Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-08-18
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, August 18, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] SUICIDAL MD REMANDED IN PRISON PENDING TRIAL
[02] TIF CELEBRATES 75th YEAR WITH SERIES OF EVENTS
[03] PUBLIC ORDER MINISTER TRAVELS TO U.S. NEXT MONTH
[04] UNITED STATES THE FEATURED COUNTRY AT TIF 2000
[05] PM WILL TRAVEL TO NEW YORK AFTER OPENING OF TIF
[06] CHURCH REACTS TO PROPOSAL TO AXE RELIGION EXAMS
[07] "PRESPES 2000" FESTIVAL OPENS NEXT WEEK
[08] POLICE DETECT NO FOUL PLAY IN CAR-TRUNK CORPSE
[09] GREECE REMEMBERS DEVASTATING QUAKES IN TURKEY
[10] NEW CHIEF AT VRYONIS CENTER OF HELLENISM STUDIES
[11] GREEK CHURCH OBJECTS TO U.K.'S CLONING PROPOSALS
[12] LABORERS ASSOCIATIONS MEET TO CARVE OUT POSITION
[13] GREECE TO TAKE PART IN FYROM EXHIBITION
[14] PASCHALIDES MEETS WITH PAN MACEDONIAN UNION REPS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] ALL EYES TURNED TO LIVES TRAPPED IN RUSSIAN SUB
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] SUICIDAL MD REMANDED IN PRISON PENDING TRIAL
A 45-year-old Greek physician was remanded in prison
yesterday pending trial for the injuries he inflicted on an
Albanian seasonal worker in an effort to incite the latter to kill
him, as he wished to die.
Gynecologist Alekos Doskouris led last Friday the
unsuspecting Oretin Prifti to a remote area where he forced him to
dig a grave. Doskouris then shot the 26-year-old worker, seriously
injuring him in the foot and chest, in an effort, according to
him, to force his victim to shoot back and throw the doctor in the
freshly-dug grave.
Doskouris was reportedly overwrought with remorse over his
recently-discovered involvement in illegal trading of
antiquities.
[02] TIF CELEBRATES 75th YEAR WITH SERIES OF EVENTS
The Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) is celebrating
the 75th anniversary since its founding, although it is presently
in its 63rd year of operation this year, since it was interrupted
between 1940 and 1950 due to World War II and the Greek civil war.
To commemorate the anniversary, TIF's board is holding a
series of events until November, including a special exhibition
titled "A Currency for Europe", which focuses on the historical
development of currencies in the continent, to the institution of
the euro.
[03] PUBLIC ORDER MINISTER TRAVELS TO U.S. NEXT MONTH
Minister of Public Order Michalis Chrysochoides will travel
to the United States in September in order to sign a police
cooperation protocol between the two countries.
The Greek government is to submit a counter-terrorism bill to
parliament, seeking to grant the police and judiciary wider powers
in handling terrorism cases.
The said bill calls for the abolishment of measures
construed as protecting terrorism suspects, while it will also
allow for house searches.
[04] UNITED STATES THE FEATURED COUNTRY AT TIF 2000
The United States will be the featured country at this year's
Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), which opens on September 2,
through a series of art exhibitions, musical events and lectures.
The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band is to perform at Thessaloniki's
new Concert Hall, while the Sixth Fleet's band will perform at
TIF.
Within the framework of TIF, to be formally inaugurated on
September 1 by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, a retrospective
exhibition featuring 70 works by Andy Warhol will be showcased at
the Macedonian Museum of Modern Art from August 22 to September
19. Also, another exhibition titled "Modern Odysseys" will feature
works by Greek-American artists of the 20th century.
Moreover, Thessaloniki's film festival organization, will co-
sponsor a small tribute to American cinema, titled "American
Movies of the 20th Century: Milestones of a Legendary Vision",
where screenings will include "On the Waterfront" and "Apocalypse
Now".
[05] PM WILL TRAVEL TO NEW YORK AFTER OPENING OF TIF
Prime Minister Costas Simitis will travel to New York in
September, at the invitation of U.S. President Bill Clinton, where
he will participate at the "Progressive Government" leaders
meeting.
Mr. Simitis will depart Greece on September 5, following
after the inauguration of Thessaloniki's International Fair on
September 1. While in New York, the Premier is expected to hold a
series of meetings with other state leaders.
