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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-08-04
CONTENTS
[01] Greek parliament votes to speed up construction of Athens mosque
[02] After Lesvos, Chios shows plunge in tourist arrivals due to last
year's refugee crisis
[01] Greek parliament votes to speed up construction of Athens mosque
Lawmakers on Thursday approved with a wide majority a provision to
accelerate the construction of a mosque in western Athens, in the area
of Votanikos, with 206 votes in favour and 24 against, in a total of
230 MPs who were present.
During the roll call vote requested by Golden Dawn, SYRIZA, New Democracy,
the Communist Party, Potami and the Centrists' Union voted in favour,
while Golden Dawn and the Independent Greeks (ANEL) voted against it.
The provision was included in a draft bill on boosting renewable energy.
[02] After Lesvos, Chios shows plunge in tourist arrivals due to last
year's refugee crisis
International tourist arrivals on the island of Chios tumbled 71.6
percent in July compared to the same month of 2015, a decline which is
widely attributed to last year's refugee crisis, the local airport said
in a press release on Thursday.
According to the data, arrivals from abroad totaled 535 last month which
correponds to 18 flights, versus 1,887 tourists and 50 flights last year.
On Wednesday, the airport of Lesvos announced a 62.8 percent drop in
international arrivals in July, which corresponded to 6,841 visiting
European nationals who arrived in 47 flights. Last year, the same numbers
were 18,373 and 130 respectively. Samos, the third large island in the
southeastern Aegean and part of the Dodecanese cluster, experienced a
lower 16 percent drop in international tourist arrivals from Europe.
Both Chios and Lesvos - and Samos to a lesser extend - were at the center
of an unprecedented refugee influx which erupted last summer in Greece
when both islands received daily hundreds of refugees who arrived in
flimsy boats from Turkey
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