Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-03-19

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Samaras visiting Thessaloniki, Halkidiki

[02] Bomb attack on 'Chryssi Avghi' office, no injuries

[03] Report on Tempi landslide

[04] Hellenic museum in Chicago

[05] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Samaras visiting Thessaloniki, Halkidiki

On Friday morning, Samaras will travel to Halkidiki and at 10:30 he will address the conference of the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), and then he will be visiting the Halkidiki Prefecture, the Municipality of Polygyros, the local Chamber of Commerce and a local ND group.

At 6 in the evening, he will be meeting in Thessaloniki with farmers unionists and at 9:30 he will be having a working dinner with representatives of production agencies.

Lastly, on Saturday morning, Samaras will address the party's preliminary congress at the Ioannis Vellidis convention centre.

[02] Bomb attack on 'Chryssi Avghi' office, no injuries

The bomb exploded at 8:46 a.m., and 22 minutes earlier, at 8:24 a.m., an anonymous caller telephoned Eleftherotypia newspaper warning that "A bomb has been placed at 48 Socratous street, on the 5th floor at the Chryssi Avghi offices" and will explode in 25 minutes. The caller urged that the building be evacuated as well as Socratous street and an adjacent hotel.

Police were immediately alerted, who cordoned off the area.

The explosion caused material damage to the Chryssi Avghi offices and the building, and broke windows in surrounding buildings.

According to early reports by police, the bomb had a time mechanism, and had been left in the hallway of the 5th floor.

Security Police bomb disposal experts and counter-terrorism squad officers are conducting an on-the-spot investigation.

No organisation immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

[03] Report on Tempi landslide

Experts said the pressures exerted by vibrations from the explosions, coupled with additional erosion caused by the rain, had further destabilised an already unstable geological landscape and resulted in the landslide of massive rocks that killed the Italian director of the new national highway (NEO) project.

In a press conference at the Greek Technical Chamber, experts stressed that the specific stretch of road was already dangerous.

"Since 1997, 35 road accidents have been officially recorded at Tempi that resulted from landslides, something that illustrates the dangerousness of the area," said committee member Spyros Kavounidis, a ground engineer.

He underlined that a degree of danger would persist in the area even after work to remove loose material and raise protective mesh on the slopes flanking the road. Once the section of the road at Tempi was again opened to traffic and until work to dig the tunnel was completed, authorities will have to impose a minimum speed limit and parking bans on that section, ensure that vehicles observe safe minimum distances, arrange regular police surveillance, daily inspections and possible closures of the road in emergency conditions.

The report concluded that the best solution in safety terms would be to erect sturdy, slanted canopies at specific locations along the national road, which would "dramatically increase safety in the Tempi region".

[04] Hellenic museum in Chicago

According to the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper, the museum will house 180 oral histories of Greek-Americans and thousands of artifacts, ranging from ancient Greek pottery to clothing worn by the first Greek migrants to the New World.

The US$25-million, three-storey 40,000 square-foot building is located on the northeast corner of Halsted and Van Buren streets.

[05] Athens Newspaper Headlines

The new tax bill, the changes it contains and the reactions and Prime Minister George Papandreou's message at his ruling PASOK party's Political and National Council conference that recourse to the IMF would be the last solution for the country, dominated the headlines on Friday in Athens' newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "The new tax measures".

APOGEVMATINI: "National hospitals' debts reached 1 billion euros".

AVGHI: "Case of blackmail in Northern Greece: Salary cut or lay-off".

ELEFTHEROS: "What German Chancellor Angela Merkel said to George Papandreou that left him speechless".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "We are sailing in the wrong direction - Opinion poll indicates nationwide pessimism".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Three-speed tax upsets - End to tax exemptions and deductions, and taxes for those laid-off as well".

ESTIA: "Retractions on taxation - The date of the final decisions is continuously postponed".

ETHNOS: "Wild chase of professionals - Proof of status of living and registers everywhere to tackle tax evasion".

IMERISSIA: "Change of the tax-free ceiling for the first home".

KATHIMERINI: "The Germans driving us to the IMF - Berlin reluctant to contribute to an exclusively European plan to rescue Greece".

LOGOS: "Who are affected by the new tax bill".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "The new tax bill brings radical upsets".

NIKI: "Now, now, now - George Papandreou sends triple message and characterised the recourse to the IMF as the extreme solution".

RIZOSPASTIS: "New tax looting of the popular strata - Government's 'fair' taxation a scam".

TA NEA: "Taxes: 'Five changes and one reversal'."

TO VIMA: "Biting new taxes - End to exemptions".

VRADYNI: "New looting of small and medium incomes - Final decisions on the tax bill will be announced on Tuesday".

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article