Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-11-05

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr>

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 05/11/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Inflation rises to 2.2 percent in October
• Bomb experts detonate explosive device
• Nine Kurds buried in Patras
• Progress noted on Burgas-Alexandroupolis project
• Cypriot House Speaker in Athens
• Greeks not entirely untouched by suicide
• Eurofighter in Greece
• Greek stocks end the week sharply higher
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3 percent in October from the previous month pushing the year-on-year inflation rate to 2.2 percent, up from 2.0 percent in September, National Statistics Service said today. The NSS attributed the CPI increase to a 1.1 percent rise in clothing and footwear and a 0.6 percent rise in food and beverages. The annual inflation rate was 4.7 percent in October 1998.

Bomb experts detonate explosive device

Police bomb disposal experts today neutralised a home-made explosive device that was found in a metal box inside a NIKE sports goods shop in the Nea Smyrni residential suburb of Athens, police said. They said the metal box containing the home-made bomb had been planted next to the ventilation system in the shop, located on the corner of Eleftheriou Venizelou and Makariou streets. Police were alerted after unidentified callers phoned the Athens afternoon daily Eleftherotypia and private radio station Alpha warning of an impending explosion. The bomb was neutralised by exploding it in a "controlled environment", police said.

Nine Kurds buried in Patras

Nine of the 14 illegal immigrants who died in a ferry fire on Monday night were buried in the Patras Municipal Cemetery on Friday in a common grave. The funerals of the nine - all Kurds - were attended by deputy mayor Petros Rigatos, municipal councillors and friends of the Kurdish community in the Peloponese port city. Dozens of Kurds attended the funerals, arriving in coaches hired by the municipality. A representative read an excerpt from the Koran at the service. The municipality has pledged that the graves will not be opened in the future - as is the custom in Greece - as this is contrary to Moslem tradition. Another two of the dead were identified by relatives as an Albanian couple and will be buried in Albania.

Progress noted on Burgas-Alexandroupolis project

Prime Minister Costas Simitis's meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Ivan Kostov on Friday resulted in significant progress on the construction of a Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, sources told the ANA in Sofia. The one- hour meeting - shortened due to Simitis's scheduled meetings with political party leaders in Athens ahead of U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit - saw the Bulgarian premier expressing interest in the project, a marked change from the government's past stance. The sources said that Kostov estimated that a pipeline to bring Caspian Sea oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan would likely not go ahead.

Cypriot House Speaker in Athens

Cypriot House of Representatives Speaker Spyros Kyprianos on Friday met with President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos on developments in the Cyprus problem. No statements were made after the meeting. Kyprianou, who is in Athens to participate in a conference on the continuing Turkish occupation of Cyprus, had earlier met with his Greek counterpart, Apostolos Kaklamanis.

Greeks not entirely untouched by suicide

Renowned for living hard and dying late, Greeks nevertheless do suffer from depression and some do take their lives, although in much smaller numbers than Europeans. According to experts speaking at a news conference on Friday, some 500 suicides are recorded in Greece annually. The majority of these occur in the countryside among the farming population. The figures were announced at the news conference to announce the holding of an international conference on suicide prevention in Athens November 7- 10.

Eurofighter in Greece

The spearhead of the European defence industry's hopes, the Eurofighter, roared into Greece for a publicity tour on Thursday evening, landing at the Tanagra air base. "I feel lucky to be the first pilot to fly the Eurofighter over Greece," pilot Chris Warning said, drinking champagne with the commander of the Tanagra air base. "The view of the Acropolis and Sounio from the air was unbelievable. I am very happy that the Greek public will be able to see up close the airplane which will the spearhead of European defence in the new century". The Eurofighter is in Greece to mark celebrations for the Hellenic Air Force. It will be on display for the public at Tanagra until Sunday. On Sunday, it will conduct an aerial display.

Greek stocks end the week sharply higher

Equity prices ended the last trading session of a subdued week sharply higher pushing the market above the 5,600 level on the Athens Stock Exchange. Positive developments in the domestic bond market and renewed buying activity for smaller capitalisation stocks were the main reasons for the recovery of the market. The general index ended 1.57 percent higher at 5,617.65 points. Turnover was a moderate 317 billion drachmas.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Friday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          310.972
Pound sterling       510.602
Japanese yen (100)   296.033
French franc          49.701
German mark          166.692
Italian lira (100)    16.837
Irish Punt           413.961
Belgian franc          8.082
Finnish mark          54.833
Dutch guilder        147.942
Danish kr.            43.852
Austrian sch.         23.693
Spanish peseta         1.959
Swedish kr.           37.502
Norwegian kr.         39.505
Swiss franc          202.790
Port. Escudo           1.626
Can. dollar          211.574
Aus. dollar          197.606
Cyprus pound         563.516
Euro                 326.021

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