The smoking ban in Greece took effect yesterday, and cafes and restaurants are preparing for the introduction of EU-dictated smoking restrictions. According to the relevant decision, premises smaller than 70 square metres will henceforth be either exclusively smoking or non-smoking. Those which allow smoking must have their operating licenses revised, have adequate air-conditioning units installed and display a special sticker determining their status. Larger establishments must restrict smoking to a separate section of their premises, exceeding not more than 30% of the surface area. Live music venues must separate smokers from nonsmoking patrons with the use of a 2-metre glass wall, while minors will be denied access to all smoking areas. As for offices, businesses employing fewer than 50 workers must ban smoking on their premises. Companies employing more than 50 people will have the right to provide smoking rooms.

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"Business Works" reports on Greece with three features covering Greece’s business opportunities and tourist delights. Introducing Greece, the Greek Ambassador to the Court of St James' presents the modern face of Greece, "a modern, vibrant country at the crossroads of three continents," or a country with a respectable past and a promising future. The accompanying business feature titled "Greece: the economic hub of the region" explains why Greece has played a leading role in the transformation of a region with a still unsaturated potential for growth. The article provides information on the country’s reform agenda and the advantages of investing in Greece.

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The New Acropolis Museum received more than 90,000 visitors during the first seven days since its official inauguration on June 20, while visits to the new museum's website exceeded 260,000 from 169 countries, from the Americas to Nepal and Mongolia, Culture Minister Antonis Samaras announced during a press conference, a week after the celebrations. The cost of the inauguration events, which were attended by several foreign heads of state and government, was far less than the anticipated sum of Euro 3 million. The minister emphasised that the authorities’ target to attract attention through the international media was successfully met.

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The 4th International Conference "People with disabilities and mass media - From traditional mass media to network communities" took place in Athens at the premises of the Secretariat General of Information - Secretariat General of Communication, on June 22-23. It focused on the factors which shape the new developing environment of digital media such as social web, blogs, wikis, facebook, etc. The accessibility and the participation of people with disabilities to the social networks is a constant and forceful demand on their part. The Conference also investigated the potentiality of presenting disability through advertising spots, as well as the changes this practice might bring in our perception of disability.

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The following are news websites, relating to Greece, in languages other than Greek:

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