Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-01-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Illegals detained on Samos, body discovered

[02] Bulgarian PM meets with protesting Greek farmers

[03] Gov't eyes oil, gas exploration

[04] Banks shares raise bourse

[01] Illegals detained on Samos, body discovered

The woman and other 28 illegal migrants were reportedly on board a vessel that had sent out a distress signal on Thursday night shortly after leaving the opposite Turkish coast.

The boat and the body were found by the coast guard, while the rest of the illegal migrants were arrested in nearby villages where they had scattered after landing on the island.

[02] Bulgarian PM meets with protesting Greek farmers

The meeting has held on Bulgarian soil following a request by farmers from the prefecture of Serres, in northern Greece, who in a goodwill gesture, as they said, opened the border crossing from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. allowing the unhindered passage of vehicles.

Farmers' representatives said they will hold a meeting to decide on the course of their mobilisations.

The Bulgarian prime minister arrived at the Kulata border station, on the Bulgarian side of the borders, aboard a helicopter. He told a nine-member delegation of protesters that before leaving Sofia he had contacted Greek PM George Papandreou, who did not object to the meeting, as well as main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Antonis Samaras.

Borissov welcomed the delegation, saying "you asked for me and I'm here" and called on them to lift the blockades and open the borders "in the name of the Greek-Bulgarian friendship".

Earlier, a Bulgarian state television crew crossed the border to interview protesting farmers.

[03] Gov't eyes oil, gas exploration

The plan was presented by Ioannis Maniatis, the environment, energy and climate change deputy minister, who spoke during the 1st nationwide congress of Hellenic Petroleum group workers.

Maniatis said research and exploitation of hydrocarbon assets was a top priority for the government and that the first step towards this goal would be the creation of a state agency responsible for managing the stateâs rights in oil and natural gas exploration.

"This a national bet and we have to win it," Maniatis said, adding that the ministryâs intentions are to hold a thorough study of the case, to consult with agencies and Greek petroleum companies, as well as to examine international practices in a strongly competitive environment.

Currently, the only oil and natural gas field operating in Greece is the Prinos field in the northern Aegean, with a daily production of 5,000 barrels.

The minister said it crucial to have concrete evidence of further oil fields in the country and stressed that Greek economyâs dependence on oil totals 58 pct of primary energy consumption, up from the 40-pct average in the European Union.

Commenting on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, Maniatis said it was a project of strategic importance and that Greek authorities are working systematically and responsibly to implement this endeavour.

[04] Banks shares raise bourse

The FTSE 20 index jumped 1.66 pct, the FTSE 40 index ended 0.71 pct down and the FTSE 80 index fell 0.80 pct. The Financial Services (2.96 pct) and Banks (2.47 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains of the day, while Telecommunications (1.73 pct) and Chemicals (1.64 pct) suffered losses.

Elfico (11.96 pct), Lanakam (10.0 pct), Paperpack-Tsoukaridis (9.52 pct), ELBE Clothing (8.43 pct) and Attica Publications (8.24 pct) were top gainers, while Desmos (18.18 pct), Compucon (11.11 pct), Altantic (9.23 pct) and Pairis (9.09 pct) were top losers. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 102 to 70 with another 62 issues unchanged.

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