Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-11-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] Alexander Onassis Foundation international awards

[02] Ecumenical Patriarch to attend SAE congress in Thessaloniki

[03] Parliament debate focuses on Afghanistan campaign

[04] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

[05] Bank stocks push ASE to 2,700 level

[01] Alexander Onassis Foundation international awards

The Alexander Onassis Foundation's international awards were presented on Tuesday at the Athens Concert Hall.

The awards were given for three categories - best play, choreogrpahy and music for dance.

The presentation of the awards were made by Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and former president of the republic Christos Sartzetakis.

The first $150,000 prize for best play was awarded to American Daniel de Plantis for "Past Tenses ever present".

The second $100,000 prize went to Debora Brevurt for "The Women of Locherbie".

The third $75,000 prize went to Greek Panayiotis Mentis for "The Strangers".

There was no first prize for music for choreography. Second prize was shared by Filippinese Raian Karabiab and Briton Christopher Lindon. Third prize was also shared by Spaniard Pedro Navarete and Swiss Charles Uzor.

There was no first prize for choreogrpahy. Second prize went to Argentinian Margarita Bali and third prize to Carmen Werner.

[02] Ecumenical Patriarch to attend SAE congress in Thessaloniki

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will attend the congress of the Council of Hellenes Abroad (ASE) which will be held in Thessaloniki from December 9-11.

It is the first time that Vartholomeos will attend a SAE congress and it is expected that he will be bestowed honours on the occasion.

The SAE congress will also be attended by President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Costas Simitis, main opposition leader costas Karamanlis and other officials.

The Council's new presidium will be elected at the closing of the congress.

[03] Parliament debate focuses on Afghanistan campaign

An off-the-agenda Parliament debate on Tuesday focused directly on the war in Afghanistan, with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis reiterating that ?the immediate reaction to the events of Sept. 11 as well as the international rally against terrorism is a one-way street.?

Main opposition New Democracy referred to a ?lack of national communication? regarding foreign policy in general, whereas the small Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) party charged that Athens is unconditionally aligning itself with Washingtons policy.

?In a declared war ... there are no margins but for one to react in the way the civilised world reacted,? Simitis said, adding that if apathy and tolerance were shown towards those responsible for the terrorist acts, ?then the message would be simple: continue?.

On his part, Synaspismos president Nikos Constantopoulos, whose party requested the debate, opened his speech by saying that Simitis was ?appearing as an apologist of US policy?.

?What can Greece do? A lot of things. The issue is if we agree, or, worried by developments, we dont dare raise a dissenting voice. What concerns us is the fact that silence is being turned into societies mithridatism ... will the Greek government continue to always say yes to the dispatch of troops and the wars continuation?? the Synaspismos leader asked rhetorically.

Premier's reaction

Simitis, however, immediately countered: ?Mr. Constantopoulos didnt tell us what he counsels, what he recommends as policy ... Can someone impose their opinion with violence and not suffer the consequences? Does Mr. Constantopoulos object? Does Mr. Constantopoulos accept hijackings, letters laced with anthrax, does he welcome tolerance vis-a-vis organised crime, and for any type of mafia to operate here?

New Democracy

ND leader Costas Karamanlis began his address by emphasising that his party fully backs the international alliance and campaign against terrorism, ?clearly, without footnotes or asterisks?.

?There is a long way to go, however, in order to quash international terrorism, as the first battle has been decided, but there is still a way to go.?

Finally, the ND leader called on Simitis to clarify whether Greece will veto any potential Turkish participation in decision-making processes related to the under consideration ?Euro-army? a query that brought an immediate answer from Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who responded in the affirmative.

[04] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

Cloud is forecast in most parts of the country on Wednesday, turning to showers and storms in the west, the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese islands. Winds south-southeasterly, moderate, and strong at sea. In the north, temperatures will range from 1C to 15C; on the rest of the mainland from 4C to 18C; and in the islands from 8C to 19C. Light cloud in Athens with rain overnight and temperatures between 8C and 18C. Rain and storms in Thessaloniki from the evening, with temperatures from 4C to 15C.

[05] Bank stocks push ASE to 2,700 level

Strong buying interest for bank stocks in the last few minutes of trading finally pushed the general index slightly above the 2,700-point barrier on Tuesday.

The index ended 0.53 percent higher at 2,700.13 points, with turnover a moderate Dr 53.2 billion, or 156.1 million euros.

The IT, Banks and IT Solutions sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (1.71 percent, 1.69 percent and 1.62 percent, respectively), while the Telecoms and Food sectors suffered the heaviest losses (1.63 percent and 0.41 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 1.11 percent higher, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 1.09 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.73 percent higher.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 249 to 79 with another 28 issues unchanged.

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