Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-10-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM pledges to keep Greece safe after briefing at public order ministry

[02] Greek DM meets French counterpart, discusses bilateral, European issues

[03] Economist to hold banking conference in Athens

[04] Public order minister to visit U.S. on October 21-23

[05] Bulgarian FM meets with Ecumenical Patriarch

[06] Pilots to stage four-hour work stoppage on Tuesday

[07] Education ministry announces university admission results

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[09] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Friday

[10] Selective buying helps ASE to end higher on Thursday

[01] PM pledges to keep Greece safe after briefing at public order ministry

The government was determined to create an environment where people could live without fear and would succeed, Prime Minister Costas Simitis assured the public on Thursday, in statements after a briefing at the public order ministry.

''We want Greece to be a safe country and, according to crime rates at this time, Greece is the safest country in Europe, he stressed.

In order to achieve this goal, he added, Greek authorities had initiated a number of programmes and made every effort to solve the work-related and individual problems of those working in the security and emergency services.

During his visit, he met with Public Order Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis, National Intelligence Service (EYP) chief Pavlos Apostolidis, police chief Fotis Nasiakos, fire department chief Panagiotis Fourlas and the heads of the security forces.

[02] Greek DM meets French counterpart, discusses bilateral, European issues

PARIS (ANA - O. Tsipira) - Greek Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou on Thursday met with his French counterpart Michele Alliot-Marie and discussed issues concerning armaments, European defense, bilateral relations, as well as the Cyprus issue.

Following the meeting the French minister said that she had an interesting exchange of views with her Greek counterpart on the grand issues of Europe, adding ''we spoke mainly of the points that will allow the strengthening of the European defense and I want to note that our meeting was especially constructive and useful''.

Responding to a question, whether France supports the accession of Cyprus irrespectively of a solution to the island's political problem, she said that ''the European Commission just took a clear stance, which it will table to the ministers and of course I hope that all the ministers will accept it''.

On his part, Papantoniou said that the Greek presidency of the EU supports the position of the European Commission.

[03] Economist to hold banking conference in Athens

The Economist business magazine is to hold an international banking conference in Athens on October 22-23.

The conference will focus on private banking and capital management.

Among speakers at the event are central bank governor Nikolaos Garganas and president of the Union of Greek Banks, Theodoros Karatzas.

[04] Public order minister to visit U.S. on October 21-23

WASHINGTON (ANA - T. Ellis) - Public Order Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis will make a three-day visit to Washington on October 21-23 to discuss developments on the dismantling of the November 17 terrorist organisation and further moves to crack down on terrorism in Greece.

During his stay in Washington, Chrysohoidis will be contacting the heads and senior officials of ministries involved with terrorism, as well as intelligence services and police with whom corresponding Greek services are cooperating in combatting various forms of crime.

In this context, he is also expected to visit the White House, the State Department, the Department of Justice, the CIA and the FBI.

Chrysohoidis will be meeting Congressmen as well, although the work of the two legislative bodies will have been interrupted due to the election period for the elections on November 5.

[05] Bulgarian FM meets with Ecumenical Patriarch

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi on Thursday met with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in Phanar and discussed issues of common interest.

The Bulgarian minister's visit to the prelate of the Orthodox Christian Church was part of a one-day visit here.

[06] Pilots to stage four-hour work stoppage on Tuesday

Airline pilots are to stage a four-hour work stoppage on Tuesday to protest against a decision by management of Olympic Airways to terminate flights to Australia.

The strike from 0800 to noon is to draw public attention to disinformation from management about its reason for abolishing the route, the Union of Civil Aviation Pilots said in a statement on Thursday.

Workers claimed that management had indicated the route may stay afloat, but in reality the decision to halt flights had already been taken, and talks were underway with other airlines on terms damaging to Olympic, the statement added.

[07] Education ministry announces university admission results

The education ministry on Thursday announced the names of children of overseas Greeks and children of Greek employees accredited abroad who will enter universities under special categories.

People interested can receive information from the education ministry at the Internet address www.ypepth.gr, using their code number and the three first letters of their surname from the education ministry's relevant service.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 0.995

Pound sterling 0.636

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.245

Japanese yen 123.0

Swiss franc 1.474

Norwegian kroner 7.363

Cyprus pound 0.577

Canadian dollar 1.584

Australian dollar 1.814

[09] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Friday

Cloudy weather is forecast in all parts of the country, with rain in the west, north and centre, and also storms in the west. Winds southerly, strong to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 13C to 25C; in the west from 16C to 26C; and in the rest of the country from 16C to 26C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 27C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 24C.

[10] Selective buying helps ASE to end higher on Thursday

Greek stocks ended a several-day decline on Thursday as selective buying in small- and medium-capitalisation stocks helped the Athens Stock Exchange to end in positive territory.

The general index ended a volatile session 0.51 percent higher at 1,735.87 points, with turnover a slightly improved 80.1 million euros.

The Holding, Telecommunications and Insurance sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (1.27 percent, 0.80 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively), while the IT, Construction and Retail sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (2.31 percent, 2.23 percent and 2.12 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.42 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.23 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 0.97 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 232 to 74 with another 54 issues unchanged.

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