Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-09-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] OVER A BARREL FOR THE US LIGHT CRUDE

[02] PRESIDENT PAPOULIAS IN HORTIATIS FOR THE HOLOCAUST ANNIVERSARY

[03] THE SBBE PRESENTED PROPOSALS FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

[04] SCIENTISTS STUDY THE PREDICTION OF EARTHQUAKES THROUGH THE IONOSPHERE

[05] RESEARCHERS WARN OF A STRONG EARTHQUAKE IN SW BULGARIA

[06] THE EU RESPONSE TO TURKEY TO BE DECIDED ON SEPTEMBER 7

[07] GSEE-SEB-SBBE MEET WITH KARAMANLIS

[01] OVER A BARREL FOR THE US LIGHT CRUDE

The US light crude price remains over a barrel even thought it had dropped temporarily during trading in the Asian stock markets.

The temporary recovery was the result of the fact that certain oil refineries reopened in the region hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Specifically, the October delivery contract for US light crude initially lost up to 57 cents per barrel and its price dropped to .90 during trading in Asia to later recover at .07.

[02] PRESIDENT PAPOULIAS IN HORTIATIS FOR THE HOLOCAUST ANNIVERSARY

The German state must satisfy the Greek demand for the recognition of the Greek holocausts committed by the Nazi occupation forces, stressed Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias in his speech during a ceremony held today in memory of the 149 victims of the Holocaust in the town of Hortiatis, near Thessaloniki. The ceremony was held in the presence of local authorities and the German consul general.

The reprisals targeting the Greek population during the Nazi occupation were not the result of an initiative by certain isolated fanatic officers or an expression of the wrath of the occupation forces, said the President, adding that they were systematic and followed strict rules of reasoning serving specific goals. The occupation forces through the reprisals sought to terrorize the Greek people and force them to stop supporting the resistance fighters or even turn the people against them. For this particular reason, the German state must show in a tangible way its abhorrence for the Nazi atrocities. The issue of reparations has grounds and it is the obligation of the Greek state to assist the efforts made by the families of the victims aimed at winning the recognition of the Greek holocausts by the German state.

Earlier, Hortiatis mayor Michalis Geranis referred to the historical facts of the Holocaust and stressed that the German occupation forces massacred 149 people in Hortiatis, among them small children, by way of reprisal because the resistance fighters had killed a German soldier.

[03] THE SBBE PRESENTED PROPOSALS FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Federation of Industries in Northern Greece, SBBE, presiding board met with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis today and presented four basic positions for regional development and the further expansion of Greek businesses to the Balkans and the Black Sea region.

SBBE chairman Giorgos Mylonas stated that they conveyed to the Prime Minister their views on how reforms will affect the market now and in the future.

The SBBE proposals for the region of northern Greece include the creation of an innovation zone for hi-tech companies in Thessaloniki as well as the creation of free trade zones at the borders to offer an incentive to the Greek companies to stay inside the borders and not move to Balkan countries.

A third proposal was to cut the number of regions to organize better the absorption of EU funds and the forth was to create an Entrepreneurship Planning Center under the auspices of the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace.

[04] SCIENTISTS STUDY THE PREDICTION OF EARTHQUAKES THROUGH THE IONOSPHERE

The early prediction of earthquakes measuring 6-7 on the Richter scale through the study of the interaction between the ground and the atmosphere is sought to be achieved in the next few years by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Agronomist and Topographer Engineers Department scientists.

According to the Thessaloniki daily Angelioforos, the specific research team has proved experimentally the interaction between the ground and the atmosphere and more specifically, between the lithosphere and the ionosphere, after studies conducted in the period 2003-2004.

Seven days before and after the seismic activity, temperature and pressure changes on the surface of the earth. A wave, similar to a tsunami on the water, is being created which is being transmitted to the ionosphere and affects the number of electrons there.

This relation is known for 20 years and an effort was made to see it in action. I believe that some time in the future we will be able to predict strong earthquakes, stated Prof. Michalis Kontadakis.

For the record, earthquakes measuring 3-5 on the Richter scale have been recorded at a distance of up to 200 kms in the period 2003-2004 when the research team conducted the experiments, while until recently, it was believed that only tremors measuring over 4 on the Richter scale can be felt when they take place at a distance of up to 200 kms.

[05] RESEARCHERS WARN OF A STRONG EARTHQUAKE IN SW BULGARIA

Greek and Bulgarian research scientists warn that a strong earthquake is likely to hit southwest Bulgaria, 80 kms from the Kerkini Fault, pointing out however, that Greece will not be affected.

Specifically, the Thessaloniki daily Angelioforos mentions that five long and active faults are located between the Bulgarian cities of Simitli and Banco and other three smaller active faults are near the city of Razlog.

According to Athens Geodynamic Institute researcher Athanasios Ganas no other strong earthquake has been recorded in the wider region of the Simitli basin after the earthquake of April 1904 that measured 6.7 on the Richter scale. Ten of the 18 active faults in Bulgaria have been studied while the remaining 8 have not been located yet and it is impossible to know when an earthquake will take place. There is a great risk but there is no reason for concern in Greece, stated Mr. Ganas.

The study on the active faults in southwest Bulgaria will be presented by Mr. Ganas, the research institute director Giorgos Drakatos and their colleagues from Bulgaria S. Shanov and N. Dobrev in the conference taking place in the island of Samothrace, northern Aegean, until Sunday.

[06] THE EU RESPONSE TO TURKEY TO BE DECIDED ON SEPTEMBER 7

The informal EU Foreign Ministers Council decided to refer the EU response to the Turkish unilateral statement on the non-recognition of Cyprus, made during the signing of the protocol for the expansion of the customs union to include the 10 new EU member states, to the permanent representatives' council on September 7.

The new proposal presented by the EU Presidency, in spite of its notable improvement needs further improvements, stated Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos.

The EU made a mistake when it accepted as a member the Cypriot Republic while the border problem was still unsolved, stated Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who stressed that Turkey is in favor of the solution of the problem of the recognition of the Cypriot Republic on the basis of the United Nations.

[07] GSEE-SEB-SBBE MEET WITH KARAMANLIS

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis meets today with the presiding boards of the Greek General Confederation of Labor, GSEE, the Federation of Greek Industries, SEB, and the Federation of Greek Industries in Northern Greece, SBBE, in view of the 70th International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki to be inaugurated next week.

The Prime Minister met yesterday with the presiding boards of the public employees union, ADEDY, and the General Confederation of Professionals and Tradesmen, GESEBE, and was briefed on their demands and views ahead of the International Trade Fair.

The SBBE will meet with main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou who will also hold meetings with representatives of other production forces from Thessaloniki and northern Greece.

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