Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-02-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Winter storm blankets Greece with snow

[02] Venizelos cites 'institutional crisis'

[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Winter storm blankets Greece with snow

The primary goal for state services over the weekend was to keep the main north-south road axis in the country, the Athens-Thessaloniki highway, opened, even if meant only for four-wheel drive vehicles or vehicles fitted with snow chains.

In the greater Athens area, the mountains surrounding the capital were completely cut off due to the snow, which piled up even in the city's centre up to 20 cm. Snowfall was continued unabated in Athens throughout the afternoon, although most forms of mass transit were unaffected, sans bus routes to northern Athens. Additionally, the Athens metro was due to remain open all night on Sunday through Monday morning.

Conversely, the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport of Athens was closed at 5 p.m. on Sunday until further notice due to low visibility in the area, east of Athens proper.

Schools in the greater Athens-Piraeus area were ordered closed for Monday, while most sports events scheduled for Sunday, including a handful of Super League football matches, were cancelled.

As opposed to central and southern Greece, sunshine and low temperatures greeted residents in Thessaloniki and central Macedonia.

Conditions on provincial roadways, especially in mountainous regions, were reported as perilous, with authorities warning the public to stay off the roads if possible.

The forecast for Monday called for clear weather in much of northern Greece with subsiding snowfall elsewhere, also clearing by evening. A frost warning for much of the country was also forecast, however.

Caption: Ice sickles hang from a tree next to Lake Pamvotida in the northwest city of Ioannina on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008, where a low of -10C was recorded in the morning. ANA-MPA / PARASKEVI PAPPA

[02] Venizelos cites 'institutional crisis'

Venizelos, who unsuccessfully vied for PASOK presidency last November, noted that "Greece is a Third World country in terms of corruption and transparency � the Zachopoulos case revealed the limits of the system's operation. The crisis in which the country finds itself (today) is not just political, but institutional. It is a crisis of trust".

Venizelos added that a "comprehensive political plan" is now necessary to fight corruption and better ensure transparency.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Evangelos Venizelos.

[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Pension rates for 25-year-olds, 40-somethings and 50-somethings based on newly proposed social security figures".

APOGEVMATINI: "Pension reform affects two million insured".

AVGHI: "The left's time has come".

AVRIANI: "Early elections set -- Alter for two successive ballots with goal being a new government with a wider Parliamentary mandate".

CHORA: "Forecast for major earthquake, over 6.5 on the Richter scale, by VAN group in next two months".

ETHNOS: "Hurricane 'Tsipras' overcoming ND, PASOK", a reference to the new and youthful (34) leader of the leftist Synaspismos grouping, Alexis Tsipras.

ELEFTHEROS: "Working mothers and 45 year-olds will be the first victims of the social security reforms".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Operation 'black money' ", a headline claiming that US and British experts are in Athens to probe cases involving fuel smuggling and suspicious capital from Arab sources.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "New and shocking evidence in Zachopoulos case in latest indictment against Evi Tsekou".

EPOCHI: "Silent consensus amid high-pitched rhetoric -- Agreement over VAT hike, funds and privatisations"

KATHIMERINI: "War on fuel smuggling rings".

LOGOS: "Indications of political establishment's overturning".

NIKI: "Karamanlis' people in key (government) posts".

PARON: "Tsekou outmanoeuvres blackmailers", a reference to the jailed former culture ministry contract employee at the centre of an alleged blackmailing ring that targeted resigned ministry general secretary Christos Zachopoulos.

PROTO THEMA: "Turks broke a Greek teacher's hand in Evros Prefecture!"

RIZOSPASTIS: "Surge in struggle against anti-social security attack".

TO VIMA: " 'We won't fall like Mitsotakis (a reference to the 1990-93 government of ex-PM Constantine Mitsotakis),' FinMin George Alogoskoufis declares".

VRADYNI: "VAT rate up 2 percentage points to finance fund in favor of poor".

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