The Greek Premier will be accompanied by the same group of
government officials who had escorted him to Berlin, while Foreign
Minister George Papandreou is also expected to be present.
[06] CHURCH REACTS TO PROPOSAL TO AXE RELIGION EXAMS
A proposal to remove the lesson of religion, along with other
courses, from the state-wide academic examinations, has been met
with sharp reactions from the Church of Greece, a development
expected to worsen the already-thorny relations between the church
and the state.
The proposal to exclude the religion course from the national
exams at the end of every academic years was submitted to
Educaitron Minister Petros Efthymiou by members of the Center of
Educational Research (KEE), which argued that "the experiential
nature of faith does not allow an examination of that knowledge in
the course."
As the Education Ministry's secretary general said yesterday
that academic curricula and exams are under the ministry's
exclusive purview, the minister's decision will be announced by
September 10.
The archdiocese expressed concern over such a prospect in a
statement yesterday, while Metropolitan Anthimos of
Alexandroupolis said that the Education Minister Efthymiou had
pledged there would be no changes in the religion curriculum.
[07] "PRESPES 2000" FESTIVAL OPENS NEXT WEEK
The annual "Prespes" festival, to be held in Florina and on
the island of Agios Achileios from August 25 through 28, will
feature the attendance of Balkan leaders and several Greek
deputies and government officials.
Greece's Minister of the Interior, Public Administration and
Decentralization Minister Vasso Papandreou will meet with FYROM's
interior and public order minister and Albania's vice president
and labor minister on August 26, while National Economy Deputy
Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos will hold meetings with his FYROM
and Albanian counterparts.
Macedonia and Thrace Minister George Paschalidis will
officially open the events on the island of Agios Achileios on
August 27, while Environment, City Planning and Public Works
Minister Costas Laliotis on 22 August will inaugurate a pedestrian
bridge connecting the Koula checkpoint to the island of Agios
Achilleios.
Culture Minister and Deputy Culture Minister Theodoros
Pangalos and Giorgos Floridis, respectively, will hold separate
meetings with their counterparts from Balkan states on 27 August,
while, later in the day, Mr. Pangalos will inaugurate the "Prespa
Library" at Agios Germanos.
The "Prespes" festival will feature concerts by Socratis
Malamas, Dimitris Mitropanos, Maria Farantouri, Elli Paspalia,
Savina Giannatou, the Florina-born tenor Sotos Papoulkas and gipsy
Ferush Mustamov, and a Bulgarian poetry night held on 28 August.
Within the framework of the festival, a labor-housing lottery will
be held on Friday, August 28, while the European Judo Championship
is scheduled to take place on September 8 and 9 at Amynteo.
[08] POLICE DETECT NO FOUL PLAY IN CAR-TRUNK CORPSE
An autopsy performed on the corpse found inside a car's trunk
in Athens has not produced indications of foul play, according to
police reports.
Authorities believe that sociologist Sotiria Tsili, 53,
entered the car's trunk on her own, perhaps with the intent to
commit suicide.
Ms. Tsili, an ethnic Greek from Albania, was a divorced
mother of three, and lived in the Athens suburb of Aghia
Paraskevi. She had been hospitalized in a mental institution a
year ago, following the sudden death of her son in a road
accident.
Her bag, which was found in the trunk with her, contained
medication and documents attesting to her precarious mental state.
Her body was fully clothed but reportedly lacked underwear.
The car owner, Yiannis Nikolaou, discovered the woman's body
on Wednesday morning when he drove to his car repair shop in
Petralona, having left the vehicle parked close to his house on 20
Paphou Street, Ilioupoli, for the previous two days.
[09] GREECE REMEMBERS DEVASTATING QUAKES IN TURKEY
Thessaloniki parliamentarian and former Minister of Macedonia-
Thrace Yiannis Magriotis commented on Greek-Turkish relations, one
year after the devastating earthquake in Turkey.
Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Magriotis stated
that the "earthquake diplomacy" bore a positive impact on
relations between the two neighbors, albeit he noted that Turkey
has since been gradually deviating from its commitments to the
European Union and Greece.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Panayotis Beglitis
stated that Greece will press on with its policy of improving
ties, building on the solidarity that the two nations showed each
other in the wake of last year's quakes in Turkey and Greece.
