Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-10-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] Finmin inaugurates new golf course on Crete

[02] Weather forecast - Cloudy, rain in the north

[03] MRB poll gives 7.8-point lead to main opposition ND

[04] Powell not to visit Athens at this time, US ambassador tells ANA

[05] Powell not to visit Athens at this time, US ambassador tells ANA

[01] Finmin inaugurates new golf course on Crete

Inaugurating a new golf course in the Iraklio Hersonissos on Crete on Sunday, Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis stressed the need for large investments in order to save the future of Greek tourism.

''It is time we faced the facts. If large investments in tourism aren't made in the next few years, tourism will gradually start to decline, along with small tourist enterprises,'' the minister underlined.

He hailed the new golf course, one of the most modern in Europe, as a valuable addition to the ''arsenal'' of Greek tourist attractions and a major aid in Crete's development, describing it as a ''triumph against bureaucracy''.

According to Christodoulakis, the 5.5-billion-drachmas investment marked the start of a gradual shift toward higher quality for Greek tourism and he stressed the need for comprehensive tourism infrastructure that could provide higher-quality services.

[02] Weather forecast - Cloudy, rain in the north

Cloudy weather is expected throughout Greece on Monday, with rain and storms in Thrace and the northeast Aegean early in the day and some light rain in the northwest from the afternoon. Winds southerly, moderate, turning to strong in the north Ionian Sea. Temperatures between 8C to 19C in the north; 13C to 24C in the Ionian and the rest of the mainland; 16C to 25C in the Aegean islands.

Cloudy in Athens, 16C to 25C. Sunny in Thessaloniki, 12C to 18C.

[03] MRB poll gives 7.8-point lead to main opposition ND

Main opposition New Democracy currently has a 7.8-point lead over ruling PASOK, according to the findings of an MRB poll published in the newspaper ''Kathimerini'' on Sunday.

According to the paper, the main opposition's lead is the result of a greater degree of loyalty among ND voters, a shift away from PASOK and greater degree of confidence in ND's ability to solve the country's three most important problems, which those responding listed as unemployment, inflation and health care.

The main opposition party is preferred by 39.3 per cent of those questioned, compared to 31.5 per cent for PASOK. The results showed that ND had also managed to rally pre-election levels of support among its voters (92.9 per cent), whereas PASOK could muster only 71.4 per cent support among its own voters.

Significantly, the poll also showed ND leader Costas Karamanlis having a marginal lead over current premier Costas Simitis as the most suitable for prime minister, gathering a positive response from 41.9 per cent of those asked compared to 41.2 per cent for Simitis.

[04] Powell not to visit Athens at this time, US ambassador tells ANA

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will not, after all, be visiting Athens at this time, United States Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller revealed in an exclusive statement to the ANA on Sunday.

Asked whether the US Secretary of State's programme would allow a brief stop in Athens en route to Madrid, Miller said he had no information that confirmed a visit by Powell to Athens in the near future.

He categorically denied confirming Powell's visit Athens during a meeting with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou 10 days before but admitted that an advance team from Powell's staff had visited Athens in the past few days, pointing out that this was not an definite sign of a visit by the US Secretary of State.

[05] Powell not to visit Athens at this time, US ambassador tells ANA

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will not, after all, be visiting Athens at this time, United States Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller revealed in an exclusive statement to the ANA on Sunday.

Asked whether the US Secretary of State's programme would allow a brief stop in Athens en route to Madrid, Miller said he had no information that confirmed a visit by Powell to Athens in the near future.

He also categorically denied having confirmed that Powell would visit Athens during his meeting with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou at Athens airport 10 days before.

At the same time, he confirmed that a small advance team from Powell's staff had visited Athens in the past few days.

''It is no secret that an advance team was here. These teams often travel to various places to look at the situation. This is not, however, a sign that there will definitely be a visit to this place by the Secretary of State,'' Miller said.

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