Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-12-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Sports roundup

[02] Tsohatzopoulos-Serbia

[03] Greece - India - Papandreou

[04] OTE-Bulgaria-Mobile Phone Licence

[05] Robbery-Albanians-Bus

[06] Communist Party of Greece-Congress-Leader Re-elected

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates-Monday

[08] Weather Forecast-Monday

[01] Sports roundup

Soccer

League front-runner Olympiakos Piraeus maintained its lead on Sunday by overcoming PAS Yiannena 3-1 on the island of Rhodes. The win leaves the out-of-European play Piraeus side four points (29) ahead of its cross-town rival Panathinaikos Athens.

Panathinaikos, still alive in the Champions League, easily downed small Ethnikos Asteras Athens 0-3 to reach the 25-point mark.

Ionikos Piraeus, meanwhile, rose to third place with 21 points by defeating provincial Paniliakos Pyrgos 3-1 at home.

In other action:

Athinaikos Athens-PAOK Thessaloniki, 3-4

Aris Thessaloniki-Panahaiki Patra, 0-0

Iraklis Thessaloniki-Skoda Xanthi, 1-0

Panionios Athens-Kalamata, 1-1

AEK Athens plays at disappointing OFI Cretes pitch on Monday to close out the 11th day in the Greek first division. The Athens club which faces European powerhouse Barcelona in February for the UEFA Cup tournament will rise to third place with 22 points if it wins on the large island, whereas the OFI side needs a victory to escape last place.

[02] Tsohatzopoulos-Serbia

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on Sunday called for international condemnation of Albanian terrorists operating in Presevo, southern Serbia, which is emerging as the latest Balkan trouble spot.

"Albanian terrorists aim to restore violence and conflict, dividing the area," Tsohatzopoulos said.

Condemnation from abroad was needed to help nip the phenomenon in the bud, he added.

The minister was addressing a conference in the northern port city of Thessaloniki on the Greek view of closer ties between the European Union and southeastern Europe, organised by the ISTAME-Andreas Papandreou Institute with a local ruling PASOK party committee.

[03] Greece - India - Papandreou

CALCUTTA (ANA) Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou began a wide-ranging tour of the Indian subcontinent in this West Bengali metropolis on Sunday, as his trip will take him, besides India, to Nepal and Bangladesh as well.

In Calcutta, the Greek foreign minister observed a church service at the Eastern Orthodox Cathedral of the Saviour, before visiting the Orthodox mission of West Bengals orphanage along with the tomb of Catholic missionary Mother Teresa.

[04] OTE-Bulgaria-Mobile Phone Licence

SOFIA (ANA/B.Borisov) - Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation, a heavily traded stock on the Athens bourse, on Sunday won a Bulgarian state tender for sale of the neighbouring country's second GSM- technology mobile phone licence.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov welcomed the outcome of the competitive bid tender in an interview to the BTV television channel.

Under the terms of the tender, OTE will set up and run the GSM network.

Earlier this year, its attemted purchase of Bulgaria's BTC state telecom in a consortium with KPN of the Netherlands broke down after major disagreements between the bidders and the government.

The Bulgarian government intends to make another attempt to privatise BTC.

[05] Robbery-Albanians-Bus

Police on Sunday were seeking three Albanian gunmen who boarded a long-distance bus in the town of Larissa posing as passengers, and who then held up the vehicle to rob compatriots travelling home to Albania. Three passengers were knifed in the attack.

The robbers seized cash and valuables worth around seven million drachmas from 36 Albanian passengers after stopping the bus outside Trikala on Saturday and holding travellers and driver at gunpoint. Knifed were three who resisted.

The gunmen collected their haul and disappeared in a getaway car an accomplice had ready.

The bus belonging to the Ioannina branch of the KTEL company was heading for Kakavia at the two countries' northwestern border.

[06] Communist Party of Greece-Congress-Leader Re-elected

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on Sunday ended a congress with the election a new central committee, which, in turn, unanimously voted for Aleka Papariga to remain as party leader.

In addition, Kostas Maragoudakis was elected as chairman of the party's central financial controls committee.

On Saturday, delegates to the KKE congress had unanimously voted in favour of policies proposed by Papariga, and endorsed party finances.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates-Monday

Indicative rates released by the central bank for the next working day.

Monday's rates (buying)

Euro 338.024

U.S. dollar 377.307

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 555.282

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.344

Swedish kroner 039.442

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 335.028

Swiss franc 224.440

Norwegian kroner 041.535

Cyprus pound 589.248

Canadian dollar 247.643

Australian dollar 205.344

[08] Weather Forecast-Monday

Scattered cloud is forecast throughout Greece on Monday, turning to showers first in the west and then in the north and eastern Aegean. The weather will improve from the west later in the day. Winds west-southwesterly, light to moderate, turning northwesterly from afternoon. In the north, temperatures will range from 0C to 13C; on the rest of the mainland from 3C to 16C; and in the islands from 8C to 17C. Light cloud over Athens with temperatures between 6C and 16C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 3C to 13C.

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