Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-07-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] 80 kilos of cocaine seized off Lefkada

[02] FinMin, bankers meet

[03] Stocks up 5.58% this week

[04] 5.3R quake near Kos

[01] 80 kilos of cocaine seized off Lefkada

The Polish skipper of the 15-metre vessel, identified as the "Dodo", as well as a 23-year-old local man detected on a remote beach believed to be the drop-off point were arrested. Another six individuals were arrested in Athens in connection to the same incident. Another four people are wanted for questioning in the case.

Police are investigating whether a convicted felon currently serving a life sentence in a Greek prison is the "mastermind" behind the current shipment of cocaine.

According to reports, the vessel was trailed by authorities throughout its journey from Venezuela to Lefkada.

Later police reports said that further investigation of the 23-year-old involved in the affair had revealed an entire cache of fire-arms at his home in Alimos, Attica.

In a search conducted by the Attica drugs squad, the Attica financial crimes squad and the coast guard, authorities have so far found and confiscated three Kalashnikov rifles, one of them with a scope, an Uzi automatic, a pistol and 85,000 euros.

Police are conducting further searches of suspects' homes and are due to make further announcements on Saturday.

[02] FinMin, bankers meet

Additionally, they discussed the procedure to be followed after Piraeus Bank's proposal on Thursday to acquire state-run ATEbank (the former Agricultural Bank) and Hellenic Postbank. (ANA-MPA)

Earlier in the day, Papaconstantinou met with ATEbank president Theodore Pantalakis. During the meeting, Pantalakis briefed the minister on the bank's course, (ANA-MPA) while the government said it was still considering a response to Piraeus Bank's 701-million-euro bid.

Ministry officials said ATEbank's president told the minister that the "government should reply gently without hurting anyone's feelings, since the banking system is very delicate".

[03] Stocks up 5.58% this week

The Big Cap index rose 0.61 pct, the Mid Cap index fell 0.09 pct and the Small Cap index rose 0.98 pct. Banks (1.57 pct) and Travel (1.34 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains of the day, while Telecoms (3.0 pct) and Media (2.28 pct) suffered losses.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 88 to 77 with another 58 issues unchanged. Imperio (12.5 pct), Sidma (10.87 pct) and Mohlos (10 pct) were top gainers, while Atlantic (16.67 pct), Edrasi (11.11 pct) and Tzirakian (10 pct) were top losers.

[04] 5.3R quake near Kos

The quake was recorded at 11:11 a.m. at a distance of 310 kilometers southeast of Athens, with its epicentre in the sea region southwest of the island of Kos.

The trembler had a large epicentral depth, and thus was not strongly felt and did not cause damage, Athens University professor Efthymios Lekkas told ANA-MPA.

Lekkas was nevertheless reassuring over the quake, adding that no post-quake activity was anticipated.

Caption: A file photo of the port of Kos, a noted holiday island in the Dodecanese chain of island. ANA-MPA.

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