Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-02-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Papandreou, Powell discuss Iraqi situation in phone call

[02] Papandreou vis-a-vis Iraq: diplomatic efforts have precedence now

[03] Gov't, ATHOC consider how to 'bridge' 750-million-euro gap

[04] Anti-terrorist squad sources see more arrests linked to ELA

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

[07] Greek stocks end lower on Monday

[01] Papandreou, Powell discuss Iraqi situation in phone call

AMMAN (ANA) -- Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, currently the EU Council of Ministers president, spoke with US Secretary of State Colin Powell by phone late Sunday evening, with the conversation covering the formers current Middle East tour within the framework of the ongoing Iraq crisis.

Papandreou arrived in Amman, Jordan late Sunday after beginning his Mideast itinerary with a visit and official talks in Syria.

Stressing that the Greek presidency is in close contact with Washington, he added that ?even though they do not consider it likely, the Americans would welcome a change of stance on the part of Saddam Hussein and his compliance with the UNs resolutions?.

The Greek foreign minister also said that, based on his recent round of contacts, regional leaders believe Saddam Hussein has not realised the gravity of the situation, before saying that if the Iraqi leader understands this then ?margins for compliance? and a ?serious possibility of avoiding war? exist.

[02] Papandreou vis-a-vis Iraq: diplomatic efforts have precedence now

AMMAN (ANA - F. Karaviti) --Visiting Greek foreign minister and current EU Council of Ministers president George Papandreou on Monday called for Saddam Hussein's full cooperation with the international community and total compliance with United Nations (UN) Security Council relevant resolution.

''If the Iraqi leader complies, then we will be able to talk about a diplomatic success'', Papandreou told reporters after a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Marwan Muasher.

The Greek foreign minister arrived on Monday in Jordan, the second stop of a crucial tour of the Middle East region.

Papandreou said that a plan was being developed for countering the repercussions of a prospective war, stressing nevertheless that ''diplomatic efforts have precedence for now''.

With regard to the Palestinian issue, the Greek foreign minister pointed to the need for beginning a dialogue on the implementation of a ''road map'', which would lead to two independent and peaceful States by 2005.

[03] Gov't, ATHOC consider how to 'bridge' 750-million-euro gap

The latest ?thorn? in the arduous course towards the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, namely, a 750-million-euro ?difference? for finishing various projects, was the focus of a top government meeting with Athens organisers (ATHOC) on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

A tersely worded announcement was issued afterwards, citing, among others, that ?firstly, the continuous and according to deadlines progress of Olympic preparations were ascertained??

It was also announced that a work group, combining top government ministers and ATHOC officials, will review and evaluate specific budgets of projects and preparations.

?The goal is to achieve the best possible control of costs and the greatest possible cooperation in terms of specific expenses,? the announcement stated.

A series of follow-up meetings between the two sides (government and ATHOC) will then take place to try and find a compromise over how the 750-million-euro gap will be covered, whereas a meeting on Tuesday between the prime minister and ATHOC President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is expected to dominate the spotlight.

[04] Anti-terrorist squad sources see more arrests linked to ELA

Sources within the Anti-terrorist Squad on Monday revealed that two more arrests linked to the terror group ELA (Revolutionary People's Struggle) were likely to follow, after prosecuting authorities said they intended to treat the organisation as still active.

Sources within the police said the next two arrests would concern ELA's ideologue, known by the pseudonym 'Andrew' and believed to be the group's contact with 'Carlos the Jackal', and another man known as 'Nikolas' who is believed to have organised a hit using a remote control device against the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Psyhiko in 1983 and an earlier attack on a US base in Athens in 1970.

Meanwhile, four people brought in for questioning on Sunday night have been released, while the three people arrested as suspected members of ELA were led before Appeals Examining Magistrate Leonidas Zervobeakos, the same justice handling the November 17 case, under tight security on Monday.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.081

Pound sterling 0.660

Danish kroner 7.497

Swedish kroner 9.307

Japanese yen 130.3

Swiss franc 1.480

Norwegian kroner 7.538

Cyprus pound 0.583

Canadian dollar 1.643

Australian dollar 1.855

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

Rain is forecast in most parts of the country. Snow will fall on high ground in the west and low-lying areas of western Macedonia and Epirus. Winds variable, light to strong, turning gale force at sea. In the north, temperatures will range from -4C to 6C; on the rest of the mainland from -1C to 13C; and in the islands from 6C to 14C. Temperatures in Athens between 1C and 12C, with rain in the evening; and in Thessaloniki from 0C to 6C.

[07] Greek stocks end lower on Monday

Greek stocks ended lower the first trading session of the week, reflecting selling in smaller capitalisation stocks in the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index ended 0.36 percent down, at 1,677.52 points, with turnover a low 56.1 million euros.

The Textile, Cement and Holdings sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (4.01 percent, 1.80 percent and 1.41 percent, respectively), while the Telecommunications (0.42 percent), IT Solutions (0.39 percent) and Retail (0.39 percent sectors scored the biggest percentage gains.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.41 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 0.68 percent, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell 0.98 percent and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index dropped 0.51 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 209 to 88 with another 53 issues unchanged.

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