Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-09-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[02] Friday declared day of mourning in Greece

[03] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Friday

[04] Friday declared day of mourning in Greece

[05] Greek stocks rebound moderately on ASE

[06] Hotline for concerned relatives of Greek expatriates in US

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 373.097

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 547.935

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 45.410

Swedish kroner 35.272

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 313.333

Swiss franc 224.754

Norwegian kroner 042.258

Cyprus pound 589.890

Canadian dollar 238.754

Australian dollar 191.982

[02] Friday declared day of mourning in Greece

The Greek government on Thursday announced that Friday, Sept. 14 has been declared a day of mourning for the victims of the devastating terrorist attacks this week in New York and Washington -- in line with a decision by the European Union's foreign ministers on Wednesday.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas made the announcement at his regular press briefing in Athens, adding that a relevant circular will be dispatched to public sector offices and agencies within the day. Flags at Greek diplomatic missions will also fly at half-staff, he said.

Asked about application of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty calling for mutual assistance to alliance member-states, Reppas said:

?The message we will send must contain a higher political symbolism. We cannot be conciliatory with those hiding behind such actions,? the spokesman said, adding: ?It is, however, premature to talk about the practical application of Article V.?

?Let us once again express our anger (over the terrorist strikes). The Greek government, in cooperation with other countries, will plan its next steps,? he added.

In New York, a telephone hotline (001.212.988.5500) at Greeces general consulate in New York City was inaugurated for any inquiries. Additionally, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New York along with expatriate groups and the countrys diplomatic missions in the United States were working to coordinate blood drives.

At presstime, eight Greek expatriates who worked in the WTC Towers were reported missing.

[03] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Friday

Sunny weather is forecast throughout the country on Friday, with scattered cloud in the south in the morning. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the southeastern Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 11C to 28C; on the rest of the mainland from 14C to 31C; and in the islands from 18C to 29C. Sunshine in Athens, with temperatures between 16C and 31C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 12C to 27C.

[04] Friday declared day of mourning in Greece

The Greek government announced that Friday, Sept. 14 has been declared a day of mourning for the victims of the devastating terrorist attacks this week in New York and Washington.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas made the announcement on Thursday at his regular press briefing in Athens, adding that a relevant circular will be dispatched to public sector offices and agencies within the day. Flags at Greek diplomatic missions will also fly at half-mast, he said.

A telephone hotline (001.212.988.5500) at Greeces general consulate in New York City was inaugurated for any inquiries. Additionally, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New York along with expatriate groups and the countrys diplomatic missions in the United States were working to coordinate blood drives.

So far, there are reports that eight Greek expatriates who worked in the WTC Towers have been missing since the time of the attack, though the foreign ministry earlier stressed that there has been no official information regarding Greek victims of the horrific terrorist hits.

[05] Greek stocks rebound moderately on ASE

Equity prices ended Thursday's session moderately higher, rebounding after Wednesday's 7.74 percent plunge helped by a stability in international markets and the reappearance of bargain hunting.

The Greek market, however, remained worried over developments in Wall Street when the US market will reopen after their three-day close.

The telecoms and textiles sectors led the market's advance with the general index ended 0.75 percent higher at 2,376.2 points, off the day's lows of 2,352.84 points.

Turnover was a low 140.86 million euros, or 48 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,333.66 points, up 0.64 percent, the FTSE/ASE 40 index fell 0.15 percent to 252.38 points, and the Small Cap index ended at 732.93 points, up 0.04 percent.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 225.42 points, off 0.95 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 179 to 139 with another 42 issues unchanged.

[06] Hotline for concerned relatives of Greek expatriates in US

There has been no official information relating to Greek victims of the multiple terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon in the United States, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

Responding to reporters' questions, foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis said the ministry had set up a telephone hotline at the number (Athens) 3685555 for people in Greece with requests and questions regarding relatives who were expatriate Greeks living in the US.

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