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Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-02-15Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] ND leader briefed by Alternate FMMain opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Antonis Samaras on Friday was briefed by Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas over a letter dispatched by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to his Greek counterpart George Papandreou as well as the latter's response.Immediately afterwards, ND foreign affairs sector chief Dimitris Avramopoulos, who participated in the meeting held at ND's headquarters, said the Papandreou-Erdogan letters "were not delivered, they were simply read and their contents are being evaluated, while it is believed that there shall be a Papandreou-Samaras meeting." On his part, Droutsas said he briefed the main opposition party leader on foreign policy issues, adding that "it was a very constructive discussion and more will follow within a framework and spirit of cooperation and consensus on foreign policy issues", while he pointing out that he arrived both to brief and to hear Samaras' views. Also participating in the meeting were ND spokesman Panos Panayiotopoulos and the director of the ND president's political bureau. [02] Shrove Monday ushers in LentThe beginning of Lent commenced in Greece on Monday, as the day is marked by the religious holiday of Shrove Monday or "Clean Monday", ahead of Orthodox Christian Easter on April 4 this year. Traditionally the advent of Lent in the east Mediterranean nation is accompanied by an extended family dinner of seafood, flattened bread ("Lagana"), olives, pickled produce and other non-dairy and non-meat items -- in keeping with the 40-day fast followed by the faithful ahead of Easter, known in the Greek Orthodox faith as the "Great Lent".Additionally, the Shrove Monday custom calls for the flying of kites by young and old throughout the country. In Athens, the best-known spot for kite-flying is on the Filopappou Hill, to the south of the Acropolis. Different customs and rituals, however, are celebrated in Greece and Cyprus, depending on the region. Despite the relatively early date for Lent and Easter in 2010, Shrove Monday is often seen as the unofficial beginning of Spring as well, although this year's commemoration will witness the northern parts of the country blanketed in snow. [03] Shock loss for PAO(ANA-MPA) -- League-leader Panathinaikos Athens lost ground to second-place Olympiacos Athens on Sunday after suffering a shocking 2-0 defeat at the Athens Olympic Stadium to Kavala, the most ambitious provincial team this season. Conversely, Olympiacos came within three points of bitter rival Panathinaikos by easily downing a touch Asteras Tripolis team away hours earlier.In other action: Panthrakikos Komotini-AEK Athens 1-2 Xanthi-Larissa 0-1 Panionios Athens-Iraklis Thessaloniki 0-0 Levadiakos-Atromitos Athens 1-1 Aris Thessaloniki-Ergotelis Crete 2-1 PAS Yiannina-PAOK Thessaloniki 0-1 Standings after 22 weeks of play: 1. Panathinaikos 52 points 2. Olympiacos 49 3. PAOK 47 4. AEK 36 5. Aris 35 6. Kavala 30 7. Atromitos 30 8. Asteras 29 9. Ergotelis 28 10. Xanthi 25 Panionios 25 12. Larissa 24 Iraklis 24 14. PAS Yiannina 21 15. Levadiakos 20 16. Panthrakikos 9 [04] Stocks end 2.11% lowerStocks again came under strong selling pressures at the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday, pushing the composite index of the market below the 1,900 level. The index ended at 1,899.42 points, off 2.11 pct, with turnover a low 201.977 million euros.The Travel (1.48 pct) and Media (1.13 pct) sectors ended higher, while Banks (4.99 pct) and Telecoms (4.22 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day. Lamda Development (12.90 pct), Klonatex (12.5 pct), Karelias (11.40 pct) and S&B (10.85 pct) were top gainers, while Ideal (9.88 pct), Elfico (9.28 pct), Allatini Ceramics (8.96 pct0 and Aspis Bank (8.89 pct) were top losers. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 116 to 61 with another 50 issues unchanged. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |