Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-08-07

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Charges filed over mass slaying of Sparta bird colony

[02] Athens Stock Exchange opening: Decline

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Tuesday

[01] Charges filed over mass slaying of Sparta bird colony

The Sparta municipal authority on Tuesday filed charges against unknown parties for the mass poisoning of a bird colony that is a traditional part of life in the city.

Local inhabitants woke up on Monday to find the Osios Nikonos park littered with the corpses of thousands of birds known to locals as 'spentzouria', that have lived since time immemorial in the plane trees around Sparta.

Authorities presume that the birds were poisoned by someone using contaminated wheat.

In collaboration with the police and Veterinary Directorate, some of the dead birds have been sent to Athens for toxicology tests to determine the exact cause of death. In the meantime, the town hall has pressed charges against 'person or persons unknown'.

[02] Athens Stock Exchange opening: Decline

Equity prices nosedived at the opening of trade Tuesday on the Athens Stock Exchange, with the general index down 1.22 percent at 2,757.25 points and turnover at 6.5 million euro.

Individual sector indices were moving downward across the board, with the biggest losses in investments, down 2.74 percent.

Of the stocks moved, 27 were up, 214 were down and 137 were unchanged.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

Indicative buying rates

U.S. dollar 383.900

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 546.082

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 45.389

Swedish kroner 36.887

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 309.885

Swiss franc 224.207

Norwegian kroner 042.372

Cyprus pound 589.033

Canadian dollar 251.031

Australian dollar 198.191

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Tuesday

Sunshine is forecast throughout the country on Tuesday, although from evening isolated storms are expected in Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace, mainly on high ground. Winds northerly, light to moderate. In the west and north, temperatures will range from 19C to 35C; on the rest of the mainland from 22C to 38C; and in the Aegean islands from 23C to 36C. Sunny in Athens with temperatures between 24C and 38C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 20C to 35C.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article