Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-03-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] Karamanlis-Germany

[02] Simitis-Interview

[03] Long weekend exodus-Road deaths

[01] Karamanlis-Germany

Main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis on Sunday expressed certainty that his party would emerge the winner in the April 9 general elections.

Addressing a rally of overseas Greeks in Stuttgart, Karamanlis alluded to deficiencies and omissions of the Greek State towards the Greeks of the Diaspora.

He also said Greece was at a critical crossroads, at the threshhold of important developments in which it must not be the rear guard but the protagonist.

[02] Simitis-Interview

Prime minister Costas Simitis outlined the targets of his ruling PASOK party for the next term in government, in an interview with TO VIMA newspaper appearing Sunday.

In a wide-ranging interview published just two days before parliament is due to be dissolved and early general elections officially called for April 9, Simitis expressed optimism of a "huge victory" for PASOK, warned that Greece's course to the European Union's economic and monetary union (EMU) would be jeopardised in the event of a main opposition New Democracy electoral victory, and intimated that a recent decline on the Athens bourse was politically instigated.

[03] Long weekend exodus-Road deaths

Eleven people were killed and 176 were injured in 147 traffic accidents throughout Greece between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning as urban dwellers left for the provinces for the long weekend.

According to traffic police, this year's exodus for the last weekend of Carnival season that culminates on Clean Monday, marking the beginning of the 40-day fasting period of Lent leading up to Easter, was marked by some 20 percent more cars on the roads.

Traffic police have been put on heightened alert for the exodus, while a series of traffic measures have been introduced, including the designation of extra out-going lanes in major urban centres.

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