Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-11-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece orders enquiry into toxic waste disposal by UK ships

[02] Archbishop Christodoulos deplores Istanbul synagogue attacks

[03] Patriarch Vartholomeos sends condolences to Istanbul chief rabbi

[04] Election law reform bill to parliament this week

[05] Wave of strikes next week

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Monday

[07] Earthquake jolts island of Cephallonia, no injuries or damage

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates: Monday

[01] Greece orders enquiry into toxic waste disposal by UK ships

Greece on Sunday ordered an enquiry into whether two UK ships unloaded toxic waste when they sailed into a Greek port two years ago.

Merchant Marine Minister George Paschalidis was responding to media allegations claiming that two ancillary Royal Navy tankers, the Olwen and the Olna, had unloaded waste while in the port of Piraeus in 2001.

[02] Archbishop Christodoulos deplores Istanbul synagogue attacks

Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece on Sunday condemned car bomb attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul that killed at least 22 people.

''These criminal acts in Istanbul, acts of violence in Palestine, in Israel, in Iraq and in Saudi Arabia, have cost our innocent fellow men their lives, victims of hatred and racism,'' Christodoulos said from the pulpit.

''We wholeheartedly condemn yesterday's criminal acts in Istanbul against two places of worship for Jews, against the Jewish religion,'' he said during a church sermon in Goudi.

[03] Patriarch Vartholomeos sends condolences to Istanbul chief rabbi

ISTANBUL (ANA/A.Kourkoulas) - Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos sent his condolences to Istanbul's chief rabbi Issac Haleva as soon as he was informed of the car bomb attacks on two of the city's synagogues.

''We condemn these abhorrent acts that hit unsuspecting people particularly when they are praying,' Vartholomeos said in his telegram.

The Patriarch wished the chief rabbi a quick recovery as the latter suffered a nervous breakdown after the explosions. The chief rabbi's son is among the wounded in the attacks. Vartholomeos will visit Rabbi Haleva on Monday in hospital.

[04] Election law reform bill to parliament this week

A government bill changing electoral law is to be given to parliament by the end of the week, Interior, Public Adminstration and Decentralisation Minister Costas Skandalidis said at the weekend.

During a visit to Crete, the minister told reporters that the new law would come into force for national elections normally due in 2008.

The next general election is scheduled for April 2004.

[05] Wave of strikes next week

Taxi drivers will stage a 24-hour strike on November 22 to seek extension of a government deadline for fitting their vehicles with electronic cash registers, the SATA union said at the weekend.

In addition, lawyers have called a 48-hour strike for November 18-19 to protest against the state's alleged witholding of 120 billion drachmas since 1998 of money that belongs to the profession's ailing pension fund.

Finally, contractual staff at the culture ministry seeking permanent status are to walk off the job on November 17 at the start of a 48-hour stoppage.

[06] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Monday

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country, with scattered cloud in the west and north. The morning will be misty. Temperatures are to rise slightly, with a minimum of 10C and maximum of 20C in Athens; and in Thessaloniki, 8C to 16C.

[07] Earthquake jolts island of Cephallonia, no injuries or damage

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale shook the Ionian island of Cephallonia and nearby Lefkas on Sunday. No injuries or damge were reported.

The epicentre of the temblor was 290 kilometres west of Athens in waters between Cephallonia and Lefkas, at a depth of 15 kilometres.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates: Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.185

Pound sterling 0.702

Danish kroner 7.499

Swedish kroner 9.028

Japanese yen 128.4

Swiss franc 1.579

Norwegian kroner 8.280

Cyprus pound 0.587

Canadian dollar 1.541

Australian dollar 1.648

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