Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-06-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] Panathinaikos - Title - Basketball

[02] Greek-Turkish cooperation on five 'low-impact' issues decided at FMs'

[03] Delphi concert commemorates creation of UN High Commission for Refugees

[01] Panathinaikos - Title - Basketball

Panathinaikos Athens won its fourth straight Greek basketball league championship on Saturday by downing cross-town rival Olympiakos Piraeus 79-63 (43-37) in the fifth game of a best-of-five series.

The Athens club held the upper hand throughout the game, although Olympiakos stayed close going into the fourth quarter. A 13-0 run by Panathinaikos led by MVP Frangiskos Alvertis in a crucial two-minute stretch of the last quarter clinched the title however.

The title is the 16th for the popular Athens team.

[02] Greek-Turkish cooperation on five 'low-impact' issues decided at FMs' talks

KUSADASI (ANA - V. Mourtis) - Greece and Turkey agreed Sunday to cooperation on five 'low impact' issues, following talks between their respective foreign ministers, George Papandreou and Ismail Cem respectively, who held a second round of discussions in the Turkish coastal town of Kusadasi after a first round Saturday on the Greek eastern Aegean island of Samos.

The two foreign ministers agreed on cooperation at their borders for greater facilitation of the movement of people and merchandise between the two countries.

They further agreed on setting up advisory mechanisms to deal with common problems, mainly in the field of natural disasters.

Third, they agreed on an open line of communication between the two foreign ministers for the immediate handling of problems that arise.

Fourth, they agreed on cooperation on scientific research on Mediterranean anaemia, or thalassaemia, a congenital blood disease particularly common in the Mediterranean region that can prove fatal unless patients receive blood transfusions every three to four weeks to replenish dying blood cells.

Fifth, the two ministers also agreed, on the occasion of the organisation of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the Greek initiative for an Olympic Truce,, that Turkey should be called on to play some role, mainly with respect to the highlighting of historical monuments.

Papandreou and Cem reiterated their desire for the Greek-Turkish cooperation on 'low impact' issues, which began two years ago, to progress, noting that it had produced clear-cut results so far.

Regarding the open line of communication between the two foreign ministers, Cem said in reply to press questions that this would not concern urgent, critical or major issues, but communication mainly on international relations issues, such as the Balkans, on which "it would be good for Greece and Turkey to be able to confer and, if feasible, to follow a common line".

[03] Delphi concert commemorates creation of UN High Commission for Refugees

A concert on Saturday at the ancient stadium of Delphi commemorated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

During the event, the High Commissions representative in Athens, F. Rojas Rodriguez, also honored noted Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis for his contribution to the international humanitarian organisations efforts.

?I must tell you that this award doesnt just honour me, it moves me deeply. The word refugee is interwoven with my own existence, the formulation of my personality and the basic ideological and political choices Ive made in my life,? Theodorakis said.

The Russian orchestra Osipov, US soprano Joselyn Smith and popular Greek performer George Dalaras participated in the concert, held under the auspices of the culture ministry.

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