Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-06-14
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 14/06/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Arrests in teacher exam incidents
- Pangalos interview to Turkish newspaper
- Archbishop Christodoulos visits Ecumenical Patriarchate
- Boston Museum says it will return artefacts
- Bosnian Serb president due Monday
- Ionian bank strike continues
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Arrests in teacher exam incidents
Nine persons were arrested in central Athens as fresh violence broke out in
the third day of teachers' public school appointment examinations. The
incidents occurred when riot police stepped in to disperse unappointed
teachers protesting the newly-introduced exams, which replace the
appointment seniority list, as they attempted to block candidates from
entering examination centres.
The exams end Monday.
Pangalos interview to Turkish newspaper
Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos has said that the problemsin
Turkey's relations with Greece and Europe originate in its refusal to
recognise the International Court at The Hague.
"Turkey will be asked, during its course towards EU membership to recognise
the court," he told the Turkish daily Cumhurriyet in an interview published
today.
He reiterated that "the sole negotiable issue (between the two countries)
is that of the continental shelf in the Aegean".
Referring to regular tension caused by violations of Greek airspace by
Turkish jet fighters, he said he had repeatedly suggested the following
practical solution to his Turkish interlocutors:
"If you do not accept the Greek 10-mile airspace limit, you can, once a
month, and on pre-set dates, hold such flights, but on condition you
declare the reason in advance. If this happens, then the daily unpleasant
incidents with interceptions will disappear".
Archbishop Christodoulos visits Ecumenical Patriarchate
Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece, on a visit to the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Phanar, Istanbul, has formally
invited Ecumenical Patriarchate Vartholomeos to visit the Church of Greece
"at his convenience".
Boston Museum says it will return artefacts
Greece said on Saturday a U.S. museum was returning a collection of ancient
Greek vase fragments to Athens and suggested this should serve as a role
model for other museums.
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
had written to him saying it was returning some 270 vase fragments that
have been at the museum since 1958 mistakenly believed to be on loan from a
private collection.
"This decision...has a symbolic content and is a model of sensitivity that
should be followed by others as well," Venizelos said in a statement.
It was a thinly veiled reference to Britain's refusal to return the Elgin
Marbles, 5th century BC friezes that were removed from the Parthenon temple
by British diplomat Lord Elgin with the permission of the Ottoman
occupation authorities and sold to the British Museum in 1816.
Greece last week said it was renewing its request of the return of the
marbles after revelations that the sculptures had suffered damage in the
1930s during an attempt to clean them.
The argument over the marbles has caused concern among the world's museums,
which fear that if Greece is successful it may open the way for other
countries to reclaim their art treasures.
The Boston Museum told Venizelos a review of artefacts in 1997 had revealed
that the fragments had been received by the museum by an anonymous donor
intending that it arrange for them to be returned to Greece.
Bosnian Serb president due Monday
Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic is due in Athens Monday for talks
with President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Costas
Simitis, Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, and other government
officials. She has been invited to Greece by the non-governmental
organisation "Greek Solidarity Caravan".
Ionian Bank strike continues
State-run Ionian Bank employees have voted to continue their month-long
strike in protest of government plans to sell a 51 percent majority package
in the bank, with a new 24-hour stoppage on Monday.
WEATHER
Fair weather is forecast for all parts of Greece Monday, with local clouds
in the afternoon in the central regions. Winds northwesterly, light to
moderate. Athens will be sunny with temperatures between 19-31 C. Same for
Thessaloniki, changing to overcast in the afternoon, and temperatures of 17-
29 C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 305.526
British pound 498.678 Japanese yen(100) 211.812
French franc 50.404 German mark 168.957
Italian lira (100) 17.161 Irish Punt 426.362
Belgian franc 8.194 Finnish mark 55.629
Dutch guilder 149.961 Danish kr. 44.394
Austrian sch. 24.037 Spanish peseta 1.993
Swedish kr. 38.103 Norwegian kr. 39.918
Swiss franc 204.352 Port. Escudo 1.652
Aus. dollar 180.757 Can. dollar 208.221
Cyprus pound 571.967
(L.G.)
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