Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-10 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Kammenos, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ray discuss military cooperation and Souda Bay base [02] A total 2,724 migrants and refugees had arrived in Greece by March 8, IOM reports --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Kammenos, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ray discuss military cooperation and Souda Bay base Strengthening military cooperation between Greece and the United States and the NATO base in Souda Bay, Crete, were the main issues discussed in a meeting between Defence Minister Panos Kammenos and the Deputy Commander of the United States European Command, Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy M. Ray, at the Defense ministry on Friday. Kammenos and General Ray also discussed the joint training exercises conducted between units of the Greek and U.S. Armed Forces. The meeting was attended by Alternate Defence Minister Dimitris Vitsas, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, and U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt. General Ray later met with the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lt GeN. Christos Christodoulou [02] A total 2,724 migrants and refugees had arrived in Greece by March 8, IOM reports The number of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece between January 1 and March 8 this year reached 2,724, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday. There were 1,521 arrivals in January and 1,091 arrivals in February during 2017, sharply down from the 134,048 people that arrived in the same two months in 2016. A total 19,567 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe during the same period, with 80 pct of arrivals reported in Italy and the remaining 20 pct in Greece and Spain. There were 521 deaths in the Mediterranean Sea in the period up to March 7, of which 477 died in the central Mediterranean, two in the eastern Mediterranean and 42 in the western Mediterranean. The number of deaths in the Mediterranean during the same period in 2016 was 471.