Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-02-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

[02] Weather Forecast: Rainy on Friday

[03] ATHOC chief: 'We'll be ready when the time comes'

[04] PM has meeting with top IOC officials, Greek organisers on Athens

[05] Greek FM sends condolonces for Trajkovski's death

[06] Exhibition in Nicosia on Olympic Games

[07] Rescuers, consignment of aid from Greece arrives in Morocco

[08] Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian prefects discuss cross-border cooperation

[01] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.254

Pound sterling 0.673

Danish kroner 7.511

Swedish kroner 9.292

Japanese yen 137.4

Swiss franc 1.586

Norwegian kroner 8.850

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.680

Australian dollar 1.630

[02] Weather Forecast: Rainy on Friday

Rainy, stormy weather is forecast in all parts of the country, especially in the west and north and in the eastern Aegean. Winds westerly, moderate to very strong. Temperatures in Athens 13C to 18C and in Thessaloniki from 9C to 16C.

[03] ATHOC chief: 'We'll be ready when the time comes'

Greek organisers again promised on Thursday that Athens will be completely ready to host this summers Olympic Games, as speakers addressed a same-day session of the Association of National Olympic Committees general assembly, taking place in the Greek capital this week.

Athens 2004 Olympics Organising Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki outlined progress for the Games to an audience of keenly interested delegates, and amid recent high-profile concerns over delayed work on the classical Marathon route and the new state-of-the-art roof over the main Olympic stadium (OAKA), among others.

On his part, IOC chief inspector for Athens, Denis Oswald, noted that although much needs to be done until August, he still is confident that everything will be ready.

High-ranking culture ministry official Costas Kartalis promised that the ?signature? roof project over the OAKA stadium -- dubbed by the ?Calatrava dome? by local media for the surname of the noted Spanish architect who designed it, Santiago Calatrava -- will be finished by the end of June.

The culture ministry general secretary said the procedure for easing the entire glass-and-metal framework into its final position, a reportedly tricky endeavour, will begin in late April, with a crucial round of engineering tests set for May 5.

[04] PM has meeting with top IOC officials, Greek organisers on Athens Olympics

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Thursday received a visit from International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, currently in Athens for the Association of National Olympic Committees general assembly, who was accompanied by the head of the local Olympics organisers ATHOC, Gianna Angelopoulos, and the IOC's Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli.

This will probably be the last time that Simitis meets Rogge in the capacity of Greek premier. The two men have a history of good and open cooperation since the Greek premier personally took over the task of monitoring coordination of Olympics preparations in 2000 and of chairing an Interministerial Committee in charge of preparations for the August Games in Athens.

[05] Greek FM sends condolonces for Trajkovski's death

Greek Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis on Thursday sent his condolences to the people of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for the death of the country's president, Boris Trajkovski, earlier the same day in a plane crash.

Yiannitsis stressed the efforts Trajkovski had made to establish peace in the Balkans and reaffirmed the friendly relations between Greece and FYROM.

''I wish to express, as foreign minister of Greece and on behalf of its government, my deepest and most sincere condolences toward the friendly nation of our neighbouring country and the families of the victims for the loss of President Trajkovski, his associates and the members of the crew,'' the foreign minister said in his statement.

''This unexpected and tragic death is a truly major loss for his country and the Balkan region, since it comes after a time of great effort by the political forces in FYROM to normalise political life, for national reconciliation, to establish stability and security and to strengthen the country's ties with European institutions.

[06] Exhibition in Nicosia on Olympic Games

NICOSIA (ANA/G. Leonidas) - The Press Office of the Embassy of Greece in Nicosia, the Olympic Games General Secretariat of Greece's Culture Ministry and the Mass Media Institute of the INTERCOLLEGE are holding an exhibition on the theme ''The 1896 and 1906 Olympic Games in the Cypriot Newspapers''.

Cyprus' Education and Culture Minister Pefkios Georgiades will inaugurate the exhibition at the Events Hall of Laiki Bank at 7 p.m. on March 1.

The exhibition, held with the support of the Education and Culture Ministry, honours the Olympic Ideals and the national unanimity of the era of the revival of the Games.

[07] Rescuers, consignment of aid from Greece arrives in Morocco

The two C-130 planes carrying Greek rescue teams and a consignment of aid for earthquake victims arrived in Morocco on Thursday, the Greek armed forces announced.

The aid was gathered and sent to Rabat in Morocco on Wednesday, in the wake of an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale that struck the north African country early on Tuesday, killing nearly 600 people.

The first plane carried a rescue team, materials, search and salvage equipment and specially-trained dogs, while the second plane carried five members of the non-governmental organisation ''Greek Rescue Squad'', four members of the non-governmental organisation ''Doctors of the World'', a mobile hospital and pharmaceuticals.

[08] Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian prefects discuss cross-border cooperation

The will for strengthening cross-border cooperation was expressed at a meeting in Orestiada, northern Greece, on Thursday between the prefects of Evros, Nikolaos Zambounidis, Edirne (Turkey), Fahri Yugel, and Khaskovo(Bulgaria), Georgi Zarchev.

The meeting between the three prefects was held within the framework of the creation of a network of border region prefectures, the founding of which was decided in Xanthi at the initiative of Xanthi prefect G. Pavlidis.

Taking part in the network are the prefects of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, of Bulgaria and of Turkey.

The framework of the cooperation as well as the plan of the network's charter was discussed at length at the Orestiada meeting.

The final proposals which will be shaped will be submitted at the plenum of the prefects which will be held in Smolyan, Bulgaria in March.

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