Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-06-04
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 04/06/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- NATO chief: Greece, Turkey to implement 1998 accords
- Turkish fighter planes infringe Athens FIR
- Syrian ship skips out of port
- U.S. prosecution of Rashid not Athens' issue
- Court rules Ionian strike illegal
- Greek call for nuclear-free Mediterranean
- Road blockade threat in Piraeus
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
NATO chief: Greece, Turkey to implement 1998 accords
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana announced today that Greece and Turkey
had agreed to fully implement accords signed in 1988 concerning rules of
conduct relating to military activities in the Aegean and, when possible,
to supplement them, according to an ANA despatch from Brussels. "The
Secretary-General of NATO is in the pleasant position to announce that
during ongoing talks with the permanent representatives of Greece and
Turkey on confidence-building measures (CBMs), the two sides informed him
of their intention to fully implement the accords concluded in 1988 by then
foreign ministers Karolos Papoulias and Mesut Yilmaz (memorandum of
understanding signed on 27 May 1988 in Athens and guidelines for averting
accidents in international waters and international airspace signed on 8
September, 1988 in Istanbul," Solana's announcement said.
Turkish fighter planes infringe Athens FIR
Fifteen formations of Turkish aircraft today repeatedly infringed the
Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) in the central and northern Aegean,
press sources said. The 18 F-16, 10 F-4 and 2 RF-4 (aerial photography)
aircraft were identified and intercepted by a total of 20 Greek fighter
jets.
Syrian ship skips out of port
A Syrian-flagged cargo ship raised anchor and fled the port of Mytilene
under the cover of darkness last night, leaving behind two of its crew, all
its shipping documents and a court order impounding the vessel against
payment of debts totalling 134.4 million drachmas. Mytilene port authorities
said the captain and eight of the crew members of the "Abdul Kader K"
defied a court injunction and sailed out of the port without notifying or
receiving permission from Mytilene port authorities, with lights out to
avoid detection.
U.S. prosecution of Rashid not Athens' issue
The Greek government said today that it was "not annoyed" about the arrest
by U.S. authorities of Mohammad Rashid, a former PLO officer convicted in
Greece of planting a bomb in 1982 on a U.S. airliner. "The authorities of
each country do what they must and we feel we have handled the issue
responsibly here," Reppas said in reply to press questions. Justice
Department officials in Washington said on Wednesday that the U.S. had
brought Rashid to Washington to stand trial for the bombing of a Pan
American airliner over Hawaii in which a Japanese teenager was killed.
Rashid was tried on the same charges and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment
by a Greek court in 1992 for premeditated murder. Rashid's release and
deportation from Greece in 1996 drew the displeasure of the U.S.
Court rules Ionian strike illegal
A court today ruled a strike by Ionian Bank workers illegal and slapped a
one-million drachma fine on their union leaders for each day the strike is
prolonged. The ruling by the Athens court of first instance applies to a
walkout from June 1 to June 6, which was called by the national bank unions
federation. The court ordered a halt to the strike and banned any further
stoppages carrying the same demands. Liable to the fine are the president
of Ionian Bank's staff association, Yannis Markakis, and its general
secretary, Stavros Nikolaou.
Greek call for nuclear-free Mediterranean
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou today called on 26 of his
colleagues attending a Euro-Mediterranean conference for the Mediterranean
to be declared a nuclear-free zone, according to an ANA dispatch from
Palermo. Reports said the proposal received a positive response as did the
proposal for an Olympic Truce, promoted by Papandreou. Greece has argued
for greater cooperation at an economic, cultural and social level between
the countries of the Euro-Med conference.
Road blockade threat in Pireaus
Piraeus municipal authorities today threatened to block roads leading to
the country's biggest port and adjacent municipalities unless the
government rehires on a permanent basis 432 recently dismissed employees
who have taken their case to court. The blockade decision was taken by
Piraeus municipal council and announced by Mayor Stelios Logothetis, who
said the protest action would begin next Wednesday morning using refuse
collection trucks.
WEATHER
Fair weather will prevail throughout Greece today with the possibility of
scattered showers in eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Winds will be variable,
light to strong. Fair weather in Athens where temperatures will range
between 19-30C. Mostly fair weather in Thessaloniki where temperatures will
be from 18-31C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Wednesday's closing rates (buying) U.S. dollar 300.179
British pound 490.782 Japanese yen(100) 217.466
French franc 50.469 German mark 169.260
Italian lira (100) 17.178 Irish Punt 426.957
Belgian franc 8.204 Finnish mark 55.721
Dutch guilder 150.169 Danish kr. 44.455
Austrian sch. 24.056 Spanish peseta 1.992
Swedish kr. 38.694 Norwegian kr. 40.176
Swiss franc 203.028 Port. Escudo 1.653
Aus. dollar 184.418 Can. dollar 206.713
Cyprus pound 575.360
(M.P.)
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