Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-01-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Archbishop Dimitrios of America due to arrive in Athens

[02] Athens to aid Tirana's efforts towards meeting EU norms

[03] Patriarch arrives in Tehran on an historic four-day visit

[04] Winter sales begin on Monday

[05] Superfast Ferries launches Germany-Sweden route

[06] Kiosk owner devises drachma-euro exchange ... 'video-wall' (recast)

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[08] Number of derivatives contracts up 83 pct in 2001

[09] Deal for new horsetrack, equestrian centre signed

[10] Greek president answers Bardot plea on bird hunting ban

[11] Kavala kiosk owner devises drachma-euro exchange visual "patent"

[12] Patriarch on historic departs for Tehran, for four-day visit

[13] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Saturday

[14] Greek stocks end lower on ASE

[01] Archbishop Dimitrios of America due to arrive in Athens

Archbishop of America Dimitrios is due to arrive in Athens on Saturday for an official visit, at the invitation of the Greek government.

According to an announcement on Friday, he will be accompanied on his trip, which ends on Jan. 17, by notable figures of the Greek-American community.

While in Greece, Archbishop Dimitrios will meet President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, political leaders and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos.

Ceremonies in honour of Archbishop Dimitrios have been planned by the Greek Parliament, the Athens and Thessaloniki municipalities and the Forensic Studies Centre.

[02] Athens to aid Tirana's efforts towards meeting EU norms

Greek-Albanian relations were on the negotiating table here on Friday as Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis received visiting Albanian Minister of State Paskal Milo.

Among others, a text focusing on the transfer of know-how by the Greek government to Tirana in the field of converging with the European Unions acquis communautaire was signed.

On his part, Milo the former Albanian foreign minister said Tiranas attributed a ?strategic priority? to closer Greek-Albanian ties, whereas Yiannitsis said Athens will continue to aid countries in the region in their efforts to meet EU criteria.

Similar initiatives with Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary have been set in motion as well.

[03] Patriarch arrives in Tehran on an historic four-day visit

TEHRAN(ANA - M. Papoutsaki) - Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos on Friday arrived in Tehran, at the invitation of the Iranian government, for a four-day visit, the first ever by an Ecumenical Patriarch to Iran and his second to an Islamic country.

He arrived in Tehran in a private jet and was met by the Iranian Islamic Republic's culture minister and Greece's Ambassador Charalambos Kougevetopoulos, as well as members of the Greek community in the city.

Vartholomeos, the ?Primus inter pares? among Orthodox Patriarchs representing approximately 250 million Eastern Orthodox faithful around the world, is expected to meet in Tehran with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei.

The Patriarch is also scheduled to address members of the diplomatic corps serving in the Iranian capital on the issue of ?Religions Contribution to the Establishment of Peace in the Modern World?, during his four-day visit in the Islamic republic.

Additionally, contacts with a delegation from the Inter-Religious Dialogue Center, other Iranian ministers and officials as well as a visit to the historic city of Isfahan are planned.

Vartholomeos planned visit to predominately Shiite Iran comes three weeks after a high-profile ?all-faiths meeting? in Brussels brought together representatives of all the worlds major monotheistic religions including several well-known clerics from the Muslim world - in a bid to increase cooperation and understanding among religious faiths.

Iran is the second Muslim nation, following Bahrain, to issue an official invitation to the Ecumenical Patriarch.

[04] Winter sales begin on Monday

The winter sales begin on Monday, with retailers required to mark both the original and new reduced price of goods in euros and drachmas.

The sales, which end on February 28, are to begin almost two weeks late this year due to introduction of the euro on January 1 in a move to lessen confusion over the new currency.

[05] Superfast Ferries launches Germany-Sweden route

Superfast Ferries, which belongs to Athens-quoted Attica Enterprises, on Friday launched a new route that links Rostock in Germany to Sodertalje, Sweden.

Before the launch, Greek and Swedish diplomats attended a ceremony in Sodertalje, 30 kilometres south of Stockholm, to inaugurate the Superfast IX, the car and passenger ferry to sail the route.

The Superfast X, due for delivery next month, will join its predecessor at an unspecified date.

The company began plying the Baltic on May 17, linking Germany to Finland.

[06] Kiosk owner devises drachma-euro exchange ... 'video-wall' (recast)

Greek ingenuity is apparently alive and well in one northern Greek town if one judges from a makeshift mini 'video-wall' a kiosk owner devised to serve his clientele during the drachma-euro transition period.

Panagiotis Vardakas placed two small screens outside his kiosk and connected them with a computer in order to clearly show the calculations -- along with the purchased items -- he makes from drachmas into euros, and vice versa.

The result is that customers can see for themselves the items purchased; as well as the price in drachmas and euros, thus minimizing the time needed for the transaction and possible confusion.

By his own admission, Vardakas said he was 'computer illiterate' before his makeshift drachma-euro 'computer set-up.'

