Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-02-01
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 01/02/1999 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Ocalan not in Greece - govt
- Northern Greece snowed under
- Solana in Athens Thursday
- Greek, Swedish defence ministers confer
- Albanian foreign affairs committee visits
- Eight charged in soccer violence
- Quake aid to Colombia
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Ocalan not in Greece - govt
The Greek foreign ministry has no idea where fugitive Kurdish separatist
leader Abdullah Ocalan is, diplomatic sources said on Monday. The sources
were referring to reports that Ocalan was headed for Athens after being
denied permission to enter the Netherlands. Government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas told reporters later that there was no truth to the flurry of
reports that Ocalan had landed in Athens and reiterated that there had been
no request to the Greek authorities. "We do not believe Ocalan coming to
Greece would be useful or expedient," Reppas said. He said Greece had taken
a leading role in efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue and in the fight
for human rights. "We have requested the issue be discussed at the
European Union," he said.
Northern Greece snowed under
Schools were closed, cars forced to use snow chains and 40 villages snowed
in throughout northern Greece on Monday as the sudden onset of near-zero
temperatures continued for a third day. Snow ploughs were working overtime
to clear local and national road networks. Central Macedonian authorities
said they hoped to have cleared the roads to the 40 villages snowed in by
nightfall on Monday. Biting cold was turning the snow into treacherous
plates of ice on streets in Thessaloniki's city centre. On Sunday,
emergency services called on the elderly to stay home to avoid falls,
following a spate of incidents. More calls for help - particularly from the
elderly slipping on footpaths - were recorded again on Monday.
Solana in Athens Thursday
Prime Minister Costas Simitis will have a meeting with NATO Secretary-
General Javier Solana on Thursday, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
said on Monday. Reppas said Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Defence
Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos would join the meeting. He made no reference
to the focus of the talks.
Greek, Swedish defence ministers confer
Greece and Sweden's defence ministers focused on the situation in eastern
Europe and the Balkans, with emphasis on Kosovo and the Cyprus issue, at
their meeting in Athens on Monday. Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos
and his Swedish counterpart Bjorn von Sydow both expressed their concerns
about developments in Kosovo and said they favoured a peaceful resolution
to the problem. Also discussed was bilateral defence cooperation.
Albanian foreign affairs committee visits
Greek and Albanian Members of Parliament on their countries' foreign
affairs committee met on Monday at the Greek Parliament house. The Albanian
Parliament's foreign affairs committee is on an official visit to Greece.
Focus of talks between the two delegations were the quality of life for
Albanian migrants to Greece, the Greek minority in Albania, security issues
in the wider region of the Balkans - particularly Kosovo - as well as
prospects for closer cooperation between the two countries.
Eight charged in soccer violence
A prosecutor charged eight youths with vandalism and illegal possession of
explosive material on Monday following violence at Sunday evening's Greek
league AEK-Olympiakos football match. All the charges are misdemenour
offences. Fighting broke out between police and fans attending the match in
Athens at around 3.30 p.m. yesterday when AEK fans attacked police with
fire bombs and stones. Police responded with tear gas to disperse the
youths. Two policemen were slightly injured. The violence returned at the
end of the match when Olympiakos fans began to tear up seats and light
fires in the stands. Riot police were called in and arrested eight people.
AEK fans outside the stadium meanwhile again attacked police and set fires
to skips. Police dispersed the protestors shortly later.
Quake aid to Colombia
A shipment of humanitarian aid to earthquake-stricken Colombia leaves
Patras port today for the 12-day sail to the South American country, where
a 6.0 Richter earthquake struck early last month killing more than 900
people and causing widespread devastation. Ten containers of aid will be
sent aboard the "Peggy Dawe", which frequently transports shipments of
bananas between the Aegean and Colombia.
WEATHER
Overcast weather is forecast throughout the country today with snow in
central and northern mainland Greece and the northern Aegean. Other areas
may see rain, with snow in the mountainous regions and storms at sea.
Athens will be cloudy with snow on high ground. Improvement from the
evening with temperatures from 3-9C. Heavy snowfall in Thessaloniki easing
off in the afternoon. Temperatures will range from -2-0C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 279.218
Pound sterling 460.169 Japanese yen (100) 240.064
French franc 48.569 German mark 162.893
Italian lira (100) 16.454 Irish Punt 404.527
Belgian franc 7.898 Finnish mark 53.583
Dutch guilder 144.570 Danish kr. 42.805
Austrian sch. 23.153 Spanish peseta 1.915
Swedish kr. 35.875 Norwegian kr. 37.073
Swiss franc 197.388 Port. Escudo 1.589
Aus. dollar 175.951 Can. dollar 184.334
Cyprus pound 548.834
(M.P.)
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