Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-06-29

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Prime minister- Expatriate students-reception

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates- Monday

[03] EU - Turkey - Cyprus

[04] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

[05] Reppas welcomes Verheugen's statements on Cyprus problem

[06] Olympic Rowing Centre - Seminar - Opposition

[07] Selective buying pushes ASE above 2,700 level

[01] Prime minister- Expatriate students-reception

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Friday received elementary schools students from four schools two from Greece and two from abroad that worked to "twin" their educational efforts.

Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis and the Foreign Ministry's secretary for expatriate Greeks Grigoris Dolis accompanied the students of a Palaio Faliro school and their "twins" from the Agia Efthimia College of Sidney, Australia and the students of an elementary school from Larisa with their "twins" from the Agios Kyprianos School based in London.

Simitis expressed his satisfaction over the youth hosting programs, adding "Greece is much bigger than the one we know ... you living abroad should know how we live here in Greece so we can jointly then see each other's problems and be bonded, as we have a common ancestry".

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates- Monday

Buying rates until Monday

U.S. dollar 398.631

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 560.481

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.406

Swedish kroner 36.691

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 320.796

Swiss franc 221.972

Norwegian kroner 042.861

Cyprus pound 588.606

Canadian dollar 261.491

Australian dollar 201.985

[03] EU - Turkey - Cyprus

ISTANBUL (ANA) The European Union apparently threatened to boycott a summit here this week of environmental ministers from EU candidates-states after certain Turkish hard-liners reportedly tried to prevent Cyprus relevant minister from attending.

According to EU sources, Commissioner Guenter Verheugen who holds the all-important enlargement portfolio -- warned the summits Turkish hosts that the 15-nation blocs officials would boycott sessions if Cypriot Minister Costas Themistocleous was prevented from participating or discouraged in any way.

Themistocleous, the agriculture, environment and natural resources minister on the island republic, as well as the rest of the Cypriot delegation received special visas for travel to Turkey at Ankaras embassy in Athens the same procedure previously employed by Cypriot dignitaries when officially visiting Turkey. While in Istanbul, the Cypriot minister was also received by Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos.

The development comes one day after Ankara threatened to ?retaliate? against EU member-states if Cyprus is allowed to join the Union.

In addressing a joint EU-Turkish association council this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said Cyprus ?unilateral accession will lead to an unavoidable conflict and radical reaction by Turkey, while it will have negative effects on the Euro-Turkish economic relations as well."

[04] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

Sunshine is forecast in most parts of the country on Saturday, with some scattered cloud on the mainland and in the Ionian. Showers or storms may occur in the centre or north from evening. Winds northerly, moderate to strong, turning very strong in parts of the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 17C to 33C; on the rest of the mainland from 19C to 35C; and in the Aegean islands from 21C to 31C. Sunny in Athens, although there may be an isolated storm late in the day. Temperatures between 20C and 34C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 19C to 32C.

[05] Reppas welcomes Verheugen's statements on Cyprus problem

Greece on Friday welcomed statements by EU Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, who said that a solution on Cyprus might be achieved within 2002, with government spokesman Dimitris Reppas describing them as positive for the Cyprus problem.

Verheugen made the statement in Brussels, during a press conference on the EU enlargement process on Thursday.

Reppas said that the EU had made clear its position on Cyprus' EU accession course, while the international community had defined the framework in which a solution to the Cyprus problem would be sought.

"The EU has made the course of the Cyprus problem a criterion in Turkey's progress toward the EU," the spokesman added, "We have every reason to express our satisfaction and continue to work in the right direction."

Nicosia, however, did not appear to share the EU Commissioner's optimism, with Cyprus government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou saying on Friday that his government knew nothing to justify such a sanguine prediction.

Nicosia was in agreement with such a prospect, he added, and was always ready for meaningful dialogue on a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of United Nations resolutions.

[06] Olympic Rowing Centre - Seminar - Opposition

A one-day seminar focusing on the venue for the Athens 2004 Olympic rowing and canoeing events was held Friday in Athens, under the auspices of the Association of Greek Archaeologists but boycotted by representatives of the Archaeology Society, who object to the choice of site.

Objections to use of the Schinias site as the venue for Olympic rowing and canoeing events have been put forward by the Academy of Athens, the Archaeological Society -- on the grounds that the site is historically significant because of its link with the ancient battlefield of Marathon -- and by environmental groups, including WWF-Hellas.

[07] Selective buying pushes ASE above 2,700 level

Equity prices rebounded spectacularily on Friday as selective buying for blue chip stocks, included in the Morgan Stanley index (Coca Cola HBC, Hellenic Telecoms, Alpha Bank and National Bank), pushed the Athens Stock Exchange above the 2,700 level.

The general index ended ata 2,741.18 points, up 1.61 percent, for a net loss of 1.62 percent in the week.

Turnover was an improved 265.132 million euros, or 90.343 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,580.24 points, up 1.70 percent, the FTSE/ASE 40 index rose 1.06 percent to 305.36 points, and the Small cap index ended at 852.66 points, up 0.59 percent.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 257.86 points, up 0.73 percent.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article