Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-05-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] Tempi section reopens for good - restoration completed

[02] IMF Board meets Sunday

[03] Car registrations 8.9% up

[04] ASE opening: Big decline

[05] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Tempi section reopens for good - restoration completed

According to an announcement by the contractor company "Aegean Motorway", the toll stations that had remained closed for the duration of the restoration work will also reopen. The works have been completed successfully before schedule. During the 14-week period of repairs and upgrades, 40 alpinists cleared over 2000 tons of rocks and installed 2.8km of protective fences, 5,000 sqm of netting and the helicopter operating over the valley to aid acceleration of the works performed over 100 hours of flight.

[02] IMF Board meets Sunday

She said the measures to be implemented by Greece and the EU/IMF financial support are "aimed to help the Greek economy- to support it with this difficult adjustment and to focus on addressing the two problems that the Greek economy has been suffering from -on debt and competitiveness-- and put the economy back onto a path of strong, sustainable growth with jobs and employment down the road", and stressed that default was "not on the table".

"We are impressed by the determination of the Greek authorities, themselves, to carry through this difficult plan. Obviously, this is a very challenging situation, but we have seen a lot of determination from the authorities behind this plan," she added.

Replying to questions, Atkinson said the IMF disagreed with speculation that the bailout package cannot prevent Greece from defaulting on its debts. "Our view is that, that is quite wrong," she stressed.

"We have deliberately designed a package of financial support that gives Greece the ability to stay out of the markets for more than 18 months until 2012. If implemented, the package of the adjustments will address and it addresses both the fiscal issue and the competitiveness issue with structural reforms, and will put Greece, we believe, in a position to fully pay its debts as well as partly by allowing down the road growth, renewed growth in the Greek economy," Atkinson explained.

[03] Car registrations 8.9% up

The statistics agency, in a report, said car registrations totaled 90,645 vehicles (new and used) in the four-month period, while registration of new motorcycles fell 2.6 pct to 17,774 over the same period.

[04] ASE opening: Big decline

Individual sector indices were moving mostly downward, with the only gains in Insurance, up 0.72 percent.

The biggest losses were in Health, down 5.25 percent; and Banks, down 3.35 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 3.49 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 2.55 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was down 1.38 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 8were up, 71 were down, and 16 were unchanged.

[05] Athens Newspaper Headlines

The expulsions of MPs from ruling PASOK main opposition New Democracy (ND) for disobeying party orders in the vote on the austerity measures bill, and the violent incidents that occurred in downtown Athens during a protest against the measures in which three bank employees died when their bank was torched, dominated the headlines on Friday in Athens' newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Expulsions day - Main opposition ND leader Antonis Samaras expels former Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis from the party".

APOGEVMATINI: "Dora Bakoyannis was expelled after her decision to differentiate herself from the party line in parliament and voted in favor of the government's austerity measures".

AVGHI: "Final countdown for the measures and the political system - Rifts in government and ND from the vote on Thursday in parliament on the austerity measures".

AVRIANI: "The country's political system is collapsing".

ELEFTHEROS: "First cracks in the two mainstream parties".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Dora's apostasy with the IMF as the alibi - The former minister gave vote of confidence to PASOK's disastrous policy".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Clash with beheadings"

ESTIA: "Greece is at an economic, political and social impasse".

ETHNOS: "Ratification...with collateral damage".

IMERISSIA: "The crisis is spreading - Increase in spreads, fall of euro - EU Summit on Friday - Panic on Wall Street".

KATHIMERINI: "Yes to IMF's plan with rifts - Bakoyannis was expelled from ND and three other MPs from PASOK".

LOGOS: "Cockfights in parliament on who embezzled most, while citizens held a sit-down protest outside parliament".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Parliament ratified the support mechanism but with casualties".

NIKI: "Expulsions - Deaths - Terrorism - PASOK deeply injured by IMF's austerity demands".

RIZOSPASTIS: "They executed the popular conquests in cold blood in parliament".

TA NEA: "Strong turbulence and beheading of MPs - Parliament: 172 'yes' votes to the austerity package".

TO VIMA: "IMF storm struck Athens and ...ND - Crucial decisions on Friday in Brussels (EU summit)".

VRADYNI: "Government of limited liability - Greece formally becomes an IMF and EU protectorate".

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