Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-01-01

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] President receives PM, party leaders and ministers at Presidential

[02] New year welcomed with spectacular celebration at Syntagma Square in

[03] Third plane with humanitarian aid for Bam departs on Saturday,

[04] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Friday

[01] President receives PM, party leaders and ministers at Presidential Mansion

President Kostis Stephanopoulos was visited at the Presidential Mansion on Thursday morning by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, party leaders, ministers, former Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos, the leadership of the police and representatives of Olympic Games medallists.

Apart from exchanging wishes of a personal and family nature with his guests, President Stephanopoulos expressed his hope that ''the country will do well'' in the new year.

Simitis assured him that ''it will do well'', while the president responded by saying ''I am equally optimistic.''

Simitis also received deputies of his ruling PASOK party at his office in Parliament, who wished him well on the occasion of the new year.

[02] New year welcomed with spectacular celebration at Syntagma Square in Athens

Thousands of people packed downtown Syntagma Square in Athens on Wednesday night to welcome the new year, the year in which the Greek capital will be hosting the Olympic Games, with a spectacular celebration hosted by Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni.

Singers entertained the crowds until the early hours of the morning on a stage set up in front of the Houses of Parliament, while a magnificent display of fireworks lit up the sky at midnight.

Streets in the centre of the capital were closed to traffic until about 4 a.m. on Thursday, allowing thousands of people to enjoy themselves in streets free of vehicles.

Bakoyianni wished the inhabitants of Athens well and stressed that ''joy and laughter do not only belong to children but also to us grown ups as well.''

[03] Third plane with humanitarian aid for Bam departs on Saturday, Loverdos says

Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos and the General Secretariat for Civil Protection announced on Wednesday that a third C-130 cargo plane will depart for Kerman Airport in southeastern Iran on Saturday carrying humananitarian aid for the thousands of people affected by the killer earthquake which struck the historic city of Bam at dawn last Friday.

The aid, consisting mainly of pharmaceuticals, will be accompanied by members of non-governmental organisations, among them the ''Greek Rescue Team'', ''Doctors of the World'', ''Doctors of the Heart'' and the ''Doctors Without Frontiers'', who, after helping in the delivery of the material, will return to Greece on the same plane.

[04] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Friday

Rain and storms are forecast in all parts of the country, particularly in eastern Greece. Winds southeasterly light to moderate. Temperatures in Athens 8C to 14C and in Thessaloniki 7C to 9C.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article