[09] EU survey: Two in ten Greeks on brink of poverty

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

The study on income and standard of living was conducted in households around the 15-nation bloc in 2002. It was released on Wednesday by the National Statistics Service of Greece.

The danger level for a shift into the poverty bracket was set at 19.6 percent in Greece against 21.4 percent in 1995, showing an improvement, the survey showed.

Improvement by one percentage point corresponds to 110,000 people. Excluded from the calculation are home ownership and consumption of self-generated products, including pensions.

[10] Market authorities not empowered to seek new probe into trading allegations

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

He was replying to a reporter's request for clarification of a statement by the head of the capital market commission, Stavros Thomadakis while giving evidence to parliament's transparency committee on the allegations of malpractice.

An earlier probe by the capital market commission disclosed that a former minister of state, Stephanos Manikas, and a member of PASOK's executive bureau, Mihalis Neonakis, had carried out transactions worth more than 22 billion drachmas on the bourse from 1998 to 2000.

Although the enquiry cleared the two officials of wrongdoing, they both resigned their positions in June citing ''sensitivity'' of the issue involving the personal finances of politicians.

On Tuesday, Thomadakis told the parliamentary committee that Manikas' and Neonakis' investor behavior was ''normal'' in 1998-1999 trades, an era when players tended to shift positions frequently, spanning many stocks. No evidence had indicated wrongdoing, he said.

[11] Onassis foundation to publish Lloyd's List articles on Aristotle Onassis

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

The three four-page Lloyd's features that were published on 30 March 2000, 1 June 2000 and 6 July 2001 present many unknown aspects of the illustrious business course of Onassis.

[12] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks end higher in bid to consolidate

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

The general share index gained 0.35 percent to end at 2,085.41 points. Turnover was 761.3 million euros, fuelled by a block trade in Football Pools Organization as part of a fresh privatization of stock.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.28 percent up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalization paper 1.04 percent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities finished with gains of 0.75 percent.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 208 to 121 with 41 issues remaining unchanged.

Derivatives Market Close: Turnover at 115.9 mln euros Wednesday

Equity Index Futures:

Stock Futures:

Bond Market Close: Buyers outstrip sellers on Wednesday

Greek Benchmark 10-Year Bond

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Closing rates of July 16 2003

Parities in euro

Banknotes

For. Exchange Buying Selling

US Dollar 1,122 1,097

[13] Greece pledges 250,000 euro to WHO drive against major diseases

PARIS 17/07/03 (ANA - O. Tsipira)

The announcement was made by Greek Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontoyannopoulos during an international conference to support the WHO held in Paris.

The minister said the three diseases posed a major threat to humanity and that the number of victims they claimed each year had drastically increased.

[14] Patient in first Greek artificial heart operation dies of hemorrhage

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Surgeons at the Inter-Balkan Medical Centre were sanguine about the results of the five-hour operation immediately after the patient came out of the operating theatre, saying that they were happy with the outcome and expressing hope that he would soon recover and go home.

While in intensive care, however, 54-year-old Haralambos Nenoglou began to hemorrhage profusely and expired just three minutes before midnight. During the course of the operation, the head of the surgical team Dr. Panagiotis Spyrou had noted that death through hemorrhage was a risk associated with this type of operation.

Nenoglou, a patient in the terminal stages of heart disease, had been fitted with a DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device, a miniature heart pump based on NASA technology, at the Inter-Balkan Medical Centre in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.

Based on technology used in Space Shuttle fuel pumps, the miniature heart pump was named after US cardio-surgeon Michael DeBakey and is intended as a long-term ''bridge'' to a heart transplant or as a semi-permanent device to help patients toward recovery and a more normal life.

This was the first attempt by a Greek hospital to implant the device, which has been used successfully on patients in Europe and the United States.

[15] Education minister attends ceremony at new University of Central Greece

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Speaking at the ceremony, which was also attended by deputies from all political parties and local government leadership, Efthimiou praised the ''ardent and persistent action taken by local government in Central Greece for the establishment of the University'', which he said manifested the government's perception for bipolar development in the provinces.

[16] Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos receives warm welcome on arrival in Lemnos

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

People thronged the airport and later the streets of the town of Myrina and the Cathedral to welcome the patriarch who has linked his work to the concepts of peace, coexistence among peoples and the protection of the environment.

Addressing the patriarch, Minister of the Aegean Nikos Sifounakis said ''the people welcome you with enthusiasm and piety'' and referred to his interventions for peace, international cooperation, religious tolerance and dialogue among religions.

Vartholomeos said on his part ''we must not only play the role of good neighbors but of peacemakers in the name of Christ as well to enable the blue waters of the Aegean encircling our islands to eradicate whatever mistakes and passions of the distant and recent past and become paths of communication between the hearts of people.'

[17] Ten illegal immigrants arrested on Lesvos

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Local authorities are conducting an investigation, while the migrants denied any knowledge regarding information about the speedboat.

[18] One man in custody, another sought by police for Internet child porn

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Authorities said the two suspects, one of whom is still at large, were distributing child pornography through their Web-page on the Internet, adding that 600,000 ''visitors'' had accessed the site since it first went up on 3 August 2001.

