Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-11-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] BUSH WINS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE

[02] PLAN FOR PRIVATIZATIONS AND TRANSPARENCY

[03] INDICTMENTS AGAINST KENTERIS, THANOU AND TZEKOS

[04] THE PHILOXENIA 2004 EXHIBITION OPENS IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW

[05] MARGINAL GAINS IN THE ASE

[06] THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS PIPELINE PLAN TO BE DISCUSSED IN ATHENS

[07] THE ACTING GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE TURKISH VIOLATIONS

[08] PRIME MINISTER KARAMANLIS ON A TWO-DAY VISIT TO CYPRUS

[09] THOMAS MILLER ON THE US ELECTIONS

[10] PRESIDENT BUSH IS CLOSE TO REELECTION

[01] BUSH WINS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE

Democratic challenger John Kerry has telephoned incumbent President George W. Bush and conceded defeat in yesterday's presidential elections in the United States.

According to President Bush's staff, John Kerry has telephoned him to congratulate him for his election victory.

A few hours earlier, the White House Chief of Staff had formally announced Bush's victory giving him four more years in office.

Meanwhile, based on the exit polls held this morning, it appears that the American citizens' fear of a new terrorist attack worked in favor of President Bush.

[02] PLAN FOR PRIVATIZATIONS AND TRANSPARENCY

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis addressing the 15th annual conference of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce outlined his government's economic policy.

He stressed, among others, that a plan of social responsibility will be adopted based on the exploitation of public property, the promotion of a new generation of privatizations, the public sector consumer spending control, the efforts against corruption and tax evasion as well as, on transparency and honesty in management.

Mr. Karamanlis referred to the policy followed by the Socialist Party of PASOK governments and pointed out that there are huge deficits and a high public debt.

[03] INDICTMENTS AGAINST KENTERIS, THANOU AND TZEKOS

Indictments against the track and field champions Kostas Kenteris, Katerina Thanou and their coach Christos Tzekos will be issued in the following days after the investigation launched by the prosecutors on the anti-doping case that shocked Greece during the Athens Olympic Games last summer.

The prosecutors in charge of the case appear to have concluded that the motorcycle accident recorded on August 12, in which the two sprinters were involved, was staged.

Meanwhile, the file with the subsidies received by the sports club of Christos Tzekos will be forwarded to the Greek Parliament given the fact that certain political figures appear to be involved in the case.

Indictments will also be issued against certain doctors of Athens' KAT Hospital who undertook to treat Kenteris and Thanou as well as, two of the five eyewitnesses of the motorcycle accident.

[04] THE PHILOXENIA 2004 EXHIBITION OPENS IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW

The four-day exhibition PHILOXENIA 2004 opens tomorrow in Thessaloniki's HELEXPO Ltd. exhibition center.

The exhibition is organized by HELEXPO in cooperation with the Greek Tourist Organization under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourist Development. Minister of Tourist Development Dimitris Avramopoulos will inaugurate the exhibition tomorrow.

The exhibitors participating this year are 671. The domestic exhibitors come from across Greece, while foreign exhibitors represent a total of 25 countries.

Ten countries participate formally, specifically, Egypt, Bulgaria, Italy, Jordan, Cuba, Cyprus, Serbia-Montenegro, Thailand, Turkey and Tunisia. In the exhibition also, participates the European Tourism Trade Fairs Association, ETTFA, representing a total of 20 members, organizers of major tourist exhibitions across Europe.

[05] MARGINAL GAINS IN THE ASE

Marginal gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.02% at 2549.35 points, while the volume of transactions was satisfactory at 163,4 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 137 had gains and 133 had losses, while the value of 136 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS PIPELINE PLAN TO BE DISCUSSED IN ATHENS

Minister of Development Dimitris Sioufas will open the two-day meeting tomorrow of the Working Groups from Greece, Russia and Bulgaria to discuss the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline plan. The meeting will take place in Zappeion Building in Athens.

The three delegations will discuss the economic-technical figures concerning the viability of the pipeline before signing a tripartite memorandum of cooperation for its construction.

[07] THE ACTING GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE TURKISH VIOLATIONS

The government watches closely the behavior of Turkey and briefs its partners and allies whenever is necessary, stated acting government spokesman Vangelis Antonaros when asked to comment on the continuous violations of the Greek national airspace by Turkish aircraft.

The acting government spokesman stressed that the Greek government will form its final position on the issue of Turkey's EU accession based on the national interest pointing out that for the moment no new facts have appeared leading the government to change its position on the issue of Turkey's EU accession.

Asked to comment whether Greece will face the likelihood of a referendum on Turkey's accession into the EU similar to the one decided to take place in France, Mr. Antonaros stated that the issue will be decided by the responsible bodies.

Finally, Mr. Antonaros observed that notable reforms have taken place inside Turkey but the neighboring country should learn to behave in a European way and respect its European obligations.

[08] PRIME MINISTER KARAMANLIS ON A TWO-DAY VISIT TO CYPRUS

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis will be on a two-day visit to Cyprus on November 12-13 accompanied by Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis.

Mr. Karamanlis will meet with the Cypriot political leadership and the talks will focus on the EU Summit meeting to take place in December on Turkey's EU accession prospect.

[09] THOMAS MILLER ON THE US ELECTIONS

US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller said it is a victory of democracy referring to the US elections. He thanked Greece for offering the democratic system of government to the world community and underlined the great voter turnout recorded in yesterday's presidential elections.

Speaking to the state-run NET television station, Mr. Miller stated that the Greek-US relations are very firm and function in a totally satisfactory way, adding that there was good cooperation on the Olympic Games, the Balkans and Cyprus.

Greece is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and will deal with all major issues concerning humanity, said Mr. Miller, adding that the United States are looking forward to it, adding that the Greek-US relations will not be affected by the reelection of President Bush.

[10] PRESIDENT BUSH IS CLOSE TO REELECTION

US President George Bush has 275 Electoral College votes 5 more than necessary to be elected, according to an informal projection by the Republican Party.

Formally, President Bush has 254 Electoral College votes and Senator John Kerry 242.

The last polls closed at 9 am Greek time.

The Republicans have secured the control of the Senate while they continue to have the control of the US House of Representatives.

The White House Chief of Staff estimated that President Bush leads the race by 3,5 million votes and appeared certain that he will win in the state of Ohio where he has a significant lead.

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