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Thursday, 18 April 2024
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-05-20Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Inner Cabinet on Merchant MarinePrime minister Costas Karamanlis chaired an Inner Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which discussed merchant marine ministry matters.Speeking to reporters after the meeting, Merchant Marine Minister George Voulgarakis stressed the role of Greek shipping in the country's economy, to which it contributes 2 million dollars per hour, and noted that the leap in shipping internationally had positive effects on the Greek economy given that a large section of the global fleet was Greek-owned or under Greek flag. Voulgarakis also said that the measures taken by the government in the sector had begun to bear fruit, and that a number of shipping enterprises were investigating the prospect of establishing themselves in Piraeus. The minister briefed the Inner Cabinet on the tenders currently underway regarding the Piraeus and Thessaloniki port authorities (OLP and OLTH, respectively), noting that two large companies have indicated interest in OLP and three for Thessaloniki. He said the concessions process is expected to be completed by the end of the year, thus upgrading the country geopolitically, while Greece would also play a catalytical role as a gateway to the EU. Replying to questions on coastal shipping fares, Voulgarakis said that the ticket prices were related to the price of oil, which accounted for 67-70 percent of the cost. The minister said that, in cooperation with the coastal ship owners, an effort would be made to avoid an increase in fares, so as to enable the public to move freely without high costs. He further said that the government has earmarked this year an additiona 14 million euros for the shipping lines to the country's remote islands, and a total of 20 million additional euros in general to the sector, as well as an additional 20 million euros for water supply to the islands. Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Merchant Marine Minister George Voulgarakis [02] FinMin for official visit to USEconomy and finance minister George Alogoskoufis leaves later on Tuesday for Washington, on an official visit to the US, heading a Greek delegation, in the framework of the Greek government's policy on promoting the extroversion of the Greek economy and attracting foreign investments.Issues concerning the global economy, such as the turmoil in the credit system and rise in inflation at global level, will also be at the crux of Alogoskoufis' talks. Alogoskoufis is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with his US counterpart, treasury secretary Henry Paulson, with deputy secretary of state John Negroponte, and with the President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, while later in the day he will be the keynote speaker at an event organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the topic of developments and prospects in Southeastern Europe. On Thursday, Alogoskoufis will meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, while later he will address a greeting to the 24th annual conference organised by the Greek and Greek Cypriot community in the US. While in Washington, Alogoskoufis will also give interviews to the Greek and American mass media. On Friday afternoon, the minister will leave for New York, where he will outline the course and prospects of the Greek economy to representatives of the local investment and business community. Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis [03] Argentina junta missingThe issue of the roughly 30,000 "desaparecidos", the missing persons, during the "dirty war" period in Argentina (1976-1983) has ceased to be regarded as taboo, while their relatives continue efforts to find out about the fate of their loved ones. Most of the missing during Argentina's bloodiest and cruelest dictatorship in Latin America were members of resistance organizations, among them at least 20 Greeks and Greek origin individuals, in addition to cases of children of missing persons given up for adoption who have disappeared since then. Tete Maria Teresa Pinero de Georgiadis, responsible for human rights in the foreign ministry of Argentina, and widow of Angelo Georgiadis, who was executed by the junta on Feb. 2, 1977, has undertaken an initiative to organize the Greek origin relatives in their quest for justice. As recently as June 2006, the Supreme Court in Argentina abolished two amnesty laws that protected former army officers from prosecution, clearing the way for hundreds of court trials.Caption: A view from Boca area in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday 14 May 2008.ANA-MPA/ALEXANDROS BELTES Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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