Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-12-11

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Soccer-Olympiakos-Win

[02] Simitis-UNICEF- International Childrens Day

[03] Greek captain-Polish colonel-Abduction-gov't spokesman

[04] Stock Market-Close

[05] Greece - FYROM - Defence cooperation

[01] Soccer-Olympiakos-Win

Olympiakos Piraeus beat Xanthi 3-0 away in a match played for the 10th round of the Greek soccer national division on Monday evening.

After 10 games played, Olympiakos Piraeus heads the division with 26 points, followed by Panathinaikos Athens with 22, AEK Athens 19, Ionikos Piraeus 18, Iraklis Thessaloniki 17, Ethnikos Asteras Athens 17, PAOK Thessaloniki 16, Xanthi 15 and Aris Thessaloniki 14.

[02] Simitis-UNICEF- International Childrens Day

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Monday called citizens and the state to provide for the protection and support of children making special mention of those youngsters that are exploited and isolated from society.

In light of the UNICEF International Childrens Day, Simitis said ?it is an important day which makes us feel...responsible, both as a state and as individual citizens, for their present and future?.

?Life is not always like a fairy tail...for this reason we must focus on the children that live under difficult circumstances, those children that we pass by every day in the busy streets of the big city, while they try to sell their wares...the children that fall victims of exploitation and ill-treatment everyday,? the premier said.

Meanwhile in Parliament, five deputies tabled a question regarding the states provisions for ?the traffic lights? children - as they came to be called for selling wares or begging from motorists in Athens streets clogged with traffic.

According to a study conducted by UNICEF, more than 5,800 children between the ages of 2 and 15 years of age are begging in Athens streets, yielding about a billion drachmas per month to their ?employers?, the deputies question stressed.

The deputies called for emergency measures to protect children from violence and exploitation.

On its part, the consumer protection agency (INKA) called for the protection of children from products and services, which often cost their lives, such as unfit toys, accidents and food poisoning from not well preserved food.

[03] Greek captain-Polish colonel-Abduction-gov't spokesman

Greek government spokesman Tilemachos Hytiris on Monday expressed the hope that the Greek infantry captain abducted by unknown persons on Sunday in Georgia, would soon be released.

During a press briefing, Hytiris said that the United Nations is handling the issue, while the Greek ambassador and the Greek military attache in Georgia, were monitoring the situation.

?We hope that this mishap will end in the best possible way, as it had happened in the past in a similar case,? Hytiris said.

Greek infantry Cpt. Efstathios Kokkinidis and a Polish colonel, both UN observers, were abducted by unknown persons on Sunday while on a mission 50 kilometres southeast of Sokhumi, Georgia.

[04] Stock Market-Close

Equities on the Athens Stock Exchange finished down on Monday with traders saying they could see no reason for the sharp decline.

The general index finished 1.37 percent lower at 3,685.31 points, with turnover at 94.26 billion drachmas.

The market could rise again this week on anticipated rate cuts by the central bank, the traders said.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks closed 1.04 percent down, while the FTSE/ASE 40 index for medium capitalisation shares fell by 1.90 percent.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Banks: -0.52%

Leasing: -1.24%

Insurance: -2.90%

Investment: -1.68%

Construction: -2.85%

Industrials: -2.43%

Miscellaneous: -0.71

Holding: -0.89

The parallel market for smaller capitalisation stocks ended 2.64 percent down.

Of 357 shares traded, 252 declined and 90 advanced with 15 remaining unchanged.

The most heavily traded stocks were National Bank of Greece and Bank of Piraeus.

Main closing share prices (in drachmas):

National Bank of Greece: 14,770

Alpha Bank: 13,600

Eurobank: 9,810

Lambrakis Press: 6,040

Hellenic Petroleum: 3,820

Commercial Bank of Greece: 18,555

Intracom: 9,670

Hellenic Telecoms: 6,005

Titan Cement (c): 14,510

[05] Greece - FYROM - Defence cooperation

SKOPJE (ANA) The situation in strife-torn Kosovo and the latest worrying developments in southern Serbia were the focus of discussions here on Monday between visiting Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and FYROMs top leadership.

Former Yugoslav Republic of Yugoslavia (FYROM) Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski as well as the countrys foreign minister, Sergan Kerim, received the Greek minister.

In statements afterwards, Tsohatzopoulos said FYROMs leaders expressed their concerns over developments in southern Serbia, following recent raids into that territory by ethnic Albanian bands operating from UN- and NATO-controlled Kosovo.

In terms of bilateral relations, Tsohatzopoulos pointed to the need for closer defence ties between Athens and Skopje, citing among others, an agreement for cooperation in the armaments sector and the promotion of defence and security-related programmes on the both the bilateral and European level.

In referring to his contacts with the FYROM foreign minister, Tsohatzopoulos said they discussed the landlocked Balkan countrys EU and NATO accession prospects, efforts that Athens supports.

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