Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-11-05

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] Simitis briefs Stephanopoulos on EU, Cyprus developments

[02] Gov't: All security precautions for Turkish fans readied

[03] Bulgarian sports sector supports Athens 2004 Games

[04] Thessaloniki to host largest-ever sociology conference in Greece

[05] Council of Europe youth conference to begin in Thessaloniki on Thursday

[06] Exhibition to be held on 'Post-Byzantine Period'

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[08] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Wednesday

[09] Bourse closes at previous day's levels

[01] Simitis briefs Stephanopoulos on EU, Cyprus developments

Prime minister Costas Simitis on Tuesday clarified that Greece would not accept a Cyprus solution that did not guarantee all the pre-conditions for its resolution, such as adherence to the UN Security Council resolutions and the correct function of the State.

Simitis, who left later in the afternoon for Paris, where he will meet with French president Jacques Chirac on Wednesday, made the statement after briefing President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos on recent developments in the EU, the decision on the European rapid reaction force, and developments regarding Cyprus' EU accession course.

Simitis said that ''the view that the Greek government will agree to any solution to the Cyprus problem just so that Cyprus will accede the EU is wrong''. He reiterated that the two issues may be related and influence each other, but based on the EU Helsinki summit decision, each issue was dealt with separately ''and we insist on that''.

[02] Gov't: All security precautions for Turkish fans readied

The government reiterated on Tuesday that all necessary measures would be taken to ensure the safety of Turkish fans arriving in the Greek capital next week for the Panathinaikos-Fenerbahce matchup.

The two teams tied 1-1 last week in Istanbul for the first leg of second round UEFA football action.

Government spokesman Christos Protopapas stressed that Panathinaikos management is, in fact, making a ?particularly significant effort towards this direction...?

On his part, Panathinaikos president Angelos Filippidis emphasised that management stands by its decision not to supply the team's organised fan clubs with tickets. He cited a danger of the team being severely penalised by UEFA if hooligan violence breaks out.

Filippidis, who attended the first game in Turkey along with several Greek government officials, said the popular Athens team's double European goal is to both advance in the next round of UEFA game and to hold the game with Fenerbahce without incident.

[03] Bulgarian sports sector supports Athens 2004 Games

SOFIA (ANA - B. Borisov) - Bulgaria's athletic world will do all it can for the success of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games which, as the Bulgarians feel, are the Balkan Olympic Games.

Leading Bulgarian athletes made the above statements on Tuesday during a press conference organised here in light of the Olympic Games' preparations.

[04] Thessaloniki to host largest-ever sociology conference in Greece

The biggest sociology conference ever to take place in Greece is being organised by the Greek Sociologists' Association in Thessaloniki, the International Sociological Association, Thessaloniki University and the National Centre of Social Studies.

The conference will be entitled ''Sociology: a lesson on freedom'' and will be held at Thessaloniki University lecture theatres on November 8-10. It is taking place under the aegis of the Macedonia-Thrace ministry, the Thessaloniki municipality and the UNESCO centre for the Balkans.

[05] Council of Europe youth conference to begin in Thessaloniki on Thursday

BRUSSELS (ANA - G. Zitouniati) - The Council of Europe will be ''headquartered'' in Thessaloniki this week as it organizes a series of events for culture and youth.

''Youth is building Europe'', is the main theme of the 6th Interministerial Conference for youths of the Council of Europe, which will open in Thessaloniki on Thursday and close on Saturday.

Foreign Minister George Papandreou will participate in Saturday's events.

[06] Exhibition to be held on 'Post-Byzantine Period'

NEW YORK (ANA - M. Georgiadou) - Onassis Foundation President Stelios Papadimitriou, speaking at a press conference given to U.S. media at the Onassis Cultural Centre here on Tuesday, referred to the valuable contribution of the culture ministry and the Byzantine Museum.

Papadimitriou was speaking on the occasion of the exhibition titled ''Post-Byzantine Period-The Greek Rennaissance'', due to be inaugurated on Wednesday and last until February 8, 2003.

The Onassis Cultural Centre's contribution to the exhibition's hosting and financing was stressed during the press conference, as well as the significance of this cultural venue.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.010

Pound sterling 0.646

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.215

Japanese yen 122.9

Swiss franc 1.473

Norwegian kroner 7.430

Cyprus pound 0.575

Canadian dollar 1.572

Australian dollar 1.795

[08] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Wednesday

Rain and storms are forecast in all parts of the country, with snow expected to fall on high ground in the north. Winds variable, moderate to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 8C to 16C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 12C to 22C; and in the Aegean islands from 15C to 23C. Temperatures in Athens between 16C and 22C; and in Thessaloniki from 11C to 16C.

[09] Bourse closes at previous day's levels

Greek stocks finished trading on Tuesday at mostly the same levels where they closed on Monday, with the Athens Stock Exchange posting a more-or-less satisfactory performance in comparison with other European bourses.

The general index ended at 1,834.24 points, with turnover totalling 106.4 million euros. It had closed at 1,834.19 the previous day.

The Insurance, Retail and Telecommunications sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (2.92 percent, 1.96 percent and 1.90 percent, respectively), while the IT Solutions (-2.62 percent), Media (-2.25 percent) and Textiles (-1.79 percent) sectors suffered the heaviest losses.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks rose by a meagre 0.16 percent; while the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index (-0.40 percent) and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index (-0.50 percent) ended lower.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 193 to 119 with another 50 issues unchanged.

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