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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-08-12Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>Friday, 12 August 2016 Issue No: 5227CONTENTS
[01] Government to build four refugee camps in Crete for 2,000 peopleAlternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas said on Thursday the government plans to build four refugee camps in Crete - one in each municipality - to house about 2,000 previously registered refugees and migrants.Mouzalas was speaking during a meeting in Iraklion on the refugee issue with the island's Prefect Stavros Arnaoutakis, local MPs and mayors. He said the centers will be constructed in November, so as not to coincide with the tourist season and will include small houses instead of tents. Refugees will also receive food, medical care and basic education for the children. "In the second phase, we'd like to ask Crete to accept about 2,000 refugees or migrants who will be distributed around the island. The prefecture and municipalities can work out how to distribute them and we will respect their proposals," the minister said. [02] 169 refugees and migrants arrived on the Greek islands in the last 24h57,039 identified refugees and migrants were on the Greek territory on Thursday while 169 new arrivals were reported in the last 24 hours.According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 20,545 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 9,900 are hosted in the region of Attica and 2,692 are hosted in facilities of central and southern Greece. 7,862 refugees and migrants are hosted in several facilities rented by the UNHCR, 2,786 in non-organised facilities 3,050 persons are living outside organised facilities. 10,204 refugees and migrants were recorded on the eastern Aegean islands. 16 refugees and migrants returned voluntarily to their countries in July while 3,647 people have voluntarily returned to their countries from the beginning of year. [03] Greek Foreign Ministry responds to Turkish FM announcementThe elimination of the anachronistic system of guarantees and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus are sine qua non conditions for a just and viable resolution of the Cyprus issue, said a Greek Foreign Ministry announcement on Thursday adding that "the invasion and the ongoing presence of the occupation army in Cyprus are sources only of instability, insecurity and suffering for all the residents of the island. Once again, Ankara appears not to want to respond to the question of whether or not there are putschists among the occupation forces".The announcement was a response to Turkish Foreign Ministry's announcement issued earlier on Thursday on Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias statement on August 2 calling it "an unfortunate approach" adding that "we expect from Greece, as guarantor country, to adopt a constructive and realistic approach". Kotzias' full statement on August 2 follows: "Finally, personal attacks rather than responses can be taken only as an indication of intransigence and do anything but contribute to the development of Greek-Turkish relations."The information coming to light regarding the involvement of the leadership and officers of the occupation forces in Cyprus in the attempted coup in Turkey confirm and bolster, even further, our longstanding position that the elimination of the anachronistic system of guarantees and the withdrawal of the occupation forces are fundamental conditions for the resolution of the Cyprus issue, as the need for their removal from Cyprus is being demonstrated once again" [04] Final list of contenders for TV licences tender announcedThe General Secretariat for News and Communication on Thursday announced the final list of nine bids selected to contend in the final stage of a tender for four national television licences in Greece, to take place in the first half of August.The nine contenders announced include SKAI SA, NTV Nea Tileorasi, Antenna TV, Alpha Satellite Television S.A., Ioannis-Vladimiros H. Kalogritsas, E TV, Alter Ego, Dimera Media Investments Ltd and ITV CP. Mega Channel's bid was rejected. Financial News [05] Greek stocks end higher on ThursdayGreek stocks ended higher for a third consecutive session in the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday, breaking through the 570 points, but with turnover remaining at particularly low levels, falling below 20 million euros.Coca-Cola HBC attracted investor's attention following the announcement of results for the first half of 2016, which showed an important rise in its net profits by 11.8 percent. Its stock gained 6.45 percent rise. The composite index of the market rose 0.89 percent to end at 572.33 points. Turnover totaled just 18.6 million euros in a volume