Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-05-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

[02] Weather Forecast: Cloud and showers on Tuesday

[03] Government spokesman, journalists union issue messages on World Press

[04] Main opposition leader outlines disagreements with government on Turkey

[05] Turkish PM to carry out three-day visit to Greece from May 6

[06] Turkish warplanes infringe air traffic regulations, violate national

[07] Off-the-agenda debate on economy in Parliament on May 12

[08] Karamanlis inaugurates 27th Book Exhibit in Athens

[09] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise in high-cap selling

[10] Greece to offer aid to North Korea

[11] Weather Forecast: Cloud and showers on Tuesday

[12] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.204

Pound sterling 0.680

Danish kroner 7.500

Swedish kroner 9.215

Japanese yen 132.5

Swiss franc 1.564

Norwegian kroner 8.276

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.653

Australian dollar 1.673

[02] Weather Forecast: Cloud and showers on Tuesday

Cloud is forecast in western, central and northern Greece and showers mainly in the northwest of the country. Winds southeasterly moderate to strong and locally very strong. Temperatures in Athens from 14C to 25C and in Thessaloniki between 12C and 22C.

[03] Government spokesman, journalists union issue messages on World Press Day

Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos, in a statement on the occasion of World Press Day on Monday, said there can be no freedom of speech and expression without freedom and access to information.

Roussopoulos added that the criticism of power, respect for the citizen, ethics, truth, news, without the blowing out of proportion and exaggeration, constitute the ingredients of an independent Press.

The spokesman further said over a third of the population of the planet lacks the self-evident commodity of freedom of the press and hundreds of journalists are currently in prison because they wished to inform citizens, while dozens lost their lives in the struggle for news in various parts of the earth.

The Athens Journalists Union (ESHEA) once again stressed its faith in freedom of the press being a cornerstone of democracy.

ESHEA said the so-called war against terrorism, declared all over the world in past years, has created new uncertainties and dangers, adding that new wars are breaking out all the time in the place of expectations for peace.

The Athens Labour Centre (EKA) expressed support for the principles of freedom of the Press and of speech and protested the fact that dozens of journalists lose their lives every year in the line of duty.

[04] Main opposition leader outlines disagreements with government on Turkey

Main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party leader George Papandreou expressed extensive disagreement with the government's policy regarding Greek-Turkish relations on Monday.

The only point on which Papandreou agreed was on the visit Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will make to Greece this week; yet the PASOK leader disagreed with the nature of Erdogan's tour of Thrace in Northern Greece.

Papandreou commented on the statement made by Government Spokesman Theodore Roussopoulos according to which the Turkish premier will be touring Thrace in order to meet with fellow Muslims.

''Based on that logic, the Muslim world, and the Arab world should have the same right. This is not what a PASOK government would have asked for,'' Papandreou said.

He also said that the Muslim minority in Thrace is not a Greek-Turkish issue, but a matter of consolidating rights and equality. The same holds true for the Greeks in Istanbul and other regions in Turkey. He also said that his party would continue to support ''equality before the law, equal rights and the right to individual determining of one's identity ''.

[05] Turkish PM to carry out three-day visit to Greece from May 6

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to carry out a three-day official visit to Greece from May 6-8 at the invitation of Greek premier Costas Karamanlis.

During Erdogan's stay, the two heads of government will discuss bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey and exchange views on regional and international issues.

Erdogan will also be received by President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki during his visit.

The Turkish premier will be accompanied on his trip to Athens by a number of Turkish business people and members of the Turkish media, while the Greek-Turkish Business Council will be convened on the occasion of Erdogan's visit.

On his last day in Greece, the Turkish prime minister will carry out a private visit to Komotini.

[06] Turkish warplanes infringe air traffic regulations, violate national air space

Two Turkish F-16 warplanes approached two Greek A-7 Corsair jets at a distance of 10-15 metres, in violation of safe air traffic rules, while they were carrying out a training exercise in the region of Megisti on Monday morning.

The Turkish aircraft were recognised and intercepted by Greek warplanes that arrived in the region.

A total of seven formations of Turkish warplanes made an equal number of air traffic regulation infringements in the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on Monday, which developped into 10 violations of national air space in the regions of the islands of Chios, Lesvos and Limnos.

The 18 Turkish aircraft were recognised and intercepted by Greek jets, while in seven cases the interception process developped into an engagement. Five of the Turkish warplanes were armed.

[07] Off-the-agenda debate on economy in Parliament on May 12

An off-the-agenda debate between the party leaders on the state of the Greek economy is to be held in Parliament next week on May 12, at the request of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

In a letter to Parliament Speaker Anna Psarouda-Benaki on Monday, Karamanlis says that an ''beautified version'' of the economy had been systematically and methodically presented in past years, in which crucial indices were ''consistently concealed'' and deficits were presented smaller than they really were.

[08] Karamanlis inaugurates 27th Book Exhibit in Athens

''You are familiar with the government's commitment to place emphasis on the areas of culture and education. I deeply believe that we must seek Greece's competitive advantages in the modern era in education and culture, in our great inheritance from the past and in our country's cultural activity in the present,'' Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Costas Karamanlis said on Monday evening during his opening speech at the 27th Book Exhibit he inaugurated in Pedion tou Areos in Athens.

''In a world that is thirsty for values and ideals, Greece can and must offer many significant contributions. Today, we possess all that is required to prove that we do not simply manage our cultural heritage, but that we dare to open new avenues of expression, thought, and creativity through original works. All it takes is a stroll around this exhibit to witness this first hand,'' Karamanlis said.

The prime minister then outlined the government's policy regarding books within the context of supporting the Greek language, which includes:

An international book exhibit in Thessaloniki, the creation of school libraries, and reforms regarding taxes on books.

Since this year's book exhibit coincided with EU enlargement, the Association of Athens Publishers and Booksellers, the exhibit's organisers, decided to dedicate a large part of this year's event to Cyprus, thus ''Reminding us of our duty, as members of the European Union, to work tirelessly so that the EU's principles and values serve as examples in solving Cyprus' political problem,'' Karamanlis said.

In closing, the prime minister congratulated the exhibit's organisers.

[09] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise in high-cap selling

The Athens bourse on Monday finished higher in selling of high capitalisation stocks, having a positive effect on both the general index and the market's overall image, traders said.

The general share index rose 1.08 per cent to end at 2,544.82 points. Turnover was 207.8 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.29 per cent higher; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 0.19 per cent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities gained 0.21 per cent.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 159 to 142 with 58 issues remaining unchanged.

[10] Greece to offer aid to North Korea

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to contribute 30,000 euros to North Korea, through the Greek Red Cross, as emergency aid for the victims of the recent explosion - result of a train accident - which occurred in Ryongchon on April 22.

[11] Weather Forecast: Cloud and showers on Tuesday

Cloud is forecast in western, central and northern Greece and showers mainly in the northwest of the country. Winds southeasterly moderate to strong and locally very strong. Temperatures in Athens from 14C to 25C and in Thessaloniki between 12C and 22C.

[12] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.204

Pound sterling 0.680

Danish kroner 7.500

Swedish kroner 9.215

Japanese yen 132.5

Swiss franc 1.564

Norwegian kroner 8.276

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.653

Australian dollar 1.673

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