Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 03-07-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] ND STANDING BY FOR ELECTIONS

[02] CHARGED FOR DOING THEIR JOB

[03] SOLUTION WITH A THIRD POSTPONEMENT

[04] WORK WITH SYSTEM AND METHOD

[05] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN MAY INCREASED BY 1.7%

[06] TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ARE THE CAUSE OF 80% OF THE DEATHS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[08] ONE OUT OF THREE GREEKS FEEL UNSAFE

[09] KARAMANLIS ASKS FOR ELECTIONS

[01] ND STANDING BY FOR ELECTIONS

President of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis set his party on standby for elections, while speaking to ND's Central Committee meeting, and attributed the government's proposals on changing the electoral law to PASOK's prospects' of defeat. As far as transparency is concerned, Mr. Karamanlis asked that the stock market codes of PASOK MPs and other political officials be opened by law. ND wants this country nailed down, responded the government, ND is competing with PASOK, stated the KKE.

[02] CHARGED FOR DOING THEIR JOB

Charges for the crime of harboring a felon were set by the Athens DA of First Instance, against journalists Despina Brousali and Panagiotis Stathis, who are accused that they could have caused the cancellation of suspect apprehensions with the publication of part of the brief on the 17 November case in the Eleftherotypia and To Vima newspapers. The two journalists will enter their pleas before the 8th Justice Court Judge of Athens.

[03] SOLUTION WITH A THIRD POSTPONEMENT

The date for the installation of special cash registers in gas stations throughout the country will be extended until September 1, according to the announcement of deputy Minister of Finance Apostolos Fotiadis, in statements to the Macedonian Press Agency. It should be noted that gas stations in Attica and Thessaloniki should have installed cash registers by July 1, while the deadline for the measure's application in all other districts was September 1, 2003. The gas station owners are examining the new proposals made by the deputy Minister. ND was in favor of a dialogue to decide on the application of the checks.

[04] WORK WITH SYSTEM AND METHOD

The meeting of the Ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the Olympic Preparations (DESOP) was held in a positive atmosphere, presided over by Prime Minister Costas Simitis. The committee moved to review all chapters of the Olympic preparations and gave directions on the work to be carried out over the summer, as well as regarding DESOP's next meeting to be held at the end of August.

The Prime Minister stressed that we are entering the last phase of the Olympic Preparations and for that reason we must continue our hard and methodic work at the same pace. We must not enter the mentality of last minute work, said Mr. Simitis and added that Greece and Greeks can do this, as was proven in the case of the Greek Presidency of the European Union.

Meanwhile, an IOC delegation will be arriving in Athens next week in order to observe the progress of the Olympic preparations, while this summer is crucial due to the many test events during which the progress on the Olympic works must be seen in practice.

As was pointed out by Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizelos, there was no discussion today on the Olympics' financial issues, however it has been ascertained that after the formation of a three-member committee (from the Ministries of Finance and Culture and Athens 2004) on the issue of adjustments, the whole issue is being dealt with in a very rationalistic way, without creating fiscal problems.

Special emphasis was paid to the new Olympic Medal, which has elicited positive remarks and will be adopted for all the Olympics of the next millennium. According to Minister of the Press Tilemachos Chytiris, the medal depicts the Acropolis and the Olympic Stadium.

[05] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN MAY INCREASED BY 1.7%

An increase of 4.1% is recorded in the general index of production for the month of May in the sector of mines, industry, electricity-natural gas-water compared to the same month last year. The increase recorded in the January-May period is at 0.7%, according to the National Statistics Agency of Greece.

Specifically, the industrial production index recorded an increase of 1.7%, mainly due to the sectors of clothing, petrol and coal by-products, chemical products, metal products, electric machines and devices.

[06] TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ARE THE CAUSE OF 80% OF THE DEATHS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN GREECE

The summer months are the bloodiest in Greece as most of the traffic accidents are recorded during that time. The relaxation and the carefree attitude of summer in combination with fatigue and alcohol consumption are the main causes of traffic accidents. Also, a major role is played by the frequent exodus of the city people to the countryside.

The above were stated by Professor Ioannis Papadopoulos, coordinator of the Ministry of Health Road Safety Committee. In statements he made to MPA and state-run radio ERA, he stressed that 80% of the deaths among young people in Greece are caused by traffic accidents and only 20% by illnesses.

An increase is recorded in the traffic accidents involving motorcycles and based on official figures, 85% of their drivers had consumed alcohol.

The accidents involving pedestrians in Greece are four times more compared to Germany. Professor Papadopoulos stated characteristically that the pedestrian is a non existent factor both for the Traffic Police and the car drivers.

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.67% at 1.977,66 points, while the volume of transactions was at 130.9 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 100 recorded gains and 218 had losses, while the value of 60 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] ONE OUT OF THREE GREEKS FEEL UNSAFE

Over 1/3 of the Greeks feel unsafe in their neighborhood, according to a research conducted by the polling company V-PRC and presented by the Athens newspaper TA NEA. This percentage brings Greece at the top place among 16 countries concerning the sense of insecurity and the fear of burglars.

This opinion poll is the first national victimization research that took place in Greece on behalf of the Ministry of Public Order for the period 2001-2002. Of those who responded to the questionnaire, 35% stated that they feel a little or not at all safe, a percentage that exceeds by far that recorded in other countries which is under 23%. The only country that shares the same high phobia is Spain, while high percentages of insecurity are being recorded in Australia and Poland (34%).

Also, Greece occupies the top place concerning the fear of the people that their houses will be burglarized. The average in other countries regarding that fear is 4% whereas in Greece it reaches 11%.

[09] KARAMANLIS ASKS FOR ELECTIONS

President of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis asked for elections now during his speech at the meeting of his party's Central Committee. The Head of the Opposition stressed that Greece cannot take a nine-month pre-election period, he pointed out that national interests make it imperative for elections to be held now and he launched harsh attack against the government drawing on the Prime Minister's announcements for changes in the political system.

Specifically, he made mention of declaring a pre-electoral period of an unknown duration, noting that the government has confessed to phenomena of shady dealings and corruption, while he stressed that New Democracy does not trust the government.

Regarding his party he stated that it is in constant vigilance and is preparing its programming commitments in each sector with a horizon of Greece in 2010 and the materialization of a national strategy for regional development as its main element. He called all ND officials to contribute to the spread their party's programme. At the same time he noted that attention will be paid to the sectors of culture and education, the reestablishment of the state and the creation of a new political culture.

Drawing on the stock market issue and the proposal for checks on PASOK MPs, Mr. Karamanlis stressed that the stock market crime cannot be erased and underlined the need to find a clear and complete solution by opening the stock codes of all state officials.

The President of New Democracy also referred to the report made by the Athens DA of First Instance yesterday on the members of the Stock Market Committee, in which he noted that they overstepped their authority for their own illegal benefit, since they did not bar companies that seem to be implicated in guiding stocks. Are these the people Mr. Simitis wants in charge of the investigations of the codes of PASOK's MPs? wondered Mr. Karamanlis and accused the Prime Minister of placing an untrustworthy committee appointed by him to investigate his own party.

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