Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-10-01

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM and FM discuss Greek positions on intergovernmental conference

[02] Alexandros Onassis Foundation branch to present two exhibitions on

[03] Wave of taxi strikes ahead

[04] Hospital doctors stage three-day strike from October 6

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

[06] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

[07] Greek stocks end lower on very thin volume

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[09] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Wednesday

[10] ANA apologises to subscribers over break in transmissions

[01] PM and FM discuss Greek positions on intergovernmental conference

Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Wednesday discussed Greek positions, as well as those of other member-states, on the intergovernmental conference on the constitution of Europe, due to begin in Rome on October 4.

At the end of the meeting, Papandreou said in a statement that Greece considers the new intergovernmental conference a ''great historic opportunity'' to enable it to move into its next stage as Europe of the 25 member-states, having taken important decisions regarding the way of decision-making, the way of functioning and the even greater democratic participation of citizens.

[02] Alexandros Onassis Foundation branch to present two exhibitions on Hellenism

NEW YORK (ANA/P. Panagiotou) - The Alexandros Onassis Foundation's branch in New York will be presenting two important exhibitions on Hellenism.

The first one will be titled ''From Istar to Aphrodite:3200 Years of Cypriot Hellenism.'' It will be held under the auspices of Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos and will be inaugurated on October 22.

A total of 85 archaeological findings will be on display which will be brought from seven museums in Cyprus, from various other private museums and collections, as well as from the Metropolitan Art Museum of New York.

The second exhibition will be inaugurated on January 20, 2004, and will be titled ''Childhood in Ancient Greece and the Olympic Spirit.''

The exhibition is already being presented, in a somewhat different form, at the Hood Museum of Dartmouth College in Hanover in the state of New Hampshire.

[03] Wave of taxi strikes ahead

The Panhellenic Federation of Taxi Owners and Country Taxis on Wednesday said they would stage a 48-hour strike starting on October 8.

Athens and Attica taxi drivers, who have announced a 24-hour stoppage for Saturday, are likely to join the nationwide walkout.

[04] Hospital doctors stage three-day strike from October 6

The Federation of Hospital Doctors of Greece said on Wednesday that they would stage a three-day strike beginning on October 6.

They said in a statement they were joining hospital doctors in Athens and Piraeus who had originally declared the strike.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.176

Pound sterling 0.710

Danish kroner 7.486

Swedish kroner 9.157

Japanese yen 130.6

Swiss franc 1.551

Norwegian kroner 8.298

Cyprus pound 0.589

Canadian dollar 1.585

Australian dollar 1.727

[06] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

All parts of the country will see sunshine, with some scattered cloud in the Cyclades and northern Crete. Winds northerly, light to strong, turning very strong in parts of the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 11C to 25C; on the rest of the mainland and in the Ionian from 15C to 28C; and in the Aegean islands from 18C to 26C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 27C; and in Thessaloniki from 13C to 24C.

[07] Greek stocks end lower on very thin volume

Greek stocks eased slightly in the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday reflecting lack of fresh buying interest in the market with turnover falling to its lowest levels in the last six months.

The general index ended 0.38 percent lower at 2,012.14 points with turnover a low 81.2 million euros.

The Cement and Telecommunications sectors were the only ones to score gains (1.95 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively), while the Textile (3.65 percent), Retail (2.62 percent) and IT Solutions (2.41 percent) sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.09 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 1.29 percent and teh FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index eased 1.23 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 228 to 84 with another 44 issues unchanged.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.174

Pound sterling 0.704

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.034

Japanese yen 129.8

Swiss franc 1.552

Norwegian kroner 8.249

Cyprus pound 0.589

Canadian dollar 1.584

Australian dollar 1.723

[09] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Wednesday

Most parts of the country will see scattered cloud, with showers likely in the centre and north. The west will be sunny. Winds northerly, moderate to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 25C; on the rest of the mainland from 15C to 28C; and in the islands from 18C to 26C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 27C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 24C.

[10] ANA apologises to subscribers over break in transmissions

The Athens News Agency would like to apologise to subscribers to all its services for the lengthy break in the transmission of news items on Wednesday.

This was the result of a major problem with the power supply that incapacitated all ANA operations.

The response by the public power corporation was immediate and effective and we would like to thank them for this.

We beg for our subscribers' patience and would like to inform them that all the gaps will be covered once the power has been restored.

The management

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article