Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-03-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather

[02] Greece-Turkey-Business Cooperation

[03] OA-Belgrade-Athens-restart of flights

[04] Forthnet-PowerNet

[05] Secondary Bond Market-Close

[06] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates-Thursday

[08] Weather Forecast-Thursday

[09] Greek - Reaction - Hajjarian - Attack

[10] Knossos - Centennial - Events

[11] Delta Informatics-1999 results

[12] Israeli - Sources - Clinton - Assad

[13] ADEX-close

[14] ASE-close

[15] Antiquities - Smuggling - Arrests

[01] Weather

Sunshine and scattered cloud are forecast in most parts of the country on Thursday, turning to showers or sleet in the Cyclades islands, Crete and the Dodecanese islands.

Winds will be northerly, light to very strong, turning gale force in the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from -6C to 10C; in the west from -2C to 15C; and in the rest of the country from 0C to 12C.

Partly cloudy in Athens, with temperatures between 4C and 12C. Same in Thessaloniki where temperatures will range from -2C to 6C.

[02] Greece-Turkey-Business Cooperation

The Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA)and Turkey's Izmir Chamber on Wednesday signed a protocol in the Greek capital to promote business cooperation between the two groups.

The signing of the protocol came during a visit to Athens by a large delegation of Turkish business representatives.

Welcoming the delegation, senior EBEA official Constantine Mihalos said that the visit would help to consolidate a framework of cooperation between the two countries that was recently established.

"The recognition of Turkey as a candidate for entry into the European Union is a message of hope for the business communities of both countries," Mihalos said.

[03] OA-Belgrade-Athens-restart of flights

BELGRADE (ANA-M. Mouratidis) - Olympic Airways (OA) was the first airline in the 15 member European Union to fly to Belgrade on Wednesday, marking the end of an embargo imposed on Yugoslavia by the international community in 1999, to punish the Balkan country for its human rights record in Kosovo.

The airliner landed in Belgrade at 1:45 p.m. local time, a year minus a day later, since the last OA flight. NATO started bombings against the Yugoslav capital began later on that same day.

[04] Forthnet-PowerNet

Forthnet and PowerNet, a subsidiary of the Imaco Group, have set up a subsidiary to provide news and entertainment information through thea.gr, a new Internet portal.

[05] Secondary Bond Market-Close

Bond prices in the domestic secondary market edged down in sell-oriented trade on Wednesday and turnover fell further, traders said.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 6.17 percent from 6.13 percent a day earlier and 6.15 percent on Monday.

[06] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

The drachma on Wednesday fell against the euro, shrugging off an intervention by the central bank, and also lost versus the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market, dealers said.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates-Thursday

Following are indicative foreign exchange buying rates for commercial banks, released by the central bank for the next working day.

Thursday's rates (buying)

Euro 331.308

U.S. dollar 345.156

[08] Weather Forecast-Thursday

Sunshine and scattered cloud are forecast in most parts of the country on Thursday, turning to showers or sleet in the Cyclades islands, Crete and the Dodecanese islands.

[09] Greek - Reaction - Hajjarian - Attack

The Greek government on Wednesday condemned the recent assassination attempt against Tehran publisher and high-profile Iranian reformer Saeed Hajjarian earlier this month.

Hajjarian, an ally of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, was severely injured in a March 12 shooting by two assassins who subsequently fled on a high-powered motorcycle.

A Greek foreign minister spokesman reiterated what he called Athens� standing position of ?vigorously condemning all acts, regardless, of acts of violence and terrorism from wherever they hail.?

Spokesman Panayiotis Beglitis also expressed the Greek government�s sincere sympathy for the victims of ?this hideous acts.?

Iranian officials on Monday said six people had been arrested in connection with the attack, including a man suspected of actually shooting Hajjarian as well as an accomplice on the motorcycle.

[10] Knossos - Centennial - Events

A series of events commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the excavation of the palace of Knossos and the ?rediscovery? of an entire era of antiquity -- the seminal Minoan civilisation � begins on Thursday in Irakleio, Crete.

The municipal leadership of Irakleio, the Mediterranean island�s largest city, will lay a wreath in the morning at a bronze bust of Sir Arthur Evans, the noted British archaeologist who excavated the site in the latter part of the 19th century. Sir Arthur�s bust, unveiled in 1935 in the presence of the renowned archaeologist, is located at the Knossos palace�s western courtyard.

In the afternoon, the pioneers of archaeological research into the Crete-centred Minoan civilisation, Sir Arthur and Greek scholar Minoas Kalokairinos, will be the focus of a photo exhibition at the Irakleio Archaeological Museum.

