Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-02-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

[02] Weather Forecast: Fair on Friday

[03] Athens welcomes resumption of talks for Cyprus solution

[04] PASOK Congress begins on Friday with election of new party leader on

[05] Parliament to debate accession agreement for 10 new EU member-states

[06] Marked decrease in fatal traffic accidents in 2003

[07] Film by Theodoros Angelopoulos to be screened at Berlin Festival

[08] U.S. aircraft carrier 'George Washington' arrives in Crete on Friday

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.268

Pound sterling 0.690

Danish kroner 7.510

Swedish kroner 9.249

Japanese yen 133.7

Swiss franc 1.582

Norwegian kroner 8.806

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.691

Australian dollar 1.660

[02] Weather Forecast: Fair on Friday

Fair throughout the country. Winds northwesterly light to moderate. Temperatures in Athens 6C to 19C and in Thessaloniki 6C to 16C.

[03] Athens welcomes resumption of talks for Cyprus solution

The Greek foreign ministry on Thursday expressed Athens' satisfaction at a call to resume talks for a solution of the political problem on Cyprus, announced by the United Nations.

In statements to the ANA, foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis confirmed ''Greece's steady support of the good offices of the United Nations secretary-general for the resumption of negotiations on the basis of the Annan plan, with the goal of finding a functional and viable solution that will be in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and Community laws and regulations.''

Greece will be represented by an official at the negotiations as one of the guarantor powers.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday revealed that he had invited the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to resume talks on 10 February in New York on the basis of his plan.

The objective of the negotiations will be to put a completed text to referenda in April 2004, in time for a reunited Cyprus to accede to the European Union on 1 May 2004.

[04] PASOK Congress begins on Friday with election of new party leader on Sunday

A ruling PASOK Congress begins in Athens on Friday which will culminate on Sunday with the election of Foreign Minister George Papandreou as the new party leader, replacing Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

Friday's four-hour meeting will centre on speeches by Simitis and Papandreou.

Simitis will make a review of his eight-year term as prime minister and PASOK president and Papandreou will outline the party's programme ahead of the March 7 elections, giving particular emphasis to the efforts he is undertaking to reform PASOK.

In his speeches to date, Papandreou has stated that he will make decisive reforms in the party where ''no permanent chairs will exist'' and ''major changes will take place.''

Papandreou's main idea, according to press sources, is for the participation of the members in the party's operations, the decetralisation of party power and the creation of a new, different relationship between the state and the citizen, returning in essence to PASOK's principle on ''popular participation'' which is included in the party's founding declarartion.

Papandreou aims for this principle to characterise not only the functioning of the party but also that of the operation of the political system in its entirety, the same sources said.

[05] Parliament to debate accession agreement for 10 new EU member-states

The accession agreement for the European Union's 10 new member-states, including Cyprus, will be discussed in Parliament on Tuesday in the presence of the Republic of Cyprus' political and state leadership.

The debate will be the last for the current Parliamentary period, since the dissolution of Parliament in light of elections on March 7 will be announced on the same day.

Meanwhile, the last meeting of the Conference of Presidents took place on Thursday, during which the process for the accession agreement's debate was determined.

[06] Marked decrease in fatal traffic accidents in 2003

Public Order Minister George Floridis said on Thursday that following the implementation of his ministry's ''On the Way'' programme, there was a marked decrease in traffic accidents in 2003 compared to the previous year.

Presenting ministry data, he said that the number of people killed in traffic accidents in 2003, compared to 2002, was down 2.9 percent.

The number of deaths in 2003 was 23.6 percent less than in 2000.

The number of fatal traffic accidents in 2003 compared to the previous year was down 3.8 percent.

The number of fatal traffic accidents in 2003 was down 24.9 percent compared to 2000.

[07] Film by Theodoros Angelopoulos to be screened at Berlin Festival

Film director Theodoros Angelopoulos' film ''The Wipping Meadow'' will be participating officially in the Berlin Film Festival.

The Greek Cinema Centre has been preparing the presentation of Angelopoulos' film at the 54th Berlinale for some time.

All the special printed material, as well as the models of advertisements in major cinema magazines and the Festival's publications have already been sent to Berlin.

The film's presentation to the press will take place on Thursday February 12 at 12.30 p.m. and the film director will be accompanied by the film's protagonists Alexandra Aydini, Nikos Poursanidis and Vassilis Kolovos.

[08] U.S. aircraft carrier 'George Washington' arrives in Crete on Friday

The U.S. aircraft carrier ''George Washington'' will sail into Crete's naval base on Friday for the sole purpose of giving its personnel a rest.

The aircraft carrier, which will arrive from Sicily, will stay at the naval base until Monday and then continue its tour of the Mediterranean.

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