Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-12-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] Papandreou says Greek EU presidency aims for a 'common position' on

[02] Greater Athens area harassed by hail and torrential rain

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloud and rain expected on Monday

[01] Papandreou says Greek EU presidency aims for a 'common position' on Iraq issue

Foreign Minister George Papandreou said that Greece, as EU president, will try to be effective in the event that there are different ''shades'' on the positions of the European partners on the Iraq issue, clarifying however that ''we must not forget that the presidency is not a magician.''

In an interview to the Sunday edition of the newspaper ''To Vima'', Papandreou said ''we can find the common point if there is also the will of all the partners, if there is some rapprochement on the positions.''

He said that ''we know that on some issues there is no rapprochement and given this, it is not certain that we will be able to find a common position.''

The foreign minister noted that ''our aim is for a common position to be found, but nobody can guarantee this,'' adding that ''no presidency can guarantee this, not the Greek, providing that different assessments exist.''

Papandreou said there was a need for there to be a serious dialogue between the EU and the United States which will raise a series of issues, such as the issue of security on a global level, the confrontation of crises and the confrontation of the phenomenon of terrorism.

To an observation that the United States should approach the EU as an equal partner, Papandreou said that ''this is not something which will come from the sky, but will come through our own initiatives. By us demonstrating the particular weight, the correctness of our ideas and the effectiveness of our actions with regard to major issues such as the confrontation of terrorism.''

[02] Greater Athens area harassed by hail and torrential rain

A hailstorm and torrential rain in the greater Athens area at noon on Sunday tore down trees and signposts, while the fire brigade tackled emergencies and geared itself in the event the Kifisos River overflows.

The northern region of the Attica prefecture was worse hit by the bad weather and firemen hastily responded to all calls for help in the prefecture.

In another development, sailings from the ports of Piraeus and Rafina for Crete, the Aegean and the Dodecannese islands have been halted due to bad weather conditions as of 12 noon, according to an announcement by the merchant marine ministry.

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloud and rain expected on Monday

Cloud and rain are expected in the east and south of the country on Monday and light cloud in the rest of Greece. Winds northwesterly moderate and periodically strong over sea regions. In the north and center, temperatures will range from 2C to 11C; in the west from 5C to 15C; and in the rest of the country from 10C to 16C. Cloudy in Athens with temperatures between 8C and 15C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures between 5C and 11C.

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