of 22,056,517 shares. The Large Cap index rose 1.20 percent and the Mid Cap index also advanced 0.66 percent. Coca Cola HBC (6.45 pct), Lamda Development (2.03 pct) and Athens Water (1.75 pct) were top gainers among blue chip stocks, while GEK TERNA (2.01 pct), Alpha Bank (1.70 pct) and OLP (1.45 pct) recorded the biggest percentage losses of the day. Among market sectors, Food-Beverages (6.43 pct), Utilities (1.15 pct) and Real Estate (1.12 pct) scored big gains, while Chemicals (2.01 pct), Banks (0.89 pct) and Technology (0.41 pct) suffered losses. Piraeus Bank and Alpha Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day. Broadly, advancers led decliners by 47 to 30 with another 21 issues unchanged. SATO (19.44 pct), G.E. Dimitriou (14.81 pct) and Forthnet (14.52 pct) were top gainers, while Halcor (7.53 pct), Motodynamics (6.82 pct) and Frigoglass (6.47 pct) were top losers. [06] ADEX closing reportThe August contract on the FTSE/ASE Large Cap index was trading at a small premium of 0.09 percent in the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Thursday. The FTSE/ASE Large Cap index closed at 1,525.66 points, registering profits of 1.20 percent. Volume on the Large Cap index totaled 1,453 contracts with 5,311 open positions in the market.Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 11,312 contracts with investment interest focusing on Alpha Bank's contracts (2,744) followed by National Bank (1,975), Piraeus Bank (2,628), Eurobank (2,222), MIG (847), PPC (275), OTE (151), Mytilineos (98), Motor Oil (65), Ellaktor (45), OPAP (43), METKA (26), Hellenic Petroleum (17), GEK (12) and Viohalco (2). General News [07] Gold medalist Anna Korakaki receives hero's welcome in AthensOlympic champion Anna Korakaki, who won gold and bronze in the 25-meter pistol and 10-meter air pistol in Rio respectively, thus becoming the first Greek athlete in more than a century to win two medals in the same Olympics, received a hero's welcome as she landed in Athens on Thursday.Dozens of fans holding Greek flags cheered her on while a red carpet had been rolled outside her plane to walk on. "I'm very happy to be the first Greek athlete with two medals in the Olympic Games and I hope I won't be the last. I want to give an incentive to children to get involved with the sports and those who are athletes already, to aim even higher," Korakaki told journalists. "I worked very hard to win these two medals. I couldn't be happier. I wanted a medal, but my dream was fulfilled twice," she said. "My goal is to make shooting more known, because unfortunately in recent years the number of athletes is dwindling." The Olympic champion commented in passing about the difficulties she faced while training, saying that even if she hadn't won these medals, she would still have opened up about them in detail. On his side, her father and coach, Tasos Korakakis acknowledged the pressure the athlete was under lately and the tough training and said they returned to Greece to rest. Interior Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis, who welcomed Korakaki at the airport on behalf of the government, described it as one of his most emotional moments of his life. "Hope came from this kid's efforts who, under difficult circumstances, armed with determination and perseverance, made her dream a reality. She's an example for all of us," he said, adding that the state now has to make good on promises to support athletes competing in her sport. The Greek champion arrived with a two-hour delay to Athens, as Italian authorities in her transit flight to Rome conducted extensive security checks due to the guns she was carrying with her from Rio. [08] SNFCC reopens for the public in AugustThe Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) announced on Thursday it will be opening again its doors to the public as of August 16, organizing free events that will give visitors the opportunity to re-discover and enjoy the project.The events include wellness and fitness programs (such as Wellness and Exercise Consultants who will be available daily from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 18:30 to 21:30; yoga classes every Monday and Friday at 19:00 and every Tuesday and Thursday at 08:00 etc) activities for children and families (such as the music and kinetics educational program "Play and Learn" every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30 and at 20:00), screenings (every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 21:00) and music concerts. Visitors will have access to the National Opera and National Library by participating in one of the 90-minute scheduled guided tours taking place four times a day, starting at 9:30, 11:30, 17:30 and 19:30 respectively. The two buildings will be otherwise closed to the public at this time