Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-06-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] EU - PM

[02] Britain-Parthenon Marbles-British doctor

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Friday

[04] Weather Forecast-Friday

[05] Gov't - Ex-king - Legal battle

[06] Pegasus Publication-shareholders' meeting

[07] Novelty - Injection-Pen - Police

[08] ASE-close

[09] Migrant smugglers - Convicted - Samos

[01] EU - PM

Greece's incorporation to the euro zone next year represents a huge qualitative change for the country in political and economic terms, amounting to the biggest developmental leap forward in its history, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Thursday.

"There are watersheds in the history of nations which mark an end, in both real and symbolic terms, while also setting the foundations for hopeful and optimistic continuity and prospects... Greece has successfully met its biggest peacetime challenge," he said in a lecture on the subject of "EMU: Greece and Europe, the beginning of a new challenge," just a few days before Greece's accession to the euro zone is formally approved by the EU summit in Feira, Portugal. The lecture was sponsored by the National Bank of Greece.

[02] Britain-Parthenon Marbles-British doctor

LONDON (ANA - L. Tsirigotakis) - British doctor Christopher Stockdale, 57, from Birmingham will swim from Dilos to Paros, a distance of 35 kilometres, on the morning of July 1 to impress upon international public opinion the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

"What I hope to achieve is to point out on the part of art the situation concerning the Marbles. I think that the Acropolis and the Parthenon are the symbol of the start to western civilisation. It is a wonderful historical monument and I think that the return of the Marbles gives our country the opportunity to shake the hands of cultural friendship with the friendly Greeks and give a fair end to the issue of the Marbles," he told a press conference on Thursday.

Stockdale revealed that the idea to swim the distance between Dilos and Paros for the Parthenon Marbles had been proposed to him by his friend Greek orthopedic doctor Yiannis Polyzoidis, which he accepted immediately.

"At first, I knew very little about the Parthenon Marbles. However, when I preoccupied myself with the issue and learnt more, I felt that it would be a great privilege and honour for me to be linked to this cause. I am aware that a political issue also exists on the Parthenon Marbles and their return, from which I wish to distance myself," he said.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Friday

Following are indicative rates for commercial banks released by the central bank for the next working day.

Fridays rates (buying)

Euro 333.957

U.S. dollar 350.771

German mark 170.749

[04] Weather Forecast-Friday

Mostly sunny weather is forecast for Friday, likely to turn to rain or storms in central and northern Greece in the evening. Winds northerly, light to very strong.

[05] Gov't - Ex-king - Legal battle

The government on Thursday reiterated that theres no chance of dialogue commencing between the Greek state and Greeces deposed ex-king over the latters demand to reclaim property in the country.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas made the statement during a regular press briefing in Athens.

The European Court of Human Rights was the scene on Wednesday for the latest court battle pitting ex-king Constantine against the Greek state.

Constantine and eight members of his family filed a claim over three large tracts of property three years after Greeces Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 1994 law seizing the former monarchs estate. The law cleared the way for the properties to revert to the Greek state.

[06] Pegasus Publication-shareholders' meeting

A Pegasus Publication general shareholders' meeting on Thursday approved a 25 drachmas per share dividend payment to shareholders.

The company reported sales of 17 billion drachmas last year, from 14 billion in 1998, an increase of 18 percent, while pre-tax profits jumped 500 percent to 4.7 billion drachmas from 700 million over the same period.

Pegasus is the first publishing company to print a tabloid-shaped newspaper in Greece.

Last year it signed a deal with two European publishing groups, Italian Rizzoli and German Burda, to sell a 25 percent stake in the company following a share capital increase worth 11.2 billion drachmas.

The company's listing on the Athens Stock Exchange raised 21 billion drachmas. The new capital will be used to build a new printing unit.

This year, Pegasus set up two subsidiaries, 3Nsold and Pegasus Interactive, to offer Internet services.

The company's shareholders also approved a share repurchase plan to support its share price.

[07] Novelty - Injection-Pen - Police

A pen in the form of an intravenous injection mailed to a local prosecutor resulted in a city-wide police search of various stores on Thursday in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

The prosecutors office ordered checks at toy stores, book shops and news-stands in order to investigate whether the ?pen-shot? contributes to childrens ?familiarisation? with drug paraphernalia, in this case injections employed by heroin users.

During an initial sweep, however, checks failed to produce any new batches of the pen, leading authorities to believe it is an imported item not widely distributed on the Greek market.

[08] ASE-close

Equity prices ended higher on Thursday, extending their previous day's gains on the Athens Stock Exchange with the market facing stiff resistance at the 4,450 level.

Dealers said that from a technical point of view the market could break this resistance level only if turnover steadied above 200 billion drachmas.

The general index ended at 4,393,08 points, up 0.61 percent, but off the day's highs of 4,430.64 points hit by losses in blue chip stocks, particularly in the banks sector.

Turnover was a moderate 160 billion drachmas. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.25 percent higher at 2,424.71 points and the FTSE/ASE 40 index rose 0.76 percent to 642.40.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 916.67 points, up 0.67 percent.

[09] Migrant smugglers - Convicted - Samos

Two Greek nationals were sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of migrant smuggling by a court on the eastern Aegean island of Samos.

The two men were apprehended on board a 21-metre pleasure boat by the Greek coast guard this past week in the sea region between the islands of Fourni and Ikaria. One hundred and thirty-six illegal immigrants were crammed inside the vessels cabins, according to reports.

The illegals told authorities that the British-flagged ?Isamvard Brunel? had departed from the port of Izmir, Turkey last week before sailing in rough Aegean seas for five days. They also claimed they had each paid $2,000 for the illegal entry onto Greek territory.

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