Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-09-16
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 16/09/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Albanian turmoil subsiding, Greece says
- No plans for Albanian initiative right now
- Thessaloniki rattled by three tremors
- Trains, buses back on for Rolling Stones
- German arrested in possession of hashish
- Greek drowns after jet ski collision
- FM Pangalos in New York
- Finnish President continues Athens visit
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Albanian turmoil subsiding, Greece says
Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on Wednesday said the prospect of a
political resolution to the latest turmoil in Albania was gaining ground
and that the situation in the neighbouring country was returning to normal.
Tsohatzopoulos made his comments during his meeting with conservative
opposition leader Costas Karamanlis, who on Tuesday called on the
government to propose a meeting of the European Union Council of Ministers
to discuss the situation. Tsohatzopoulos told Karamanlis that the armed
forces were ready to deal with any development.
No plans for Albanian initiative right now
The government later denied reports of a telephone call between Prime
Minister Costas Simitis and Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and reports
that Athens was planning to send a member of its foreign ministry to
Tirana. Asked whether Greece was planning any initiative to restore order
to Albania, spokesman Yannis Nikolaou said that Greece had played a
significant role in the restoration of normality and democratic institutions
in Albania in the past. "If we judge that a (new) initiative is required,
we will pursue it," he said.
Thessaloniki rattled by three tremors
Three successive earthquakes shook the northern Greek capital of Thessaloniki
before and after midnight Tuesday causing panic but no casualties, police
said. A Thessaloniki university observatory spokesman said the tremors
measuring between 3.3 and 2.5 on the Richter scale lasted 20 seconds each
and despite of their low intensity caused panic among inhabitants in the
region without damage. The tremors epicenter, according to the spokesman,
was 10 kilometres northeast of Thessaloniki.
Trains, buses back on for Rolling Stones
Greece's bus and train drivers union showed on Wednesday that attending a
Rolling Stones concert transcended labour disputes, cancelling a walk-out
that would have made it difficult for fans to get to the venue. The
legendary British band arrived in Greece on Sunday for their much awaited
one and only concert tonight at the Athens Olympic Stadium. They were last
in Greece a generation ago, in 1967, when their performance was cut short
by trouble between the police and the audience. Drivers on trains and green
buses said they were calling off a planned work stoppage beginning at 5
p.m. on Wednesday, so as not to unduly inconvenience fans trying to get
to the stadium, situated in the outer Athens suburbs and accessible
by rail.
German arrested in possession of hashish
Police said on Wednesday they had arrested a German citizen found in
possession of 14.8 grams of hashish at Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport.
Martin Hollstein, 34, from Hamburg, was detained by police on his arrival
from Germany and is expected to be charged with trafficking.
Greek drowns after jet ski collision
A 45-year-old Greek man drowned on Tuesday when he was knocked unconscious
by a jet ski while spear-fishing off the coast of Crete. An autopsy on
Dimitris Makaranos, 45, from Iraklion, found that he had been hit by a jet
ski or the plastic propellor of some other kind of pleasure craft while he
was diving. The Iraklion Harbour Authority has undertaken an investigation
into who was in the region at the time and may have been responsible for
the accident. A 23-year-old British woman, Samantha Riddle, was killed in
late June on the island of Rhodes when her rented jet ski collided with
another jet ski, also driven by a British woman.
FM Pangalos in New York
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos arrived in New York yesterday afternoon
to attend the 53rd General Assembly of the United Nations. On the sidelines
of the meeting, Mr. Pangalos will have contacts with foreign diplomats and
EU member-states' representatives. His schedule, apart from a speech at
Columbia University, includes meetings with leading members of the Greek-
American community, as well as with Archbishop of America Spyridon.
Finnish President continues Athens visit
Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis yesterday received visiting
Finnish President Matti Ahtisaari, citing the excellent level of relations
between the parliaments of the two countries. Mr. Ahtisaari expressed his
satisfaction over the close cooperation between the parliaments of Greece
and Finland and noted that he discussed with Mr. Kaklamanis ways "to make
the people, and especially youth, interested in day-to-day issues and
politics." He also stressed the need for the strengthening national
parliaments' role and European intergration. The Finnish president also
noted that the international community must support the effort for a
just solution to the Cyprus problem.
WEATHER
Good weather will prevail throughout Greece on today with scattered cloud
in the east and south of the country. Winds northwesterly, moderate to
strong. Athens will be sunny with temperatures between 19-27C. Light cloud
in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 17-25C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Wednesday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 287.263
British pound 483.838 Japanese yen (100) 216.593
French franc 50.860 German mark 170.475
Italian lira (100) 17.271 Irish Punt 426.758
Belgian franc 8.266 Finnish mark 56.048
Dutch guilder 151.191 Danish kr. 44.753
Austrian sch. 24.205 Spanish peseta 2.009
Swedish kr. 36.954 Norwegian kr. 38.269
Swiss franc 206.832 Port. Escudo 1.664
Aus. dollar 172.013 Can. dollar 191.357
Cyprus pound 575.558
(M.P.)
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