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Majority of graduates will never pay off student loanThree-quarters of graduates will never pay off their student loans, a report has found.And most of those that can will still be paying it into their 50s, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.
Two fishermen killed after vessel collides with water tanker off Aegina islandTwo professional fishermen, which initial reports say were brothers, were fatally injured early Wednesday morning off the Saronic Gulf island of Aegina, which lies southwest of the greater Athens area.According to press reports, the accident was a result of a collision between the victims' fishing vessel and a water tanker.
New Zealand's possum war: 'barbaric' drowning of babies at school fair sparks outcryRights group says widespread practice to kill pest species is desensitising children to acts of violenceAn animal rights group is calling for an end to New Zealand’s “barbaric” war on possums after joeys were drowned in a bucket of water at a school fundraiser.Jasmijn de Boo, chief executive of animal rights group Safe... accepted it was a difficult situation given the government pledged to wipe out the species (along with stoats, ferrets and rats) by 2050. Australian brushtail possums were introduced to New Zealand in 1837 by settlers who hoped to establish a roaring trade in possum fur. However the animals quickly got out of control because they faced no natural predators in New Zealand.They had a devastating impact on bird life, competing for food and habitat resources, and climbing into nests to eat eggs and fledglings. They also destroyed native trees with their strong paws, especially rata, totara, titoki, kowhai and kohekohe. Poisoning possums is a controversial method in New Zealand because many of the most commonly used poisons – including 1080 – can take hours or even days to kill.According to the New Zealand Fur Council possums consume 21,000 tons of New Zealand vegetation every day. About 1,500 people are employed in the possum fur and skin business, with the industry generating sales worth between $100m and $150m a year, and killing about 2m possums annually.
Doctors forced to plead with NHS for treatments for patients, BMJ findsGrowing healthcare rationing means GPs are having to submit exceptional requests for treatments including cataract removals and new hips and knees
Why Generic Medicine Is Not Popular in GreeceGreeks have had to turn to generic medicine as the economic crisis has worsened over the past few years and fewer people have insurance due to unemployment.This has been a difficult adjustment for Greeks, as they have a deep fear of generic drugs being of lesser quality than ones from well-known pharmaceutical companies.“Greeks consider generics a second-class medicine due to a law in 2012 that said the poor people get generics,” said Pascal Apostolides, president of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies, according to sputniknews.com.One of the main obstacles standing in the way of change in Greece is that the pharmacists stand to lose a sizable profit by selling the less-expensive no-name brands since they earn a profit from the pharmaceutical companies by promoting and selling their products.
Poor Greece splurges on costly drugs, to Brussels’ annoyanceEU economic problem case shuns cheaper generics, partly to keep ubiquitous pharmacies afloat. That’s changing too slowly for Greek creditors’ taste.Greece is addicted to expensive medicines, and three rounds of rehab have made only a small dent.It’s a hard habit to kick: Greece for years lavished unusually high sums on the newest, most expensive drugs on the market. That led the European Commission to zero in on this, saying Athens would have to spend smarter to help cut its budget deficit. In the third bailout agreement between the European Commission and Greece, Brussels called on the Greek government to ensure that 60 percent of medicines are cheaper, copycat versions — so-called generics — by March 2018.Only a quarter of medicines prescribed in Greece are generics, according to the European Commission, putting Greece at the bottom of the charts.Greece’s tightly regulated pharmacies were quickly identified as a problem in the early days of the crisis, because they were widely accused of being wedded to expensive drug brands. In the first bailout agreement, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund asked the Greek government to remove restrictions on who can open a pharmacy to create more competition. The troika also wanted Greece to introduce an electronic system to monitor doctors’ prescriptions to increase the uptake of generics.Seven years later, many of these demands have been met on paper, but are failing to make much difference in practice.
Theresa May defends austerity and warns Britain could turn into Greece if it fails to tackle deficit
Colombia Returns Stolen Hospital Equipment to GreeceSix of the sixteen pieces of medical equipment that were stolen from four hospitals in Greece were returned by the Colombian authorities on Wednesday.The thefts occurred in May and were carried out by a Colombian drug cartel. Greek police identified four members of the gang and alerted the Colombian authorities.According to a joint investigation with European police forces, the same ring also stole medical equipment from Luxembourg, Spain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Croatia and Lithuania.While in Greece, the ring stole 500,000 euros of medical equipment and supplies from Aghios Savvas on May 15, another 115,000 euros from the Lamia and Larisa General Hospitals between May 19-22 and two gastroscopes from Volos General Hospital on May 21.
Strong winds are fueling the flames of a forest fire that engulfed an area near the town of Kapandriti in northern Attica.On Wednesday, according to data from the Fire Brigade, 22 fires broke out throughout Greece.
Minister sparks anger by suggesting 'Waspi women' start apprenticeshipsA minister has been heckled by MPs for suggesting women over 60 facing poverty could start an apprenticeship.The government has been accused of failing to do more to help 2.6 million women born in the 1950s who have lost out because of changes to pension law.The debate centred on the plight of the so-called Waspi women - Women Against State Pension Inequality - whose aim is to achieve fair transitional arrangements for women born in the 1950s, for whom the state pension age is being raised from 60 to 66 by 2020.
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Topic: 05/07/17 (Read 1671 times)
