Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 11-05-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM: No snap election; all measures will be taken

[02] Bid for consensus fails; PM rules out elections

[03] Papoulias' remarks in political leaders' council meeting

[04] ND: 'Gov't has no willingness for Memorandum renegotiation'

[05] KKE's Papariga rejects PM's proposal for consensus

[06] Tsipras: 'Papandreou lacks courage to admit failure'

[07] Bid for consensus not over, government sources say

[08] Efforts to achieve intraparty agreement must be continued, Commissioner Rehn says

[09] Democratic Alliance leader Bakoyiannis addresses inaugural congress

[10] GNTO office in Berlin vandalised

[11] German FM deplores Greek Consulate vandalism

[12] Latest 'sit down' protest at Syntagma Square

[13] Humanitarian aid to Benghazi

[14] Commission awaiting results of a troika visit to Athens

[15] Greece can repay its debt without restructuring, BoG

[16] Five companies in Greece among 100 Best Workplaces in Europe

[17] Deutsche Telekom held secret board meeting in Athens

[18] Greece attends EU Telecoms Council in Brussels

[19] Hellenic Chinese Chamber event in early June

[20] Piraeus Bank says pre-tax and provision profits up 28 pct in Q1

[21] New direct flight from Athens to NY from June 24

[22] Turkish Airlines commences direct flight linking Istanbul with Thessaloniki

[23] PPI up 8.2 pct in April

[24] Stocks end sharply lower

[25] Greek bond market closing report

[26] ADEX closing report

[27] Foreign Exchange rates - Saturday/Monday

[28] Ataturk's house in Thessaloniki classified as historical monument

[29] Elderly man arrested for shooting death of fellow villager in Karditsa

[30] Antiquity smugglers arrested

[31] Three wanted in killing, dismemberment of foreign national

[32] British tourist rescued after fall in Aradaina Gorge

[33] Three seamen dead, apparantly of asphyxiation, on board Greek ship in Mexican port

[34] Man wanted on Interpol warrant arrested at Kakavia border station

[35] Foreign nationals arrested on copper cable theft charges

[36] Bank robbery at gunpoint in Atalanti, central Greece

[37] Rainy on Saturday

[38] The Friday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] PM: No snap election; all measures will be taken

Papandreou pointed out that he and his government intend to take all necessary decisions to achieve the target of rescuing the country, and without calculating the political costs. At the same time, as he noted, "we shall continue the effort for a common understanding, for the good of the country."

However, he stressed that he is open to further discussions and specific steps for a national consensus, as he again called on opposition parties to abandon conventional opposition tactics in light of the national target of exiting the crisis unscathed.

The prime minister further said he called on the party leaders to help as well, as the Greek people are doing, for the country's borrowing to be secure now and in the future.

Papandreou proposed to the party leaders, among others, "to work together for the major changes for which our society is thirsty for. We must respond to the demand of the citizens, who do not want a political-economic system in which the logic of looting, selfishness and appropriation was dominant."

"... we must give a reply to the immediate and vital problem of debt and deficits, in cooperation with our partners," he said, while deriding what he called the purveyors of "disastrous scenarios of our country's exit from the euro..."

"We put an end to the deficits and go towards a balanced budget, with the exception of interest, meaning a primary surplus as of next year, in 2012 ... we must all take the bold decision to decrease an ineffective, unproductive and clientele swollen state, which our country can no longer lift."

[02] Bid for consensus fails; PM rules out elections

A 20-minute private meeting between Papoulias and Prime Minister George Papandreou followed, after which the prime minister indicated that he would not call snap elections but "proceed alone" according to ANA-MPA sources.

The 3.5-hour meeting between the PM and the opposition leaders ended just after 4 p.m. and the atmosphere was visibly subdued and grim as they emerged.

According to sources within New Democracy party, Samaras declined to offer his party's support of the Memorandum reiterating that it is "incorrect", while again calling for a renegotiation of the bailout package. Moreover, he reportedly also rejected a proposal by Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.O.S) leader George Karatzaferis for the creation of an "ecumenical government". Samaras said the latter would be unconstitutional.

All refused to make public statements after the meeting, except Karatzaferis, who commented bitterly that ?unfortunately, some people's 'seat' is above Greece".

"The people did not understand that if Evrybiades hadn't come to an agreement with Themistocles in 480 B.C. that history would have written neither about them nor the date," he added.

[03] Papoulias' remarks in political leaders' council meeting

Addressing the five political party leaders attending the meeting, Papoulias said "this is a moment of big decisions and it is important to reach an understanding", according to ANA-MPA sources.

