Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-11-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] FM meets Parvanov, says Greece supports Bulgaria's EU accession course

[02] FM meets with Shimon Peres, discussions focus on ''Road Map''

[03] Greece works to ensure fully safe Games, U.S. state dept. says

[04] Russia 'participates' in Greece's Cultural Olympiad

[05] Weather Forecast: Light cloud on Saturday

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Monday

[07] Greek stocks end week 3.49 percent higher

[01] FM meets Parvanov, says Greece supports Bulgaria's EU accession course

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Friday expressed the Greek government's support for Bulgaria's European Union accession course, after a meeting with visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov in Athens.

Papandreou said that even though Bulgaria had linked its accession course with that of Romania's, within the EU it was a principle that everyone progressed according to their own value.

[02] FM meets with Shimon Peres, discussions focus on ''Road Map''

Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Friday met with Israel's Labor Party leader and former prime minister Shimon Peres, in Athens, and discussed the progress of the implementation of the ''road map'' to resolve the Palestinian issue.

''We observe the steps of implementation of the 'road map' both sides are making, which are forging forward having set a goal ... so that a Palestinian state may come to be,'' Papandreou said.

On his part, Peres said that the ''first success of the road map was the fact that it enjoys wide support by everybody in the Middle East, while in Israel it is supported by all parties of the left and the right wing''.

[03] Greece works to ensure fully safe Games, U.S. state dept. says

WASHINGTON (ANA/T. Ellis) - ''Greece is working with several countries, including the U.S., to ensure the full safety of the Olympic Games,'' the U.S. State Department said in a written response to a question tabled on Thursday, during the regular briefing.

The question tabled was '' Are there plans for Diplomatic Security Personnel to provide security for American athletes at the Olympics?''

The written release of the State Department also noted that ''the U.S. has offered the expertise and resources of several of its agencies to Greece in order to ensure Olympic security. We are providing equipment and security training toward that end. The Greeks have the will and the resources to hold a secure and successful Olympics, and we have every confidence they will''.

''As part of this cooperation, the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security has been working closely with the Government of Greece to ensure the safety of American athletes participating in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Discussions are ongoing with the Greek authorities. For security reasons, we will not be providing more specific information,'' it concluded.

[04] Russia 'participates' in Greece's Cultural Olympiad

MOSCOW (ANA/M. Arvanitopoulou) - Russia ''participated'' in Greece's Cultural Olympiad on Thursday evening with a show titled ''The Labours of Hercules'', a gift for the people of Russia from Greece, at the ''Olympinski'' theatre here which has a capacity of 17,000 seats.

The Russian spectators amounted to 8-9,000.

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who watched the show, said ''we chose a mass and popular way to promote the message of the Olympic Games. A show which attempts, through an account of mythology and the history of the Olympic Games in their long journey throughout the world.''

Venizelos had a series of important contacts here on Friday, holding consecutive meetings with Russian Olympic Committee President L. Tigatchov, Russian Federation Sports Minister D. Fetishov and Culture Minister N. Svetkoi.

[05] Weather Forecast: Light cloud on Saturday

All parts of the country will see light cloud. Winds variable, light to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 6C to 17C; in the west from 8C to 22C; and in the rest of the country from 9C to 21C. Temperatures in Athens between 12C and 19C; and in Thessaloniki from 9C to 16C.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.151

Pound sterling 0.692

Danish kroner 7.494

Swedish kroner 9.040

Japanese yen 126.8

Swiss franc 1.582

Norwegian kroner 8.299

Cyprus pound 0.587

Canadian dollar 1.532

Australian dollar 1.627

[07] Greek stocks end week 3.49 percent higher

Greek stocks ended higher the last trading session of the week in the Athens Stock Exchange, reflecting a positive climate in other European bourses and improved sentiment after the announcement of better nine-month results by Alpha Bank and Eurobank.

The general index rose 0.82 percent to end at 2,194.99 points, with turnover a heavy 135.8 million euros. The index ended the week with a net gain of 3.49 percent.

The Food-Beverage, Publication, Wholesale and Construction sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (0.94 percent, 0.40 percent, 0.20 percent and 0.16 percent), while the Base Metals, Retail and Telecommunications sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (2.30 percent, 1.15 percent and 0.87 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.85 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.49 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index was 0.29 percent up.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 175 to 118 with another 69 issues unchanged.

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