Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-06-10

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] JUST A BREATH AWAY

[02] THE KING OF NORWAY WILL BACK THESSALONIKI'S BID TO HOST EXPO 2008

[03] VOULGARAKIS: UNITED EFFORTS ARE NEEDED FOR SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC GAMES

[04] GREEK-NORWEGIAN COOPERATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

[05] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

[06] THE GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER AT THE FUNERAL OF RONALD REAGAN

[07] PRIME MINISTER KARAMANLIS MET WITH THE NATO SECRETARY GENERAL

[08] FIRST DATA CORP. PRESS RELEASE

[09] A 10 YEAROLD HAS 29 MEDALS IN GYMNASTICS

[10] THE OLYMPIC GAMES MAKE THE GREEK-AMERICANS PROUD

[01] JUST A BREATH AWAY

The Euro-elections are just a breath away as only two days are left before the end of the pre-election period and Sunday's vote.

PASOK and Coalition of the Left will hold their election rallies today in Athens and Thessaloniki respectively. New Democracy will hold its main pre-election rally in Athens tomorrow. The Communist Party held its pre-election rally in Athens yesterday.

The election results will be out after 11pm on Sunday evening according to an EU decision, while in Britain and Holland the Euro-elections are held today.

[02] THE KING OF NORWAY WILL BACK THESSALONIKI'S BID TO HOST EXPO 2008

King of Norway Harald the 5th speaking with Macedonia-Thrace Minister Nikos Tsiartsionis expressed his will to support Thessaloniki's bid to host the EXPO 2008 Exhibition. Mr. Tsiartsionis and Thessaloniki Prefect Panagiotis Psomiadis welcomed Norway's royal couple at Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport today.

Mr. Tsiartsionis stated that the EXPO 2008 issue was mentioned to the King of Norway and Norway's support was requested in December's vote that will decide which will be the EXPO 2008 host city.

Norway's royal couple left for Chalkidiki, northern Greece, where they will visit the Monastery of Annunciation in Ormilia. Later, they will visit the monastery's Cancer Diagnostic Center where an agreement will be signed with the Greek Ministry of Finance concerning the funding of cancer research.

[03] VOULGARAKIS: UNITED EFFORTS ARE NEEDED FOR SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC GAMES

Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis visited Kozani, northwestern Greece, within the framework of his tour of police agencies across the country. Mr. Voulgarakis was escorted by Greek Police Chief Fotis Nasiakos and Olympic Games security director Vasilis Konstantinidis.

The message Mr. Voulgarakis sent from Kozani was that security during the Olympic Games is an issue that concerns everybody. He said that united efforts and systematic work, vigilance and readiness, are necessary for successful Olympic Games.

The protection of the Greek-Albanian borders in view of the Olympic Games was discussed in the meeting Mr. Voulgarakis had with his Albanian counterpart Igli Toska at the border crossing of Kakavia yesterday evening.

Mr. Voulgarakis stated that Albania's contribution to the protection of the borders and the exploitation of information is very important for Greece especially, at this crucial period of the Olympic Games' preparations.

[04] GREEK-NORWEGIAN COOPERATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Businessmen from Greece and Norway want the expansion of the Greek-Norwegian cooperation in the sectors of the protection of the sea environment and meteorology.

Vasilis Stergiou, Commercial Adviser to Norway's embassy in Athens, stated within the framework of a conference in Thessaloniki on Environmental Challenges, organized on the occasion of the visit of Norway's royal couple to Greece, that cooperation began in 1998 from the National Sea Research Center with the program Posidon.

Mr. Stergiou stated that Greece acquired valuable experience from the Norwegian know-how on issues concerning sea environment protection and meteorology, while there was excellent cooperation between the two countries in the effort to balance sensitive ecosystems. A program is already promoted to monitor the quality of the waters of Thessaloniki's Thermaikos Bay.

Also, there are proposals that will be promoted to the Greek Ministry of Finance concerning the monitoring of the waters of rivers in northern Greece.

At the same time, a cooperation is expected to materialize soon between the Norwegian company Tomra and a supermarket chain in the recycling sector.

Referring to bilateral trade relations, he said that the trade balance is one to three against Greece.

Greece imports from Norway mainly fish and specifically, codfish and salmon (fresh and smoked) followed by imports of fertilizers and speedboats.

The presence of Norwegian companies in Greece is small and the most important is that of Jotun, a manufacturer and supplier of marine coatings.

[05] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

Small gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.18% at 2410.75 points, while the volume of transactions was at 106.6 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 109 had gains and 173 had losses, while the value of 104 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] THE GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER AT THE FUNERAL OF RONALD REAGAN

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Panagiotis Skandalakis, responsible for issues concerning the Greeks living abroad, departed for Washington at noon today to represent the Greek government in the funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan that will take place tomorrow.

Mr. Skandalakis will also visit New York where he will meet with leading members of the Greek-American community.

[07] PRIME MINISTER KARAMANLIS MET WITH THE NATO SECRETARY GENERAL

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos referred to the meeting Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis had with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and stated that they discussed issues concerning the Olympic Games. Mr. Scheffer expressed the certainty that the games will be very good and safe. They discussed Greece's request for NATO's assistance within the framework of efforts aimed at dealing with asymmetrical threats, as well as Greece's contribution to the economic reconstruction of Iraq.

