Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-06-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Blue skies on Sunday

[02] Foreign minister says ruling party needs new identity

[03] Bank workers call off rolling strikes

[04] PM calls on ruling party officials to keep ranks over policy

[05] Police officer gets 10 years in jail for migrant trafficking

[06] Patriarch Vartholomeos visits Crete

[07] Illegal immigrants from Africa found near Leros

[08] Greek PM to visit Australia

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[10] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Saturday

[01] Weather Forecast: Blue skies on Sunday

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country. Winds north-northeasterly, light to very strong, turning gale force in parts of the central and southern Aegean. On the mainland, temperatures will range from 17C to 35C; in the Ionian from 19C to 33C; and in the Aegean islands from 20C to 30C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 21C and 34C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 19C to 33C.

[02] Foreign minister says ruling party needs new identity

Foreign Minister George Papandreou said on Saturday that he believed a congress of the ruling party in early July should take the first steps in creating a new identity for PASOK.

The new version of the party would focus on grassroots politics, show sensitivity to problems faced by the public, and keep more closely in touch with the pulse of change, Papandreou said.

He was addressing a meeting of representatives from European socialist parties, invited to Athens for talks by the Andreas Papandreou Institute and Anna Diamantopoulou of PASOK, who is also Greece's commissioner at the European Union.

Both Papandreou and Diamantopoulou said that far-right parties in Europe were able to commune with the public by means of simple messages on complex issues, including unemployment, immigration and safety, which socialist parties had failed to resolve.

[03] Bank workers call off rolling strikes

Bank workers throughout the country are to return to work on Monday after their union called off rolling 24-hour strikes to protest against the government's pensions reform bill.

The OTOE union said in a statement on Saturday that talks a day a earlier with government ministers had led to an acceptance of key demands for the sector, leading to amendment of the bill.

[04] PM calls on ruling party officials to keep ranks over policy

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Saturday called on senior officials of the ruling PASOK party to stay in line over policy or risk triggering economic instability in Greece.

''We do not have a split personality. And we are not free to choose whether to follow this line or that according to circumstances. Central committee members have commitments and responsibilities, and they must follow the line set by decision-makers,'' Simitis told the close of a two-day meeting of the group.

''This is linked to imminent political battles. If certain stances are adopted that are backed by individuals, among them senior PASOK officials, then economic stability could turn into economic instability,'' the prime minister warned.

Needed to ensure victory were unity and confidence in the party, he added.

Endorsing other speakers at the meeting that the bad side of PASOK was its own worst enemy, Simitis said: ''This is the opponent we have to overcome, swiftly and effectively.''

The prime minister also accused the main opposition New Democracy party of displaying a lust for power, and resorting to populist slogans instead of tackling issues head on.

''This demonstrates ND's fear and panic that its true identity will be revealed,'' he said.

''The party is trying to overcome its fear by using noise tactics, denial, accusations and nihilism, which is why it also even employs personal abuse,'' the prime minister said.

He asked rhetorically whether this image had so deeply penetrated the consciousness of PASOK members and senior officials that they saw ND as an easy opponent, therefore underestimating its influence.

''Nihilism and populism are never opponents to be taken lightly. It is often the simplistic that remains in the public's mind,'' Simitis added.

[05] Police officer gets 10 years in jail for migrant trafficking

A police officer and a merchant seaman on Saturday were each sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 15,000 euros on charges of migrant trafficking, court officials on the island of Samos said.

The two were found guilty of illegally transporting 24 Iraqis from Izmir, Turkey, to the Greek island of Ikaria on June 11.

The police officer was identified as Christos Demertzis, 44, and the seaman as Nikos Hatzipavlou, 39.

The two men denied the charges and lodged an appeal.

[06] Patriarch Vartholomeos visits Crete

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos arrived in Crete on Saturday at the start of a weeklong private visit to the southern Aegean island.

In Iraklio to receive the Istanbul-based cleric were church, government and regional officials.

Education Minister Petros Efthymiou presented Vartholomeos with an award for 2002 from the Crete Technology and Education Institute.

The patriarch is visiting the island as guest of economist Minos Zombanakis in Kalyves, Hania.

On Sunday, Vartholomeos will be declared an honorary resident of Hania, and on Monday he will visit the world-famous Samaria Gorge.

On Wednesday the patriarch is due to travel to the nearby island of Gavdos, and on Thursday deliver a message on environmental protection in Rethymnon.

Vartholomeos will also launch a radio station of the Cretan archdiocese.

[07] Illegal immigrants from Africa found near Leros

Sixteen illegal immigrants from African countries were found on an islet off Leros in the Aegean Sea after disembarking from an inflatable raft, the merchant marine ministry said on Saturday.

The thirteen men and three women are being held on Leros, and the island's port authority has launched a preliminary enquiry into the arrival, the ministry said in a statement.

[08] Greek PM to visit Australia

MELBOURNE (ANA/S.Hatzimanolis) - Prime Minister Costas Simitis is to pay an official visit to Australia, Greek diplomatic sources said on Saturday.

A date has yet to be set but Athens has proposed an autumn visit, before local elections are held in Greece, the sources said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is to visit Greece early in July.

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro until Monday

U.S. dollar 0.955

Pound sterling 0.647

Danish kroner 7.496

Swedish kroner 9.239

Japanese yen 118.6

Swiss franc 1.487

Norwegian kroner 7.474

Cyprus pound 0.584

Canadian dollar 1.476

Australian dollar 1.685

[10] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Saturday

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country, with a little scattered cloud on the mainland from early evening. Winds north-northeasterly, light to very strong, turning gale force in parts of the central and southern Aegean. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 16C to 33C; on the rest of the mainland from 18C to 34C; and in the Aegean islands from 19C to 29C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 20C and 33C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 19C to 32C.

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