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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-21Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Institutions want big cuts in pensions, Labour ministry sources sayGreece's lenders demand big cuts in main pensions, sources from the Labor ministry said on Thursday, following a teleconference between ministry officials and the technical teams of the institutions on social security reforms.Apart from the cuts, the representatives of the institutions expressed openly their disagreement with the replacement rates included in the government's proposals, which they consider excessively high. They also asked ministry officials to provide clarifications for some elements of the draft bill, as well as data on the national pension. [02] Nature wins over nurture for brown bears trading zoo life for Arcturos shelterANA-MPA -- Despite spending a lifetime in captivity in Thessaloniki's zoo, the brown bears Sasha and Alexandra have managed to adapt beautifully to a life closer to their natural wild state, at the Arcturos Shelter for brown bears in Nymphaio, Florina, and successfully entered winter hibernation, staff at the shelter reported on Thursday.Arcturos staff said that the instincts of the two sisters, who in 23 years had never been given a chance to follow their biological clock, appeared to be in perfect working order. Staff said they were amazed when the two bears began collecting leaves to line their dens, in the time-honoured ursine fashion in the wild, and were among the first of the Arcturos bears to retire for their winter sleep. "We were stunned by their behaviour since they have spent their entire lives in captivity. It is unbelievable how they knew to gather leaves to make their nest or even to eat beech nuts, which they have never eaten before and are trees that do not even bear fruit every year!" said Arcturos' Panos Stefanou. He said the other nine bears that the shelter had now also gone into hibernation. The two bears arrived in Greece in November 1993, transferred from the zoo in Belgrade. They were found when they were just three months old, wandering alone without their mother, who had been killed in a minefield. [03] Defence Min. Kammenos holds talks with Jordanian officials in AmmanGreece's National Defence Minister Panos Kammenos on Thursday held talks with officials in Amman on defence risks faced by Greece and Jordan and current developments in the region, during a two-day official visit to Jordan.Kammenos was received by Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein of Jordan and Jordanian Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dr. Abdullah Ensour. The two sides agreed that the risks facing both countries could not be dealt with individually but required multilateral regional action. They also noted that the EU and international community must support Jordan, which was a factor for stability and containment of threats and discussed enhancing cooperation in the defence industry. Kammenos also met the Jordanian House of Representatives Speaker Atef Tarawneh, a graduate of the NTUA in Athens, and discussed ways to strengthen Parliamentary diplomacy and relations between the Greek and Jordanian Parliaments. During the meeting, Kammenos extended an invitation from Greek Parliament President Nikos Voutsis to Tarawneh to visit Greece. The Greek defence minister also paid a visit to the Special Forces Training Centre in Jordan. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |