Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-04-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Turkish invasion of N. Iraq would be 'extremely dangerous development,

[02] Greece donates 250,000 euros for humanitarian aid to Iraq

[03] Greece aims for quality shipping

[04] Greek FinMin to represent Eurogroup, ECOFIN in G-7, IMF meetings

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

[07] Greek stocks end week with a net gain of 4.07 pct

[01] Turkish invasion of N. Iraq would be 'extremely dangerous development, DM warns

A prospective invasion of northern Iraq by Turkey would be an ''extremely dangerous development'', Greece's national defence minister Yannos Papantoniou warned on Friday, and called on the US to exercise all its influence to avert such a prospect.

Papantoniou, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, also stressed that (preservation of) Iraq's territorial integrity comprised a prerequisite for Iraq's passage to a democratic governance.

Turkey, he said, must remain within its own borders.

Replying to pres questions, Papantoniou reiterated that the United Nations must play a substantive role in the reconstruction of Iraq. In that framework, he added, ''we will work toward the Greek companies receiving a portion of what is owed to them (from Iraq after undertaking reconstruction projects following the first Gulf War in 1991) and their substantive contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq''.

Papantoniou was speaking on the sidelines of an informal meeting of the armaments general directors of the EU defence ministries, which is discussing the prospects for European industrial unification in the defence sector.

[02] Greece donates 250,000 euros for humanitarian aid to Iraq

BAKU (ANA - F. Karaviti) - Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos announced on Friday, during his visit here, that the Greek government would fund with some 250,000 euros humanitarian aid to Iraq.

Loverdos said that in essence this initiative is a response by the Jordanian government to a proposal tabled by the Greek government to all countries in the region.

''Jordan appears to have become a major corridor for the passage of humanitarian aid to Iraq and we aim to use it for access to the region,'' Loverdos said.

''The money will be at our embassy in Amman and we will decide exactly what kind of action we wish to fund,'' he concluded.

[03] Greece aims for quality shipping

Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis said on Friday that Greece had set quality in shipping as a strategic goal.

Competitiveness needed reinforcement in order to attain the objective, Anomeritis said.

He was addressing a seminar of the Hellenic-British Chamber of Trade on Piraeus and London as shipping hubs for the sector, and the future of Greek shipping.

[04] Greek FinMin to represent Eurogroup, ECOFIN in G-7, IMF meetings

WASHINGTON (ANA - T. Ellis) - National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis is expected to arrive here on Friday to participate in the G-7 conference and the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting, representing the Eurogroup and ECOFIN, as Greece holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.

On Saturday, the minister is expected to represent the Eurogroup in the G-7 bankers' meeting that will take place at Blair House, while both on Saturday and Sunday he is expected to attend the IMF meetings here.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.082

Pound sterling 0.689

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.211

Japanese yen 130.1

Swiss franc 1.509

Norwegian kroner 7.963

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.574

Australian dollar 1.790

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Saturday

Sunny weather and some light cloud are forecast in most parts of the country, with a little rain likely in the west and north. Winds northerly, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 4C to 19C; on the rest of the mainland from 6C to 22C; and in the islands from 9C to 20C. Temperatures in Athens between 10C and 21C; and in Thessaloniki from 8C to 19C.

[07] Greek stocks end week with a net gain of 4.07 pct

Greek stocks ended the last trading session of the week sharply higher in the Athens Stock Exchange, reflecting improved market sentiment on news that foreign credit rating companies upgraded the credit ratings of National Bank, Eurobank and Alpha Bank.

The general index ended 1.26 percent higher to end above the 1,600 level of 1,603.79 points. The index ended the week with a net gain of 4.07 percent. Turnover was a low 87.5 million euros.

The Textile, Wholesale and Holding sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (7.47 percent, 3.73 percent and 3.34 percent, respectively), while the IT Solutions, Insurance and IT sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (0.82 percent, 0.40 percent and 0.26 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 1.51 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.19 percent higher, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index jumped 2.05 percent and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index ended 1.51 percent up.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 274 to 58 with another 34 issues unchanged.

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