Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 11-08-12

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] FM Lambrinidis meets with Cypriot counterpart

[02] ND vice -president holds talks with Cypriot FM

[03] KKE leader meets Cypriot FM

[04] Greece denies former Turkish diplomat's claim of territorial waters agreement as 'rehashing'

[05] FM meets with Libyan counterpart

[06] KKE; SYN on government's economic policy

[07] State-run media reorganization plan completed

[08] All Attica hospitals to run drug replacement programmes from September 15

[09] Peponis laid to rest

[10] Minister in charge of tourism holds meetings with Russian tour operators

[11] Unemployment climbs to 16.6pct in May

[12] New longer working week for public sector staff from August 16

[13] Millions paid in pensions to deceased, IKA-ETAM confirms

[14] East Macedonia-Thrace region chief asks PM to block plans for gold mines

[15] Business Briefs

[16] Stocks continue to slide in volatile trade

[17] ADEX closing report

[18] Foreign Exchange rates - Friday

[19] Diving tourism a growing attraction in Greece

[20] Hail storm and gale-force winds hit northern Greece

[21] Wildfire near Loutraki

[22] Fires on Corfu partially contained

[23] Stylida mayor Apostolos Gletsos reports threats on his life; police launch manhunt

[24] Second child pornography arrest in 24 hours

[25] Two men arrested for Kifissia shop burglaries

[26] Pakistanis arrested for attempting to board boat to Italy with fake travel documents

[27] Woman arrested for possessing 15 kilos of hashish

[28] Fratricide over drugs in greater Athens

[29] Court sentences pediatrician for demanding money under the table

[30] Boy drowns at the beach on Crete

[31] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] FM Lambrinidis meets with Cypriot counterpart

Lambrinidis expressed Greece's solidarity with Cyprus, referring to last month's devastating explosion at a National Guard Naval Base and underlined that "solidarity with the Cypriot people constitutes a cornerstone of Greek foreign policy."

He repeated that Athens supports a comprehensive, agreed, functional and viable solution to the Cyprus problem within the framework of UN decisions and taking under consideration Cyprus' status as an EU member.

Lambrinidis condemned the "inflammatory" Turkish statements on the likelihood of research in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), adding that they highlight the essence of the problem, namely, the continuous occupation of part of Cyprus, non compliance with UN decisions and Ankara's pending commitments to the European Union. He also called on Turkey to proceed with the adoption of the Law of the Sea Convention.

On her part, the Cypriot foreign minister underlined the brotherly relations between the two countries and their governments and expressed gratitude for the unreserved support of the Greek people and the government in response to the recent tragedy that hit her country

The Cypriot foreign minister underlined that Cypriot Republic President Demetris Christofias has based the positions of the Greek Cypriot side on UN resolutions and the demand for a state that will have a single sovereignty and nationality, namely, a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation as described in the resolutions.

She added that President Christofias submitted his proposals within this framework, stressing that they are based on international law and safeguard the interests of Greek Cypriots. "The Cypriot Republic President has been elected by the Cypriot people and expresses their will," the Cypriot foreign minister stressed.

[02] ND vice -president holds talks with Cypriot FM

Avramopoulos was speaking after a meeting with visiting new Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis. "We are aware that new facts have been created, but we are not discouraged. The national front is unified and stable," the ND official also noted.

Kozakou-Marcoullis said on her part that talks focused on the Cyprus issue but also on the "great challenge of the Cyprus' European Union presidency" in the second half of 2012. She said that Cyprus was looking forward to Greece's help for Cyprus' EU presidency, noting that "for us foreign policy is above parties and all forces in Cyprus and Greece should unite in order to tackle these great challenges."

[03] KKE leader meets Cypriot FM

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Papariga said that for her party the solution of the Cyprus problem meant "the establishment of a federal state, a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. No other position can benefit both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots as well as the peoples of the region."

"Through the policy we are promoting in Greece as regards the Aegean and the broader region, we are supporting the struggle of Cyprus, as one aspect of the issue, beyond the Turkish leadership's stance, is linked to the broader contradictions and developments in the region," Papariga also noted.

