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Thursday, 21 November 2024
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-12-24Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Carols, excursions pick up ahead of Christmas DayPrime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his family will spend the Christmas holiday in the northwestern prefecture of Florina, an increasingly popular winter destination in the east Mediterranean country.On Sunday, several local groups sang Christmas carols for the prime minister, whereas Karamanlis and his wife Natasa handed out gifts to the carolers. Costas and Natasa Karamanlis later strolled through the town of Florina before attending a reception in their honor hosted by local and prefectural officials. Meanwhile, in Athens, the annual tradition of Christmas caroling a day before the holiday witnessed most political leaders receiving groups of carolers. Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou received carolers at his party's headquarters, exchanging gifts with the groups, which hailed from several parts of Greece. Communist Party (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga also greeted carolers at her party's headquarters, while Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) president Alekos Alavanos enjoyed carols by a choir of children of Filipino guest workers in Greece. Finally, traffic out of the main urban centres as well as flights out of the country soared as holiday travellers aimed to spend Christmas either in the provinces or a handful of mostly northern European destinations, with Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Paris reportedly preferred this year, according to local travel agents. Caption: A 'Children's Neighborhood' was set up in the Zappeion gardens of central Athens on Sunday as part of Christmas events sponsored by the City of Athens. ANA-MPA / M. Marogianni. [02] Christmas carols for political leadersThe annual tradition of Christmas caroling a day before the holiday was again celebrated in Greece, as most political leaders received groups of carolers.Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou received carolers at his party's headquarters, exchanging gifts with the groups, which hailed from several parts of Greece. Communist Party (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga also greeted carolers at her party's headquarters, while Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) president Alekos Alavanos enjoyed carols by a choir of children of Filipino guest workers in Greece. Caption: Papandreou is shown with a group of ethnic Greek Pontian carolers on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006. ANA-MPA / M. Marogianni. [03] Massive Christmas exodus in high gearTravellers heading north on the Athens-Lamia highway had to negotiate a 10-kilometre tailback outside the central town of Aghios Konstantinos on Saturday, as the massive exodus for the Christmas holidays continued, with journey times extended by as much as two or three hours.Traffic police said they were forced to periodically interrupt traffic going into Athens in order to accommodate the huge volume of traffic heading up from the capital on the northbound lane. The stretch of road at Aghios Konstantinos is a bottleneck that causes problems whenever traffic is heightened, since recent roadworks have reduced its width to one lane in each direction that comes right after a two- and three-land highway. In northern Greece, the sunny weather was also driving Thessaloniki residents to the countryside in droves but so far without major problems, while inter-city bus stations said that all bus routes, including additional services, were leaving 100 percent full. According to bus station officials, an estimated 150,000 passengers will be travelling from Thessaloniki to areas throughout Greece over the holiday. Traffic was also higher than in previous years at Thessaloniki's new railway station and at the Macedonia airport. According to authorities, Thursday marked the start of a record exodus for the Christmas period in past years, during which hundreds of thousands of excursionists will be leaving Greece's larger cities during the holidays. Most of them are travelling to the provinces and abroad. More than 250,000 Greeks will spend Christmas in European capitals, in tourism destinations and tropical islands. At Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, from December 22-28 there will be more than 300 extra flights and another equal number is estimated to be made during the New Year period. However, those who enjoy winter sports and are planning to have a white Christmas in one of the ski centres of Europe and Greece will most probably be disappointed, as the lack of snow is unprecedented for this period. [04] Gov't hails passage of UNSC Res. 1738The foreign ministry on Sunday praised a unanimous decision, a day earlier, by the UN Security Council to pass Resolution 1738 in support of greater protection of journalists and mass media staffers in war zones and areas of conflict.The ministry also noted that the decision emanates from an initiative undertaken by the Greek UNSC presidency last September, an initiative actively promoted by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis. In a recent interview, Bakoyannis dedicated the government's efforts to the memory of late Athens-based journalist Yiannis Diakoyannis. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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