Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

BODOSSAKIS-ATHANASSIADIS: The resignation of Prodromos Bodossakis-Athanasiadis from the transport, trade and refinery firm that has taken over the management of the oil refinery, has been accepted by the relevant ministries. The former executive’s share of 43 percent has been assumed by the other partners in the firm, including the National Bank, which has received 5 to 10 percent. NOBEL PRIZE FOR PASTERNAK: Stockholm, 22 – The Swedish Academy has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature to the 68-year-old Russian writer Boris Pasternak. Pasternak is considered the greatest living Russian writer and poet. The prize has been awarded for his masterpiece “Doctor Zhivago,” which is seen as a literary atom bomb launched against the communist oppression of liberty in Russia. The Soviet authorities have banned the sale of the book in Russia, claiming that it lacks literary merit. They have even tried to prevent its sale abroad, but without success. In announcing the award, the Swedish Academy said Pasternak’s book was a major achievement given the difficult conditions under which it was written.