Although the drachma fades into the history books by the end of February, the 'on-line' transactions at the Kavala kiosk will remain as a permanent fixture, its owner says.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.899

Pound sterling 0.622

Danish kroner 7.493

Swedish kroner 9.223

Japanese yen 118.7

Swiss franc 1.491

Norwegian kroner 8.015

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.440

Australian dollar 1.725

[08] Number of derivatives contracts up 83 pct in 2001

The number of contracts traded on the Athens Derivatives Exchange rose by 83 percent in 2001 to total 4,358,866 against 2,381,260 in the previous year, market authorities said in a statement on Friday.

The value of transactions rose by 50 percent, and the number of members of the exchange increased to 65 against 40 in 2000, the statement said.

[09] Deal for new horsetrack, equestrian centre signed

The state-controlled General Sports Secretariat (GGA) on Thursday finalised a 181.9-million-euro deal for the construction of an Olympic equestrian centre and an adjoining new horsetrack at the Markopoulo site, east of Athens.

The construction firms ETETh S.A. and J&P Hellas hold the controlling share (47 percent) of the consortium tapped to build the twin projects and adjacent auxiliary facilities.

The projects will be build on a 21,000-metre expanse, with the new horsetrack and equestrian centre able to stable up to 2,000 and 300 horses, respectively.

Transferring the current horsetrack the only pari-mutuel betting facility in Greece from a mostly dilapidated site located on a choice coastal tract of land south of downtown Athens has long been envisioned by successive governments although the hosting of the 2004 Olympics in the Greek capital dramatically accelerated developments.

[10] Greek president answers Bardot plea on bird hunting ban

Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos on Friday replied to a letter by well-known French animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot this week, assuring that authorities throughout the east Mediterranean country have banned bird hunting in regions hard-hit by inclement weather.

Stephanopoulos added that the ban on bird hunting would be in force as long as the cold snap continues in Greece. He also said conservation groups have disbursed bird feed in several specific wetlands, while patrols against poachers have been stepped up as well.

Bardot, an international movie star during the 1960s, addressed an open letter to Stephanopoulos calling on him to help prevent the start of the bird-hunting season in Greece due to the unprecedented wave of poor weather in the country.

"This truce is ending today (Wednesday, Jan. 9). However, the cold weather is continuing and animals must survive despite the bad weather," Bardot wrote in her letter, part of her support of an appeal by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan -- the president of the Bellerive Foundation -- requesting an extension of the hunting ban in Greece.

[11] Kavala kiosk owner devises drachma-euro exchange visual "patent"

Greek ingenuity is alive and well judging by the homemade device a kiosk owner devised to serve his clientele during the transition period of the drachma to the euro.

Panagiotis Vardakas placed to small electronic screens outside his kiosk and connected them with a small computer, where he calculates the prices in both currencies.

The result is that the customer can see right in front of him the item he purchases, the price in drachmas and euros, thus minimizing the time needed for the transaction and possible confusion in the exchange between the two currencies.

By his admission to small shop owner had no idea about computers before his venture into this "patent" of his, but "whoever deals with it learns about it," he said.

Although the drachma will be a part of history by the end of February, the small device will remain as a permanent fixture of the kiosk still informing customers and saving time of all involved in one of Greece's traditional "mini-markets".

[12] Patriarch on historic departs for Tehran, for four-day visit

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos on Friday departed for Tehran, at the invitation of the Iranian government.

Vartholomeos, the ?Primus inter pares? among Orthodox Patriarchs representing approximately 250 million Eastern Orthodox faithful around the world, is expected to meet in Tehran with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei.

The Patriarch is also scheduled to address members of the diplomatic corps serving in the Iranian capital on the issue of ?Religions Contribution to Establishment of Peace in the Modern World?, during his four-day visit in the Islamic republic.

Additionally, contacts with a delegation from the Inter-Religious Dialogue Center, other Iranian ministers and officials as well as a visit to the historic city of Isfahan are planned.

Vartholomeos planned visit to predominately Shiite Iran comes three weeks after a high-profile ?all-faiths meeting? in Brussels brought together representatives of all the worlds major monotheistic religions including several well-known clerics from the Muslim world -- in a bid to increase cooperation and understanding among religious faiths.

Iran is the second Muslim nation, following Bahrain, to issue an official invitation to the Ecumenical Patriarch.

[13] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Saturday

Sunny weather is forecast throughout the country on Saturday, with scattered cloud in the west and south. The morning will be misty. Winds northerly, light to moderate, turning very strong in the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from -6C to 11C; on the rest of the mainland from -2C to 16C; and in the islands from 4C to 15C. Sunshine in Athens with temperatures between 5C and 15C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from -2C to 10C.

[14] Greek stocks end lower on ASE

Equity prices resumed their downward trend on the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday, reversing Thursday's advance, as lack of buying interest left prices vulnerable to pressure.

The general index ended 0.49 percent lower at 2,574.68 points, with turnover an improved Dr 42.77 billion, or 125.5 million euros.

The Retail, Metals and Bank sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (3.73 percent, 1.36 percent and 1.33 percent, respectively), while the IT and Cement sector scored gains. The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended 0.15 percent higher.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.65 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index fell 0.58 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index eased 0.33 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 204 to 102 with another 48 issues unchanged.

The general index ended the week with a net loss of 2.7 percent.

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