He underlined that political powers have a historic duty to reach an understanding and stressed that "there is room for convergence on important issues".

According to the same sources, Papoulias repeated that social cohesion must be preserved and the financially weak should be protected.

Afterwards, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou and Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas took the stand and outlined the economic situation and the international environment the country is up against.

[04] ND: 'Gov't has no willingness for Memorandum renegotiation'

Speaking to the press after the political leaders' meeting chaired by President Karolos Papoulias, he spoke of a "complete dead end" while he accused the government of "showing no willingness to consent to the renegotiation of the memorandum".

"We have suggested the strongest basis for consensus, namely, a consensus on the renegotiation of the memorandum terms with an emphasis on lower tax indices, as well as, on the measures aimed at boosting economy and cutting extraordinary expenditures," he said. "The government has no desire to consent to a renegotiation; just like when there was no negotiation on its behalf when it accepted the memorandum," he stressed.

Samaras said that the prime minister will discuss the tax policy only if the troika is convinced.

He also accused the premier that "after a week of a strategy of fear, he requested a meeting of the political leaders that lacked content, having nothing new to put on the table."

"We will not give our seal of approval to a policy that levels off the economy and tears down society. We will not put our signature under a policy that drifts away from its goals. We will not accept blackmails that cancel out the meaning and essence of our Democracy," he said.

He underlined that the only way out for the country is to renegotiate the memorandum in order to give the economy a breathing space and be able to exit the crisis.

Samaras said that he has proposed a different plan that is based on fewer taxes to allow the economy to work. "Only then, there will be revenues for the citizens and the state. Only then, we will have recovery and growth."

He concluded that the prime minister said that he is "ready to incorporate some of our proposals into the government plan leaving out, however, the most important element namely, the reduction of tax indices without which there will be no results and the restart of the economy will be impossible to achieve."

[05] KKE's Papariga rejects PM's proposal for consensus

In a press conference immediately after the meeting that was chaired by the President of the Republic, Papariga accused the prime minister of seeking to share the responsibility in the negotiation with the troika; admitted that the country has a complex and tough road ahead and spoke about terrorizing ideological violence. She also did not rule out the likelihood of snap elections or a "blackmailing" referendum.

Papariga spoke about a real crisis not created by the memorandum, targeting labour rights and conquests. She underlined that the reorganization of the political system is an urgent need and called on the people to avoid the trap of compromise under the threat of bankruptcy.

[06] Tsipras: 'Papandreou lacks courage to admit failure'

In statements after a council of political leaders chaired by President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, Tsipras said the meeting had been "an open admission of failure of the policy of the Memorandum and the choices of the government and prime minister". He accused Papandreou of now using extortionist dilemmas to extract an anti-popular consent from the political right in order to continue the same dead-end policy.

SYRIZA's leader appeared fairly positively disposed to early elections, saying that this was the way that deadlocks were resolved in a democracy, while he also appeared open to the prospect of a referendum on the Memorandum provided this was not "couched in extortionist terms".

On the prospect of a Greek default, Tsipras played down this possibility as a form of blackmail that had been heard for the past week and "a strategy employed by the government that had no basis".

"At the same time that our creditors say that they cannot cope with a restructuring, they are saying that they are ready for us to be led to default and to lose everything," he pointed out.

[07] Bid for consensus not over, government sources say

"There is not a Cold War climate. On our side the issue of reaching understanding is not over," the sources said after the meeting. According to their estimates, the climate and the way the political party leaders had dealt with the situation left some "chinks" for holding a discussion, even though there had not been any overall shift in the party leaders' positions.

They said the government had sought the meeting and was striving for political consensus on the measures because the country was at a critical juncture and there was no room for backtracking. They made it clear, however, that this not because Greece was at risk of being expelled from the eurozone, dismissing such talk as a 'joke'.

Relaying what happened during the leaders' council, they said that Prime Minister George Papandreou had made specific proposals to the party leaders, as well as asking them to agree to certain fundamental goals.

The prime minister had also indicated the government's willingness to negotiate on certain issues, such as placing individuals agreed on by all the parties in key positions, such as the Public Property Fund, or hold joint meetings with troika officials.

On the contentious issue of raising taxes, which was the focus of objections from main opposition New Democracy in particular, Papandreou said he was open to suggestions on avoiding this but stressed the need to replace the higher taxes with measures leading to an equivalent reduction in the public deficit.

