Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-11-21

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Simitis' meetings with Bush, Sezer on sidelines of NATO summit in

[02] Greek woman weightlifter breaks world record in the Clean and Jerk

[03] ETEBA shareholders OK merger with National Bank of Greece

[04] Lord Mayor of London in Athens this month

[05] ''Hellenic Ancient Ports Association'' organizes series of events in

[06] UNICEF organizes fashion show gala in Athens for the benefit of

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[08] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud, showers on Friday

[09] Greek stocks end to two-month highs on Thursday

[01] PM Simitis' meetings with Bush, Sezer on sidelines of NATO summit in Prague

PRAGUE (ANA - V. Mourtis) - Prime Minister Costas Simitis held separate bilateral talks with US president George Bush and Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer late Wednesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Prague.

Diplomatic sources said the half-hour meetings with Bush and Sezer were ''friendly'' and focussed on Greece and its prospects.

Durng the formal dinner hosted by the Czech president for the summit leaders, Simitis further had ''substantive political talks'' with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, the sources said.

The sources said that the leaders briefed Simitis on Turkey's positions vis-a-vis the Cyprus issue and the Euro-force, as well as on Ankara's aspiration to secure, from the EU summit in Copenhagen, a date for commencement of negotiations for Turkey's EU accession.

Blair, who recently had spoken with the winner of the Turkish elections, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was more informative on the Turish views, the sources said, as during their talks Erdogan had put forward as a ''package'' deal the simultaneous arrangement of Cyprus' EU accession, resolution of the Cyprus problem, and setting a date for commencement of EU-Turkey accession negotiations.

[02] Greek woman weightlifter breaks world record in the Clean and Jerk

WARSAW (ANA - G. Manteos) - Greece's weightlifter Anastasia Tsakiri, 22, broke the world record in the women's 63-kilo category in the Clean and Jerk with a lift of 136 kilos.

Apart from the gold medal in the Clean and Jerk, Tsakiri also won the silver medal in the Snatch and came second in the total with 240 kilos.

[03] ETEBA shareholders OK merger with National Bank of Greece

Shareholders of National Investment Bank for Industrial Development (ETEBA) on Thursday approved management's proposal of absorption into National Bank of Greece, its parent company and the country's largest bank.

National's shareholders endorsed the move on Wednesday.

The investment bank's operation's will be absorbed into National Bank, allowing higher risk to be undertaken, according to the parent bank's management.

Following the absorption of ETEBA's stock, National's shares will rise by 3,790,534 to 231,870,986 in total.

Blue-chip National Bank of Greece also received shareholder approval on Wednesday for absorption of another subsidiary, Banque Nationale de Grece (France).

Management said that the merger was to boost competitiveness, lower costs and give the French operation access to its parent's capital.

[04] Lord Mayor of London in Athens this month

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Gavyn Arthur, will visit Athens later this month at the head of a business delegation, with several high-profile contacts with Greek leadership scheduled during his stay.

During his visit, Arthur will be received by Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and other senior Greek government officials, with talks expected to focus on Athens EU presidency in the first half of 2003, and especially on its positions vis-a-vis financial services issues, a crucial sector for the British capital.

According to a press release issued on Thursday by the British embassy in Athens, Arthur will also address a business luncheon on Nov. 25 organised by the British Hellenic Chamber of Commerce on the theme, ?The City of London: a European Asset?. He will also serve as the keynote speaker at an Economist Conferences Nov. 26 event entitled, ?The 2004 Paralympic Games Summit?.

Other meetings on the Lord Mayors itinerary are scheduled with out-going Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos and Mayor-elect Dora Bakoyianni.

[05] ''Hellenic Ancient Ports Association'' organizes series of events in Cyprus

The ''Hellenic Ancient Ports Association'', now based in Larnaca, Cyprus in cooperation with the Hellenic Culture Foundation organize a series of cultural events in Cyprus scheduled to open on Sunday and last until the end of the month.

The series of events is entitled ''Art and Science in Europe's 20th century: a comparison of three generations''.

The ''Hellenic Ancient Ports Association'' is composed of mayors of cities around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea that were founded by Greeks in antiquity.

The association is already eight years old and was based up to this day in Agathi of Southern France.

[06] UNICEF organizes fashion show gala in Athens for the benefit of children

The Greek chapter of UNICEF will hold a gala on Tuesday in Athens' Intercontinental hotel for the benefit of vagrant children around the world, which are estimated to be 150 million.

The main affair of the gala will be a fashion show by Greek designer Penelope Zagora, who lives and works in Paris.

A similar gala in France attracted some 3,500 people.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.011

Pound sterling 0.640

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.135

Japanese yen 123.7

Swiss franc 1.480

Norwegian kroner 7.374

Cyprus pound 0.576

Canadian dollar 1.597

Australian dollar 1.798

[08] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud, showers on Friday

Scattered cloud and showers are forecast in all parts of the country, with isolated storms mainly in the west, centre and south. Winds southerly, moderate to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 07C to 16C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 10C to 18C; and in the Aegean islands from 12C to 20C. Temperatures in Athens between 13C and 18C, with showers and possibly a storm; and showers in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 10C to 16C.

[09] Greek stocks end to two-month highs on Thursday

Greek stocks staged a spectacular recovery in the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday, helped by renewed buying interest in blue chip stocks.

The general index ended at 1,860.49 points, up 2.16 percent, with turnover an improved 127.9 million euros.

The index surpassed the 1,850 level after almost two months (September 27).

The Food-Beverage sector was only one to suffer losses (0.20 percent), while the Telecommunications, Banks and IT Solution sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (3.03 percent, 2.97 percent and 2.29 percent, respectively).

Panafon (+6.79%), National Bank (+5.07%) and Hellenic Telecommunicatiaons Organisation (+3.11%) were major gainers.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 289 to 43 with another 37 issues unchanged.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article