Mr. Karamanlis and Mr. Scheffer also discussed the preparation of the NATO Summit meeting to take place at the end of the month in Istanbul, the situation in the Balkans on which they agreed that things have improved in terms of stability mostly because of the Euro-Atlantic course of the countries in the region, while they also referred to the problems in Kosovo.

Among the issues to be examined in the NATO Summit meeting in Istanbul will be developments in Afghanistan, the NATO-EU relation, the NATO-Russia relations and the Mediterranean dialogue, namely NATO's relations with Arab countries.

Responding to a question on the statement made by the minister of Defense, who allegedly left open the likelihood of sending Greek troops to Iraq after the Olympics, Mr. Rousopoulos stated that the statements made by Mr. Spiliotopoulos were misinterpreted. He said that nobody has requested from Greece to send military forces to Iraq. There is no such thought, stated Mr. Rousopoulos.

Mr. Rousopoulos cited a statement made by US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who has stated that no new troops is necessary to be sent to Iraq and that the policy of the United States is to train and use Iraqi forces in the effort to consolidate peace in the region.

[08] FIRST DATA CORP. PRESS RELEASE

First Data Corp. to Acquire Payment Processing and Outsourcing Unit from Delta Singular S.A.

¾ First Data Secures Long Term Relationship with Alpha Bank ¾

¾ Deal Heralds the Entry of Leading Global Payments Provider to Greece and Southeastern Europe ¾

DENVER, June 10, 2004 First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Delta Singular Outsourcing Services S.A. (DSOS), the payment processing and outsourcing division and fully owned subsidiary of Delta Singular S.A., a leading technology company in Greece.

Serving financial institutions and major corporations in Greece, the Middle East and the Balkans, DSOS provides payment processing and outsourcing services, including card processing, ATM and Point of Sale (POS) driving and call center support.

Through the acquisition of DSOS, First Data has secured a long-term agreement to provide payment processing and related services to Alpha Bank, currently DSOS's largest client. Alpha Bank is the second largest private commercial bank in Greece, the largest issuer of Visa cards and the exclusive issuer of American Express cards in Greece.

The addition of DSOS to First Data is clearly a strategic fit and establishes a solid presence for us in Greece and southeastern Europe, said Pam Patsley, president of First Data International. It supports our focus on global growth, brings complementary core competencies in electronic payments processing and a long-term relationship with Alpha Bank.

The acquisition will create additional opportunities for clients in the Greek, European and Middle Eastern markets and enable expansion of a variety of payments services, including credit and debit POS processing, deployment of merchant ATMs, cheque authorisation and money transfers in this region.

The transaction remains subject to Delta Singular shareholder approval, First Data board approval, regulatory approval and other closing conditions. Subject to those approvals First Data anticipates closing the transaction in the third quarter of 2004. J.P. Morgan is advising First Data and Credit Suisse First Boston and Alpha Finance are advising Delta Singular on this transaction.

About First Data

First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado (U.S.A.), helps power the global economy. As a worldwide leader in electronic commerce and payment services, First Data provides credit, debit, smart card and stored-value card issuing and merchant transaction processing services; Internet commerce solutions; and cheque processing and verification services to financial institutions in more than 70 countries on six continents. Its Western Union and Orlandi Valuta money transfer networks include approximately 188,000 agent locations in more than 195 countries and territories. With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, First Data has offices throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and North America. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.firstdata.com.

About Delta Singular S.A.

DELTA SINGULAR is a leading Group of companies in the Greek Information Technology sector, formed in 2001 through the merger of two of the largest IT companies in Greece, SINGULAR S.A. and DELTA INFORMATICS S.A. Providing state-of-the-art software products, as well as integrated systems and IT outsourcing services to the Greek private and public sectors, the DELTA SINGULAR Group aims at establishing long-term relationships with clients in order to become their strategic partner as far as Information Technology is concerned. SINGULAR's contribution to the combined entity is comprised of its leading market position and technical superiority in software development and distribution, as well as a strong systems integration division, Internet and e-commerce expertise, an extensive and reliable business partner network and international exposure. DELTA Informatics brings invaluable experience in the credit card services market and the Banking sector in general, as well as reliability and trustworthiness in services outsourcing, such as card processing, ATM switching and sharing and EDP services provision. The activities of each company were completely complimentary to each other, prior to the merger.

[09] A 10 YEAROLD HAS 29 MEDALS IN GYMNASTICS

A ten-year-old from Thessaloniki has a total of 29 medals in gymnastics, 14 gold, 13 silver and 2 bronze.

Michalis Hussein is a fourth grade elementary school student and according to the Thessaloniki newspaper Angelioforos, for the past 4,5 years he is a gymnastics athlete and participates in competitions held in Greece.

His parents, his Greek mother and Iraqi father, are always on his side encouraging and supporting him. His dream is some day to be able to compete in an Olympiad.

[10] THE OLYMPIC GAMES MAKE THE GREEK-AMERICANS PROUD

The 3rd Annual Conference organized by the Hellenic-American Heritage Council in cooperation with the US Chamber of Commerce aimed at promoting business transactions between Greece and the United States has ended in Washington.

The conference examined activities that could strengthen the Greek-US relations even more. During the conference many delegates maintained that the Olympic Games could be a source of pride for the second and third generation Greek-Americans.

The delegates honored Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyianni who is on a visit to the United States within the framework of her tour for the promotion of the Olympic Games in Athens in August. Mrs. Bakoyianni was honored with a special prize in recognition of her outstanding life-long efforts for the strengthening of the Greek-US relations.

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article