Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-05-07

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Deterrence & foreign policy to establish security for Greece, premier

[02] FM spokesman denies reports of Nativity Church Palestinians arriving in

[03] ND leader congratulates Chirac, Raffarin

[04] Britain's Prince Charles arrives at Mount Athos

[05] Bulgarian premier to arrive in Greece on Thursday for unofficial visit

[06] Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy with local showers on Wednesday

[01] Deterrence & foreign policy to establish security for Greece, premier says

Greece's national security problem will be tackled in two ways, with the support of its deterrent force and with the government's foreign policy, which aims at establishing conditions for peace and security in the region, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Tuesday during a speech in the extreme southeastern Aegean island of Kastellorizo.

''Greece is not alone at the edge of Europe anymore. It is part of the European Union, which has set procedures for the resolution of any and all crucial problems neighboring countries think they have with Greece, always in the framework of the implementation of international law and international regulations,'' Simitis added.

The Greek premier also expressed his optimism that ''in a few years' time the surroundings will have changed drastically, these years, however, will not be easy and without confrontations''.

[02] FM spokesman denies reports of Nativity Church Palestinians arriving in Greece

Foreign Ministry spokesman Panagiotis Beglitis on Tuesday categorically denied reports that Greece would accept Palestinians now trapped in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem and are slated for exile from the Palestinian territories.

He added that Greece will continue its mediation effort to lift the impasse, but that did not mean that Greece would accept Palestinians on its territories.

[03] ND leader congratulates Chirac, Raffarin

Greek main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis on Tuesday sent a congratulatory telegram to French President Jacques Chirac in light of his reelection and to newly appointed Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

''Allow me to express my warmest congratulations for your reelection to the highest office of the French Republic. The historic dimension of your victory reaffirms the commitment of the French people to the grand democratic ideals,'' Karamanlis' telegram said.

In his telegram to Raffarin, Karamanlis stressed ''the important issues, which your government is called on to face, which in turn are in their majority common problems to both our countries, need, as elsewhere in Europe, a strategy of changes, for which you have the necessary credentials''.

[04] Britain's Prince Charles arrives at Mount Athos

Britain's Prince Charles arrived in Mount Athos on Monday for an unofficial visit and will remain there until Thursday.

Charles arrived at the monastic community on board the yacht of shipping magnate Yiannis Latsis along with his friend Camilla Parker Bowls.

[05] Bulgarian premier to arrive in Greece on Thursday for unofficial visit

Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will arrive in Thessaloniki on Thursday for a private visit until Sunday, while on Thursday evening Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Paschalidis will hold a dinner in his honor.

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will depart from Thessaloniki on Friday morning for his one-day visit to the monastic community of Mount Athos where the Bulgarian Orthodox Church maintains the monastery of Zografos.

[06] Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy with local showers on Wednesday

Partly cloudy weather with the possibility of local showers is forecast throughout Greece on Wednesday. Southeasterly moderate winds in the west, gusty in the southern Ionian and northeasterly moderate to strong in the rest of the country. Temperatures between 12C to 25C in the north, 14C to 27C on the mainland and 15C to 26C on the islands. Partly cloudy in Athens with temperatures between 14C to 26C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures between 12C and 24C.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article