Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-09-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] EVANGELOS BASIAKOS IS THE NEW MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

[02] PRAISING COMMENTS BY THE US PRESIDENT ON THE ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

[03] KAKLAMANIS CONTRADICTS KENTERIS AND THANOU

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE ECONOMY

[05] ROUSOPOULOS: THE TWO CASES ARE NOT RELATED

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[07] GREECE IS AT THE 26TH PLACE

[08] THE 1ST WORLD CONGRESS OF NEWS AGENCIES OPENS IN MOSCOW

[01] EVANGELOS BASIAKOS IS THE NEW MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

I am certain that Savvas Tsitouridis will stand by our side in the process, stated new Minister of Agricultural Development Evangelos Basiakos while taking over the post from Mr. Tsitouridis who submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister yesterday for reasons of sensitivity.

The problem that led to the resignation of Mr. Tsitouridis was the transfer of his son from the University of Crete to Pantion University in Athens. PASOK Parliament Deputy Sylvana Rapti brought the issue to the Greek Parliament yesterday. In a question addressed to the Ministers of Education and Public Order, the PASOK Parliament deputy maintained that this was a moral issue given the fact that the student cited reasons of security because his father was a government minister and because the Olympic Games were about to open in Greece.

Mr. Tsitouridis thanked the political world for the support to the efforts he made.

In a government statement it is stressed that Mr. Tsitouridis in his short term in the Ministry of Agricultural Development did a great job.

No new Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development was appointed.

The resignation cannot cover the problems in the way the government and its Ministers function, commented opposition party of PASOK.

[02] PRAISING COMMENTS BY THE US PRESIDENT ON THE ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

US President George Bush expressed satisfaction for the success of the Athens Olympic Games during the brief discussion he had with Greek Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis yesterday in the reception given in honor of the heads of the delegations participating in the 59th UN General Assembly.

The US President praised Greece and made a special reference to what his father, former US President George Bush Senior, and his two daughters told him after visiting Greece where they watched the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Mr. Bush asked Mr. Moliviatis to convey his warm greetings to Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, expressing his personal satisfaction because the Olympic Games were organized in a safe environment creating excellent impressions.

[03] KAKLAMANIS CONTRADICTS KENTERIS AND THANOU

The statement by the lawyer of Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou according to which, the first statement issued by the KAT Hospital doctors on their treatment had the approval of the Ministry of Health coordinating council caused the reaction of Minister of Health Nikitas Kaklamanis.

Mr. Kaklamanis stated that the coordinating council simply received the statement and channeled it to the Zappeion Press Center given the fact that the hospitals do not have press offices.

The two athletes will appear before the two prosecutors, who investigate the anti-doping case, on Monday, September 27. They will testify as suspects of obstructing anti-doping control and present their own version of the case with a memo through their lawyer.

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE ECONOMY

Minister of Finance Giorgos Alogoskoufis told the truth yesterday about the 45 Phantom jets purchased by the previous government when he said that they were not included in the budget, stated government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos, while he also presented the EUROSTAT fiscal report figures which includes important deviations.

He stated that in the year 2000, the recorded deficit was at 2% of the GDP but in reality it was at 4.1%. In 2003, the recorded deficit was at 1.7% of the GDP but in reality it was at 4.6%. In 2004, the deficit was recorded at 1.2% of the GDP but in reality it is estimated to reach 5.3%.

In 2000, public debt was defined at 106.2% of the GDP, while based on the economic control reports it was at 114% of the GDP. In 2003, it was defined at 102.4% of the GDP but it was shown to be at 109.9% of the GDP. In 2004, the public debt was defined at 97.7% of the GDP, while it is expected to be at 112.1% of the GDP.

Mr. Rousopoulos stated that the deficit was hidden by avoiding registering military spending or by factitiously inflating surplus in the Social Security Organizations, the so-called white hole.

Mr. Rousopoulos stated that in the period 2000-2003 the government of PASOK concealed a total of 20.9 billion euros of public debt.

[05] ROUSOPOULOS: THE TWO CASES ARE NOT RELATED

The two cases, the one concerning the Chinook helicopter crash and the resignation of Agricultural Development Minister Savvas Tsitouridis, are not related, stated government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos.

Mr. Rousopoulos cited the statements made by Mr. Tsitouridis when asked by reporters if his son's transfer from the University of Crete to Pantion University in Athens was legal, adding that he has no reason to question what Mr. Tsitouridis said.

Mr. Rousopoulos also stated that there is no question of a government reshuffle.

The new Agricultural Development Minister is Evangelos Basiakos after the resignation yesterday of Mr. Tsitouridis for reasons of sensitivity.

In a government statement it is stressed that Mr. Tsitouridis in his brief term at the Ministry of Agricultural Development did a great job.

The resignation cannot cover up the problems in the way the government and its ministers function, commented opposition party of PASOK.

Coalition of the Left Parliament Deputy Alekos Alavanos characterized the case as a reality show targeting a family.

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.18% at 2357.99 points, while the volume of transactions was at 104,2 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 78 had gains and 189 had losses, while the value of 136 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] GREECE IS AT THE 26TH PLACE

Greece dropped to the 26th place based on the number of medals won so far by Greek athletes in the 12th Paralympic Games underway in Athens of which, 1 is gold, 5 are silver and 2 are bronze.

The first place is occupied by China with 70 medals (25 gold, 24 silver, 21 bronze), followed by Australia and Germany with 44 medals (12 gold, 18 silver, 14 bronze and 9 gold, 12 silver, 33 bronze respectively), Britain with 18 medals (11 gold, 14 silver, 43 bronze) and France with 40 medals (11 gold, 13 silver,16 bronze).

Giorgos Karaminas won the silver medal in men's Shot Put-F52 yesterday and stated afterwards: I didn't expect this medal. It's my fourth Paralympic Games and probably I was waiting to win a medal in my home. I am very happy and very, very emotional. I can't stop crying. I had very good shots. I made a Paralympic record and I hope that the medal will give power to all the Paralympic athletes.

[08] THE 1ST WORLD CONGRESS OF NEWS AGENCIES OPENS IN MOSCOW

The proceedings of the 1st World Congress of News Agencies on Information: The Challenge of the XXI century opens in Moscow tomorrow with the participation of 210 representatives of 120 news agencies from 92 countries. The World Congress is organized by the Russian news agency ITARR-TASS on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.

The world congress proceedings, aimed at strengthening cooperation among the news agencies around the world and following new ways to solve the issue concerning the creation of a global information area in the 21st century, will end on Saturday, September 25.

The congress has the support of the UN, UNESCO and the Russian government which will be represented by many government ministers and senior officials, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin who will address the delegates in the opening ceremony.

A message to the congress delegates will also be read by a UN Secretary General representative, while among the speakers will be UNESCO General Director Koichiro Matsuura who will also present his book UNESCO: A Factor of Hope.

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