Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] ATHOC to present 2004 Olympiad's mascot on Thursday

[02] Retail gasoline prices jump on Mideast crisis

[03] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Tuesday

[01] ATHOC to present 2004 Olympiad's mascot on Thursday

The Athens 2004 Organising Committee (ATHOC) will present the 2004 Athens Olympic Games mascot to the press and International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, and possibly IOC President Jacques Rogge, at the Zappeion Hall on Thursday.

In most Olympiads, the mascot is a symbol following the tournaments before and after the Games and is a figment of imagination which, however, ''personifies'' Olympic values and gives them a figure which is simple and accessible to both children and adults.

In addition, the Olympic Games mascot, particularly in past years, is a lucrative product for countries hosting the most important sports event on the planet.

The mascot was selected from among 196 proposals sent to ATHOC from all over the world and through the processes of a tender starting on February 26 last year and reaching the end of last year.

[02] Retail gasoline prices jump on Mideast crisis

Retail liquid fuel prices in Greece rose sharply in March, fuelled by a mounting political crisis in the Middle East, with fresh hikes seen ahead, industry officials said on Monday.

Under indicative retail prices released weekly by the ministry last month, super petrol sold at 0.719 euros a litre and leadless at around 0.61 euros, both up about 0.6 euros, the officials said.

They attributed the rise mainly to an increase in world oil prices stemming from the crisis, with the hike expected to accelerate if the violence continues.

[03] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Tuesday

Sunshine is forecast in most parts of the country with showers in the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese islands in the morning. Winds northerly, light to strong, turning very strong in parts of the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from -1C to 16C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 1C to 18C; and in the Aegean islands from 8C to 17C. Sunny in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 17C. Scattered cloud in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 4C to 16C.

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