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Tuesday, 31 December 2024
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-01-29Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] EU mulling loan extension for Greece, IrelandThe European Union is examining a prospective extension of the repayment period for the support mechanism loans to Greece and Ireland to 30 years, according to eurozone sources cited by a foreign news agency.According to the sources, cited by Reuters news agency, the EU is mulling the move in order to calm fears in jittery markets over the EU's debt crisis. The idea was mulled during intensive talks among eurozone ministers, central bankers and officials on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form [02] The Petrified Forest of LesvosThe Petrified Forest at Sigri, on the island of Lesvos, is one of the largest parks containing fossilised forests in the world, and is located in an area enclosed by the villages of Eressos, Antissa and Sigri.The formation of the Petrified Forest is directly related to the intense volcanic activity on Lesvos island during late Oligocene - middle Miocene periods. Along with the volcanic activity, hot solutions of silicon dioxide penetrated and impregnated the volcanic materials that covered the tree trunks. Thus the major fossilization process started with a molecule-by-molecule replacement of organic plant by inorganic materials. In the case of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos, the fossilization was perfect due to favorable fossilization conditions that preserved morphological characteristics of the tree trunks such as the annual rings, barkers, as well as the internal structure of the wood. One of the most famous attractions is the largest fossil tree trunk in the world, with a circumference of 13.7 metres and a diameter of 3.7 metres in the forest's Plaka Sigriou park, while the smaller Sigriou park contains an entire fossilised root system of several trees. Isolated plant-fossils have also been found in many other places on the island, including the villages Molyvos, Polichnitos, Plomari and Akrasi. The town of Sigri also hosts the Museum of the Petrified Forest. Caption: The largest fossil tree trunk in the world, in the Petrified Forest on the island of Lesvos. (ANA-MPA/A. Beltes) More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form [03] Troika in Athens(ANA-MPA) -- A group of experts of the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) 'troika' have begun a regular inspection of the Greek economy, ahead of a decision to approve disbursement of the fourth tranche of a 110 billion euro EU-IMF support loan, worth 15 billion euros, to the country next month.The troika experts visited the finance ministry and will visit the Hellenic Statistical Authority, the Bank of Greece and government ministries related with the memorandum. (ANA-MPA) The troika heads are due to arrive in Athens on Monday. (ANA-MPA) The inspection will focus on ratifying a revised memorandum and specifying measures, worth 12.77 billion euros, needed for the period 2012-2014. These measures will be published in the next few weeks, as part of a Stability Programme to be submitted with the European Commission and to become a law of the state by the end of April. (ANA-MPA) More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form [04] FM in MontenegroPodgorica, Montenegro (ANA-MPA/N. Melissova) -- Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas sent a "clear message" that the future of all Balkan peoples lies within the European Union, during a visit to Montenegro on Friday.Droutsas was in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica for an informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). On the sidelines of the meeting, the Greek foreign minister held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, Albania, Edmond Haxhinasto and Croatia, Gordan Jandrokovic. After the end of the meeting, Droutsas made the following statement: "Interbalkan cooperation is an important tool for regional cooperation. The Balkans are the neighborhood of Greece. Stability and prosperity in the region is important for Greece's security and economic growth as well. Our message is one and clear: the future, the near future of all Balkan peoples is in the European Union and in this path towards Europe, Greece shows the direction, plays a leading role with concrete proposals. This meeting provided a good opportunity for me to meet with counterparts from neighbouring countries and be briefed on latest developments in the region and, of course, in Albania." More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form [05] Flooding on Rhodes, KosA state of emergency was declared Saturday afternoon in several towns on the islands of Rhodes and Kos following severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall throughout Friday.The state of emergency was declared in the towns of Lindos, Archaggelos, Afantos and Kallithea on Rhodes, and in the towns of Asfendoni, Pyli, Kardamaina, Antimacheia and Kefalo on Kos. The unprecedented rainfall, which was compounded by a hailstorm on Kos, caused flooding throughout both islands resulting in destruction to infrastructures, farm crops, shop merchandise and home appliances. More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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