Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-03-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE SOUTH OF CRETE

[02] IRAKLIS' SHIELD AND NATO FOR THE OLYMPICS

[03] REQUEST TO NATO

[04] OLYMPIC CONFRONTATION

[05] BORZOV'S VISIT TO THESSALONIKI

[06] NATO ACCEPTED UNANIMOUSLY GREECE'S REQUEST

[07] REPRESENTATIVES OF 23 SE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES IN THESSALONIKI

[08] THE DEUTSCHE BANK EXCELLENCE AWARD WENT TO THE BANK OF PIRAEUS

[09] GAINS IN THE ASE

[10] MOTHER AT THE AGE OF 12

[11] TOOTH FOUND IN A CHOCOLATE BAR

[12] NEW ADMINISTRATION IN THE GSEE

[01] POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE SOUTH OF CRETE

A 6.3 Richter earthquake that was felt in Athens was recorded shortly after 7 this morning. According to initial information, the quakes epicenter was located at a great focal depth south of Chania, Crete, approximately 330 km south of Athens. There is no more information on the earthquake, but no damages or injuries have been reported so far. The earthquake was felt quite intensely and many Cretans took to the streets. Schools on the island are continuing classes normally.

[02] IRAKLIS' SHIELD AND NATO FOR THE OLYMPICS

The security of the Olympics, in the light of the first conclusions from the Aspis Irakleous 2004 drill, was the main topic of discussion at the first meeting of the Coordinative Council for Olympic Security, which was presided over by Minister of Public Order G. Voulgarakis and the participation of 9 relevant ministries and the President of Athens 2004 Gianna Aggelopoulou. Brussels replied positively to Greece's request for NATO's participation in the Security of the Olympics. The Coalition is opposed to the participation.

[03] REQUEST TO NATO

A Greek request for NATO's contribution is being discussed today by the permanent members of the North Atlantic Treaty in Brussels. Today's agenda includes issues related to the operational action plan, means disposal, and the general reform of NATO's presence in the Mediterranean. NATO announced that it is generally extending all its actions in the Mediterranean basin, as they were re-planned about a month after September 11, 2001. On Friday, there is an emergency meeting in Brussels of the Council of Ministers of Justice and the Interior of the EU.

[04] OLYMPIC CONFRONTATION

A confrontation broke out between the government and PASOK regarding the progress in the materialization of the Olympic works. Minister of the Environment, Planning and Public Works, Mr. Giorgos Souflias, spoke of significant delays in certain works, accused the previous government and caused the immediate reaction of former Minister of the Environment Ms. Vaso Papandreou. Alternate Minister of Culture Fani Palli-Petralia will meet with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on the issue, while on its side, PASOK will give information in a press conference held by Minister of Culture Ev. Venizelos.

[05] BORZOV'S VISIT TO THESSALONIKI

The issue of the security of the Olympic Games was and continues to be a very serious issue, stated to Macedonian Press Agency Valeri Borzov, a legend of track and field, International Olympic Committee member and Ukrainian Parliament deputy. Mr. Borzov visited Thessaloniki to receive an award by Thessaloniki mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos.

Commenting on the tragic events in Madrid, he stated that the last three Olympic Games were characterized by sad events and added that he is very sorry because some try to turn the Olympics into an arena for their own extreme beliefs. Speaking as Ukraine's representative in the IOC expressed optimism regarding the Athens Olympic Games and stressed that they will be an expression of peace and friendship for all peoples.

Responding to a question on doping, the major issue of modern sports, Mr. Borzov, who was the fastest man in the world for 8 years, said that the problem of doping does not concern as much the countries as it does the athletes themselves.

Asked about the secret that allowed him to leave behind the US sprinters, he said that it happened thanks to his genes and hard practice.

[06] NATO ACCEPTED UNANIMOUSLY GREECE'S REQUEST

NATO's permanent representatives in Brussels accepted unanimously Greece's request for the alliance's assistance in the security of the Olympic Games in Athens.

According to NATO sources, the procedure followed was short and was held in an absolutely positive atmosphere.

On Greece's part, permanent representative Yiannis Zepos thanked for NATO's assistance and stressed that these will be supplementary measures as a huge effort has already been made at national level in the sector of security.

For the record, the Greek request concerns the coverage of the national airspace by NATO airborne radar stations AWACS, the coverage of the sea region by NATO ships and the full alert of the Czech Republic-based biochemical warfare battalion.

[07] REPRESENTATIVES OF 23 SE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES IN THESSALONIKI

Representatives of 23 universities in southeastern Europe will be in Thessaloniki on March 19 on the occasion of the Association of South Eastern Europe Economic Universities (ASECU) general assembly meeting.

In the general assembly meeting will participate representatives from universities in Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania and Serbia-Montenegro. Members of the association are also universities from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey.

[08] THE DEUTSCHE BANK EXCELLENCE AWARD WENT TO THE BANK OF PIRAEUS

The Bank of Piraeus was honored by the German Deutsche Bank for the quality of its payments around the world. The bank received the Straight-Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award.

According to a statement, the Bank of Piraeus is the first Greek bank honored by the Deutsche Bank with the specific award. The award was given to only one bank in each European country.

[09] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.62% at 2396.92 points, while the volume of transactions was at 125.5 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 155 had gains and 137 had losses, while the value of 102 stocks remained unchanged.

[10] MOTHER AT THE AGE OF 12

The local community in the prefecture of Rodopi, northeastern Greece, is in shock after hearing about the case of a 12yearold girl who gave birth to a baby-girl at the Komotini Hospital Maternity Clinic last Sunday.

According to the Thessaloniki newspaper Angelioforos, the 12yearold gypsy girl was married a year ago and shortly afterwards she got divorced, while during her pregnancy she was taken care of by her mother without the supervision of a doctor.

Her drama was unveiled last Sunday when she was rushed to the Komotini Hospital to give birth to a healthy baby-girl. It is characterized as a most unusual case both in medical and social terms.

[11] TOOTH FOUND IN A CHOCOLATE BAR

A lawyer from Iraklion, Crete in southern Greece appealed to the Greek justice after he found a tooth in a chocolate bar. The lawyer, Mr. Tzevabinas appears determined to claim compensation from the chocolate company.

Mr. Tzevabinas stated to the state-run Greek Radio Station, ERA, in Iraklion that initially he sent the finding to the responsible food control agency and then to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for laboratory tests.

It was established that the chocolate bar included a tooth that came from a mammal, possibly a human and most likely an elderly one.

[12] NEW ADMINISTRATION IN THE GSEE

The works of the 32nd conference of the GSEE, which will elect a new administration for the Confederation, begin today. The main topics of the conference will be the issues of unemployment and the decrease of working time, as well as the 24-hour strike that had been called before the elections on March 31. In a press conference, outgoing President Christos Polyzogopoulos pointed out that salary increases will be focused on through the signing of a satisfactory collective work contract.

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