Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-02-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Government will strengthen laws for telecoms security, PM stresses

[02] Authorities step up efforts to detect 'bird flu'

[03] Israeli president on official visit to Greece

[01] Government will strengthen laws for telecoms security, PM stresses

The public can now feel that the time of cover-ups is gone and would never return, Karamanlis added.

The meeting was held to discuss the implications of a mobile phone-tapping conspiracy recently disclosed by the government, to which it had been alerted nearly a year ago. At that time the affair had been kept secret and an unsuccessful 11-month investigation was launched to find those responsible.

The premier said that improvements to the existing regulatory framework required further strengthening laws and giving the country's independent authorities the staff and means that they need in order to operate in the most effective way, as well as systematic and intensive checking and a series of tougher penalty for those involved in such offences and those using the products of these crimes.

According to Karamanlis, the task of upgrading telecoms security was a matter for Parliament's Institutions and Transparency committee, to which the independent telecoms authorities were answerable.

Underlining that the "state will be implacable and the government's will is given, strong and unyielding," Karamanlis stressed that the citizens were being informed, their rights protected, the laws were being strengthened, the state fortified and the country's security upgraded.

He also made an appeal for unity and a joining of forces and efforts by the political parties on this issue, noting that it was a question of national security that "has no room for petty party politics and irresponsibility".

Karamanlis noted that the government had revealed and faced a criminal action targeting the country, the citizens and itself and that the country now faced an issue of major importance that demanded from all a sense of seriousness and responsibility and "non-negotiable dedication to the interests of the country and the rights of the citizens".

Pointing out that investigation of the case had been in the hands of justice from the start, the premier said that this investigation was now in a new decisive phase and that "everything is being investigated in all directions".

Underlining the government's trust and support for justice, meanwhile, he said the government would not flinch from holding those responsible to account.

Karamanlis made the announcements after a meeting with ADAE president Andreas Lambrinopoulos and EETT president Nikitas Alexandridis, also attended by Justice Minister Anastasios Papaligouras and Transport and Communications Minister Mihalis Liapis, and a separate meeting with legal experts Dimitris Tsatsos, Antonis Manitakis, Christos Kapsalis and Panagiotis Tsanakas, also attended by the two ministers.

During the last meeting, a committee was set up to assist state agencies and bodies in strengthening the legal framework for telecommunications privacy and security, which will be made up of the four men attending the meeting in addition to Nikos Androulakis and Giannis Manoledakis, who were absent.

In a statement afterwards, Tsatsos said the committee would be able to make its recommendations regarding further improvements to laws in about 10 days.

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[02] Authorities step up efforts to detect 'bird flu'

Authorities in the greater Athens area were especially concentrating on taking samples from migratory water fowl -- ducks, geese etc. -- with a directive listing preventative measures sent to park officials and hunting clubs.

Authorities in the northeastern border prefecture of Evros, where the infected swans were found, also stepped up testing in the area and continued efforts to disinfect vehicles and trains entering the prefecture from neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey.

Good news, meanwhile, came from the northern city of Thessaloniki, where two individuals that had reportedly come into contact with sick birds over the recent period, before coming down with flu-like symptoms, tested negative for "avian influenza".

The first individual, a 29-year-old man, is a reportedly a duck hunter, while the second, a 15-year-old youth, brought an ailing bird into his home nine days ago. A second round of testing is pending.

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[03] Israeli president on official visit to Greece

During his visit, Katzav will also make a stop in Thessaloniki to address the local Jewish community in the city.

The Israeli president is scheduled to meet President Papoulias on Tuesday morning for talks on bilateral Greek-Israeli relations and international current affairs, particularly events in the Middle East following the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections.

The meeting will conclude with the signature of a bilateral agreement for cooperation in industrial research and development by Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas and Israel's Infrastructure, Science and Technology Minister Roni Bar-On.

Katzav will then call on Parliament President Anna Psarouda Benaki, pay a visit to the National Archaeological Museum and visit Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni, who will award him the City of Athens' Gold Medal of Worthy.

On Wednesday, the Israeli president will have successive meetings with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga and the president of the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology party Alekos Alavanos.

He will depart for Thessaloniki on Thursday, where he will lay a wreath at the Holocaust memorial, visit the Royal Tombs and museum at Vergina and speak at the Thessaloniki Synagogue.

ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved.

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