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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-05-07Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Athens concerned over escalating crisis in SyriaANA-MPA-- The Greek foreign ministry, according to an announcement issued on Monday, is watching the escalation of tension in Syria with great concern and expresses fears over the possibility that "the continuing bloodshed and the absence of immediate prospects for an exit from the crisis, combined with the recent developments" create a risk of the conflict spreading beyond the borders of Syria.The announcement stressed that "Greece calls on all the sides involved to show the greatest possible self-restraint and to avoid actions that could lead to the destabilisation of the wider region". It is also pointed out that "from the very beginning, Greece has proclaimed, as a position of principle, the need to immediately begin a political process for a solution of the Syrian issue, so that the bloodshed will stop and a new environment will be shaped in the country, in which the human rights and the rights of minorities, including the Christians, of course, must be consolidated and respected". [02] SYRIZA heavily criticizes OPAP saleANA-MPA/ "The planned sell-off of the profitable organization OPAP is a major scandal that will bring losses to the Greek state and Greek citizens," main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) said in a statement on Wednesday, as the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) accepted a new improved offer of 652 million euros by Emma Delta Ltd to buy a 33 pct equity stake in state gambling firm OPAP.SYRIZA referred to what it called "a mockery of a tender to sell OPAP," which led to "a depreciated offer from a proposed buyer, that demonstrates that public property is not simply sold but given away to 'clientele'." OPAP is the property of the Greek people and should remain so, with profits being directed to the pension funds, said SYRIZA, stressing that growth and the reconstruction of production cannot be done "over the ruins of privatization". [03] Good weather for holiday-makers return after EasterANA-MPA -- Holiday-makers returning to Greek cities after the Easter break will find driving conditions good on Tuesday, with sunny weather for most of the way. The return to cities started gradually from Easter Monday but is expected to continue on Tuesday due to the transfer of the Labour Day holiday for the private sector.Traffic police are on standby and have taken a number of emergency measures to facilitate the return, while a ban on the use of highways by heavy goods vehicles weighing over 1.5 tonnes from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. will remain in force. There will also be special holiday schedules for public transport. [04] Tourism Minister Kefaloyianni takes tourism promotion campaign to SwedenANA-MNA -- Cooperation in the tourism sector through joint actions and exchange of know-how was discussed in the meeting Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni had in Sweden with the country's tourism organization VisitSweden head Thomas Bruhl.They agreed on the adoption of joint actions to promote the City Break Programme in Athens and Stockholm in autumn and discussed the tourism campaigns launched by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT) and VisitSweden. A special reference was made to social media and their role in attracting visitors considering that Sweden has launched impressive campaigns through social media, twitter in particular. Kefalogianni pointed out that Sweden is a very important market for Greece "because the Swedes belong to the category of quality visitors".10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma; During her stay in Stockholm, the tourism minister also had contacts with tour operators focusing on the prospects of new, specialist forms of tourism, such as activities and sports tourism that the Swedes are very interested in. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |