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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2003-05-06
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY
Thessaloniki, May 6, 2003
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] SCANDAL MONGERING IN POLITICS
[02] EUROPEAN POLICY AGAINST THE VIRUS
[03] A THREAT TO HISTORY
[04] FOR A DEFENSIVE EUROZONE AND POWERFUL PRESIDENT
[05] JUSTIFYING A KILLING...
[06] FIVE FIRES IN TWO HOURS IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS
[07] COUNTERFEIT 200 EURO BANK NOTES
[08] V. SKOURIS: NOTICEABLE GREEK IMPROVEMENT IN EUROPE
[09] THE IRAQ EXPERIENCE
[10] COMMON FOREIGN POLICY AND DEFENSE IS A ONE WAY STREET
[11] KOUFONTINAS: SOTIROPOULOU UNRELATED TO 17N ACTIONS
[12] PETSALNIKOS: THE HAND OVER OF EUROPEAN CITIZENS TO THE US CAN BE REJECTED
[13] GOV'T SPOKESMAN: ELECTIONS IN THE SPRING OF 2004
[14] INFORMAL MEETINGS OF THE EU MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE, TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT MARINE
[15] GAINS IN THE ASE
[16] INFORMAL MINISTERIAL AND HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS MEETING ON EUROPEAN TOURISM
[17] THE GREEK UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE ATTACK AGAINST A GREEK MISSION IN IRAQ
[18] APPEAL BY MRS. PAPANDREOU FOR SPECIFIC ACTIONS ON WATER RESOURCES
[19] THE GREEK ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH THE CROAT UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[20] CULTURE AND AUDIOVISUAL MINISTERS COUNCIL MEETING IN BRUSSELS
[21] SYMPOSIUM ON TRANS-EUROPEAN AND PAN-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORKS
NEWS IN DETAILS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] SCANDAL MONGERING IN POLITICS
A new attack against MP and member of PASOK's Executive Committee Michalis Neonakis, was carried out today by the "Avriani" newspaper, while the Prime Minister stated yesterday that the Presidency is the government's priority, and that he would not allow
the discussion to move to scandal mongering, while the Government Spokesperson stated that elections will be held in 2004. Charges were pressed against "Avriani" publisher G. Kouris, whom Mr. Neonakis is also threatening with lawsuits. There is also disc
omfort in New Democracy, drawing on the book published by the former director of the "Eleftheros Typos" newspaper G. Kyrtsou, referring to the relationships between party officials and businessmen.
[02] EUROPEAN POLICY AGAINST THE VIRUS
An emergency meeting in order to set a policy as far as dealing with SARS is concerned will be held today by the Ministers of Health of the EU. If there is a case of SARS, the patient can be transferred to anywhere in the EU very quickly, said Prime Mini
ster Costas Simitis. There were encouraging messages on controlling the virus in certain countries, but new measures were taken in Beijing, where the situation seems to be out of hand and new, yet ineffective, measures are constantly taken.
[03] A THREAT TO HISTORY
Developments in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem may have dangerous side effects, where Patriarch Irineos, who does not recognize the Israeli state despite international pressure, submitted a lawsuit in Athens against the Metropolite of Vostra, Timotheos, c
alling on the confession of a Palestinian arrested by the Palestinian authorties, who stated that he had accepted a proposition to kill the Patriarch for $500,000. Moscow and the Vatican are opening a discussion on the regime in the Holy Lands.
[04] FOR A DEFENSIVE EUROZONE AND POWERFUL PRESIDENT
President of ND Costas Karamanlis was in favor of Greece's participation in the works for the creation of a defensive Eurozone, during his speech welcoming the new EuroMPs from the countries of the enlargement to the European Peoples' Party. At the same
time, Mr. Karamanlis was in favor of instituting a powerful President for the European Commission, while he asked for European initiative for a solution for the island. The EU can and must enforce its historically justified model on policies, not military
operations, stated Mr. Karamanlis.
[05] JUSTIFYING A KILLING...
After the short recess ordered by the court President, the testimony of Heather Saunders, widow of Brigadier Steven Saunders who was killed by 17N, was completed yesterday. The recess took place after tensions due to questions asked by the defense attorn
ey of D. Koufontinas and A. Sotiropoulou, Ioanna Kourtovic, regarding the Brigadier's relations to the British secret services. After Mrs. Saunders, who characterized the killing as cowardly, eyewitnesses in the case testified.
[06] FIVE FIRES IN TWO HOURS IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS
There was unsettlement in Athens yesterday afternoon, when 6 fires broke out in buildings, almost at once. Today, 39-year-old Spyros Koyonos will be taken to the DA today, as he endangered the lives of residents and employees, when he set fire to the gro
und floors and basements of their apartment and office buildings.
Spyros Koyonos is being held in the investigations' section of the Fire Department, while according to information he has been a patient at a psychological clinic in the past and still suffers from psychological problems.
The perpetrator lit 6 residential and office buildings ablaze in 2 hours, and the intervention of the fire department was required to save employees from a burning building in one case. The rest of the fires were quickly put out by the Fire Department. K
oyonos was later arrested in his home in Agia Varvara, Athens.
[07] COUNTERFEIT 200 EURO BANK NOTES
There is concern among police authorities due to the circulation of batches of counterfeit 200 euro bank notes, which have started turning up over the past few months in various regions of Northern Greece. According to information from the police service
s, over the past 7 months, more than 180 counterfeit 200 euro bank notes have been seized in the areas of Kavala, Thessaloniki and Evros, a fact that has led the police and bank authorities to the conclusion that the counterfeit currency may be being traf
ficked by organized rings in SE Europe.
The largest batch of counterfeit 200 euro bank notes (128 in total) was located in the area of Eleftheroupoli, Kavala, and Thessaloniki, and had been "offset" printed, while according to information from the Forgery and Counterfeiting Investigation Lab o
f the Direction of Criminal Investigations, the counterfeit currency has been circulating broadly since November 2002 all over the country, as approximately 50% of the counterfeit notes trafficked into Greece since the euro was instituted have been seized
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