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Friday, 19 April 2024
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-11-15Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Twelve undocumented migrants drown after boat sinks near LefkadaThe 12 undocumented migrants, including four children, who drowned in the sea area between the Ionian island of Lefkada and the western mainland of Greece were most probably Syrian refugees, police said on Friday.Another 15, found after the boat carrying all of them sank on Friday, have been hospitalised on Lefkas and at the mainland city of Preveza, while the Agrinion hospital on the mainland has also been placed on alert in case more survivors are found. The police said the four drowned children included three boys and a girl between 3 and 6 years old. They attributed the boat's sinking to its being overloaded, as the weather conditions were very good in the area. Police are continuing their search for more migrants, and looking for the human traffickers; according to preliminary indications, the boat was stolen. They said that migrants called them from the boat when it started sinking. Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou called for the immediate implementation of EU initiatives to deal with illegal immigration by helping to dismantle human trafficking rings, following the drowning of undocumented migrants on Friday near Lefkada. "The new tragedy off Lefkada with victims small children confirms the need for the immediate implementation of the initiatives undertaken by the European Union to confront the illegal migration problem," Kedikoglou said. "The actions must particularly focus on the dismantling of the rings set up by human traffickers who profiteer on desperate people's lives," he stressed, adding that "Greece has been facing an illegal migration issue for years but now the problem is not only Greek. The answer must be a European one." [02] State-guaranteed loans to DESFA total 425 mln eurosHellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) has received a total of 12 state-guaranteed loans worth 425,000,000 euros, of which 11 come from the European Investment Bank and one from National Bank, while the current outstanding sum of these loans totals 259 million euros, a report by Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said.The report, tabled in Parliament on Friday in response to a question by Independent Greeks (ANEL) deputy Rachel Makri, said that the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund's aim - the state privatisation agency - was to exploit state assets and help reduce the public debt and to attract private investments in the Greek economy in the framework of the country's international obligations, the targets of the fiscal consolidation programme and the existing national and community legislation. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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