Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-06-30
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 30/06/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Three injured in central Athens bomb
- Power cuts hit city as heatwave looms
- Two injured in olive oil plant fire
- Five injured in hospital lift plunge
- Transport workers get language training
- Athens welcomes UN decisions on Cyprus
- Bill on digital TV close
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Three injured in central Athens bomb
Three police officers were slightly injured today when a strong explosion
rocked the city centre shortly after 1 p.m. Police said a caller to a local
radio station had warned authorities of the bomb, which caused extensive
property damage. The anonymous caller said a group calling itself
"Revolutionary Core" claimed responsibility for the attack on a building in
one of Athens busiest streets. The building houses a branch of the
Commercial Bank of Greece, as well as the records of the state organisation
which holds public service examinations.
Power cuts hit city as heatwave looms
Greece's Weather Bureau today warned Greeks to brace for temperatures of up
to 42 degrees Celsius as Athens came to a standstill from power cuts
brought on by high electricity consumption. The Meteorological Service
issued a bulletin saying that temperatures would ratchet up to as high as
42 degrees Celsius in the next few days, peaking on the weekend. The
temperature today rose to 37 degrees and the city's residents sought relief
inside, overburdening the city's electricity network and resulting in power
cuts in many areas. In the city centre, power failures stopped electric
trolley buses in their tracks, causing traffic snarls at a number of
central intersections.
Two injured in olive oil plant fire
An explosion occured at an olive oil plant in the Sindos industrial zone in
Thessaloniki this morning, injuring two people. The explosion took place in
the Elaiourgiki's company's oil tanks. An owner of the plant and a worker
were injured in the incident. Later reports said George Katrakazas, 60, one
of the owners of the plant, is being treated at Thessaloniki's AHEPA
Hospital for serious burns over 70 percent of his body. Police are
investigating the causes of the explosion. Later reports said the explosion
occured in the plant's olive oil storage tanks and inital reports said
gases in the tanks were probably ignited by a cigarette.
Five injured in hospital lift plunge
Five people were injured when a lift plummetted from the second to the
ground floor in the old wing of the Nimitz Hospital in Athens today.
According to the hospital, the lift's fall was due to overloading. At the
time of the accident there were seven people in the lift.
Transport workers get language training
Living up to its name, the Transport and Communications Ministry has
published a 30-page guide to help taxi drivers and transport workers
communicate, albeit on a basic level, with passengers visiting the country
from abroad. Announcing publication of the aptly entitled "Guide to
Everyday Expressions" - which contains simple and useful expressions in
English - Transport and Communications Minister Tassos Mandelis said today
that it reflected the ministry's interest in upgrading the quality of
services provided to foreign visitors.
Athens welcomes UN decisions on Cyprus
The Greek government today welcomed the resolutions passed by the UN
Security Council on the Cyprus problem, noting in particular the reference
to the need for the divided island republic's eventual demilitarisation.
"These are positive references," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said,
commenting on the resolutions adopted by the UN yesterday. The spokesman
added that the international community should deal with Turkey and the
Turkish Cypriots in a manner which allows the resolutions to be implemented
in practice. The refence to the importance of demilitarisation was
contained in a resolution renewing the mandate of the 1,230-member UN
peacekeeping force in Cyprus for a further six months until the end of the
year.
Bill on digital TV close
The government announced today that a bill on digital television broadcasting
was now ready and would be presented to political parties and social
agencies on Wednesday. Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the bill
covered all aspects of digitally transmitted programmes via satellite and
subscriber services. He added that Greece was among the first European
Union countries to draw up a clear legal and institutional framework
governing the operation of digital TV services.
WEATHER
Fine weather is forecast throughout Greece today, with the possibility of
sporadic storms in the mountainous regions of Macedonia and Thrace. Winds
variable, light to moderate, turning strong in the Aegean Sea. Athens sunny
with temperatures between 22-36C. Overcast in Thessaloniki with temperatures
from 20-35C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 303.750
British pound 506.416 Japanese yen (100) 213.855
French franc 50.034 German mark 167.683
Italian lira (100) 17.025 Irish Punt 421.997
Belgian franc 8.133 Finnish mark 55.155
Dutch guilder 148.820 Danish kr. 44.037
Austrian sch. 23.840 Spanish peseta 1.976
Swedish kr. 38.063 Norwegian kr. 39.501
Swiss franc 199.129 Port. Escudo 1.637
Aus. dollar 183.049 Can. dollar 206.435
Cyprus pound 573.158
(M.P.)
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