Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-09-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[02] Thessaloniki artists organise show to support Actionaid

[03] Olympics organisers, Athens airport sign cooperation memo

[04] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

[05] Irineos to be enthroned as Jerusalem Patriarch on Saturday

[06] Athens 2004 organisers: Security our No. 1 priority

[07] Greek stocks plunge 5.38 pct, outlook uncertain

[08] US Embassy and consulate to reopen on Monday

[09] Greek, FYROM DMs confer on sidelines of military exercise

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Indicative tourist buying rates until Monday

U.S. dollar 366.673

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 541.096

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 45.409

Swedish kroner 35.243

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 312.042

Swiss franc 225.587

Norwegian kroner 042.105

Cyprus pound 590.227

Canadian dollar 233.390

Australian dollar 189.431

[02] Thessaloniki artists organise show to support Actionaid

A group of artists from Thessaloniki, including painters, sculptors and photographers, has organised a joint exhibition to raise funds for Actionaid at the city's Vasiliko Theatre, which opens its doors to the public on Monday.

Actionaid is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that is carrying out developmental programmes in 30 developing countries.

Among the guests at the opening will be Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos and a representative of Actionaid's Greek chapter, Alexandra Mitsotaki-Gourdain.

All money made from the sale of the artists' work will be given to the national fund of Actionaid in India and used to fight poverty and assist individual communities.

[03] Olympics organisers, Athens airport sign cooperation memo

The organising committee of the Athens Olympics on Friday signed a cooperation memorandum with the new international Eleftherios Venizelos airport for the Games to be hosted by Athens in 2004.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed by committee president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the head of the airport, the cooperation between the two sides covers the run-up to the Games, their duration and the period after the event.

Angelopoulos-Daskalaki told the signing ceremony that the airport would play a key role in the arrival and departure of hundreds of thousands of athletes, visitors, VIPs and journalists.

[04] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

Sunny weather is forecast until evening on Saturday, with scattered cloud emerging in the west that will turn to rain or storms, mainly in the northwest. The mainland may also see showers or storms from evening. Winds variable, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 28C; on the rest of the mainland from 15C to 31C; and in the islands from 18C to 29C. Sunshine in Athens, with temperatures between 17C and 31C. Same in Thessaloniki, with storms or showers likely on high ground outside the city. Temperatures from 15C to 27C.

[05] Irineos to be enthroned as Jerusalem Patriarch on Saturday

JERUSALEM (ANA) Irineos I is to be enthroned as the new Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Palestine, Syria, beyond Jordan River, Cana of Galilee & Holy Zion on Saturday, in a noon-time ceremony in the city's Church of the Resurrection.

Greek President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos is scheduled to attend.

[06] Athens 2004 organisers: Security our No. 1 priority

The head of the Athens 2004 organising committee (ATHOC) on Friday reiterated that security is the paramount priority for the closely watched international event, as reactions to the shocking ?air terror attacks? in the United States this week continued to reverberate across the world.

?Were cooperating in this sector with the state and with experts from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As soon as new data is available, we will include it in our operational planning,? high-profile ATHOC president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki told reporters in Athens.

The woman credited with leading Athens successful campaign to win the 2004 Olympiad again conveyed her condolences towards the American people.

On Friday, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki also signed a memorandum of cooperation on behalf of ATHOC and the administration of the new international Athens airport. General Director Matthias Mitscherlich represented the new Eleftherios Venizelos Airport.

Rogge

Meanwhile, according to an ANA dispatch from Brussels, new IOC chief Jacques Rogge, who previously chaired an all-important IOC committee monitoring Athens preparations for the 2004 Games, warned that ?everything has now changed? in terms of security for the Olympics.

Rogge, who spoke at a press conference with EU Commissioner for education and culture Viviane Reding, also cited security as the number one priority for the Games. Among others, he referred to the unprecedented terrorist strike at 1972 Munich Games, which cost the lives of 11 Israeli athletes, as something that can never be repeated.

Beefed up security measures at the upcoming Salt Lake City winter Games will be on Rogges agenda next week with organisers in the US city.

[07] Greek stocks plunge 5.38 pct, outlook uncertain

Equity prices plunged to their lowest levels since early 1998 on the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday, hit by a volatile international environment and by a wave of selling by domestic institutional investors during the last hour of trading.

Traders said that domestic mutual funds liquidated positions in blue chip stocks leading smaller investors to a panic exit from smaller and medium capitalisation stocks.

Talk that several Greek securities firms were unable to cover their liabilities to the market's depository - although officially denied - also contributed to the creation of a very negative climate in the Greek bourse.

The general index ended 5.38 percent lower at 2,248.39 points, off the day's lows of 2,226.89 points, for a net loss of 15.07 percent in the week.

Turnover was a low 168.03 million euros, or 57.25 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,268.79 points, off 4.86 percent, the FTSE/ASE 40 index plunged 8.26 percent to 231.54 points, and the Small Cap index ended at 668.39 points, losing 8.81 percent.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 207.77 points, off 7.83 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 352 to three with another five issues unchanged.

[08] US Embassy and consulate to reopen on Monday

The American Embassy in Athens is to resume normal operations on Monday, September 17, after a period when operations were reduced due to the heinous terrorist attacks in the United States.

According to an announcement on Friday, a book of condolences will be opened at the lobby of the Embassy throughout the coming week between the hours of 10:00-12:00 a.m. and 2:00-4:00 p.m. for those who wish to sign it.

Similarly, the US Consulate in Thessaloniki will also resume operations next week and will be open to the public on Monday, Wednesday, Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.

A book of condolences will be opened at the consulate on Monday and Wednesday for the public in northern Greece.

[09] Greek, FYROM DMs confer on sidelines of military exercise

Defence ministers from Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Friday reiterated their countries conviction to work towards a mutual understanding within the framework of joint efforts for peace and security in the wider Balkan region.

Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and his FYROM counterpart Vlado Buckovski met on the sidelines of a wide-ranging military exercise in northern Greece.

Tsohatzopoulos assured the FYROM defence minister of Athens standing policy aimed at supporting the neighbouring states independence and national sovereignty. He also cited the Greek sides continuing interest in a partnership based on ratified bilateral agreements.

On his part, Buckovski thanked Athens for its support in helping efforts to defuse the crisis that bedeviled FYROM since February, while forecasting that the military exercise he just observed ?Filippos 2001? will lead to other joint maneuvers.

Regarding the prospect of extending the mandate of a NATO force deployed in FYROM to collect weapons from Albanian rebels, Tsohatzopoulos said such an option depends on discussions taking place at an international level.

Conversely, when asked about the potential success of the NATO mission in his country, the FYROM defence minister said it doesnt depend on the number of firearms collected, but rather on the percentage of refugees that return to their abandoned homes.

He added that, so far, the mission has been successful because a cease-fire has held, whereas only sporadic violence has been reported.

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