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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-04-18Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM seeks Commission's support to boost employment, growthAMNA / In a letter sent to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, details of which were released on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos asks that the Commission to support Greece's efforts to implement policies designed to boost growth and employment. Papademos sent the letter on Tuesday, ahead of the Commission's report on the Greek economy due out on Wednesday.Papademos listed ways in which the Commission might assist Greece in terms of the Greek government's six main priorities, including financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, assisting the progress of major infrastructure projects, reducing youth unemployment, the privatisations programme, energy-sector policies and efficiency in using financing available from EU structural funds.www.amna.gr The prime minister especially emphasised the need to continue the inflow of Community funds into Greece between 2014-2020, saying that these will help Greece fight the extended recession and implement a second economic adjustment programme in order to return to sustainable growth in coming years. AMNA [02] Ammouliani isle signs on with German tour agencyAMNA / Twelve hotels on the small island of Ammouliani, the only inhabited isle off verdant Halkidiki Peninsula in northern Greece, are focusing on the German tourist market by signing a cooperation deal with "Smart Apart", an online booking agency.The islet's hotels are also included in the German agency's "ABC Griechenland" catalogues, while a similar deal is likely with tourist enterprises in Ouranoupolis, Olympiada and Pirgadikia. www.amna.gr The 4.5-square-kilometer island of Ammouliani is located off the Mount Athos Bay, some 120 km east of Thessaloniki. AMNA [03] Record auction bid for first Marathon silver cupAMNA / The silver cup kept for more than a century by the winner of the first marathon at the inaugural modern Olympics of Athens in 1896 was purchased on Wednesday for a record 541,250 pounds (651,000 euros) by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, during a Christie's auction in London.The cup was put on auction by the family of Spyros Louis, the legendary Maroussi water-bearer who finished first at the 1896 Games, earning himself a prominent place in the modern Greek sports pantheon. The silver cup, named for French philologist Michel Breal, the inspiration behind the holding of the first marathon, stands only six inches tall. The Niarchos Foundation, founded via the will of late shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, reportedly plans to put the cup on display at a state-of-the-art exhibition centre in southern coastal Athens (the Faliro Delta site), scheduled for completion in 2015. "Breal's silver cup will be shared with the public and serve as a reminder of our (Greek) history, heritage and resilient spirit," foundation co-chair Andreas Dracopoulos said shortly afterwards. www.amna.gr "Our hope is that the cup inspires and rekindles Greek pride, just as Louis' victory did on the last day of what would become the modern Olympic Games." In Athens, Hellenic Olympic Committee (EOE) president Spyros Kapralos praised the purchase by the Niarchos Foundation. "The specific trophy has a heightened symbolic significance not only for the Olympic ideal and athletics but also for Greece itself." amna Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |