Compact version |
|
Friday, 13 December 2024 | ||
|
Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-11-15Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr>NEWS IN ENGLISHAthens, Greece, 15/11/1999 (ANA)MAIN HEADLINES
NEWS IN DETAILSimitis-Ecevit meeting on ThursdayPrime Minister Costas Simitis will meet with his Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit on Thursday in Istanbul, on the sidelines of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit, the government said on Monday. Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Greece expected a tangible response from Turkey that it desired normalisation of bilateral relations. "Greece is in favour of a European prospect for Turkey," Reppas said. "Greece's advocacy is the basis of the foreign policy being followed in Greek-Turkish relations." Simitis leaves for Istanbul on Wednesday. While there he will meet with a number of European Union and Balkan leaders. Also on Wednesday, the Greek prime minister will be received by Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos. The prime minister returns to Athens on Friday, ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Bill Clinton. PM chairs meeting on Clinton security Prime Minister Costas Simitis today chaired a government meeting to review security measures planned for US president Bill Clinton's visit to Athens scheduled for November 19-20. No statements were made after the meeting. The meeting was attended by interior minister Vasso Papandreou, national defence minister Akis Tsohatzopulos, public order minister Michalis Chrysohoidis, press minister Dimitris Reppas, and undersecretary to the prime minister George Paschalidis. Govt welcomes Cyprus talks news Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas on Monday greeted news of talks getting under way between Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in New York. "This is a positive development, but the continuation of dialogue must be ensured," Reppas told reporters. Cypriot defence minister in Greece Cypriot Defence Minister Socrates Hasikos will be in Athens to discuss the joint defence pact between the two countries with his Greek counterpart Akis Tsohatzopoulos, an ANA dispatch reported from Nicosia. Hasikos will also visit defence industries while in Greece with a view to future procurements for the Cypriot National Guard. The minister left Cyprus on Monday morning for Thessaloniki, where he is to speak at the Aristotelian University on the declaration of an illegal Turkish Cypriot entity in the occupied regions of the island. Turkey quake not to affect Greece - expert Thessaloniki University Professor Emeritus Vassilis Papazahos on Monday said that the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on Friday was not expected to have any effect on seismic activity in Greece. Papazahos, in an exclusive interview to New Greek Television (NET) channel, said that the November 12 tremor that hit Turkey was weaker and further away than the catastrophic August 17 quake which hit the southeast of Istanbul and was "in a chronological sense" connected to the quake that hit the Attica basin shortly after on September 7. The August 17 quake, he said, had 'sped up' the manifestation of the Greek quake. "We are going through a period of high seismic activity which is going to last up to three years," he added, however. Quake damage cost exceeds 1.2 trillion The total cost of a quake that hit Attica in September 7 will exceed 1.2 trillion drachmas, according to final estimates by the country's national economy ministry. The quake "has hit severely and broadly the country's capital in one of its most productive moments, halting its rapid growth rate and violently shaking the lives of four million inhabitants", a special operational programme drafted by the national economy ministry said. The report, published today said a total of 72,000 families, whose houses have been declared damaged or due for demolition, were facing serious housing problems, the report said. Six die each day from road accidents The number of road deaths in Greece is like seeing double the population of a medium-sized Greek town 'disappear' every decade, experts told a news conference on Monday. Speaking to reporters on the occasion of the Panhellenic Neurosurgery Conference, to be held November 18-20 in Kavala by the Greek Neurosurgical Society, experts said that six people died each day of road-related injuries - either on the road, in the wreck of a car crash or later in a hospital bed. Pedestrians need to take special care in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, where statistically, the chances of being run down by a car are the highest in Greece. The experts said one in five road-related deaths in the northern Greek city were pedestrians. Bulgarian dies in road accident A 20-year-old Bulgarian national was killed today near Thessaloniki, northern Greece, when the car he was riding in crashed into a tree, police said. They said Ivan Tichomir, who was temporarily residing in the village of Liti, outside Thessaloniki, died when the car, driven by Ukrainian national Yuri Cicenko, went off the road and crashed into a tree. The two men were employed as seasonal farm labourors, and were returning from the fields when the accident occurred. Greek stocks end moderately higher Equity prices ended the first trading session of a new week moderately higher, unable to hold on to their early bigger gains on the Athens Stock Exchange. The general index ended 0.36 percent up at 5,722.99 points, off the day's highs of 5,777 points. Turnover was a moderate 302 billion drachmas. Shares in the Leasing, Information Technology and Construction sectors attracted heavy demand leading the market higher, while Holding and Industrials came under pressure. A total of 43 shares ended at the day's 8.0 percent limit up, while another 12 ended at the day's limit down. WEATHERUnstable weather is forecast throughout Greece today with rain and storms in the west of the country and in the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese islands. Winds southerly, moderate to strong, becoming stronger overnight. Partly cloudy in Athens with temperatures between 12-19C. Same in Thessaloniki, with possible rain overnight and temperatures from 9- 15C.FOREIGN EXCHANGEMonday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 314.266 Pound sterling 508.479 Japanese yen (100) 300.259 French franc 49.652 German mark 166.524 Italian lira (100) 16.820 Irish Punt 413.545 Belgian franc 8.074 Finnish mark 54.777 Dutch guilder 147.793 Danish kr. 43.842 Austrian sch. 23.669 Spanish peseta 1.957 Swedish kr. 37.759 Norwegian kr. 39.700 Swiss franc 202.527 Port. Escudo 1.625 Can. dollar 214.272 Aus. dollar 202.051 Cyprus pound 563.039 Euro 325.693(M.P.) Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |