Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-04-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] Countries unite for repatriation of looted cultural heritage

[02] ASE opening: Rise

[01] Countries unite for repatriation of looted cultural heritage

The first step of the initiative is to draft a catalogue containing the priority stolen antiquities that the countries are demanding be repatriated, while the conference delegates also discussed proposals and recommendations that will be submitted to United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO, aiming at amendment of a 1970 convention banning the ownership or export of stolen antiquities acquired after that date in order to facilitate the repatriation of the antiquities to their countries of origin.

Seven delegate countries -- Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Libya, Nigeria, Peru and Syria -- of the 22 countries in attendance at the Cairo conference, have already submitted their lists with the antiquities designated as "top priority" they seek to be returned, while the remaining countries have a month to submit their own lists, according to Egypt's antiquities chief Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the country's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

For Greece, the priority continues to be the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, which it has been campaigning for over the past 30 years.

Announcing the expanded campaign at a joint press conference with the officials from the US, Greece and Italy, Hawass noted that "Greece was fighting alone, and Italy was fighting alone", but "now, for the first time, we are united...we will fight together".

Greece's representative Elena Korka, who heads the country's cultural heritage protection directorate, told reporters that the Cairo conference "shows the importance many countries place on this matter and enables us to join forces".

[02] ASE opening: Rise

Individual sector indices were moving mostly upward, with the biggest gains in Banks, up 2.36 percent; and Commerce, up 0.97 percent.

The biggest losses were in Health, down 1.34 percent; and Financial Services, down 1.08 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was up 1.05 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was up 0.43 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 1.38 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 68 were up, 25 were down, and 34 were unchanged.

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