Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 03-11-08

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] GREECE HAS THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN EUROPE

[02] GOLDEN TAX FRAUD DISCOVERED

[03] PAPANTONIOU: GREEK AIR FORCE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD

[04] S. PERES SPEECH ON MIDDLE EAST

[05] PERES-PAPANDREOU MEETING

[01] GREECE HAS THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN EUROPE

Greece has the lowest crime rate of all EU countries, according to research on crime rates in community countries, however, Greeks are the most insecure and in greatest fear of crime of all other peoples in Europe.

According to the research carried out by economist Ilias Ioakimoglou for the VPRC research institute, and published in the Eleftherotypia, Greece is the safest country in the EU, a fact that comes into direct contradiction with the various views on security issues concerning the Olympics.

Specifically, on the board with the general crime rate index among EU member-states, first place is taken by the UK, which is followed by Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and France, while in the last places are Germany, Austria and Greece.

The countries with the highest homicide rates are Spain and Finland, while general physical violence crimes (rape, bodily harm, robbery) are the specialty of the UK followed by Denmark.

[02] GOLDEN TAX FRAUD DISCOVERED

Two blackmail rings, one regulating the prices at real estate auctions and then selling them at prices higher than they were objectively worth, thus making extortionate profits, and the other setting up dozens of front companies for gold and silver imports, were discovered by the Finanical Crime Squad this Friday.

[03] PAPANTONIOU: GREEK AIR FORCE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD

His pride and reassurance that the Greek Air Force is one of the strongest in the world, was expressed by Minister of Defense Giannos Papantoniou, who was present at the celebration in the Air Force Academy in Dekelia, carried out in the presence of the President of the Republic, Costis Stefanopoulos.

As the Head of the Ministry of Defense pointed out, the Air Force is a powerful weapon for Greece, which is strengthened by an ambitious equipment program.

The Greek people, he pointed out, loves the Air Force, as it always on standby, with pilots taking off night and day, intercepting Turkish fighters.

[04] S. PERES SPEECH ON MIDDLE EAST

His concern about the future of the road map for peace in the Middle East was expressed by Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Simone Peres, speaking at an event in Athens, organized by the Costantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy.

The Nobel Peace Prize winning politician stressed that a peaceful dialogue is the only way to solve the Middle Eastern issue and he added that Israelis and Palestinians are condemned to live in peace.

He stated that both the former Prime Minister of the Palestinians Mahmout Abas, as well as present Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, with whom he has negotiated repeatedly, are moderate, they are against terrorism, in favor of a peaceful solution and must be supported from all sides.

When asked if there had been mistakes in the Middle East during all these years, Mr. Peres appreciated that occupation and domination of another people, the Palestinians, were perhaps the gravest mistakes in the history of the Israeli people.

[05] PERES-PAPANDREOU MEETING

The current situation in the Middle East and developments in Iraq were the main issues discussed in the meeting of Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou with former Israeli Prime Minister, leader of the Labour Party of Israel Shimon Peres, who is on a visit to Athens.

Mr. Peres and Mr. Papandreou agreed that there are indications of progress in the implementation of the road map in the Palestinian issue.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the toughest part was the first steps toward the materialization of the road map.

Mr. Peres stated that the first success of the road map is the fact that it enjoys wide support in the Middle East while in Israel is supported by all the parties of the Left and Right.

However, he underlined that more initiatives should be undertaken on behalf of Russia, the United States, the EU and the UN.

Referring to the results of a recent opinion poll, according to which 60% of the EU citizens regard Israel as a threat to peace, Mr. Peres stated that there are elements of anti-Semitism in that poll, adding that it is a little bit not serious to say that Israel is not a greater danger than North Korea or Libya.

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article