Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-09-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] FM to submit draft resolution to UN for ''best possible world' through

[02] Security exercise for Olympics this week

[03] World cultural heritage conference begins in Rhodes

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Thursday

[06] Greek stocks rise for second consecutive session

[01] FM to submit draft resolution to UN for ''best possible world' through sport

NEW YORK ANA/P.Panagiotou) - Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will submit at the 58th UN General Assembly on Friday a draft resolution for the ''Building of a Peaceful and Best Possible World'' through sport and the Olympic Ideal.

The specfic proposal for the Olympic Truce, which foresees the creation of a ''window of opportunity'' for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts during the course of the Athens 2004 Olymic Games, but also the general promotion of sport as a means for achieving world solidarity, is expected to be adopted in early November 2003 and will be tabled for immediate ratification by all the UN member-states.

Following the submission of the proposal, a special ceremony will be held at the UN headquarters, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, General Assembly President Julian Robert Hunte, foreign minister Papandreou, and the director of the Olympic Truce International Centre, ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis. Many politicians and diplomats will attend the ceremony, including Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos.

It is noteworthy to point out that following the founding by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (in close cooperation with Greece) of international non-governmental organisations ''Olympic Truce International Foundation'' and the ''Olympic Truce International Centre'', more than 350 personalities from all over the world expressed their support to the specific initiative which continues to gather momentum.

[02] Security exercise for Olympics this week

Greek authorities began a two-day map exercise this week involving security contingencies for next years, especially in terms of dealing with biological and chemical weapons threats.

Several foreign and Greek experts are taking part in the exercise, being held at the Athens 2004 Olympic Organising Committees (ATHOC) headquarters in the Nea Ionia district of Athens.

One segment of the exercise involves a complex scenario under virtual Olympic Games conditions, with the emphasis on assessing cooperation between various law enforcement and public security agencies with the police forces specially designated Olympics Games security directorate.

The exercise is the fifth multi-branch exercise of its kind held within the framework of preparations for the August 2004 Games, with the previous one dealing with a hypothetical plane hijacking and a bomb threat against a cruise ship.

[03] World cultural heritage conference begins in Rhodes

Mayors of 188 cities are participating in the 7th Conference of World Cultural Heritage Cities which opened on the Aegean island of Rhodes on Wednesday. The conference was inaugurated by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

Mayors and special scientists are discussing a new model of education and training in maintaining and preserving historic cities, while tourist development is another issue of interest to mayors.

Addressing the conference, Venizelos pointed out that in the era of globalisation two trends entailing dangers are appearing. The one is the danger of the levelling of civilisations and the other of the clash of civilisations.

The minister also stressed that 80 percent of the population of Europe live in urban regions, which means that cultural heritage is to be found in it.

UNESCO's goodwill ambassador Marianna Vardinoyianni stressed the role of the Organisation regarding the protection of global heritage and for the achievement of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence among peoples.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.155

Pound sterling 0.698

Danish kroner 7.488

Swedish kroner 9.010

Japanese yen 128.3

Swiss franc 1.565

Norwegian kroner 8.142

Cyprus pound 0.588

Canadian dollar 1.567

Australian dollar 1.707

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Thursday

All parts of the country will be warm and sunny, with showers possible in the north, mainly on high ground. Winds northerly, light to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 26C; on the rest of the mainland from 14C to 31C; and in the islands from 17C to 29C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 31C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 26C.

[06] Greek stocks rise for second consecutive session

Greek stocks continued moving higher for the second consecutive session on Wednesday in the Athens Stock Exchange after the market successfully defended its support test at the 2,000-point level in the previous two sessions.

The general index rose 0.94 percent to end at 2,045.55 points, with turnover a moderate 110.9 million euros.

All sector indices ended higher, with the Construction (2.98 percent), Holding (2.01 percent) and Insurance (1.96 percent) scoring the biggest percentage gains of the day.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.78 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index jumped 1.18 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 1.0 percent higher.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 229 to 77 with another 53 issues unchanged.

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