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

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek, Romanian defense ministers meet in Bucharest

[02] Thessaloniki Cinema Festival beginning on November 21

[03] HEU to host exhibition on Tennessee Williams this month

[04] Mitsotakis recovering rapidly, doctors report

[05] Budget for 2004 to parliament on November 18

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Wednesday

[07] Weather Forecast: Cloud, showers on Wednesday

[08] Greek stocks end 0.91 pct lower on Tuesday

[01] Greek, Romanian defense ministers meet in Bucharest

Greek Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou on Tuesday met with his Romanian counterpart Ioan Mircea Pascu in Bucharest and discussed security conditions in the Balkans, while they also focused on the Cyprus issue and signed a protocol for military cooperation in 2004.

Papantoniou called on Romania to forge forward with a dynamic policy of reforms in order to accede to the European Union.

[02] Thessaloniki Cinema Festival beginning on November 21

The 44th Thessaloniki Cinema Festival will begin on November 21 with the number of Greek films participating amounting to 28.

A total of 189 films will be screened, together with foreign films, documentaries, short films and dedications.

The Festival's programme will end on November 30 with the award ceremony for state film quality prizes taking place at the Concert Hall, while the ceremony for awards given to foreign films will take place at the ''Olympion'' on November 29.

[03] HEU to host exhibition on Tennessee Williams this month

The Hellenic American Union (HEU) is hosting an exhibition this month on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of renowned American dramatist Tennessee Williams, entitled ?Tennessee Williams and the Greek Art Theater?.

The exhibition, organised under the auspices of the US embassy in Athens, includes photographs of performances by the Greek Art Theatre and other material, as well as sketches by Ellie Solomonidou-Balanou.

The exhibition will open on Thursday and continue until Nov. 27 at the Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery within the HEU's downtown Athens campus (22, Massalias St).

For more information, call the HEU at (210) 36.80.000.

[04] Mitsotakis recovering rapidly, doctors report

Doctors treating former premier and main opposition New Democracy's honorary president Constantine Mitsotakis at Evangelismos Hospital on Tuesday reported that his health was improving very satisfactorily since his admission the previous day.

Mitsotakis was taken to Evangelismos and put on a saline drip on Monday to combat dehydration and a high fever linked to a bout of gastroenteritis caused by a virus.

Tuesday's medical bulletin said the dehydration had been reversed and the balance of electrolytes in the patient's bloodstream was rapidly improving.

Doctors said that Mitsotakis would probably be released from hospital on Wednesday evening or Thursday afternoon, if he continued to improve at the same rate.

[05] Budget for 2004 to parliament on November 18

The budget for 2004 will be sent to parliament on November 18, Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday.

Speaking after a meeting with the prime minister, Christodoulakis told reporters that the budget had been finalised.

The estimate for 2004 was a general government deficit of 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from 1.4 percent in 2003.

Growth was forecast at 4.2 percent in 2004 against 4.0 percent this year, the minister said.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.158

Pound sterling 0.695

Danish kroner 7.495

Swedish kroner 9.059

Japanese yen 126.0

Swiss franc 1.581

Norwegian kroner 8.275

Cyprus pound 0.587

Canadian dollar 1.522

Australian dollar 1.624

[07] Weather Forecast: Cloud, showers on Wednesday

All parts of the country will see cloud, turning to showers in most areas. Temperatures in Athens between 7C and 13C; and in Thessaloniki from 4C to 12C.Snow may fall on Mount Parnes outside the capital.

[08] Greek stocks end 0.91 pct lower on Tuesday

Greek stocks ended Tuesday's session significantly lower in the Athens Stock Exchange reflecting a wave of profit taking during the last hour of trading in the market that hit all sectors.

The general index ended 0.91 percent lower at 2,173.19 points, with turnover a moderate 102.5 million euros.

The Investment sector was the only one to score gains (up 0.12 percent), while the Publication, Insurance and Textile sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (4.17 percent, 2.22 percent and 2.15 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.75 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 1.09 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell 1.67 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 276 to 50 with another 41 issues unchanged.

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