05/04/07

Elena Becatoros appointed Associated Press bureau chief in Athens

NEW YORK -- Elena Becatoros, an editor in London and a former reporter in the Balkans for The Associated Press, has been named AP's chief of southeastern European news in Athens.

Her duties will include directing news coverage in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania, said Dan Perry, the AP's regional editor for Europe and Africa, who announced the appointment Thursday in London. She will be the successor of Patrick Quinn, who recently was named AP's assistant chief of Middle East news in Cairo.

Becatoros joined the AP in 1997 in Athens. She covered the Balkans, including the conflict in Albania and the wars in Kosovo and Macedonia, for five years before transferring to the International Desk in New York in 2002.

"I am excited and look forward to leading our strong team in coverage of a fascinating, changing and often challenging region," she said of her appointment.

Becatoros moved to London in 2004, helping to establish a European-African regional editing hub. Reporting assignments in recent years have included the war in Iraq, international summits, the U.N. General Assembly and the 2004 Olympic Games.

Born in London, Becatoros is fluent in Greek, French and English and speaks some Spanish and Arabic. She graduated with a master's degree in literature from the University of London in 1995.

"With her enthusiasm, her detailed knowledge of Greece and its neighbors and her skills obtained as a key editor in New York and London, Becatoros is ideally suited to direct the AP's work in southeastern Europe," said John Daniszewski, the AP's international editor in New York.

Before joining AP, Becatoros wrote for English-language sports and news magazines, Greek radio and the Athens News Agency.

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