Another of his proposals was a meeting between the economic teams of each party but this, according to government sources, received no reply from the party leaders.

The same sources repeated that there was no question of holding early elections while they ruled out the prospect of an all-party government, saying the government was prepared to consider the participation of individuals accepted by all parties for key positions but not as ministers.

[08] Efforts to achieve intraparty agreement must be continued, Commissioner Rehn says

Economy Comissioner Olli Rehn, in a written statement on Friday, expressed the European Commission's regret over the failure of consensus between the political party leaders in Greece regarding economic adjustment, to enable the current debt crisis to be overcome.

The EU commissioner stresses that efforts for achieving an interparty agreement for support for the joint EU/ECB/IMF programme must be continued. "An agreement must be found soon. Time is running out," Rehn said.

According to the Finnish commissioner, "it is of decisive importance for the recovery of the Greek economy for all the Greek political parties, including the opposition parties, to adopt a constructive stance and support the programme's implementation."

Rehn concluded that "the extent of the challenge constitutes a test for Greek society in its entirety and for this reason it demands the contribution of all parties and citizens."

[09] Democratic Alliance leader Bakoyiannis addresses inaugural congress

Bakoyiannis said that "the political leaderships of the two formerly big parties have failed to rise to the occasion, have proved to be unwilling and incompetent at the same time to respond to the call of history" and requested that the minutes of the council of party leaders under the President of the Republic on Friday be publicised. "The Greek people are entitled to read them, to know who are they who at the time of the big crisis thought selfishly and functioned with yesterday's mentalities," she said.

The Democratic Alliance leader reminded that her party "was the first to speak in all tones of the need for national consensus."

"We did not speak of understanding and consensus with (Prime Minister George) Mr. Papandreou. The Papandreou government is finished. We requested understanding for Greece. Understanding on the basis of major reforms that are necessary. Understanding on the basis of what the parties cannot do by themselves," she clarified and then spoke of political and business interests in Greece that are investing in bankruptcy and the return to the drachma.

[10] GNTO office in Berlin vandalised

The Greek National Tourism Office (GNTO) and Greek Consulate office in Berlin was attacked in the early morning hours of Friday by a group of 10-15 vandals wearing masks, resulting in extensive material damage to the GNTO facility.

The vandals broke the glass entrance door to the GNTO office on the ground floor of the building and caused substantial damage to the facility.

They also threw black paint at the building and bottles, which reached the balcony of the third floor, where the Greek Consulate is housed.

According to the account of an eye-witness, who alerted the police, the vandals spoke fluent German.

The assailants left an unsigned proclamation at the scene with an anti-capitalist content, calling their attack an act of solidarity with those who have recently faced "state terrorism".

The German police are investigation the circumstances of the attack and are searching for the perpetrators.

[11] German FM deplores Greek Consulate vandalism

The German foreign minister said that such actions were condemnable and do not reflect Germany's feelings toward Greece, adding that all efforts will be made to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.

German Deputy Foreign Minister Wolf-Ruthart Born has contacted the Greek ambassador to Berlin on the issue as well.

[12] Latest 'sit down' protest at Syntagma Square

For two days the mostly social media-fueled call to Syntagma Square met with increased response. Groups of young people, families, senior citizens, and even pupils with their teachers were present at the mass protest -- unprecedented by Greek standards, as there was little or no visible influence by trade unions, political parties or any of a variety of ideological fronts.

Hundreds of people also continued their mobilisation before the White Tower in Thessaloniki for the second day on Thursday.

[13] Humanitarian aid to Benghazi

The humanitarian aid was collected by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and includes food, medicine and blankets.

Two Foreign Ministry executives will escort the dispatch with is scheduled to arrive in Benghazi in 36-40 hours.

Two Greek Foreign Ministry Hellenic Aid department staff members will accompany the mission, which is expected to reach Benghazi in 36-40 hours from sail.

The aid will be received by the foreign ministry team that is already in Benghazi in cooperation with corresponding EU and UN teams.

Alternate Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis will be in Salamina to oversee the departure of the aid.

Financial News

[14] Commission awaiting results of a troika visit to Athens

The European Commission on Friday said it was awaiting for the results of a troika visit to Athens in order to reach a decision on whether Greece fulfilled preconditions for the release of a fifth tranche of a loan agreement signed between Greece, the EU and the IMF. The statement was made by Amelia Torres, the European Commission's spokeswoman.

The EU executive's spokeswoman said it was of great significance to have detailed information over additional measures needed and Greece's funding needs for 2012. Torres said Greek authorities must offer guarantees for achieving fiscal goals in 2011 and promoting structural reforms and privatizations. Commenting on reservations expressed by IMF officials over the continuation of financial support to Greece, Torres said it was a known rule, included in the Fund's statute, which was implemented in all IMF support programmes.

[15] Greece can repay its debt without restructuring, BoG

Commenting on the government's privatization programme, Provopoulos said it was ambitious and a large-scale privatization programme was very significant for the country, in its effort to exit the current crisis. He said that if such a programme was effectively implemented it could drastically cut public debt and release the country's growth potential, convincing markets that Greece can make it. The implementation of a 50-bln-euro programme could reduce the debt by 22 pct of GDP and even more, as it could support growth and attract significant foreign investments. With this program we will sent a strong message to markets that Greece is changing, Provopoulos noted.

He underlined that Greece must surpass its fiscal targets, reduce the size of the public sector, boost competitiveness and combat tax evasion. He reiterated that talk over a debt restructuring was harming the country and stressed that Greece can repay its debt without any restructuring if it adheres to its consolidation programme.

Provopoulos said Greek banks enjoyed strong capital adequacy rates, stronger than the Eurozone's average, but they were hit by a fiscal crisis. The central banker urged commercial banks to strengthen their balance sheets and noted that mergers and strategic alliances will come soon. Commenting on speculation that Greece could exit the euro, Provopoulos said: "I find it completely ridiculous".

[16] Five companies in Greece among 100 Best Workplaces in Europe

The five awarded companies in Greece are Amgen Pharmaceuticals, 3M, Tasty Foods, Accenture and Medtronic.

The awards were presented during an official ceremony in Paris on Thursday night, ahead of Friday's international conference themed "Future Workplaces".

The 'top 100' list includes 25 multinational companies, 25 large enterprises (more than 500 employees) and 50 small and medium-size companies (50-500 employees).

This year's Best Workplaces survey was conducted among 1,380 companies throughout Europe for evaluation of the working environment.

With the participation of 1.5 million working people in Europe, the survey is the largest of its kind regarding the work environment.

Despite the global economic crisis and its repercussions on the job market, the companies designated as Best Workplaces are increasing their personnel and, in the last 12 months, have opened up new job positions and hired 14,000 employees.

[17] Deutsche Telekom held secret board meeting in Athens

The delegation was headed by Deutsche Telekom's chief executive Rene Obermann. The German telecoms group, holds the annual meeting of its board and the supervisory board abroad, in a country where Deutsche Telekom has established activities. This year it was Greece's turn, obviously in an effort by the company to give a message of the significance of its investment in Greece. The German delegation arrived in Athens last Tuesday and left a day after, but the visit was not officially announced. Their presence in Athens was kept secret from the press and no one knows if the delegation had any high-level contact with government ministers. However, one day after their departure, the Finance ministry sent a letter to Deutsche Telekom announcing its intention to sell its equity stake in OTE.

[18] Greece attends EU Telecoms Council in Brussels

Deputy Infrastructure, Transport & Networks Minister Spyros Vougias outlined Greece's position in favour of ENISA's permanent operation expressing objections to the five-year extension suggested.

The council also discussed the "Digital Agenda for Europe", one of the main initiatives within the framework of "Europe 2020" developmental strategy.

[19] Hellenic Chinese Chamber event in early June

A top level delegation comprising high officials and more than 80 entrepreneurs of leading Chinese companies and enterprises will seek and explore partnership opportunities with representatives of Greek companies, covering a range of industries and services such as energy, IT, automotive, energy saving electrical equipment, communications, real estate etc.

For further details regarding the Forum planning, interested companies can communicate with the Hellenic Chamber (tel: 210 3629445, e - mail: [email protected]

[20] Piraeus Bank says pre-tax and provision profits up 28 pct in Q1

Mihalis Sallas, the group's chairman, commenting on the results said a recent share capital increase plan strengthened the group's balance sheet and improved its capital adequacy rates. "In difficult conditions of the Greek market the road we follow is containing spending and improving revenues, along with a prudent management of risk and liquidity. The fact that pre-tax and provision profits grew 28 pct in the first quarter confirmed the rightness of our priorities," Sallas said, adding that "efforts towards this direction will continue in the future, focusing also to supporting the Greek economy and its productive sectors".