The Communist leader added that her party would "always stand by the side of Greek and Turkish Cypriots on the basis of the sole solution that is needed. A Federation with a single international personality."

[04] Greece denies former Turkish diplomat's claim of territorial waters agreement as 'rehashing'

Greek foreign minister Stavros Lambrinidis passed off as "rehashing" allegations contained in a book by former Turkish foreign ministry expert Deniz Bolukbasi, who claims that Greece had agreed that it would refrain from extending its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in certain areas of the Aegean Sea, during current prime minister George Papandreou's term as foreign minister.

Lambrinidis, replying to a press question, said that no Greek government has made such an agreement, and stressed that Greece has the right to extend its territorial waters whenever it sees fit.

The minister further noted that the subject of the exploratory talks with Turkey is to seek a solution to the Aegean continental shelf issue, adding that Athens respects the confidentiality of the talks and favors recourse to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in the event a solution is not found.

Lambrinidis stressed that he will not accept anyone doubting the patriotism of any Greek political party or politician, and called on the parties to stand united "as a tight fist" on such matters.

Greece's defence minister Panos Beglitis, speaking on private radio, categorically denied Bolukbasi's claims that such an agreement had been made during Papandreou's term in the foreign ministry.

Beglitis, who was foreign ministry spokesman at the time and was taking part in the exploratory talks, said that discussions were held, but no agreement was made, given that Athens' sole aim was to safeguard international law and Greece's sovereign rights.

[05] FM meets with Libyan counterpart

The details of the talks which lasted about forty minutes were not made known.

[06] KKE; SYN on government's economic policy

In a statement issued by KKE, the government was accused of "not taking any protection measures for the unemployed but, on the contrary, giving more incentives to business moguls and adopting new cruel measures that most affect those working part-time and the jobless."

SYN's Dimitris Stratoulis also criticized the government underlining that "the government, the 'troika', the memorandums, the medium-term fiscal programmes and their enabling laws brought unemployment, poverty and desperation in every household."

[07] State-run media reorganization plan completed

Mossialos added that "the plan will be made public after the standard procedures followed in preparing a presidential decree that will assign the relevant authority to the minister of state, are completed, and after the plan is discussed on government level."

[08] All Attica hospitals to run drug replacement programmes from September 15

The programme will also include military hospitals, which are to be announced next week.

The minister clarified that every prefecture in the country will be called to select a hospital that will administer methadone.

"We cannot eradicate the use of drugs but we can wage a great battle," Loverdos said, adding that methadone programmes will also be up and running in hospitals of northern Greece by the start of October at the latest.

The decision to make hospitals operate such programmes was made in a bid to reduce the long waiting lists that the current drug rehabilitation centres lacked the resources and facilities to cope with.

He noted that five detox units were already prepared in Thessaloniki to help some 987 addicted individuals that are on the list. He noted that half of those on the waiting list were migrants and that this was something that Greece's European partners should be aware of, so that they could help with the overall problems resulting from migration.

The minister also congratulated the families of two patients that donated their organs for transplant operations, as well as the doctors and nursing staff that helped organise the transplants.

[09] Peponis laid to rest

The eulogies for Peponis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 87, were delivered by Administration Reform and e-Government Minister Dimitris Reppas, main opposition New Democracy (ND) MP Andreas Lykourentzos, Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP) President Giorgos Veis (Peponis was instrumental in the establishment of the institution in 1994) and Yiannis Peponis, son of the deceased.

Financial News

[10] Minister in charge of tourism holds meetings with Russian tour operators

In separate meetings with each tour operator, Nikitiadis discussed issues concerning the organisation and preparation of the upcoming tourism season and agreed to look into the possibility of allowing tour operators to themselves prepare the documents that each Russian needs in order to receive a visa, in order to make the process simpler and reduce the amount of time and the cost involved.

[11] Unemployment climbs to 16.6pct in May

According to ELSTAT, the unemployment rate in May 2011 was 16.6% compared to 12.0% in May 2010 and 15.8% in April 2011.

The number of employed amounted to 4,131,528 persons while the number of unemployed amounted to 822,719 and the number of inactive to 4,383,374.

The number of employed decreased by 299,798 persons compared with May 2010 (a 6.8% rate of decrease) and by 51,804 persons compared with April 2011 (a 1.24% rate of decrease).

The number of unemployed increased by 220.534 persons (a 36.6% rate of increase) compared with May 2010 and by 36,260 persons compared with April 2011 (a 4.6% rate of decrease).

[12] New longer working week for public sector staff from August 16

The working week has been increased from 37.5 hours to 40, making it the same as that in the private sector, and applies to all permanent staff in the civil service and local authorities (except in cases where special regulations call for shorter work hours, such as for staff in sanitation).

It is also hoped that the additional work hours will help increase the productivity of services that come into direct and daily contact with the public.

The public will have access to all public-sector services and local authority services between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. with the exception of tax offices, that will be open to the public until 2:30 p.m.

Citizens' Service Centres with three more more permanent employees will operate from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Public-sector workers will also have staggered time-tables, that they applied for until August 8. There are now five different working shifts, starting at half-hour intervals between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and ending at half-hour intervals between 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

[13] Millions paid in pensions to deceased, IKA-ETAM confirms

The payments have already been stopped and IKA-ETAM is now in the process of calculating the full amounts collected illegally by ineligible individuals, who will be sued for damages by the defrauded IKA-ETAM branches.

Crosschecks continue by the fund's services, while an annual census of all pensioners is in effect since July 1.

Gaia Maternity Hospital to operate until the end of August

Gaia Maternity Hospital received an extension until September 1 to continue its operation within the framework of Henry Dunant Hospital in Athens so that the parties involved will have more time to reach an agreement between them and subsequently implement the health ministry decisions concerning hospital mergers.

According to the plan, a third of "Gaia" personnel will be absorbed by Athens Medical Center, while the remaining personnel will be integrated into the Henry Dunant Hospital staff.

Health Minister Andreas Loverdos stated that he granted the extension he was requested so that the parties involved would reach an understanding and prevent "Gaia" from ceasing operations as of Friday.

[14] East Macedonia-Thrace region chief asks PM to block plans for gold mines

According to Yiannakidis, allowing the gold mines would kill growth for the region, which was among the regions with the lowest growth in Greece, and the proposed investment was viewed as undesirable and harmful for the environment and its sustainability.

[15] Business Briefs

-- Greece's Import Price Index in Industry recorded a rise of 6.7% in June 2011 against June 2010, the independent Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Thursday.

[16] Stocks continue to slide in volatile trade

By the end of the session the composite index of the market had lost 0.60 pct to close at 976.17 points. Turnover was 66.550 million euros.

The Big Cap index fell 0.59 pct, the Mid Cap index fell 0.95 pct higher and the Small Cap index fell 2.43 pct. The highest gains among blue-chip stocks were for OTE (+2.78 pct), OPAP (+2.26 pct) and PPC (+2.08 pct). Motor Oil (-4.40 pct), Ellaktor (-3.90 pct), National Bank of Greece (-3.42 pct), and T.T. (-2.17 pct) were top losers.

The Telecommunications (+2.78 pct), Travel (+2.19 pct) and Public Utilities (+1.68 pct) sectors scored the highest gains, while the heaviest percentage losses of the day were in Media (-8.82 pct), Health (-5.45 pct) and Chemicals (-4.08 pct). Broadly, decliners led advancers by 98 to 45 with another 40 issues unchanged.

NEL (+11.76 pct), Varvaressos (+9.09 pct) and Medicon (+8.86 pct) were top gainers, while AXON Holding (-12.00 pct), Attica Publications (-9.84 pct), Levenderis (-9.09 pct) and Kanakis (-9.09 pct) were top losers.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Insurance: Unchanged

Industrials: -2.08%

Commercial: -0.25%

Construction: -1.92%

Media: -8.82%

Oil & Gas: -1.31%

Personal & Household: -1.22%

Raw Materials: -2.11%

Travel & Leisure: +2.19%

Technology: -0.97%

Telecoms: +2.78%

Banks: -1.54%

Food & Beverages: -1.39%

Health: -5.45%

Utilities: +1.68%

Chemicals: -4.08%

Financial Services: +0.34%

The stocks with the highest turnover were National Bank, OPAP, Alpha Bank and HBC Coca Cola.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

