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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 | ||
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-07-24Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] SYRIZA: Troika coming to oversee implementation of measuresAMNA/ Main opposition SYRIZA warned on Tuesday that the EU/IMF Troika, which arrives later in the day, was returning to Athens to oversee the terms of implementation of the 11 billion euros package of measures that the "Memorandum government was supposedly going to renegotiate".SYRIZA press spokesman Panos Skourletis said that SYRIZA accuses the coalition government of having encouraged the Troika with its stance, ignoring the message of the recent general elections that condemned the Memorandum policy, resulting in Greece's lenders coercing the country and demanding an additional 5 billion euros in measures. He said that continuation and toughening of the Memorandum policy and taking of new measures in a ruined economy was absolutely irrational and warned that this would lead to full derailment and Greece's exit from the euro. Skourletis reiterated SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras' call for an extraordinary EU summit on Greece in order to seek a freeze on the repayment of the Greek debt and re-planning of the European policy on the crisis. [02] PM to meet with Barroso in Athens on Thursday morningAMNA/ European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will hold talks with prime minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Thursday morning, it was announced on Tuesday.According to sources, the government places great significance on the visit, as all the crucial issues will be put on the table and a first discussion will take place on extension of the Greek fiscal adjustment programme. Barroso's last visit to Athens was in 2009, when Costas Karamanlis (New Democracy) was prime minister. Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said on Tuesday that the meeting was agreed during a morning telephone call between the two officials. Samaras will confer with finance minister Yannis Stournaras, development minister Costis Hatzidakis, alternate finance minister Christos Staikouras and the deputy finance and development ministers on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Barroso visit. He is also due to meet in the early afternoon Thursday with the leaders of the junior members in the coalition government, PASOK and Democratic Left (DIMAR) leaders Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis respectively. He will also meet later Thursday with Hatzidakis, labour minister Yiannis Vroutsis and health minister Andreas Lykourentzos in view of the ministers' meeting with the Troika chiefs on Friday. [03] 'Green light' for gold mining in HalkidikiAMNA/ The Council of State (CoS) - the country's highest administrative court - on Monday gave the "green light" to gold mining in Halkidiki, northern Greece, on a provisional basis.According to the CoS jurists, their ruling was based on the high unemployment rate in Halkidiki (20 pct), considering that the investment will create between 892 and 1,300 new job positions. In addition, they ruled that there are no environmental concerns stemming from the investment. For the record, the Greek state launched procedures to terminate a contract signed with TVX Hellas S.A. for the exploitation of the gold mines in the region of Kassandra, which resulted to an out of court settlement. A new contract (No. 320/2004) was later signed between the Greek state and the Canadian company Hellas Gold S.A., which bought the Kassandra mines for 11 million euros. The new contract prompted the reaction of several local residents, who appealed to the CoS seeking to suspend it, again citing environmental protection issues. [04] Scientific instruments to monitor volcanic activity in Santorini CalderaAMNA/ Sea-floor sensors have been submerged at the bottom of the Santorini spectacular Caldera to monitor geological activity, within the framework of a scientific mission that was completed on Monday.The operation, launched on July 13, by an international team of scientists from Greece, France and Spain, is designed to monitor underwater volcanic activity in the region after last year's unrest, as well as to look for signs of deformation. The 24-member research team has used two vehicles for deep-sea dives, "Thetis" and "Max Rover" of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, to have a better view of the Caldera. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |