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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-07-29Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>Friday, 29 July 2016 Issue No: 5217CONTENTS
[01] Measure offsetting loss of EKAS passed with overwhelming support in ParliamentAn amendment outlining measures to offset the loss of the EKAS low-pension supplement was passed with overwhelming support from all parties in Parliament on Thursday. The only parties that voted against were the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and far-right Golden Dawn, who demanded that EKAS be fully reinstated.Also passed with broad support were amendments extending a advertising stamp duty by 45 days and the printing of security tapes for cigarettes by the Bank of Greece. The amendments were attached to a justice ministry bill for harmonising Greek legislation with Community law for electronic crime in relation to offences of racism and xenophobia. [02] Defence Minister Kammenos meets Italian counterpart in visit to Lecce-Galatina air baseThe prospects of setting up an international pilot training centre in Kalamata was the main topic discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Defence Minister Panos Kammenos and his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti in Italy. Kammenos had paid a visit to the pilot training school at the Lecce-Galatina air base in Puglia.The two minister also discussed bilateral defence-ministry cooperation programmes, migration and the fight against international terrorism. Kammenos was accompanied by the head of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General Christos Vaitsis, who flew in the new T-346 jet trainer aircraft. The Lecce-Galatina pilot training school and its Kalamata equivalent are used to train Greek and Italian pilots in the context of bilateral defence cooperation. [03] PM Alexis Tsipras to attend opening of new Paros airportPrime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to attend the opening of the new airport on the island of Paros, departing for the island on Friday morning on a special Aegean/Olympic Air flight from Athens International Airport. The inauguration and blessing ceremonies for the new airport will take place at noon and the prime minister is due back in Athens on Friday evening.During the ceremony, there will be speeches by the prime minister, in addition to Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Christos Spirtzis and Aegean Airlines Board Vice Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis. Tsipras will also be given a tour of the new airport and meet local industry and business associations. The prime minister's full programme is as follows: 11:00 - Departure for Athens International Airport on special Aegean/Olympic Air flight 11:40 - Arrival at the new Paros State Airport 12:00 - Inauguration - Blessing ceremony 12:10 - Address by Spirtzis 12:15 - Address by Vassilakis 12:20 - Prime Minister's speech 12:40 - Tour of the new airport 13:30 - Meetings with local business and industry groups 20:00 - Departure for Athens on special Aegean/Olympic Air flight [04] ND leader receives Archbishop of Albania AnastasiosMain opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday received the Archbishop of Albania Anastasios at ND's party headquarters in Athens, noting that he had done a great deal for Albania and the Orthodox faith and "was a figure commanding worldwide respect."[05] IMF under fire from its independent watchdog for mistakes in Greece, euro areaThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) came under fire from its own watchdog - the Independent Evaluation Office - in a report issued on Thursday about the Fund's handling of the bailout programme in Greece and other euro area countries.Among others, the IEO referred to a "patchy" performance in the handling the Eurozone bailouts and criticised "overly optimistic growth projections," especially in the case of Greece. The independent watchdog also said the IMF's leadership had allowed the judgements of its technical staff to be subjected to political pressures from an early stage, due to the troika arrangement, while the handling of the euro area crisis "raised issues of accountability and transparency, which helped create the perception that the IMF treated Europe differently." In a statement responding to the report, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the programme for Greece, as opposed to those in Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus, had been a special case. "Greece, however, was unique: while initial economic targets proved overly ambitious, the programme was beset by recurrent political crises, pushback from vested interests, and severe implementation problems that led to a much deeper than expected output contraction. "On the other hand, Greece undertook enormous adjustment with unprecedented assistance from its international partners. This enabled Greece to remain a member of the euro area - a key goal for Greece and the euro area members," she said. The report noted that Greece had benefited from the significant debt haircut in 2012, as well as a refinancing on very favourable terms from its official creditors and the IMF. It repeated the IMF's position for further significant debt relief for Greece. It noted that a decision to provide exceptional access financing to Greece without seeking preemptive debt restructuring, even though its sovereign debt was not deemed sustainable with a high probability, was made to avert the risk of contagion. [06] Athens welcomes EU's adoption of 'Jordan Compact'Greece's foreign ministry on Thursday issued an announcement welcoming the EU's adoption of a package of measures for Jordan (Jordan Compact). The measures, among other things, provide for the rebuilding of refugee reception communities, the gathering and provision of capital, and more favorable regulations for EU-Jordan trade relations."As one of the neighbouring countries of Syria that continue to host a significant number of refugees, Jordan is shouldering an unwieldy burden for its population and its economy, exhibiting a sense of political responsibility and humanism. "Greece highlighted in a timely manner - as early as January 2015 - that one of the main pillars for dealing the refugee flows should be strong support for countries neighbouring on Syria. To this end, Greece firmly supported the adoption of a bundle of measures in favor of Jordan; measures that constitute an exceptional regulation of limited duration for confronting the refugee crisis," the announcement said. [07] Alt. FM Xydakis hosts luncheon in honour of outgoing Latvian envoy PundursAlternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs Nikos Xydakis on Wednesday hosted a luncheon in honour of the outgoing Latvian Ambassador, Ivars Pundurs. The luncheon was also attended by the Ambassadors of the Czech Republic, Mr. Bondy, Finland, Mr. Makela, Turkey, Mr. Uras, and Poland, Ms. Barbarzak.Xydakis praised the level of Greek-Latvian bilateral relations, as well as the two countries' relations within the EU and NATO. The Latvian Ambassador expressed his complete satisfaction over his term of office in Greece and over the course of the dialogue between Greece and Latvia. [08] Pegasus Publishing submits documents for inclusion in MEGA file for television tenderPegasus Publishing SA - a shareholder in the television channel MEGA - on Thursday submitted all documents relating to its loan contracts and bank clearance certificates to 'Teletypos SA' for inclusion in the television's dossier for its participation in a tender for four national television broadcasting licences.Mega was among the candidates rejected for participation in the second stage of the tender process earlier in the month. Pegasus Publishing also informed the Capital Markets Commission that it has submitted a certificate showing it is up to date with social insurance payments to the relevant authorities. [09] Farmers block customs at EvzoniFarmers from Kilkis region blocked at noon on Thursday the customs at Evzoni, (at the main border crossing between Greece and Fyrom) protesting for the increase in their contributions to social security funds and other issues of their sector.The farmers said they will keep the customs on both directions closed until 14:00 and afterwards they will decide if the blocking will continue. [10] Suspicious package containing bomb sent to 'Noor One' case justicePolice authorities on Thursday confirmed that an explosive device was contained in a suspicious package sent to the home of a judge involved in the notorious 'Noor One' drug ship case.A senior officer within the Hellenic Police (ELAS) told the ANA that the bomb had many similarities with a device sent to Appeals Justices President Isidora Poga in Holargos in early June, while it also included razor blades. The package was sent to the justice's home in Hymettus was from an unknown sender and contained a book where the explosive device had been concealed. His suspicions aroused, the justice had called in the police to examine its contents and the police bomb squad had detonated the device through a controlled explosion. The case is now being investigated by the Counter-Terrorism Service, while no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. [11] Bomb squad called in over suspicious package sent to Greek justice's homeThe police force bomb squad was called in on Thursday to examine a mysterious package sent to the home of a Greek judge in the Hymettus area of Athens. The package was from an unknown sender and appeared to contain a book, arousing the judge's suspicions and prompting him to call the police.According to police sources, the bomb squad is now preparing to neutralise the package with a controlled explosion. Financial News [12] Intrasoft Intl installs IT system in Tanzanian bankIntrasoft International on Thursday announced the start of operation of a PROFITS IT system in MWALIMU Commercial Bank in Tanzania.The project will have a duration of five years (12 months for implementation and four years for maintenance). Intrasoft International has already install the PROFITS IT system in Centenary Rural Development Bank in Uganda and in Kenya where HF Group has developed the PROFITS Core Banking and Internet Banking programmes. [13] More than 40 pct of Greek enterprises planned new hirings this year, surveyMore than 40 pct of Greek companies intend to proceed with new hirings by the end of 2016, while a 44.4 pct of enterprises is considering giving pay increases up to 3.0 pct in the next six months, a survey by ALBA Graduate Business School at the American College of Greece said on Thursday.The Labour Market Trends Index remained above 100 for the third successive year in 2016, after seven years of decline, indicating increasing activity to attract and select new executives in the market. The index rose to 114.08 on administrative personnel and to 106.90 for executives, up from 107.45 and 103.44 pct in 2015 respectively. This year's survey was conducted in the period from February to May. The survey showed that a 44.2 pct of enterprises planned new hirings by the end of 2016, a 44.4 pct said they planned to give pay increases up to 3.0 pct this year. Actions to attract and select new personnel grew 80 pct in the construction sector (energy production), and rose 60 pct in services, 30-45 pct in manufacturing, commerce, pharmaceuticals and banks. New hirings will focus on sales, production, customer service, IT and marketing. Only a 16.3 pct of the sample said they could cut their workforce this year, while only 6.9 pct cut wages (down from 11.7 pct in 2015). A 6.5 pct of enterprises said it was highly likely or certain that it would relocate its base to another country (up from 4.0 pct in 2015). A 64.2 pct of companies said it was difficult to find new talents and to cover vacant job positions, while a 22.6 pct said it has been affected largely by a crisis in keeping talent, while a brain drain phenomenon seems to have hit mostly multinational companies. [14] Greek stocks end 1.11 pct lowerGreek stocks ended lower in the Athens Stock Exchange after a two-day mild upward trend, pushing the composite index of the market towards the 560-point support level. Bank shares were at the focus of selling activity. The index fell 1.11 pct to end at 562.84 points, off the day's lows of 561.15 points. The Large Cap index rose 2.01 pct and the Mid Cap index ended 0.81 pct higher. Turnover rose to 39.289 million euros in volume of 62,253,638 shares.Folli Folie (2.0 pct), Metka (1.38 pct) and Titan (1.09 pct) scored big gains among blue chip stocks, while Piraeus Bank (8.16 pct), Eurobank (7.17 pct) and National Bank (5.82 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day. Among market sectors, Commerce (2.0 pct) and Raw Materials (0.77 pct) scored gains, while Banks (5.88 pct), Telecoms (3.11 pct) and Utilities (1.64 pct) suffered losses. National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 48 to 40 with another 15 issues unchanged. Motodynamic (29.14 pct), Sato (20 pct) and Dionic (20 pct) were top gainers, while Audiovisual (21.43 pct), Mermeren (17.86 pct) and Galaxidi (12.5 pct) were top losers. [15] ADEX closing reportThe August contract on the FTSE/ASE Large Cap index was trading at a discount of 0.40 pct in the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Thursday. Volume on the Big Cap index totaled 1,042 contracts with 5,622 open positions in the market. Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 68,512 contracts with investment interest focusing on National Bank's contracts (31,904), followed by Alpha Bank (5,634), Piraeus Bank (19,248), Eurobank (7,182), MIG (2,405), OTE (343), PPC (737), OPAP (321), Mytilineos (298), Hellenic Exchanges (98), Titan (54), Viohalco (49), Hellenic Petroleum (70), GEK (52) and Jumbo (43).[16] Greek bond market closing reportThe yield spread between the 10-year Greek and German benchmark bonds widened further to 8.24 pct in the domestic electronic secondary bond market on Thursday, from 8.19 pct the previous day, with the Greek bond yielding 8.16 pct and the German Bund yielding -0.08 pct. There was no turnover in the market.In interbank markets, interest rates were mixed. The 12-month rate rose to -0.047 pct from -0.048 pct, the nine-month rate fell to -0.122 pct from -0.121 pct, the six-month rate was -0.188 pct, the three-month rate was -0.298 pct and the one-month rate was -0.371 pct. General News [17] 57,027 identified migrants and refugees in Greece on Thursday57,027 identified refugees and migrants were on the Greek territory on Thursday while 108 new arrivals were reported in the last 24 hours.According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 22,551 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 10,204 are hosted in the region of Attica and 2,558 are hosted in facilities of central and southern Greece. 7,177 refugees and migrants are hosted in several facilities rented by the UNHCR, and 2,150 persons are living outside organised facilities. [18] 9,208 refugees and migrants were recorded on the eastern Aegean islands.The last of the migrants and refugees that had found temporary shelter in Piraeus port departed for areas of their choice on Tuesday and Wednesday. The coast guard said that 400 left the port for destinations of their choice, while 50 were taken to Trikala and 18 to Oinofyta in Viotia.On Tuesday there were roughly 850 migrants and refugees staying in the port, of which 56 had departed for Oinofyta and 294 took public transport buses to destinations of their choice. According to the coordinating body for managing the refugees, there were a total of 1039 migrants and refugees in Piraeus last Monday, 887 on Tuesday and 426 on Wednesday morning. [19] Benjamin Spark's exhibition "Possibility of an island" hosted in gallery on MykonosWorks of Franco-Belgian artist Benjamin Spark will be hosted at Kapopoulos Fine Arts Gallery on the island of Mykonos.The inauguration of the exhibition "The possibility of an island" will be held on July 30 in Spark's presence. The artist who lives and works in Brussels has created, especially for this exhibition, a series of modern works in which he depicts familiar characters from comics, cartoons advertisements and universal symbols of humanity. Spark, a painter and sculptor belongs to the movement "Street Pop Brussels" that supports the synthesis of the American pop culture and European street art. The exhibition will run until August 12 will be open [20] Keratea wildfire burns one residence, now under controlA wildfire that broke out in stands of woodland in Attica's Keratea region was under control, the fire brigade reported late on Thursday, but not before it had burned one residential property in its path.A force of 62 fire men, 31 fire engines and a 24-person team on foot was still on hand in Keratea's Plaka region to fully extinguish the blaze that started on Thursday afternoon and quickly spread, fanned by strong winds blowing in the area. [21] Fire near Moria hotspot on LesvosA fire broke out in an olive grove next to the Moria refugee and migrant hotspot on the island of Lesvos on Thursday. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly spread but in the opposite direction to the hotspot. A large fire-fighting force was immediately deployed to put it out before it got out of control.[22] Slight tremor recorded in east Corinthian GulfA weak tremor with a magnitude of 3.6 on the Richter scale was recorded at 19:20 on Thursday, with an epicentre in the east Corinthian Gulf near the islet Diporta, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory. The EuroMediterranean Seismological Institute recorded a magnitude of 3.7 Richter for the same quake, putting its epicentre 28 kilometres north of Corinth.[23] 'Home' set as theme for 6th Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Biennale in 2017The concept of 'home' in collective and individual imagination - as a community, country, roots, childhood, refuge but also in terms of its practical construction - is to be the theme of the 6th Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Biennale to take place in September 2017.Organised by Thessaloniki's State Museum of Contemporary Art, the Biennale has so far been held five times in 10 years, after the first in 2007, in collaboration with artists and curators from Greece and abroad, attracting thousands of visitors. The 2017 Biennale is expecting to get funding from the EU's next National Strategic Reference Framework. [24] New Piraeus port 'solar park' goes into operationThe Piraeus Port first solar park generating energy using photovoltaic panels has been put into operation, generating up to 430 kWp, the Piraeus Port Authority SA announced on Thursday.The installation in the Piraeus freight port is 1,080 metres in length and has been linked up to the Public Power Corporation electricity grid since Tuesday. It was implemented through an open international tender and installed in Neo Ikonio, the most power-hungry section of the port where the cranes loading, unloading and stacking containers are based. PPA noted that the installation will provide 635,000 'green' kWh per year to the electricity grid, corresponding to 635 tonnes of CO2 emissions that are avoided. [25] Syrian refugee's death through epileptic seizure prompts protestThe death of a 29-year-old Syrian woman in a refugee and migrant camp set up within a former Softex factory on Thursday prompted a protest by migrants and refugees on local roads in the Thessaloniki area. The woman, identified as Azaz Ragda, had suffered an epileptic seizure and died before an ambulance arrived on the scene. She was taken to Thessaloniki's Ippokratio Hospital for an autopsy. She was in Greece with her husband.Weather forecast [26] Mostly fair on FridayMostly fair weather and northerly winds are forecast for Friday. Wind velocity will reach 6 on the Beaufort scale. Partly cloudy in the northern parts of the country with temperatures ranging from 21C to 35C. Scattered clouds in the western and the eastern parts with temperatures between 19C and 36C. Sunny over the Aegean islands and Crete, 22C-34C. Fair in Athens, 23C-35C. Partly cloudy in Thessaloniki, 21C-33C.[27] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glanceDIMOKRATIA: Too late for tears.ETHNOS: The new salaries in public sector. ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Double bonus to tax evasion. ESTIA: When Mr. Tsipras read Jean Jacques Rousseau... AVGHI: Five equivalent measures to support social policy. EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Package of measures for the weaker. KATHIMERINI: SYRIZA against Greek police over occupation of buildings in Thessaloniki. RIZOSPASTIS: Government calls social policy the impoverishment policy. TA NEA: They offer crumbs instead of social policy. IMERISSIA: Deal at the gates. NAFTEMPORIKI: Benefits with asterisks. 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 210 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 210 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: MICHALIS PSILOS Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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