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Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-09-17
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 17/09/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Police net 360kgs of cannabis
- Women and sport conference in Athens
- 28 injured in bus crash
- New EOT head appointed
- Simitis reminds ministers of duties
- Greek men flagging under pressure of modern life
- Champion's League results
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Police net 360kgs of cannabis
A combined air and land operation by the Coast Guard and special police
forces in the region of Thesprotia, northern Greece, netted 360 kgs of
unprocessed Indian cannabis, authorities said on Thursday. A tip-off to
Igoumenitsa coast guard authorities led authorities to the cannabis,
concealed on an isolated and remote beach near Sofa Perdikos, Thesprotia. A
spate of major drug hauls in August led to checks on land and sea being
tightened up, with authorities expressing concern about the increased
activity of drug smugglers in the Epirus region.
Women and sport conference in Athens
Juan Antonio Samaranch, the president of the International Olympics
Committee, will declare open the third European conference on "Women-
Athletics-Cooperation", to begin in Athens on September 25 and organised by
the Greek Sports General Secretariat and the athletics association
"Kallipateira". Samaranch's agreement to inaugurate the meeting is an
indication of the importance the IOC places on this conference, Undersecretary
for Sports Andreas Fouras told a news conference on Thursday. The four-day
conference will draw 105 participants from 40 countries. Of that number, 89
of the participants will be women.
28 injured in bus crash
Twenty-eight people were injured, one seriously, when an inter-city KTEL
bus ran into a stationary truck and was then run into in turn by a truck
behind it. The accident occured at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, five
kilometres from Kozani on the highway to Thessaloniki. Bus inspector George
Mourtzos, 47, was seriously injured and was taken to the Kozani General
Hospital. The other 27 people, all passengers, received treatment for minor
injuries.
New EOT head appointed
Mihalis Kyriakidis, an advisor on tourist affairs to Development Minister
Vasso Papandreou, is the new head of the Greek National Tourist Organisation
(EOT), taking over from Nikos Skoulas. Papandreou made the announcement on
Thursday, saying she had accepted Skoulas's resignation, which had been
submitted some time previously. Kyriakidis told reporters that he had two
priorities for his time at EOT: to upgrade the quality of the Greek tourist
product and to promote it effectively abroad.
Simitis reminds ministers of duties
Prime Minister Costas Simitis has sent missives to all his ministers
setting out the particular projects each ministry must concentrate on up to
June next year, government spokesman Yiannis Nikolaou said on Thursday.
Nikolaou said the prime minister wanted to define the government's
priorities and areas of responsibility for ministers. Simitis also stressed
that ministers place emphasis on facilitating Greeks in their daily
dealings with state services and in battling red tape, Nikolaou said.
Greek men flagging under pressure of modern life
The pace and pressures of modern life are chipping away at the Greek male's
enjoyment of sex and and many may resort to Viagra for the solution,
according to researchers at Greece's Sexology Institute. Presenting the
latest study on the sexual habits of Greeks, conducted on 300 men aged 20-
35, considered the most sexually-active group, researchers said they were
surprised at figures that showed four in ten men had had little to no
sexual contact in the past six months and that half were not in a steady
sexual relationship. The researchers said the results of the study
confirmed the intense interest in Viagra, the wonder pill for male
sexual dysfunction. In other findings of the survey, three in four said
they preferred the missionary position in making love and the most
popular part of a woman's body were the breasts.
Champion's League results
Panathinaikos of Athens beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in Athens, while Olympiakos
Piraeus drew 2-2 with Porto in Portugal in Champion's League group matches
yesterday.
Panathinaikos plays in the E Group, while Olympiakos is in the A Group.
WEATHER
Mostly fair weather will prevail throughout Greece today with scattered
cloud in the west in the afternoon and the possibility of rain in the
northwest in the evening. Winds westerly, southwesterly, moderate. Athens
sunny with temperatures between 17-29C. Same in Thesssaloniki with
temperatures from 12-27C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Thursday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 288.523
British pound 483.203 Japanese yen (100) 213.250
French franc 50.691 German mark 170.029
Italian lira (100) 17.210 Irish Punt 425.568
Belgian franc 8.242 Finnish mark 55.871
Dutch guilder 150.769 Danish kr. 44.592
Austrian sch. 24.160 Spanish peseta 2.002
Swedish kr. 36.990 Norwegian kr. 38.291
Swiss franc 205.880 Port. Escudo 1.659
Aus. dollar 171.938 Can. dollar 192.150
Cyprus pound 574.685
(M.P.)
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