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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-02-16Macedonian 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, February 16, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GLAFKOS CLERIDES RE-ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF CYPRUSNicosia, February 16 (MPA)The incumbent President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides has been re-elected to the post, following yesterday’s second round of the presidential elections at the island, where he gathered 50.8% of the votes, as opposed to his opponent George Iakovou who amassed 49.2%.The declaration of the new president was made at midnight on Sunday. President Clerides was congratulated by the Greek, British and Cypriot political leaderships. [02] FARMERS TOUGHEN THEIR STANCE, TRANSPORTATION OBSTRUCTED AT TEMPIThessaloniki, February 16 (MPA)Transportation at Greece’s national highway is obstructed at the Tempi junction as the country’s protesting farmers have opened access to only one lane for the moving vehicles.Meanwhile, the Pan-Thessaly farmers’ co-ordinating committee are having successive meetings with the Secretary of PASOK Kostas Skandalides and the leaders of the opposition parties. The farmers of Serres, Imathia and Evros have withdrawn from the mobilisations. [03] ALBANIA’S PRESIDENT IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW TO MPATirana, February 16 (MPA)The situation in Kossovo is dangerous, according to Albania’s President Reijep Meidani, who, in an exclusive interview granted to the Macedonian Press Agency’s general Director Spyros Kouzinopoulos, stated that any delay in normalizing the situation in that area includes dangers for the wider region.President Meidani further stressed the need for continuous pressure exerted by the international community and the assignment of United Nations observers in Prishina. In light of his imminent official visit to Athens, scheduled for March 9, the Albanian President assesses that the cooperation enjoyed by Greece and Albania recently is on a positive course. Referring to the stabilisation of the situation in his country, Mr. Meidani stated that, in spite of the fact the road is long, there is the political will for truly democratic reform in his country. Mr. Meidani, responding to the cries of the fallen former President Sali Berisha and his followers who are opposed to the presence of the Greek military force in Albania, calls on them to respond to the question if they want Albania to accede the Euro- atlantic structures, or if they wish for its continued isolation. He attributed these dissenting voices to being the remnants of an antiquated policy, a “policy of speculation”, as he dubbed it, which aims to misinform the Albanian people. Referring to the relations between Greece and Albania, President Meidani stated that the multifaceted and fruitful cooperation between the two neighbors is currently on the positive track. When asked if during his visit to the United States, where he met with the United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, there was talk on assigning a UN peacekeeping mission to Albania, Mr. Meidani responded that Mr. Annan promised to assign a team of experts who will collaborate on ways to disarm those civilians who illicitly carry weapons. “In regards to Kossovo, we spoke of assigning a mission of the United Nations, not a force, since the current situation in the region is dangerous. We also advocated the idea of seeing a strong diplomatic presence on behalf of European organizations in order to avoid conflict,” he added. “In spite of this, a section of the Albanian press twisted all that was said. When I asked what all that nonsense was, they referred me to a German news agency, It was a set up. Luckily, there were journalists who knew of the situation.” Lastly, the Albanian President was asked on how dangerous he deems the situation in Kossovo is and he responded that “it is dangerous case, and if we do not act in a timely manner, it could materialize into something worse.” He added that the first step that should be done is to activate the Milosevic-Rugova agreement which was signed twenty months ago and which will create the framework for the promotion of dialogue. [04] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH THEODOROS PANGALOS TODAYAthens February 16 (MPA)Russian foreign minister Gevgeni Primakov is to be received by Greece’s Theodoros Pangalos today, after having arrived in Athens yesterday for a formal visit that will last until February 18.The Russian minister will also be received by the Greek president yesterday evening , while he will also meet with prime minister Kostas Simitis, parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis and main opposition party of New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis. The talks with Mr. Primakov will concern issues such as, the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, the situation in the Balkans, the Cyprus problem and the Greek-Turkish relations. [05] GREEK PM CONGRATULATES CYPRIOT PRESIDENT CLERIDES ON RE- ELECTIONAthens, February 16 (MPA)Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Simitis last night contacted the President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides and congratulated him on his victory in the island’s presidential elections.Mr. Simitis conveyed his wish that close cooperation between them continues as it has on all major Cypriot national issues. National Defence Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos also phoned the Cypriot president to congratulate him on his re-election. President Clerides thanked the Greek defence minister and said he was looking forward to a meeting with him. [06] BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY CONGRATULATES CLERIDES ON VICTORYLondon, February 16 (MPA)Britain’s Foreign Secretary and current EU Council President Robin Cook last night congratulated Mr. Clerides on behalf of the EU."We should now start working. The British presidency will soon have talks with the new Cyprus government to confer on important events which are expected in the coming weeks,” Mr. Cook stated, adding that “we wish to see the UN-sponsored process of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem to resume soon. We also wish to start (Cyprus') EU accession process in the best possible way on March 31.” [07] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO EGYPTAthens, February 16 (MPA)Greece’s National Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos is to depart for an official visit to Cairo today, where he will hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart and will visit local defense industries.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos will be received by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak tomorrow and also have talks with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Amir Mousa. On Wednesday, he is to meet representatives of Egypt's ethnic Greek community, as well as the Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Petros. [08] GOAT SHEPHERD STRANGLES WOLF WITH HIS BARE HANDSKavala, February 16 (MPA)A 23-year-old goat shepherd in a village near the city of Kavala in northern Greece, has reported that he strangled a wolf with his bare hands , when the animal attacked him last Thursday.According to press reports, Kostas Mihalopoulos strangled the wolf after grappling with it, although he stated that he did not want to kill the animal. "I've never harmed an animal, and I've never fought with a human being," Mr. Mihalopoulos said. The man had no knife or other weapon on him at the time. Despite his struggle with the wolf, Mr. Mihalopoulos was unharmed. 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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