Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-10-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] President observes final phase of "Parmenion 2001" military exercise

[02] Trade fair of organic farm produce in Athens Oct 4-7

[03] Archaeologists focus on destruction of Minoan Civilisation

[04] Minister launches maritime traffic control centre (ADDS)

[05] Japanese PM's economic adviser to speak in Thessaloniki

[06] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks jump on end-session buying spree

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[08] Athens bourse may switch to earlier trading hours next week

[09] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Wednesday

[10] Greek FM arrives in D.C. for meeting with Powell

[11] CoE Secretary General due Wednesday in Athens

[12] Tributes to Melina Mercouri films in Washington, New York

[01] President observes final phase of "Parmenion 2001" military exercise

"We are proud and we are filled with the sense security and trust toward the Armed Forces we have," President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos said on Tuesday, at the conclusion of the "Parmenion 2001" multi-branch military exercise in northeastern Greece.

Stephanopoulos, Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Parliament deputies of the foreign and defence affairs committee and the Armed Forces' leadership were on hand to observe the final leg of the exercise that took place in the Evros prefecture, northeastern Greece.

"We witnessed that the excellent cooperation, between the different branches of the Greek Armed Forces, is a very important element of the modern army ... I would like to thank the Armed Forces for their labor and effort and to congratulate them for the results of that labor," Stephanopoulos added.

On his part, Tsohatzopoulos expressed his satisfaction over the successful conclusion of the exercise, adding that "it is evident, any more, that the Armed Forces have moved on to a new phase of total restructuring, quality development and training reform, regarding their operation and the new technologies".

Part of the exercise, observed by the president, included an amphibious landing of troops with the use of the newly acquired "Zubr" hovercrafts, which were used for the first time by the Greek Armed Forces.

[02] Trade fair of organic farm produce in Athens Oct 4-7

A trade fair of organically grown farm produce will be held at the Zappion Hall in Athens on October 4-7.

Officials linked to the event told a news conference on Tuesday that all domestic organic produce complied with strict European Union standards.

A shift by domestic consumers to organic products over the last three years had been noted, officials of the Union of Bio-Farmers of Greece said.

The number of stores selling organic produce also had grown, they added.

[03] Archaeologists focus on destruction of Minoan Civilisation

Speakers at the 9th International Cretan Conference in Irakleio, Crete, revealed on Tuesday that longstanding assumptions on the destruction of the Minoan Civilisation by the explosion of a volcano on the island of Santorini are being confirmed by findings.

Jan Driessen and Colin MacDonald, speaking on the second day of the conference, referred to volcanic destruction and earthquakes in Minoan Crete.

In a more recent excavation in Palaikastro layers of volcanic ashes from Santorini were revealed at more locations of the Minoan settlement.

As a result of this finding, a survey is being made of changes occurring following the creation of the specific layer, evidently linked to the explosion of the volcano on Santorini.

[04] Minister launches maritime traffic control centre (ADDS)

Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis on Tuesday inaugurated a centre for maritime traffic control in the western city of Patras.

Papoutsis told the ceremony that the centre, part-funded by the European Union, was part of a government strategy to ugrade port services.

This is the first maritime traffic control centre in Greece to operate on a national level, and it is equal to others in Europe, the minister added.

[05] Japanese PM's economic adviser to speak in Thessaloniki

The Japanese prime minister's economic adviser, Motoshige Itoh, will deliver a lecture on Friday on his country's economy, its performance and outlook.

Itoh is also expected to touch on the repercussions of terrorist strikes in the US on September 11, which have led to a global slowdown.

His visit was arranged by the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japanese embassy and the Macedonia University of Economics and Social Science.

Details are available on 031-220-937.

[06] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks jump on end-session buying spree

The Athens bourse finished higher on Tuesday fuelled by heavy buying at the end of trade that drove up prices.

The general share index gained 1.38 percent to end at 2,230.11 points. Turnover was 110.8 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.02 percent up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 1.58 percent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities 2.23 percent up.

Advances led declines at 280 to 47 with 32 issues remaining unchanged.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 367.861

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 544.494

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.462

Swedish kroner 34.567

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 305.276

Swiss franc 228.354

Norwegian kroner 041.788

Cyprus pound 588.504

Canadian dollar 234.256

Australian dollar 181.520

[08] Athens bourse may switch to earlier trading hours next week

Athens bourse authorities are to meet market representatives on Wednesday to try to reach agreement on new trading hours for the bourse.

Favoured for adoption is 11:00-16:00 on a daily basis, and agreement on the new times would probably mean implementation from Monday for several months, market sources said.

As part of a plan to expand the bourse's trading hours, the session is likely to gain an extra hour from early next year, probably extending trade until 17:00, the same sources said.

The exchange has recently been operating from 12:00 to 18:00, with the following week's hours decided each Friday.

[09] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Wednesday

The weather will be sunny throughout the country on Wednesday, with some scattered cloud in eastern Macedonia, Thrace and Crete. Winds northerly, light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 30C; on the rest of the mainland and the Ionian from 15C to 32C; and in the Aegean islands from 19C to 29C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 18C and 32C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 15C to 30C.

[10] Greek FM arrives in D.C. for meeting with Powell

WASHINGTON (ANA) Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou arrived here Tuesday morning for a same-day afternoon meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, as the brewing US-led anti-terrorism campaign and international cooperation are expected to dominate talks.

Papandreou is also expected to meet with representatives of expatriate Greek organisations in the United States as well as Archbishop of America Demetrios.

The Greek FM arrived in Washington after meetings in Russia and Germany with his counterparts Igor Ivanov and Joschka Fischer, respectively, where the issues of international terrorism and the situation in the Balkans were discussed.

[11] CoE Secretary General due Wednesday in Athens

Council of Europe secretary general Walter Schwimmer arrives in Athens on Wednesday for a two-day visit, on the 6th stop in a campaign to boost the interest of the CoE's 43 member states' governments in the new challenges of the times.

Schwimmer is due to meet with President Costis Stephanopoulos, deputy foreign minister Elisavet Papazoi, justice minister Michalis Stathopoulos, parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis, main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis, and Coalition of Left and Progress (SYN) leader Nikos Constantopoulos.

He will also inaugurate and take part in an international conference, organised by the CoE, on cooperation among the Mediterranean countries in tackling the problem of illegal migration.

The conference, titled "Illegal migration and the dignity of refugees in the Mediterranean" is to take place in central Athens on Wedensday and Thursday with participants from 44 countries.

The conference aims to start an open dialogue among Mediterranean countries on illegal migration in the area, while the conference conclusions will be taken into account by a meeting of CoE ministers to discuss migration in Helsinki in 2002.

Scwhimmer will hold a press conference for Greek journalists on Thursday, at 1:30 p.m., at the Esperia Hotel in downtown Athens.

[12] Tributes to Melina Mercouri films in Washington, New York

A tribute to work of legendary Greek actress Melina Mercouri was among the film programmes organised for this autumn by the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The film series was organised with the cooperation of the Greek Embassy in Washington, the Film Forum in New York, the Melina Mercouri Foundation and with the help of the actress' late husband, film director Jules Dassin.

The programme, which started in September, featured the films 'Stella', 'He who must die', Never on Sunday, 'Phaedra', 'A dream of passion' and the documentary 'Lord Elgin and some stones of no value' filmed by the UK's Channel 4.

Mercouri will also be the central figure of a tribute planned by the Film Forum in New York after October 18.

A monumental figure in 20th-century Greece, Mercouri earned international acclaim for her acting skills, her classical beauty, her passion and her exuberant personality. She was active in the resistance against the military junta in Greece in 1967-1974 and became involved in politics in later life, serving several terms as culture minister under PASOK governments.

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