On the web-page maintained by the two suspects, which the authorities said showed 4,273 registered members, police discovered 25,000 images of pedophilic content, as well as photos of unsuspecting individuals in private moments which they said had been taken with the use of secret cameras and zoom lenses.

The suspect in custody was taken before a public prosecutor in Volos, while police are still searching for the second suspect.

[19] Gov't: upcoming reforms to alleviate economic problems at municipalities

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Attica local authority leaders marched to the interior ministry to protest at what they said was an ''economic impasse'' threatening their municipalities, and stressed they were on the verge of bankruptcy due to the State withholding part of institutionalized resources while they were burdened with additional responsibilities for which they received no any additional money.

Skandalidis said upcoming law reforms would not lead to reduction of municipality resources and would allow local governments to get low interest 15-year loans.

[20] Athens mayor gives deposition regarding attempt against her life

Athens,17/07/03(ANA)

Suspect Giorgos Sandalis on 13 December 2002 fired a shotgun at the car carrying then mayor-elect Bakoyianni, narrowly missing her but striking her driver in the neck.

The investigation is expected to conclude within the next few days, while the mayor herself has stated that she does not believe her security guards were in any way responsible for the incident.

[21] Witnesses in N17 trial unconvinced by evidence against Giotopoulos

Athens, 17/07/03(ANA)

First on the stand was Dimitris Skarpalezos, a professor at a French university, who had known Giotopoulos and other members of the Peoples Revolutionary Struggle (LEA) - an armed anti-junta resistance group to which Giotopoulos belonged.

Skarpalezos was also one of the witnesses on Wednesday who claimed that he was not convinced by the police case against his one-time fellow-student and believed that he might have been framed.

The witness said Giotopoulos had made several obvious 'blunders' that were incompatible with his being the leader of a terror group like N17 - such as violating the building code on the island where he lived by painting his house red, having a driving license in a false name and keeping keys to N17 safehouses in his house.

In addition, Skarpalezos was dubious about the value of confessions made with the promise of 10 years off the final sentence or those taken from Savvas Xiros while he was in intensive care, describing the last, in particular, as 'impermissible'.

He also said there was no link between N17 and groups like LEA that had acted against the 1967-1974 junta and denied that there had been a LEA meeting in Pendeli after the junta fell.

While LEA was active, Skarpalezos told the court, its members used one or more codenames, which in Giotopoulos' case were Michel and Themis. He said he had lost touch with many LEA members, including Giotopoulos, after 1975 because of raising a family and continuing his studies.

The witness also repeated in court that he had been contacted by a Briton that presented himself as a historian in the spring of 2002 -before the bomb blast that led to the capture of Savvas Xiros and the other people on trial - who was looking for information about Giotopoulos and appeared convinced that Giotopoulos had founded N17.

Panteion university professor Kostas Zouraris, also appearing as a defense witness for Giotopoulos, said that N17 was a revolutionary Leftist organization and as such would not be characterized by ''leadership phenomena'' though there might be personalities that stood out within it.

Regarding N17's proclamations, he said these used language typical of the Left and were obviously the work of people capable of being informed. Such texts were usually written collectively with one person as the editor, the witness claimed.

The last witness was a journalist named Antonis Skordilis who said he did not know Giotopoulos personally but that his study of the case had led him to believe there was a high probability that Giotopoulos had been framed.

Skordilis will continue his testimony on Thursday.

[22] Iacovou makes representations over Denktash's statements

NICOSIA 17/07/03 (CNA/ANA)

Iacovou had separate meetings on Wednesday with the Ambassadors to Cyprus of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, to whom he made representations regarding Denktash's threats, noting that the Turkish Cypriot leader had not managed to convince anyone that his moves were a goodwill gesture.

''On the contrary, all the information we have is that all countries realize that Denktash is trying to obstruct the commencement of negotiations, which is the aim of those countries interested in solving the Cyprus problem'', Iacovou noted.

Referring to Denktash's statements, Iacovou said ''it is odd for one to propose confidence-building measures and at the same time threaten'', adding that this had not escaped the attention of the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Iacovou said Denktash ''is trying in this way to undermine the efforts of the international community to resume the dialogue''.

During the meetings, Iacovou made three observations, namely who is responsible for the situation in the fenced-off area of Famagusta, the position the Security Council has adopted on the return of Famagusta to its rightful inhabitants, and the continued violation of the status quo at Strovilia, despite the most recent UN Security Council resolution calling for the restoration of the status quo ante in the area.

Referring to Strovilia, Iacovou said the non-implementation of the UN resolution ''has obviously encouraged Denktash to make such statements and voice such threats''.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

[23] Spokesman says Denktash's arrogance ''abysmal''

NICOSIA 17/07/03 (CNA/ANA)

''I think the arrogance of Denktash is abysmal'', Chrysostomides

said, commenting on the Turkish Cypriot leader's threats, adding that 29 years after the occupation and deserting of the town, Denktash ''suddenly says he does not wish to be accused by foreigners of leaving Famagusta to become deserted''.

Chrysostomides said Denktash's position ''is not serious'' and reiterated that ''the lifting of occupation measures is an obligation

of the occupation force, according to international regulations''.

He added that ''only the occupation force can lift, for the time being, these restrictions''.

Asked when the President of the Republic would be replying to Denktash, the spokesman said that on Tuesday the National Council decided to set up a subcommittee to help the president write his letter of reply.

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