Stavros Lekkakos, the bank's chief executive, said net operating revenues grew 11 pct in the first three months of the year to 383 million euros, from 345 million euros in 2010, while repeated revenues (interest and commissions) grew 5.0 and 2.0 pct, respectively, accounting for 93 pct of net operating revenues.

The cost/revenue index fell to 52 pct in March from 59 pct in the first quarter of 2010, while bad debt provisions grew 28 pct to 171 million euros.

Net interest revenues grew 5.0 pct 309 million euros, net commission revenues grew 2.0 pc to 49 million euros and retail banking commissions jumped 12 pct to 43 million euros in the January-March period.

Piraeus Bank said payroll cost fell 3.0 pct to 101 million euros, while pre-tax and provision profits jumped 28 pct to 181 million euros from 142 million euros last year.

Assets totaled 56.6 billion euros at the end of March, down 2 pct from the start of the year. Deposits fell 5 pct to 28.7 billion euros, while the loans/deposit rate rose to 129 pct from 125 pct in March 2010.

[21] New direct flight from Athens to NY from June 24

The inaugural flight will depart from Athens on Friday, June 24 and land at the JFK international airport in New York while the return flight will depart from New York the same day and arrive back in Athens on the following day.

The route will be served by four Airbus 340 planes built between 2001 and 2003 and each flight will offer eight first-class seats that can also be converted to beds and 24 business-class seats.

Another perk for economy-class passengers is the greater leg-room compared with competing airlines, with HIA representatives noting that their planes have 217 seats in the same space that Olympic Airways formerly fit 263. Each passenger will also have their own video screen, while the crew are mostly experienced pilots formerly employed by OA.

Passengers will also benefit from HIA's much cheaper tickets, which the airline said will be between 150 dollars and 300 dollars cheaper than the ticket prices currently on offer, starting at 890 dollars return.

[22] Turkish Airlines commences direct flight linking Istanbul with Thessaloniki

On board the airplane, that landed earlier in the day at Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport inaugurating the new route, were 101 passengers, among them, Turkish Airlines President Hamdi Topcu, tour operators, businessmen and journalists from the neighboring country.

The flights servicing the Istanbul-Thessaloniki-Istanbul route are scheduled to take place four times a week.

[23] PPI up 8.2 pct in April

[24] Stocks end sharply lower

The Commerce (1.69 pct) and Oil (0.05 pct) sectors scored gains, while Insurance (3.44 pct), Technology (3.35 pct) and Health (3.73 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 92 to 43 with another 54 issues unchanged. Lambrakis Press (9.09 pct), Akritas (8.89 pct) and Maillis (8.33 pct) were top gainers, while Ideal (10 pct), Athens Electronic (10 pct) and ATEbank (9.3 pct) were top losers.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Insurance: -3.44%

Industrials: -1.22%

Commercial: +1.69%

Construction: -1.64%

Media: Unchanged

Oil & Gas: +0.05%

Personal & Household: -2.14%

Raw Materials: -2.08%

Travel & Leisure: -3.25%

Technology: -3.35%

Telecoms: -1.43%

Banks: -2.27%

Food & Beverages: -1.12%

Health: -3.73%

Utilities: -2.31%

Chemicals: Unchanged

Financial Services: -2.16%

The stocks with the highest turnover were National Bank, OPAP, EXAE and OTE.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

Alpha Bank: 3.20

ATEbank: 0.39

Public Power Corp (PPC): 9.60

HBC Coca Cola: 16.86

Hellenic Petroleum: 6.68

National Bank of Greece: 4.51

EFG Eurobank Ergasias: 3.06

OPAP: 12.50

OTE: 6.90

Bank of Piraeus: 1.00

Titan: 16.55

[25] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates were largely unchanged. The 12-month rate was 2.14 pct, the six-month rate 1.71 pct, the three-month rate 1.43 pct and the one-month rate 1.24 pct.

[26] ADEX closing report

[27] Foreign Exchange rates - Saturday/Monday

U.S. dollar 1.447

Pound sterling 0.879

Danish kroner 7.568

Swedish kroner 9.044

Japanese yen 117.44

Swiss franc 1.240

Norwegian kroner 7.885

Canadian dollar 1.413

Australian dollar 1.354

General News

[28] Ataturk's house in Thessaloniki classified as historical monument

In 1935, the Thessaloniki City Council gave the house to the Turkish state, which decided to convert it into a museum dedicated to Ataturk.

The three-floor building, dating back to 1870, was repaired in 1981 and repainted in its original pink color. Most of the furniture is authentic and any missing items were replaced with furniture from Kemal's mausoleum and Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul.

Photographs on display reflect different periods of Ataturk's life.

[29] Elderly man arrested for shooting death of fellow villager in Karditsa

According to police, the 81-year-old went to the cafe in Asimohori village, where the victim was sitting with two other villages, and fired four shots in the face against the 74-year-old with an unlicensed gun.

The victim died on the spot.

The assailant then went to his house nearby and shot himself in the left temple with the same gun, injuring himself seriously.

The 81-year-ld was initially rushed to Karditsa General Hospital and from there, due to the severity of his injury, to the University Hospital in Larissa, where he is hospitalised under police guard.

During a search of the 81-year-old's house, police found and confiscated the gun used in the incident as well as a hunting rifle and ammunition, gun bullets of varying diameters, an airgun, and three flare guns.

Karditsa security police are conducting a preliminary investigation into the causes of the shooting.

[30] Antiquity smugglers arrested

Police located and arrested two Roma who possessed the stolen antiquities.

The perpetrators, on the night of 15 April, sneaked into the archaeological site and museum of Elefsina without being noticed by the guard and took over 50 antiquities of great value.

Following an investigation, police located the two suspects in a Roma camp in Zefyri, western Attica, and, posing as buyers, they came into contact with the two Roma suspects. A meeting was arranged, during which the two suspects were arrested and all the antiquities were retrieved.

The two detainees are currently being examined by the local prosecutor.

[31] Three wanted in killing, dismemberment of foreign national

Police said the perpetrators of the killing are three other Pakistani nationals aged 22, 26 and 34, for whom arrest warrants have been issued.

One of the three suspects, the 26-year-old, is already in police custody for a different case, the abduction of another Pakistani for ransom.

The crime was uncovered on January 4 when the head of the deceased Pakistani was found in the landfill, while the remaining parts of the dismembered body were found in an apartment in Ambelokipi to which the perpetrators had set fire in order to destroy the evidence.

Police said the three suspects had abducted their fellow Pakistani and held him hostage, seeking a ransom from the man's father in Pakistan.

The abductors, according to police, killed the hostage, however, because he knew their identities, then cut up the corpse in order to get rid of it.

[32] British tourist rescued after fall in Aradaina Gorge

Firemen and rescue workers from Anopolis and a doctor from the Vamos health centre rushed to the scene and managed to get the injured woman to an ambulance that drove her to Hania hospital.

The woman was still conscious as she was being taken to hospital but her condition will be assessed by doctors at the hospital.

The accident occurred as two tourists were walking down a path down into the gorge, when the 58-year-old stumbled and fell several metres, leading to her injury.

Her friend alerted authorities using a mobile phone and a rescue operation was launched immediately.

[33] Three seamen dead, apparantly of asphyxiation, on board Greek ship in Mexican port

The "Sea Wave", owned by Piraeus-based Harbor Shipping & Trading, was docked at the port of Veracruz to unload. grain in Veracruz .

The ship had a 29-member crew on board, of which six are Greeks.

Mexican authorities have ruled out criminal action, injury or poisoning in the deaths.

The three seamen -- two Salvadorean welders and a Nicaraguan sailor -- were found dead between the first and second hold, in a space that was exceptionally hot.

[34] Man wanted on Interpol warrant arrested at Kakavia border station

The Albanian faces charges in Italy and other European countries for conspiracy, complicity in drug trafficking, attempted homicide, forcing women to prostituion, and setting up a gang.

The arrestee will appear before a public prosecutor in Ioannina.

[35] Foreign nationals arrested on copper cable theft charges

According to police, the two had taken part in the armed robbery and had made off with a PPC truck loaded with 10 tons of copper cables worth roughly 60,000 euros.

[36] Bank robbery at gunpoint in Atalanti, central Greece

The exact amount stolen is still unknown.

Weather Forecast

[37] Rainy on Saturday

[38] The Friday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Elections on the horizon?"

AVGHI: "Answer in absentia of the people does not exist".

AVRIANI: "President of Republic Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister George Papandreou should resign".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Papandreou's ultimate trick".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Towards rapid developments".

ESTIA: "Government of wide acceptance".

ETHNOS: "Face to face for a national consensus".

IMERISSIA: "Hour of national responsibility".

KATHIMERINI: "Political leaders' critical meeting".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Political leaders' crucial meeting in search of consensus".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Government, Troika coercing for consensus".

TA NEA: "Meeting on dilemmas".

VRADYNI: "Complicity or elections".

36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: ILIAS MATSIKAS

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