Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-11-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] GRATITUDE TO THOSE WHO REVOLTED

[02] THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT PRISTINA AND BELGRADE

[03] CONFIRMATION OF THE ECONOMY'S POSITIVE PROSPECTS

[04] KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SURGERY WITH INCOMPATIBLE BLOOD GROUP DONOR

[05] OVER 2.5 MILLION GREEKS SUFFER FROM HYPERTENSION

[06] COOPERATION OF EU MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS IS PROMOTED

[07] POPE BENEDICT INVITED ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS

[08] GROWTH RATE 3.5%, UNEMPLOYMENT 10.4% IN 2005

[09] GREEKS ARE EITHER BEST OR WORST STUDENTS

[10] JOHN NEGROPONTE IS UHAC'S HELLENE OF THE YEAR

[11] QANTAS HAS GREEK ROOTS

[01] GRATITUDE TO THOSE WHO REVOLTED

Greece honors all those who fought to overturn dictatorship and restore Democracy 32 years after the heroic Polytechnic School uprising in Athens.

Events in Athens and Thessaloniki will culminate with the marches that will be held under strict security measures.

Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias laid a wreath at the Polytechnic Monument without the presence of his aide-de-camp and stated that he expressed his gratitude to those who revolted.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis received representatives of those who participated in the resistance in the period 1967-1974 yesterday and sent a message for national unity both on issues of foreign policy and in the way economy problems are being faced stressing that the country will overcome the dividing rationale of the past.

The Prime Minister praised the action and virtue of the Greek citizens who resisted the junta and referred to the quality of Democracy Greece has gained.

[02] THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT PRISTINA AND BELGRADE

The informal troika for the cooperation in SE Europe is scheduled to visit Pristina and Belgrade in the immediate future probably on December 6-7. The troika will be made up of Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis and his counterparts from Romania and Croatia, according to a statement issued today by Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos.

The visit is aimed at recording the interest of the neighboring countries in the crucial issue of the final status of Kosovo, and also to brief all sides on the issue and underline the need for continuous consultation and cooperation.

Responding to relevant questions, Mr. Koumoutsakos pointed out that the inviolability of the borders and stability in the region characterize the Greek foreign policy.

[03] CONFIRMATION OF THE ECONOMY'S POSITIVE PROSPECTS

Minister of Finance and Economy Giorgos Alogoskoufis stated after the publicizing of the fall report on the economies of the EU member states that the European Commission report issued today confirms that no other European country has managed to accomplish as much as Greece in such a short period of time.

Mr. Alogoskoufis underlined that Greece has managed to cut public deficit by more than two percentage points of the GDP and have the highest growth rate in the Eurozone while, at the same time, limit unemployment.

The Minister of Finance and Economy stressed that the government in cooperation with the European Commission and the European partners seeks firmly to cut deficit under 3% of the GDP in 2006 with a policy of mild and effective adjustment, unprecedented in the recent history of the European Union.

The further progress to be achieved in 2006 through the budget to be submitted to parliament on Monday, November 21 will be achieved mainly with the adoption of measures of a permanent and structural nature focusing on cutting public spending, and limiting overspending and tax evasion, points out Mr. Alogoskoufis.

[04] KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SURGERY WITH INCOMPATIBLE BLOOD GROUP DONOR

Kidney transplant surgeries where the donor had incompatible blood group were performed successfully on two patients in Greece and until now, 5 and 2 months after the respective operations, no complications or transplant rejection incidents were recorded.

Both surgeries were performed in Athens' Laiko Hospital and the conclusions reached will be presented in the 70th Scientific Meeting of the Greek Kidney Society to be launched in Thessaloniki this afternoon.

[05] OVER 2.5 MILLION GREEKS SUFFER FROM HYPERTENSION

At least 2.5 million Greeks suffer from arterial hypertension, which is the main risk factor for cardiovascular incidents and heart attacks, while it is the main cause of strokes and among the main causes of kidney failures.

Those facts were presented by associate cardiology professor in the University of Athens Grigorios Vissoulis during the 4th Annual International Cardiology Conference that takes place in Thessaloniki.

An estimated 75% of those who underwent a by-pass surgery in northwest Greece are active smokers, while 95% of them have high levels of the so-called bad cholesterol and 40% suffer from high blood pressure. In addition, one in two smokers start smoking again immediately after surgery, according to University Hospital of Ioannina Cardiology Clinic scientific associate, cardiologist Athanasios Papathanasiou.

