Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-01-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] FM says Athens should be confident in 'exploratory' talks with Turkey

[02] Canadians to campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marble

[03] Greece offers good value for money, UK tour operators

[04] 'Ready, Aim ... Cease Fire' the slogan for Olympic Truce

[05] Silver & Baryte sells loss-making German perlite operation

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[07] 2004 Olympics organisers sign deal with publishers

[08] Lambrakis sells stake in bookstore

[09] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

[10] Greek stocks end flat in ASE

[01] FM says Athens should be confident in 'exploratory' talks with Turkey

Greece should face the new phase in Greek-Turkish relations and the commencement of 'exploratory contacts' between the two sides confidently and without fear, foreign minister George Papandreou said Tuesday.

No one disputed that difficulties existed, the minister added, but fear was a bad advisor that bred bad reflexes and Greece should have more confidence precisely because of the European framework.

Papandreou was speaking in Athens after the presentation of a study on Greece's new geo-strategic role by the American research company RAND, in collaboration with the Kokkalis Foundation.

On Monday, Papandreou had announced in Brussels that Greece and Turkey would soon begin talks, initially between high-level foreign ministry officials, aiming at a compromise "formula" for taking the Aegean Sea continental shelf issue to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

The foreign minister had then pointed out that referring the issue to the International Court had always been Greece's standing position.

On his part, government spokesman Christos Protopapas reiterated on Tuesday that the only bilateral difference with Turkey was that of the Aegean continental shelf and that the government was responsibly undertaking an initiative to begin exploratory talks with Ankara on issues decided by Greece.

If these contacts showed that it was possible to draft an agreement for referring the issue to the international court at The Hague, he added, then the government considered this to be in Greece's interests.

[02] Canadians to campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marble

MONTREAL (ANA - I. Frangouli) - The Canadian public opinion is becoming aware of Greece's plight for the return of the Parthenon Marbles and community movements began to work in the country, making taking the issue to the people.

Thus on Feb. 12, Manitoba State Transportation Secretary Steve Ashton will deliver a lecture on the issue and will initiate a campaign to collect signatures of Canadian citizens for the return of the marbles to Greece.

Ashton is the secretary of the Canadian Committee for the Return of the Marbles.

[03] Greece offers good value for money, UK tour operators

Travel reservations for Greece are up 2.0 percent in the UK so far this year based on figures by the country's largest tour operators, Greek Tourism Organisation said on Tuesday.

British tour operators think that Greece offer good value for money as a travel destination, GTO said.

At the same time, A.C. Nielsen's figures showed that UK reservations were sharply off for most other travel destinations this year, compared with 2001. Reservations for Spain are down 27 percent, Portugal -33 percent, Cyprus -35 percent, Turkey -7.0 percent, Malta -36 percent, Morocco -18 percent, Tunisia -42 percent, Florida -35 percent and Carribean -11 percent.

Greek tourism is seeking an aggressive advertising campaign in the UK market with special surveys in newspapers such as Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph.

GTO is also organising a more aggressive campain in the US by participating in an annual Travel Show organised by the Los Angeles Times, in LA, February 16-17.

[04] 'Ready, Aim ... Cease Fire' the slogan for Olympic Truce

Greeces high-profile international initiative for an ?Olympic Truce? during the holding of next months Winter Games in Salt Lake City was showcased here on Tuesday, with the slogan of ?Ready, Aim ... Cease Fire? unveiled during a press conference.

?Just as Greece was able to revive the modern Olympic Games in the 19th century, it now has the obligation to revive this segment of the Games, which deals with the truce. The message of peace through culture and sports is significant,? Foreign Minister George Papandreou and the vice-president of the International Olympic Truce Centre told a press conference at the Zappeion Hall in Athens.

According to the Greek minister, both India and Pakistan will be called on to observe the ?Olympic Truce? during the holding of the Salt Lake City Games Feb. 2-15 whereas a similar message will be conveyed to Israel and the Palestinians.

Papandreou noted that western nations avoided military action against Iraq in 1998 during the Nagano Winter Olympics, while North and South Korea both marched under the same banner during the last Olympics Games in Sydney.

The Greek FM also stressed that the first signatures on a relevant international text promoting the Olympic Truce were Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cems and his own, followed by foreign ministers from various Balkan nations, Israel and the Palestinian authority.

?Well continue to collect signatures, and its very important that we also have the undivided support of Greek President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, who will send letters to heads of state asking for their support of the Olympic Truce?, he said.

[05] Silver & Baryte sells loss-making German perlite operation

Silver & Baryte Ores, which is quoted on the Athens bourse, announced on Tuesday that it plans to sell its loss-making perlite operation in Germany to a domestic firm, Deutsche Perlit GmbH, pending approval from German regulatory authorities.

The Greek firm said in a statement that its subsidiary, Otavi Perlit GmbH, wholly owned by another subsidiary, Otavi Minen AG, was loss-making and showed no signs of recovery in the near future.

Management attributed the losses mainly to a continuing decline in home-building in Germany and fierce competition in the sector, dampening prices and profitability.

The sale contract was signed on January 25.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.869

Pound sterling 0.615

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.298

Japanese yen 115.86

Swiss franc 1.483

Norwegian kroner 7.903

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.380

Australian dollar 1.690

[07] 2004 Olympics organisers sign deal with publishers

Organisers of the 2004 Olympics in Athens on Tuesday signed a contract with a group of publishers to provide official maps of the Games, city maps and books.

The publishers to supply the material carrying logos linked to the 2004 Olympics are the Lambrakis Journalism Organisation, Ellinika Grammata, Liberis Athens and the Imako Media Net Group.

The firms will handle publication, production, advertising, promotion, distribution and sales within Greece.

The contract ends on October 31, 2004.

[08] Lambrakis sells stake in bookstore

The Lambrakis Organisation informed the Athens bourse on Tuesday that it had sold its entire stake in Papsotiriou International Bookstore SA.

Lambrakis said in a letter to the bourse that it had sold 4,588 common shares, which represented 30 percent of the bookstore's share capital.

Papasotiriou did not appear in Lambrakis' 2001 consolidated balance sheets.

[09] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

Sunshine is forecast throughout the country, with early morning mist. Winds northerly, light. In the north, temperatures will range from 4C to 20C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 6C to 23C; and in the Aegean islands from 10C to 18C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 8C and 21C. Fair weather in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 5C to 19C.

[10] Greek stocks end flat in ASE

Equity prices ended Tuesday's session flat reflecting lack of fresh incentives and directions both from the domestic and international markets.

The general index ended 0.04 percent higher at 2,625.40 points, with turnover a moderate Dr 50.4 billion, or 148 million euros.

The Metals, IT Solutions and Retail sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (0.70 percent, 0.40 percent and 0.38 percent, respectively), while the Holdings, Textiles and Investment sectors suffered the heaviest losses.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.09 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 0.26 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.02 percent higher.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 156 to 142 with another 64 issues unchanged.

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