"The people of Greece and Turkey will only benefit from
closer cooperation between them. The positive reactions of
citizens and agencies in the past year have destroyed myths and
artificial tensions.
"With this stand our people have sent a message of
friendship, peace and cooperation. Responding to this message, the
Greek government will continue with the policy of principles it is
following in its relationship with Turkey, with respect for
international law and international treaties."
[10] NEW CHIEF AT VRYONIS CENTER OF HELLENISM STUDIES
A noted academic and author, Christos P. Ioannides, has been
elected as president of the board of the Speros Basil Vryonis
Center for the Study of Hellenism.
Mr. Ioannides will be replacing world-wide renowned professor
Speros Vryonis who held the post since 1996.
The Speros Basil Vryonis Center for the Study of Hellenism is
a nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to studying,
understanding, and promoting Hellenism and its role and
significance in contemporary culture and society.
Since its inception in 1985, the Vryonis Center has been
fully committed to studying and promoting Hellenic culture, not as
an antiquarian object, but as a dynamic and continuously evolving
cultural experience.
[11] GREEK CHURCH OBJECTS TO U.K.'S CLONING PROPOSALS
The Church of Greece has condemned the British government's
proposal to permit the cloning of human embryo cells for research
and healing.
A press release issued by the Holy Synod stated that "The
Church categorically opposes experiments conducted on human
embryos.
"This implies the destruction, not of embryonic cells but of
human embryos... The Church and Christian conscience accept that
humans are persons with eternal and immortal prospects from the
moment of their conception."
Moreover, the statement added that efforts to improve the lot
of man "cannot presuppose the destruction of millions of human
beings at an embryonic stage."
[12] LABORERS ASSOCIATIONS MEET TO CARVE OUT POSITION
A conference featuring the participation of the General
Confederation of Greek Laborers (GSEE), Workers' Centers from
torughout Norhtern Greece and the administration of the
Thessaloniki Laborers Center (EKTH) is to be held on August 31,
in an effort to map out the position to be adopted by the region's
unions over the government's economic agenda.
EKTH chairman Panayiotis Avramopoulos said that the state's
present policy is in dire need of reform, especially in the sector
of unemployment and labor.
Unionists threaten with mobilization in the case the
government shuns their demands and proposals.
[13] GREECE TO TAKE PART IN FYROM EXHIBITION
The Greek Organisation for Foreign Commerce has announced
that Greece will officially participate in the International
TEHNOMA 2000 exhibition, due to take place in Skopje from the 17th
until the 21st October.
Metallurgic products, structural, construction and electronic
materials and non-metallic minerals will be promoted at the
exhibition, which is being organised by SKOPJE FAIR.
The final application date for participants is 29th August. Those
interested can contact the PR department of the Commercial and
Industrial of Thessaloniki.
[14] PASCHALIDES MEETS WITH PAN MACEDONIAN UNION REPS
Greek minister of Macedonia and Thrace George Paschalides met
with the vice President of the Pan Macedonian Union of the US and
Canada Mr Proios and with the former President, Mr Gerasopoulos to
discuss matters concerning Greeks living abroad and the
preparations for the 4th Worldwide Conference for the Pan
Macedonian Unions of the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe, due to
be held in Dion, in July 2001.
The ministry of Macedonia and Thrace will always be near
Greeks living abroad and will support the administration and
organisation of the Conference, Mr Paschalides said.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] ALL EYES TURNED TO LIVES TRAPPED IN RUSSIAN SUB
Hopes are dimming for the 116 persons trapped inside the
Russian submarine sunked on the bed of the Barents Sea, as reports
are not encouraging after the most recent rescue attempt.
A last ditch possibility was reportedly to allow the Kursk
nuclear submarine to fill with water to level the pressure and the
crew would attempt to float to the surface with life vests;
however, none of the sophisticated Russian and American listening
devices in the surrounding waters has been reported as detecting
sounds of life inside the submarine.
As for what caused the accident in the first place, Russian
sources, according to press reports, no longer hint at the
possibility of a brush with a US submarine. There have been many
such incidents, but none with the catastrophic damage caused to
the Kursk.
Another theory is that the Kursk collided with an ice-breaker, as
the submarine rose towards the surface.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who only on Wednesday
ordered the military to accept any offered foreign help, is now
subject to his harshest criticism over having refused aid earlier.
|
