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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-02-08Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.Last Update: 18:16 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANS[C] EUROPENEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] FARMERS INTENSIFY PROTESTS AROUND GREECEWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Thessaloniki, February 8 (MPA)Farmers protesting the government's agricultural policy and demanding a meeting with the Premier Kostas Simitis blockaded the Athens to Thessaloniki highway for two hours at the Malgara toll station. In many other parts of central Macedonia, their colleagues kept hundreds of tractors parked alongside main road arteries.More blockades have been planned for the upcoming week. [02] THE WORLD COUNCIL OF HELLENES ABROAD MEETS IN THESSALONIKIWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Thessaloniki, February 8 (MPA)The presiding board of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, SAE, meets in Thessaloniki today with the participation of Greeks abroad general secretary Mr. Lambrinidis and president of the parliamentary committee of Greeks abroad Mr. Niotis.They will discuss the program of action that will be followed in the next two years, the further establishment of the four regional SAE, the developments and prospects concerning the issues of Greek national importance, the budget and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The presiding board is scheduled to meet with minister of culture Evangelos Venizelos to discuss the organizing of the Young Greeks Abroad Olympiad and the cooperation with SAE in the organizing of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. [03] AUTHORITIES IN EVROS ARE IN A STATE OF ALERTWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Thessaloniki February 8 (MPA)Local authorities in Evros, in north-eastern Greece, are in a state of alert since the Evros river banks broke through the barriers, flooding another 12,0000 hectares of cultivated land. The emergency plan "Xenokratis", used in case of natural disasters, is in effect while the damages caused in the region by the bad weather are extensive.The railway line of Alexandroupolis-Ormenio is closed, while the drivers using the national road network face serious problems. Thousands of hectares of cultivated land have been destroyed while parts of the dykes, constructed to protect the villages in the region, have been swept away. The former president of the main opposition party New Democracy's Miltiades Evert is currently in the region. [B] BALKANS[04] "GREEK WEEK" TO BE HELD AT TIRANA IN APRILWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Tirana, February 8 (MPA)The Greek embassy in Tirana is planning the "Greek Week" celebrations at the Albanian capital in April.According to local press reports, the Greek Embassy's trade attache met with Albania's Minster of Trade and Tourism who proposed that Greece's Premier Kostas Simitis attend the opening ceremony, as Italy's Premier Romano Prodi will do during the "Italian Week" to be held in Tirana during may. [05] PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS HELD IN CYPRUS TODAYWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Nicosia February 8 (MPA)The first round of the presidential elections in Cyprus is being held today. The candidates for the presidency are incumbent president Mr. Glafkos Clerides, Mr. Giorgos Iakovou, Mr. Vasos Lyssarides, Mr. Giorgos Vasiliou, Mr. Alexis Galanos, Mr. Nikos Rolandis, and Mr. Nikos Koutsou.Based on the latest opinion polls, the candidates running for the presidency in the second round of the presidential elections on February 15, will be Mr. Clerides and Mr. Iakovou. The registered voters are 446.731, while for the first time the island's 18-year-olds will have the right to vote. [06] GREEK AND TURKISH POLITICALNS AND JOURNALISTS MEET IN IZMIRWeb Posted: 18:16 GMT+2Izmir, February 8 (MPA)The meeting of the movement "Journalists in the Aegean and Thrace for Peace" began in Izmir today, featuring a panel of speakers, Greek and Turkish deputies and euro-parliamentarians.The first panel dealt with the issue of minorities in Greece and Turkey, where the prevailing impression was that "the minorities have become pawns in the competition between the two countries." Moreover, leading journalists from both countries addressed the ideological view of the operation of the mass media, especially electronic, in influencing public opinion. Lastly, the participants of the "Journalists in the Aegean and Thrace for Peace" issued a resolution that provides for an "anti-award" to those journalists that deepen the Greek-Turkish crisis through their yellow-press journalism. Also, the attendees stressed the importance of respecting borders between the two countries, respecting international law, the need to demilitarize Cyprus for the benefit of the island's two communities and the significance of defending the rights of minorities in both countries so that they may be transformed into bridges of friendship. It was announced that the next meeting will be held in 1999 at the city of Alexandroupolis. [C] EUROPE[07] BRITISH TOURISTS TO GREECE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN 1998 BY 22%Web Posted: 18:16 GMT+2London, February 8 (MPA)Greece's Minister of Finance and National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou has expressed his conviction that British tourists to Greece are to increase this year by 22%, during his meeting with Britain's Minister of Finance in London.During his stay at the British capital, Mr. Papantoniou held talks with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, who told him that the positive course of the Greek economy is expected to attract the interest of British investors. Mr. Papantoniou also stressed that the Greek government today enjoyed a broad political consensus for measures aimed to promote Greece's participation in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Setting out the Greek economy's present positive picture, Mr. Papantoniou said the country would be ready to meet Maastricht criteria in 1998-99, so as to participate in the third phase of EMU on Jan. 1, 2001. He referred to the program for the privatization of public enterprises and the efforts for reducing public expenses, as well as the restructuring and modernization of ailing utilities, particularly in the transport sector. "The business community in Greece is showing new dynamism, becoming more extrovert, and is efficiently utilizing the opportunities of the new markets. Business confidence was won through the stability in government and in the implementation of the macro -economic policy," he said. 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: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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