Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis' programme in Mytilene

[02] Greek commercial stores to offer 20 pct discount on tourists from four countries

[03] 53,661 identified refugees and migrants in Greece on Wednesday

[01] Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis' programme in Mytilene

The two religious leaders, together with Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, will visit Lesvos, in an effort to raise the awareness of the international public opinion on the refugee issue.

Archbishop Ieronymos is expected to arrive on the island on Friday. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will arrive also on Friday, at 8 pm. Pope Francis will be received on Saturday, at about 10.15 am, by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Ieronymos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

They will all together visit the hot spot at Moria where they will meet with refugees and migrants and sign an international declaration on the refugee crisis .

According to the Catholic Diocese of Chios (Lesvos - Samos), the Pope will meet with the Catholics Community of Lesvos and other Catholics on the island. The Pope will hold ten-minute meetings with Orthodox bishops and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and approximately at 3 pm they will all depart from Lesvos.

[02] Greek commercial stores to offer 20 pct discount on tourists from four countries

The four "honoured" countries for 2016 are Israel, Russia, Turkey and the US.

Greek businesses accepted with pleasure Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas initiative to promote commercial activities in the tourist season and reward the trust of foreign tourists, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (ESEE) Vassilis Korkidis noted in a joint press conference with Mardas.

Aegean Airlines also participated in the press conference as the relevant brochure will be distributed during its flights.

Mardas underlined that this initiative will offer a boost to the Greek market. On his part, Korkidis noted that the tourists from these countries already have tax exemption for purchases they make in Greece while the 20 percent discount is not associated with tax free as the discount is made directly in the shop.

The "honoured" countries in 2017 will be China, Iran, Western Balkans and the EU.

[03] 53,661 identified refugees and migrants in Greece on Wednesday

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 29,250 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 10,680 of them are in Idomeni camp, 14,963 are hosted in the region of Attica (3,805 at Piraeus port), 7,150 on the Greek islands and 2,298 are hosted in different areas in central and southern Greece.

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