Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-08-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Two Bulgarian migrant smugglers sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each

[02] Latest 'N17' suspect jailed

[03] Scottish & Newcastle buys Mythos Brewery

[04] Investigators believe Kos army depot thieves had inside help

[05] Plans to improve taxi services during the 2004 Olympic Games

[06] Weather: Sunny and hot on Tuesday

[07] Scottish & Newcastle buys Mythos Brewery

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[09] EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Athens Medical offer credit card perks

[10] Government resumes ''name and shame'' tax drive

[11] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in slim trade

[01] Two Bulgarian migrant smugglers sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each

A court in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, on Monday sentenced two Bulgarian migrant smugglers to ten years imprisonment each and fined them 495,000 Euros for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.

Ivan Petrov, 44, and Ivan Buzov, 54, were arrested on Saturday by Soufli border guards on the Soufli-Alexandroupolis national highway.

The two Bulgarians had hidden in their tow truck 97 illegal immigrants from Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Palestinian Territories, who they were to transport to Athens for a fee.

The tow truck and two mobilephones were confiscated.

The illegal immigrants told police that they entered Greek territory from Turkey in dinghies through the Evros River and waited near the village of Mandra in Didimotiho where they were picked up by the Bulgarians for transportation to Athens.

The 97 illegal immigrants are being held in Soufli.

[02] Latest 'N17' suspect jailed

The latest suspect related to the notorious ?November 17? terrorist group was remanded to custody late Sunday evening shortly after he provided some four hours of testimony to a special appellate court prosecutor.

Sotirios Kondylis, 41, whom authorities charge is the ?N17? terrorist known as ?Aris? amongst the other members, was arrested near his residence in the east Athens district of Vyronas on Thursday. His arrest brought the number of ?N17? suspects now in custody to 15.

According to reports, Kondylis again admitted to participating in a firefight between ''N17'' members and police in the central Sepolia district, November 1991; the murder of Turkish diplomat Omer Haluk Sipahioglu in June 1994 in the coastal Athens suburb of Paleo Faliro; as well as the launching of an unsuccessful rocket attack against the US embassy on Feb. 15, 1996.

Sources said Kondylis also confessed to joining the elusive group in 1990, while reportedly stressing that he wanted to leave in 1996 but failed to do so out of fear for his life. Finally, he reportedly expressed remorse for his actions in statements to prosecutor Leonidas Zervobeakos.

Kondylis, a brewery worker, was transferred to a specially renovated maximum-security cellblock at the Korydallos prison on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, a stepped-up nationwide manhunt for Dimitris Koufodinas, identified by police's anti-terrorism squad as a top N17 lieutenant and prolific assassin, continued on Monday. Authorities have announced that Koufodinas is the high-ranking N17 suspect still at large.

[03] Scottish & Newcastle buys Mythos Brewery

Scottish & Newcastle Plc of the United Kingdom has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 46.46 percent of Mythos Brewery from Athens-quoted Boutaris & Son Holding SA in a 30 million euro investment.

The sale agreement, which includes reinforcement of Mythos' capital base as part of the price, was signed on August 1, the two firms said in a statement on Monday.

Boutaris will retain an equal 46.46 percent stake in Mythos beer, with the remaining 7.07 percent to be held by Alpha Bank and ETBA Bank.

Under the terms of the agreement, Scottish & Newcastle will take part in management of Mythos, whose president is to be the chairman of the Boutaris Group, Constantine Boutaris.

The two main shareholders of the firm will issue convertible bonds totalling 8.8 million euros after shareholder approval expected on August 16, the statement said.

[04] Investigators believe Kos army depot thieves had inside help

Despite continuing intense army-led investigations to track down those responsible for the theft of weaponry from an army depot on the Dodecanese resort island of Kos, the perpetrators still remain at large, while the conditions of the theft have not yet been fully determined.

Army investigators on the case said on Monday they believed that the break-in was carried out with the cooperation or assistance of individuals assigned to the army base, while investigations are focusing on 25 military personnel, including officers and conscripts, who were responsible for guarding the looted armoury.

The army announced over the weekend that 17 45-calibre pistols, three HK11 submachine guns and three G3A3 assault rifles had been stolen from the camp, a report that raised eyebrows in light of the recent major breakthrough in efforts to eradicate the elusive ?November 17? terrorist group. However, authorities were quick to dismiss any connection with possible remnants of the terror gang and the incident.

It was announced on Saturday that the theft was discovered late Friday night, during a regular inventory at the depot, and it is believed that the break-in occurred on Thursday night.

[05] Plans to improve taxi services during the 2004 Olympic Games

The taxi-drivers Fund (EATAT) on Monday said that it was going to develop a special registry for professional taxi drivers aiming to improve work conditions and the provision of services. The special registry will also allow for the selection of 2,000 professional drivers who will cover increased transportation demand during the 2004 Olympic Games.

[06] Weather: Sunny and hot on Tuesday

Mostly sunny and hot throughout Greece on Tuesday with cloud in the north in the afternoon. Westerly winds, light to moderate. Temperatures between 20C to 37C in the north and west, 22C to 39C on the mainland, and 24C to 36C on the islands. Sunny in Athens, 26C to 39C. The same in Thessaloniki, 22C to 36C.

[07] Scottish & Newcastle buys Mythos Brewery

Scottish & Newcastle Plc of the United Kingdom has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 46.46 percent of Mythos Brewery from Athens-quoted Boutaris & Son Holding SA in a 30 million euro investment.

The sale agreement, which includes reinforcement of Mythos' capital base as part of the price, was signed on August 1, the two firms said in a statement on Monday.

Boutaris will retain an equal 46.46 percent stake in Mythos beer, with the remaining 7.07 percent to be held by Alpha Bank and ETBA Bank.

Under the terms of the agreement, Scottish & Newcastle will take part in management of Mythos, whose president is to be the chairman of the Boutaris Group, Constantine Boutaris.

The two main shareholders of the firm will issue convertible bonds totalling 8.8 million euros after shareholder approval expected on August 16, the statement said.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank.

U.S. dollar 0.991

Pound sterling 0.634

Danish kroner 7.489

Swedish kroner 9.522

Japanese yen 118.0

Swiss franc 1.465

Norwegian kroner 7.588

Cyprus pound 0.578

Canadian dollar 1.573

Australian dollar 1.847

[09] EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Athens Medical offer credit card perks

EFG Eurobank Ergasias and Athens Medical, both quoted on the Athens bourse, are offering credit card holders of the bank integrated health coverage.

Under the scheme announced on Monday, the holders of EFG cards will be eligible to receive cut-price health services at the private hospital chain.

Included are unlimited access to outpatient services on a 24-hour basis at the any hospital in the Athens Medical chain in the capital or in Thessaloniki for 15 euros a visit.

Also offered is free access to a 24-hour medical helpline for advice and information; discounts on diagnostic tests at outpatient departments; and payment by interest-free monthly instalments for necessary inpatient treatment in the hospital chain.

[10] Government resumes ''name and shame'' tax drive

The finance ministry said on Monday that it would publish a list of corporate tax evaders in the autumn, timed to coincide with dispatch of the 2003 budget to parliament.

In a circular, the ministry ordered tax offices to submit by the end of August data on firms that were shown to have committed major breaches of law in 2001 following inspections of their books.

[11] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in slim trade

The Athens bourse finished lower in light trade on Monday with small capitalisation paper the hardest hit.

The general share index shed 0.84 percent to end at 2,087.52 points. Turnover was 37.4 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.05 percent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 1.12 percent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities 1.38 percent down.

Of 349 stocks traded, declines led advances at 271 to 40 with 38 issues remaining unchanged.

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