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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-01-13Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Noted US archaeologist Stephen G. Miller to present 'Plato at Olympia' on Wed.Noted US archaeologist, academic and philhellene Stephen G. Miller will be on hand in Athens Wednesday afternoon for a presentation of the English-language edition of his work "Plato at Olympia", an illustrated children's book on the connection between athletics, philosophy and the "unsuspected archaeological treasures in the basement".The presentation will take place on the roof cafe of the Eleftheroudakis bookshop on 17, Panepistimiou Ave. Prof. Miller, a distinguished Univ. of California at Berkeley professor with nearly 40 years of excavation experience in Greece, will be introduced by Brady Kiesling. [02] FM briefs party reps at nat'l foreign policy council meetingForeign Minister Dora Bakoyannis discussed developments in the Middle East, Greek-Turkish affairs and the Greek OSCE presidency with party representatives within the framework of the National Foreign Policy Council meeting at the foreign ministry on Tuesday.Bakoyannis said an in-depth discussion was held on the latest developments in Greek-Turkish relations, while she reiterated that these relations are never aligned and that 2008 was a year of stagnation. As regards 2009, the foreign minister said Greece's target is an improvement in relations with the neighbouring country, saying it is steadfast on this target but that "we are also expecting a response from Turkey." Focusing on the climate of consensus prevailing during the meeting, the minister said "it is proved once again that we Greeks, when we have major goals, and defending national issues is a major goal, have the possibility, with a very good dialogue, of serving this common target together." [03] FinMin on deposits guarantee billFinance and Economy Minister Yiannis Papathanasiou, speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, said he is open to proposals and, at the same time, praised parties' stance regarding the arrangement for compensating businesses damaged during the recent events in Athens.The minister also underlined the need for supporting small and medium-size businesses with the aim of preserving their jobs. Participating in the discussion at the Parliamentary Finance Committee on the bill concerning the Deposits and Investments Guarantee Fund (TEKE), which had been tabled by his predecessor George Alogoskoufis, Papathanasiou placed emphasis on achieving the greatest possible consensus between parties and added that he meant this. Noting that he is still at a briefing stage, and for this reason his presence in Parliament has a symbolic character, he proceeded with an improving, as he termed it, amendment, according to which "contributions given to TEKE by banks will not be considered expenditures, but will be part of their capital assets so that there will be no revenues lost from the public sector." [04] Greek bond market closing reportTurnover in the Greek electronic secondary bond market rose to 505 million euros on Tuesday, of which 180 million euros were buy orders and the remaining 325 million were sell orders.The 32-year benchmark bond (Sept. 20, 2037) was the most heavily traded security with a turnover of 160 million euros. The yield spread between the 10-year Greek and German bonds eased to 239 basis points, with the Greek bond yielding 5.37 pct and the German Bund 2.98 pct. In interbank markets, interest rates fell afresh. The 12-month Euribor rate was 2.73 pct, the six-month rate 2.67 pct, the three-month rate 2.61 pct and the one-month rate 2.32 pct. [05] Sofia: Linking grid to TGI a prioritySOFIA (ANA-MPA) -- The connection of its natural gas distribution network with the Turkey-Greece-Italy (TGI) pipeline remains a priority for Bulgaria, the country's prime minister, Sergei Stanishev, said in statements on Tuesday, adding that another priority was the construction of four new linkups of its grid with Romania.He noted that deliberations for the hook-up of the Bulgarian grid with the TGI pipeline, through the construction of a 115-km-long new pipeline between the northeast Greek city of Komotini and the Bulgarian city of Dimitrovgrad, budgeted at 125 million euros, have been ongoing for a year. Speaking at a press conference after an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, Stanishev also said that talks would continue with Greece for the construction -- in the mid-term -- of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at some Greek port. Stanishev expressed hope that the recent critical developments (referring to the Ukraine-Russia energy crisis) would help speed up the materialisation of the plans for connection of the Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian grids, with EU support, which he said Bulgarian Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov had been authorised to request officially at Monday's meeting of the European energy ministers. Caption: A file photo, dated 18 November 2007, show a pump station on the TGI natgas pipeline on the Greek side of the border in Evros prefecture. ANA-MPA / EPA / SIMELA PANTZARTZI Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |