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Thursday, 21 November 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-05-22Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PASOK calls for Parliamentary debate on high pricesMain opposition PASOK party leader George Papandreou on Thursday called for an off-the-agenda debate in Parliament on the issue "of high prices, unaccountability in the market and on incomes", according to an announcement by party spokesman George Papaconstantinou.The spokesman said that PASOK is requesting the debate because "the day-to-day lives of citizens is being downgraded and is worsening by the day, high prices are making the life of the Greek family all the more difficult and purchasing value is decreasing as a result of oligopolic and state policies." He added that the government's tax policy "is resulting in the redistribution of income at the expense of the many" and accused the government of "failing to control the phenomena of unaccountability in the market". In an another development, George Papandreou will be meeting, in his capacity as Socialist International (SI) President, Serb Socialist Party leader Ivica Dacic at PASOK's head office on Friday morning. At 1 p.m. he is also scheduled to give a working luncheon for Dacic that will be attended by Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. [02] President wraps up Sweden visitPresident of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias on Thursday concluded an official visit to Sweden, after attending a dinner given in his honour by Sweden's King Carl Gustaf XVI at the royal palace in the centre of Stockholm.Among the dozens of guests at the dinner, President Papoulias singled out the presence of Prof. Sture Linner in his speech. Still sprightly in spite being in his 90s, Professor Linner was visibly moved when the president thanked him for his role in securing food aid for Greece during the tragic war years of 1942-1944, when Greece was under German occupation. During that difficult time, Linner had been head of a mission of the Greek Red Cross and had helped fight famine by delivering food and medicines to Greek towns and villages, while he also assisted the escape of dozens of British soldiers and Greek resistance fighters to the Middle East. Now the author of dozens of books, many of them dealing with Greece, Sture was described by the president as one of a group of "distinguished Hellenist professors and intellectuals that continue the tradition of phihellenism in Sweden". During his visit, the Greek president also had an opportunity to meet some of the estimated 25,000 Greeks living in Sweden, the majority of them around Stockholm itself, and to discuss some of the problems that they face. Members of the Greek community noted that a large number of Greeks in Sweden were switching from salaried employment to freelance professions in recent years, while Greek children were doing very well in the Swedish educational system and were expecting to augment the ranks of scientists, intellectuals, business people and politicians in Sweden in the years to come. On Thursday, President Papoulias began the day by taking a trip to Goteborg with King Carl Gustaf in the royal plane, where they toured a local Volvo manufacturing plant. He then met Goteborg governor Lars Backstrom, attended a reception in honour of the Greek community in the afternoon and is due back in Athens later on Thursday evening. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |