NEWS IN DETAIL

Capsized freighter toll at 11, suspensions announced

The suspensions were announced by Merchant Marine Minister Stavros Soumakis, who said he had been notified of the maritime accident involving the dry bulk freighter "Distos" after "considerable delay".

The minister said all five officers would face disciplinary action for the delay in briefing the ministry's leadership of the incident, which occurred late Saturday night off Kymi, Evia.

So far, 11 bodies have been recovered from the capsized vessel, 10 of which have been identified, as divers continued search efforts. The "Distos" was carrying a load of 5,300 tonnes of cement from the central Greek port city of Volos to Piraeus.

Salvage operations and the recovery of the remaining bodies were being hampered by choppy seas in the region.

Out of 21 persons on board the vessel, including the wives of two crewmen and a 10-year-old girl, only an 18-year-old merchant marine cadet survived when he jumped overboard as the Distos began to list after being hit by two large waves, which caused its cement cargo to shift.

Autopsies of the bodies at the Athens mortuary revealed the cause of death to be drowning by seawater almost immediately after the ship capsized.

Defence Minister visits Greek contingent in Bosnia

Greek forces participated in the previous IFOR mission in the area, and are currently in Bosnia as part of NATO-led forces operating under a United Nations Security Council mandate.

Tsohatzopoulos said the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) is now aiming for the successful holding of forthcoming municipal elections and the return of refugees.

ELDYB participated in safeguarding the recent elections for the presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, distributing electoral material and receiving ballot boxes after the end of the voting procedure.

Earlier, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos addressed the 250-strong Greek contingent in Bosnia and extended the ministry's New Year's wishes.

Parliament President issues New Year's message

He said the year was characterised by the deaths of well-known personalities in the political and cultural sectors as well as by the Imia islets incident.

Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Kaklamanis said that for as long as the neighbouring country continues to make provocative claims against Greek national sovereignty, and as long as Cyprus continues to suffer under Turkish occupation, Greeks mu st not rest.

Peruvian embassy bombed, MRTA condemns attack

An organisation calling itself the "Militant Guerrilla Formation" later claimed responsibility for the time-bomb explosion in a telephone call to a local radio station.

The explosion caused extensive material damage on the second floor of the apartment building, located on Vassilisis Sofias Avenue in central Athens.

According to reports, further casualties were averted by a warning call which prompted police to evacuate the building.

The shadowy terrorist group first made its appearance by exploding a bomb at the Athens Polytechnic last November during events marking the anniversary of a student uprising against the military junta ruling Greece in 1973.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Peru's Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) guerrilas in Lima condemned the bombing of the embassy. "We reject this sort of display of solidarity because it does not contribute to the solution of a crisis," Isaac Velazco told Reuters in a telephone interview from Hamburg.

The "Militant Guerrilla Formation", which claimed responsibility for the attack, said the bomb was a demonstration of solidarity with the MRTA guerrillas, who currently hold 83 hostages in the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima.

"Those who feel they are revolutionaries by this action should know that an isolated action in the context of a country's class struggle does not help, but prejudices the process," Mr. Velazco said.

"We do not justify violence for the sake of violence. This solidarity has to be expressed within the negotiation process," he added.

Wolfpack reported in central Greece

The approximately 80 residents of the community, which has been cut-off since Christmas, have been returning to their homes early in the evening for safety reasons. Yesterday, armed groups of villagers searched the area for about 10 wolves, blamed for t he killing of 30 sheep and goats over the past four days.

"We have never had wolves in the past, but now they are increasing continuously," community President Elektra Kretsa said, adding that "although relevant services have been notified since the summer, they have done nothing else than remind us that wolves are a protected species."

With snow 50 cm deep covering the ground, residents have been taking shelters in their residences when night falls as howling is being heard around the village.

Athens Academy honours outstanding contributions

As of this year the Academy also initiated an award for the Olympic Ideal, "with the purpose of praising the spiritual and social significance of the Olympic contest," Athens Academy President Yiangos Pesmazoglou said during the ceremony.

Greek firms give helping hand to Bulgaria

At a special ceremony at the offices of the Association of Greek Businessmen in Bulgaria, Greece's ambassador to Sofia, Panayiotis Karakassis, called on all those present to extend a helping hand to the Bulgarian people who are currently going through difficult days.

Bulgaria's government lacks funds for welfare spending and Bulgaria has been particularly hard hit by the recent cold snap, with four patients dying at an unheated mental hospital and recent snowstorms leaving 470 Bulgarian towns and villages without power.

The Ionian Bank branch in Sofia has "adopted" the Preslaf orphanage in the city of Sumen and the children's sanatorium for heart conditions in the city of Bankja, paying for all operating expenses as well as donating 1.5 million lev in money and food.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian Investment Bank, which is managed by Greece's Commercial Bank, has donated $3,000 to the Santanski orphanage to install central heating.

The Intracom Group is sponsoring the Ran Bosilek orphanage in Sofia, paying for all operating costs, the renovation of the building and for basic infrastructure. At a special ceremony, Bulgarian Olympic gold medallist Stefka Konstadinova distributed Chr istmas gifts on behalf of the Group.

Intracom has also undertaken the full and free computerisation of the National Gallery of Sofia and representatives of Greek firms have offered to cover the entire needs of Greek schools for 1997.

State securities issues target 1.5 trillion drachmas in January

One-year treasury bills will be issued on Jan. 2, taxed with a 7.50 per cent rate and bearing an 11.20 per cent interest rate. Their net yield after tax will be 10.36 per cent. Three-month bills with a 10.20 per cent interest rate and six-month bills with a 10.50 per cent interest rate will also be floated.

Additionally, for the first time, bonds will be issued on Jan. 20 without zero coupons and with a two-year duration, namely, two-year treasury bills, while the possibility will be provided for renewal of treasury bills maturing on this date.

There will be a public subscription on Jan. 24 for three-year bonds with a steady interest rate and on Jan. 27 for seven-year bonds withaa fluctuating interest rate. Lastly, treasury bill titles will be issued on Jan. 31.

On the question of the public debt's development in 1996, the ministry announced that at the end of the year the central administration's debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to be 120.5 per cent, presenting a slight reduction (0.3 per cent) compared to 1995 (120.8 per cent).

At the end of 1997, an even greater decrease is expected with this percentage reaching 116 per cent of GDP. The small decrease shows a stabilisation trend due to the first stage surpluses of past years. Referring to the issue of new products, the minist ry announced that the issue of index-linked bonds will start later.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

US dlr. 245.560 Pound sterling 415.152 Cyprus pd 522.784 French franc 46.797 Swiss franc 181.635 German mark 157.812 Italian lira (100) 16.081 Yen (100) 211.723 Canadian dlr. 179.254 Australian dlr.195.722 Irish Punt 411.363 Belgian franc 7.665 Finnish mark 52.804 Dutch guilder 140.715 Swedish kr. 35.762 Norwegian kr. 38.083 Austrian sh. 22.441 Spanish peseta 1.876 Portuguese escudo 1.567

(L.G.)

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