Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-08-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Patriarch made honorary citizen of Nissyros (RECASTS)

[02] Psychiatrist to give evidence on September 19 over drugs

[03] Forest fire on island of Aegina under control (RECASTS-update)

[04] Health minister reveals plans for regional health systems

[05] IOC Coordinating Committee president on 2004 Athens Olympiad

[06] Forest fire breaks out on island of Aegina

[07] Patriarch made honorary citizen of Nissyros

[08] Police arrest two in illegal betting scam

[09] Symphony by Kalomiris performed in ancient Ephesus

[10] Armed Albanians abduct doctor, worker in Greek border raid

[11] City dwellers migrate on annual leave, road deaths rise

[12] Coalition of the Left remembers victims of Hiroshima bombing

[13] Police nab escaped prisoner in routine road check

[14] Fire extinguished in boat-building yard

[15] Defence minister to seek policy shift at ruling party congress

[01] Patriarch made honorary citizen of Nissyros (RECASTS)

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos received a golden key to Nissyros at the weekend after being made an honorary citizen of the eastern Aegean island.

Among dignitaries present at the ceremony on Saturday was Deputy Interior Minister Kostas Keserlis.

The patriarch was visiting the volcanic island to celebrate the 600th birthday of a monastery there.

He told worshippers that young people were at risk, especially from drug abuse.

On Sunday, the patriarch led a service that was attended by all the metropolitan bishops in the Dodecanese islands.

He arrived in Nissyros on Saturday, and was due to return to Istanbul, where he is based, on Monday.

[02] Psychiatrist to give evidence on September 19 over drugs

Psychiatrist Petros Lymberis, facing charges of violating the law on drugs regarding his clinic, will give evidence before an investigating magistrate on September 19.

Lymberis, who is being held in custody in Chios prison after being arrested on the island of Mykonos where quantities of drugs had been found on his yacht, will be asked to give evidence on the trafficking of large quantities of drugs used as medicine at his clinic, the "Kastalia", in line with the findings of a check carried out by the financial crimes squad.

The squad, during a check at the clinic on May 6, reported that powerful drugs were being illegally administered to patients being treated for drug abuse.

It was also ascertained that the detoxification programme was being implemented without a licence from the health ministry, and that Lymberis was illegally administering drugs as medicine.

[03] Forest fire on island of Aegina under control (RECASTS-update)

A forest fire that broke out in the Pagoni area on the island of Aegina at noon on Sunday was reported under control in the evening.

It was battled by seven fire engines and 25 firemen. Four aircraft and one helicopter also participated in the effort.

Another forest fire at Langadakia on the island of Zakynthos was also under control in the evening, while other fires at Krovili in the northern prefecture of Rodopi and Falesia in the prefecture of Arcadia in the Peloponnese were reported under partial control.

Finally, a blaze that erupted along Marathonas Avenue at the intersection leading to the port of Rafina in the afternoon was extinguished.

[04] Health minister reveals plans for regional health systems

Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, in an interview to the Sunday newspaper "To Vima", said the central services of regional health systems will begin operating in early autumn, legal entities of hospitals and their administrative councils will be abolished and managers, who will have increased responsibilities, will take over as their governors.

In addition, the functioning of hospitals with a 35-40 percent capacity will cease and sections will be allocated to other units.

Papadopoulos believes that this shakeup will provide an outlet for the creation of more specialised clinics at a regional level.

[05] IOC Coordinating Committee president on 2004 Athens Olympiad

Athens 2004 Organising Committee adviser Spyros Kapralos and the General Director of Sports, Makis Asimakopoulos, on Sunday discussed arrangements for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Coordinating Committee President for the Athens Olympiad, Dennis Oswald, and other IOC officials in Edmonton, Canada.

"We wanted to use all possible time for a meeting and discussion to review the situation. We are doing this here in Edmonton as well. We discussed infrastructure and sports programmes. The meeting confirmed the impression I had until today. Hard work and a good management of time will be necessary. I believe that we will have very good games and that everything will be ready on time," Oswald said after the two-hour meeting.

On his part, Kapralos said: "It was a constructive meeting. We had the opportunity to primarily discuss the sports programmes and Mr. Oswald was briefed on the course of the Games. He is aware of the progress achieved by Athens and his capacity as president of the sports federations guarantees close cooperation in the sports sector of the Olympic Games, which constitutes the heart of the event."

[06] Forest fire breaks out on island of Aegina

A forest fire broke out in the Pagoni area on the island of Aegina at noon on Sunday and was being battled by seven fire engines and 25 firemen. Four aircraft and one helicopter are also participating in the effort.

Other forest fires at Langadakia on the island of Zakynthos, Krovili in the northern prefecture of Rodopi and Falesia in the prefecture of Arcadia in the Peloponnese were reported under partial control.

Another fire that broke out along Marathonas Avenue at the intersection leading to the port of Rafina in the afternoon was extinguished.

[07] Patriarch made honorary citizen of Nissyros

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos received a golden key to Nissyros at the weekend after being made an honorary citizen of the eastern Aegean island.

Among dignitaries present at the ceremony on Saturday was Deputy Interior Minister Kostas Keserlis.

The patriarch was visiting the volcanic island to celebrate the 600th birthday of a monastery there.

He told worshippers that young people were at risk, especially from drug abuse.

On Sunday, the patriarch led a service that was attended by all the metropolitan bishops in the Dodecanese islands.

He arrived in Nissyros on Saturday, and was due to return to Istanbul, where he is based, on Monday.

urged for peace between Christians and Moslems, especially in the Balkans, saying the reason for conflict was political, not religious.

Vartholomeos told a vespers service he led in the Cappadocia region of Turkey that clashes between the two religious groups in their history "are not due to religious differences, but to other reasons," which he defined as political.

"This is also happening today in the Balkan region, where some are trying to present the conflict as a clash of religions, as a clash between Christians and Moslems, but things are not like this," he told the congregation.

Vartholomeos outlined initiatives the Patriarchate had taken for dialogue between the two religions, including a proclamation signed in 1994 after an inter-faith meeting in Istanbul.

"Fanaticism and fundamentalism are not blessed by any religion, and every war in the name of a religion is a war against all religion, he added.

It is the third time in two years that the Patriarch has visited Cappadocia, which was a centre of Orthodox Christianity in eastern Asia Minor during the Byzantine era.

[08] Police arrest two in illegal betting scam

Police arrested two men in an apartment in the Athens district of Pangrati on Saturday after uncovering an illegal betting scam on the "Pame Stoichima" football pools.

The apartment belonged to Anastasios Larios, while the alleged organiser of the game was George Constas, police said on Sunday.

A search of the apartment revealed coded names of players, a list of names, numbers of bank accounts and deposit receipts from the bank accounts of various people.

[09] Symphony by Kalomiris performed in ancient Ephesus

IZMIR (ANA/A.Ambatzis) -A symphony by the distinguished Greek composer Manolis Kalomiris was played in the ancient theatre at Ephesus, near his birthplace of Izmir, by Greek and Turkish orchestras that combined for the event.

Performing Kalomiris' Levendia Symphony on Friday evening were the Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestra and the Bilked Symphony Orchestra from Ankara, conducted by Byron Fidetzis of Greece.

Beginning with the Greek and Turkish national anthems, the concert was attended by Turkey's education minister.

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit sent the organisers of the concert, which also included works by other composers, a message of congratulation.

[10] Armed Albanians abduct doctor, worker in Greek border raid

Three masked Albanians armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle stole a speedboat and abducted a Greek doctor and an Albanian worker employed at a fishery in the Ftelia Sayiada region on the Greek-Albanian border shortly before midnight on Saturday and headed for the Sarande area in Albania.

The two men they kidnapped were ultimately set free in the Examilia area, while the abductors made their getaway in the vessel.

Doctor Gerasimos Yiannatos, 54, is a friend of the fishery's owner, Leonidas Sideris and the Albanian, identified as Audiu Eldircon, works on the premises.

During their attack, the three Albanians also stole a gold chain and a bracelet worth 150,000 drachmas from Nicholas Barloyiannis, who is also acquainted with the fishery's owner.

The Albanian coast guard, after notification from the Igoumenitsa and Corfu port authorities, located the two abducted men and at about 2.15 a.m. Yiannatos was delivered to the Igoumenitsa port authority. The Albanian worker was held for questioning.

[11] City dwellers migrate on annual leave, road deaths rise

Residents of Athens and Thessaloniki fled the two cities' concrete and high temperatures over the weekend to begin their annual summer leave.

Usually congested streets were empty with holidaymakers flocking onto motorways in a dash for the beach; and extra ferries to the Aegean islands were laid on from the ports of Piraeus and Rafina to meet heavy demand.

However, more people on the road meant more accidents with police reporting 18 deaths between Friday, when the exodus began, and Sunday morning, when the last holidaymakers departed.

Injured were 188 people in 138 accidents nationwide, police said.

[12] Coalition of the Left remembers victims of Hiroshima bombing

The Coalition of the Left and Progress said on Sunday that the global nuclear threat had increased despite the end of the cold war, commemorating victims of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 56 years ago.

In a statement to mark the anniversary, the Coalition called on the Greek government to take a clear stand against the US Star Wars defence programme, saying that the ruling PASOK party had once actively backed nuclear disarmament.

The party also asked the government to contribute to the creation of a joint foreign policy on security within the European Union, freed from NATO and the concept of nuclear deterrence.

The US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Up to 80,000 people are believed to have been killed instantly with the death toll rising to about 140,000 by the end of that year.

[13] Police nab escaped prisoner in routine road check

Thessaloniki police on Sunday caught an escaped prisoner in a lengthy car chase after the man refused to stop in a routine road check.

The convict was identified as Stavros Theodosidis, 26, who escaped from Kassandra Prison in January where he was serving a nine-year sentence for grand larceny.

Theodosidis had been given an eight-day leave of absence but never returned.

[14] Fire extinguished in boat-building yard

Scores of fire-fighters extinguished a blaze in a boat-building and repair yard for leisure craft in the port of Lavrion. No one was injured, the merchant marine ministry said on Sunday.

The fire in the large warehouse of the yard owned by Olympic Marine was extinguished on Saturday after raging for several hours, the ministry said in a statement.

Two boats housed in the warehouse were badly damaged, it added.

Lavrion Fire Brigade has launched a preliminary enquiry into the cause of the blaze.

[15] Defence minister to seek policy shift at ruling party congress

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos hopes to see a change in policy emerge from a national congress the ruling PASOK party is due to hold in October.

"The congress is a unique opportunity for PASOK to redefine its physiognomy, structure and operation," the party veteran told the Sunday Kathimerini newspaper in an interview.

"Government policy will be laid on the table in a critical mood ... Continuation of the same policy is now a mistake," Tsohatzopoulos said.

He added that he would not be seeking the post of party leader.

A policy shift was feasible as PASOK was actively engaged in dialogue and forming "new majorities" that were stronger than the divisions of the past, he said.

"The point is to reconnect our base in the broad public to the hope and the outlook of socialism, and that is where we will stay ... This will not be a congress about personalities, a change of prime minister is not being sought," Tsohatzopoulos underlined.

At the same time, he disagreed with the concept of concentrating authority in the hands of one individual.

"This tallies neither with socialism, nor with pluralism, nor with the party's democratic nature ... In the context of collective democratic leadership, beyond the responsibities of party president and premier, there must also be distinct roles for people that PASOK's grass roots will appoint," he added.

Asked if the question of a new party leader would emerge in the event of an election defeat for PASOK, Tsohatzopoulos said that the last victory at the polls had vindicated the party's leadership; as a result, "tomorrow will be linked to the election result."

Turning to the economy, the minister said be backed a policy of fiscal discipline, social cohesion and environmental protection but that the government had fallen short in the last two areas. At the same time, social policy should not be equated with handouts.

The country's GDP growth rate of 4.0 percent should be higher at 6.0 percent, with the gap due to a heavy reliance on investments from European Union funds rather than other types of investment, mainly in the new economy, he said.

Finally, Tsohatzopoulos backed an economic policy that would allow a redistribution of wealth combined with incentives for business, including lower taxation and a higher tax-exempt bracket to boost domestic demand.

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