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Thursday, 21 November 2024 | ||
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-12-09Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Police remove groups of non-refugees from northern border postGreek police completed a 10-hour operation to remove of hundreds of third country nationals from the neutral zone between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) and Greece, who had been camped out for days at the site after the Skopje government refused to allow the passage of non-refugees through its territory.On Wednesday morning, 46 buses were used to carry the irregular migrants to Athens, the first of which are expected to have reached the Greek capital in the evening. Police also opened a highway at Idomeni which had been blocked during the operation, while normal train service was expected to be normalized as soon as possible. [02] SNF Cultural Centre presents Energy Canopy over its groundbreaking new buildingThe Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) on Wednesday marked the completion of the energy canopy that will top off the centre by holding a press conference to present the features of the groundbreaking structure, which will cover the Greek National Opera and National Library buildings underneath. The energy canopy is considered one of the most innovative elements in the design, conceived by architect Renzo Piano, since it will generate up to 2.0 GWh of electricity each year and will drastically minimise the SNFCC's "carbon footprint".The last important milestone in the construction, the SNFCC's energy canopy is a marvel of engineering on both a local and an international scale. It is supported by 30 columns and composed of 717 individual, precast pieces, towering over the Greek National Opera building below. Despite weighing 4,700 tons and measuring 46 metres at its highest point, the canopy creates the optical illusion of a light structure suspended above the SNFCC and blending in with the city skyline. [03] EuroCourt rules against Greek objections, upholds Commission decision on mine sale priceBRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/ M. Spinthourakis) -- The European Court of Justice on Wednesday threw out the objections by the Greek state and the mining company Hellas Gold, upholding the European Commission's decision that the low price for the Kassandra mines' concession amounted to a a state subsidy and was contrary to EU rules.The case concerned an earlier legal challenge by Greece and Hellas Gold to the Commission's decision, related to the low price given by the company for the concession in 2003, which at 11 million euros was considered to be below market value. Prior to 2003, the Kassandra mines were owned by the company TVX Hellas SA, which had bought the rights from the Greek state in 1995 for 11 billion drachmas (roughly 39.8 million euros). In 2003, the mines were transferred from TVX Hellas to the Greek state for 11 million euros and then sold to Hellas Gold for the same amount, without any previous evaluation of the assets and without holding an open tender. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |