Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-12-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] Snow and stormy weather expected on Saturday

[02] Putin receives honorary doctorate from Athens University

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in thin trade

[05] Russia an integral part of Europe, PM says after meeting Putin

[06] Aegean ferry routes suspended due to bad weather warning

[01] Snow and stormy weather expected on Saturday

Severe cold is expected all over Greece on Saturday with snow falling even in plains, while stormy weather and gale force winds will sweep across the Aegean Sea. Snowfall is expected in the northern suburbs of Athens and temperatures will drop throughout the country and will range between -5C and 11C.

[02] Putin receives honorary doctorate from Athens University

Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin was on Friday awarded an honorary doctorate in Economics by the University of Athens during a ceremony at the main administration building in Central Athens.

Athens University rector George Babiniotis, in his address, recounted the bonds connecting Russia and Greece for many centuries and the influence both countries had in the modern world, adding that no one can ignore the historic and political effects of communism on the modern world.

"Russia remains a great power of determining importance for the modern world, not only on a political but on an economic and cultural level and the contribution of Putin to Russia's efforts to overcome its weaknesses is especially important, " Babiniotis said.

On his part, Putin thanked the rector for the honor and said that Russia's economy has been developing at a good rate, as is the Greek.

Putin also spoke of the historic bonds connecting Greece and Russia, adding that Greece is a country that has gone through some difficult paths in building the state that it is today.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Indicative tourist buying rates until Monday

U.S. dollar 379.327

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 541.621

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.397

Swedish kroner 036.123

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 303.158

Swiss franc 228.599

Norwegian kroner 042.374

Cyprus pound 588.027

Canadian dollar 240.591

Australian dollar 196.013

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in thin trade

The Athens bourse finished lower in light trade on Friday with institutionals mostly keeping out of the market.

The general share index lost 0.87 percent to end at 2,704.12 points. Turnover was 146.9 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.41 percent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 0.41 percent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities 0.03 percent down.

Of stocks traded, declines led advances at 166 to 142 with 46 issues remaining unchanged.

On a weekly basis, the index gained 0.04 percent.

[05] Russia an integral part of Europe, PM says after meeting Putin

Russia was an integral part of Europe, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Friday after a meeting with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, while stressing the need for an end to "dividing lines between the east and west".

Greece had long supported the need for closer NATO-Russian cooperation and had now been vindicated, the premier said during a joint press conference with Putin after the meeting, while arguing that Russia had a "new role" following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The Russian president similarly stressed the unprecedented support lent by Moscow to the international "anti-terrorist alliance," as he called it, after September 11.

Russia had agreed to cooperate without asking for anything in exchange, Putin said, and this in itself lent a new quality to Russia's relations with its partners.

He called for the creation of a new body for NATO-Russian cooperation, which would allow Moscow to participate in shaping decisions on security issues, rather than being presented with final decisions to which it said either yes or no.

[06] Aegean ferry routes suspended due to bad weather warning

All passenger ferries plying routes from Piraeus and Rafina to islands in the Aegean and Crete were banned from sailing after 13:30 on Friday after the weather service issued a warning of high winds at sea.

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