Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-11-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania gives press conference

[02] More public transport Weds to ease impact of taxi strike

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[04] Athens calls for int'l probe over bin Laden, T/C pseudo-state link

[05] Repeat trial of Ekaterini Yiannakopoulou reveals a million dollar

[06] Simitis unveils bust of late alternate FM Kranidiotis in Athens

[07] Gov't considering return of illegals on Zakynthos to Turkey (more)

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

[09] Profit taking ends rally of prices on ASE

[10] Dutch seaman killed while attaching tow lines to "Varyag"

[11] ASE considers trading of ETFs

[12] Weather Forecast: Bad weather to ease off on Tuesday

[13] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[01] Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania gives press conference

Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios, currently on an official visit to Greece, in a press conference on Tuesday night avoided to take a position on the dispute between the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

He said that the word "dispute" is not a desired one, stressing that "the Orthodox are a family which can have different ideas."

Anastasios expressed the hope that sober solutions would be found, noting that "we should not add fuel to the flames."

The archbishop, whose visit to Greece comes to an end on Friday, also answered reporters' questions regarding the holding of a religious conference under the auspices of Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in December, as well as to a similar one at the initiative of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos. Anastasios said that such types of conferences have taken place many times, without these, however, solving the problems.

He noted however that such conferences must take place in order to contribute in overcoming misunderstandings, which does not mean that the problems are solved.

Earlier in the day, during a meeting he had with Foreign Minister George Papandreou as well as at the dinner which the minister hosted in the archbishop's honour, discussion centred on the issue of the holding of an international conference of the various religious faiths.

Anastasios also referred to the situation prevailing in Albania, stating that already something unprecedented has occurred. He said the Orthodox Church helped the Muslims and these actions, which are in the spirit of Orthodoxy, are known to the Arab people.

The archbishop also spoke of the struggle for peace and justice and the development of peoples.

[02] More public transport Weds to ease impact of taxi strike

Extra public transport is to be provided in Athens on Wednesday to ease the repercussions of a 24-hour taxi strike that begins at 05:00, the transport ministry said.

Frequency will rise by 30 percent for buses to Athens airport, the port of Piraeus and the train station, the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, the metro, including the Piraeus to Kifissias line, will run an hour later into the night, the statement said.

Finally, the metro and trolley buses will run more frequently throughout the day, it added.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 377.227

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 549.455

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.385

Swedish kroner 035.656

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 311.671

Swiss franc 229.708

Norwegian kroner 042.644

Cyprus pound 588.433

Canadian dollar 236.681

Australian dollar 193.487

[04] Athens calls for int'l probe over bin Laden, T/C pseudo-state link

Athens stressed on Tuesday that recent press reports citing a connection between infamous Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and the Turkish Cypriot pseudo-state, propped up since 1983 in the islands Turkish-occupied north, should be investigated by international authorities.

During a regular press briefing in Athens, government spokesman Christos Protopapas also told reporters that ?all matters dealing with Cyprus EU accession prospects will be pointed out to the Turkish foreign minister?.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem is expected in Athens on Wednesday for a two-day official visit.

On his part, Protopapas was replying to a question regarding recent statements by Turkish Premier Bulent Ecevit, who again claimed that the only solution to the Cyprus problem revolves around the existence of two separate states on the east Mediterranean island republic.

Protopapas also dismissed another oft-repeated allegation aired by Turkeys military establishment, namely, that a wholly visibly refugee camp southeast of Athens and near small port of Lavrio acts as a training base for Kurdish rebels, something Athens has scoffed at for years.

Finally, asked if the issue of conditions at Turkish prisons will be brought up during Cems visit, the spokesman said that although Athens clearly supports Turkeys European orientation, it believes that the neighbouring countrys course towards Europe must also include a respect of human rights.

[05] Repeat trial of Ekaterini Yiannakopoulou reveals a million dollar account

The appeal trial of a Ekaterini Yiannakopoulou accused of murdering a priest in 1997 continued on Tuesday with the presentation of evidence showing that an one million dollar bank account existed with the names of the priest and an unnamed woman.

Both the defense and the prosecution explained in different ways the existence of the account.

Yiannakopoulou was convicted in the first trial to a 20-year sentence for the murder of shooting Archimandrite Anthimos Eleftheriadis in the Nea Smyrni district of Athens.

The woman reportedly told police that she killed the Cypriot-born priest, who was also her confessor, because he had "ruined her life by rejecting her after a relationship spanning eight years."

She also told police that she bought the murder weapon from an undisclosed Athens store last September and began making plans to kill the priest, whom she at one point described as "god in human form."

Yiannakopoulou was convicted on charges of premeditated murder, illegal possession and use of firearms.

[06] Simitis unveils bust of late alternate FM Kranidiotis in Athens

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Tuesday unveiled a bust of late alternate foreign minister Yiannos Kranidiotis at the courtyard of the foreign ministry in Athens, following his visit to the ministry.

The premier once again spoke of the personage of the late minister, whom he called "a man with his thoughts turned to the future ? a citizen of an international multi-cultural society, where understanding, cooperation and respect for human rights and international law was his rule of thumb. He was an intellectual, but also a man of action".

Simitis once again spoke of the contribution of Kranidiotis to the European orientation of Cyprus and its accession course, as well as his devotion to the vision of an integrated Europe and his agony for the resolution of the Middle Eastern problem.

"With today's unveiling, we honor once again his memory and we continue, symbolically, his presence in this space, were he struggled with faith in a strong and European Greece," Simitis said.

The initial idea for the creation of the bust belongs to former foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos, who promoted it along with current Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

[07] Gov't considering return of illegals on Zakynthos to Turkey (more)

Repatriating the 1,000-plus illegal migrants intercepted off Zakynthos this week back to the country from where they disembarked Turkey -- is one of the ideas Athens is considering, a government spokesman said here Tuesday.

The Turkish-flagged vessel "Brenler" ran adrift in rough seas early Monday morning near the Ionian sea island and was subsequently towed to Zakynthos port.

According to reports, most of the migrants on board are Iraqi Kurds, whereas the vessel was reportedly bound for Italy after leaving Izmir, in western Turkey. The freighter's crew reportedly fled in a speedboat when they encountered rough seas, authorities added.

If the repatriation option is selected, spokesman Christos Protopapas said, children in need of medical attention, along with their families, will be temporarily be exempted.

The granting of political asylum also appears unlikely, as Protopapas said the hundreds of migrants do not qualify.

The government spokesman added that Greece will actively promote an initiative on the issue of illegal immigration at an upcoming EU summit, while he also emphasised that Turkey from where the ?Lions share? of illegals attempting to cross into Greece disembark must cooperate within a ?binding framework?.

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

The weather will be cloudy throughout the country on Wednesday, with showers and isolated storms in the west. Cloud will build up in the centre and north, possibly turning to light showers. Winds southwesterly, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 2C to 17C; in the west from 10C to 19C; and in the rest of the country from 11C to 20C. Athens may see light rain from afternoon with temperatures from 10C and 19C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 6C to 17C.

[09] Profit taking ends rally of prices on ASE

Equity prices ended Tuesday's session off their day's highs as a wave of profit taking partly reversed an initial rally on the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index ended 0.13 percent higher at 2,593.42 points, reflecting a recovery in the telecommunications sector and gains in certain blue chip stocks.

Turnover was a moderate 69.83 billion drachmas or 204.95 million euros.

The Banks and Holdings sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (-1.20 percent and -1.03 percent, respectively), while the Telecoms, and Cement sectors scored the biggest gains (2.18 pct and 1.19 pct, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.37 percent lower, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.07 percent down and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index eased 0.15 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 215 to 113 with another 36 issues unchanged.

[10] Dutch seaman killed while attaching tow lines to "Varyag"

A Dutch seaman plummeted to his death on Tuesday after losing his balance during efforts to attach a tow line to the former Soviet aircraft carrier "Varyag".

The body of Aries Lima, 43, a crew-member on board the tugboat "Haliva Champion," was taken to the Kymi Health Centre.

The "Varyag" was still drifting in the Aegean Sea but out of harm's way on Tuesday, some eight nautical miles off the coast of Kymi.

Ferocious winds had severed the ropes connecting the engineless, 307-metre (1,007 foot) hulk of the Varyag to three tugboats guiding it through the Aegean Sea on Sunday.

The Varyag drifted freely for some 12 hours and its seven crew were flown to safety before one of the tugboats reattached itself to the ship.

The 55,000-tonne Varyag, inherited by Ukraine in the

break-up of the Soviet Union, is on its way from the Black Sea

to China to become a floating casino and 'fun palace'.

It will be given permission to sail once tow lines to all three tug-boats guiding it on its journey have been reattached.

[11] ASE considers trading of ETFs

The Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday said it was considering prospects of creating and listing of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the Greek bourse.

An ASE statement, commenting on recent press reports, said that ETFs were a significant investment tool in most developed international capital markets.

ETFs are equity mutual funds that usually follow the structure of a stock market index, meaning that they are index funds allowing investors to create portfolios based on the structure of an index.

The difference between ETFs and other mutual funds is that they are listed and traded in the stock market.

[12] Weather Forecast: Bad weather to ease off on Tuesday

The weather will improve on Tuesday, with rain restricted to the east and south in the morning. The rest of the country will see light cloud, which is likely to build up in the evening in the northwest. Winds northerly, moderate to very strong, soon easing off. In the north, temperatures will range from 2C to 17C; in the west from 7C to 21C; and in the rest of the country from 9C to 19C. Scattered cloud in the morning in Athens with temperatures from 10C and 19C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 6C to 17C.

[13] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 377.227

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 548.561

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.384

Swedish kroner 035.537

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 309.266

Swiss franc 229.739

Norwegian kroner 042.510

Cyprus pound 588.535

Canadian dollar 236.845

Australian dollar 191.357

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