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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-05-28Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, May 28, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] BANK WORKERS’ STRIKE RULED “ILLEGAL”, ITS RESUMPTION BARREDAthens, May 28 (MPA)A Greek court ruled yesterday that the strike conducted by bank staff disgruntled over the state’s plans to privatize Ionian Bank, is illegal and has barred its resumption. The Athens-based Court of Appeals ordered workers at state-controlled Ionian Bank to end the strike they have held since May 11. In its ruling, the Court said union leaders would be fined GRD400,000 (about $1,200) on a daily basis if the order was ignored. As for the employees, under Greek law, staff members failing to return to work after such a ruling also face the possibility of dismissal. In its reasoning, the Court held that the striking Ionian workers have essentially barred thousands of customers from having access to their savings accounts, since there isn’t even a skeleton staff on duty to serve them. Undaunted, the Ionian Bank’s union president pledged that the workers will not back down and a new strike was announced for today and tomorrow.[02] SPAIN’S KING JUAN CARLOS AND QUEEN SOPHIA IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, May 28 (MPA)Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia, the sister of Greece’s former king Konstantine, currently on a five- day, official visit to Greece, will arrive in Thessaloniki this afternoon where they will received by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Philippos Petsalnikos.. Juan Carlos will lay a wreath at a memorial commemorating the thousands of Greek Jews exterminated by the Nazis during World War II. These were descendants of about 20,000 Jews who arrived in the city after their eviction from Spain in 1492. The royals are expected to be addressed in Spanish by the president of the city's Jewish community Andreas Sefihas. Tomorrow, they will visit the archaeological sites and museum of Vergina.[03] MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER TO TOUR THESSALYThessaloniki, May 28 (MPA)The leader of Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy’s Kostas Karamanlis is to embark on a four-day tour of central Greece today, namely the prefectures of Magnesia, Larisa, Karditsa and Trikala.He will meet with local authorities, business leaders, as well as party followers and will give a series of addresses. [04] GREECE WANTS KOSSOVO’S AUTONOMY, NOT INDEPENDENCELubliana, May 28 (MPA)Greece’s Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, during a one-day visit to Slovenia, stated yesterday that the Greek government supports autonomy for the Yugoslav province of Kossovo but not independence. He added however that the borders in the region should not change. “If we do not apply this principle we will open a Pandora's box,'' he said. Mr. Pangalos also stressed the importance of using sanctions against Yugoslavia to keep the peace, saying they should be ``real and not just imaginary.'' The Foreign Minister also urged the international community to listen more closely to the Balkan countries. ``The voice of the countries in the region should be heard, as we know a little bit more (about he situation),'' he said.[05] ALBANIANS ASK FOR NATO’S INTERVENTION IN KOSSOVOTirana, May 28 (MPA)Kossovo’s Albanian community members h e requested NATO’s intervention in the region’s fermenting crisis. The latest reports from Kossovo say heavy fighting has continued between ethnic-Albanian separatists and Serbian forces. Meanwhile, the American State Department has confirmed that Kossovo's main ethnic-Albanian leader, Ibrahim Rugova, is due to meet senior members of the Clinton Administration later this week. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has opened an office in northern Albania to deal with a possible influx of refugees from the neighboring Serbian province of Kossovo. A UNHCR spokesman said that so far there had only been about forty such cases, but contingency plans had been made to deal with larger numbers.[06] NATO’S TWO-DAY CONFERENCE BEGINS IN LUXEMBOURG TODAYLuxembourg, May 28 (MPA)The Alliance’s two-day conference at a Foreign Ministers level is to begin in Luxembourg today, where the participants are to meet with their counterparts from central and eastern European countries, Russia and the republics of the former Soviet Union. The conference is held within the framework of the council of euro-atlantic cooperation and the participants will discuss the latest developments in Kossovo, as well as the aversion of any potential spill-over in the neighboring countries, i.e. Albania and FYROM.Specifically, the Foreign Ministers are to examine proposals submitted by the Alliance’s military committee concerning the establishment of peace in Kossovo and whether or not NATO’s forces will intervene in the region. Should such force be established in the area it would number 7,000-20,000 soldiers. According to the BBC, a meeting between Greece’s Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos with his counterparts from the United States, Russia and FYROM, is not unlikely. [07] INTERNATIONAL FUR CONGRESS TO BE HELD IN KASTORIAThessaloniki, May 28 (MPA)An international fur congress is to begin at the city of Kastoria, in northwestern Greece, tomorrow, featuring the participation of furriers from 12 countries including Russia, the US and China. Specifically, delegations from Russia, Ukraine, China, the Czech Republic, Romania, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and the US will be attending the launch of the three-day international fur congress. The prefecture of Kastoria has a long tradition in fur production from breeding to the finished product and accounts for approximately six percent of total foreign exchange inflows into Greece annually. Kastoria has 2,700 fur producing enterprises,1,700 of which are exclusively export-oriented. Russia and the Far East are evolving into the industry's major importers. According to official data, the fur industry in the region employs 13,000 people. Greek furriers treat 8.5 percent of world fur and leather production, and produce 30 percent of fur products worldwide.