Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-08-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] AIEST world conference in Greece next year

[02] Next AHEPA conference in Greece

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks down in profit-taking

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

[06] Broad outline but no firm figures for gov't tax reforms

[07] Liaskonis admits he carried out triple killing alone, clears Albanian

[01] AIEST world conference in Greece next year

The International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST) has decided to hold its annual conference in Greece for 2003. The AIEST conference will take place in the country between Sept. 7-12, it was announced.

Greeces National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) had announced earlier in the month that it would seek to host the AIEST world conference in 2003.

The Geneva-based group's conference is expected to focus on sport and tourism, a timely theme ahead of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

AIEST acts as a consultant on the tourism industry to the European Union and UNESCO.

[02] Next AHEPA conference in Greece

Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Magriotis on Thursday met with the new presidium of the longest Greek-American organisation active in the United States, AHEPA, with the agenda focusing on promoting Greeces image in America, the 2004 Olympics as well as developments in the region.

AHEPA, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, has also announced that it will hold its next conference in Greece, 32 years after it last held it annual gathering in the country.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 0.984

Pound sterling 0.644

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.225

Japanese yen 117.1

Swiss franc 1.480

Norwegian kroner 7.455

Cyprus pound 0.578

Canadian dollar 1.534

Australian dollar 1.823

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks down in profit-taking

The Athens bourse finished lower on Thursday, with players raking in short-term profits from the five last sessions, which brought a 3.44 percent rise in prices, traders said.

The general share index shed 0.63 percent to end at 2,191.14 points. Turnover was 86.6 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.07 percent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 0.68 percent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities 0.17 percent up.

Of 351 stocks traded, declines led advances at 196 to 106 with 49 issues remaining unchanged.

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

Scattered cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, building up on the mainland towards evening. The north may see isolated storms. Winds variable, light to moderate, turning strong in the southeastern Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 17C to 30C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 18C to 33C; and in the Aegean islands from 20C to 31C. Temperatures in Athens between 21C and 32C; and in Thessaloniki between 19C and 30C.

[06] Broad outline but no firm figures for gov't tax reforms

Changes in the tax system being mulled at the finance ministry include a rise in tax-free income, the abolition of a minimum income tax tag on luxury goods and services, higher tax-free limits for large families and a retention of the top tax bracket.

This was the broad outline that Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis presented to Prime Minister Costas Simitis during their meeting on Wednesday but the meeting did not arrive at any final decisions or firm figures regarding the size of the new tax-free limit or new rates of taxation.

[07] Liaskonis admits he carried out triple killing alone, clears Albanian

The suspect in the murder of three men found dead in a ravine on Mount Iti in Fthiotida has confessed to carrying out the triple killing entirely on his own, clearing an 18-year-old boy that he had previously tried to implicate as his accomplice.

The magistrate ordered that Liaskonis be remanded in custody and he will taken to Korydallos prison from Lamia on Thursday.

After a two-hour cross-examination by a Lamia examining magistrate on Wednesday evening, 38-year-old Ilias Liaskonis cracked and confessed that he had planned and carried out the cold-blooded murder of the three hunting enthusiasts unaided.

His admission cleared Albanian national Lala Alban of involvement in the crime but left authorities and relatives baffled as to his motives.

Since he first admitted to killing George Pournaras, George Triantafyllou and Vassilis Adamou on Sunday, Liaskonis has changed his story up to five times. He has given various reasons for the killings, ranging from a dispute over a drugs and arms deal to, most recently, financial dealings involving the search for buried treasure and antiquities. In his latest testimony he gave no reasons for the crime.

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