Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-05-13

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Hot on Tuesday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[03] First suspected SARS case in Greece

[04] Greek PM: Enlargement a turning point for both the EU and Europe

[01] Weather Forecast: Hot on Tuesday

Hot, sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country, with some scattered cloud. Winds variable, light. On the mainland, temperatures will range from 14C to 34C; in the centre and south up to 35C; and in the islands from 17C to 31C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 35C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 34C.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.169

Pound sterling 0.725

Danish kroner 7.484

Swedish kroner 9.267

Japanese yen 136.1

Swiss franc 1.525

Norwegian kroner 7.938

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.623

Australian dollar 1.801

[03] First suspected SARS case in Greece

The first suspected SARS case has been confirmed in Greece, health authorities said Tuesday, adding that the air hostess suspected of having contracted the virus was hospitalised Monday night at the Sismanoglio Hospital's quarantine facility until test were completed and the results came out.

[04] Greek PM: Enlargement a turning point for both the EU and Europe

The accession of 10 new member-states into the European Union was a historic turning point in the development of both the Community and Europe as a whole, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and current president of the European Council told a seminar on ''Greece, the EU and the future of Europe'' organised by PASOK at Athens' Old Parliament on Monday.

The Greek premier also stressed that Europe now needed a new Constitutional framework and that the Greek EU presidency intended to propose discussion of a draft European Constitution that would be prepared by the Convention for the Future of Europe at the June summit under the Greek EU presidency in Thessaloniki.

Through the recent signing of accession treaties, Europe had knocked down the last remaining vestiges of the wall that had once divided the European continent, creating mechanisms for rallying together and development that offered new opportunities and capabilities to its member-states, Simitis said.

He described enlargement as ''an inevitable undertaking'' that was inextricably linked with the course toward the future, as well as an ''ambitious attempt'' to effect a transition from an incomplete state structure to a more complete one.

When EU leaders meet in Thessaloniki in June, he added, they will hold talks based on the Convention's proposals for a draft European Constitution.

He stressed that this would be more than a series of amendments or additions to the various EU treaties, which were no longer comprehensible to the general public, but a new text that would redraw the basic rules and guidelines for the Union.

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