Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-09-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE ENJOYS THE FULL CONFIDENCE OF THE PRIME

[02] GREECE CONTINUES THE EFFORTS FOR A SEAT IN THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL AS A

[03] DAY WITHOUT CARS

[04] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS MET WITH THE IPC PRESIDENT

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[06] MEIMARAKIS: CONSENSUS IN THE ELECTION OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC

[07] THE PROSECUTORS CALLED KENTERIS AND THANOU AGAIN FOR QUESTIONING

[08] GREECE OCCUPIES THE 24TH PLACE IN THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

[09] THE EU PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION PRESIDENT MET WITH THE FYROM AMBASSADOR

[10] OPTIMISM BY THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER ON GREECE'S BID TO THE UN

[01] THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE ENJOYS THE FULL CONFIDENCE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

There is no problem with Minister of Defense Spilios Spiliotopoulos, stated government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos when asked to comment whether the Defense Minister enjoys the confidence of the Prime Minister.

Responding to another question, Mr. Rousopoulos reiterated the statement made by Minister of Defense according to which, military aircraft received in 2003 were not mentioned in the budget.

Meanwhile, the visit of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to the house of former Prime Minister Georgios Rallis was characterized as ceremonial.

[02] GREECE CONTINUES THE EFFORTS FOR A SEAT IN THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL AS A NON-PERMANENT MEMBER

Greece's bid for a seat in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member is being promoted by Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis in the UN General Assembly meeting underway in the UN headquarters in New York.

Germany's bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council is being promoted by German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has included the UN Security Council enlargement in the reform of the international organization, which is being prepared by a special working team.

Mr. Moliviatis, who is accompanied by Deputy Foreign Ministers Valinakis and Stilianidis, has contacts with a number of Foreign Ministers from different countries.

For the record, on August 26, 2003 Greece received the support of the Western European and Other Countries Group (WEOC) in the UN to its bid to occupy one of the 10 non-permanent member seats in the UN Security Council for the period 2005-2006.

The vote for the election of the new non-permanent members will take place within the framework of the 59th UN General Assembly on October 15, 2004.

[03] DAY WITHOUT CARS

Events on the occasion of the European Day without a Car are being held across Europe.

Commuters will be able to use pubic transportation for free during the morning in Athens and during the afternoon in Thessaloniki.

The city of Thessaloniki occupies the top place regarding the number of new private cars not only in Greece but across the European Union as well, according to Central Macedonia Region general secretary Giorgos Tsiotras.

This year, there are no restrictions in the use of private cars on the occasion of the European Day without a Car.

[04] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS MET WITH THE IPC PRESIDENT

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Phil Craven met with Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos today.

Mr. Stephanopoulos expressed his interest in the success of the 12th Paralympic Games in Athens and Mr. Craven praised the excellent way in which the games are organized.

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.18% at 2362.18 points, while the volume of transactions was at 105,3 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 79 had gains and 170 had losses, while the value of 154 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] MEIMARAKIS: CONSENSUS IN THE ELECTION OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC PRESIDENT

Party of New Democracy Central Committee Secretary Vangelis Meimarakis expressed the belief that there will be a consensus in the election of the new Hellenic Republic President to avoid leading the country again to parliamentary elections. He made the statement after the meeting he had with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

Mr. Meimarakis said that the Greek Constitution provides for broad consensus in the election of the Greek President who is a national symbol.

[07] THE PROSECUTORS CALLED KENTERIS AND THANOU AGAIN FOR QUESTIONING

The two sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou will be summoned for questioning again tomorrow this time as suspects of obstructing anti-doping control and not as witnesses.

The two prosecutors investigating the case decided to summon again the two athletes for questioning. Based on the evidence so far, there are gaps and inconsistencies regarding the events that took place on August 12 from the moment Kenteris and Thanou left the Olympic Village until the motorcycle accident they were involved in.

Also, the eyewitness, who brought Kenteris and Thanou to the hospital, will be called to testify as a suspect in the case.

The questioning of witnesses on the anti-doping case is expected to be complete on Monday, September 27 and the prosecutors will begin preparing their report.

[08] GREECE OCCUPIES THE 24TH PLACE IN THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

Greece occupies the 24th place on the list with the countries that have won medals in the 12th Paralympic Games in Athens.

Until today, the fifth day of the games, Greece has won a total of 7 medals (1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze).

China tops the list with 61 medals (21 gold, 23 silver, 17 bronze), followed by Germany with 38 (9 gold, 11 silver, 18 bronze), Britain with 35 (15 gold, 9 silver, 11 bronze), France with 32 (10 gold, 11 silver, 11 bronze) and Spain with 29 (9 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze).

[09] THE EU PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION PRESIDENT MET WITH THE FYROM AMBASSADOR TO BRUSSELS

Greek Euro-deputy elected with the governing party of New Democracy and President of the EU Parliamentary Delegation on FYROM professor Georgios Papastamkos met with FYROM ambassador to Brussels Sasko Stevkov after the meeting of the Presidents of the Euro-parliament Parliamentary Delegations.

The meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere and concerned the organizational aspects of the Joint Parliamentary Committee proceedings.

After the meeting, Mr. Papastamkos stated that he will contribute to the efforts aimed at bringing the EU-FYROM relations to higher stages of cooperation. He also stressed that institutional security, democratic environment, political stability and a viable macro-economic framework, constitute the necessary criteria for FYROM's European orientation.

[10] OPTIMISM BY THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER ON GREECE'S BID TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Greek Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis expressed optimism regarding Greece's bid for a seat in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member in the period of 2005-2006 given the fact that the overall atmosphere appears to be favorable for the Greek candidacy.

The optimism expressed by Mr. Moliviatis stems from the contacts the Greek Foreign Ministry leadership had in New York. A decision will be reached on October 15.

Meanwhile, Mr. Moliviatis had a very constructive meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. They discussed the Cyprus issue and issues of mutual interest such as, the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, while Mr. Moliviatis asked for Russia's support to Thessaloniki's bid to host the EXPO 2008 International Exhibition.

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