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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-07-05

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 5, 2001

SECTIONS

  • [A] NATIONAL NEWS
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • NEWS HEADLINES

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] JUNE'S INFLATION WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY
  • [02] PROBLEMS FOR THE "BIG BROTHER" SHOW IN GREECE
  • [03] PASPALJE SUFFERED A NEW HEART ATTACK
  • [04] NIOTIS IS ON A VISIT TO ARMENIA
  • [05] A SPECIAL COMMITTEE WILL EXAMINE THE OFFERS FOR THE OA
  • [06] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ASE
  • [07] THE VOTING BOOKLET IS ABOLISHED IN GREECE
  • [08] 800 COURT EMPLOYEES WILL OFFER VOLUNTEER WORK IN THE ATHENS OLYMPICS
  • [09] TECHNICAL COOPERATION FUND BY THE BLACK SEA BANK
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [10] THE GREEK DELEGATION IN NATO DISAGREES WITH THE ALLIANCE'S ASSESSMENTS ON FYROM
  • [11] THE EURO-PARLIAMENT CALLS ON TURKEY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS

  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] JUNE'S INFLATION WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY

    June's inflation is expected to be announced on Monday and its size will be a decisive element concerning its course in 2001.

    By the end of 2001, inflation will be limited to 2.9% given that there will be no major increase in the summer, according to national economy minister Yiannos Papantoniou.

    For the record, the Bank of Greece predicts that inflation will be over 3% by the end of 2001 and for this reason it tries to limit consumer loans.

    On the GDP growth rate, Mr. Papantoniou predicted that it will be at 4.6%, pointing out that in the first trimester of 2001 it increased by 6.1%.

    [02] PROBLEMS FOR THE "BIG BROTHER" SHOW IN GREECE

    The Personal Data Protection Authority raises obstacles for the "Big Brother" television show that was scheduled to be aired by Antenna TV in Greece this fall.

    The authority's decision in essence forbids the airing of the show citing constitution principles, personal data protection and morality issues.

    Specifically, it bans the creation of a file with the personal data of the candidate players even if they give they consent to this. The Personal Data Protection Authority mentions that the creation of such a file is illegal and it is opposed to the general principles concerning the respect and protection of the people's dignity, adding that the freedom of people is being limited in a great degree.

    Based on the fact that the players will be watched by television cameras on a 24hour basis for 112 days isolated in a special studio, private life disappears and people are humiliated having as a sole goal to win a prize and achieve publicity.

    For the record, in the application filed by the candidate players they have to mention information concerning even their relatives and friends and describe their personality.

    [03] PASPALJE SUFFERED A NEW HEART ATTACK

    Yugoslav former basketball player Zarko Paspalje suffered a new heart attack today and was rushed to Asklipio Hospital in Athens.

    Paspalje had suffered another heart attack a few months ago.

    He felt ill in his house in Glifada, Athens suffering from chest pains. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital's cardiology clinic.

    [04] NIOTIS IS ON A VISIT TO ARMENIA

    Undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis arrived in Armenia today for a two-day visit aimed at holding bilateral contacts and meetings with representatives of the Greek community.

    Mr. Niotis will meet with Armenian president Kotsarian, the country's foreign minister and the Armenian Patriarch, while he will have bilateral consultations with his Armenian counterpart.

    Within the framework of his contacts with the Greek community the undersecretary of foreign affairs will inaugurate a diagnostic center where the Greeks in the region will be examined for free, while he will visit a nursery school for Greek Armenian children.

    [05] A SPECIAL COMMITTEE WILL EXAMINE THE OFFERS FOR THE OA

    The creation of a special committee that will undertake to hold the negotiations with the candidate buyers of the state-owned Olympic Airways was unanimously decided today by the governmental committee that met under prime minister Kostas Simitis.

    According to transport minister Christos Verelis, the committee will be made up of a representative of the state legal council, representatives of the ministries of national economy and transport and international advisers.

    Mr. Verelis stated that there are four bids one of which concerned only part of the OA package and therefore it was rejected. For the first time, the adviser suggests as the top offer the one that comes from the Axon group. The negotiations will get underway with the specific group and will last for about a month. At the same time, talks will be held with the other two candidate buyers namely, Cyprus Airways and the Australian group.

    The policy that will be followed by Axon if it is selected among the rest Olympic Airways prospective buyers was presented by the group's president Thomas Liakounakos. He announced that the personnel size of the OA will be cut by half, the airline's fleet will be renewed with 40-50 new airplanes, 16 destinations will be abolished, there will be cooperation with other airline companies in the sector of ground services, while the name and logo of the company will be maintained. The group's offer for the buyout of Olympic Airways is 35 billion drachmas.

