Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-08-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] THE THRILLER WITH KEDERIS AND THANOU CONTINUES

[02] THE OLYMPIC FLAME IN ATHENS

[03] WONDERFUL GAMES

[04] THE POPE WISHED FOR BROTHERHOOD AMONG THE PEOPLES

[05] OVER 4 BILLION TELEVISION VIEWERS WILL WATCH THE OPENING CEREMONY

[06] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE MEETINGS OF THE PRIME MINISTER

[07] CONDOLENCES BY THE GREEK GOVERNMENT FOR THE DEATH OF THE CHINESE

[08] THE FOREIGN LEADERS AT THE PRESIDENTIAL BUILDING

[09] KEDERIS AND THANOU TO THE IOC DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION

[10] VOULGARAKIS THREATENS WITH DEPORTATIONS

[01] THE THRILLER WITH KEDERIS AND THANOU CONTINUES

Greek athletes Konstantinos Kederis and Ekaterini Thanou were summoned to appear before the IOC's Disciplinary Commission today at 12:30 and 13:00, respectively.

IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge said this morning that following the Disciplinary Commission's findings, the IOC's Executive Board will decide on the matter.

Kederis and Thanou remain in the KAT hospital after suffering injuries in a road accident last night. It is unclear at this time whether the two Greek athletes will be able to appear before the Disciplinary Commission.

According to medical sources, the two Greek athletes have suffered cuts and bruises on their arms and legs and need to remain in hospital and therefore, it is unlikely for them to be able to attend the Disciplinary Commission's hearing on their alleged anti-doping violation. 

Kederis has suffered a neck brace, while Thanou is weak and has dizzy spells.

An official medical report by the KAT Hospital administration was expected around 1 pm today.

[02] THE OLYMPIC FLAME IN ATHENS

The Olympic Flame will pass northwards today through the center of Athens as it moves inexorably towards the Olympic Stadium. It will pass two important civic focal points, the Presidential Palace and the Megaron Maximou. It will continue uphill towards Nea Philadelphia and Nea Ionia, before coming out on Kifisias Avenue. It will travel for a little distance along the new Attiki Odos Motorway to make its arrival at the Olympic Stadium a little while before the Opening Ceremony starts.

Among the Torchbearers are: Babis Cholidis, Leonidas Kokas, Nikos Economou, Ibrahim Kutluay, Petros Kostopoulos, Carmen Ruggieri, the sculptor Vasiliki, G. Dalaras. D. Savvopoulos, A. Fasianos, Sakis Rouvas, Naomi Campbell, Christoforos Papakaliatis, Klauss Ohrmann, Angelos Pavlakakis, and Sonia Theodoridou. 

The Olympic Flame remained overnight on the sacred rock of the Acropolis, lighting the capital just a day before it lights the whole world. Carl Lewis surrendered the torch to Niki Bakoyanni, last Torchbearer, and the most powerful symbol of Olympism met with the most important monument of human civilization. This was a solemn moment, greeted with awe by those who witnessed it. The City of Athens Philharmonic Band played the Olympic Hymn and the Greek national anthem and the Olympic flag was hoisted beside the Greek flag. There were then short addresses by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, the Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyanni, HOC President Lambis Nikolaou, and ATHENS 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki. The guests then descended to the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, where some 4,500 people heard a concert by the Orchestra of Patras, conducted by Alexandros Murat, with Dimitris Sgouros as piano soloist.

This was the penultimate day of the Global Torch Relay, which linked eleven thousand people in a once-in-a-lifetime human chain. It began early in the morning yesterday at Piraeus as the relay took an easterly direction to Sounio, passing through the municipalities of Rentis, Tavros, Kallithea, and Nea Smyrni. Images from the procession were again overwhelming and full of spontaneous displays of good wishes. An enthusiastic crowd of thousands of people thronged around the Torchbearers. The course of the relay was strewn with olive branches and rose petals, while city authorities had prepared short theatre events with an Olympic theme. The procession continued along coastal Poseidonos Avenue, where US Ambassador Thomas Miller ran with the Olympic Torch. I feel fine, it's a great honour, I thank everyone. I hope that the Games will be wonderful, will be quite safe, he said. 

Singer Katy Garbi also ran on the coast road. I'm proud and very moved, it was unbelievable that I carried the Olympic Flame even for a few meters, she said. The procession passed through eastern coastal suburbs of Athens and halted at the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio at noon. There, weightlifting athlete Valerios Leonidis passed the torch to actress Mimi Denisi. They both made no effort to conceal their emotion at carrying the 2004 Athens Torch.

The Flame continued its journey across Attica, passing through Lavrio, Koropi, Argyroupoli, Ilioupoli, and Vyronas, to enter the City of Athens. The Torchbearers ran along Dionysiou Areopagitou Street and the Flame was passed to Carl Lewis, one of the greatest athletes of all time, with Niki Bakogianni closing the chain of 243 people to handle the torch.

[03] WONDERFUL GAMES

We are certain that we will experience wonderful games, stated International Olympic Committee, IOC, President Jacques Rogge after the meeting of the IOC's Executive Board and while billions of people around the world wait for the opening ceremony of the 28th Olympic Games which will be launched in a few hours at 8:30 pm and is expected to be very impressive.

According to information, the night will be spectacular and the ceremony will be unprecedented. A total of 70,000 spectators will be in the Olympic Stadium, while in the actual ceremony will participate 4,000 volunteers and 8,000 of the spectators.

Greece is more than ready for the great moment of the Olympic Games, pointed out Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis in his speech at the Acropolis last night during the ceremony for the arrival of the Olympic Flame. He stated that the Olympic Flame after its journey around the world it returned to Athens, the host city of the Olympic Games. Greece welcomes the Olympic Flame at the Holy Rock of the Acropolis honoring everything that the Flame symbolizes, fair play, harmony and humanism, stressed the Prime Minister.

[04] THE POPE WISHED FOR BROTHERHOOD AMONG THE PEOPLES

Pope John-Paul B' sent a message to President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos before the opening of the Olympic Games this evening.

In his message the Pontiff expresses the wish that the Olympic Games based on the Olympic Truce spirit will constitute an opportunity for brotherhood among peoples and civilizations, because sports is an ecumenical dialect for human relations that creates a family spirit and helps overcome the violence that marks modern world.

[05] OVER 4 BILLION TELEVISION VIEWERS WILL WATCH THE OPENING CEREMONY

Athens' Olympic Stadium will host the Olympic Games opening extravaganza this evening in front of 72,000 spectators and an estimated global audience of over four billion people.

Over 4 billion television viewers are expected to watch the opening ceremony and according to all indications, it will be spectacular with great surprises in harmony with the Olympic ideals and representative of the past, present and future of Greece.

Up to 9,000 artists will entertain the world in a kaleidoscope of light, special effects and pyrotechnics before International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge declares the Games open.

The ceremonies will tell the world a very ancient story, using contemporary techniques, said ceremony organizer Dimitris Papaioannou. They will present a dream show inspired by Greek history and art, but approached from a modern perspective and using the latest technology.

The ceremony directors appear ready to present a unique extravaganza. The opening ceremony of the 28th Olympic Games will begin at 8:45 pm and will be broadcast by the three television channels of the state-run ERT network, while it will be covered by over 200 foreign television channels.

Those channels represent a total of 21 television networks and radio-television organizations, which have secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the games.

For the record, the American NBC will broadcast a total of 1,200 hours of sports events many times more compared to the last five Olympic Games.

[06] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE MEETINGS OF THE PRIME MINISTER

There is no agenda for the meetings Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis will have with his counterparts from Britain and Turkey, Tony Blair and Recep Tayyip Erdogan respectively, stated Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos saying that the meetings will be of ceremonial nature within the framework of the foreign leaders' arrival in Athens on the occasion of the Olympic Games.

Asked to comment if the Prime Minister will raise the issue of the airspace violations to his Turkish counterpart, Mr. Rousopoulos stated characteristically that the Olympic diplomacy is exercised mostly in the stadiums and less in the offices of the Prime Ministers.

Called to comment on a Turkish newspaper report according to which, the Greek Prime Minister will have a short vacation in Turkey as the guest of his Turkish counterpart he stated that the Prime Minister, like the whole Greek government, has no vacations this year.

[07] CONDOLENCES BY THE GREEK GOVERNMENT FOR THE DEATH OF THE CHINESE CAMERAMAN

Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos extended the condolences of the Greek government to the family of the 47-yearold Chinese cameraman who died today while covering the Olympic Torch Relay at the center of Athens.

According to information, he had fainted a little after 9 am this morning and immediately he was rushed to Evangelismos Hospital where the doctors concluded that he was dead. Based on initial information, he had a heart problem.

[08] THE FOREIGN LEADERS AT THE PRESIDENTIAL BUILDING

Hellenic Republic President Kostis Stephanopoulos welcomed the foreign leaders at the formal reception he gave in their honor at the Presidential Building today and wished them to enjoy the games and the Greek hospitality.

Present in the reception were heads of states, prime ministers, monarchs, members of the IOC and leading politicians from all over the world who came to the Greek capital for the Olympic Games.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge expressed the gratitude of the IOC to the Greek people for their contribution to the organizing of the Olympic Games and the confidence of the IOC in the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee.

[09] KEDERIS AND THANOU TO THE IOC DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION

Kostas Kederis and Katerina Thanou will appear before the IOC Disciplinary Commission on Monday because, according to the doctors at KAT Hospital in Athens, they must remain hospitalized for another 48 hours after the traffic accident they had last night.

The athletes have a right to be regarded as innocent until proven the opposite, said IOC President Jacques Rogge referring to the alleged anti-doping violation by Kederis and Thanou. The two were called to appear before the IOC Commission because they did not respond to an invitation for drug control tests yesterday.

Greek Olympic Team President Yiannis Papadoyiannakis appeared today before the IOC Disciplinary Commission representing Kostas Kederis and Katerina Thanou. He offered explanations on the case and requested and received 48 hours for the two athletes to appear before the Commission and explain the reasons why they did not undergo drug control tests.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is briefed continuously on the issue and waits for the International Olympic Committee decisions, stated government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos, adding that the situation is not pleasant.

[10] VOULGARAKIS THREATENS WITH DEPORTATIONS

A demarche was issued by the Greek Foreign Ministry to the foreign embassies in Greece requesting to convey to the journalists of their countries a message underlining that they have to follow the rules enacted for the safety of the games. The move was made while the incidents caused by foreign journalists continue as in their effort for a scoop they try to create problems in the security of the Games.

Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis was infuriated especially after the incident involving the three Chinese journalists who were caught videotaping batteries of Patriot missiles.

I have proposed tough measures. I have proposed that they should leave all together. We have not denied to anybody to see anything they want, but we should be informed first, stated Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis.

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