Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-02-25

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM: 'Greece relying on its own powers'

[02] Cisse lawsuit against rival football club�s president

[03] Fatal coach accident in Turkey

[04] OSCE proposal for N. Africa

[05] Hellenic Telecoms profits down 

[01] PM: 'Greece relying on its own powers'

Replying to a question posed by Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party leader George Karatzaferis, he warned against succumbing to pessimism that "leads to resignation".

Concerning developments in North Africa, including the violence in Libya, he underlined that Greece will be an active presence and a "pole of stability" in the efforts for the 'day after' in the region.

The Greek prime minister stressed that the European Union must adopt a position concerning its presence in the region and its relations with the Arab world, while also preparing for the possibility of an energy crisis due to the uprisings erupting in the Middle East and North Africa.

Concerning criticism voiced by Karatzaferis on economic issues, Papandreou stressed that the government was waging battles both within Greece and abroad against the accumulated debt and that it would be a "difficult transition but to a different Greece".

The prime minister also confirmed the government's political willingness to support the domestic defence industry in reply to another question by Karatzaferis, who stressed the country's unusually high spending on defence procurements had made a large contribution to its excessive debt burden and highlighted the need to have a defence industry in order to also help Greece's diplomacy.

Papandreou said the government's goal was to establish public control with full transparency of the defence industry and the required partnerships. While agreeing that the local defence industry had to be supported and modernised, he also pointed out that the need to make it competitive given its accumulated debts of two billion euro.

The prime minister said the government was currently promoting Greece's defence industry and reported interest in Hellenic Defence Systems. He also stressed that the government wanted "growth and not parasitic prospects, without mediations and middle-men, with transparency and with each decision passing inspection by Parliament".

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[02] Cisse lawsuit against rival football club�s president

Cissé filed the lawsuit at the Athens first instance court prosecutor's office, alleging that Marinakis, who is also the president of the first division pro Greek Super League, slandered, verbally abused and threatened him.

Following league-leading Olympiacos' 2-1 victory over Panathinaikos dozens of Olympiacos fans entered the pitch, many of whom surrounded fleeing Panathinaikos players and coaching staff. The Athens team also bitterly pointed to several sloppy referee calls during the match, including an off-sides call negating a goal that prevented it from going up 1-2 in the 82nd minute. (���-�PA)

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[03] Fatal coach accident in Turkey

Those killed were identified as the Greek citizens Sofia Mariadi, Minas Solakidis, Arkadios Moysidis and Foto Mytakidi, who had Greek and Turkish dual nationality, as well as one Turkish man. The bodies have been taken to Malkara General Hospital and the injured to a state hospital in Tekirdag.

The Greek nationals injured were named as Panagiotis Paletidis, Maria Mariadi and Vassilis Naris.

Turkish authorities sought the assistance of Greek consular authorities to help identify the dead after the accident, since some of the bodies had been crushed under the fallen coach.

The accident was blamed on poor weather and icy conditions on the road, which caused the bus to veer off course and spin out of control.

Condolences to the families of the victims were expressed by main opposition New Democracy spokesman Yiannis Mihelakis, who also wished the injured a speedy recovery.

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[04] OSCE proposal for N. Africa

The start of the assembly's two-day sessions was declared by the Greek president of the parliamentary assembly, Petros Efthymiou, in the presence of Austria's Federal President, Heinz Fischer.

In his opening address, Efthymiou stressed the contribution of the so-called Corfu Process, during the Greek presidency at the OSCE in 2009 as well as that of the summit in Astana last December, towards strengthening the momentum and the revival of the Organisation's political character.

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[05] Hellenic Telecoms profits down

8.0 pct to 5.483 billion euros in 2010, hit by the consequences of an economic crisis in the country.

Consolidated turnover fell 12.4 pct in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with the same period in 2009, to 1.330 billion euros, while EBITDA fell 39.2 pct to 311 million euros and on an annual basis fell by 20.5 pct to 1.748 billion euros.

OTE reported a loss of 91.7 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2010, hit by an extra charge of 129.8 million euros caused by a voluntary retirement scheme and a 77.6 pct burden of fixed-assets write off in RomTelecom. OTE reported a 90.4 pct decline in its 12-month net profits to 39.6 million euros, down from 410.9 million euros in 2009.

In Greece, turnover from fixed-telephony operations fell by 10.1 pct to 2.17 billion euors in 2010, while turnover was down 15.8 pct in the fourth quarter of the year. OTE reported a quarterly loss of 79.3 million euros despite the fact that it managed to increase its customer base thanks to an aggressive advertising campaing.

RomTelecom reported an 11.2 pct decline in its fourth quarter turnover to 170.1 million euros and a loss of 270.3 million euros.

Cosmote improved its position in the Greek market and maintained its market shares in Bulgaria, Romania and Albania, with its customer base totaling 21 million in the fourth quarter, slightly down from the third quarter of 2010. Cosmote said its turnover fell 17 pct in Greece in the fourth quarter to 429.9 million euros and its customer base totaled 8.0 million, down 13.3 pct. Cosmote ranks first in the domestic mobile broadband internet market.

Cosmote�s subsidiaries in Albania and Bulgaria reported an 8.6 pct and a 2.5 pct decline in turnover, respectively, to 26.7 million euros in Albania and 10.7 million euros in Bulgaria in the fourth quarter. AMC�s customer base rose 6.0 pct to around 2.0 million euros, while Globul�s customer base grew 7.0 pct to 3.9 million.

Cosmote�s subsidiary in Romania reported an 1.8 pct increase in turnover to 121.5 million euros, with a customer base of 6.9 million euros and an EBITDA soaring 202.4 pct.

Mihalis Tsamaz, OTE�s chairman and chief executive, commenting on the results said the group managed to put a break on a decline in operating earnings and cash flow, although net profits were negatively affected by write offs in Romania and the cost of voluntary retirement program. "In 2011 we will make every effort to stop a decline in revenues and profitability, trying to ensure a long-term value for our shareholders," he said.

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