Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-10-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] NEW LEADERSHIP FOR THE GREEK POLICE

[02] NEW BOMB SCARE HITS OA

[03] ARMY AND POLICE TO GUARD THE OLYMPIC FACILITIES

[04] GREECE SUPPORTS TURKEY'S EUROPEAN PROSPECT

[05] GAINS IN THE ASE

[06] NEW BOOST TO THE GREEK-SERB BUSINESS RELATIONS AND THE HiPERB

[07] KERRY STATEMENT TO THE GREEK AMERICAN COMMUNITY

[01] NEW LEADERSHIP FOR THE GREEK POLICE

Major-general Giorgos Angelakos is the successor of Fotis Nasiakos in the leadership of the Greek Police.

The Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense, which appointed him unanimously to the post, examined all candidates according to a statement made by Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis, who reminded that the term of the last leadership ended in March but was extended because of the Olympic Games during which it performed its duties successfully.

[02] NEW BOMB SCARE HITS OA

The Greek Olympic Airlines passenger plane, on board which there was a bomb according to an anonymous phone call, landed safely in London today after staying during the night at the Greek island of Corfu. The OA Airbus resumed its flight to London at 6:20 am this morning after the necessary security search was completed.

This is the third bomb scare incident recorded in the past 9 days involving an OA passenger plane. A newspaper received an anonymous phone call last night warning that an explosive device had been placed on board the OA Airbus 300/600, which was en route to London with 205 passengers and a 7-member crew.

The OA flight 265 to London had departed from Athens at 7:15 yesterday evening.

[03] ARMY AND POLICE TO GUARD THE OLYMPIC FACILITIES

The National Defense General Staff announced that the armed forces will assist the Greek Police in the protection of the Olympic facilities with a total of 1,000 officers after a recent request by the Ministry of Public Order. The support personnel is not included in the above mentioned force.

The armed forces personnel will form armed and unarmed patrols, under police command, and guard a great number of facilities, while it has not been determined yet when this mission will be completed.

[04] GREECE SUPPORTS TURKEY'S EUROPEAN PROSPECT

Greece supports Turkey's European prospect and expects the relevant proposal to be presented tomorrow by the European Commission.

Greek acting government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros made the comment in response to a question by a reporter during the press briefing today.

Meanwhile, the European Commission progress report on Turkey to be made public in Brussels tomorrow refers, according to information, to the positive course of the Greek-Turkish relations and the further progress made during the past year.

The report characterizes as constructive the stance adopted by the Turkish government in the efforts for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

Specifically, in the chapter on the peaceful settlement of border disputes it is pointed out that bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey continued to develop in a satisfactory manner during the past year.

The report underlines that as a result of the confidence-building-measures in effect the governments of both countries take measures aimed at gradual and balanced military spending cuts.

The same chapter also mentions the 26 meetings held by the Greek and the Turkish sides within the framework of the exploratory contacts on the Aegean launched in April 2002.

[05] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.09% at 2385.56 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 99,7 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 185 had gains and 107 had losses, while the value of 111 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] NEW BOOST TO THE GREEK-SERB BUSINESS RELATIONS AND THE HiPERB

Greece's goal is to send out from the region of SE Europe a loud message of stability, peace, economic cooperation and quality development to the international community, stressed Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stilianidis who made a special reference to the significance attributed by the government and the Prime Minister himself to the materialization of the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB).

Addressing the Greece-Serbia Economic and Business Symposium taking place in Athens today, Mr. Stilianidis stressed the need to broaden the spectrum of products in bilateral trade transactions.

Mr. Stilianidis also referred to the fact that the overall volume of the Greek-Serb trade transactions in the period 1999-2003 has doubled.

[07] KERRY STATEMENT TO THE GREEK AMERICAN COMMUNITY

Democratic Party candidate for the US presidency John Kerry used praising comments while referring to the traditionally close relations between the United States and Greece.

In a statement titled Working with the Greek Americans, issued with a noticeable delay and after pressures exerted by leading Greek American supporters of the Democratic Party presidential candidate, Mr. Kerry mentions among others that the Greek values of family, hard work, education, civic engagement and love of country are American values.

Mr. Kerry stresses in his statement that a democratic and prosperous Greece is a stabilizing presence in the Balkan region and SE Europe, while he welcomes Greece's initiative for the development of a new positive relation with Turkey.

He also referred to the progress made by Greece and its performance in all sectors, stressing that it undergoes an impressive transformation.

Regarding the Greek American community, he underlined that strengthens and gives a special significance to the historical, political and cultural ties between the United States and Greece.

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