Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-01-21

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] German chancellor positive on ATHOC proposal for Olympics

[02] US Assistant Secretary Jones meets with EU presidency, Troika in Athens

[03] Bulgarian drug traffickers arrested in Thessaloniki with ecstasy pills

[04] Auditing Council inspecting AEK football club books

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

[07] Greek stocks rebound slightly on Tuesday

[01] German chancellor positive on ATHOC proposal for Olympics 'Euro-committee'

BERLIN (ANA - D. Kalambakas) German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder on Tuesday agreed to a proposal that Germany participate in a 'Euro-Committee' alongside Greece and Italy, in order to highlight the European dimension of the Athens Olympics and other major sports events taking place in Europe.

The proposal was presented by the head of the Athens Olympics Organinsing Committee (ATHOC) Gianna Angelopoulos, who met with Schroeder on Tuesday in the framework of contacts with European leaders regarding the Athens Games.

The German chancellor also accepted an official invitation to attend the 2004 Olympics in Greece and expressed a desire to take part in the Olympic torch relay.

In statements after the meeting, Angelopoulos said that Schroeder had gladly agreed to the creation of a team with representatives from Greece, Italy and Germany that would discuss the European aspect of the Olympics and how to convey this to Europe's youth, in particular.

She stressed that the Athens Olympics would be followed by a series of major athletic events in Europe, such as the Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006 and the World Cup in Germany the same year. In addition, she said, Germany intended to bid for the Olympics of 2012 and Schroeder had requested Athens' help and her own in preparing the German bid.

[02] US Assistant Secretary Jones meets with EU presidency, Troika in Athens

Customary meetings with the EUs current presidency and the Unions Troika were on the agenda of US Assistant Secretary of State A. Elizabeth Jones itinerary in Athens on Tuesday, as she first met with ministerial-level political directors of the ?15? member-states foreign ministries followed by talks with the Troika.

Jones 24-hour visit comes as Greece assumed the European Unions six-month rotating presidency at the beginning of the month.

According to sources, the Mideast situation, efforts to gain a peace deal on the divided island of Cyprus by a Feb. 28 deadline, Europe security and defence policy, counter-terrorism cooperation and, of course, the Iraq crisis, reportedly dominated talks.

Jones heads the State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs since May 2001.

[03] Bulgarian drug traffickers arrested in Thessaloniki with ecstasy pills

Thessaloniki security police have arrested two Bulgarians, one of whom is considered among the biggest drug traffickers in Europe and the other is a Bulgarian special forces police officer, and confiscated 4,543 ''ecstasy'' pills, police announced on Tuesday.

Thessaloniki security police chief George Kokkinis said that the two detainees, whose names were not released, had planned to sell the ecstasy pills to Greek drug dealers who in turn would make the drugs available at various clubs frequented by youths.

Security police have also arrested two drug dealers, both residents of Thessaloniki, Kokkinis said.

He said that the two Bulgarians were arrested Sunday at the Neapolis bus terminal following surveillance by the police's narcotics squad. They had smuggled the drugs from Germany to Greece, entering the country in the port city of Igoumenitsa, and intended to pass them on to dealers they had links and similar dealings in the past with.

[04] Auditing Council inspecting AEK football club books

The Auditing Council had begun inspecting the books of football club AEK since the previous day, stand-in government spokesman Tilemahos Hytiris said on Tuesday.

The results of this inspection and the Council's report would then be handed over to a sports judge handling the case, who would issue a ruling that the club would have to carry out, he added.

Should AEK fail to comply with the judge's ruling, the government would then step in and do what was necessary and AEK ''will have the fate it deserves,'' Hytiris said.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.073

Pound sterling 0.667

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.262

Japanese yen 127.5

Swiss franc 1.473

Norwegian kroner 7.401

Cyprus pound 0.582

Canadian dollar 1.649

Australian dollar 1.827

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloud, rain on Wednesday

Cloudy weather is forecast in all parts of the country with rain and storms in the Dodecanese and west. Rain is also likely to fall elsewhere, especially in Macedonia, Thrace and the northern and eastern Aegean. Winds south-southwesterly, moderate to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 4C to 11C; on the rest of the mainland and in the Ionian from 7C to 16C; and in the Aegean islands from 9C to 17C. Temperatures in Athens between 9C and 15C; and in Thessaloniki from 7C to 10C.

[07] Greek stocks rebound slightly on Tuesday

Greek stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday reversing a three-day decline that pushed the Athens Stock Exchange to new five-year lows.

The general index rose 0.27 percent to end at 1,672.14 points with turnover a low 75.3 million euros.

The IT Solutions, Retail and Telecommunications sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (1.21 percent, 1.14 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively), while the Holding, Banks and Investment sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (1.26 percent, 0.51 percent and 0.50 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.15 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index fell 0.13 percent, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.13 percent higher and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index rose 0.10 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 156 to 127 with another 69 issues unchanged.

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