[08] NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TO PUBLISH GREEK EDITIONWashington, May 28 (MPA)The renowned National Geographic magazine is to publish a Greek edition starting in October, in cooperation with Lambrakis Press, the leading publisher of newspapers and magazines in Greece. According to the National Geographic Society, the magazine's Greek edition will closely follow the editorial content of the monthly English-language original. National Geographic is starting a Hebrew edition in June and is already published in Japanese, Italian and Spanish. The Society said it is also in negotiations to publish the magazine in the local languages of Brazil, China, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scandinavia and Turkey.[09] UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS PROFESSOR IS AMONG WORLD’S TOP TWENTYNicosia, May 28 (MPA)University of Cyprus professor Aris Spanos is ranked among the world's top twenty experts on theoretical econometrics, according to Cypriot news reports. Mr. Spanos' top twenty ranking is based on his prodigious output in leading journals between 1989 and 1995. The Worldwide Institutional Rankings in Econometrics also places the Cyprus University in 70th position for its contributions to the subject, out of 200 academic institutions. Yale University tops the global league in important contributions to econometric theory. But due to the efforts of Mr. Spanos, the Cyprus University is ranked third on productivity alone. The university's world rankings can only improve, as the data for the study goes back several years before the Cyprus University was opened. Econometrics is a specialized discipline that attempts to prove economic models via mathematical equations.[10] FISH FOSSIL FOUND ON CRETE, DATES BACK TO THREE MILLION YEARSAthens, May 28 (MPA)Researchers on the island of Crete have discovered the fossil of a three-million-year-old fish, 450 meters up on a mountainside. According to press reports, the fossil was contained in a slab of rock, believed to come from an inland Cretan quarry, that was being used as a step in a mountaintop castle built in 961 AD. Geologists from the University of Crete's Natural History Museum believe the fossil is evidence that Crete was once partially or totally under the sea. At 50 cm (20 inches) long, the fossil is the largest found in the region.[11] KOREA’S DAEWOO TAKES MAJORITY STAKE IN ROMANIAN CARMAKERBucharest, May 28 (MPA)The South Korean carmaker Daewoo has acquired a 51 percent stake in Romania's Mecatim auto manufacturer for an undisclosed sum, according to Romanian press reports. Mecatim's chief executive said Daewoo plans to invest $100 million in the plant, which will produce car equipment such as air-conditioning systems and brakes. The Korean company also plans to create 400 new jobs at the plant. In 1994, Daewoo acquired a 51 percent stake in the Rodae car plant.[12] GREEK BUSINESS DELEGATION TO TRAVEL IN JORDAN ON JUNE 7-11Thessaloniki, May 28 (MPA)A Thessaloniki businessmen’s delegation is to travel to Jordan on June 7, for a five-day mission organized by the Organization of Export Promotion (OPE). Headed by the chairman of OPE, Ioannis Jen, the delegation is to represent businesses from the sectors of food, construction material, industrial products, electrical materials and computers, medicines, cosmetics, office furniture, etc. The participation fee is GRD250,000. Those interested in participating may contact the Industrial Chamber of Thessaloniki, tel. 271-708.[13] US SECRETARY OF STATE TO MEET SEPARATELY WITH PANGALOS, CEMLuxembourg, May 28 (MPA)The United States Secretary of State Madleine Albright is expected to hold separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, Theodoros Pangalos and Ismael Cem, respectively, during tomorrow’s NATO summit in Luxembourg. State department spokesperson James Rubin, stated that both Turkey and Greece are members of the North Atlantic Council and are close allies of the United States. “My experience has been when Secretary Albright is at one of those meetings, she, in one way or another, meets with all the members of the North Atlantic Council. It is also my understanding that there's a strong possibility of some separate bilateral meetings outside of the actual NAC session.”[14] PODGORICA: OVER 20,000 RALLY IN SUPPORT OF DJUKANOVICPodgorica, May 27 (MPA)More than 20,000 people rallied in Podgorica yesterday in support of reformist Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, a fierce opponent of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, ahead of general elections in this Yugoslav republic.According to the French news agency AFP, a group of supporters fled in panic from the main square in Podgorica after being hit by stones and firecrackers thrown from the top of a nearby high-rise, but the police calmed them down quickly. Ending a campaign for the Sunday elections in this tiny republic, which together with Serbia makes up the rump Yugoslavia, Djukanovic and his coalition "To Live Better" urged supporters to back their policy of democracy and economic reforms, condemning Milosevic's "autocratic regime." "We must not allow Milosevic to overrun Montenegro to fulfill his aims of creating Great Serbia," Djukanovic told the crowd. Western-backed Djukanovic, who had won Montenegrin presidential polls last year after defeating Milosevic's protege, now federal premier Momir Bulatovic, has become Yugoslav strongman's most dangerous political foe in the rump Yugoslavia. Waving Montenegrin flags and shouting "Milo, freedom," thousands greeted the reformist president on the main Podgorica square. Dozens of people stood on the roofs of nearby buildings, while many drove around the capital with their horns blaring. And the message of support for Djukanovic, coming from famous Yugoslav football players Dejan avicevic and Predrag Mijatovic, both Montenegrins, and read during the rally, drew rounds of applause in the crowd. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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