Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-03-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] Athens-Piraeus railway strike on Friday Called Off

[02] ND leader addresses main Athens party rally, pledges to serve all

[03] PASOK leader G. Papandreou addresses election rally in Pyrgos

[04] FM Yiannitsis to represent Greek government at funeral of FYROM

[05] Cox stresses Patriarchate's role in forging Europe's identity during

[06] Athens-Piraeus railway strike on Friday

[07] Fire at monastery on Mount Athos extinguished

[08] Weather Forecast: Showers, sleet on Friday

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

[10] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise in late buying

[01] Athens-Piraeus railway strike on Friday Called Off

Trains will be running in Athens and Piraeus on Friday normally.

A decision earlier in the evening to declare the 24-hour strike was called off late Thursday night by the HSAP employees.

[02] ND leader addresses main Athens party rally, pledges to serve all Greeks

Main opposition New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis addressed the party's main rally at the Pedion tou Areos Square in Athens on Thursday night, ahead of Sunday's general elections, pledging that the ''new governance will serve all the Greeks regardless of the party they vote for and without separations, divisions and dilemmas''.

Karamanlis said Greece ''will turn a new page'' and called on all citizens to ''hoist the flag of social responsibility, the banners of unity and the Greek flag'', adding that ''there will be no winners and losers on Sunday and all of us will move forward together.''

The ND leader thanked citizens for confidence they are showing him and promised to reciprocate and serve the country and the homeland with effectiveness and humility and stressed ''Greece and the Greeks come first. Extend your hands even to those who do not vote for us.''

Karamanlis also said ''Greece can no longer stand the past, the slide towards corruption and immunity, the party state and conservatism. It cannot stand being watched, provocation or temptations. Greece is turning its back on modern populism, on divisive dilemmas, on extremes and on extreme attitudes because the new era demands a new beginning, a new governance, a new policy, a new momentum and new people.''

He further said ''the new governance will embrace all the Greeks, unite, compose, look ahead and build tomorrow on stable foundations'' and accused the ruling PASOK party of ''trying to create phobic dilemmas in speaking of our and their youth''.

Karamanlis called on PASOK to decide even at this hour what it wants, expresses and stands for and posed the questions ''a state for all or a PASOK state, realities or myths, positive options or phobic dilemmas, the future or the past, the new era or talk of the past, seriousness or false words, composition or confusion, respect for the citizen or irresponsible abuse for half of the Greeks ?''.

[03] PASOK leader G. Papandreou addresses election rally in Pyrgos

Ruling PASOK party leader George Papandreou on Thursday evening addressed an election rally in Pyrgos, Peloponnese, where he called on PASOK supporters and ''progressive citizens regardless of previous political preferences'' to jointly ''cancel the refounding of the party state of the Right.''

Papandreou said that ''the leadership of (main opposition) New Democracy does not dare to openly condemn the extreme Right and its actions,'' adding:''They cannot condemn the extreme elements, not even today, therefore, they will never be able to do so. The conclusion is one - and it carries great weight for the future of all Greeks:Greece cannot stand the retrogression of the Right.''

He further noted:''The conservative party cannot even implement its promises. It will bring about experiments in society and in the economy. No working person, no family, no pensioner, no small-and-medium-size entrepreneur and no farmer can emerge a winner from austerity, the freezing of salaries and pensions and from the abolition of the social state.''

[04] FM Yiannitsis to represent Greek government at funeral of FYROM president

Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis will leave for Skopje on Friday March 5 to represent the Greek government at the funeral of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Boris Trajkovski, a foreign ministry press release said on Thursday.

President Trajkovski was killed in an air crash earlier this week.

[05] Cox stresses Patriarchate's role in forging Europe's identity during Fanar visit

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) In statements to the ANA on Thursday during his visit to the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Fanar, European Parliament President Pat Cox said it played an important role in forging Europe's current identity.

He noted that the Patriarchate held a ''special place in the consciousness of many people,'' at a time when Europe's politicians were working to build a larger European Union based on values.

He also stressed that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was an inseparable part of the process for overcoming dividing lines, which was necessary in order to build the EU.

''We politicians and our institutions intersect the old dividing lines between cultures. The continuity of the spiritual leadership of the Patriarchate is an inseparable part of this process,'' he said.

[06] Athens-Piraeus railway strike on Friday

There will be no trains running in Athens and Piraeus on Friday due to a strike by the Athens-Piraeus Railway (HSAP).

The decision to declare the 24-hour strike was taken late Thursday night by the HSAP employees in demand of better pay.

The strike does not affect the Metro.

[07] Fire at monastery on Mount Athos extinguished

A fire breaking out at Hilandari monastery on Mount Athos at midnight on Wednesday was extinguished by firemen on Thursday and, according to initial assessments, considerable damage has been caused to the monastery.

The fire bridage is preparing an account of the damage, while an overall assessment of the situation is expected on Friday.

[08] Weather Forecast: Showers, sleet on Friday

Overcast weather turning to showers or sleet is forecast in all parts of the country, especially in the east and south. Light snowfall is expected on high ground. Winds north-northeasterly, very strong to gale force. Temperatures in Athens 4C to 9C and in Thessaloniki from 1C to 6C.Snow on mountains around Athens.

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.224

Pound sterling 0.671

Danish kroner 7.511

Swedish kroner 9.288

Japanese yen 135.5

Swiss franc 1.591

Norwegian kroner 8.705

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.642

Australian dollar 1.630

[10] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise in late buying

The Athens bourse finished higher on Thursday in a burst of late buying, traders said.

The general share index gained 1.36 per cent to end at 2,470.43 points. Turnover was 176.5 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.40 per cent up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 1.04 per cent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities gained 1.58 per cent.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 246 to 65 with 50 issues remaining unchanged.

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