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Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-11-19Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM in Lisbon for crucial NATO summitANA-MPA/Prime minister George Papandreou was in Lisbon on Friday for a two-day crucial NATO Summit where leaders of the 28 member countries will deal with modernisation of the Alliance's "strategic concept" for the coming decade and focus on its relations with strategic partners Russia, China, India and Japan.NATO's current strategic concept dates back to 1999. The members' heads of state and government (HoSG), at the 2009 summit in Strasbourg, tasked the Alliance Secretary general to develop a new strategic concept and convene and lead a broad-based group of qualified experts, on the basis of whose recommendations the secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, drafted the New Strategic Concept that will be under discussion for endorsement at the Lisbon Summit.ANA-MPA The Strategic Concept is a framework document reviewed every decade, aiming to equip the Alliance to effectively approach new and emerging security challenges and guide its future political and military development. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [02] Samaras: Electorate sent message for changeÁÍÁ-ÌPÁ/Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras told a meeting of his party's executive secretariat on Friday that the electoral body had sent a message for change of the economic policy in the recent local government elections.He told the meeting, which was convened to assess the election outcome, that ND was on the rise whereas PASOK and its policy had been belied both before and after the polls. Samaras added that ND has stabilised its position and was now only "a breath away" from the leading party (ruling PASOK). He added that ND's policy remains unwavering, and it was this that enabled the party's speedy recovery, and reiterated his call for altering the economic policy mix for exiting the crisis with economic recovery and growth, "and not with asphyxiation". Samaras noted, however, that ND considers any structural changes useful and backs them. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [03] Sinking of Togo-flag freighter off Cephallonia causes oil slickAn oil slick covering approximately 2,000 square meters has been caused off the Myrtos coast of Cephallonia island from the sinking of a Togo-flagged freighter on Thursday morning.Harbor officials opined that the area is not at risk of pollution from the slick caused by the tanker "Christine", since it is comprised of biodegradable oil by-products, while floating dams and absorbent materials have been put in place to prevent possible leakage of pollutants from the shipwreck. The wreck of the "Christine" was located by an amateur fisherman on Thursday 1.5 nautical miles off the bay of Myrtos after he spotted a life-raft adrift near the spot. The freighter's six-member Ukrainian crew managed to swim to safety, emerging at Fiskardo beach, and went to the local port authority on Thursday afternoon. They told port authorities that the freighter, which was sailing from Albania to Bulgaria carrying three vehicles, developed engine failure and a rift, and sank after taking on water. The six men were arrested, and were given at their request a 48-hour postponement for testimony. A preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the incident was continuing on Friday. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [04] Prosecutor orders investigation into reports of infant traffickingANA-MPA/A prosecutor has ordered an investigation into charges of infant trafficking at the hospitals of Patras and Tripolis, with Greek and Bulgarian nationals involved, following recent press reports.At the prosecutor's demand, regional health services chief Panagiotis Goumas will turn over all data on births at the two hospitals to the prosecutor's office. The investigation concerns whether the two hospitals are being used by members of an infant trafficking ring to bring foreign women to give birth to infants, which are later sold. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [05] Trade balance deficit shrinksANA-MPA/Greece's trade balance deficit shrank further in the nine-month period January to September in 2010, reflecting the recession into which the Greek economy has entered, the Bank of Greece (BoG) said on Friday.ANA-MPAAccording to figures released by the central bank, Greece's external deficit in the above period fell by 3 percent, or by 508 million euros, to 17.1 billion euros. This development was attributed to a reduction in the trade deficit and an increase in the services balance surplus. More specifically, the trade deficit fell by 922 million euros, attributed to an 11.4 percent (2.671 billion euros) reduction in imports (minus fuel and ships) more than counter-balanced a 2.5 percent reduction (209 million euros) in exports. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |