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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-04-13Macedonian 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, April 13, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] ARCHBISHOP SERAPHIM TO BE BURIED WITH HEAD OF STATE HONORSAthens, April 13 (MPA)The funeral of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Seraphim who died on Friday, will be held today with honors of a head of state. The Archbishop passed away at the age of 85 after leading the Orthodox Church of Greece for 23 years. He died after 45 days in hospital fighting a viral infection, complicated by chronic renal failure and kidney dialysis treatments. The Archbishop's body has been lying in state at the Athens Cathedral since Friday. His funeral is scheduled for 10 am while the burial will take place at Athens First Cemetery around midday. The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos is to attend the service, along with the Premier Kostas Simitis and a score of political leaders and officials. A four-day public mourning period has been declared by the Cabinet, and all public services, except banks and state-owned utilities companies- will remain closed today in deference to the late prelate. The new Archbishop is to be elected on April 28.[02] FORMER PRESIDENT KARAMANLIS REMAINS IN CRITICAL CONDITIONAthens, April 13 (MPA)Greece’s former President Konstantinos Karamanlis continues to be in a critical condition, suffering a heart attack early Sunday morning, although his physicians state that he is alert and he is in a serious but slightly improved condition. The 91-year-old statesman, who was hospitalized on Tuesday with bronchial pneumonia, went into cardiac arrest at 2.25 am Sunday., and doctors at the YGEIA hospital acted immediately to restore the heart's function, and 20 minutes later moved him to the intensive care unit for better monitoring of his condition. The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos the leader of the main opposition party New Democracy Kostas Karamanlis, who is the statesman’s nephew, and other political officials have visited Mr. Karamanlis.[03] GREEK PM DEPARTS TOMORROW FOR TWO-VISIT TO BULGARIAAthens, April 13 (MPA)The proposal made by Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos that a regional military force be found and established in Thessaloniki is to be among the issues to be discussed by Greece’s Premier Kostas Simitis during his meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Ivan Kostov.Mr. Simitis will depart for Sofia tomorrow, embarking on a two-day visit where hew will discuss with Mr. Kostov a series of matters related to security, cooperation and progress in the Balkans. The two premiers will focus on regional security, Bulgaria’s candidacy for accession to the European Union and NATO, bilateral relations, and the application of the declarations that stemmed from the Crete Summit held last November. [04] KARADJIC WON’T TURN HIMSELF IN AT THE HAGUEBelgrade, April 13 (MPA)Radovan Karadjic is not about to turn himself in at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, according to his wife who told the Bosnian-Serb news agency thaty her husband “will never turn himself in voluntarily and will resist every effort to arrest him and detain him illegally.”[05] NINE OLYMPIC AIRWAYS FLIGHTS CANCELLED, PASSENGERS UPSETAthens, April 13 (MPA)Travelers opting for Olympic Airways routes were in for long delays and many had to scramble for alternatives as nine of the national air carrier’s flights were canceled today, in addition to two others that were merged.Meanwhile, the O.A. administrators are looking into renting aircraft from other carriers in order to meet the increased demand this Easter week. May’s flight schedule is to be announced today, while European Union officials are to review’ the state- owned company’s course today. [06] GREECE, ROMANIA, BULGARIA AGREE ON BALKAN COOPERATIONSantorini, April 13 (MPA)Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, whose foreign ministers met at the Greek island of Santorini on Saturday, have agreed to cooperate in order to overcome the deadlock over where to build a bridge across the Danube which would link the Balkan region with western Europe.In a joint declaration issued after two days of talks on the Greek island of Santorini, the foreign ministers, Theodoros Pangalos of Greece, Nadezhda Mihailova of Bulgaria and Andrei Plesu of Romania also proposed the opening of negotiations between Belgrade and the Albanian community of Kosovo. Moreover, they endorsed Romania's and Bulgaria's applications for European Union and NATO membership, and agreed on further advancement of the principles of good neighborhood and respect of international law, as well expansion of economic, technical and police cooperation among their three countries. In the joint declaration, and also in statements, the three ministers outlined the desire of the countries of southeastern Europe to upgrade their position in the international scene, through: Reaffirmation of Bulgaria’s and Romania's desire to join the EU and NATO and expediting the adaptation of their structures with the European structures. In that context, Ms. Mihailova explained, Greece would continue to provide training and specialization in issues concerning the European Union and its integration, at inter-state level. Coordination of police services in the fight against crime, particularly terrorism and trafficking in narcotics, arms, radioactive material and human organs, and also against economic crime. The ministers expressed support for Romania's initiative to host the corresponding division of SECI (Southeast Europe Cooperation Initiative). Mr. Pangalos spoke of "African-type infrastructures" that hindered the smooth movement of goods and people. The declaration notes the full agreement of the three ministers for advancement of sections of the major road artery that will run from St. Petersburg to Alexandropoulis which, with simultaneous upgrading of the ports of Kavala and Thessaloniki, could evolve into an attractive alternative to the Dardanelles Straits. [07] EU’S ALTENER:GREEK ISLANDS PRESENT “GREENHOUSE” EFFECTStrasbourg, April 13 (MPA)The Greek islands, both in the Ionian Sea and the Aegean, appear to present signs of the “greenhouse”effect, according to results of studies conducted by scientists working for the Council of Europe, within the framework of the European Union’s ALTENER II program,The studies measured rainfall noted in the Greek islands for the past fifty years which provide “a specific draft example that corresponds to the symptoms of the greenhouse effect, according to which, bears as a result an increase in temperatures on the planet and a transfer of the rainfall from the equator to the poles.” Specifically, the study mentions that, between 1955-1995, the northern island of Corfu, presented a notable decrease in rainfall, a phenomenon also seen in the islands of southern Aegean such as Rhodes and Crete. ALTENER II is a five year Program of measures and actions to promote renewable energy sources in the European Union proposed under the initiative of Greek Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, responsible for Energy. A budget of 30 MECU has been proposed for the first two years. The purpose of the project is to make a meaningful contribution to the achievement of the Union's objective for a significant increase in renewables. Its objectives will be firstly to help create the necessary legal, socio- economic and administrative conditions for the implementation of an action plan for renewables, and, secondly, to encourage private and public investments in the production and use of energy from renewable sources. [08] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.3 ON RICHTER SCALE IN KOZANIThessaloniki, April 13 (MPA)The earthquake that shook the city of Kozani during today’s early morning hours, measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, has been characterized as a local phenomenon, by Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University Geophysics professors Vasilis Papazachos.According to the University’s Geophysics laboratory, the earthquake occurred at 2.53 am, with its epicenter being felt at the mountainous community of Pentalofos, fifty kilometers west of Kozani. According to Mr. Papazachos, the region is known for its seismic activity, but last night’s tremor is no cause for concern. [09] FREE ACCESS TO MT. ATHOS TREASURES EXHIBITION FOR 2 DAYSThessaloniki, April 13 (MPA)The exhibition of the Mt. Athos treasures, currently hosted at Thessaloniki’ s Byzantine Museum, is to be open to the public free of charge this Saturday and the Monday after Easter.Due to the Easter holidays, the Museum will be open on Good Friday between 12.30-17.00 p.m., on Saturday from 8.30 am to 15.00 p.m., will be closed on Easter Sunday and will re-open on the Monday after Easter between 8.30 am and 15.00 p.m.. [10] GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS HONORED IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, April 13 (MPA)The Armenian National Committee of Greece is to honor the 83rd anniversary since the genocide of Armenians by the Turks in a series of events that will aim at denouncing the crimes committed by the neighboring country against one-and-a-half million innocent people.The events in Thessaloniki are to start today and will conclude on Sunday, April 26 when PASOK deputy Haris Kastanides will give an address in town. On Friday, April 24, a memorial service will be held at noon at the Armenian Church and a protest rally will be held the same evening outside the city’s Turkish consulate. 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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