Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-04-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] Visiting Ukrainian premier meets Greek PM, culture minister

[02] 'Athens-scape' exhibition to open in London on April 23

[03] Athens International Airport S.A. wins KPMG HR award

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[05] EU EQUAL Programme in Greece focuses on immigrants & refugees

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Wednesday

[07] Greek stocks end 0.81 pct down on profit taking

[01] Visiting Ukrainian premier meets Greek PM, culture minister

Visiting Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Janukovych on Tuesday held talks with Greek Premier and European Council President Costas Simitis regarding the latest international developments.

Earlier, Janukovych had met with Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos for talks on bilateral cooperation between Greece and the Ukraine in the arts.

The Ukrainian premier is in Greece at the head of a large Ukrainian delegation that also includes Ukrainian Olympic medallists and sports champions.

Venizelos briefed Janukovych on the progress of preparations for the Olympics and related public works, the route of the Olympic Torch relay and issues of bilateral interest that are affected by the war taking place in Iraq.

The Ukraine is still the home of a large ethnic Greek minority numbering roughly 200,000 people.

[02] 'Athens-scape' exhibition to open in London on April 23

The ''Athens-scape: the 2004 Olympics and the Metabolism of the City'' exhibition will open in the RIBA gallery in London on April 23 and will last until May 24, organized by the Greek Foundation for Culture, the Culture Ministry and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The exhibition consists of three units that concern the Olympic projects and the temporary structures that will be used during the Olympic Games in Athens, as well as the changes that noted in the city of Athens in view of 2004.

The model of the new Acropolis museum will be one of the central exhibits and on May 13 Prof. D. Patermalis and Architect R. Tschumi will address an event presenting the new museum.

The exhibition is part of the ''Greece in Britain 2003'' events of the Greek Culture Foundation in London.

[03] Athens International Airport S.A. wins KPMG HR award

The Athens International Airport S.A. won a prestigious award for its activities in the field of human resources, during the 6th Human Resources Symposium organized by KPMG, a press release issued by the Athens International Airport S.A. said.

The Airport was awarded for the initiative and work of its Human Resources Division in the area of training and development of the approximately 800 employees of the Airport Company, as well as of the human resources of the other companies in ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' airport community

The ''KPMG Awards'' were established in 2002, as a distinction to the companies that undertook the best initiatives in the field of Human Resources.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.074

Pound sterling 0.692

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.242

Japanese yen 128.9

Swiss franc 1.497

Norwegian kroner 7.835

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.588

Australian dollar 1.791

[05] EU EQUAL Programme in Greece focuses on immigrants & refugees

The Developmental Collaboration for Equality and Social Cohesion of the European Union's EQUAL program announced on Tuesday the establishment and operation of offices for receiving refugees and migrants in Greece, with the support of the Greek Teachers Federation and UNICEF.

Action already taken includes the distribution of printed material focusing on the eradication of xenophobic phenomena at the schools of Athens and the launching of the Electronic Watch.

According to data provided during the press conference, offices for receiving immigrants and refugees are being operated by the municipalities of Athens and Menidi as well as by the ''Medicines sans Frontieres'' organisation.

Moreover, it was announced that a WebSite, ''Migrants in Greece'', was launched within the framework of the EQUAL program at www.migrantsingreece.org, an on-line watch focusing on migrant and refugee issues and providing a wide selection of practical information and background documentation in both Greek and English.

Speaking during the press conference, Acharnes Mayor Spyros Striftos expressed his satisfaction over the course of the program and wished for its continuance to enable foreigners coming to Menidi, a neighborhood of Acharnes, to have all the facilitation the program provides for them.

Athens Municipal Council Member Katerina Katrivanou also spoke of the significance of the offices and read an address by Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni.

KEK ERGON President Margarita Defiggou stressed that the basic aim of the program is the smooth incorporation of immigrants and refugees in the labor market and the resolution of the problems they face.

She added that the program will run for three years and aims at combatting racism and xenophobia, as well as the establishment of a multi-cultural society on a European Union level.

The European Union's EQUAL initiative is funded by the European Social Fund and examines ways of eliminating discrimination and inequalities faced by workers and individuals seeking work.

There are 24 agencies participating in the EQUAL program in Greece under the overall coordination of the Athens News Agency (ANA), which also undertook the role of legal representation and social support.

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Wednesday

Sunshine is forecast in most parts of the country, with scattered cloud in the west and north, and in the eastern Aegean. Winds variable, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from -6C to 12C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from -1C to 17C; and in the Aegean islands from 7C to 16C. Temperatures in Athens between 4C and 15C; and in Thessaloniki from -1C to 12C.

[07] Greek stocks end 0.81 pct down on profit taking

Greek stocks ended Tuesday's session lower in what traders described as a normal correction of the market following Monday's sharp advance. Domestic investors followed a profit taking trend prevailing in international markets.

The general index ended 0.81 percent lower at 1,566.51 points, with turnover a low 86.5 million euros.

The Cement, Wholesale and Food-Beverage sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (1.79 percent, 1.40 percent and 0.97 percent, respectively), while the IT Solution and IT sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (0.96 percent and 0.59 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks dropped 0.82 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 0.11 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.26 percent down. The wider FTSE/ASE 140 index ended 0.64 percent off.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 199 to 110 with another 49 issues unchanged.

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