Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-03-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] International Roman Law Moot Court Competition opens at Philippi

[02] Bourse rebounds on eurozone deal

[03] Minor quakes jolt Patras

[04] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] International Roman Law Moot Court Competition opens at Philippi

The inaugural competition, dedicated to the memory of civil law Professor Panayiotis Zepos, was held in 2008. The purpose of the event is to bring together students and academics from different European jurisdictions and to promote the study of Roman law and the common legal heritage of Europe. Participating universities enter teams of four undergraduate students. The moot problem involves complex issues of Roman private law, encompassing delict, contract and property law.

The preliminary rounds are conducted in the historic Imaret in the old city of Kavala and the final in the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum Coloniae Augustae Iuliae Philippensis) at the archaeological site of Philippi.

The moot competition is combined with a conference open to the general public, at which academics from participating universities present contributions on a specific theme selected for each conference.

Eight distinguished Law Schools of Europe are taking part in these year's competition, from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (UK), Trier and Tubingen (Germany), Liege (Belgium), Vienna (Austria), Naples 'Federico II' (Italy), and Athens.

The preliminary rounds will be held at the Imaret on Friday, March 26, and the final on Saturday, March 27 at Philippi.

The venues

Imaret: Originally built in 1817 by Mohammed Ali Pasha, the founder of the Egyptian dynasty, the Imaret consisted of a series of inter-related buildings, including schools, a Mosque, a Hamam, administrative offices and the Imaret itself (Dining Facility). It quickly became a recognized center of learning throughout the Balkans, during the last phase of the Ottoman Empire. Mohamed Ali Pasha the founder of the Egyptian dynasty of Fouats, donated Imaret to Kavala, the city of his birth. The complex is crowning the hillside of Panagia, the city�s old district, offering stunning views to the sea and the surrounding hills. The building is considered to be an architectural delight blending the orient and western influences of the ?poque. The restoration works were in full compliance with the cultural heritage of the monument and the distinctive architectural details. The project was under the supervision of archeologists and architects from both the Greek and the Egyptian Ministries of Culture. After almost a century of neglect, the monument has been fully restored to become the first hotel operating within a historical building in Greece.

An important landmark, the �Imaret�, as the complex is called today, is of extreme interest being the most significant Ottoman monument in the Balkan area, a masterpiece of late Ottoman architecture, which also features elements of timber secular structures.

Roman Forum: The Agora (Forum), the administrative centre of Philippi in the Roman period, is in the centre of the ancient city bounded by two large parallel paved roads, the northernmost of which has been identified as the ancient "Via Egnatia". This road, the decumanus maximus of the roman city, connected two gates of the city wall. The earliest phase of the Roman Agora dates to the Julioclaudian period and was built over structures of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods.

The Forum consists of public buildings as the East and the West Temple of Curia carefully laid out around a central square. In the Antonine period, a time of great prosperity for the Roman colony of Philippi, a new Forum was built on the same site during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161 - 187 AD). This Forum preserved the original central square, but around it new, more monumental buildings were erected, whose ruins totally dominate the archaeological site.

[02] Bourse rebounds on eurozone deal

The rebound came on the heels of a eurozone agreement Thursday to create a support mechanism for Greece and a European Central Bank (ECB) decision to extend looser collateral rules, which were due to expire at the end of this year, into 2011. The EU move also positively impacted the Greek government bond yield spread, which receded to 304 basis points (bps), ensuring improved borrowing conditions.

Individual sector indices were moving upward nearly across the board, with the only losses in Food & Beverage, down 2.44 percent.

The biggest gains were in Banks, up 6.59 percent; and Raw Materials, up 4.20 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was up 4.45 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was up 2.30 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 2.26 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 95 were up, 8 were down, and 11 were unchanged.

[03] Minor quakes jolt Patras

The quakes, though minor, were accompanied by a thrumming noise, thus causing concern to local residents.

According to the Geodynamics Institute, the earthquakes were of low intensity, all below 4 on the Richter scale, but were felt because they emanated from a small epicentral depth, causing many locals to spend the night outdoors.

The quake string started shortly after 11:00 on Thursday night and continued to 7:00 Friday morning.

[04] Athens Newspaper Headlines

The EU agreement on a support mechanism for Greece that is fundamentally European, with minor IMF (International Monetary Fund) participation, which will be activated only if necessary, as a final resort, and European Central Bank (ECB) support, dominated the headlines in Athens' newspapers on Friday.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "EU decision positive - Dramatic behind-the-scenes on the support for Greece".

APOGEVMATINI: "Breather for Greece - Our economy under control - After dramatic deliberations, Merkel (German Chancellor) took a step backwards, and a good compromise on the Greek issue was achieved".

AVRIANI: "The IMF 'hawks' coming to Greece twice a year to audit the country's finances and impose new, harsh measures".

ELEFTHEROS: "Loans from Europeans, IMF only just before the 'knock-out' of the Greek economy".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Life-raft from Trichet (ECB president), noose from IMF - ECB decision a breath of relief for the Greek market".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Trichet lifeboat and IMF rocky reef - Last-minute agreement on support mechanism, with many reactions".

ESTIA: "The tragic mistakes of half a year - Borrowing has become a national 'dream'."

ETHNOS: "Safety net from Europe - French-German agreement at the last minute before the EU Summit".

IMERISSIA: "Agreement on safety net - EU approves support mechanism - Bilateral lending from eurozone countries and IMF involvement".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Unwieldy support with EU-IMF mechanism - Activation of bilateral loans as last resort, with new approval".

TA NEA: "Whew - Double breather - All-day thriller in Brussels - The protagonists and the behind-the-scenes".

VRADYNI: "Drown in order for us to save you - Merkel-Sarkozy (French President) compromise agreement for assistance to Greece".

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