Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-01-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Simitis-Prodi joint press conference

[02] Deputy FM discusses Romanian PM's visit with ambassador

[03] Bulgaria's EU accession minister hails Greek EU presidency

[04] Two more N17 arrests to follow, police source says

[05] Eurostat population figures for EU, Greece

[06] U.S. embassy to honor Eugene O'Neill

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloud and rain expected on Saturday

[09] Greek stocks end dismal week 4.07 percent lower

[01] Simitis-Prodi joint press conference

Greece's Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Friday said that contacts between the Greek government and its counterparts in Europe indicated that a common EU position on the Iraq issue was achievable.

In a joint conference in Athens with visiting EU Commission President Romano Prodi, Simitis said that ''today nobody can prejudge whether there is going to be a war'', adding that ''nevertheless, it is our wish that there will be no war''.

The prime minister reiterated that there was a procedure which had to be completed, that the UN Security Council had put forth some conditions, that a special mission had been dispatched to Iraq and that decisions on the issue would be made after its conclusions were released.

''We are going to follow this procedure and the Security Council will decide when it has the facts'', Simitis said.

He stressed the need for dialogue with the member-states of the UN Security Council and also with the Council's permanent members.

On the same issue, Prodi said that there were funds available for humanitarian aid to Iraq, as well as for any humanitarian needs created by a war.

''There are alternative scenarios in the event of a war in Iraq'', he said.

Referring to the priorities of the Greek EU presidency, Simitis outlined the following five axes: completion of EU enlargement and signature of the Accession Treaty, the continuation of the strategy adopted at the Lisbon Summit to boost competitiveness and combat unemployment, the completion of the Convention on the Future of Europe process, and EU defence, foreign policy and foreign affairs.

On his part, Prodi said that the Commission's next meeting with the Greek EU presidency was set for 16 April in Athens (at the ceremony for the signature of the Accession Treaty), adding that EU enlargement would not end in Athens since the ''doors of the EU are open and in the long run, the entire Balkan region belongs with the EU''.

[02] Deputy FM discusses Romanian PM's visit with ambassador

Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos and Romanian Ambassador to Greece Caius Traian Dragomir on Friday discussed preparations for the official visit Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase will be making to Athens on January 21.

Talks focused on all issues concerning bilateral economic relations which had preoccupied both sides during the Greek prime minister's last visit to Bucharest in February 2002.

It was ascertained that all issues pending at the time were promoted and solved, as well as specific issues regarding Greece's Balkan programme and problems arising in two major Greek investments in Romania.

Consequently, from the point of view of economic relations, the meeting between the two prime ministers is expected to take place in a favourable framework facilitating their further promotion.

[03] Bulgaria's EU accession minister hails Greek EU presidency

SOFIA - (ANA) Bulgaria's European Union Accession Minister Meglena Kouneva on Friday hailed the official beginning of Greece's European Union (EU) presidency and stated that Bulgaria would continue its active participation in the efforts for stabilisation and consolidation of security in the region.

Kouneva was addressing an event at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry where government officials and European diplomats briefed leading representatives of the domestic business world on the opportunities and challenges facing Bulgaria's economy in its EU accession course.

''Bulgaria shares the hope of the Greek presidency for a final, fair and permanent solution to the Cyprus issue, before the signature of the accession treaty '', Kouneva said, also expressing Bulgaria's willingness to contribute to the attestation of the EU as an important factor for peace, stability and growth in Europe and in the rest of the world.

The EU has set the April 2003 Athens Summit as the date on which the Accession Treaty with 10 new members will be signed.

[04] Two more N17 arrests to follow, police source says

Two more arrests in connection with the urban guerrilla group November 17 would be made in the Athens are over the next two days, a high-ranking anti-terrorist squad officer revealed to the ANA on Friday.

The same source said that the authorities now had strong evidence of links between N17 and earlier terrorist organisations such as ELA, ''May 1'' and ''Revolutionary Cells'' and estimated that uncovering these groups was simply a matter of time.

