Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-09-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] Soccer-UEFA Cup-PAOK

[02] Turkey-Journalist-Trial

[03] Cabinet- Papoutsis-Shipwreck

[04] Olympic Airways-Strike

[05] Secondary Bond Market-Close

[06] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

[07] Weather Forecast-Friday

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates-Friday

[09] Delta Holdings-Goody's stake

[10] Greece-Infosystem 2000

[11] ASE-close

[12] Fire-Mt. Hymettus

[01] Soccer-UEFA Cup-PAOK

PAOK Thessaloniki has qualified for the second round of the UEFA Cup after drawing 3-3 away to Israel's Betar Jerusalem on Thursday.

PAOK qualified 6-4 on aggregate, having won 3-1 at home in the first round, first leg match.

[02] Turkey-Journalist-Trial

NEW YORK (ANA) A Human Rights Watch representative on Friday will attend the final hearing of a Turkish journalist accused of ?insulting the military? in Istanbul, a press release by the organisation noted on Thursday.

James Ron, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, will travel to Istanbul to observe what is expected to be the final hearing in the trial against journalist Nadire Mater and her publisher Semih Sokmen.

The two are being tried at Beyoglu Criminal Court No 2 for insulting the military, under article 159 of the Turkish Criminal Code. The publishing of the book led to the trial and now the public prosecutor is requesting her imprisonment for twelve years.

[03] Cabinet- Papoutsis-Shipwreck

The government is resolved to uncover the reasons behind the ?Express Samina? shipwreck, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said, speaking at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hytiris said.

He said that the premier stated to the cabinet that it is the obligation and the commitment of the government to shed light on this ?unthinkable tragedy?, adding that blame will be assigned to all ?those responsible, however high they may be.?

The death toll from the ferry shipwreck off Paros island reached 65, while 54 of the victims have been identified. Rescue operations continued for a second day in effort to recover survivors of the "Express Samina" ferry that sank late Tuesday after scraping a rocky outcropping some two miles off the Aegean resort island.

?The judicial procedures are progressing already, the five members of the crew of the fateful ship under arrest in Paros will be transferred to Syros (the administrative centre of the central Aegean island complex), while in Piraeus an investigation is expected to begin, in order to find any responsibilities of the shipowners, if there are any,? Hytiris said.

[04] Olympic Airways-Strike

Workers of Olympic Airways and its subsidiary, Olympic Aviation, said on Thursday that they would not take part in a civil aviation workers strike as a gesture of respect following the Paros shipwreck, in which 65 people died.

OA workers were due to take part in the 48-hour strike on Friday and Saturday.

The airline has been transporting survivors in the shipwreck and relatives of the dead.

[05] Secondary Bond Market-Close

Bond prices in the domestic secondary market on Thursday finished higher in scant trade.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 6.039 percent from 6.05 percent in the last session.

The Greek paper's yield spread over German bunds was 77 basis points from 76 basis points in the previous trading day.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system totalled 20 billion drachmas from 40 billion drachmas in the session before.

Of the total, buy orders accounted for around 18 billion drachmas of trade.

[06] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

The drachma on Thursday ended lower against the euro and the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market.

At the central bank's daily fixing, the euro was set at 339.300 drachmas from 339.280 drachmas in the previous session.

Also at the fix, the dollar was set at 383.320 drachmas from 383.080 drachmas a trading day earlier.

The central bank intervened in the market, selling around 100 million euros to meet heavy demand.

[07] Weather Forecast-Friday

Mostly sunny weather is forecast throughout the country on Friday. Winds variable, light to strong, turning very strong in the southern Aegean. Temperatures in the Ionian will range from 15C to 26C; on the mainland from 09C to 27C; and in the Aegean from 16C to 24C. Mostly sunny in Athens with temperatures between 17C and 25C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures ranging from 14C to 25C.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates-Friday

Indicative rates released by the central bank for the next working day.

Fridays rates (buying)

Euro 336.586

U.S. dollar 380.253

German mark 172.093

French franc 051.312

Pound sterling 557.643

Irish punt 427.375

Belgian franc 008.344

Luxembourg franc 008.344

Dutch guilder 152.736

Italian lira (100) 017.383

Austrian schilling 024.461

Danish kroner 045.114

Swedish kroner 039.505

Finnish mark 056.609

Spanish peseta 002.023

Portuguese escudo 001.678

Japanese yen (100) 353.301

Swiss franc 220.492

Norwegian kroner 041.942

Cyprus pound 586.669

Canadian dollar 253.654

Australian dollar 208.479

[09] Delta Holdings-Goody's stake

Delta Holdings has raised its stake in Goody's equity capital to 20.01 percent after buying a number of shares from a group of minority shareholders in the company.

A Delta Holdings announcement said that the two companies have made progress in implementing a series of bilateral agreements, including the creation of a joint company for the processing of fresh vegetables, based in Thessaloniki, producing and distributing a new range of patissery products between Delta Ice Cream and Floca SA, and expanding the distribution of Delta's children yoghurt through Goody's restaurants.

The two companies are also preparing for a new round of Goody's expansion in Bulgaria, using Delta's know-how in the Balkan country.

[10] Greece-Infosystem 2000

The 14th Infosystem trade fair, hosting 756 exhibitors from Greece and other 28 countries, was inaugurated in Thessaloniki on Thursday.

The Infosystem 2000 will present all the latest technology in IT, computers, software, telecommunications, office equipment and an internet cafe site until Saturday, October 1.

This year's fair will also include a Computer Applications Conference, to be held on Saturday, organised by Helexpo with the support of Northern Greece's Computer Companies Union and under the auspices of national economy and interior ministries.

[11] ASE-close

Equity prices remained rangebound for one more session on the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday to end flat in subdued trading conditions.

Traders said the general index was locked within the 4,100-4,200 level reflecting shrinking liquidity in the market. Market participants, however, attributed the low turnover to a shift of capital to CosmOTE's initial public offering, currently under way, and expect liquidity to improve from next week.

The general index ended 4,142.81 pionts, off 0.25 percent, with turnover at 79.10 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.17 percent lower at 2,346.85, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index eased 0.49 percent to 532.92 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 600.09 points, up 0.40 percent.

[12] Fire-Mt. Hymettus

A fire broke out at dawn Thursday in an inaccessible region on Mt. Hymettus in Athens in the Profitis Ilias area near Terpsithea, and spread quickly fanned by high winds, but posed no threat to any residential area.

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