[06] COOPERATION OF EU MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS IS PROMOTED

The prefecture of Thessaloniki, the Metropolitan Municipality of Milan, institutions from the region of Lombardy, Italy and the Municipalities of Lisbon, Valetta, Barcelona and Marseille proceed with the establishment of a cooperation network aimed at exchanging experience, transfer know-how and develop mutual support between EU Mediterranean regions.

A Cooperation Protocol will be signed in Thessaloniki by representatives of the institutions mentioned above on November 25-26.

The solution of common problems and prospects for development, issues of environmental management and communication with regions in the Balkans, Cyprus and North Africa will be at the center of the new cooperation initiative.

In the meeting to be held in Thessaloniki will be present representatives of embassies and consulates from Balkan states (Bulgaria, Romania, FYROM, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia-Montenegro) as well as representatives of Cypriot authorities.

[07] POPE BENEDICT INVITED ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS

Pope Benedict issued an invitation to Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece to visit the Vatican. The invitation was included in the Pope's message read in a presentation of an identical publication of Emperor Vasilios B' menologium, calendar of saints held in Athens.

In the letter read by the Vatican Library director is expressed the Pope's joy to receive the Archbishop in Rome to declare that a new step was made on the way to reconciliation and cooperation.

Archbishop Christodoulos stated that he expects a formal invitation.

[08] GROWTH RATE 3.5%, UNEMPLOYMENT 10.4% IN 2005

Public deficit in Greece will be 3.7% of the GDP in 2005, according to the fall predictions by the European Commission while economic growth rate will be 3.5%.

The Commission speculates that the Greek public deficit is expected to be 3.7% of the GDP in 2005, while in 2006 and 2007 will be 3.8%.

Based on the Commission's predictions, inflation rate in Greece will be 3.5% in 2005, in 2006 will drop to 3.1% and in 2007 will be 3%, while unemployment will be 10.4% in 2005 to drop to 10% in 2006, while in 2007 will be 9.7%.

[09] GREEKS ARE EITHER BEST OR WORST STUDENTS

Students coming from weaker economic or social strata or different cultural heritage or those who have other ethnic origin than German, namely they are immigrants, or children of immigrants are essentially excluded from the prospect of learning and in effect the possibilities to improve their living standards become limited according to an OECD study which has confirmed that Germany associates education with the economic-social-cultural and ethnic origin of the students to an unusually high degree.

Responding to the question what is the situation for the Greek students, Vasilios Fthenakis, professor at the University of Munich and special adviser to the German government for the development of educational models, clarified that there are no specific facts and pointed out that Greek students are either at the top of the class or at the bottom.

[10] JOHN NEGROPONTE IS UHAC'S HELLENE OF THE YEAR

The United Hellenic American Congress (UHAC) marked its 30th anniversary and entered a new era of domestic and international activities at a gala event Saturday that honored Ambassador John D. Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence, as Hellene of the Year.

At the same dinner-dance, which was also a celebration of Hellenic Heritage and was attended by more than 400 persons, UHAC introduced to the Midwest the new Ambassador of Greece to the U.S., Alexandros Mallias and his wife.

The 2005 Hellene of the Year, Ambassador Negroponte, emphasized the role that Hellenic values have played in his life and the continuing adherents to the ideas about community and life that he learned from his family.

In his capacity as Director of National Intelligence since April 21, Mr. Negroponte is responsible for coordinating U.S. intelligence gathering and to ensure that all security organizations are working together and sharing their findings on intelligence matters.

From 1960 to 1997, he served eight different outposts in Asia, Europe and Latin America. He also held important positions at the State Department and the White House, including a period as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and in 1989 he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico and, later, from 1993 to 1996 to the Philippines.

Following a brief period in the private sector, he was sworn in as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations a few days after September 11, 2001, and continued in this position until he began serving as Ambassador to Iraq on June 28, 2004.

[11] QANTAS HAS GREEK ROOTS

The first five passenger planes of the Australian airline Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services) had Greek names Perseus, Pegasus, Atalanta, Hermes and Hippomenes as among the first shareholders of the company was Greek Australian Charis Koronis who owned a number of luxury hotels in Queensland and sought in every way to improve air transportation in the remote Australian state.

Charis Koronis was a fisherman from the island of Kythera, south of the Peloponnese in Greece, and went to Australia for a better future in 1919.

Qantas is the biggest Australian airline and one of the oldest airlines in the world and the 85th anniversary of its founding is celebrated with a number of events across the country.

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