Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-12-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[03] Spain supports Cyprus' accession without conditions, Greek PM says

[04] SE Europe Cinema Network Organisation set up

[05] German Embassy establishes 'Eleni Vlachou' journalism award

[06] Deputy FM attends symbolic mine explosion in Lebanon

[07] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

[08] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks fall in glum trade

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[10] Weather Forecast: Snow, sleet and rain on Monday

[11] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[01] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

Cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, with showers or sleet in many areas and snow on high ground. Winds variable, strong to gale force. In the north, temperatures will range from -06C to 05C; on the rest of the mainland from 01C to 09C; and in the islands from 07C to 13C. Temperatures in Athens between 02C and 09C; and in Thessaloniki from 01C to 05C.Light snow is expected on Mount Parnes, outside Athens.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.017

Pound sterling 0.644

Danish kroner 7.486

Swedish kroner 9.138

Japanese yen 124.6

Swiss franc 1.485

Norwegian kroner 7.366

Cyprus pound 0.577

Canadian dollar 1.587

Australian dollar 1.807

[03] Spain supports Cyprus' accession without conditions, Greek PM says

MADRID (ANA) - Spain supported Cyprus' accession to the EU along with the other candidate-states and believed that a solution to the Cyprus problem was not a condition for its joining the Community, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Monday after talks with his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar in Madrid.

The city was the last stop in Simitis' tour of European capitals to discuss the Cyprus issue and Greece's EU presidency in the next six months.

''The conclusion is positive. There is a common will that Cyprus should join,'' Simitis said.

Responding to questions, the Greek premier said he expected that a decision for Cyprus' EU accession along with the nine candidate-countries to be taken at Copenhagen on December 12.

''I want to stress that in all my visits, none of the heads of state or prime ministers has said that a solution of the political problem is a condition for Cyprus' accession. They have confirmed that the Helsinki summit decisions must be implemented,'' he said.

After a meeting lasting 90 minutes at Madrid's Palacio de Moncloa, Simitis said the talks with Aznar had been friendly and had covered issues related to the Copenhagen summit and Greece's EU presidency in the next six months.

Aznar had also agreed that efforts to solve the Cyprus problem should continue after the Copenhagen summit if no progress was made until that time, Simitis added.

Simitis and Aznar similarly agreed that Turkey should receive a positive message from the EU concerning its European prospects, though Simitis qualified that this message should require some reciprocal gestures from Ankara with respect to the Cyprus issue, the Euroforce, the Copenhagen criteria, economic stability and the implementation of decisions included in the EU-Turkey association agreement.

[04] SE Europe Cinema Network Organisation set up

Balkan filmakers have set up a Southeastern Europe Cinema Network Organisation for the purpose of exchanging technical know-how and giving economic support for the making of films.

The newly-established Thessaloniki-based network is comprised of a total 11 members-respresentatives of film organisations from the countries of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Slovenia and Greece.

The network was established at the initiative of the Greek Cinema Centre and constitutes a model of cooperation between countries which have different institutional frameworks and a different stance towards the problems of their national cinemas.

[05] German Embassy establishes 'Eleni Vlachou' journalism award

The German Embassy in Athens from next year is establishing an ''Eleni Vlachou'' journalism award aimed at encouraging the coverage of European and international issues.

The embassy, in cooperation with the Press and Mass Media Ministry and the Athens News Agency (ANA), will award, every other year, the best journalistic work on issues of European and international interest.

The candidacies for 2003 should be submitted to the German Embassy by February 15.

The prize, to be awared every two years, will consistute of a trip to Germany and the sum of 2,000 Euros.

The first ''Eleni Vlachou'' award ceremony will be held in May 2003.

Late Eleni Vlachou was for many years owner, publisher and columnist of the Athens 'Kathimerini' daily newspaper.

[06] Deputy FM attends symbolic mine explosion in Lebanon

BEIRUT (ANA - A. Makridis) - The Greek government has earmarked about 880,000 euros to support the activities of the International Mine Removal Centre in 2002 which, manned by Greeks and using salaried veteran officers from the Bosnian War and from all three sides participating in the civil war, began its activities in Bosnian territory and continued them in Nabatija in Lebanon.

Visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos, defying torrential rain, attended the symbolic explosion on Monday of one of six personnel mines found in the region, while Bosnian veterans informed him officially that 21,000 square metres of ground in Nabatija are now safe for its inhabitants.

Loverdos, after being briefed on details of the Centre's activities, congratulated the head of the mission and expressed pleasure over the fact that ''the group is comprised of all the ethnic groups which had participated in the Bosnian civil war and who are now helping other peoples with this action.''

The deputy foreign minister and the diplomatic mission accompanying him on his visit to Lebanon were also welcomed by students of the Saint John Damaskinos Theology Academy of the Alexandria Patriarchate.

Addressing Loverdos at a dinner later, the Academy's rector Bishop Ioannis said ''the strengthening of relations between Greece, Syria and Lebanon is very important. All of us here, Moslems and Christians, feel great pleasure that Greece is playing this role. The Christians, and the Orthodox faithful in particular, feel Greece as our motherland.''

Loverdos said in reply ''Greece tries to help countries in need and Lebanon is a country which has gone through a great deal due to the civil war'', adding that with financial aid for the Academy ''the toils of the Greek taxpayers are producing results.''

[07] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, rainy on Tuesday

Cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, with showers or sleet in many areas and snow on high ground. Winds variable, strong to gale force. In the north, temperatures will range from -06C to 05C; on the rest of the mainland from 01C to 09C; and in the islands from 07C to 13C. Temperatures in Athens between 02C and 09C; and in Thessaloniki from 01C to 05C.Light snow is expected on Mount Parnes, outside Athens.

[08] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks fall in glum trade

The Athens bourse finished lower on Monday with a deline in other European markets triggering a sell-off from mid-session, although shares managed to regain support at 1,800 points at the end of trade.

Smaller capitalisation stocks again were the hardest hit.

The general share index shed 0.56 percent to end at 1,803.18 points. Turnover was 75.1 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.72 percent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 1.45 percent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities finished 1.92 percent down.

Of stocks traded, declines led advances at 264 to 49 with 42 issues remaining unchanged.

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.017

Pound sterling 0.644

Danish kroner 7.486

Swedish kroner 9.138

Japanese yen 124.6

Swiss franc 1.485

Norwegian kroner 7.366

Cyprus pound 0.577

Canadian dollar 1.587

Australian dollar 1.807

[10] Weather Forecast: Snow, sleet and rain on Monday

Cloud and local snowfall is forecast in central and northern Greece and rain or sleet in the rest of the country. Winds easterly very strong in the west of the country and northeasterly very strong in the east. In the north, temperatures will range from -2C to 4C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 2C to 7C; and in the Aegean islands from 7C to 10C. Cloud and sleet in Athens with snow in mountainous areas and possibly in the north of the prefecture with temperatures from 3C to 8C. Cloud and periodical snowfall in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 0C to 4C.

[11] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.008

Pound sterling 0.642

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.124

Japanese yen 126.0

Swiss franc 1.483

Norwegian kroner 7.332

Cyprus pound 0.577

Canadian dollar 1.571

Australian dollar 1.799

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