Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-07-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] Major sculpture exhibitions planned in Athens for 2004

[02] Awards for overseas Greek media to be given for fifth consecutive year

[03] New Olympic medals unveiled at 115th IOC session

[04] Heliport to be built in port of Piraeus

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[06] Weather Forecast: Maximum temperature of 40C on Thursday

[07] ASE jumps 4.19 pct on Wednesday

[08] PASOK executive comm't reshuffle; Laliotis resigns

[01] Major sculpture exhibitions planned in Athens for 2004

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Wednesday announced that two of the most important sculpture exhibitions ever to take place in Greece were being organised by the Cultural Olympiad and the National Gallery for the summer months of 2004, from June until October, timed to coincide with the Athens Olympics.

The first of the 'twin' exhibitions will be entitled ''Six sculptors talk to Man'' and will feature works by Rodin, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, Maillol, Constantin Brancusi, Alberto Giacometti and Henry Moore and take place at the National Gallery, while the second will be a Moore retrospective at the National Sculpture Museum at Goudi.

[02] Awards for overseas Greek media to be given for fifth consecutive year

Annual awards for overseas Greek media will be given for the fifth consecutive year as part of the initiative undertaken by the press and information ministry in 1998 to honour overseas Greek media and journalists.

The initiative is also aimed at encouraging them in their work which conerns the strengthening of bonds between overseas Greeks and their country of origin.

Awards are given in four categories:an award for the overseas media of the year 2002, an award for the best report of the year 2002 in overseas radio and television, an award for the best article or report of the year 2002 in the overseas press and an award for the overseas media or agency with the best website of the year 2002.

The awards carry money prizes amounting to 24,000, 9,000, 5,000 and 6,000 euros respectively. A total of 75 candidacies were submitted from 19 countries.

The awards will be given by President Kostis Stephanopoulos on July 10 during a special ceremony to take place at the Zappeion Mansion in Athens.

[03] New Olympic medals unveiled at 115th IOC session

PRAGUE (ANA D. Kalabakas) -- Athens organisers unveiled the new Olympic Games medals on Wednesday during the International Olympic Committees (IOC) closely watched 115th session here, with the ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike, adorning one side of the medals.

Days after the IOC approved the new medals, the first changes since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, Athens 2004 Games Organising Committee President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki briefed reporters on the new medals, which she said now featured distinctly Hellenic elements in time for the Athens Olympics.

[04] Heliport to be built in port of Piraeus

Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis said on Wednesday that a heliport would be built in the port of Piraeus.

The heliport is to be located in the tourist section of the portas a link to the port and to Athens international airport, Anomeritis said.

The facility would also serve shipping companies based in Piraeus, he added.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.162

Pound sterling 0.699

Danish kroner 7.490

Swedish kroner 9.256

Japanese yen 138.4

Swiss franc 1.564

Norwegian kroner 8.307

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.571

Australian dollar 1.715

[06] Weather Forecast: Maximum temperature of 40C on Thursday

Hot, sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country. Winds northwesterly, light. In the west and north, temperatures will range from 20C to 38C; on the rest of the mainland from 21C to 40C; and in the Aegean islands from 24C to 37C. Temperatures in Athens will range between 24C and 40C; and in Thessaloniki from 22C to 37C.

[07] ASE jumps 4.19 pct on Wednesday

Greek stocks staged one of the biggest daily percentage gains in recent years on Wednesday, helped by a positive trend in other European markets and favourable domestic political and economic prospects.

The general index soared a spectacular 4.19 percent to end at 1,945.97 points. Turnover jumped 90 percent from Tuesday to 190.1 million euros.

All sector indices ended with gains exceeding one percent, with the Textile (8.21 percent) netting the biggest percentage gains of the day, while the wholesale, insurance, holding, bank and food-beverage sectors rose more than 5.0 percent. The cement sector netted the smallest percentage gains of the day (1.44 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks jumped 4.67 percent reflecting strong gains in several blue chip shares such as National Bank (+6.90 pct), Alpha Bank (+5.89 pct), Piraeus Bank (+5.57 pct), Hellenic Telecoms (+5.03 pct), Eurobank (+3.99 pct) and Commercial Bank (+4.94 pct).

The FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 3.26 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index soared 5.81 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 332 to 23 with another 10 issues unchanged.

[08] PASOK executive comm't reshuffle; Laliotis resigns

Prime Minister and ruling PASOK president Costas Simitis on Wednesday told members of PASOK's executive bureau that also serve on the Cabinet they must choose between the two posts, in a surprise move that comes at the conclusion of the Greek EU presidency.

During a closely watched press briefing, Simitis said he had asked top party cadre Costas Laliotis to resign his post as party secretary and rejoin the government as a minister, although the latter declined the offer, the premier added.

Laliotis is, however, expected to tender his resignation from the party secretarys spot to PASOKs central committee, when it convene on Thursday in order to elect a new secretary and executive bureau.

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