Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-07-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Tuesday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[03] Powell congratulates Papandreou on Greece's EU presidency performance

[04] Greek FM meets Chinese counterpart who signs Olympic Truce proclamation

[05] Transport minister inaugurates museum at Athens airport

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Tuesday

Hot, sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country. Winds northerly, moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 21C to 39C; on the rest of the mainland from 20C to 37C; and in the Aegean islands from 23C to 35C. Temperatures in Athens will range between 24C and 37C; and in Thessaloniki from 22C to 36C.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.151

Pound sterling 0.698

Danish kroner 7.489

Swedish kroner 9.322

Japanese yen 138.4

Swiss franc 1.566

Norwegian kroner 8.359

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.563

Australian dollar 1.725

[03] Powell congratulates Papandreou on Greece's EU presidency performance

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday afternoon phoned his Greek counterpart George Papandreou and congratulated him on Greece's performance during its six-month rotating presidency of the European Union in the first half of this year.

Powell referred to the results of the U.S.-EU annual summit which was held in Washington on June 25, describing it as ''very positive'' for transatlantic relations, and also to the recent developments in the Middle East, expressing Washington's satisfaction over the decision of the three Palestinian organisations for truce as well as over the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military forces from Gaza and the West Bank.

Papandreou also referred at length on this issue, noting that for the EU the truce constitutes a positive step in the direction of the implementation of the ''Road Map'' for the Middle East.

[04] Greek FM meets Chinese counterpart who signs Olympic Truce proclamation

Foreign Minister George Papandreou met with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing on Monday who is on a visit to Athens to attend the European Union-China conference.

After the meeting, Li signed the Olympic Truce proclamation and said in a statement that security is above all for his country's foreign policy and peace is a necessary precondition for this to be achieved.

The Chinese foreign minister assured his Greek counterpart that China will join its efforts with all who are struggling for a safer and more peaceful world, to enable the Greek spirit of Olympism to prevail.

On his part, Papandreou stressed the significance of cooperation with China for the Olympic Truce to become an institution again, since this country will be hosting the Olympic Games in 2008.

[05] Transport minister inaugurates museum at Athens airport

Transport Minister Christos Verelis on Monday inaugurated a new museum at Athens' international airport at Spata, accompanied by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

The tiny museum has 172 artifacts dating from the Neolithic to the Post-Byzantine areas on display, all found around the 'Eleftherios Venizelos' airport during its construction.

Most of the items on display are pottery vessels, tools, sculptures and inscriptions.

Venizelos said that the government's goal was to create similar ''corners'' that promoted Greece's rich archaeological heritage in all Greek airports and to convert all means of public transport, including buses and the metro, into ''moving conveyors of culture''.

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