Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-09-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] KARAMANLIS-PUTIN MEETING

[02] SPECIAL INQUIRY TO REVEAL THOSE PLAYING POLITICAL PARTY GAMES AT THE

[03] ROUSOPOULOS ON EU-TURKEY ISSUES

[04] IN EXPECTATION OF THE COREPER COUNTER-STATEMENT

[05] EVERYTHING IS READY FOR THESSALONIKI'S ITF

[06] AN OA PASSENGER PLANE RETURNED SAFELY TO THE AIRPORT OF KAVALA

[07] COSTA RICA MEETS GREECE

[01] KARAMANLIS-PUTIN MEETING

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

According to available information, Mr. Karamanlis is expected in Thessaloniki tomorrow one day ahead of the official inauguration of the 70th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair to meet with the Russian President.

The meeting will be held late on Thursday evening at Porto Carras Hotel in Chalkidiki, northern Greece, while on Friday, Mr. Putin will depart for the monastic community of Mount Athos for a formal visit. He will be the first Russian President ever to visit the monastic community.

Mr. Putin will depart from Greece on Saturday morning.

[02] SPECIAL INQUIRY TO REVEAL THOSE PLAYING POLITICAL PARTY GAMES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE

The Ministry of Finance and Economy ordered a special inquiry to reveal all those playing political party games at the expense of the people after a private television channel report according to which the government considers the likelihood of increases in the objective value of real estate.

There is no decision on the specific issue, stated Minister of Finance and Economy Giorgos Alogoskoufis, who attributed the rumors to sources close to main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK which aim at undermining the real estate market. If they were official assessments the ministry's leadership was not notified about them, stated Mr. Alogoskoufis.

[03] ROUSOPOULOS ON EU-TURKEY ISSUES

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos responded to a question by a reporter concerning the Greek evaluation of the new draft plan distributed by the British EU Presidency to be discussed in the EU Permanent Representatives Council today.

Mr. Rousopoulos stressed that it is a given that Turkey as an EU candidate country must recognize all EU member states, the Republic of Cyprus included. This is the Greek position and it will be best if this happens as soon as possible, stressed Mr. Rousopoulos.

[04] IN EXPECTATION OF THE COREPER COUNTER-STATEMENT

The EU Permanent Representatives Council meets in Brussels today to finalize its response to Turkey's refusal to recognize the Republic of Cyprus.

The Greek government has made it clear that the text presented by the British EU Presidency needs further improvements.

On his part, Cypriot Foreign Minister Giorgos Iakovou stated that he does not expect that an agreement will be reached at COREPER today regarding the EU counter-statement to Turkey's statement that it does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus.

[05] EVERYTHING IS READY FOR THESSALONIKI'S ITF

Thessaloniki is more than ready for the opening of the 70th International Trade Fair while the speeches to be delivered by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Friday evening in the ITF inauguration and on Saturday evening in the dinner given in his honor by the ITF management are being expected with great interest.

Mr. Karamanlis completed the round of contacts he had with representatives of production forces and agencies.

The Ministers of Finance and Health will present proposals to the Prime Minister in the following days for the adoption of specific measures aimed at strengthening the weak social groups.

Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias wished success to this year's ITF in Thessaloniki.

[06] AN OA PASSENGER PLANE RETURNED SAFELY TO THE AIRPORT OF KAVALA

The pilots of an Olympic Airways passenger plane reported problems with one of its engines to the air traffic control tower a few minutes after take-off from the airport of Kavala.

Airport chief Mr. Papamiltiadis stated to MPA that OA flight 951 with 55 passengers on board had departed as scheduled at 6:45 am but a few minutes after take-off the ATR-72 passenger plane captain reported that the plane's instruments warned of a possible failure in one of its engines.

He communicated with control tower at the airport of Kavala and was advised to return to the airport where he landed the plane safely at 7:12 am.

Thirty of the plane's passengers boarded another OA plane to Athens, while the rest will continue their trip later with another plane.

[07] COSTA RICA MEETS GREECE

Four schools in the Central American country of Costa Rica have chosen to meet Greece within the framework of a special introduction program aimed at offering the opportunity to schoolchildren to become familiar with different countries around the world in cooperation with UNESCO.

The whole undertaking was achieved at the initiative of the Greek Association Costa Rica in San Jose which, since founded in 1991, contributes to the efforts to spread the Greek language and culture in the country.

Through the program Greece gets inside the homes of hundreds of Costa Rican schoolchildren. The Costa Ricans love Greece and with every opportunity want to learn more about the country, pointed out to MPA the association's president Theodora Tsichlis whose contribution to the creation and operation of the association was decisive bringing together the estimated 200 Greeks living in San Jose.

Mrs. Tsichlis is a retired math professor. She taught math at the University of San Jose and in the period 1987-1990 she served as the Math School director. She participated in Ministry of Education committees in Costa Rica as a specialist on education issues. At her initiative Greek language courses were offered as electives at the University of San Jose in the period 1990-2000.

According to the association, the Greeks living in Costa Rica are estimated at 350. Their living standards are higher than the average and they have higher education as 50% of the adults are university graduates.

The first registered Greek in Costa Rica is Juan Arevalo Costa who came to the country in 1670 and owned large coffee plantations. Most of the Greeks came to the country in the 1920s and were met with great difficulties but many of them prospered as merchants.

In Costa Rica, regarded as the most economically developed and politically stable country in Central America, there are four cities with Greek names, Grecia, Atenas and two cities with the name Griega.

A bust of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle can be found in the Plaza Hellenica Square in the city of Grecia.

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