The main event commemorating the centennial of Knossos� excavation is scheduled in November, as an international symposium on the issue of ?Knossos: Palace, Polis and State? will convene.

[11] Delta Informatics-1999 results

Delta Informatics SA, a listed software group, announced a 41 percent increase in its 1999 income to 10.75 billion drachmas from 7.625 billion the previous year and profits of 4.1 billion from 2.59 billion drachmas, an increase of 59 percent.

A general shareholders' meeting approved dividend payment of 35 drachmas per share, up from 22.5 drachmas in 1998, a rise of 56 percent. Delta Informatics' shares will be traded ex-dividend from Thursday, March 23.

Delta Informatics plans a share capital increase, worth 25 billion drachmas. The new capital will be used to finance new investments and acquisitions in Greece and abroad.

[12] Israeli - Sources - Clinton - Assad

Israeli diplomatic sources in Athens on Wednesday emphasised that the Barak government neither expects nor does it preclude a ?major surprise? in the Mideast peace process following the upcoming Clinton-Assad meeting in Geneva.

The Golan Heights, Lebanon and normalisation of Israeli-Syrian relations are expected to dominate talks between the outgoing US president and aging Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad.

The same sources noted that Israel�s decision to withdraw its forces from turbulent southern Lebanon, with a July timetable announced, serves mainly to relieve ?the Syrians of a lever of pressure? against Israel in the international and Arab public opinion.

?The strategic question is whether Syria is ready to make peace with Israel,? the same sources said, mentioning that security concerns and a full normalisation of relations, ?including open borders and an exchange of embassies?, is necessary before the territorial issue of the Golan Heights can be resolved.

Damascus has long demanded that Israel return the strategically important Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 ?Six-Day War?, before other substantive differences are settled. Conversely, Israel believes a resolution of other issues, namely, security and recognition, must come first.

In terms of Greek-Israeli matters and in reference to a question over the historic visit by Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land, Israeli sources emphasised that the Barak government believes in fully maintaining the status quo governing the ownership and management of several revered Christian sites and monuments in the West Bank -- a sensitive issue for several Orthodox churches, particularly the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece.

?We also believe in maintaining the cultural and architectural heritage status quo as well,? one highly placed diplomatic source added.

Finally, sources noted that Israeli defence concerns are in the bidding for a lucrative contract to install an electronic counter-measures system in the new batch of US-made F-16s ordered by the Greek government this month to bolster the Hellenic Air Force's current fleet.

?We offer the best (system) we have, the same that is on our F-16s?we also fully respect the Greek decision-making process in this view,? one source said.

[13] ADEX-close

Derivatives prices ended mixed on the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Wednesday despite declines of 0.56 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively, in the two benchmark indices FTSE/ASE 20 and FTSE/ASE 40.

A total of 1,161 futures contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 20 index, with a turnover of 6.2 billion drachmas. All contracts ended with gains. The April expiring contract ended at 2,671 points, the May contract at 2,686.50, the June at 2,705.25 and the September contract at 2,750 points.

A total of 908 contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 40 index. They all ended with losses with a turnover of 2.6 billion drachmas. The April expiring contract ended at 726.75 points, the May contract at 740 and the June contract at 741 points.

[14] ASE-close

Equity prices ended lower for the second consecutive session on the Athens Stoc Exchange on Wednesday as investors remained on the sidelines putting a lid on demand.

The general index ended 0.68 percent lower at 4,723.15 points, with turnover slightly improved at 210 billion drachmas reflecting a bloc transfer of a 20 percent stake in Delta Holdings by Danone to the French company Foremaster.

Smaller capitalisation stocks were particularly hit to end sharply lower.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.56 percent to 2,649.32 points, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index dropped 2.07 percent to 709.43 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 907.97 points, off 2.72 percent.

[15] Antiquities - Smuggling - Arrests

Antiquities - Smuggling - Arrests

���������: Veritable 'treasure' of rare Mycenean artifacts confiscated in Corinth prefecture

A 42-year-old local man was arrested in Corinth prefecture on Wednesday on antiquities smuggling charges after 55 ancient artifacts, all dated to the pre-Classical Mycenean era, were found in his possession.

According to authorities, the confiscated artifacts were illegally excavated from the Athikio archaeological site in Corinth prefecture and are believed to have been uncovered from ancient burial sites.

Police added that the suspect, Dimitris Haidas, was engaged in illegal excavations throughout the prefecture, at some points even using explosives -- a batch of which was also confiscated.

The artifacts, estimated as rare and invaluable after an initial inspection by archaeologists, are dated from between the 16th and 12th century BC.

Besides Haidas, a 50-year-old woman living in his residence was arrested as an accomplice and on charges related to a fortune-telling scam.

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