Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-02-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Gov't confirms that EU summit on Iraq officially approved

[02] ND supports gov't's call for special EU summit on Iraq issue in

[03] Medicopter crash caused by mechanical fault, according to initial

[04] Greece to sell 1.0 bln euros in special savings securities

[05] Main opposition welcomes IMF report on Greek economy

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[07] Weather Forecast: Rain, snow on Wednesday

[08] ASE follows European markets higher on Tuesday

[01] Gov't confirms that EU summit on Iraq officially approved

Athens on Tuesday confirmed that its proposal to convene an extraordinary EU Summit next week focusing entirely on the ongoing Iraqi crisis has been accepted by the Unions ?15? leaders.

The summit will take place on Monday in Brussels.

According to the government spokesman on Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis will return to Athens next Tuesday. Earlier that day in Brussels, Simitis, in his capacity as the chairman of the unofficial summit, will chair a meeting with EU candidate-states leaders.

Regarding the high-profile Franco-German proposal to extend the mission of UN weapons inspectors in the Iraq and even increase their numbers, spokesman Christos Protopapas noted that the Greek government believes that war is ?not a one-way street?, while Greece, in its position as the current EU president, should ?synthezise all of the member-states views. Its now time for the partners to lucidly outline their stance,? he stressed.

In response to a press question, Protopapas also added that the unofficial nature of Mondays summit was selected in order avoid ?further injury to the EUs prestige? in case a difference of opinion continues.

Finally, he stressed that the Greek EU presidency has not chosen a policy of that will bring it on a collision course with Washington.

[02] ND supports gov't's call for special EU summit on Iraq issue in Brussels

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Costas Karamanlis on Tuesday expressed his party's support for the government's initiative to convene a special European Union summit on Monday, so that Europe will not appear fragmented over the crisis in Iraq.

''All Greeks are present in every effort of national importance and we are aiming toward the greatest possible success of the presidency in all sectors and especially concerning a common foreign policy,'' Karamanlis said.

He reiterated his party's stance for a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis and considered it indispensable that political and diplomatic efforts should be intensified toward that direction in the framework of the United Nations Security Council.

Karamanlis also expressed the belief that there was still time for a peaceful settlement of the crisis, despite assessments that the countdown has began, stressing that even now at the last moment Iraq should cooperate without reservations or subterfuge with the international community toward the peaceful implementation of Security Council resolutions.

[03] Medicopter crash caused by mechanical fault, according to initial indications

According to initial indications, the accident involving an EKAB medical helicopter that went down off the island of Ikaria late Monday night was caused by a mechanical fault.

A massive search and rescue operation was in progress on Tuesday to locate the helicopter's four-member crew, comprised of a pilot, co-pilot, doctor and paramedic.

The exact causes of the crash will be investigated by the Flight Accidents Investigation Committee, which has been set up by the Transport Ministry.

Members of the committee are already in Ikaria where they are awaiting the recovery of the fuselage which has not yet been located. The committe is expected to issue a report on the causes of the accident in about six months time.

This was the third crash during a night-time flight involving the same type of Agusta helicopters used by EKAB, following the crash of a medicopter off Sounio in January 2001 and one last summer on Anafi. The previous two crashes claimed the lives of everyone on board, including patients, doctors and paramedics.

Search crews had located the wreckage of the helicopter, which had crashed off the island shortly after midnight.

The medicopter had taken off late Monday night from the Aegean island of Lesvos to pick up a 70-year-old woman suffering from gastro-intestinal bleeding from Ikaria and transport her to a hospital on the nearby island of Samos.

Ikaria airport's control tower lost contact with the helicopter before it landed, however, and it disappeared from radar screens shortly after midnight as it was flying approximately two kilometres away from the airport.

[04] Greece to sell 1.0 bln euros in special savings securities

Greece's Public Debt Management Organisation on Tuesday announced it would start a public offering of its 12-month Special Savings Securities (ETA) from February 17 to 21.

The new series of state securities, with an issue date of February 26, were designed to offer to small investors tax-free returns above the expected inflation rate on the condition that investors would hold these securities until maturity.

The organisation said that the new issue will total up to one billion euros and would pay a tax-free interest rate of 3.60 percent. Investors will pay a 10 percent securities tax in case of premature liquidation of their holdings.

[05] Main opposition welcomes IMF report on Greek economy

The main opposition New Democracy party on Tuesday welcomed a report by the International Monetary Fund on the Greek economy released earlier in the day.

''The IMF's assertions have yet again confirmed New Democracy's views,'' the party's economic spokesman, George Alogoskoufis, said in a statement.

''Furthermore, they confirm that the government is sacrificing the economy to the altar of pre-election expediency,'' the statement said.

Alogoskoufis claimed that the report, along with recommendations from the European Union on the country's updated stability and growth programme, were ''a debacle''.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.079

Pound sterling 0.665

Danish kroner 7.491

Swedish kroner 9.218

Japanese yen 131.0

Swiss franc 1.478

Norwegian kroner 7.525

Cyprus pound 0.584

Canadian dollar 1.649

Australian dollar 1.832

[07] Weather Forecast: Rain, snow on Wednesday

Snow is forecast in the centre and north. The rest of the country will be cloudy with rain in low-lying areas and snow on high ground. Storms are expected mainly at sea. The weather will clear for spells in the west and on the mainland. Winds northeasterly, very strong to gale force. In the north, temperatures will range from -4 to 4C; on the rest of the mainland from -1C to 9C; and in the islands from 4C to 11C. Temperatures in Athens between 3C and 8C; and in Thessaloniki from 1C to 4C.It will snow on mountains around the capital from late afternoon, with sleet in the capital, and high winds. Thessaloniki will see snow.

[08] ASE follows European markets higher on Tuesday

Greek stocks rebounded on Tuesday following a recovery in other European markets with the general index recovering from its recent new six-year lows in the Athens Stock Exchange.

The index rose 0.97 percent to end at 1,688.76 points, with turnover a low 46.5 million euros.

The Textile, Retail and Wholesale sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (3.39 percent, 3.24 percent and 2.43 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 1.04 percent higher, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 0.74 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 1.70 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 246 to 62 with another 48 issues unchanged.

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