while the transition to the state takes places and the GNO and NLG prepare for their move into their new headquarters. Temporary food trucks will be available for guests to purchase food and beverages. At a later stage, a restaurant and cafes will operate on a permanent basis. Parking facilities, which follow the SNFCC's opening hours, will operate without charge at this stage. Later on, parking facilities will be available upon payment. The opening hours for the Stavros Niarchos Park will be from 06:00 to midnight every day. The programming which will take place from August till delivery to the State is funded exclusively by the SNF. The August program is available on http://www.snfcc.org/media/330802/ENG_SNFCC-AUG16.pdf [09] More than 1 in 4 youths in Greece is neither in employment nor in education - EurostatBRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/M. Aroni)More than 1 in every 4 young persons aged 20-24 was neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) in Greece (26.1 pct) in 2015, the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) said on Thursday, the eve of the International Youth Day. This rate places Greece in second highest place in the EU, after Italy (31.1 pct), while Croatia (24.2 pct), Romania (24.1 pct), Bulgaria (24.0 pct), Spain and Cyprus (both 22.2 pct) follow. In contrast, the lowest NEET rates among young persons aged 20-24 were recorded in the Netherlands (7.2 pct), Luxembourg (8.8 pct), Denmark, Germany and Sweden (all 9.3 pct), Malta and Austria (both 9.8 pct) as well as the Czech Republic (10.8 pct). At EU level, almost 5 million young people aged 20-24 (or 17.3 pct) were in 2015 neither in employment nor in education or training. According to Eurostat's data, NEET rates increase considerably with age. Young people aged 15-29 account for almost 90 million people in the European Union, or 17 percent of its population. [10] Eight young refugees treated for hepatitis A in northern GreeceEight young refugees, aged 2 to 18, are being treated for hepatitis A at the hospital of Kilkis, the head of Macedonia and Thrace's 4th Health Region Stratis Plomaritis told ANA-MPA on Thursday. The young refugees were hosted at center of Nea Kavala."The virus can be transmitted from the mouth, hands, food and contaminated water. The relevant authorities have been informed and procedures have been activated, as expected in cases such as these, while refugees in that center will be vaccinated," Plomaritis said. "This is a serious situation because in 2015, the recorded hepatitis A cases were 62 while [in 2016] they've reached eight in just 10 days," Achilleas Kalemkeridis, a representative of the hospital employees' union, told ANA-MPA. Olympic Games [11] Greek rowers finish fourth in Rio's finalsGreek rowers Katerina Nikolaidou and Sofia Asoumanaki finished fourth in the double sculls final in Rio's Olympics on Thursday with a time of 7:48.62.Poland's Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj won the gold with 7:40:10. [12] ND leader congratulates Greek rowers for fourth position in Rio finalsNew Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated Katerina Nikolaidou and Sofia Asoumanaki, the team of Greek rowers who finished fourth in the double sculls final in Rio's Olympics on Thursday."The 4th position for S. Asoumanaki and K. Nikolaidou is a great success! Congratulations!" Mitsotakis said in a post on his Twitter account. Weather forecast [13] Clouds, rain on FridayRain and strong winds are forecast for Friday for the northern parts of the country with temperatures between 20C and 33C. Partly cloudy in the western and the eastern parts with possibility of heavy rainfall in the afternoon and temperatures ranging from 20C to 36C. Mostly fair over the Aegean islands and Crete, 24C-34C. Partly cloudy in the afternoon in Athens, 22C-36C. Rain in Thessaloniki, 20C-32C.[14] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glanceAVGHI: The truth for the pensions.DIMOKRATIA: Vultures over Anna (Korakaki, Olympic champion). EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: War over the TV licences. ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: They put tax on social benefits. ESTIA: Coast Guard sends cry of agony ETHNOS: What changes in 806,000 supplementary pensions. IMERISSIA: Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) changes course. KATHIMERINI: Increase of tourist arrivals in July. NAFTEMPORIKI: Tax-extremities. RIZOSPASTIS: Resistance front against the government and capital's attack. TA NEA: The refugees come back. 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 210 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 210 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: MICHALIS PSILOS Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |