ATHENS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Greek leaders expressed optimism for the debt-ridden country's future while welcoming Christmas carolers on Saturday.
After listening to the carols at his office, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wrote on his social media accounts:"Merry Christmas with solidarity, democracy, dignity and optimism for justice and prosperity."
The Music School of Athens and the Philarmonic of the Municipality of Amphilochia, a city in central Greece, sang the traditional Greek Christmas carols to the premier, while President Prokopis Pavlopoulos at the nearby presidential mansion welcomed the band of the Armed Forces and the Presidential Guard.
"Although the year which is drawing to the end was one more tough period for Greece, all Greeks united are participating in efforts to overcome the crisis and ensure to our country and our people the future they deserve," the Greek President said in his Christmas message to Greeks across the world.
Greece has been hit hard by the economic crisis since late 2009 and after several rounds of austerity measures and reforms under bailout agreements with international lenders, political leaders and economists expect that the economy will return to growth in 2017.
MADRID nike air max 360 online , March 11 (Xinhua) -- Spain's consumer prices fell by 0.8 percent in February when compared with the same month of a year earlier, according to data of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported on Friday by Spain's Statistical Office (INE).
Prices of transport fell by 4.7 percent in February year-on-year, while prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks and items related to communications rose by 1.3 percent and 2.7 percent respectively.
The INE also reported that on a month-to-month basis, Spain's consumer prices fell by 0.4 percent in February.
Prices of items related to housing fell by 1.6 percent nike air max classic bw online , those of clothing and shoes fell by 1.6 percent and those of transport fell by 0.7 percent from January to February.
On the other hand, prices of items related to communications rose by 1.5 percent, those related to hotels, cafes and restaurants increased by 0.4 percent and those related to leisure and culture rose by 0.5 percent.
Spain's consumer prices have been decreasing for two consecutive months year-on-year since the end of 2015 when the country's inflation rate stood at 0 percent.
Consumer prices fell by 0.3 percent in January nike air max 2017 online , 2016 year-on-year and the inflation rate was negative almost throughout the year 2015 except from the months of June, July and December with rates of 0.1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0 percent respectively.
The Spanish State Secretary for Economy, Inigo Fernandez de Mesa nike air max plus online , said that the acting government expected the inflation rate to be positive although he recognized it was difficult to predict "when".
However, he said that the fall in Spain was positive as it improved the purchasing power of households and the companies' competitiveness. Enditem
LONDON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A massive fire engulfed a 27-story apartment building in western London early Wednesday three hours after police received the first report of the blaze.
The Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate, built in the 1970s and renovated several times nike air max flair online , contains 120 homes. It is feared many are trapped inside the blazing building as the fire broke out in the wee hours of Wednesday.