Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-04-27

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] PM TO CABINET: DON'T BE AFRAID OF POLITICAL COST

[02] UNEMPLOYMENT DIPS BELOW 11%, A FIRST IN 3 YEARS

[03] PAPANDREOU: THE INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN THE POLITICAL PRISONERS

[04] MOMENTOUS MEMORANDUM SIGNED FOR ATHENS 2004

[05] EVANGELOS MEIMARAKIS IS THE NEW DEMOCRACY CENTRAL COMMITTEE SECRETARY

[06] OUTDOOR LESSONS IN THESSALONIKI'S ARISTOTELOUS SQUARE

[07] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[08] THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE GREEK ECONOMY IS SATISFACTORY

[09] SEMINAR OF BALKAN ENGLISH TEACHERS IN N. GREECE

[10] AUSTRALIA, HOME TO ABOUT HALF A MILLION GREEKS

[11] NEW METHOD IN BRAIN SURGERY BY A GREEK-AUSTRALIAN NEUROSURGEON

[01] PM TO CABINET: DON'T BE AFRAID OF POLITICAL COST

The government will not accept evasiveness, delays or postponement of the necessary changes in the social security sector and is not afraid of the political cost, Prime Minister Costas Simitis told the Cabinet today, in a session held on the aftermath of the furor caused by the planned reforms.

The Premier stated that while the government could have waited until 2005 (one year after the next elections) to table the sweeping reforms, any such delay would have only caused greater havoc for workers and pensioners.

Stressing that the problems in the social security system as it is are real, Mr. Simitis said the workers' concerns are "understood" by the government. However, he emphasized, the state will tackle the system's reform without prejudice underling that the government is prepared to adopt every solution that will provide genuine security for the working people.

A.F.

[02] UNEMPLOYMENT DIPS BELOW 11%, A FIRST IN 3 YEARS

The state unemployment rate dipped below the eleven percent mark during the third quarter of 2000, a first during the past three years according to the National Statistics Service.

Specifically, the country's unemployment rate amounted to 10.9 percent of the registered labor force, or 485,900 persons.

In a year-to-year review, a 7.8 percent decrease was noted in the rate of the long-term unemployed.

The plight of joblessness is hardest felt in western Macedonia (13.5%), central Greece and Eubia (12.7%), while the lowest unemployment rate was noted in the Ionian Sea islands (4.8%) and Crete (5.5%0.

A.F.

[03] PAPANDREOU: THE INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN THE POLITICAL PRISONERS BRINGS RESULTS

The Greek government moves and acts within the framework of the principles and preconditions of the European Union, stated foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou responding to a question by Communist Party parliament deputy Liana Kaneli on the moves made by the Greek government on the issue of the political prisoners in Turkey.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the Greek government reaction in placed within the efforts of the European Union which through its partnership relation with Turkey forces the neighboring country to respect the freedom of expression and association, stop the torture of prisoners, abolish the death penalty and proceed with its democratization.

[04] MOMENTOUS MEMORANDUM SIGNED FOR ATHENS 2004

A 140-billion-drachma Operational Plan for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games has been officially signed between Interior Minister Vasso Papandreou and the Athens Organizing committee Yianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

The memorandum provides for functional and aesthetic improvements to areas where Olympic events will take place - including 40 billion-worth of extra municipal personnel - a public information campaign and the setting up of volunteer teams.

A.F.

[05] EVANGELOS MEIMARAKIS IS THE NEW DEMOCRACY CENTRAL COMMITTEE SECRETARY

Parliament deputy Evangelos Meimarakis was elected Central Committee secretary of the right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy.

According to the official results, Meimarakis got 320 votes and Petros Tatoulis 129, while there were 27 blank and spoiled ballot papers.

Mr. Meimarakis stated that there are no winners or losers because everybody will cooperate to bring New Democracy to power.

[06] OUTDOOR LESSONS IN THESSALONIKI'S ARISTOTELOUS SQUARE

An outdoor lesson with the participation of students from a number of schools will be held in Thessaloniki's Aristotelous Square this afternoon under the supervision of Michel Boiron, pedagogic adviser for the French television station TV5.

The students will be able to view on a giant screen parts of television shows and video clips that will be used as education material for the learning of the French language or as a methodology for the learning of a foreign language with the use of the television image.

The event is placed within the framework of the European Language Year 2001 and is a unique Greek proposal that was approved by the European Committee to take place in the first half of the year.

The goal is to make the participants realize the excitement and pleasure a student can get while learning a foreign language.

[07] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to + 0.51% at 3.264,55 points, while the volume of transactions was 186.5 million Euro or 63.5 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 99 recorded gains and 219 had losses, while the value of 60 stocks remained stable.

[08] THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE GREEK ECONOMY IS SATISFACTORY

Greece occupies the 30th place on the list drawn up by the International Institute for Management Development having as a criterion the competitiveness of the economy. Greece has left behind other European Union member-states namely, Italy (32nd) and Portugal (34th).

Fourteen places below Greece is Turkey. The list is republished on the electronic page of the Wall Street Journal and was formed based on the views of senior business executives on the competitiveness of the economies around the world.

The United States are on the top of the list of the most competitive economies followed by Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Sweden, Canada and Switzerland.

[09] SEMINAR OF BALKAN ENGLISH TEACHERS IN N. GREECE

The Balkan Symposium of English Language Teachers gets underway in the city of Alexandroupolis, Northern Greece today, featuring the participation of delegates from Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

The seminar, to be held until Sunday, April 29, is organized by the Pan-Thracian Association of English Language Teachers of Public Education, in cooperation with the Balkan Association of Instruction and Training and the municipality of Alexandroupolis.

An international book fair will be held on the sidelines of the seminar.

A.F.

[10] AUSTRALIA, HOME TO ABOUT HALF A MILLION GREEKS

Australia is home to almost half a million Greeks, if one includes the Greek-Cypriot community, expatriate Greek academic Professor Anastasios Tamis stated during a presentation of his new book on the history of Australia's Greeks in Canberra.

According to professor Tamis, who noted that 50.8 of the Greek-Australian community lives in Melbourne, this figure is derived from data released by the Australian statistics service.

The professor also noted that there are 1,500 Greek-Australian organizations throughout the country with no umbrella or coordinating body to represent them. He also acknowledged the active interest shown in the expatriate community by the Greek government.

A.F.

[11] NEW METHOD IN BRAIN SURGERY BY A GREEK-AUSTRALIAN NEUROSURGEON

Neurosurgeon Dr. Kon Fatouros at the Royal Hospital in Perth, Australia uses a new method in dangerous brain operations.

According to the Greek-Australian newspaper "Neos Kosmos", it is an internal operation method that allows the brain to be left intact, adding that it is very effective in cases of blood vessel and central nervous system abnormalities.

For the record, scientists from all over the world visit the Royal Hospital in Perth to learn from the Greek-Australian scientist the new method used in the brain blood vessels operations.

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