Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] EuroWorking Group decided to propose the return of the technical groups to Athens, say gov't sources

[02] Retail sales volume down 0.1 pct in January

[03] Space explorer Krimigis describes fascinating voyage of space exploration

[04] Repsol buys 60 pct of exploration rights in Ioannina, Aetoloakarnania

[05] Space explorer Krimigis describes fascinating voyage of space exploration at Athens Technopolis

[01] EuroWorking Group decided to propose the return of the technical groups to Athens, say gov't sources

Taking this into account, said the same goverment sources "some media that once again rushed to create impressions and to discount the disaster just lose their credibility."

[02] Retail sales volume down 0.1 pct in January

The statistics service, in a report, said the majority of store categories recorded declines in sales volume, led by food, beverage and tobacco. Food/beverage/tobacco sales fell 11.7 pct in January, followed by sales by department stores (-8.1 pct), furniture/while appliances (-7.9 pct), fuel/lubricants (-5.4 pct), pharmaceuticals/cosmetics (-2.8 pct). On the other hand, sales rose in clothing/footwear (5.7 pct), bookstore (5.6 pct) and supermarkets (2.3 pct).

The seasonally-adjusted retail sales volume index rose 0.1 pct in January from December 2016.

The retail sales turnover index (turnover in current prices) grew 1.4 pct in January compared with the same month in 2016, but dropped 18.7 pct from December 2016. The seasonally-adjusted retail sales turnove rindex grew 0.7 pct in January from December 2016.

[03] Space explorer Krimigis describes fascinating voyage of space exploration

"We are now one billion km away, towards the furthest part of our solar system. What we wanted to see is whether it has the characteristics of a planet. We found an extraordinary geology, something we had not predicted," said Krimigis to ANA.

Asked if Pluton is friendlier than Mars, Krimigis said emphatically no. Taking into consideration only the distance, 5 bln klm part us from Pluto, while Mars is in our neighbourhood. Mars, Venus and Mercury are the so-called earthlike planets because in a way they are similar to Earth but all three of them are not inhabitable. They are no good for vacation. On the other hand, the outer space planets are so far away that today seems uncoceivable for the man to reach them in the next 500 years, unless the science changes radically. -Is it possible to discover, for instance, something that will make us spectacularly reduce the distances? Is it possible to discover other laws of Physics that there are more dimensions that nobody has explored yet dominated by other laws of Physics based on quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity ?

-Maybe yes, maybe no, said Krimigis and explained "we should not forget that the laws of Physics applied in our solar system also exist in other systems. We have not found any indication that gives us a different picture. In other words we have a very objective knowledge on how the laws of Physics are applied in our galaxy and in space. This does not rule out the possibility of something different and new but, personally I do not see a spectacular leap, besides in the sector of technology, in the next 100 years.

Is the settlement on Mars a possibility?

What is close is a spacecraft to land on Mars in the next 30 years. However, settlement is a totally different thing. It means you have to tranfer 2,000 people to the planet and they must find a way to produce food, fuel and whatever they need for their survival, it is not so easy. Mars does not have a magnetic field as Earth does which protect us from the cosmic radiation and the solar flares so the settlement should be formed underground.

-Do you consider the science fiction movies funny? Scientifically, the last science fiction movies are very serious. For example the movie "Gravity", its subject is totally realistic. -Some people wonder if aliens have been found and your are hiding it from us.

All these things are nonsense. How can we hide something when thousands of people are aware of it. Some people say for instance that the Americans did not land on the moon. When you have 25,000 people participating in a programme is it possible that they are all part of a conspiracy? Anyway, to return to the point of the question, until today we don't have the slightest indication for the existence of extraterrestrial life.

[04] Repsol buys 60 pct of exploration rights in Ioannina, Aetoloakarnania

Under the terms of the agreement, Repsol will take over as operator of the explorations and will proceed with a seismic search in the Ioannina field in the period 2017/2018 and in Aetoloakarnania in the period 2018/2019.

In an announcement, Energean said the agreement opened a new page in the country's efforts to exploit domestic hydrocarbon reserves, as Repsol is one of the biggest oil companies in the world, listed in the stock exchange and with established presence in more than 40 countries and a workforce of more than 24,000 workers.

Repsol produces around 700,000 barrels of oil daily while its refineries can manage up to 998,000 barrels of crude oil daily. It also has activities in natural gas.

Hydrocarbon explorations will cover an area of 8,547 km in Ioannina and Aetoloakarnania, a region offering geological similarities with recent large findings in Albania, Italy and Croatia.

Mathios Rigas, chairman and CEO in Energean group said: "Repsol's know-how and Energean's knowledge of the region's geology undoubtedly enhance possibilities of new findings in Western Greece that could make the region a new significant benchmark in the oil and natural gas sector. Repsol's arrival in Greece significantly expands Energean's history in forging business contracts of added value".

The agreement is due for approval by Greek authorities.

[05] Space explorer Krimigis describes fascinating voyage of space exploration at Athens Technopolis

Krimizis will describe the fascinating voyage of the space explorations that started 52 years ago from Mars in a special event on Friday at the Athens Science Festival hosted in Technopolis with media sponsor the Athens Macedonian News Agency.

Krimizis spoke to ANA for Pluton, but also for a possible settlement on Mars, science fiction movies and the extraterrestrial life.

"We are now one billion km away, towards the furthest part of our solar system. What we wanted to see is whether it has the characteristics of a planet. We found an extraordinary geology, something we had not predicted," said Krimigis to ANA.

Asked if Pluton is friendlier than Mars, Krimigis said emphatically no. Taking into consideration only the distance, 5 bln klm part us from Pluto, while Mars is in our neighbourhood. Mars, Venus and Mercury are the so-called earthlike planets because in a way they are similar to Earth but all three of them are not inhabitable. They are no good for vacation. On the other hand, the outer space planets are so far away that today seems uncoceivable for the man to reach them in the next 500 years, unless the science changes radically.

-Is it possible to discover, for instance, something that will make us spectacularly reduce the distances? Is it possible to discover other laws of Physics that there are more dimensions that nobody has explored yet dominated by other laws of Physics based on quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of relativity ?

-Maybe yes, maybe no, said Krimigis and explained "we should not forget that the laws of Physics applied in our solar system also exist in other systems. We have not found any indication that gives us a different picture. In other words we have a very objective knowledge on how the laws of Physics are applied in our galaxy and in space. This does not rule out the possibility of something different and new but, personally I do not see a spectacular leap, besides in the sector of technology, in the next 100 years.

Is the settlement on Mars a possibility?

What is close is a spacecraft to land on Mars in the next 30 years. However, settlement is a totally different thing. It means you have to tranfer 2,000 people to the planet and they must find a way to produce food, fuel and whatever they need for their survival, it is not so easy. Mars does not have a magnetic field as Earth does which protect us from the cosmic radiation and the solar flares so the settlement should be formed underground.

-Do you consider the science fiction movies funny?

Scientifically, the last science fiction movies are very serious. For example the movie "Gravity", its subject is totally realistic.

-Some people wonder if aliens have been found and your are hiding it from us.

All these things are nonsense. How can we hide something when thousands of people are aware of it. Some people say for instance that the Americans did not land on the moon. When you have 25,000 people participating in a programme is it possible that they are all part of a conspiracy? Anyway, to return to the point of the question, until today we don't have the slightest indication for the existence of extraterrestrial life.

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