Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-09-02

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 02/09/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• PM hopeful of end to market crisis
• Greece supports UN resolutions on Cyprus
• IOC's Samaranch in Athens
• Police net 18kgs hashish
• Parliament teleconference
• Tsohatzopoulos in talks with Tunisian officials
• Defence Minister to visit Cyprus
• Ministry gets tough on taxi-drivers
• New tomb discovered at Vergina
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis was hopeful today that the financial crisis that has buffeted markets around the world would soon be under control. Simitis, speaking to reporters before his meeting with President Kostis Stephanopoulos, said that his information from European bankers was that it would not be long before the crisis was defused. "Developments may seem uncertain but this does not necessarily mean that they are negative," Simitis said.

Greece supports UN resolutions on Cyprus

Greece said today it was unaware of whether the United States had any foreknowledge of a Turkish-backed proposal for a confederation on Cyprus, revealed by the Turkish foreign minister and Turkish Cypriot leader on Monday. Asked whether he was aware if the U.S. was bothered by Greece's outright rejection of the proposal, Reppas said no side could be bothered by the fact that Greece supports the resolutions of the UN Security Council. France and China, two permanent members of the Security Council, Reppas added, have already opposed the proposal. "It is a fact that the framework and basis on which the Cyprus problem must be resolved are UN Security Council resolutions," Reppas said.

IOC's Samaranch in Athens

International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch flew into Athens today for a series of meetings with Greek officials on preparations for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Samaranch met with Prime Minister Costas Simitis at midday. The meeting was attended by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Sports Undersecretary Andreas Fouras, Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou and the president and managing director of the Athens 2004 Olympics Organising Committee, Stratis Stratigis and Costas Bakouris, respectively. Venizelos and Samaranch are scheduled later today to sign a protocol of cooperation on the holding of a cultural Olympiad at the same time as the Summer Olympics.

Police net 18kgs hashish

Police in Thessaloniki said today they had arrested two Albanian men found in possession of 18 kilos of hashish and were seeking another two who had evaded arrest. Authorities said the arrests were a serious blow to a growing trade in drug trafficking in hashish from neighbouring Albania. They said that the incidence of the use of hashish in central Macedonia had increased markedly in recent months. The Thessaloniki police directorate said that the city's police force had arrested 300 people on drug-related charges since the beginning of the year and had collected a total of 14 kilos of heroin, 13.5 kilos of cocaine and 300 kilos of hashish.

Parliament teleconference

Technical glitches delayed the start of the Greek Parliament's first-ever teleconference with the European Parliament and other European Parliaments today. Greek MPs were finally able to talk to their Austrian, German, Finnish and Euro counterparts after technicians fixed the fault between the Brussels-Athens line, after some 50 minutes. The focus of the teleconference was the economic crisis facing Russian and reverberating on world markets and problems faced by the unemployed.

Tsohatzopoulos in talks with Tunisian officials

Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos yesterday discussed with Tunisian officials the terms of a military cooperation agreement, regarding the army, the navy and the air force. The talks, which will continue today, also inlcude training programmes, armament procurements and the defence industry. Mr. Tsohatzopoulos, during his meeting with Tunisian Defence Minister Ben Yahia, noted the need for cooperation between the region's countries, who can decisively contribute toward the maintenance of stability and security, as well as the confronting of whichever problem.

Defence Minister to visit Cyprus

According to a report aired by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK), Greek National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos is scheduled to visit Cyprus to attend a military parade on Oct. 1, marking the island's Independence Day. Mr. Tsohatzopoulos, together with Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides, will receive the salute of the parade.

Ministry gets tough on taxi-drivers

The transport and communications ministry moved yesterday to bring Greece's taxi-drivers into line, saying anyone caught overcharging passengers would have their vehicles taken off the roads. Minister Tassos Mandelis has sent a letter to prefectural authorities asking them to step up checks on taxis and to implement the measure as soon as possible. Six taxi-drivers were found to be overcharging - some through sophisticated rigging of taxi meters - in August alone, in a crackdown by police.

New tomb discovered at Vergina

Archaeologists announced yesterday that they had discovered the 12th tomb at Vergina, northern Greece, where the tomb of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, is located. The latest tomb was discovered during works to construct a protective covering over the excavation sites and is located a short distance from the first Macedonian tomb discovered in 1865. Experts date the 12 sq.m. tomb to the end of the 4th century B.C. The latest find has fostered hopes that it may lead to more finds and excavations are continuing in the area. The work is financed by the University of Thessaloniki.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.P.)

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article