Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-24

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Death toll reaches 13 in Peloponnese wildfires

[02] PM cites improvements for west Athens

[03] Papandreou addresses rally in Karditsa

[04] Papariga: Vote against ND, PASOK

[05] Alavanos tours Lefkada, Epirus

[01] Death toll reaches 13 in Peloponnese wildfires

In the latest report, seven deaths were reported near the coastal town of Zaharo, in Ilia prefecture of western Peloponnese, in the late afternoon.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was reportedly heading to the scene of the conflagration, while the relevant public order minister was already on the scene.

Earlier, a fire brigade spokesman said that no less than 129 wildfires had erupted over 24 hours, between Thursday and Friday afternoon, with the worst place centred in the Areopolis district on the border between Laconia and Messinia prefectures, in the extreme south of mainland Greece. Most of the provincial roadways in the Peloponnese were blocked off, as flames were fanned by winds of up to nine on the beaufort scale, a weather parameter that also made flights by fire-fighting aircraft difficult.

Of other wildfires in Greece, fire brigade officials said one in the industrial district of Elefsina, west of the greater Athens area, posed a threat to fuel tanks in the area.

The worst of the wildfires, on the slopes of Mt. Taygetus, raged towards Kalamata (and not Sparta as reported previously), causing the evacuation of several villages and a children's summer camp in the area.

Another blaze was ravaging Mt. Parnona, whereas a wildfire in the Megalopoli district, near the central Peloponnese city of Tripolis, also caused the evacuation of several villages.

According to reports, land lines and mobile phones are down throughout Laconia prefecture, whereas a state of emergency has been declared in Messinia and Laconia prefectures.

Caption: The trunk of an ancient olive tree on Mt. Taygetus, extreme southern Greece, is turned into charcoal by a wildfire that ravaged the area on Friday, Aug. 24, 2007. ANA-MPA / N. KOSTARIS.

[02] PM cites improvements for west Athens

"We are proceeding together with action, and reforms that will improve the present and guarantee the future for all," Karamanlis said.

While there, the prime minister said the former military base will serve as the biggest park in west Athens, which hosts several of the greater Athens area's most congested districts.

"With the transfer of military bases and the decentralization of other state services in tandem with the exploitation of Olympic facilities, Attica prefecture is changing, acquiring infrastructure and improving residents' quality of living," the premier said.

Caption: Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis (R) is briefed on metro extension works in the west Athens district of Peristeri on Friday, Aug. 24, 2007. ANA-MPA / O. PANAGIOTOU.

[03] Papandreou addresses rally in Karditsa

"In 25 days from today, Greece is turning a page, the Right is returning to its position: to the main opposition and the new change is coming. The river of victory does not turn back. I am not and will never become like (Prime Minister Costas) Karamanlis. I shall honor what I�m saying and will not hide at the Maximos Mansion (the prime minister�s office)," the PASOK leader said.

"Today Greece is choosing, as it knows that there are options," said Papandreou, underlining that "Mr. Karamanlis did not choose the elections, as his policy collapsed and the government fell down from the weight of its own policies and sins."

The main opposition PASOK leader said "they (the New Democracy government) had only one plan. How to serve some major interests, clientele, to fulfill the ambitions of other followers and of course themselves, with the money of the Greek people."

Papandreou further said "the government increased the privileges and turned a blind eye to taxes which should have been imposed on the wealthier people and the powerful."

Caption: Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou greeting party supporters at an electoral rally in Karditsa, central Greece, on Thursday, August 23, 2007. ANA-MPA / K. MAVRONA.

[04] Papariga: Vote against ND, PASOK

Papariga's latest statements came during a visit to the national statistical service's headquarters in Athens, where she also downplayed concerns that a marginal Parliament majority for the first party will mean a weak government.

Among others, she also forecast dire consequences for the country's social security system, while saying that a vote for her communist party means to struggle against pending privatisation of your company instead of "struggling after privatisation" - a reference to an array of various state-controlled enterprises in Greece's cavernous extended public sector.

Caption: Communist Party (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga. ANA-MPA photo

[05] Alavanos tours Lefkada, Epirus

Alavanos, who leads the "radical left coalition (Syriza)" in the upcoming Sept. 16 election, made the statement from the northwestern coastal town of Preveza.

"We're heading into the elections with a heavy heart, and we are devastated from the news in Messinia (extreme SW Greece) prefecture," he said.

Alavanos toured a hospital in Preveza after arriving from the nearby Ionian island of Lefkada, which he toured earlier in the morning. While there he mostly focused on the social security issue, and his leftist formation's views on the subject.

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