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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-10-14Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Economy Minister Stathakis receives UAE counterpart Sultan bin Saeed Al MansooriEconomy, Development and Shipping Minister George Stathakis on Friday received United Arab Emirates Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, who is on an official visit to Greece at the head of a large delegation. During the visit, there were a number of targeted B2B meetings between Greek and UAE firms active in the shipping, transport, foods, exports, investments and legal services sectors.The two ministers also met government Vice-President Yiannis Dragasakis and attended a briefing seminar entitled "Greece on the Turning Point - New Opportunities for Emirati Companies". Stathakis referred to the economic climate in Greece and the legislative and financing tools recruited by the Greek government to bring about an exit from the crisis and return to growth. He noted that the UAE were a strategic ally for Greece in its efforts to attract foreign investment. The UAE minister noted the Emirates' desire to boost business ties with Greece, especially in tourism, infrastructure, energy, agriculture-foods, logistics and innovation. Greek and UAE businesses had some 20 targeted meetings afterward, during which they explored the prospects of cooperation. Afterward, Stathakis said he was very happy with the outcome of the talks and that the two sides had confirmed their mutual interest in promoting economic cooperation. [02] Council of State adjourns without voting on TV licence tender casesThe Council of State plenum, Greece's supreme administrative court, on Friday adjourned an in-camera session to discuss cases against the television licences' tender brought by existing Greek television channels without reaching a decision. The judges did not conclude or hold a vote on the first stage of the process, in which they deliberate whether the television channels have a legal interest and, by extension, whether their cases can be admitted.A date for the next session will be set by the court president Nikolaos Sakellariou. [03] Blue Zone island of Ikaria in study to unlock secrets of longevityA "Mediterranean-type" diet combined with exercise and a quiet, stress-free lifestyle are the secrets to a long life, according to a study carried out in the five locations around the world where people live the longest - including the Greek island of Ikaria.Based on the study by Italy's Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, longevity seems primarily linked to diet but other factors also play a role, such as a positive approach to life, sociability, control of stress and exercise. The centre's experts compared the lifestyles of people in the world's five "blue" regions - where inhabitants regularly live to more than 100 years old - and found that in all these places, some separated by thousands of miles, the local diet shared some important elements with the Mediterranean diet, which includes a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, pulses, fish and extra virgin olive oil. The five regions were the town of Loma Linda in California, where the main foods consumed are wholegrain cereals, pulses, vegetables and fish, Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula where the staples are sweet potatoes, bananas and papaya, Sardinia in Italy where people eat a lot of pulses, almonds and tomatoes, Okinawa in Japan where the diet is based on tofu, pulses, mushrooms and melons and Ikaria in Greece, where the diet includes a lot of feta cheese, lemon and fish. According to experts, the secret lies in a "5+2" diet, with five days of primarily vegetarian foods and two days that include meat in small quantities. According to the Italian press, in an upcoming forum in Milan the institute is to announced that faithfully following a Mediterranean diet can add at least 4.5 years to the length of life, as well as being cheaper. According to estimates, a meat-based diet currently costs 45 euros a week in Milan and 36 euros while the menu based on a Mediterranean diet costs 41 and 34 euros, respectively. [04] Greek state arrears to the private sector down in AugustGreek state arrears to the private sector fell significantly in August to 4.921 billion euros from 5.539 billion in July, the Finance ministry said in a report released on Friday.The report showed that the ministry was very close to achieving the September target in repaying arrears to the private sector, paving the way for the approval of disbursement of an 1.7 billion euros sub-tranche related with state arrears payment. Credit offered to state agencies and organisations totaled 1.849 billion euros in July and August, while payments to suppliers reached 1.355 billion euros. An agreement reached with the country's creditors was that the state repaid 80 pct of an 1.8 billion euros tranche disbursed to Greece for this purpose. Final figures on September payments will be released in the next few days. Pending tax returns totaled 1.341 billion euros in August, from 1.352 billion in July. 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