIC PROJECTS UNDER THOROUGH INSPECTION

[03] NO ANNAN PLAN FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

[04] GAINS IN THE ASE

[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON KARAMANLIS' PREDICTIONS ON THE ECONOMY

[06] THE FUNERAL OF YIANNIS LAMPSAS WAS HELD TODAY

[07] EARTHQUAKE IN THE IONIAN SEA ISLAND OF ZAKYNTHOS

[08] THE MAJORITY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE WITNESSED VIOLENT INCIDENTS

[09] INCREASE OF 12% IN RETAIL SALES IN AUGUST

[10] CHIRAC-SIMITIS MEETING TODAY

[11] MITSOTAKIS:TERRORISM I IS NOT ERADICATED

[01] APPROACH ΤΟ TURKEY WITH AN OPEN MIND

Greece must not be predisposed when it faces Turkey, and is not afraid of the Islamic roots of the new government to be formed in the neighboring country shortly, stressed Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in an interview to the Reuters press agency.

Mr. Papandreou also supported that the atmosphere surrounding the possibility of Turkey securing a date for the commencing of accession procedures during the Copenhagen Summit has improved greatly, but if you had asked me a month ago, I would have said the chances were slim. Today I believe that although the chances are still not great enough, the mood has changed.

At the same time, the Greek Parliament has refused to approve any EU enlargement agreement not including Cyprus, stated the President of the Greek Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis, during his greeting speech at meeting on Cyprus at the Gates of the EU, held at the War Museum.

The Cypriot Republic is before the gates of the EU, following all procedures leading to its accession with great consistency and reliability stated Mr. Kaklamanis. He continued to say that Cyprus deserves accession both because it fully meets the criteria for social and financial development set by the EU, and because it is characterized by a free and democratic political system and a high cultural level.

[02] OLYMPIC PROJECTS UNDER THOROUGH INSPECTION

A delegation of the International Olympic Committee headed by Dennis Oswald, is in Athens today, in order to inspect the progress of the projects for the 2004 Olympics.

Apart from sports projects, the IOC delegation will also inspect the construction progress of the suburban rail and the tram, infrastructure for power and water supply, as well as access to sports centers and road works.

On Friday, the last day of the delegation's visit, Dennis Oswald will hold a joint press conference with the President of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, Gianna Aggelopoulou.

[03] NO ANNAN PLAN FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has not submitted any plan yet on the solution of the Cyprus problem, reiterated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas, adding that when the UN will be ready the specific plan will be submitted.

He said that when the UN is ready to present its plan for the solution of the Cyprus problem Greece and Cyprus will study it and any objections will be raised in cooperation with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides. He said that Cyprus' EU accession course should not be linked with the solution of the Cyprus problem and in any case Cyprus' EU accession will proceed in accordance with the Brussels decision.

He also reiterated the position for a viable, functional and fair solution in Cyprus, within the framework of the UN decisions, that will respect the European standards.

Regarding the time of Mr. Erdogan's visit to Greece, Mr. Protopapas stated that he will visit Greece soon. According to information, Mr. Erdogan is likely to visit Greece on Tuesday, while on Monday he will be in Brussels.

The Greek Prime Minister's diplomatic office director Mr. Sotiropoulos and Greek Foreign Minister adviser Mr. Pamboukis are in Ankara to prepare Mr. Erdogan's visit to Athens and the issues that will be discussed with Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.

[04] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today, boosted by the upward trend dominating in all major European markets.

The general index rose to +0.78% at 1.848,56 points, while the volume of transactions was 86.4 million Euro. Of the stocks trading today, 128 recorded gains and 165 had losses, while the value of 82 stocks remained unchanged.

[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON KARAMANLIS' PREDICTIONS ON THE ECONOMY

Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas stated that the predictions made on the Greek economy by right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis are inappropriate. Mr. Karamanlis had stated that Greece needs 80 years to achieve true convergence with the European Union.

Mr. Karamanlis, stated the Greek government spokesman, is constantly trying to downgrade Greece's picture and does not realize that Greece has developed a new momentum and enjoys a new position in the international scene.

[06] THE FUNERAL OF YIANNIS LAMPSAS WAS HELD TODAY

Journalist and author Yiannis Lampsas' funeral was held in Athens today. He died yesterday at the age of 81 from heart failure.

He was born in Athens in 1921 and was an Athens Law School graduate. He began his career in the newspapers Eleftheria and To Vima and until his retirement he worked in many Athens newspapers among them Acropolis, Athinaiki, Kathimerini, Anexartitos Tipos, Apogevmatini, and Vradini. For 20 years, he was editor-in-chief in the newspaper Estia, while he was also the director of the newspapers Ora and Imera. In the newspaper Mesimvrini he had his own column.

He was chief editor in the magazines Alpha and Politika Themata, while he published the political, social and cultural review Methavrio.

After the junta in 1975, he served as General Secretary of Press and Information and later in that year he was appointed Greek Radio and Television General Director until 1978.

He wrote and translated a number of books, while he was honored with the educational value distinctions of Poland, Romania and other countries.

[07] EARTHQUAKE IN THE IONIAN SEA ISLAND OF ZAKYNTHOS

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale rocked the sea region of the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos at 11.15am today. Its epicenter was located 15km north-northeast of the island.

The earthquake was felt across the Ionian Sea region, in central Greece and in the city of Patras, in southern Greece. No damages were reported.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki seismologist Mr. Vasilis Karakostas stated to MPA that the next 48 hours are decisive in the assessment of the seismic activity in the wider region of Zakynthos.

[08] THE MAJORITY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE WITNESSED VIOLENT INCIDENTS

The majority of high school students (60%) have witnessed violent incidents inside and outside their schools, 23% have participated in violent incidents and 11.6% were the victims of violent attacks. The above were the results of a study conducted on a sample of 350 high school students published on the Athens newspaper Ethnos.

Most violent incidents were recorded in schools in Crete (80%), Thessaloniki (77.5%) and Athens (71.8%), compared to high schools in central and south Greece.

According to the study, the violent clashes between Greek and foreign students are the most frequent, while the students usually involved in violent acts are those with bad school performance, who come from one-parent families with low income.

[09] INCREASE OF 12% IN RETAIL SALES IN AUGUST

Retail sales in Greece recorded an increase of 12% in August on an annual basis, according to the National Statistics Agency.

In the previous month, the increase was 7.1%, while in the eight-month period of January-August 2002 retail sales increased by 9.1% compared to the same period last year.

[10] CHIRAC-SIMITIS MEETING TODAY

French President Jacques Chirac will receive Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis this afternoon, while their discussions are expected to be concentrated on Cyprus' accession and developments concerning the Cyprus issue in view of the expected solution plan to be submitted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the new situation in Turkey.

On Friday, Mr. Simitis will be in Berlin where he will have discussions with Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder. The PM is being escorted by Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou who will have meetings with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany.

[11] MITSOTAKIS:TERRORISM I IS NOT ERADICATED

Terrorism in Greece has not yet been fully eradicated, according to honorary President of New Democracy and former Prime Minister Kosntantinos Mitsotakis, noting that the band of terrorists has not been completed with those awaiting trial in connection to November 17.

In an interview to Mega television channel last night, Mr. Mitsotakis appreciated that there are still terrorists at large, and he did not rule out the possibility of further terrorist strikes. He pointed out that he never claimed that PASOK was behind terrorism, but he foresaw that great damages would be done to the Simitis government if investigations continued in depth. This will show if the government wants to and can reach the full eradication of terrorism, and bear the political cost.

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