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Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-06-24
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 24/06/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Greek president to Cyprus tomorrow
- May 98 group claims bank bomb
- New tax squad goes after big fish
- Thessaloniki police seek teacher
- Charles Aznavour in Athens
- Greece, FYROM agree peaceful Kosovo resolution needed
- Pangalos receives Moscow Mayor
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Greek president to Cyprus tomorrow
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos leaves Thursday for a four-
day state visit to Cyprus, the first ever by a Greek head of state to the
island republic. Stephanopoulos will be greeted at Larnaca airport Thursday
morning by the entire Cypriot leadership, headed by President Glafcos
Clerides. Shortly after his arrival, he will be presented with the gold key
to the city of Nicosia by the city's mayor. Stephanopoulos will hold talks
with his Cypriot counterpart later in the day, while delegations of the two
countries will also be meeting. The Greek President will visit the Green
Line -- the UN-controlled buffer zone between the free areas and the
Turkish-occupied sector in the north if the island republic -- on
Sunday.
May 98 group claims bank bomb
The "May '98" group which claimed responsibility for Monday night's bombing
of an Alpha Credit Bank branch in Athens may be a branch of the notorious
terrorist organisation "November 17", according to anti-terrorist police.
An anonymous caller telephoned the Athens daily "Eleftherotypia" late last
night and claimed responsibility on behalf of "May '98" for the bomb
attack. Senior police officials said the bomb, comprised of a timing
mechanism made with two clocks and a large amount of dynamite, was typical
of devices used by "November 17".
New tax squad goes after big fish
National Economy Minister Yannos Papantoniou today announced the establishment
of an elite financial crimes squad to go after tax evasion by high profile
figures, such as lawyers, doctors and business people. Papantoniou said the
task force would be made up of 25 tax officials from the ministry's
financial crimes squad (SDOE). The SDOE, established with wide-ranging
powers last year and dubbed the "Rambos" of the tax department, is charged
with carrying out snap checks on businesses around the country. He said the
task force was already at work on 10 well-known personalities in the Attica
region and another five in Thessaloniki.
Thessaloniki police seek teacher
Thessaloniki police have called in a man for questioning over an incident
in which a young women was manhandled during violent clashes between police
and teachers trying to prevent the holding of a teacher recruitment exam
earlier this month. Police said they had identified Telemahos Lahanis, a 37-
year-old teacher of mathematics, from videos of the protests outside the
Toumbas, Thessaloniki examination centre. The video shows a man bodily
lifting a woman - a candidate for the exams - and carrying her across the
street. The man stopped only when the woman, identified by police as Eleni
Petraki, a 25-year-old English teacher, grabbed at tree to stop him. Her
dress was torn in the incident.
Charles Aznavour in Athens
Renowned French singer and Armenia's ambassador to Paris Charles Aznavour,
in Athens for a concert to benefit the new Acropolis Museum, today called
for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Aznavour arrived in
Athens late last night to give a joint concert Thursday with acclaimed
Greek singer and Euro-MP Nana Mouschouri, the proceeds of which will go to
the Melina Mercouri Foundation for the building of the new Acropolis
Museum. "The Parthenon Marbles should be returned as soon as possible, but
as an ambassador I cannot say anything more on the issue," Aznavour
said.
Greece, FYROM agree peaceful Kosovo resolution needed
The foreign ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM), Theodoros Pangalos and Blagoya Hatzinski, respectively,
agreed during talks in Athens yesterday that the crisis in the Serbian
province of Kosovo should be resolved by peaceful means. Speaking to
reporters after the meeting, Mr. Pangalos said the fact that both sides
shared the same view on the Kosovo crisis was no coincidence, adding that
"the voice of the countries of the region is the voice of reason". "We have
lots to gain with a peaceful resolution and much to lose with military
intervention," Mr. Pangalos said, calling on "all those sitting comfortably
in capitals of the north and west, and who like playing war games" to be
"more modest".
Pangalos receives Moscow Mayor
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday underlined the need for a
stronger Russian presence in the Balkans to provide "greater balance" in
the region, following a meeting with the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzkov. Mr.
Luzkov, who is also a member of the Russian Senate, expressed concern about
developments in the Balkans and particularly in Kosovo, saying that the
Yeltsin-Milosevic meeting had been definitive for developments. Mr. Luzkov,
a close associate of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Russia was
against the idea of military intervention, use of force and unilateral
actions from any military alliance, "including NATO".
WEATHER
Fine weather is forecast throughout Greece today with the possibility of
scattered showers or storms in the north. Winds northerly, light to
moderate. Athens will be hot and sunny with temperatures between 20-37C.
Thessaloniki will be sunny with temperatures from 19-35C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 300.507
British pound 501.357 Japanese yen (100) 217.536
French franc 49.923 German mark 167.370
Italian lira (100) 16.991 Irish Punt 421.699
Belgian franc 8.116 Finnish mark 55.056
Dutch guilder 148.532 Danish kr. 43.946
Austrian sch. 23.790 Spanish peseta 1.972
Swedish kr. 38.023 Norwegian kr. 39.640
Swiss franc 200.512 Port. Escudo 1.634
Aus. dollar 182.548 Can. dollar 204.213
Cyprus pound 574.507
(M.P.)
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