Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-03-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, Qatar focus on investments

[02] MIT media lab founder Negroponte in Athens

[03] Anti-racism festival begins in Athens

[01] Greece, Qatar focus on investments

The Qatar delegation's visit, with the participation of investment experts, is a follow-up to President Karolos Papoulias' visit to Qatar in May 2006, and al-Thani was received with head of state honours, reflecting the importance placed by Athens on the visit. In that light, the high-ranking Qatari officials was also received Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, a day after being received by Papoulias.

The Greek delegation presented specific investment projects to the Qatar delegation concerning large marinas, an international tender for which will commence in a few days' time, beginning with the first two such marinas planned for Irakleio (Crete) and Corfu, as well as in the Cyclades islands and Drapetsona, near Piraeus. Each of these projects is budgeted at 50-100 million euros, according to Kefaloyannis after the meeting.

Another project discussed was the creation of a transit air cargo centre and free zone in Tymbaki, Crete.

Qatar has immense available capital for investment, chiefly from natural gas revenues, and Greece wants investments, Kefaloyannis said, adding that the next steps would be forthcoming in the immediate future.

Petralia, in turn, said the Qatar delegates expressed interest in investments in the tourism sector, mainly in hotels and large marinas, "and we are interested in attracting tourists from that country", adding that Greece will inaugurate a promotional campaign in Qatar this year.

Stylianidis said the Greek side further briefed the Qatari delegation on the prospects for use of Greek merchant shipping, and on the strategic selection of Greece to become a natural gas storage hub, covering 25 percent of the needs of the Mediterranean countries. Also presented were the advantages which Greece has maximised, following the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, in the sectors of shipping, tourism, construction, new technologies and banks.

He said they urged the Qatar investors to look upon Greece as an investment centre in the wider region that includes the Balkans, the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that specific projects were pinpointed in which Qatar investments could be made, adding that the two sides agreed that specific proposals would be presented at the next Greek visit to Qatar.

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[02] MIT media lab founder Negroponte in Athens

Amid the government's stated initiative to accelerate broadband use throughout Greek society and state-of-the-art IT systems in the large public sector, Negroponte -- the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's famed Media Lab -- outlined his pioneering idea for the "100-dollar laptop computer".

The architect and computer science scholar said the goal is for every government in the world to agree to the one-laptop-per-child programme, pointing to a goal of 1.2 billion recipients, 50 percent of whom live in habitats without electricity.

As per Greece, the Greek-American author of the best-seller "Being Digital", said that although the country has no relation to the level of development of the countries where the programme is targeted, it nevertheless should adopt its own variation of the one-laptop-per-child scheme, either employing the "100-dollar laptop" or another inexpensive model.

In 2005 Negroponte unveiled the 100-dollar laptop computer, dubbed the "Children's Machine", specifically designed for students in the developing world. The project is part of the broader programme by One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit organisation started by Negroponte and other Media Lab faculty, to extend Internet access in developing countries, according to reports.

Caption: Nicholas Negroponte, the chairman emeritus of the MIT Media Lab, presents a model of the 100-Dollar Laptop during a press conference during the World Economic Forum WEF in Davos, Switzerland, on Saturday, January 28, 2006. ANA-MPA / EPA / WALTER BIERI.

[03] Anti-racism festival begins in Athens

The scheduled events include demonstrations of image theatre, body painting, international cuisines, performances by percussion musicians, screenings of documentary films and short films, art exhibitions and other events.

The programme forms part of a campaign underway in 41 countries under the banner "All Different, All Equal", which the National Council for Youth has undertaken to organise in Greece with the support of the General Secretariat for the Younger Generation.

Next week, events are scheduled to continue in Thessaloniki.

Caption: A body artist paints on the body of a model at the Syntagma Square metro station in the heart of Athens on Friday, March 16, 2007. ANA-MPA / O. Panagiotou.

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