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Athens News Agency: News in English, 97-01-03

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 03/01/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

  • Rozakis resigns as foreign undersecretary
  • Premier to chair Inner Cabinet meeting
  • Thessaloniki begins 'Cultural Capital' of Europe tenure
  • Debt auction begins '97 with success
  • Petrol prices fall
  • New Lufthansa fares announced

    NEWS IN DETAIL

    Rozakis resigns

    Foreign Undersecretary Christos Rozakis yesterday announced his resignation from the post, citing health reasons.

    The US- and British-educated professor of international law served in the position for slightly more than three months, having been appointed by Prime Minister Costas Simitis to the new Cabinet that emerged after the Sept. 22, 1996 general elections.

    The 55-year-old Rozakis, a member of the European Human Rights Commission, the Council of Europe and the Hellenic Foundation for Defence and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), submitted his resignation in a letter to the premier, citing heart problems.

    Premier to chair Inner Cabinet meeting today

    Prime Minister Costas Simitis will chair an Inner Cabinet meeting at noon today to examine the classification of issues the government will be facing in the near future.

    Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said yesterday the Inner Cabinet will examine the economy, development issues, institutional modernisation, educational policy, health policy and the country's insurance system.

    Thessaloniki begins 'Cultural Capital' of Europe tenure

    Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos expressed satisfaction yesterday with what he called "the very large, authentic and spontaneous participation of all the people of Thessaloniki" in events marking the city's assumption of the 1997 "Cultural Capital of Europe" title.

    "Culture is not a useless and luxury activity. It is the basis of social cohesion. And this society and people must prove both their endurance and cohesionIthis is my wish for 1997," he said.

    Thessaloniki Mayor Costas Kosmopoulos expressed optimism that the "copious preparation will lead to the best Culural Capital of Europe".

    Turkey's consul general in the city, Erden Testger, extended his best wishes to all the Greek people, and especially those of Thessaloniki, saying he was particularly happy to be in the northern Greek city at this time, and adding that his compatriots would participate in various aspects of the events.

    Melbourne's Greek community to celebrate anniversaries

    The Greek community in Melbourne is planning a series of events to celebrate two of its most remembered anniversaries.

    1997 marks 170 years of Greek migration to Australia and 100 years since the official establishment of the Greek Community in Melbourne.

    Events to mark the two anniversaries include sports contests, lectures, concerts, conferences and concerts with the participation of renowned members of Greece's intellectual and artistic circles.

    Events will last through the year.

    Debt auction begins '97 with success

    Greek state treasury bills worth 400 billion drachmas were sold to the public yesterday, compared to expected maturity disbursements of 335 billion.

    The annual bills bore an interest rate of 11.20 per cent, with interest taxed at 7.5 per cent.

    Petrol price falls, heating fuel increased

    Retail gasoline prices dropped by 0.30 drachmas a litre yesterday, while diesel and heating fuel rose to 106.6 drachmas a litre, increasing by 1.10 drachmas.

    According to the development ministry and the Public Petroleum Corp., the price adjustments are due to a reduction in the international prices for gasoline by US$1.87 per metric tonne, and to an increase in the international price for diesel by $4.20 p er metric tonne.

    Record number of consumer complaints

    Greek consumers scored a record number of complaints in 1996, Greece's biggest consumer organisation, INKA, reported yesterday. According to INKA, 66,920 complaints were recorded by the organisation in 1996, 11,245 related to the rising cost of l iving, and 10,382 about food adulteration.

    Complaints relating to the Public Power Organisation, the tourism sector and the entertainment industry were also on the increase in 1996, while complaints about the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) were less than in previous years. OTE, h owever, still ranked third in the 1996 consumer complaints' list.

    Consumer complaints relating to such products as insurance and bank services as well as local government organisations also recorded an increase in 1996 compared to previous years.

    New Lufthansa fares announced

    Lufthansa has announced new fares for certain destinations as of Jan. 10, and through March 15.

    The new fares are applicable for return trips from Athens, Thessaloniki, and Irakleion to almost all European destinations, and certain ones in North America.

    The fare to all major European cities has been set at 82,900 drachmas, while for New York, Washington, Boston, Miami, and Toronto the price stands at 109,000 drachmas.

    Noted private film collection destroyed in fire

    One of the largest private film collections in the country was destroyed in a fire yesterday at noon when a blaze swept through a sixth-floor apartment building in central Thessaloniki.

    The collection was owned by Thessaloniki-based newspaper and television film critic Alexis Dermetzoglou.

    According to reports, the fire was caused by a short circuit in an adjacent apartment before quickly spreading to Mr. Dermetzoglou's office while he was working with an associate.

    Italian national arrested

    Police yesterday arrested an Italian national as he was attempting to leave Greece with a forged stolen passport.

    Sergio Isoleta, 39, was arrested as he was trying to leave Greece for Bulgaria through the Promahonas border post on the Greek- Bulgarian border.

    According to Interpol and the Italian police, Isoleta had participated in an armed robbery at a travel agency in Naples and stolen, among other things, a number of passports which he and his two accomplices sold to illegal immigrants and members of the Bulgarian mob.

    Isoleta is a believed to be a member of an international ring with activities in many European countries.

    WEATHER

    Sunny to partly cloudy in most parts of the country with local fog in the central and northern regions. Clouds will gradually become heavier bringing scattered rain in the Ionian island, Epirus and western Macedonia. Athens will be sunny with temperatures ranging from 10-20C. Thessaloniki will be overcast with temperatures between 7-14C.

    SPORTS

    Sports Undersecretary Andreas Fouras will meet with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Juan Antonio Samaranch, in Lausanne on Wednesday.

    The meeting had been arranged last summer during the Atlanta Olympic Games and was officially announced yesterday in order for the two officials to discuss the issue of the 2004 Olympic Games, the proposed Olympic Academy in Olympia, and sports education in general.

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE

    (closing rates - buying)

    US dlr. 243.427 Pound sterling 414.835 Cyprus pd 521.792 French franc 46.701 Swiss franc 180.713 German mark 157.430 Italian lira (100) 16.015 Yen (100) 210.076 Canadian dlr. 177.350 Australian dlr.193.142 Irish Punt 410.033 Belgian franc 7.642 Finnish mark 52.576 Dutch guilder 140.294 Swedish kr. 35.446 Norwegian kr. 38.033 Austrian sh. 22.382 Spanish peseta 1.868 Portuguese escudo 1.566

    (C.E.)


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