Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-01-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Police: Arrests averted terror hits

[02] UN chief on FYROM, Cyprus talks

[03] Greek-Turkish forum 

[01] Police: Arrests averted terror hits

Four suspects, local men identified as as Haralambos Tsilianidis, 23, Dimitrios Fessas, 23, Dimitrios Dimtsiadis, 23, and Socrates Tzifkas, 21, were arrested on Thursday in the Vyronas and Tavros districts, and an assault rifle and an automatic handgun, along with ammunition, were recovered from two residences searched by the police. (ANA-MPA)

The fifth suspect, a 27-year-old German woman, was arrested on Friday in the Perissos district. (ANA-MPA)

The five face felony charges including establishment of and participation in a terrorist organisation and with weapons possession, while arrest warrants were outstanding for the four men in connection with the October 13, 2010 home-made bomb attack against the Public Power Corporation (PPC) offices in Thessaloniki. (ANA-MPA)

The woman, identified as Marie Fee Meyer, was arrested in the Athens district of Perissos on Friday and according to police is the daughter of a 55-year-old female former "Red Army Faction" (RAF) operative, Barbara Meyer (a German national) who herself was the subject of a 1993 international warrant by German authorities for participation in the ultra-leftist terror group and surrendered to the Lebanese authorities in 1999. (ANA-MPA)

Police said the woman, a German citizen, had contacts with all four of the suspects who were arrested in Vyronas and Tavros. (ANA-MPA)

The names and photographs of the five suspects were released by police. (ANA-MPA)

Police on Saturday said that evidence arising from the finds in the Vyronas residence, which had been rented by the four men, indicated that a series of attacks were planned in view of the trial opening on Monday. (ANA-MPA)

Photo by ANA-MPA

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[02] UN chief on FYROM, Cyprus talks

Replying to a press question on Cyprus, the UN chief expressed hope that the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus will have succeeded in making "greater progress on the essential issues of the talks, including property and security", by his meeting with them in Geneva on January 26. (ANA-MPA)

Ban Ki-moon noted that he is scheduled to meet with the two leaders in Geneva, and will become personally involved in the negotiations, as had been agreed in November. The meeting concerns issues that have been long outstanding, and "the negotiation is very difficult, but it is very encouraging that the leaders of the two communities have held direct talks 80 times". (ANA-MPA

To a question on the name issue between Greece and FYROM, he noted that his special envoy on the issue Matthew Nimetz will continue his effort and will have a meeting with the representatives of the two sides in New York on February 9, underlining the momentum created last year from the direct contacts between the prime ministers of Greece and FYROM, and adding it was now time to move ahead to decisions that will resolve the issue in a mutually acceptable way. (ANA-MPA

"2011 is a year with many challenges," Ban Ki-moon stressed. (ANA-MPA

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[03] Greek-Turkish forum

Addressing the forum on Friday night, Petalotis said that "Erzurum shows the way and the road to ridding ourselves of any remnants of suspicion", referring to Greek prime minister George Papandreou's recent visit to the Turkish city, where he met with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and addressed the annual session of Turkey's ambassadors abroad. (ANA-MPA)

Ergun, also addressing the forum on Friday night, said that Greece and Turkey, "two neighboring countries", do not have the "luxury of returning to problems of the past", and urged Turkish entrepreneurs to make more investments in Greece. (ANA-MPA)

Greek-Turkish Chamber president Panagiotis Koutsikos noted that Greek investments in Turkey were estimated at 6.2 billion euros, while Rifat Hisarciklioglu, Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), stressed that the development of trade relations between the two countries is a "one-way street", since "we are doomed to be partners". (ANA-MPA)

The forum was attended by 350 Greek and Turkish businessmen. (ANA-MPA)

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