Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-12-23

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 23/12/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Three immigrant children die of cold
• PM upbeat about what 2000 will bring
• Greek equities plunge further
• Northern Greece shivers in sudden cold snap
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Three illegal immigrant children died in two separate incidents, apparently from exposure to the cold, police said Thursday. A three-year old boy died en route from the northern Greek town of Alexandroupolis to Athens after being ferried with his parents and other illegal immigrants across the Evros river from Turkey. In a separate incident, two Iraqi children of Kurdish orgin, illegally transported into Greece from the Greek-Turkish border in a refrigeration truck died of exposure to the cold. The children, a boy aged two and his four-year-old sister were accompanied by their mother and an Iraqi man. They were smuggled into Greece over the Evros river marking the Greek-Turkish border in the north. From there the truck driver brought them to the port city of Piraeus hidden in the refrigeration compartment. The driver then disappeared.

PM upbeat about what 2000 will bring

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Thursday that 2000 would be a decisive year for Greece, ushering in inclusionin economic and monetary union and a new round of general elections. "2000 will be a decisive year for Greece, because it is the year that will determine our inclusion in economic and monetary union and we are certain ... everything will be fine, " Simitis said after a brief visit to the ruling party's central offices. "2000, in accordance with the Constitution, is also an election year. I am sure these elections will confirm the leading presence of PASOK on the Greek political scene. "Elections," he added, "can be held any time from now to October 2000."

Greek equities plunge further

Greek equities plunged to their lowest levels since August on Thursday, hit by talk that several listed companies were included in a public prosecutor's report on share trading manipulation on the Athens Stock Exchange. The general index ended 4.18 percent lower at 4,789.37 points, its lowest close since August 13, reversing an early advance above the 5,000 level. Trading was a low 201 billion drachmas. Shares in the parallel market of smaller capitalisation stocks and the construction sector were partricularly hard hit, nearing the day's 8.0 percent limit down.

Northern Greece shivers in sudden cold snap

Temperatures dipped as far as four below zero in northeast Greece on Thursday, as a severe cold snap swept through the country. Winds reached gale force levels of 8 to 9 Beaufort in the northeast Aegean and Thrace; the coast guard banned all forms of vessels from sailing. The ban effectively cut transport between the northern Aegean islands of Thassos and Samothrace, both of which are also suffering from power cuts. In border town Xanthi and the surrounding area, snow chains were imperative on all vehicles. In the Drama region, heavy snowfall made the roads icy, and temperatures dipped overnight to five below zero.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Thursday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          325.098
Pound sterling       524.093
Japanese yen (100)   320.297
French franc          49.943
German mark          167.503
Italian lira (100)    16.920
Irish Punt           415.976
Belgian franc          8.121
Finnish mark          55.100
Dutch guilder        148.662
Danish kr.            44.065
Austrian sch.         23.808
Spanish peseta         1.969
Swedish kr.           38.162
Norwegian kr.         40.739
Swiss franc          204.903
Port. Escudo           1.634
Can. dollar          219.728
Aus. dollar          209.848
Cyprus pound         568.971
Euro                 327.608

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