Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-05-13

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] PAPANDREOU: POLITICAL AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ON THE 13 PALESTINIANS

[02] SKIN CANCER ON THE INCREASE

[03] IMPROVEMENT OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE GREEK COMPANIES

[04] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL WITHDRAW ITS BOEING 737-200 PLANES

[05] GAINS IN THE ASE

[06] THE LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT WILL VISIT GREECE

[07] MEMORANDUM OF EIGHT PROPOSALS BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

[08] SIMITIS MEETS WITH LALIOTIS TODAY

[09] NEGATIVE REACTIONS TO THE RETURN OF ANTONIS SAMARAS TO ND

[01] PAPANDREOU: POLITICAL AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ON THE 13 PALESTINIANS

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou stressed in a press conference in Brussels, on the sidelines of the EU General Affairs Council meeting, that the 15 EU Foreign Ministers reached a political agreement in principle on the countries that will receive temporarily the 13 Palestinians, who are currently in Cyprus. Already, six countries namely, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Portugal have stated that they are willing to host them.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the legal framework that will be in effect concerning the Palestinians, their freedom of movement and their characterization will be determined by the EU member-states Council of Permanent Representatives which is scheduled to meet before the end of the week.

[02] SKIN CANCER ON THE INCREASE

An alarming increase of the melanoma cases, one of the most malignant cancer types, is being recorded in the past decade in Greece. It is estimated that each year about 30.000 people present some kind of skin cancer symptoms and 700-1.400 of them develop melanoma. Since the early 60s and until the end of the 80s, the melanoma frequency showed a dramatic increase and as a result every 10-20 years the number of new cases doubles.

The above were pointed out by scientists in a press conference in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the European Melanoma Day.

They suggested limited exposure to the sun and stressed that the suntan oils with high UV protection are not safe, adding that the products that offer a sunless tan are much safer.

The increase in melanoma cases is mainly due to the destruction of the ozon layer in the Earth's atmosphere, while the studies conducted in Europe proved that melanoma appears more often among women namely, 12 women and 6 men for every 100.000 people. Melanoma in women usually appears in the leg area, while most men develop this cancer type in the chest area.

[03] IMPROVEMENT OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE GREEK COMPANIES

The speeding-up of the announcement of the 3rd Community Framework of Support actions and projects was decided by the government aimed at boosting development and improving the competitiveness of the Greek companies.

According to Undersecretary of Finance Christos Pachtas projects will be announced in a total of six sectors with an estimated budget of 5.8 billion Euro (about 3.1 trillion drachmas).  

The projects will concern programs on information society, the strengthening of small-medium sized companies and regional programs, the improvement of competitiveness in the sectors of industry, energy, research-technology and tourism and the strengthening of farm companies and the fishery sector.

[04] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL WITHDRAW ITS BOEING 737-200 PLANES

All Boeing 737-200 passenger planes will be withdrawn by the Greek state-run Olympic Airways by this fall, according to a statement issued by the airline today. The statement confirms the press reports according to which, the European Commission had called for the withdrawal of the specific planes for environment protection reasons.

In the OA statement it is stressed that the airline currently uses three of the eleven airplanes of that type in its possession, stressing that the safety standards are very high.

The airline stresses that the EU was briefed on the issue seven months ago and it was also informed of the company decision to interrupt the use of the three remaining Boeing 737-200 airplanes with the conclusion of its summer flights.

[05] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in today's session in the Athens Stock Exchange. The general index rose to +0.18% at 2.325,04 points, while the volume of transactions was satisfactory at 116.2 million Euro or 39.6 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 150 recorded gains and 147 had losses, while the value of 76 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] THE LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT WILL VISIT GREECE

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus will be on a formal visit to Greece on May 15-17.

During his stay in Athens he will meet with his Greek counterpart Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, Parliament Vice-President Kostas Gitonas, Minister of Defense Yiannos Papantoniou, political party leaders and Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Mr. Adamkus will visit the Acropolis and lay a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. The Lithuanian President will also make an informal visit to Thessaloniki.

[07] MEMORANDUM OF EIGHT PROPOSALS BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Minister of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis is expected to deliver a memorandum of 8 proposals to the Prime Minister aimed at the improvement of the economic climate in Greece.

The proposed interventions concern privatization policies, big structural changes, taxation system modernization and development potential protection.

The eight steps that will be promoted by the Ministry of Finance and are included in the memorandum to the Prime Minister were published in the Athens newspaper Imerisia.

[08] SIMITIS MEETS WITH LALIOTIS TODAY

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis meets today with governing Socialist party of PASOK Central Committee secretary Kostas Laliotis, while the government's communication team is scheduled to meet later in the afternoon. The party's Executive Bureau will meet tomorrow, while the PASOK Parliamentary Group will hold a meeting on May 22.

The Prime Minister wants to put an end to the party succession talk and give a boost to the promotion of the government work, and the great targets set by the government. This decision is expected to be made clear in the Executive Bureau meeting tomorrow in which will be discussed issues concerning the local administration elections and PASOK's organizing congress.

[09] NEGATIVE REACTIONS TO THE RETURN OF ANTONIS SAMARAS TO ND

Right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy parliament deputy and candidate for the post of the mayor of Athens Ms. Dora Bakoyianni expressed her opposition to the return of Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras to New Democracy.

The statement was made in the state television NET show 7th Day.

Former New Democracy president Miltiadis Evert stated in the television channel ANT1 that a precondition for the return of Mr. Samaras to New Democracy would be to apologize for the fall of the Mitsotakis government.

Honorary president of New Democracy Konstantinos Mitsotakis in statements he made in Chania, Crete yesterday ruled out the likelihood for Mr. Samaras to return to New Democracy.

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