Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-06-11

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 11/06/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Teachers, police face off around the country
• Government condemnation
• Ruling party expels dissident
• Economy on the right path - Papandoniou
• Three foreigners arrested for trafficking
• National Bank posts profit jump of 61pct Jan-Apr
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Police around country this morning clashed with teachers trying to take over school buildings acting as examination centres for a nationwide competition introduced by the education ministry to change the way appointments are made to state schools. Protestors have managed to take over examination centres in the rest of the country in Pyrgos, Agrinio, Kozani and Rhodes, despite police being stationed at all the 32 centres. Teachers representatives yesterday warned of a "general upheaval" across the country if the ministry persisted in holding the examinations, to be sat by 46,500 unemployed teachers to determine whether and when they will be appointed to state school jobs.

Government condemnation

The government later condemned the violence, saying it was the work of "a small group of teachers". "They do their vocation no honour," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said, adding that the majority of teachers had nothing to do with "this sort of behaviour". Reppas called on the civil servants umbrella assocation ADEDY, the teachers' union OLME and all political parties to condemn today's incidents. "The government will not hand over society to be held hostage to small groups and it is determined and has the ability to implement its policies," he said.

Ruling party expels dissident

The ruling socialist PASOK party today expelled one of its founding members for going against the party's decision to support a non-party candidate for mayoral elections in Athens later this year. Dimitris Beis, a former MP and Mayor of Athens, refused to withdraw his candidacy for mayor, challenging Maria Damanaki, a Coalition of the Left and Progress deputy who has received PASOK's support for her run. Meeting with Beis this morning, PASOK Secretary Costas Skandalidis said he had told Beis, a founding member of PASOK and a member of the party's Central Committee, that his stance was undermining PASOK in municipal elections, to be held later this year.

Economy on the right path - Papandoniou

National Economy and Finance Minister Yannos Papandoniou said today that the economic policy followed by the government had had substantial results. "Four years have not been wasted. We gained much ground and time," he said after a broad governmental meeting on the economy chaired by the Prime Minister. He said the efforts so far would soon bear fruit, adding that clearly more auspicious conditions for the exercise of economic policy were developing for next year. It was ascertained during the meeting, he said, that the market's reaction to the mid-March drachma devaluation had not exceeded one unit point, against opposition forecasts of a 3-4 percent increase in inflation.

Three foreigners arrested for trafficking

Athens' Narcotics Squad Police today said that had broken up a gang of drug traffickers importing high grade cocaine into Greece from Brazil in a sting operation this week. Arrested were Nigerian nationals Martin Oeke, 25, Jeff Godson Ayaborsi, 34, and Josiah Ifeanyi Raphael, 33. Another suspect, also Nigerian, is being sought. Oeke was arrested yesterday when he presented a fake Dutch passport at a suburban post office to pick up a package from Brazil. The package had been intercepted by customs officials last week and found to contain 508.9 grams of cocaine.

National Bank posts profit jump of 61pct Jan-Apr

State-run National Bank of Greece reported pre-tax profits of 37.5 billion drachmas in January-April from 23.3 billion in the same period of last year, marking a 61 percent rise. National Bank's branches abroad posted an 84 percent jump in pre-tax profits, management said in a statement. The increase in profits was due to progress in a modernisation programme being carried out by the bank and to revitalisation of its loans and equities portfolios, management said in a statement. Also contributing to profitability were opportunities arising from positive macro-economic developments; a rise in the Athens Stock Exchange; and favourable conditions in capital markets linked mainly to the drachma's entry into the European Union's exchange rate mechanism on March 14, management said.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.P.)

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