Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-08-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] ATHOC chief promises ''magical'' Olympic Games in Athens

[02] Thessaloniki officials meet to prepare PM Simitis' visit

[03] New road to connect Bulgarian city with Xanthi

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[06] Greek stocks end sharply higher on Wednesday

[01] ATHOC chief promises ''magical'' Olympic Games in Athens

Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, from Lausanne on Wednesday, exactly one year before the 2004 Olympic Games, said she was convinced that Athens would organise ''magical'' Games.

Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, in a ceremony held in the Swiss capital, along with International Olympic Committee President Jaques Rogge formally addressed an invitation to 201 National Olympic Committees - a record number in modern Olympic history - to participate in the XXVIII Olympiad.

The ATHOC chief said that Olympic preparations in Athens are on schedule, work is carried out at a much higher speed, and all Greeks are waiting to welcome everyone in Greece.

She said Greece was undergoing a transformation.

''Europe's most contemporary airport is now open, public and private mass transportation in Athens is taking a new shape. Hundreds of public and private construction programmes are underway and they will be ready for the world on 13 August 2004'', she stressed.

[02] Thessaloniki officials meet to prepare PM Simitis' visit

A number of officials in Thessaloniki, including Macedonia-Thrace Minister Harris Kastanidis, held a meeting at the specific ministry on Wednesday, to discuss details in preparing Prime Minister Costas Simitis' scheduled three-day visit to the city during the annual Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), taking place early September.

During his stay in the northern Greece city, Simitis is scheduled to inaugurate TIF, inspect various major infrastructure projects and meet with government officials, ruling PASOK party cadres, and representatives of employees and employers' organizations.

[03] New road to connect Bulgarian city with Xanthi

SOFIA (ANA B. Borisov) Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi on Wednesday announced that the road to connect the city of Rudozem, southern Bulgaria with the Northern Greek city of Xanthi, will begin being constructed in April.

He added that the timetable for completion was projected to be within 2005, while he added a new border post to serve the highway will be constructed on the Greek-Bulgarian border.

The European Commission will fund the 10-kilometer long road with eight million euros.

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country on Thursday. Winds northerly, northeasterly, light to strong, turning very strong in the southeastern Aegean. Temperatures on the mainland will range from 18C to 36C; in the Ionian Sea from 22C to 34C; and in the Aegean islands from 23C to 32C. Temperatures in Athens between 23C and 35C; and in Thessaloniki from 21C to 34C.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.136

Pound sterling 0.708

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.320

Japanese yen 135.3

Swiss franc 1.558

Norwegian kroner 8.347

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.574

Australian dollar 1.735

[06] Greek stocks end sharply higher on Wednesday

Greek stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday as the Athens Stock Exchange followed a trend in other European markets.

The general index jumped 1.27 percent higher to end at 2,162.22 points, with turnover moderate 128.7 million euros.

All sector indices ended higher with the Holding, Retail and Bank sectors scoring the biggest percentage gains of the day (2.17 percent, 1.95 percent and 1.65 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 1.18 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.37 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 1.95 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 235 to 85 with another 43 issues unchanged.

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