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Antenna News in English 250996Antenna Radio News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.grNews in English, of 25/09/1996TITLES
PASOKAfter Kostas Simitis held meetings with a number of familiar Pasok faces, Tuesday, he released the names of his new cabinet members. There are, as expected, plenty old faces among them, and there has been plenty of shuffling, as ministers trade place.Theodoros Pangalos stays on at the foreign ministry. The new alternate foreign minister is Giorgos Papandreou, son of the late Andreas Papandreou. Iannos Papantoniou, the man charged with overseeing Pasok's economic policies in the last cabinet, will stay on as national economy minister. He's also taking over as finance minister, from Alekos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos is the new interior minister. He takes over from Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who has been named defence minister. His predecessor at defence, Gerasimos Arsenis, has been handed the education and religion portfolio. Evangelos Venizelos is the new culture minister. Giorgos Romaios takes over at public order. The new health minister is Kostas Geitonas. Stavros Soumakis is the new man in charge at the merchant marine ministry. Evangelos Yannopoulos is the new justice minister - he moves out of the labour ministry, which goes to Miltiades Papaioannou. There are two women in ministerial posts: Vaso Papandreou retains the development portfolio; and Elisabet Papazoi is the new Aegean minister. There were no changes at the top in the other ministries: Giorgos Tzoumakas stays on at agriculture; Kostas Laliotis remains environment and public works minister; Harris Kastanides is still in charge of transport and communications; Philipos Petsalnikos has the Thrace and Macedonia portfolio; and Dimitris Reppas returns as press minister. Prime minister Kostas Simitis says his government will nominate Apostolos Kaklamanis for the post of president of parliament, a position Kaklamanis held under the last Pasok government. GERMAN PRESSPositive international reaction to Kostas Simitis's election victory continues.The German press reports are full of good words about Mr Simitis. The German press comments that he didn't use promises to get elected - he just told the people the truth about the economy. Mr Simitis often criticised New Democracy for making outlandish, unfulfillable promises to different groups in an attempt to win votes. The Pasok leader countered that Pasok's sensible economic policies have so far worked, and are the only way forward for the country. The German press also likes Mr Simitis's EU leanings. The Munich daily "Die Deutsche", says his election brings Greece one step closer to Europe. The paper adds that Simitis has escaped the shadow of his predecessor at Pasok's helm - Andreas Papandreou. The "Frankfurter Allgemine" calls the Greek prime minister a "sweet rebel". It says that behind his calm, austere exterior lies a determined character. And adds that his cool determination is just what he'll need to tackle the tough problems his government will face. NDNew Democracy is searching for a new leader for the second time in three years. Miltiades Evert took over after the party lost the 1993 election. He took the party in a new direction, moving away from the hard-line monetarist rhetoric that characterised the party in the early 90s.Evert stepped down after his defeat Sunday, and the question is: which way forward? MPs in the Evert camp have begun a campaign to get Evert to fight for re-election to the party's top post. But sources say there's little chance that he will throw his hat into the ring again, unless a large number of MPs call for him to do so. Some voices have worried aloud that the party's unity could be in jeopardy. Athanasios Tsaldaris says the danger is real, and can be averted only if top party members who DON'T run for the presidency maintain a neutral stand before the candidates. Former prime minister and current honorary president of New Democracy Constantinos Mitsotakis is not worried. He says New Democracy will work out its leadership issue without splitting. Some party stalwarts, like former prime minister Tzannis Tzannetakis, are proposing the election of a transitional party leader, with a permanent leader to be chosen later at the party congress. Sources say a number of central committee members express the same view in a letter they've sent to leading New Democracy members. So far, only two people have said they're in the race for the presidency: Stefanos Manos, a fiscal conservative who favours large-scale privatisation of state industry; and Dora Bakoyianni, Mitsotakis's daughter. Giorgos Souflias, considered to have broad electoral appeal because of his moderate image, was expected to announce his candidacy Tuesday night. CYPRUSTurkey has violated a US congressional order, and secretly sent 17 US-made armoured transport vehicles to occupied northern Cyprus.The American congress forbids Turkey to deploy any of its US-made military equipment on the divided island. Cyprus and Greece would like to see Turkey shipping its military hardware and its troops the other way - back to Turkey. The Turks occupied northern Cyprus in 1974. Since then, international appeals for them to leave have been to no avail. Theodoros Pangalos, a leading Greek diplomat, has rejected a Turkish call for Greece and Turkey to hold talks on the Cyprus issue. Pangalos says the Turkish proposal is senseless, because the issue concerns Turkey and the unoccupied Cypriot Republic. VARDINOYIANNISOne of Greece's best-known businessmen, Thodoros Vardinoyiannis, was buried in Athens Tuesday. He died of a heart attack Saturday at the age of 54.A number of political and business leaders attended the funeral, expressing their condolences to Vardinoyiannis's loved ones. Among them, former premier Constantinos Mitsotakis, Akis Tsochatzopoulos of Pasok, New Democracy vice president Iannis Varvitsiotis, Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras, and Antenna president Minos Kyriakou. On hearing of Vardinoyiannis's unexpected death Saturday, Kyriakou expressed his sorrow. He called Vardinoyiannis the mainstay of one of Greece's wealthiest entrepreneurial families. Kyriakou said Vardinoyiannis had been a tireless, multi-talented businessman who contributed much to the Greek economy. PONTSThree hundred musicians and dancers from Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, the Ukraine, Russia and Turkey have been in Thessaloniki - adding their colour to a meeting of Pontian Greeks.Performers from the countries bordering the Black Sea - the Ponts' homelands - took their traditional dances with them to Greece's second city. They also carried the memories of the ethnic Greek communities that once flourished in around the Black Sea - until 350 thousand of them were slaughtered by the Turks in 1919. Greek composer Dionysis Savopoulos also performed at the Thessaloniki event. The Ponts' next meeting - their 4th World Congress - is scheduled to be held in Thessaloniki next May. FILM FESTIVALThe Panorama Film Festival is just that - a panorama of movies for cinema-lovers.The ninth annual fest, sponsored by the daily newspaper Elevtherotypia, is ready to go. And the projector will soon start rolling at the Pallas theatre in Athens. Between September 26th and October 10th, big-screen fans will be able to see over 70 American and European films - four or five a day. All that, withone ticket a day. This year, Panorama includes new international releases, 10 classic American westerns, a number of films entered in the Berlin Film Fest, and movies from Europe and the Balkans. Bosnian © ANT1-Radio 1996Antenna Radio News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |