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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-10-06Macedonian 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, October 6, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GLOBAL MONEY MARKETS SHAKY, THREAT OF WORLD RECESSION LOOMS AHEADNew York, October 6 (MPA)Global financial markets continue to feel the ground shake beneath them, as they await the outcome of the International Monetary Fund's general assembly.An indication that the threat of a global recession looms ahead, the New York Stock Exchange closed yesterday with a .80% drop, a direction followed by all of Europe's stock markets. In Athens, the general price index closed with a loss of .15%. [02] THESSALONIKI HOSPITAL DOCTORS TO CONTINUE STRIKE FOR FIFTH WEEKThessaloniki, October 6 (MPA)Hospital doctors in Thessaloniki will continue their strike for a fifth consecutive week, defying their administrative council's advice to end the protest.As a result, the president of the Union of Hospital Doctors and four other council members submitted their resignations. Meanwhile, the city's municipal court has ordered the arrest of anyone who obstructs the smooth operation of the hospitals. [03] US ENVOY HOLBROOKE TO MEET WITH KOSSOVO REBELSPrishtina, October 6 (MPA)United States envoy Richard Holbrooke is to meet with leaders of Kossovo's autonomists in Prishtina today.Following his meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic yesterday, Mr. Holbrooke stated that he did not reach any breakthrough and stated that the situation remains extremely grave. Mr. Milosevic stated that the threat of a NATO military intervention in his country is “a criminal act”. [04] HOLBROOKE DELIVERS ELEVENTH-HOUR WARNING TO MILOSEVICBelgrade, October 6 (MPA)Even though United States envoy Richard Holbrooke has delivered an 11th-hour warning to Yugoslavia that it halt its attacks against Kossovo's Albanians, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has given no sign of backing down.Following his meeting with Mr. Holbrooke, Mr. Milosevic's office denounced the threats of a NATO strike as a "criminal act". Mr. Milosevic repeated that Belgrade is prepared to return to the negotiating table. United States President Bill Clinton expressed concern that Mr. Milosevic was "playing the classic game of making false promises" to avoid military strikes. In a phone call with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, he said Mr. Milosevic's compliance with UN demands "must be verifiable, tangible and irreversible.'' While Russia has reiterated its opposition to military action taken against Yugoslavia, President Yeltsin has conveyed to Mr. Milosevic that unless immediate steps were taken to remedy the situation, the Alliance could go ahead with its plans to use force. The government in Belgrade has meanwhile approved a Russian proposal to allow monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) into Kossovo to make their own report. [05] KOFI ANNAN NEITHER ENDORSES, NOR REJECTS NATO STRIKE IN KOSSOVONew York, October 6 (MPA)United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who presented his report on the Kossovo crisis to the Security Council yesterday, has decried the "appalling atrocities in Kossovo," and said it was clear Yugoslav forces were responsible for the bulk of them.However, Mr. Annan said he did not have the means to verify whether President Milosevic had complied with UN resolutions demanding a cease-fire. According to the BBC, Mr. Annan's failure to endorse or reject military intervention has come as a sharp anti-climax, as NATO member-states had been awaiting the report to determine whether to use military force. [06] DEFENDORY '98 ARMS FAIR BEGINS IN PIRAEUS TODAYAthens, October 6 (MPA)The "Defendory" international trade fair for conventional defense systems, held under the auspices of the Greek Defense Ministry, is to begin today at the port authority's seafront exhibition center Among the firms taking part in the trade fair, which ends on October 10, is the Hellenic Arms Industry, which is to present nine new products resulting from joint ventures.The products include Shorad mobile anti-aircraft missile systems and Milan anti-tank missile launchers. [07] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL SOLANA TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS ON FRIDAYAthens, October 6 (MPA)NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana is to arrive in Athens on Friday and will be received by the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, according to government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.Mr. Reppas said he had no new information on the dialogue between Greece and Turkey at NATO under Mr. Solana's auspices . Moreover, he did not comment on press reports which claim there had been a recent meeting between Greek and Turkish officials on the issue, saying that it was Mr. Solana's as well as Athens' and Ankara's wish that these talks remain confidential. [08] CYPRUS'S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION IS ON THE RIGHT COURSELuxembourg, October 6 (MPA)The European Union's Foreign Ministers Council, which met in Luxembourg yesterday, issued a communique stating that substantive negotiations between the European Union and the six candidate- countries will start on November 10.According to the communique, the 15 foreign ministers have unanimously agreed that screening talks with Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovenia proceeded so well that the enlargement talks can now move at an accelerated pace. In regards to Cyprus, the communique stated that the EU's target is the creation of "a bi-zonal and bi-communal state based on the overall political settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of relevant UN resolutions." It added that "progress achieved in the accession course of Cyprus, as well as those linked to a viable and just solution to the Cyprus issue will naturally support each other." The Council also expressed regret over the fact that a solution has not yet been found to the continuing division of Cyprus. Nevertheless, the reunification before accession demand expressed by France and Italy was ignored. Speaking to reporters yesterday afternoon, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos expressed his satisfaction over references made to Cyprus. When asked whether the accession of a divided Cyprus into the EU would be feasible, Mr. Pangalos pointed to the example of Germany which, although divided, was among the countries which played a leading role in the course towards European unification, as he noted. Replying to another question, Mr. Pangalos referred to efforts by France, primarily, to link the accession of Cyprus to the EU with a solution to the Cyprus issue. He said that once again France raised a similar issue and that again it received the necessary reply. However, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine warned "there cannot be automatic membership for a divided Cyprus". [09] GREECE HAS SERIOUS RESERVATIONS ON MILITARY ACTION TAKEN IN KOSSOVOAthens, October 6 (MPA)The Greek government has "serious reservations" about the undertaking of any military action to resolve the conflict in the Yugoslav province of Kossovo.Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that "the solution to the crisis must be political and found through dialogue," expressing the hope that the consultations currently under way will yield positive results. "There must be no more bloodshed in the region," he said. [10] KOSTAKIS ART COLLECTION ARRIVES IN THESSALONIKI TODAYThessaloniki, October 6 (MPA)The "Kostakis collection" of Russian avant-garde works of art will begin arriving in Thessaloniki today from the city of Cologne and will be initially housed at the Lazariston Monastery until the completion of the city's modern art museum.Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos stated that an interim agreement has been signed for the purchase of about half of the Kostakis collection in January. A substantial part of the Kostakis Collection is also in the possession of the Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow. George Kostakis, a Moscow resident of Greek descent, amassed the collection between 1930 and 1960 by exchanging works by western artists for paintings dating from the period 1910-1930 by then unknown Russian avant-garde artists. The collection, which now belongs to the grand-daughter of the famous collector, Aliki Kostaki, includes works by Malevic, founder of the "Supremacist" school, Tatlin, the founder of "Constructivism", Popova, Rozanova and Mathiushin. [11] PARTIAL MOBILIZATION IN YUGOSLAVIA IN LIGHT OF POSSIBLE NATO STRIKEBelgrade, October 6 (MPA)Yugoslavia embarked on a partial mobilization of its forces later last night, according to reports, thereby responding to the preparation of NATO's forces for a possible air strike against military targets in Belgrade.According to the same reports, the mobilization is conducted through special invitations forwarded to reservists who have been trained in anti-aircraft artillery. Yugoslavia's federal parliament also held a session last night where Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic said the country was facing an immediate threat of war and asked parliament to adopt proposed legislation for special funding "to defend the country". [12] SERB INFORMATION MINISTRY TO MEDIA: DON'T REBROADCAST FOREIGN NEWSBelgrade, October 6 (MPA)Serbia's information ministry warned yesterday against independent broadcasters re-transmitting foreign programs, the private B-92 radio station reported, citing a ministry communique. Such programs were "made by the propaganda services of western powers which are conducting a hostile policy" towards Yugoslavia, the ministry said.It warned that reproducing them was a "direct offense against constitutional order" which amounted to espionage against one's own people, adding that it would tolerate "no form of subversive activity prejudicial to the country's defense capability." The government statement followed threats in the Yugoslav parliament by extreme nationalist Vojislav Seseli against Yugoslavs working for foreign media and local radio stations which made use of foreign programs. "We are certainly not going to allow the retransmission of statements which are part of the war being waged by the West against Yugoslavia," Seseli said, singling out the Voice of America, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe and Radio France Internationale. The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) responded by telling its members to carry on as normal. The French-based press freedom organization Reporters sans Frontieres expressed its concern yesterday in a letter forwarded Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic at the increase in threats to the press. [13] AIR BALLOONS TO FILL THESSALONIKI'S SKY WITH A MYRIAD OF COLORSThessaloniki, October 6 (MPA)Thessaloniki's sky is to be filled with brightly-colored air balloons for the next three days, as the First Air Balloon Cup races, organized by the Ministry of Health, gets underway today.Locals and visitors will have the chance to enjoy a spectacular event which features the participation of twenty air balloons with crews from Greece, Britain, Ukraine, Turkey and Slovakia. The race will begin this evening in front of the city's landmark White Tower and balloonists will fly to Mt. Olympus, reaching heights of 20,000 feet. Crew members are also expected to conduct parachute jumps. 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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