Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-04-15
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 15/04/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- No petrol hike, gov't says
- Arsonists say they're sorry
- Greece, Armenia sign defence pact
- Cohen in Athens Tuesday
- Simitis: Bulgaria must join NATO, EU
- Elder Karamanlis still listed in critical condition
- Creation of Balkan rapid deployment force being discussed
- Romeos says anti-crime measures to be intensified
- Effort to save Lord Byron's home
- Programme to upgrade Greek museums
- Greenpeace members arrested at protest outside soy mill
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
No petrol hike, gov't says
The government is not considering raising the price of petrol, acting
government spokesman Yiannis Nikolaou said today in response to press
questions. Nikolaou was asked whether comments by Transport and Communications
Minister Tassos Mandelis on Tuesday meant that a price increase was in the
offing. Newspapers reported that Mandelis had said more expensive petrol
would boost the use of urban transport and subvert the need to raise fare
prices.
Arsonists say they're sorry
An anarchist group has publicly apologised to the students of a private
technical college trapped during a fire-bomb attack on the offices of the
Retired Army Officers Association in downtown Athens last night.
An anonymous caller an Athens daily the "Arsonists of Conscience" had
planted the home-made incendiary device outside the door of the veterans'
office on the first floor of a central Athens building and the group
"sincerely apologises" to the students of the private college who were in
class on the second floor of the building at the time of the attack.
Greece, Armenia sign defence pact
Greece and Armenia today signed in Athens a technical agreement in the
defence cooperation sector for the training of Armenian officers in Greek
military schools. The accord was signed after talks between Defence
Undersecretary Dimitris Apostolakis and his visiting Armenian counterpart
Vahan Shirkhantan on bilateral defence cooperation.
Cohen in Athens Tuesday
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou conferred with U.S. Ambassador
to Greece Nicholas Burns on details of visits to Greece by U.S. Defence
Secretary William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, acting
government spokesman Yiannis Nikolaou said today.
Cohen is due to arrive in Athens on Tuesday as part of a regional
tour.
Simitis: Bulgaria must join NATO, EU
Prime Minister Costas Simitis said today that his visit to Bulgaria this
week was another step on the road to efforts to bring Balkan countries
closer. Simitis was speaking to reporters at a joint news conference held
with his Bulgarian counterpart Ivan Kostov. He said that his talks with the
Bulgarian leadership had been "cordial and friendly" and had provided an
opportunity to define "joint efforts to resolve problems". There is
agreement, he said, on the general framework of policy which underpins
relations in the region and said Greece had always supported Bulgaria's
desire to participate in the European Union.
Elder Karamanlis still listed in critical condition
Former president Constantine Karamanlis was still listed in a critical
condition yesterday, with attending physicians saying they were "prepared
for any eventuality". An attempt on Monday to get the ailing New Democracy
founder and former president off a respirator failed, while doctors said
they will consider making a second attempt today,but only if the 91-year-
old patient responded positively right away. Mr. Karamanlis was placed on
breathing support after his heart stopped beating early on Sunday.
Creation of Balkan rapid deployment force being discussed
Military experts from Balkan countries are kicking-off a two-day conference
in Bucharest today to discuss the creation of a rapid deployment deterrence
force by countries in the region. Representatives from Albania, Bulgaria,
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, Slovenia and
Turkey will attend, while Greece will be represented by an officer with the
rank of colonel. The United States and Italy will send observers .
Romeos says anti-crime measures to be intensified
Measures to contol crime around the country will be intensified until
results are apparent, Public Order Minister George Romeos told a press
conference yesterday. He also admitted that so far, measures to fight crime
have been ineffective and that although the government's measures were not
expected to eradicate crime, poor results had been noted and that the
ministry was not satisfied.
Effort to save Lord Byron's home
British Eurodeputy Ken Coates, who is also the president of the Bertrand
Russell Foundation, called on British PM Tony Blair to rescue the ancestral
home of Lord Byron from destruction due to coal mining. According to
reports, a coal mining company has bought the coal rich estate on which the
residence stands and is planning to begin mining operations, something that
will result in the residence's subsidence. A committee for the protection
of Lord Byron's Heritage was set up in Greece to assist the movement
in Britain.
Programme to upgrade Greek museums
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos yesterday announced a "sweeping" 13-
billion-drachma programme aimed at securing more public investment funds
for upgrading the country's museums. He said 15 major repair and expansion
projects were underway in various Greek museums, while there are plans for
the construction of 14 new ones. Mr. Venizelos also announced that the
ministry is planning 40 exhibitions domestically, 15 overseas, and 630
interventions in archaeological sites over the next 12 months.
Greenpeace members arrested at protest outside soy mill
Nine Greenpeace activists, seven Greek nationals and two Germans, who had
blockaded a major soy mill plant near the Corinth Canal in protest over
genetically altered soya were arrested yesterday afternoon by police.
Earlier in the day, some 30 activists of the international environmental
advocasy group blocked the gates of the Soy Mills Co., demanding an end to
the importation of genetically altered products.
WEATHER
Fine weather is forecast in most parts of Greece today with the possibility
of scattered showers in Crete, the Dodecanese islands and the islands of
the eastern Aegean Sea. Winds variable, light to moderate. Athens will be
sunny with temperatures between 10-23C. Same in Thessaloniki with
temperatures from 7-20C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's closing rates (buying): U.S. dollar 314.127
British pound 525.740 Japanese Yen(100) 241.631
French franc 51.536 German mark 172.737
Italian lira (100) 17.485 Irish Punt 435.488
Belgian franc 8.373 Finnish mark 56.877
Dutch guilder 153.363 Danish kr. 45.289
Austrian sch. 24.550 Spanish peseta 2.035
Swedish kr. 40.118 Norwegian kr. 41.632
Swiss franc 208.295 Port. Escudo 1.686
AUS dollar 203.534 Can. dollar 218.518
Cyprus pound 592.224
(M.P.)
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