Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-07-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Land policy responsible for fires, KKE leader stresses

[02] President awards medal to Susan Mubarak

[03] Greece, Azerbaijan to sign energy agreement

[01] Land policy responsible for fires, KKE leader stresses

"Once again we will stress that the arsonist is not the heat wave. The arsonist is the policy for land that is followed in Greece and especially the deliberate conversion of forests and forested areas into property lots," she said during a meeting with the Panhellenic Union of Civil Servant Foresters.

She stressed the need to create a single body for forest protection as well as measures to ensure that land in forests and surrounding forests could not be used for development and profit, so as to discourage arson designed to allow such schemes to progress.

At another point, she called for an abolition of ownership of forest land by the Church, property cooperatives and other bodies, saying that these areas should belong to the public and be for public use.

The cost of reforestation should burden the state, Papariga added. "We doubt whether this can be served by non-governmental organisations, banks and other sponsors," she said.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga.

[02] President awards medal to Susan Mubarak

She arrived at the presidential mansion accompanied by Marianna Vardinogiannis, president of the Foundation for the Child and Family, while the ceremony was also attended by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and Culture Minister George Voulgarakis.

Ambassador Tassos Kriekoukis,in remarks during the ceremony, praised Susan Mubarak's role in reviving the idea of a Library of Alexandria, noting that this was linked with the Hellenistic spirit but also with modern Greece, and her work with children and in the international women's movement for peace.

The president also congratulated Mubarak on her activities, while she thanked him for the honour extended to her and said that it was also shared by her associates and the thousands of young people that helped her carry out her work.

She was also presented with the Culture Ministry's Prize in recognition of her work on a global level by the culture minister.

Caption: President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias (Right) presented the Grand Cross Medal of the Order of the Phoenix to Susan Mubarak (Left), president of the International Women's Movement for Peace and wife of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in Athens on Friday, 6 July 2007. ANA-MPA/Alexandros Beltes.

[03] Greece, Azerbaijan to sign energy agreement

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas in Athens , the Azeri minister underlined Greece 's constructive position towards energy cooperation.

The Greek minister suggested the signing of a bilateral agreement with Azerbaijan to cover bilateral cooperation on oil and natural gas and he handed over to his Azeri counterpart a draft deal, which Mr Babayev said he expected to be signed during the Greek minister's visit to Baku .

Sioufas also recommended the signing of a four-party agreement with Turkey and Italy clearing all details over the supply and distribution of natural gas through a Turkey-Greece-Italy natural gas pipeline. The Greek-Turkish pipeline is expected to be inaugurated in the next few weeks, while the Greek-Italian end of the pipeline will enter construction in 2008. Sioufas noted that also pending is the signing of a Turkey-Greece-Italy agreement.

The Greek minister noted that the government's energy policy was moving within the framework of a European policy to diversify sources, routes and forms of energy and noted that supplies of natural gas from Azerbaijan was a priority for the Greek-Italian pipeline.

Caption: Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas (Right) receives Azerbaijan 's Economic Development Minister Heyder Babayev in Athens on Friday, 6 July 2007. ANA-MPA/ Orestes Panagiotou.

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