Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-07-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] SKYROS EARTHQUAKE WAS PREDICTED

[02] HARDER LAW FOR DRUG SMUGGLERS

[03] EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES MAY RENT EMPLOYEES

[04] THE SEARCH FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONTINUES IN EVROS RIVER

[05] THE PRIME MINISTER WILL ANNOUNCE TAX REFORMS

[06] POSITIVE CONCLUSIONS ON THE ECONOMY

[07] THE GERMAN EMBASSY ECONOMIC ADVISER WILL VISIT PAROS

[08] VASILIS KARRAS WILL SING FOR A DISABLED BOY IN LEHOVO

[09] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

[10] MISSING TOURISTS WERE FOUND

[11] MEDITERRANEAN MUNICIPALITIES FOR PEACE

[12] MONUMENT FOR DEMOCRACY TO BE SET

[13] THE GREAT "EXODUS" FROM THE CITIES

[01] SKYROS EARTHQUAKE WAS PREDICTED

Professor emeritus of Seismology at the AUTh, Mr. Papazahos, had predicted the earthquake

in the Aegean since last September, according to a document he revealed Thursday night. The prediction had been sent to an international seismological magazine on the 14th September 2000, and was published. Professor Papazahos said he did not inform the Greek authorities, so as to prevent leakage to the media which would have caused a widespread panic in the population.

[02] HARDER LAW FOR DRUG SMUGGLERS

A draft of a law on the prison term for drug smugglers was submitted to Parliament yesterday.With the same bill, release under probation and permission to visit relatives becomes stricter.

More specifically, the bill foresees that convicts serving time for drug smuggling can make use of the probation measure and the favorable clauses of the law, in the case of a non-life sentence they will have had to have served 4/5 of their sentence, in contrast with the 3/5 it is so far. In case of a life sentence, 25 years will have to be served instead of the 20 years it is today.

In cases where favorable calculation of days served due to work is not taken into consideration, the convict will have had to have served 2/3 of his sentence instead of 1/3, and in cases of life sentencing the conviction time is raised from 16 to 20 years.

In reference to the possibility for drug smugglers to make use of their right of leave, their time of incarceration in the penitentiary will be greatly increased.

[03] EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES MAY RENT EMPLOYEES

Clarifications on the employment agencies that he is accused of intending to let rent out employees to other companies were given by the Minister of Employment, Tassos Giannitsis, on Antenna TV.

Mr Giannitsis stated, "this relationship cannot be formed by the employee with any little private employment agency, or in any case in various situations we all know exist. This relationship can only be formed by a serious company that will provide additional guarantees in the form of letters of assurance and legal indemnities both on the matter of contributions to Foundation for Social Insurance for the employee as well as the employee's payment".

"This company", the minister continued, "will receive permission after an inspection from the Ministry, will give such guarantees for every employee both to FSI and to the Employment Ministry, so that it is really responsible towards someone, and so that this whole matter is not in mid air.

The minister also added that the person looking for a job will not be required to pay anything to the agency, while the employer will be required to pay if he finds the specialization he is looking for and he continued that the state will make sure this is carried out, since the whole procedure has the protection and security of the various rights of the employee in mind.

[04] THE SEARCH FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONTINUES IN EVROS RIVER

The search, along the Evros river banks conducted by the Greek branch of the UN High Commission on Refugees, aimed at locating a group of illegal immigrants from Africa, has been fruitless so far. According to information from the Turkish branch of the Human Rights Committee, the Africans were trapped on an islet situated between Greece and Turkey.

In a press conference that was given in Alexandroupolis, northeastern Greece today by representatives of the UN High Commission on Refugees in Greece, it was stated that the incident with the illegal immigrants began on July 8 and the news traveled around the world after the information that was given by the Human Rights Association in Turkey.

Based on the available information, the illegal immigrants were in a very bad state and some of them had been maltreated by the Turkish authorities. As it was made known, a group of 70-250 individuals was trapped on an islet in Evros river and neither Greece nor Turkey allowed them to enter their territory.

[05] THE PRIME MINISTER WILL ANNOUNCE TAX REFORMS

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will announce tax reforms in his speech in the opening of Thessaloniki's International Trade Fair when he will outline his government's economic policy for the period until the year 2004.

The form of the Prime Minister's speech was finalized in a meeting he had today with Minister of National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou and members of the government's economic staff.

They discussed the content of the 2002 "social package" that will be announced by Mr. Simitis and will provide for further pension and unemployment benefit increases, as well as benefits for the handicapped, and other weak social groups.

Mr. Papantoniou stressed that the growth rate in Greece, which is double the Euro-zone average, creates the necessary resources for a meaningful social policy having as a goal the redistribution of income.

[06] POSITIVE CONCLUSIONS ON THE ECONOMY

Prime minister Kostas Simitis had a meeting today with Minister of National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou and other members of the government's economic staff.

The main topics discussed in the meeting were the budge, tax reform, and the announcements that will be made by Mr. Simitis in Thessaloniki's International Trade Center in September.

Mr. Papantoniou stated that economic stability is the law of survival for the Greek economy, adding that high inflation in the past years was a big problem but this is not true anymore.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, responding to right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy criticism, stated that the country's progress is obvious and changes will be made if deemed necessary.

[07] THE GERMAN EMBASSY ECONOMIC ADVISER WILL VISIT PAROS

A computer featuring a tele-medicine program will be delivered to the Paros Health Center by German embassy economic adviser Karl George Schon on July 31.

Already, a number of German firms have offered about 12 million drachmas to the Health Center in the Aegean island of Paros in appreciation of the fact that many German tourists, passengers of the "Samina" ferry-boat that sank in September 2000, were rescued by islanders.

The sum donated to the Health Center was used for purchasing a respirator and a biochemical blood analyzer

Mr. Schon will meet with the Health Center's scientific director, Mr. Arkas to examine ways for closer cooperation.

[08] VASILIS KARRAS WILL SING FOR A DISABLED BOY IN LEHOVO

The Lehovo high-school students in Florina, northwestern Greece and singer Vasilis Karras, have embraced fifteen-year-old Panagiotis Kantsis, who was seriously injured in an accident and is now bound to a wheel-chair.

Panagiotis Kantsis was seriously injured when he fell off his bicycle in September 1999 and was in a coma for a year. Now, the boy has communication problems, cannot stand up, and his treatment costs 700.000-800.000 drachmas a month. His father, who is a construction worker, and has other three children, cannot afford the expensive treatment.

The fifteen-year-old boy has to go to a hospital abroad in order to get well and the students in Lehovo have already managed to raise 6 million drachmas from a theater performance by the National Theater of Karditsa.

Now, popular singer Vasilis Karras will also offer his help to Panagiotis Kantsis with a concert in Lehovo on July 30 as he decided to offer all proceeds for his treatment.

[09] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

Significant gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +2.50% at 2.729,36 points, while the volume of transactions was at 154.36 million Euro or 52.599 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 323 recorded gains and 21 had losses, while the value of 29 stocks remained stable.

[10] MISSING TOURISTS WERE FOUND

A Greek Air Force helicopter located the three Czech tourists missing since last Wednesday. After a coordinated rescue operation, the three were found at the rocky coast of Agala, in the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos.

As it was made known, they had left the Alikes beach on Wednesday morning with their small boat and since then they were missing.

All three of them were taken to Zakynthos Hospital with hypothermia symptoms.

[11] MEDITERRANEAN MUNICIPALITIES FOR PEACE

The three-day meeting of the members of the Mediterranean Prefectures Network, "Amphictionia", started yesterday in Kastanies, near the Greek turkish border, in an attempt to bring a few hours or maybe even days of peace, in view of the 2004 Olympics.

The members of the Network will visit the turkish city of Erdine today, in order to discuss the details of the accession of the Turkish city in the Mediterranean Prefecture Network.

The three-day meeting will be completed tomorrow in Istanbul, where they will meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch mr Vartholomeos.

[12] MONUMENT FOR DEMOCRACY TO BE SET

Mikis Theodorakis accepted the Prime Minister's proposal following to lead the committee for the creation of a monument on the island of Gyaros which in the past was ised as an exile for democratic greeks.

The minister of the Aegean Mr. Nikos Sifounakis in cooperation with Mikis Theodorakis, will, in the next few days, compose a committee of 7 members . The members of this committee will be people that were exiled and tortured by the broader political spectrum as well as artists and intellectuals that have in the past been exiled and members of the resistance.

[13] THE GREAT "EXODUS" FROM THE CITIES

The "exodus" of city dwellers for their summer vacations beginning today is expected to be the greatest this summer. The situation at the harbor of Piraeus is suggestive, from where, this morning, in the time span of 3 hours 9 ships set sail, without any serious problems arising. 38 ships have been scheduled to leave from the harbor of Piraeus today, and the situation in the Thessaloniki harbor is expected to be similar.

The traffic on all national roads is expected to be greatly increased, as well as the traffic on the roads to Halchidiki, Kavala and Katerini. For this reason the traffic police has taken special measures to ensure the easier passage of the vacationers.

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