With a special service at the Athens Cathedral, the Archbishop of America, Dimitrios, wound up his visit to Athens and the 86th annual AHEPA conference held this year in the Greek capital. The Archbishop, beginning his sermon, expressed his gratitude to the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronimos, for the opportunity to officiate at the cathedral in the presence of AHEPA delegates.

President Karolos Papoulias concluded a four-day official visit to Austria on Sunday and departed from Salzburg, in the presence of his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer. Referring to Turkey, Papoulias had stressed the importance that a solution to the Cyprus issue has for the European Union, as well as the political irrationality of 40 percent of a member-state being under military occupation by a candidate member, such as Turkey.

A charity concert organised recently by the American Diocese's Youth Choir at the Zappeion Gardens in Athens for the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer (ELPIDA) impressed the large audience. It was held under the aegis of Archbishop Dimitrios and the Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni.

AHEPA's official dinner was held recently, attended by the Archbishop of America, Dimitrios, and hundreds of AHEPA delegates and members from the United States, Canada, Australia and Greece. The government was represented by Sports undersecretary Giannis Ioannidis.

The Speaker of the House, Dimitris Sioufas, met with the visiting president and vice-president of the Greece-Australia Friendship Group, Australian Federal MPs Steve Georganas and Maria Vamvakinou. They were accompanied by South Australian state MP Stephanie Key - a state with a large number of Greek-Australians - and the Australian ambassador to Greece, Jeremy Newman. The meeting was also attended by the president of the Greek Parliament's Friendship Group, Anastasios Liaskos, who later had discussions with the Australian MPs.