Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-09-20
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 20/09/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Defence Minister to watch Parmenion exercise
- High speed ferry to cut Piraeus-Rhodes time
- Surprise stop at Kalamata airport
- Three killed in accident on Kos
- Papandreou calls for support for Olympic Truce
- PASOK executive council approves March congress
- Papandreou visits Tirana
- Simitis wants PASOK congress `united, and ideological`
- Pangalos pushes for Cyprus' EU accession
- Briton arrives to lobby for Parthenon Marbles return
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Defence Minister to watch Parmenion exercise
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos will be present to watch the
final two phases of the combined large-scale "Parmenion '98" war games
being held in Evros (land forces) and Chios (naval forces), sources said on
Sunday. Joining Tsohatzopoulos to watch the Evros exercise will be Greece's
armed forces leadership and possibly President of the Republic Costis
Stephanopoulos. The final phases are scheduled to take place on Tuesday
(Evros) and Wednesday (Chios). All branches of the armed forces are
participating in the annual Parmenion exercise, which began last Thursday
and is being directed by Chief of General Staff General (Air) Athanasios
Tzoganis, from the national operations room.
High speed ferry to cut Piraeus-Rhodes time
DANE Sea Lines announced on Sunday that it was introducing a new high-speed
passenger vessel that would cut travelling time from Rhodes to Piraeus to
5.5 hours. DANE General Director Loizos Saroniatis the order placed for the
high-speed Trimaran, combined with the company's share capital increase,
which began on September 2 and ends on October 2, was part of efforts to
save the indebted shipper by diversifying its activities. The Trimaran is
set to go into operation as of April 15, with Australian ship-building firm
INCAT leasing DANE a Trimaran until its own is constructed. DANE will
pay INCAT 10 percent of the proceeds from the route as a downpayment
on the 55-million-dollar new ship.
Surprise stop at Kalamata airport
Kalamata airport authorities reported an unscheduled stop by a single-
engine C-114B airplane belonging to Binlandin Aviation at the city's
airport on Saturday evening. The aircraft was en route to Corfu with final
destination Germany where the pilot, Bangladeshi citizen Rahma Shikh
Tashdique, 23, a resident of Texas and an aircraft mechanic, was scheduled
to conduct repairs on another aircraft. Tashdique made the unscheduled stop
at Kalamata because he said the temperature had fallen to below freezing as
he was flying at 12,000 feet, resulting in frost on the windshield
impairing his vision. Tashdique had flown from the U.S. and had stopped
for refuelling in Iraklion, Crete.
Three killed in accident on Kos
Two Greek-Australians were among three people killed in a road accident on
the island of Kos on Saturday, when the car in which they were travelling
overturned and left the road. Police identified the two men as Pantelis
Papoulis, 26 and Constantine Nissiotis, 25, both residents of Sydney,
Australia, visiting Kos to attend the wedding of Pantelis Zamayias, 25, the
driver of the ill-fated car. Local police said they were examining the
cause of the accident but thought that excessive speed, and possibly the
influence of alcohol, were the contributing factors.
Papandreou calls for support for Olympic Truce
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Sunday called on Olympic
Games medallists meeting in Greece to support and become the symbols of the
idea of an Olympic Truce. Speaking on the first day of the international
conference of Olympic medal winners at the International Olympic Academy in
Olympia, Papandreou said the support of past Olympic Games medallists was
"exceptionally important" as they could inspire and guide the young,
and particularly those coming from strife-torn regions, to help in
consolidating peace
PASOK executive council approves March congress
Prime Minister Costas Simitis' proposal, in his capacity as president of
PASOK's executive council, to hold the 5th party congress on March 18 to 21,
1999, was approved on Saturday by the council. The PASOK executive council
results of the vote are: 81 for, 31 against and 8 blank.
Papandreou visits Tirana
Greek Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou arrived in Tirana on
Saturday and is expected to meet with Albanian President Rexhep Mejdani and
Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, while there are unconfirmed reports he
might meet with Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha, in an effort to help
ease the political crisis in Albania, according to an ANA dispatch from the
Albanian capital Meanwhile, police arrested 100 people during clashes and
there were reports of clashes between Berisha's supporters and police 15
klm north of the Albanian capital.
Simitis wants PASOK congress `united, and ideological`
Prime Minister and ruling PASOK President Costas Simitis yesterday stressed
that he was looking forward to a "united and profoundly ideological as well
as political party congress", adding that a united and strong PASOK will
emerge from it. He added that the congress will be a prelude to the party's
victory in the general elections in the year 2000. Addressing a meeting of
PASOK's central committee, convened yesterday to proclaim the party's 5th
congress, Mr. Simitis said that he will continue the implementation
of government policy steadfastly and underlined the crucial nature
of the present period of turmoil in the world economy, as well as
of next month's municipal and prefectural elections.
Pangalos pushes for Cyprus' EU accession
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday called on Europe and
Washington to support Cyprus' European Union accession regardless of the
political problem prevailing on the island republic. He was speaking at the
Greek Studies Programme of Columbia University in New York. Expressing
Athens' concern over certain views in some European capitals, as well as in
Washington, which claim that Cyprus should not become a member of the
European Union because it is a divided country, Mr. Pangalos said: "This
seems as if we want to punish the victim instead of the criminal, (instead)
of those who are responsible for the invasion and occupation of a portion
of the island."
Briton arrives to lobby for Parthenon Marbles return
The chairman of the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon
Marbles brought his campaign to "home ground" Friday as he arrived in
Greece for a series of meetings and lectures focusing on the London-based
group's efforts to pursuade the British Museum to repatriate the classical
friezes. "The (Parthenon) marbles will definitely be returned to Greece in
the long-term...and before the 2004 Olympics if the Acropolis Museum is
built to house them," Graham Binns confidently predicted just after a press
conference at the Centre of Acropolis Studies, only a few hundred metres
from the
WEATHER
Occasional storms and rain across most of Greece tomorrow. Winds will be
northwesterly moderate to strong in the west and south. Temperatures will
range from 12-20 in the north, 15-26 in the Ionian and mainland and 18-27
in the Aegean. Athens will be overcast with cloud increasing in the
afternoon, 17-25. Thessaloniki will be cloudy with the likelihood of
evening rain, 15-20.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 288.811
British pound 484.790 Japanese yen (100) 218.250
French franc 50.777 German mark 170.267
Italian lira (100) 17.228 Irish Punt 426.362
Belgian franc 8.253 Finnish mark 55.947
Dutch guilder 150.982 Danish kr. 44.658
Austrian sch. 24.200 Spanish peseta 2.007
Swedish kr. 36.972 Norwegian kr. 38.420
Swiss franc 207.179 Port. Escudo 1.664
Aus. dollar 170.475 Can. dollar 188.282
Cyprus pound 575.360
(M.P.)
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