Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-06-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece - Germany - Olympia artifacts

[02] Greece - Germany - PM visit

[03] Sunny, mild weather in Greece for Friday

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[01] Greece - Germany - Olympia artifacts

BERLIN (ANA) An announcement here on Friday, by none other than the visiting Greek prime minister himself, that several prized ancient foundations will be returned to Greece from the renowned Pergamus Museum could constitute a symbolic message to the British Museum and its standing refusal to repatriate the spectacular ?Parthenon Marbles?.

Greek PM Costas Simitis said an agreement by Berlins Archaeological Museum and Greeces culture ministry will return portions of the ?Philippeion? one of the structures at the historic site of Olympia, the home of the Olympic Games during antiquity.

In reciprocation, a major exhibition of Classical-era antiquities and artifacts from Olympia will be organised in the German capital next year.

The foundations were legally shipped to Germany and the Pergamus Museum in 1892 as part of Greek-German agreement 17 years earlier that foresaw excavations in Olympia.

On his part, Simitis called the agreement a ?model? for cultural exchanges between countries, while he thanked the German Archaeological Institute for its financial support in restoring the Philippeion a structure built at Olympia during the Macedonian dynasty period.

?This project assumes even greater importance in light of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens,? he said following a brief ceremony and after touring the Berlin museum.

[02] Greece - Germany - PM visit

BERLIN (ANA) The violence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was as the centre of talks here on Thursday evening between German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and visiting Greek Premier Costas Simitis.

Simitis arrived in the German capital for a private visit on Thursday that, however, includes several high-level contacts with the countrys leadership.

The Greek prime minister added that his talks with Schroeder would resume on Friday, as European Union affairs and especially Cyprus EU accession course expected to dominate the agenda.

In terms of the troubling situation in FYROM, the Greek side briefed Berlin over an initiative to lay down a timeframe for negotiations by all sides in Skopje, aimed at finally defusing the crisis. The plan has already been submitted to the European Union and will probably be discussed during the upcoming summit in Goteborg.

Regarding the blocs expansion, Simitis said both sides agreed on adhering to timetables worked out at the Nice summit, as long as certain matters are first ?worked out?, just as ensuring regional convergence.

[03] Sunny, mild weather in Greece for Friday

Sunny weather is forecast for throughout Greece on Friday. Mostly northerly winds, weak to moderate, on the mainland; strong at times in parts of the Aegean. Temperatures between 12C-28C in the north, 15C-30C in the rest of the mainland and 17C-27C on the islands. Sunny in Athens, 16C-29C. The same for Thessaloniki, 14C-27C.

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