Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-05-24 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Minister requests update on TV licensing procedure by regulator [02] Mitsotakis criticizes Tsipras for negative outcome at Eurogroup [03] State minister rejects reports on sale of former EAT-ESA building [04] Belly fat around the waist an indicator for obesity-related cancer, study finds --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Minister requests update on TV licensing procedure by regulator Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Information Minister Nikos Pappas asked the National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) for an "immediate" update on the TV licensing tender the body is expected to announce, noting the broadcasting sector lacks legality. In his letter to the televising regulator, Pappas asks the body to specify the number of the licenses that will be auctioned off, the starting price and the analytical timetable for the publication of the tender. He also notes the response is necessary "to put an end to the illegal operation of television channels which are broadcasting without having paid a financial compensation to the State." The minister had sent a similar letter to NCRTV on January 30, 2017. [02] Mitsotakis criticizes Tsipras for negative outcome at Eurogroup Main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticized Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday for anticipating very good developments at the last Eurogroup meeting on Monday, noting that Greece came out empty handed, during a speech at the general assembly of the Association of Industries of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki. "At the Eurogroup we unfortunately had a negative development. They didn't give, they didn't even trace a solution for the debt, there a was no roadmap for Greece's inclusion to the quantitative easing program, and all this while the Prime Minister was publicly banking on unexpectedly positive developments," he said. "Where did he derive his optimism from? [Is it] one more sham or one more illusion?" The New Democracy leader said Tsipras "loves power but doesn't love truth equally" and accused him of pretending to be a reformist just to remain in power. "The interests of the country do not coincide with the interests of SYRIZA-ANEL and their removal from power is a necessary condition for the country to take a leap forward," he said. [03] State minister rejects reports on sale of former EAT-ESA building The building where the former headquarters of the infamous Special Interrogation Sections of the Military Police (EAT-ESA) was housed will not be sold through the privatization fund but will be turned into a museum, State Minister Alekos Flambouraris said on Wednesday. "Not only is the building of the former EAT-ESA headquarters not for sale, but it will be turned into a Museum of Anti-Dictatorial Resistance with state funds," he said in a statement. "It is the least the government can do for a place where young men and women martyred during the seven-year dictatorship, but also citizens of all ages who claimed freedom and democracy." The minister was responding to a press report claiming that the building, located at Eleftherias Park, on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, will be passed on to the privatization fund. Numerous political opponents of the Junta were arrested and brutally tortured in the building which was closed down after the fall of the dictatorship. [04] Belly fat around the waist an indicator for obesity-related cancer, study finds People with accumulated fat around their waistline face a higher risk of cancer, similar to that faced by those with a higher body mass index, according to the findings of a WHO study published on Wednesday. Based on the study, which included Greek researchers, an 11 cm increase in waist circumference increases the risk of obesity-linked cancer by 13 pct. An extra 8 cm around the hips increases the risk of bowel cancer by 15 pct. The cancer risk increases when the waist measurement exceeds 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women. The study, led by Heinz Freisling from IARC-WHO, combined data from around 43,000 participants who had been followed for an average of 12 years. They included more than 1,600 people who were diagnosed with an obesity-related cancer. The study was published in the British Journal of Cancer.