Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek FM announces planned visit to Arafat with Turkey's Cem

[02] Greek economy can overcome impact of Mideast crisis, gov't says

[03] Events to mark 80th anniversary of Asia Minor Catastrophe announced

[04] Cars on Greek roads double every decade

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[06] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Wednesday

[01] Greek FM announces planned visit to Arafat with Turkey's Cem

BEIJING (ANA - H. Poulidou) Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday announced plans to visit Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Israel, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem. The joint Greek-Turkish initiative would take place as soon as the Israeli side completed the arrangements for the visit, he added.

''We are ready to go to Israel to visit Yasser Arafat at any time,'' he said.

Papandreou made the announcement while flying to the Chinese city of Shanghai after visiting the ancient Chinese capital of Xian, and said the joint visit with Cem had been confirmed on Tuesday after talks between himself and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres over the phone and in a phone conversation between Cem and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, while it had also been sanctioned by the European Union.

The Greek minister said the two countries were undertaking this initiative because they both had vital interests in the region and as a symbolic message that two traditional rivals can work together to promote political solutions and dialogue.

[02] Greek economy can overcome impact of Mideast crisis, gov't says

The continuing crisis in the Middle East and a decision by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to stop oil exports for a month might well have an impact on the Greek economy, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said on Tuesday.

He expressed confidence that Greece's economy would be able to overcome any problems, however, saying that it was robust, dynamic, with a firm base and strong growth rate.

Referring to a statement made by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell about the Mideast, who said the start of a withdrawal by Israeli troops from two towns in the West Bank was encouraging, the spokesman said that this was a statement with which one could agree but which was not enough.

Protopapas stressed that things had now reached a point where a few good will gestures were not enough and that Israeli troops had to fully withdraw from all Palestinian towns.

He also called for the start of procedures to create an independent Palestinian state and for guarantees that would allow Israeli citizens to live free of the fear of terrorism.

Protopapas said the Greek government believed there was no time for the cycle of violence and blood to continue and he urged the international community to step up its efforts to stop the violence.

[03] Events to mark 80th anniversary of Asia Minor Catastrophe announced

Greeces culture ministry will organise a series of events in the near future touching on the political, social and cultural aspects of the ?Asia Minor Catastrophe?, as 2002 marks the 80th anniversary of ethnic Greeks flight from their ancestral homes in Anatolia.

In announcing the initiative, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos referred to ?a commemoration of the greatest epic ever pulled off by the Greek state, namely, the settlement of refugees (in Greece proper).?

Moreover, two collections of music will be released by the Folklore Music Museum and the Centre for Asia Minor Studies, he added.

[04] Cars on Greek roads double every decade

Cars on Greek roads double in number every ten years without a corresponding rise in circulation and parking space, Transport and Communications Minister Christos Verelis said on Tuesday.

Addressing a seminar on motoring held by the Athens Economic University, the minister also said that a new suburban railway under construction would help to ease congestion on the roads.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.883

Pound sterling 0.617

Danish kroner 7.494

Swedish kroner 9.153

Japanese yen 116.21

Swiss franc 1.478

Norwegian kroner 7.695

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.409

Australian dollar 1.668

[06] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Wednesday

Light cloud is forecast with showers in the west, centre and north. Storms may break out in the north from early evening. Early morning visibility will be limited. Winds variable, moderate to strong. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 5C to 16C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 10C to 21C; and in the Aegean islands from 13C to 20C. Scattered cloud in Athens with temperatures between 9C and 18C. Light rain and showers in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 8C to 15C.

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