Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-08-04

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] READY AND OPTIMISTIC

[02] THE GREEK OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TEAM WILL CARRY THE OLYMPIC FLAME

[03] BIG LOSSES IN THE ASE

[04] THE OLYMPIC FLAME IN WESTERN GREECE

[05] AT LEAST 4 BILLION PEOPLE WILL WATCH THE ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

[06] FORMAL INQUIRY ON THE ALLEGATIONS BY MEXICAN JOURNALISTS

[07] STRONG EARTHQUAKE NEAR THE ISLAND OF KOS

[01] READY AND OPTIMISTIC

We, the Greeks, will send our own message to the world, a message of peace and brotherhood, competition and cooperation, humanism and culture. We will send our message on the abilities of our country and our people in the new era, stated Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis after visiting the Olympic Stadium in Athens yesterday.

We are more than ready for this and we are optimistic for the Olympic Games, stated Mr. Karamanlis assuring that the Olympic venues and Athens' infrastructure as well as that of the other Olympic cities is ready to welcome, host and facilitate the members of the Olympic family, the athletes, journalists and of course, the many visitors from all over the world.

Mr. Karamanlis visited the Olympic Stadium accompanied by Deputy Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia and Athens 2004 Organizing Committee President Yianna Angelopoulou-Daskalakis.

[02] THE GREEK OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TEAM WILL CARRY THE OLYMPIC FLAME

The military helicopter with the Olympic Flame travels to western Greece today.

From Delphi it will visit the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos with stopovers at Amfissa, Itea, Galaxidi and Nafpaktos.

The Olympic Torch Relay got underway at Delphi early this morning. The first torchbearers got their uniforms and torches at 6 am and two hours later the procession moved toward Amfissa.

The Greek Olympic football team will cross the Rio-Antirion Bridge carrying the Olympic Flame.

[03] BIG LOSSES IN THE ASE

Big losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -1.44% at 2296.65 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 97.2 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 70 had gains and 229 had losses, while the value of 104 stocks remained unchanged.

[04] THE OLYMPIC FLAME IN WESTERN GREECE

The Olympic Flame continues its journey today traveling in Western Greece, along the shores of the Gulf of Corinth and by the Ionian Sea. Having been given a send-off at Delphi with the verses of the poet Sikelianos, it makes its way towards Zakynthos of the poets Solomos and Kalvos.

There will be stopovers on the Flame's itinerary at Amfissa, Itea, Galaxidi and Nafpaktos, where a Chinook helicopter will be waiting to carry the Torch party to Zakynthos. Today's course will meander through the shadows of pine and olive.

The Relay made an early start. The first Torchbearers received their uniforms and Torches at six in the morning, in the school at Delphi. Two hours later, the procession was en route downhill for Amfissa.

Amfissa, in the heart of Roumeli, town of fine olives, town of legend and folklore! It greeted the Flame with dancing, to the music of the local philharmonic band. Four Olympic priestesses were in wait at the altar for the last Torchbearer, teacher Giannis Markodimos, who also plays Football for the local club. This honor is not directed at me, he said modestly. There are many people in this town worthy of carrying the Flame. One of the high moments that sport can offer is running with the Olympic flame.

Thousands of residents and visitors to the town watched the Torch Relay. At times the crowd's reaction was overwhelming. Mayor Nikos Fousekis welcomed (in his own words) the Greek Olympic Flame, heart and soul of the Modern Greek Games, of our Games, the Games of Athens and Greece. Wedded yesterday to the sunlight of Delphian Apollo, and refreshed by the clean air of Parnassus, the Flame is here at Amfissa, deep in the Roumeli, to send a message of the new Greek miracle.

The Flame's next stop is at Itea. Then follow Galaxidi and Nafpaktos, the latter is the last stopover in mainland Greece before the Torch flies to Zakynthos, for its overnight ceremony. The festivities on the Ionian island will end with a concert by Vasilis Papakonstantinou in Solomou Square.

Today's course is 124.6 kilometres long, and 201 Torchbearers are taking part.

[05] AT LEAST 4 BILLION PEOPLE WILL WATCH THE ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

An estimated 4 billion people will watch at least once an Athens Olympic Games television broadcast. In the coverage of the games will be involved more than 200 television channels from an equal number of countries.

For the record, according to the Reuters news agency, the television rights paid to the International Olympic Committee are estimated at 1.5 billion euros.

Meanwhile, according to a research conducted by the polling company Focus in Athens and Thessaloniki and published on the Athens newspaper TO VIMA, 8 out of ten Greeks will watch the games.

The most popular sports that people will watch either on television or in the stadiums are track and field, weightlifting, basketball and football.

[06] FORMAL INQUIRY ON THE ALLEGATIONS BY MEXICAN JOURNALISTS

A formal inquiry will take place concerning the allegations coming from three Mexican journalists who maintain that they were beaten up at the Port of Piraeus by uniformed special forces' officers of the Coastguard.

A short while afterwards other 4 Mexicans, two reporters and two cameramen, were arrested when they were spotted outside the Tatoi Airport filming the area. The officers guarding the region arrested them because they got the impression that they were filming the "Patriot" missiles batteries deployed there. The four were released as soon as they were identified.

[07] STRONG EARTHQUAKE NEAR THE ISLAND OF KOS

A strong earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale was recorded at 6:01 am this morning and its epicenter was located at Keramikos Bay between the southeastern Aegean island of Kos and the Turkish coasts.

The earthquake was felt in Kos, other islands in the region and the Asia Minor coasts in Turkey causing no material damage or victims.

Yesterday afternoon, at 4:40 pm an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook the region. According to Turkish seismologists, the earthquake was measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale.

The region displays high seismic activity and it is not normal to have two strong earthquakes in such a short period of time, stated the seismologists.

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