Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM says EU initiative necessary in Middle East

[02] Greek FM to brief EU counterparts on Middle East on his return from

[03] Foreign minister meets Palestinian Authority minister in Cairo

[04] Greek trade unions organize fund raiser for children of Palestine

[05] Greece seeks to host global trade fair in 2007-2008

[06] Survey names top ten companies for market reputation

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

[09] ASE plunges 2.96 percent on Tuesday

[01] PM says EU initiative necessary in Middle East

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Tuesday night an initiative by the European Union is necessary in the Middle East issue.

Simitis, who was speaking during a recess of his PASOK party's Executive Bureau meeting, said he has already contacted EU President and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on the issue and also told him Greece is ready to contribute to whatever peace inititive is undertaken and offer its good offices, as has also been shown by Foreign Minister George Papandreou's visit to Egypt on Tuesday.

Calling on Israel to order an immediate ceasefire, Simitis further said the peace process is a one-way path, adding that the Saudi Arabian peace plan can constitute the base of a peace process.

He also reiterated Greece's condemnation of the terrorist acts against innocent Israeli citizens.

[02] Greek FM to brief EU counterparts on Middle East on his return from Cairo

CAIRO (ANA - D. Konstantakopoulos) - Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will brief his European counterparts on the views of Arab League General Secretary Amr Moussa.

Papandreou, who is on a visit here in light of the flare-up in the Middle East, speaking after his meeting with Mussa on Tuesday said ''we expect everyone to take our statements seriously, to implement the decisions of the United Nations, to have the Israeli forces withdraw and to end the siege against Yasser Arafat who should be respected as the leader and negotiator of the Palestinians''.

Papandreou also met with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Maher to discuss recent developments in the region.

[03] Foreign minister meets Palestinian Authority minister in Cairo

CAIRO (ANA - D. Konstantakopoulos) -A desperate appeal to Greece and the European Union to condemn the Israeli incursion into Palestinian territories, both with words and actions, was made on Tuesday by a Palestinian minister who met Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou in Cairo.

On his part, Papandreou pledged to continue efforts for an EU initiative to restore peace to the region.

Papandreou arrived in Egypt on Tuesday to begin a round of contacts regarding the recent escalation of violence and the Israeli siege of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

Palestinian Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath thanked Greece for its support of his people, saying that it had shown the greatest understanding for their plight among European nations.

[04] Greek trade unions organize fund raiser for children of Palestine

Greek trade unions on Tuesday announced a fund raising drive to collect 500.000 euros in donations for Palestinian children, as was announced during a joint press conference of the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), Supreme Civil Servants Administrative Council (ADEDY), the Athens' Workers Center (EKA) and the representatives of the Palestinian Authority in Athens.

The fund raising drive's slogan will be ''One euro for the children of Palestine'' will begin with a grand rally and a concert organized by GSEE, ADEDY and EKA in collaboration with Athens Journalists Union (ESHEA) and National Federation of Journalists Unions (POESY).

These trade unions are also taking an initiative for the intervention of the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Palestinian problem.

[05] Greece seeks to host global trade fair in 2007-2008

Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday that Greece would seek to host a world trade fair, Expo 2007-2008, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

Christodoulakis said that undertaking the trade fair would act as a spur to growth for Thessaloniki and the north of the country.

The country's formal bid to hold the event would require hard work and careful planning, he added.

[06] Survey names top ten companies for market reputation

Tradelink Reputation Management, a management consultancy firm, on Tuesday released the findings of an annual survey it conducts to find the domestic companies with the best market reputation.

This year's winners in terms of reputation with the public, were, in alphabetical order, AB Vassilopoulos, Coca-Cola, Cosmote, Delta Holding, EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Goody's, Interamerican, Intracom, Vodafone, and FAGE.

Ranking top according to opinion makers were, in alphabetical order, Athenian Brewery, Alpha Bank, Germanos, Cosmote, Delta Holding, EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Titan Cement Company, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling, Vodafone and FAGE.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.885

Pound sterling 0.615

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.095

Japanese yen 118.14

Swiss franc 1.474

Norwegian kroner 7.758

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.417

Australian dollar 1.659

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

Cloud turning to rain in the afternoon is forecast in most parts of the country. Storms are expected in the west from evening, spreading to rest of the country overnight. Winds south-southeasterly, moderate to strong, turning gale force from evening. In the Ionian, temperatures will range from 11C to 18C; on the mainland from 5C to 21C; and in the Aegean islands from 10C to 19C. Rain in Athens from early evening with temperatures between 9C and 21C. Scattered cloud in Thessaloniki and rain overnight, with temperatures from 6C to 19C.

[09] ASE plunges 2.96 percent on Tuesday

Greek stocks plunged 2.96 percent on the first trading session after an extended four-day weekend, hit by a negative climate in international markets, a surge in world oil prices, gloomy predictions over listed companies' profitability and nervoursness over political developments in the country.

Traders said that if market sentiment did not change and liquidity conditions did not improve significantly, the Greek bourse would continue its decline.

The general index ended 2.96 percent off at 2,213.17 points with turnover a low 110.85 million euros.

The Publication, Wholesale and Holding sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (5.09 percent, 3.98 percent and 3.93 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 3.39 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 2.78 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell 3.53 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 332 to 22 with another seven issues unchanged.

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