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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-04Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Head of Greek intelligence service says agency operates in line with Greek lawThe mission of the Greek intelligence service is to protect national security and sovereignty and always operates in line with the country's laws, the head of the service, Yiannis Roubatis, said on Monday, responding to allegations in the media that the secret service was involved in the wiretapping of a conversation between senior IMF officials, leaked by Wikileaks on Saturday."The mission of the National Intelligence Service is to protect national security and national sovereignty," Roubatis said in a press release. "NIS operates in line with Greek laws which always require an order by the prosecutor to tackle criminal activity or other threats," it added. [02] Athens Science Festival opens its doors in Gazi's Technopolis Centre on TuesdayThe Athens Science Festival (ASF) that will take place at the City of Athens Technopolis Centre in Gazi on April 5-10 opens its doors to the public on Tuesday afternoon, for the third consecutive year. The five-day festival will feature talks, contests, performances, science theatre, exhibitions and documentaries, as well as giving visitors an opportunity to take part in workshops, labs, educational activities and educational games.Among the topics to be explored in the 2016 ASF are life and matter, the making of 'smart' machines, the human brain, fighting disease, new materials with 'magical' properties, climate change and many others. Svante Pääbo, Director of Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany will give the opening talk on Tuesday evening on the topic "Your Internal Neanderthal", followed by the MIT's Michalis Bletsas speaking about "Internet Connectivity." Visitors will also have the opportunity to meet 'Troopy' - a humanoid robot built by high school student Dimitris Hatzis from Kavala in northern Greece - and a chance to learn more about 3D printing and its uses, such as for building a robot arm. Entrance to the ASF is free of charge but talks by some of the speakers may need tickets. The full programme is available at the website http://www.athens-science-festival.gr. The ASF is organised by the educational organisation SciCo, the British Council, the Onassis Foundation Scholars Association, the General Secretariat for Research and Technology and the Technopolis Centre, while it is supported by Operational Programme Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship & Innovation – EPAnEK and the EU's 2014-2020 National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) and a host of research and academic institutions. [03] Refugees at Idomeni showing greater interest in relocation programmes, UNHCR staff reportUNHCR staff at the refugee camp in Idomeni, near the border crossing between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), on Monday reported that the refugees were showing a greater interest in the EU relocation programmes than they had in previous days. According to UNHCR representative Liene Veide, this was because they were better informed and "have started to understand how things are.""I would say that before there was a sense that the borders will open and they did not show a great interest in obtaining information. Now that it is becoming clear that this prospect does not exist and that the borders will not open, they are starting to consider 'Plan B'," she added. In addition to those interested in the relocation programme, there were those considering applying for asylum in Greece and those seeking to be reunited with their families. In all three cases, she added, the refugees had to understand that things would not happen overnight. This was hard for them to accept, Veide noted, since they had already been in Greece for a long time and that made the UNHCR's role in explaining the situation even harder. Commenting on a break-in at the UNHCR storage facility in Idomeni, containing dry food and other items, Veide said that the police had been informed and that the UNHCR had asked for increased security. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |