Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-04-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] US hopes opening of Cyprus divide will show the way forward

[02] Weather Forecast: Warm and sunny on Tuesday

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[01] US hopes opening of Cyprus divide will show the way forward

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was interested to see a recent opening of the ''Green Line'' partitioning Cyprus for nearly 30 years, and he voiced hope that the move would help point the way forward.

''I'm somewhat fascinated by the opening of the transit areas, the border areas, so that people can go back and forth,'' Powell told Greece's TV NET in an interview.

''This is an interesting development and it will be very interesting to see what happens in the days ahead as people start to interact with one another more closely. And maybe that will bring pressure to bear on their political leaders to find a way forward,'' he said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 percent of the island's territory, its northern sector that is recognised as a state only by Turkey.

The north lifted travel restrictions at the checkpoints for two-way movement just before Orthodox Easter this weekend. A nine-nation U.N. peacekeeping force guards the 180-kilometre-long Green Line.

Asked to comment on failure of a recent UN plan to find a political solution for Cyprus, Powell replied: ''We were disappointed that we were not able to achieve progress on (UN) Secretary General Annan's plan...But we believe there are positive elements in that plan that are still there, available for the two sides to use and to work with as they move forward.''

Concerning Turkey and its relationship with Europe, Powell said the country knew what it had to do in order to secure entry into the EU.

''We believe that Turkey belongs in the European Union. I don't think the European Union will ever be complete without Turkey being a member of that union. And so we hope all the conditions will be met and I hope at some future time when it's taken up for consideration again, all the factors will be positive,'' he added.

Asked to comment on Greece's role as rotating president of the European Union at a critical time globally, including the war on Iraq, Powell answered: ''I think the Greek presidency handled the difficulties with great skill. There was a split within the European Union over Iraq and how to support or not support what the coalition was doing, and I think the Greek presidency, and especially my colleague Foreign Minister Papandreou, did a good job of modulating those differences so that it didn't result in a complete rupture.''

[02] Weather Forecast: Warm and sunny on Tuesday

Warm, sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country. Early morning mist is expected. Winds variable, light. On the mainland, temperatures will range from 9C to 26C; and in the islands from 12C to 23C. Temperatures in Athens between 12C and 25C; and in Thessaloniki from 11C to 24C.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.109

Pound sterling 0.697

Danish kroner 7.484

Swedish kroner 9.183

Japanese yen 133.0

Swiss franc 1.517

Norwegian kroner 7.893

Cyprus pound 0.592

Canadian dollar 1.624

Australian dollar 1.796

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