He said there would be another 10 arrests related to ELA and similar groups in February, while authorities had evidence that some of these individuals acted as contacts with N17.

Regarding the latest N17-linked arrest by the anti-terrorist squad, that of 41-year-old Anestis Papanastasiou, the source said that the suspect denied all involvement with the terrorist group under interrogation and claimed that his cousin Nikos Papanastasiou - allegedly one of N17's founder members - was the only suspected member of the group that he knew.

Papanastasiou, who was arrested on Thursday, admitted authorship of a diagram of the Strymonikos army camp and a note found by police, something proven by hand-writing analysis in police labs, but claimed that his cousin Nikos had stolen them from his home. He claims to have made the diagram while serving as a cadet officer in the camp at the orders of his superiors.

Police say they can prove the diagram was made long after Papanastasiou stopped serving at the base and dismiss his claims that it was stolen as laughable.

On Friday, Papanastasiou appeared before an appeals public prosecutor and special appeals magistrate Leonidas Zervobeakos, who gave him until Monday to prepare his response to the charges against him.

Nineteen ''N17'' suspects have so far been arrested.

[05] Eurostat population figures for EU, Greece

BRUSSELS (ANA) The EU statistical service, Eurostat, noted that Greeces population increased by 30,000 people in 2002, with residents in the country numbering approximately 11 million by years end.

According to Eurostat, 9.0 births per 1,000 residents were recorded in Greece for 2002, as opposed to 9.4 deaths per every 1,000 residents a figure that translates into a 0.4 percent decrease in the population rate.

Conversely, Cyprus has amongst the highest birth rates, at 10.9 per 1,000 live births.

[06] U.S. embassy to honor Eugene O'Neill

The United States Embassy will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the death of celebrated American playwright Eugene O'Neill with a series of movies and lectures in his honor at the Hellenic-American Union (HAU), according to a press release issued by the U.S. embassy in Athens on Friday.

Noted Greek director Yannis Iordanidis, whose production of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night is now running at the National Theater, has assembled an exhibition of costumes, set designs and manuscripts that will run from January 13-February 22, it was added.

In cooperation with the Greek Film Archive, the HAU will also screen four films based on O'Neill's work. The films will be shown over the weekends of January 18-19 and February 1-2 at the HAU auditorium. The films are Anna Christie, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Desire Under the Elms, and Mourning Becomes Electra. Each showing will be preceded by a short talk explaining the work's background and importance.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.058

Pound sterling 0.658

Danish kroner 7.488

Swedish kroner 9.211

Japanese yen 126.7

Swiss franc 1.471

Norwegian kroner 7.31

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.641

Australian dollar 1.825

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloud and rain expected on Saturday

Cloud and rain is forecast in most parts of the country on Saturday, while storms are expected in the west later in the day. Winds easterly, northeasterly light to moderate in the north and southerly southeasterly very strong to gale force in the rest of the country. In the north and central Greece, temperatures will range from 3C to 13C; in the west from 8C to 17C; and in the rest of the country from 11C to 20C. Cloud in Athens with rain later in the day and with temperatures between 10C and 17C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 7C to 13C.

[09] Greek stocks end dismal week 4.07 percent lower

Greek stocks ended the last trading session of the week lower in the Athens Stock Exchange pushing the general index to its lowest close in five year.

The index dropped 1.05 percent to end at 1,703.79 points with turnover a moderate 81.2 million euros.

The IT Solution sector was the only one to show gains (up 0.05 percent), while the Holding, Metals, Construction, Telecommunications and Publication sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (2.81 percent, 2.40 percent, 2.23 percent, 1.69 percent and 1.62 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 1.25 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 1.29 percent, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 1.17 percent lower and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index ended 1.25 percent off.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 222 to 84 with another 52 issues unchanged. The general index ended the week with a net loss of 4.07 percent.

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