Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-05-27
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 27/05/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Athens comments on Turkish exercises
- Scuffles between strikers and police
- No inquiry into Ionian share slump
- Crew safe after training flight crash
- Blair invites Simitis to London
- Three arrested in heroin haul
- Spanish royal couple opens exhibition
- Jackpot winner lies low
- Fossil find in Crete
- Illegal immigrants arrested in Corfu
- Parliament rejects fact-finding body for OA
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Athens comments on Turkish exercises
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas today responded differently when asked to comment on the
reserving by Turkey of 17 sea regions in international waters in the Aegean
for military exercises from June 4-20. Tsohatzopoulos described as normal
Ankara's move, saying "we too hold exercises from time to time". In
contrast, Reppas said that the Turkish exercises in the Aegean and in two
areas near the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, "contain an element of
provocation which should not leave the international community indifferent".
But Tsohatzopoulos also criticised Ankara's reserving of two regions
southeast and southwest of Crete, at a distance of 250 miles from Turkey,
describing it as a "provocative choice" by the neighbouring country, adding
though that it was "within the general political choices of Turkey".
Scuffles between strikers and police
Scuffles broke out between strikers and riot police today as workers staged
a 24-hour nationwide strike to protest the government's sweeping privatisation
plans. In Piraeus, tension rose when a group of workers attending a protest
rally demanded that a site foreman immediately stop two Albanians working,
saying that they did not have the necessary permits. The foreman notified
the police who arrested the president of the stokers' union, Yiannis
Manoussouyiannakis, and another striker and took them to the local police
station. Most ports around the country remained closed today as dockworkers
began a 48-hour strike to protest the government's plans to change the
legal status of authorities that run the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
No inquiry into Ionian share slump
The government has no plans to call an enquiry into a new share price slump
in Ionian Bank, whose slated privatisation has triggered fierce opposition
by unions. On Tuesday, Ionian had slid to 11,670 drachmas on the Athens
bourse from 12,680 in the previous session, but recouped some of its losses
on Wednesday, edging up to 11,950 drachmas. Government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas said in reply to a reporter's question on Tuesday's decline that it
was impossible to penalise market movements stemming from within the bourse
and without.
Crew safe after training flight crash
A Hellenic Air Force F-4 jet crashed today while on a training exercise at
the Stathouras firing range in Chalkidiiki, northern Greece. The two pilots,
flight lieutenant Evangelos Economou and flying officer Charalambos
Yiannikos managed to parachute to safety, were picked up by helicopters and
taken to the 424 military hospital in Thessaloniki. According to initial
reports, the crash at 13.50 local time was due to a mechanical fault.
Blair invites Simitis to London
Prime Minister Costas Simitis has been invited to visit London by British
Prime Minister Tony Blair before the EU Cardiff summit gets under way in
June, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today. Reppas said the
Blair's invitation was "of a social nature" but said there were no details
of when it would actually take place.
Three arrested in heroin haul
Three Albanians were arrested today in Athens after being found in
possession of 3.5 kilos of heroin and 100 grams of cocaine. The three were
named by police as Sefa Siamet, 28, Alfred Sila, 31 and Fatvardi Faroukou,
22. They were arrested in Attica Square. In one of two flats used by the
three, police confiscated a precision scale and nearly 1 million drachmas
in cash.
Spanish royal couple opens exhibition
Visiting King Juan Carlos of Spain today inaugurated an exhibition titled
"The Ancient Greeks in Spain: On Hercules' trail" at the Archaeological
Museum of Athens, comprising 250 ancient Greek artefacts dating from the
7th century B.C. to the Venetian era uncovered on the Iberian Peninsula.
"Three thousand years later, Spain wished to bring to Greek territory a
full witness of the Greek influence in the making of Spain's history. Today,
the descendents of those Greeks can stand before a past which is a shared
past of the Greeks and Spaniards," Juan Carlos said at the ceremony
before departing with his wife, Queen Sophia, for Ancient Olympia.
Jackpot winner lies low
The winner of Greece's biggest numbers lottery jackpot, which netted him
1.6 billion dr. (5 million dollars), was still playing hide and seek with
the lottery board and reporters, four days after the draw. The lottery
agent, George Sikalos, in the northern Greek city of Serres where the
winning numbers were placed, told the ANA that he had received telephone
calls from supposed winners, "but no one has shown up so far with the
winning 'Joker' lottery stub to claim the prize money".
Fossil find in Crete
Geologists on a training expedition in Crete have discovered a fish fossil
believed to be three million years old, proof that the island had once been
partially or wholly submerged in the sea. The fossil was found by
geologists from the University of Crete's Museum of Natural History while
on an expedition on Rokas Mountain in Profitis Ilias (Temenos), Heraklion,
at an altitude of about 450 metres above sea level.
Illegal immigrants arrested in Corfu
Corfu port authorities today arrested an Albanian man after he tried to put
four of his compatriots ashore on the Ionian holiday island at daybreak.
Police said Arian Memousi, 25, had used a boat stolen from Corfu to bring
over the four illegal immigrants. All five are to be charged later
today.
Parliament rejects fact-finding body for OA
Parliament today rejected a main opposition New Democracy proposal to set
up a fact-finding commission on ailing national carrier Olympic Airways. Of
the 251 MPs present at the roll-call vote, 142 ruling party PASOK MPs voted
against, and 106 deputies from New Democracy, Coalition of the Left and
Progress and Democratic Social Movement voted for. Three Communist Party
MPs abstained from the vote.
WEATHER
Unstable weather is forecast throughout Greece today with rainfall in
eastern Macedonia, Thrace and the north and eastern Aegean. Winds variable,
moderate to strong. Fine weather in Athens with few clouds and temperatures
betweeen 16-27C. Scattered rain in Thessaloniki in the afternoon with
temperatures from 15-24C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 300.993
British pound 492.270 Japanese yen(100) 218.349
French franc 50.759 German mark 170.242
Italian lira (100) 17.252 Irish Punt 429.060
Belgian franc 8.251 Finnish mark 55.971
Dutch guilder 150.968 Danish kr. 44.696
Austrian sch. 24.164 Spanish peseta 2.001
Swedish kr. 38.940 Norwegian kr. 40.263
Swiss franc 204.446 Port. Escudo 1.666
Aus. dollar 187.190 Can. dollar 207.130
Cyprus pound 572.781
(M.P.)
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