    [06] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ASE

    Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.22% at 2.654,18 points, while the volume of transactions was at 99.2 million Euro or 33.8 billion drachmas.

    Of the stocks trading today, 159 recorded gains and 143 had losses, while the value of 73 stocks remained stable.

    [07] THE VOTING BOOKLET IS ABOLISHED IN GREECE

    The interior ministry in Greece decided to abolish the voting booklets that were used so far by the voters and replace them with special voting cards. The decision will be put into effect in the next municipal elections.

    The card will bear a special election number made up of 13 digits put in a specific sequence to represent the municipality to which the voter is registered, the date of birth, and his/her registration number in the voting registers.

    [08] 800 COURT EMPLOYEES WILL OFFER VOLUNTEER WORK IN THE ATHENS OLYMPICS

    About 800 court employees serving in Thessaloniki's Courthouse and in other agencies signed up for volunteer work in the 2004 Olympic Games after a meeting of their representatives with a member of the "Messengers of Volunteerism" group, the basketball player Dinos Angelidis.

    According to statements made to MPA by the Greek Federation of Court Employees vice-president, in the federation conference that will be held in Nafpaktos on September 27, in the presence of Olympic medallists and members of the "Messengers of Volunteerism" group, every court employee in Greece will be urged to offer volunteer work in the 2004 Olympic Games. Meanwhile, head prosecutor in Thessaloniki's Courts of First Instance, Mr. Zacharis stated that about 30 of his prosecutor colleagues will be among the Olympic Games' volunteers, saying characteristically that the prosecutors too are part of the Greek people and they cannot be absent from such an event of national importance.

    [09] TECHNICAL COOPERATION FUND BY THE BLACK SEA BANK

    The Black Sea Bank reached an agreement with the Greek government which will finance the creation of a Special Technical Cooperation Fund with a budget of 800.000 Euro.

    The agreement was signed by Black Sea Bank president Ersoi Volkan and undersecretary of national economy Yiannis Zafiropoulos. This will be the first Special Fund that will be managed by the bank.

    The fund will back the preparation of projects and will be used by the Black Sea Bank for the appointment of advisers, who will assist in the drawing up of expediency studies and operational plans, and the improvement of the preparation of projects in the Bank's member-states.

    The fund is committed to use Greek advisers by 75%, while up to 25% of the financing can be used for the appointment of advisers coming from other Bank member-states or donor countries offering similar technical cooperation resources to the Bank.

    The Black Sea Commerce and Development Bank (Black Sea Bank) is a Thessaloniki based international economic organization that was founded in 1999 by Greece, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Azerbaidjan, Albania, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldavia. It has an approved capital of about US$1.3 billion and supports economic development and regional cooperation through the financing of public and private companies' projects and trade transactions in the member-states.

    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [10] THE GREEK DELEGATION IN NATO DISAGREES WITH THE ALLIANCE'S ASSESSMENTS ON FYROM

    Serious disagreements on the assessment of the situation in FYROM included in a NATO military committee report are expressed in a text drawn up by the Greek delegation in the alliance's military committee addressed to the political leadership.

    The Greek delegation in NATO's military committee expresses strong reservations concerning the expediency of the NATO assessments and the omissions in the report.

    The root of the crisis is not the claims for equal rights for the Albanian-speaking population in the specific country but the idea of the so-called Greater Albania. In the document with the comments of the Greek delegation on the NATO report, it is stressed that this is the real and objective goal hidden behind the demands for more rights.

    In another part of the text concerning the financing of the Albanians, it is pointed out that only general references are being made on the issue without a systematic approach namely, there is no specific mentioning of the countries where the money is being collected and the ways in which it reaches the rebels (a reference is made to Swiss bank accounts). Also, no reference is made on the general fund resources, while no assessment has been made on the size of the contributions and the necessary credits.

    [11] THE EURO-PARLIAMENT CALLS ON TURKEY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS

    The Euro-parliament in a report it has adopted on human rights in the world calls on Turkey to respect the European Court for Human Rights decisions on Ankara's responsibilities in the occupied northern Cyprus, lift the obstacles it has raised concerning the Greek properties in Istanbul, and allow the reopening of the Halki Theology School.

    The report was drawn up by Finnish Euro-deputy with the party of the Greens, Mati Guori and the references made on Turkey were included for the first time in the report at the proposal of Greek governing socialist party of PASOK Euro-deputy Yiannis Souladakis.

    Mr. Souladakis pointed out that human rights is one of the main issues on which Turkey's ability to approach the European standards will be judged.


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