Alpha Bank: 2.61

Public Power Corp (PPC): 5.89

HBC Coca Cola: 14.30

Hellenic Petroleum: 5.78

National Bank of Greece: 3.95

EFG Eurobank Ergasias: 2.24

OPAP: 9.50

OTE: 4.44

Bank of Piraeus: 0.70

Titan: 13.25

[17] ADEX closing report

[18] Foreign Exchange rates - Friday

U.S. dollar 1.435

Pound sterling 0.888

Danish kroner 7.562

Swedish kroner 9.434

Japanese yen 109.91

Swiss franc 1.065

Norwegian kroner 7.937

Canadian dollar 1.430

Australian dollar 1.408

General News

[19] Diving tourism a growing attraction in Greece

The Greek seas are rich in such photographic material, and underwater photography in Greece was permitted, through legislation, just a few years ago.

Taking advantage of the 2005 legislation allowing recreational diving throughout the country, with the exception of designated archaeological areas, local government administrations throughout the country have launched a campaign to attract "diving tourists".

Some 250,000 divers from abroad, with their families, are expected to visit Greece up through the end of October, while the number from June to the present has already reached 115,000 divers, according to Society for the Protection and Promotion of the Submarine Environment and its Surrounds president George Tzanakis told ANA-MPA.

Some 70 percent of the divers who have already visited Greece this year were from Germany, Russia, Spain, France and Italy, while the other 30 percent were from the US.

This is the first year that the number of foreign visitors coming to Greece expressly for diving is being recorded statistically, as well as their favored destinations.

According to Tzanakis, Greece was selected as the favored diving destination by 95 percent of a total of 7,500 divers who responded to questionnaires in the period 2006-2007.

Greece earned this "title" for three main reasons cited by the respondents to the survey, namely "theme", given that there are more than 20,000 shipwrecks in the Greek seabed, of which 6,000 have been formally recognised; "price", as diving in Greece costs about one-third of that in other diving destinations such as Malta, Italy, Croatia, Turkey and Cyprus; and "family", since the families of the divers are quite happy to accompany them to Greece, which offers a plethora of other activities for an enjoyable holiday.

Greece, says Tzanakis, has an impressive 16,500 kilometers of coastline suitable for diving, with the main destinations of foreign divers being the islands of Kos, Corfu, Zakynthos and Crete, while the recent approval of the re-delimitation of the Northern Sporades area, with 14 new diving spots, creates a new momentum to the Greek market for diving tourism.

Diving tourism, he adds, is not only a reality now in Greece, but also a powerful "magnet" for attracting more visitors, while also noting that, according to figures from the international organisation PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), which provides training for divers, more than 20 million certificates have been issues at global level.

Given that 3.5 million of those certified divers are from Europe and 800,000 of them travel abroad each year for new diving experiences, it is easily seen that "Greece has immense prospects of potentially becoming even their top destination", Tzanakis believes.

[20] Hail storm and gale-force winds hit northern Greece

The storm also hit the major northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. Temperatures plunged from 33C to 20C, followed by a rainstorm and gale-force winds. According to the Fire Brigade, no damage was reported in the city.

[21] Wildfire near Loutraki

Eleven fire engines with a 25 member crew, two units of firemen on foot and one water-dropping helicopter are currently operating in the area.

According to the Fire Brigade, strong winds blowing in the area are making the firemen's work difficult. Inhabited areas are not endangered.

[22] Fires on Corfu partially contained

Fire Brigade units on foot remain in the burned areas to extinguish possible rekindlings.

Gale-force winds blowing in the area fueled the blaze front, but have now abated to velocities 4-5 on the Beaufort scale.

The fires endangered inhabited areas, homes and enterprises.

Police and Fire Brigade are speaking of arson due to the fact that the blaze broke out simultaneously at several spots.

[23] Stylida mayor Apostolos Gletsos reports threats on his life; police launch manhunt

A strong police force was combing east Fthiotida villages and surrounding countryside since early morning to find the four men, who Gletsos said were "well known" in the area.

So far, one man of Romanian nationality with links to the gang has been arrested. By the middle of the day, police officers had searched dozens of houses and rooms in four villages and continue to seek three more people in rural areas of Stylida.

Roughly a week ago, members of the same gang had sent Gletsos a threatening letter that again told him to stay out of their affairs. The same group has apparently often run into trouble with the police for thefts and drug-related offences.

On Thursday, the mayor urged local residents to report any incident related to the four men that came to their attention, describing them as a "gang of Eastern Fthiotida".

[24] Second child pornography arrest in 24 hours

Thessaloniki electronic crimes squad police traced the man's IP address and found that he was using a specialised internet child pornography file sharing programme.

A search of his residence on Corfu, conducted in cooperation with the local security police, turned up 7 hard disc drives with more than 250 files containing photographs and videos of children and adolescents in sexual acts.

The 52-year-old will be led before a local prosecutor.

The case was uncovered just 24 hours after the arrest of a 35-year-old man in Thessaloniki who had more than 30,000 files of hard-core child pornography material in his PC.

The Thessaloniki case is the biggest with respect to the material seized that has been uncovered by authorities in northern Greece involving a single perpetrator.

The two arrests were made in the process of ongoing investigations by Thessaloniki electronic crimes squad police.

[25] Two men arrested for Kifissia shop burglaries

Shortly before their arrest by a team of DIAS motorcycle police, the two young men had broken into hair-dressing salon and taken 176 euro from the till.

Police believe they are also behind more than 10 burglaries targeting clothes and shoe shops, restaurants and hair-dressing salons in which they took money, goods, computers, electronic goods and other items.

The two were led before an Athens first-instance court prosecutor and charged with repeated counts of theft.

[26] Pakistanis arrested for attempting to board boat to Italy with fake travel documents

The two men, aged 34 and 33 years old, respectively, were arrested and charged with forging documents, accepting and supplying products of crime and attempting to illegal leave the country.

The two men had stolen residence permits issued in Greece stuck on Pakistani passports. The fake documents and two boat tickets were confiscated by the Igoumenitsa Aliens Police department and the two will be led before a Thesprotia public prosecutor.

[27] Woman arrested for possessing 15 kilos of hashish

In a bag that she carried, police found 15 kilos and 692 grams of hashish as well as two cell phones which she used for illegal transactions and fifty euros in cash deriving from drug dealing.

[28] Fratricide over drugs in greater Athens

The two got into a fight over drugs last night in the apartment they shared and the 28-year-old slashed his brother's throat with a kitchen knife. The victim was rushed to a hospital where he died a few hours later.

The 28-year-old has confessed and will appear before a prosecutor later in the day.

[29] Court sentences pediatrician for demanding money under the table

The pediatrician demanded money under the table, even though visits to the state social insurance fund's healthcare facilities are free of charge to those insured by IKA.

The 65-year-old pediatrician told the court that she was the victim of a plot. Her attorneys will bring the case to a court of appeals.

[30] Boy drowns at the beach on Crete

The same beach claimed the life of a 75-year-old tourist on Wednesday afternoon.

[31] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos states that the VAT increase will be temporary".

AVGHI: "With brakes out of order....".

AVRIANI: "How the Germans got rid of the Greek toxic bonds".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Non Governmental Organisations friendly to ruling PASOK had set up a 'hirings' party".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "4.5 billion euros hole in State Budget".

ESTIA: "Taxes increase the public debt".

ETHNOS: "Dive in university entry base grades".

IMERISSIA: "Markets without brakes in Europe and USA".

KATHIMERINI: "70 percent tax evasion in the Aegean islands".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Government's change of targets contained the State Budget's deficit".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Increase in hospital expenses 'burns' patients and social security funds".

TA NEA: "Head-on collision between government and major civil servants' umbrella union ADEDY".

VRADYNI: "The 8 wounds in the automobile market".

36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: ILIAS MATSIKAS

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article