Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-06-24

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 24/06/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Papandreou briefs party leaders
• Police release details of forger
• Four wounded in neighbourhood squabble
• Turkish man remanded in custody
• Police seek bogus cop
• 23 illegal immigrants arrested
• Archaeologists concerned about Pnyx event
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Thursday met with Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary General Aleka Papariga and Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos within the framework of his initiative to brief opposition party leaders on foreign policy matters. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Papandreou said there had been a "substantial exchange of views" which he described as "useful". The focus of the meeting, he added, was the situation in Kosovo, general developments in the Balkans and Greek-Turkish relations.

Police release details of forger

The Greek police on Thursday released further details about the arrest of Ioannis Petroulakos, 47, on charges of forgery and couterfeiting. Petroulakos, 47, was arrested in the Athens seaside suburb of Kalamaki on Wednesday. When the police raided his apartment in the Aghia Paraskevi district of Athens, they found equipment which Petroulakos had been using to forge documents and counterfeit securities. They seized 952 counterfeit Swedish bonds each with a face value of 10,000 kroner, a number of forged cheques, 10 forged blocks of consignment invoices in the names of different companies and individuals and scores of official seals.

Four wounded in neighbourhood squabble

A man shot and injured four labourers on Thursday after he complained that their work on an empty lot next to his house was blocking access to his vehicle. All four of the injured were reported to be in a stable condition at the Voula Askleipion Hospital - two had been shot in the stomach and the other received wounds to the hands. Police said Constantine Voyidonikolas gave himself up to police when they reached the scene. He claimed that he had fired in self-defence because the four had attacked him with planks of wood.

Turkish man remanded in custody

A Patras prosecutor on Wednesday ordered a Turkish man remanded in custody pending his trial on charges related to the rape and sexual assault of a 14- year-old boy. Aygun Yildiz, 33, was arrested by port police on Sunday after the boy, a German travelling with his parents from Italy to Greece, said Ungun had taken him to his cabin and raped him. He told reporters that he regretted his actions. He had earlier told police that he could not remember the events as he was drunk at the time. A crowd of people gathered outside the Patras court building jeered Yildiz as he arrived and tried to approach him in a threatening manner.

Police seek bogus cop

Police in Thessaloniki were on Thursday seeking a man impersonating a police officer who stole 90,000 drachmas from an Albanian family. The impersonator gained entry to the apartment of Drisim Fili, his relative Nain Kantiou and Fili's seven-year-old son by telling the three he was a policeman. On entering the apartment, he searched the house, found 90,000 drachmas and fled, police said.

23 illegal immigrants arrested

The skipper of a tourist boat was arrested by the coastguard early on Thursday for smuggling 23 Pakistani illegal immigrants into the country. Apostolos Moros, 45, was arrested in his boat, the "Apostolos Ioannis" ("John the Apostle"), five nautical miles south-east of the island of Spetses. The first indications were that Moros had taken the Pakistanis on board from another vessel and dropped them off on a remote beach near Porto Heli, Argolis in the Peloponnese. Moros and the 23 Pakistanis were due to appear before a public prosecutor later on Thursday.

Archaeologists concerned about Pnyx event

Archaeologists on Wednesday voiced objections to a midnight poetry event to be held Friday on the Pnyx Hill, near the Acropolis, but held off on calling for its cancellation. At a late-night meeting of the Central Archaeological Council (KAS), the body which manages the country's archaeological sites and museums, members said that the Pnyx should be reserved only for events related to the celebration of democracy. Archaelogists have in the past expressed their concern about the wear and tear on ancient monuments and sites caused by a growing number of diverse cultural events held at them. Friday's midnight reading of works by Greek poets, which will last to the rising of the sun on Saturday, will be the first of the events planned for the site.

WEATHER

Winds will be northwesterly, moderate to strong. Fair in Athens where temperatures will range between 18-31C. Mostly fair in Thessaloniki where temperatures will be from 17-27C.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Thursday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          312.341
Pound sterling       493.599
Japanese yen (100)   255.321
French franc          49.086
German mark          164.627
Italian lira (100)    16.629
Irish Punt           408.835
Belgian franc          7.982
Finnish mark          54.153
Dutch guilder        146.110
Danish kr.            43.335
Austrian sch.         23.399
Spanish peseta         1.935
Swedish kr.           36.879
Norwegian kr.         39.706
Swiss franc          201.455
Port. Escudo           1.606
Can. dollar          212.129
Aus. dollar          204.769
Cyprus pound         558.357
Euro                 321.983

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