Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-04-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM prepares for historic EU accession treaty signings this week

[02] Greece makes 630 hospital beds available for Iraqi wounded

[03] Women hardest hit by unemployment, union leader says

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[05] Weather Forecast: Cloud on Tuesday

[01] PM prepares for historic EU accession treaty signings this week

Prime Minister Costas Simitis, currently heading the rotating European Union presidency, would be mainly occupied this week with the historic signing of accession treaties by 10 new members of the Community on Wednesday, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said on Monday.

After chairing a cross-ministerial meeting on preparations for the 2004 Olympics on Tuesday morning, the Greek premier is to have successive meetings in the evening with European Commission President Romano Prodi at 19:00, the head of the Convention for the Future of Europe Valery Giscard d'Estaing at 20:00 and a working dinner with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Defence Policy Javier Solana at 21:00.

From 8:30 on Wednesday, Simitis will receive European leaders arriving in Athens for the signing of accession accords by new EU members at a special ceremony beneath the Athens Acropolis in the afternoon.

[02] Greece makes 630 hospital beds available for Iraqi wounded

The government is contemplating the transfer and treatment of Iraqis injured during the war in Greek hospitals, Health Minister Costas Stefanis said on Monday.

The minister announced that 630 beds in hospitals around the country had been made available for Iraqi civilian wounded, especially children, if necessary.

[03] Women hardest hit by unemployment, union leader says

Women are harder hit by unemployment in Greece than men, the president of the Confederation of Labour of Greece, Christos Polyzogopoulos, said on Monday.

Joblessness among women is currently at 14.6 percent and 6.2 percent for men, against a European Union average of 8.7 percent for female unemployment, Polyzogopoulos told a women trade unionists' meeting in the western port city of Patras.

Wages in Greece for women are lower than for men holding the same jobs, reflecting a worldwide problem, Polyzogopoulos said.

Greece ranks 20th worldwide in terms of the social position of women and their rights, he added.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.082

Pound sterling 0.688

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.200

Japanese yen 130.7

Swiss franc 1.508

Norwegian kroner 7.939

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.578

Australian dollar 1.796

[05] Weather Forecast: Cloud on Tuesday

Cloudy weather is forecast in all parts of the country, with showers likely in the east, Cyclades islands, eastern Peloponnese, and northern Crete. Winds northerly, moderate to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 6C to 17C; in the west from 8C to 20C; and in the rest of the country from 9C to 19C. Temperatures in Athens between 11C and 18C; and in Thessaloniki from 9C to 17C.

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