Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek presidency of EU to back links with Black Sea region

[02] UNESCO's ICOMOS scientific council to meet in Corfu

[03] IOC press committee visits Greece, lauds ATHOC efforts to date

[04] Greek, Turkish FMs hold brief meeting in Luxembourg

[05] Procedures for construction of Acropolis Museum to be stepped up

[06] Industrialists, Ernst & Young hold seminar on Balkan investments

[07] Ferry fares to rise 8.0 pct, free travel to be scrapped

[08] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Tuesday

[09] Greek stocks end sharply lower, turnover hits 4-year lows

[01] Greek presidency of EU to back links with Black Sea region

Deputy Finance Minister George Paschalidis said on Monday that Greece's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2003 would back closer links between the 15-nation bloc and countries in the Black Sea Cooperation group.

The government was working to arrange a summit meeting involving the two sides during the presidency, Paschalidis told a seminar held by an offshoot bank of the cooperation group, which was held in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, based in Thessaloniki, launched operations in June 1999 in order to aid growth in the Balkans and Black Sea region and boost economic ties among shareholding countries.

The bank's share capital of 1.2 billion US dollars is distributed among Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

[02] UNESCO's ICOMOS scientific council to meet in Corfu

UNESCO's ICOMOS scientific council will hold its annual three-day assembly in Corfu, Greece, beginning on Thursday, as April 18, was declared international day of monuments.

More than 40 members of the scientific council and ICOMOS national committees' representatives from all over the world will attend the meeting.

[03] IOC press committee visits Greece, lauds ATHOC efforts to date

The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) press committee president Kevan Gosper on Monday congratulated Athens 2004 Olympic Committee (ATHOC) councillor Spyros Kapralos for the apparent progress in projects related to the media.

Gosper and the other members of the IOC's press committee expressed their belief that ATHOC has both the strength and the will to provide the best possible working conditions for both the press and photographers during the Games.

He also noted that there must be continued effort and vigilance to ensure success in organizing the Games.

[04] Greek, Turkish FMs hold brief meeting in Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG (ANA) - Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou met briefly here on Monday evening with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem who will attend Tuesday's meeting of the EU-Turkey Association Council.

According to diplomatic sources, the two foreign ministers discussed developments in the Middle East and Papandreou briefed Cem on the discussions held earlier in the day within the framework of the EU General Affairs Council.

The two men reiterated their will to jointly visit Israel and the Palestinian territories and providing there are the prerequisites, to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Early last week Papandreou and Cem agreed to jointly visit Israel and the Palestinian territory this week to mediate in efforts to end the crisis.

[05] Procedures for construction of Acropolis Museum to be stepped up

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos stated on Monday night that the procedures for the construction of the Acropolis Museum will be stepped up.

Venizelos was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day film festival in Athens dedicated to late culture minister Melina Mercouri.

Present at the inauguration at the ''Athinais'' were, among others, Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou, Deputy Culture Minister Nasos Alevras and Mercouri's husband Jules Dassin.

The dedication was held under the auspices of the Culture Ministry in cooperation with the Thessaloniki Film Festival, the Melina Mercouri Foundation and the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

[06] Industrialists, Ernst & Young hold seminar on Balkan investments

The Association of Northern Greek Industrialists announced on Monday that it will hold a seminar this month on a practical approach to investing in the Balkans.

The seminar will be held on April 22 in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, arranged jointly with Ernst & Young, the international investment house, the association said in a statement.

[07] Ferry fares to rise 8.0 pct, free travel to be scrapped

Fares for passenger and vehicle ferries are to rise by an average 8.0 percent maximum in 2002, lower than demands by the Union of Passenger Ship Owners, government sources said on Monday.

The decision was taken after a lengthy meeting of Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis, the sources said.

They added that the government was considering abolishing free travel aboard ferries currently awarded to categories including parliamentary deputies and staff of the merchant marine and Aegean ministries.

Free travel for the poor, people with special needs and children under 10 years of age would be retained, the sources added.

[08] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Tuesday

Rain and storms are forecast in most parts of the country. The northern Ionian, Epirus and the western mainland will remain cloudy. The weather will gradually improve from the west. Winds variable, strong to very strong, turning gale force at times. In the north, temperatures will range from 8C to 16C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 11C to 19C; and in the Aegean islands from 15C to 21C. Rain and storms in Athens, gradually improving, with temperatures between 13C and 18C. Rain in the morning in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 12C to 16C.

[09] Greek stocks end sharply lower, turnover hits 4-year lows

Greek equities ended Monday's session sharply lower hit by a fall in turnover to its lowest levels since early 1998, when the market was trading at around 1,425 points.

The general index ended 1.63 percent lower at 2,167.45 points, with turnover a low 58.1 million euros.

The Holding, Insurance, Publication and Banks sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (4.08 percent, 3.90 percent, 3.58 percent and 2.91 percent, respectively), while the Metals and Cement sectors recorded the smallest losses (0.36 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 2.05 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 1.25 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index fell 2.13 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 302 to 31 with another 24 issues unchanged.

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