Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-12-26

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Christmas carols for political leaders; PM Karamanlis in Florina

[02] Greece praises adoption of Resolution 1738

[01] Christmas carols for political leaders; PM Karamanlis in Florina

On Tuesday, Karamanlis, along with his wife Natasha, their two children and ruling New Democracy (ND) party deputy Nikos Kortsaris, visited the resort of Nymfeo, in Florina, western Macedonia.

The inhabitants of Nymfeo, which is at an altitude of 1,250 metres, warmly received the prime minister and offered him gifts.

Karamanlis and his family are in the prefecture of Florina since Saturday night, on a private visit.

On Sunday, several local groups sang Christmas carols for the prime minister, whereas Karamanlis and his wife Natasa handed out gifts to the carolers.

Meanwhile, in Athens, the annual tradition of Christmas caroling 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 of Greece (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga also greeted carolers at her party's headquarters, while Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (Synaspismos) leader Alekos Alavanos enjoyed carols by a choir of children of Filipino guest workers in Greece.

Groups of carolers sent by clubs and societies from various areas of Greece on Saturday visited Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki in order to sing traditional Christmas carols, including a group from Crete and an association of Pontian Greeks from southern Greece and the islands.

Other carolers to visit Benaki were children living at the 'Smile of the Child' hostels and the childrens' choirs of the Greek police headquarters, as well as the Greek Scouts Corps.

The Parliament president offered the carolers good-luck charms from the Thrace Museum.

[02] Greece praises adoption of Resolution 1738

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.

From New York, Greece's Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, on Tuesday hailed the unanimous adoption last Saturday by the United Nations Security Council of Resolution 1738 (2006) for the protection of journalists in war zones.

Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, declared that "the adoption of the resolution is the culmination of an effort which started by the foreign minister of Greece and which from the start was firmly supported by the foreign minister of France."

Ambassador Vassilakis stressed that "the joint efforts of Greece and France to raise this current and important issue before the Security Council have as an objective to sensitize international public opinion to the dangers faced by journalists, the professionals and the members of the mass media, when they carry out their reports from war zones."

Greece's permanent representative at the UN added that "we view that today's resolution is a decisive step in the right direction and sends a clear message to all the sides of the armed clashes that journalists and members of the mass media must be protected, in accordance with international law and the international humanitarian law."

Concluding, Ambassador Vassilakis noted that "despite the fact that Greece's tenure as non-permament member at the Security Council is reaching its end, we will continue to observe the issue closely and we hope that it will constitute an indication for all the non-permament members, both current and future, that their voice counts and that each member can play an active and constructive role in the work of the Security Council."

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