Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-04-28
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 28/04/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Turkish sub warned after approaching Aegean island coast
- Defence Minister to visit Greek peacekeeping troops in Albania
- Greek state to be godfather of murdered Greek-cypriot's baby
- Thirty-three dead, 324 injured in Easter exodus road accidents
- Earthquake causes minor damage in Messinia
- Ancient skull returned to Greece
- Shops closed today
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Turkish sub warned after approaching Aegean island coast
Greek soldiers manning an army post on the Aegean island of Farmakonisi
yesterday spotted a Turkish submarine sailing on the surface in ''harmless
passage'', defence ministry sources said.
Because the submarine, possibly due to weather conditions, approached the
coast of the island closer than regulations allow, the soldiers fired
warning shots in the air in accordance with standing orders.
The same sources said Hellenic Navy vessels were monitoring the course of
the submarine from a discreet distance.
Defence Minister to visit Greek peacekeeping troops in Albania
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos left today for Tirana to
spend Easter Monday with Greek troops participating in the multinational
protection force in Albania, as the last batch of the 700-man strong Greek
contingent leaves for the neighbouring country tomorrow.
Addressing young conscipts at a military camp in Thessaloniki on Easter
Sunday, Mr. Tsohatzopoulols said that a "strong army means favourable terms
in negotiations for the settlement of all issues concerning Greece
today."
For the same occasion, Defence Undersecretary Dimitris Apostolakis also
goes to Bosnia today to visit Greek peacekeeping troops serving there.
Greek state to be godfather of murdered Greek-cypriot's baby
The Greek state will symbolically be the godfather of Anastassia Isaac,
baby daughter of Tassos Isaac, the young Greek-cypriot who was brutally
murdered by Turkish-cypriots and "Grey Wolves" militants last year as he
tried to lower the Turkish flag from a pole in the Turkish-occupied part of
the island republic.
Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos will be the symbolic godfather at
the christening ceremony to be held at the Church of St. George in
Paralimni village, near where Isaac was shot and killed.
Thirty-three dead, 324 injured in Easter exodus road accidents
Thirty-three people were killed and 324 injured in 248 road accidents since
last Thursday as thousands of city dwellers left for the provinces to spend
the Orthodox Easter.
Traffic police today took special measures along the country's national
highways for the safe return of the holidaymakers.
Earthquake causes minor damage in Messinia
An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale was recorded at 0119 this
morning, 210 km south-southwest of Athens. The epicentre of the tremor,
which was felt throughout the prefecture of Messinia, was the Gulf of
Kyparissia. Although no injuries have been reported, two houses and a
warehouse sustained structural damage.
Ancient skull returned to Greece
An ancient skull of great archaeological significance which has been stored
for many years in Vienna for research purposes was returned to Greece
yesterday. The ''Minoan Microcephalus'' was handed to Greece's Ambassador
in Vienna on Thursday. According to researchers, the skull, discovered
during excavations on Crete in 1962, proves that the Minoan dynasty in
Crete was indigenous. The skull will most probably be put on display at the
Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Shops closed today
Shops will remain closed throughout the country today. The post offices at
Athens international airport and the port of Piraeus will however be open
throughout. Bakeries and shops will reopen on Tuesday.
WEATHER
Fair weather is forecast for most parts of the country today, becoming
cloudy in the mainland and northwestern Greece in the afternoon, accompanied
rainfall. Winds will be westerly, light to moderate especially in the
Ionian Sea. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures between 7-23C.
Thessaloniki will be partly cloudy with a drizzle in the afternoon and
temperatures between 6-19C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Closing rates - buying US dlr. 270.717
Pound sterling 438.325 Cyprus pd 529.113
French franc 46.719 Swiss franc 184.631
German mark 157.500 Italian lira (100) 15.881
Yen (100) 214.609 Canadian dlr. 193.896
Australian dlr. 209.957 Irish Punt 418.128
Belgian franc 7.640 Finnish mark 52.467
Dutch guilder 140.060 Danish kr. 41.319
Swedish kr. 35.315 Norwegian kr. 38.321
Austrian sch. 22.382 Spanish peseta 1.871
Portuguese escudo 1.570
(C.E.)
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