Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-08-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] US envoy: No information to substantiate al-Qaeda presence in Greece

[02] Athens mayor welcomes beginning of last year before Olympic Games

[03] Tourism board chooses new Olympic Games logo

[04] British teenager dies in brawl on Rhodes

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[07] Greek stocks end Tuesday's session flat

[01] US envoy: No information to substantiate al-Qaeda presence in Greece

The US ambassador in Athens on Tuesday reiterated that his government ?does not have any information to substantiate a claim? of a presence by the notorious 'al-Qaeda' terrorist group in Greece.

US Ambassador Thomas Miller made the comment to the ANA, a day after a US State Department spokesman pointed to his bureaus yearly report, entitled ?Patterns on Global Terrorism?, when asked to comment on a recent eyebrow-raising article in the ?New York Times? that included a mention of Greece, among other countries.

The Aug. 6 NYT story, headlined ?U.S. Is Inspecting Overseas Airports for Missile Threats?, at one point read: ?...Al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates have long been known to operate in Greece, Turkey and the Philippines, and American air carriers fly to all three countries.? Even more annoying for the Greek government was the fact that no attribution, even the standard ?unnamed sources?, was provided in support of the newspaper's claim.

?...more generally we cooperate very closely with Greece on the al-Qaeda threat and with other terrorist threats around the world,? Miller said from his embassy office in Athens on Tuesday.

According to an ANA dispatch from Washington a day earlier, US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker, responding to press question concerning the NYT report on purported al-Qaeda activities in Greece, referred directly to the department's ?Patterns on Global Terrorism? 2003 report.

A supplementary State Department press release issued a few hours later, stressed that there was no information to substantiate a verifiable al-Qaeda presence in Greece.

[02] Athens mayor welcomes beginning of last year before Olympic Games

Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni on Tuesday welcomed the beginning of the last year to the Olympic Games, calling it a year of had work for the preparations, for everyone.

?The success of the Olympic Games of 2004 will not only be a success of Greece and especially of Athens. It will prove to all the world and to all the Olympic family that the Games can be re-baptized in the freshness of the ancient Olympic spirit in the country that twice gave birth to them,? Bakoyianni said.

?Athens dared, based not only on its historical titles, which in any case are the strongest in the world, but on the will of its citizens and that of all Greeks to transform this historic heritage into a modern global success,? she added.

[03] Tourism board chooses new Olympic Games logo

The state-run Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) on Tuesday announced the selection of a new logo that it will use in light of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games next year.

The agency received 144 entries, of which 28 proposals made the first cut, while six received honorable mention.

The new logo has ''Greece'' written in white capital letters amid a color background, and ''2004'' drawn in the background along with a fragment of an olive branch.

[04] British teenager dies in brawl on Rhodes

An early Tuesday morning brawl involving a group of approximately 10 British tourists left one 17-year-old dead at the Faliraki resort, on the Dodecanese holiday island of Rhodes.

P.D. reportedly had his throat slashed by what police speculate was a broken bottle or another sharp object. He later died while he was being transferred by ambulance to a local hospital.

Police are holding seven individuals, all British citizens.

Authorities had not identified a perpetrator at press time, while police are seeking another two British men who reportedly took part in the bloody fracas.

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country on Wednesday, with scattered cloud only on the mainland in the afternoon. Winds northerly, northeasterly, light to strong, turning very strong in the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 17C to 33C; on the mainland from 19C to 35C; and in the islands from 20C to 34C. Temperatures in Athens between 23C and 33C; and in Thessaloniki from 22C to 32C.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.140

Pound sterling 0.712

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.341

Japanese yen 135.1

Swiss franc 1.554

Norwegian kroner 8.308

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.578

Australian dollar 1.733

[07] Greek stocks end Tuesday's session flat

Greek stocks ended Tuesday's session flat reflecting a shrinking turnover in the Athens Stock Exchange with investors leaving the market for their summer holidays.

The general index ended 0.14 percent higher at 2,135.20 points after hitting an intra-day low of 2,113 and an intra-day high of 2,145 points.

Traders said that the market was supported by a limited buying activity in blue chip stocks, particularly telecommunications and banks.

The Textile, Publication and IT Solution sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (3.87 percent, 2.34 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively), while the Insurance, Telecommunications and Bank sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (1.07 percent, 0.42 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.21 percent, while the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell by 0.37 percent and 1.70 percent, respectively.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 259 to 70 with another 70 issues unchanged. Turnover was a low 118.5 million euros.

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