Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-06-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] NATO WILL OFFER AIR AND SEA ASSISTANCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES SECURITY

[02] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[03] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE REPRESENTATIVES MET WITH THE MINISTER OF

[04] THE GREEKS SPEND MOST OF THEIR INCOME ON HOUSING AND FOOD

[05] FRUITFUL CONTACTS BY THE GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER IN EGYPT

[06] XENOFON ZOLOTAS DIED TODAY

[07] NO GREEK TROOPS TO IRAQ

[08] CURTAIN FALLS THIS EVENING

[09] THE OLYMPIC FLAME ON ITS WAY FROM NEW DELHI TO CAIRO

[01] NATO WILL OFFER AIR AND SEA ASSISTANCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES SECURITY

The framework of cooperation between Greece and NATO during the Olympic Games was determined in the contacts NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had in Athens on Thursday with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Petros Moliviatis and Spilios Spiliotopoulos respectively.

According to the Athens newspaper "TA NEA", the framework of cooperation provides that the land forces will be under Greek command, while the alliance will control air and sea forces.

During the contacts he had with Minister of Defense Spilios Spiliotopoulos Mr. Scheffer was briefed in detail on the involvement of the armed forces in the Olympic Games security program and according to government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos, expressed the certainty that the games will be good, very successful and safe.

[02] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.45% at 2400,02 points, while the volume of transactions was at 107.4 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 101 had gains and 193 had losses, while the value of 92 stocks remained unchanged.

[03] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE REPRESENTATIVES MET WITH THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION

The representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Metropolites of Efesos and Philadelphia, met with Minister of Education Mrs. Marietta Yiannakou in Athens.

In the meeting they discussed the likelihood and the conditions under which the Theology School of Halki will reopen and both sides expressed the wish that the Theology School will reopen soon.

Afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarchate representatives met with Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis.

In statements he made on the easing of the crisis within the Church, Metropolite Chrisostomos of Efesos stated that he is annoyed by the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch's gesture to apologize himself, instead of the three new Metropolites in the New Countries, was not appreciated as much as it should.

[04] THE GREEKS SPEND MOST OF THEIR INCOME ON HOUSING AND FOOD

The Greeks spend most of their family budget on housing and food, according to a European research on the living conditions in the European Union households.

Based on the Eurostat research, the lower the economic level of a household the greatest the likelihood to spend most of its income on food and less on recreation.

Specifically, the Greek households spend 20% of their budget on food, drinks and cigarettes and just 13% on entertainment.

However, Greece has the highest level of privately owned housing. Notably, the households with the lowest incomes have greater percentages of private housing (90%) compared to the households with higher incomes (80%).

[05] FRUITFUL CONTACTS BY THE GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER IN EGYPT

The contacts Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis, responsible for European affairs, had with members of the Egyptian government in Cairo on Thursday were characterized as fruitful. Among the issues discussed in the meetings were the developments in Cyprus.

Mr. Valinakis stressed that any effort aimed at the recognition of the Turkish occupied northern part of the island will have as a result the alienation of the Turkish Cypriots from the Greek Cypriots and will weaken the hope for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

He also requested Egypt's support in view of the Islamic Conference Summit meeting in Istanbul.

Mr. Valinakis represented the Greek government in the ceremonies organized in Cairo on the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic Flame in Egypt.

[06] XENOFON ZOLOTAS DIED TODAY

Academician and former Prime Minister Xenofon Zolotas died early this morning at the age of 100.

For over four decades he dominated the economic thought in Greece and occupied the top positions in the banking system and the Ministry of Finance, while he also served as a Prime Minister in the all-party coalition government between November 23, 1989 and April 11, 1990.

For several years, he was a university professor, an academician, a governor of the Bank of Greece and a top economist.

Born in Athens in 1904, he studied Economics at the University of Athens, in Leipzig and Paris. His carrier as a professor began in 1928 in Athens' University, and lasted until 1968 when he resigned in protest against the dictatorship that was imposed on Greece in 1967. He held top-level positions in Greek and international organizations and was distinguished as the directing mind of the Greek economy. He was a member of the Board of Directors of UNRRA, in 1946, governor on behalf of Greece in the International Monetary Fund between 1946 and 1947 and between 1974 and 1981.

Xenofon Zolotas was a distinguished figure of the world economy as he was the one who introduced the organizing of the credit system of the International Monetary Fund.

His writing work is enormous. His doctoral thesis Greece at the level of industrialization was being used until the early 70s, to study Greece's economy and other economies that share common features. He was the editor of the Review of Economic and Political Sciences in Greece.

Xenofon Zolotas made two speeches in Washington, USA, in 1957 and 1959, in the board of directors meeting of the International Bank of Reconstruction, which remained in history because of their content and language. The language he used, apart from conjunctions, articles and prepositions, was Greek, but the English-speaking audience had no trouble understanding it.

[07] NO GREEK TROOPS TO IRAQ

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos categorically denied information on the likelihood of sending a Greek military force to Iraq and Afghanistan within the framework of NATO and attributed the issue that was created to a misinterpretation of the statements made yesterday by the Minister of Defense.

Nobody has requested from Greece to send troops and not even a discussion has been held on such an issue, stated Mr. Rousopoulos.

[08] CURTAIN FALLS THIS EVENING

Curtain falls this evening for the colorless pre-election period of Sunday's Euro-elections with the press conference of PASOK leader Giorgos Papandreou and New Democracy's pre-election rally in Athens having as a main speaker Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

The polling stations will open at 7am and close at 7pm on Sunday evening, while the exit polls' results will be out immediately afterwards. The formal results will be announced in all European countries after 11pm.

The British and the Dutch voted yesterday for the election of their Euro-deputies, while the Italians, the Maltese and the Latvians will vote tomorrow and the rest of the Europeans on Sunday.

An estimated 349 million European citizens have the right to vote and they will elect a total of 732 Euro-deputies. However, it is expected that only half of the voters will go to the polls.

[09] THE OLYMPIC FLAME ON ITS WAY FROM NEW DELHI TO CAIRO

New Delhi welcomed the Olympic Flame with an enthusiasm that exceeded not only all expectations but also the crowd turnout forecasts. The police was not able to hold back the tens of thousands of people, who wanted to follow closely the course of the Flame at the hands of famous artists and sport personalities. Inevitably, the Flame did not take the planned elephant ride: the expected procession of elephants did not take place, as thousands of people broke through the police barriers and swarmed the area.

There were no incidents, but the crowd's size and enthusiasm did not allow the event to be concluded as planned.

It was a course full of colors and of the peculiarities of the city which will host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, and which also aspires to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. New Delhi welcomed Athens in a warm, musical way. With crowds flocking to greet the torchbearers and take a closer look at sports, movie and TV stars. Under oppressive heat and humidity, the city's central locations were packed with people who watched the Flame change hands 105 times. 

It was the main event of these days for the Indian capital, with hundreds of signs at central points inviting citizens to watch the Torch Relay. In their enthusiasm, sometimes the crowds moved over the boundaries set by the police, and the convoy had to stop in front of the people who got in the way. Just before the end of the Torch Relay, the Flame was at the head of a procession of thousands of people, moving towards India Gate. Indian journalists commented that crowd turnout had exceeded all expectations, as well as all police forecasts. We must thank Athens for bringing the Flame to Delhi, to millions of people who never had the opportunity to follow the Olympic Torch Relay from so near, stated Asiatic Sports Federation and Indian Olympic Committee President, Suresh Kalmadi. The International Torch Relay will be a great success, and so will the Athens Games.

Mr. Kalmadi himself was the first torchbearer, receiving the torch from the Ambassador of Greece in Delhi, Efstathios Lozos.

The Flame traveled through the city's central locations and major monuments, to end at a huge event organized at the National Stadium. There were no speeches at welcome points - just big orchestras playing traditional rhythmic Indian music.

In one of the stages that had been set up, to the loud sounds of wind instruments, IOC Member Mr. Randhir Sinch stated that Athens will organize good and safe Games, because it has the potential and the staffing to cope with it. Karil Dev, one of the world's top cricket players, made similar forecasts: I hope I'll manage to be in Athens. I think that the success in the organization of the Games depends on infrastructure and human resources. Athens fulfils both prerequisites.

Vivak Oberdi, an Indian movie star, talked about the symbolism of the Olympic Flame: I feel a great honor and enthusiasm for having the opportunity to hold the Athens torch. If I can manage I will come to the Games, I believe that their return to Greece stands for all Olympic ideals.

The Olympic Flame will leave New Delhi at the dawn of Friday, on its way to Cairo, where Torchbearers will carry it to the Pyramids.

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