Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-08-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Dormition of the Virgin religious holiday celebrated throughout Greece

[02] Wildfire breaks out in Corfu

[03] Two arrested for carrying forged dollar bills

[04] Migrant trafficker caught in the act, police say

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunshine with chance of rain on Friday

[06] Archbishop cites collective responsibility for terrorism

[07] Trial for Athens 2004 Olympics regatta begins on Friday

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[01] Dormition of the Virgin religious holiday celebrated throughout Greece

The Dormition of the Virgin Mary -- one of the most revered religious feast days in the Greek Orthodox Churchs ecclesiastical calendar -- was celebrated throughout the country on Thursday, with the Evangelistria Cathedral on the Cyclades island of Tinos again serving as the focal point of nation-wide celebrations and services.

Thousands of pilgrims from Greece and other countries flocked to the island, dedicated to the Madonna, for the traditional Aug. 15 celebration of the Virgin Marys feast day.

Further south, on the island of Paros, President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos led an official delegation at a grandiose religious service at the islands Ekatontapyliani Cathedral -- the third time he has visited Paros during the holiday as president of the republic.

On his part, Prime Minister Costas Simitis and his wife Daphne attended an afternoon service on Wednesday at a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the island of Sifnos, also in the typically Aegean Cyclades chain, where the couple has vacationed practically every summer over the past decade.

Meanwhile, main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis along with his wife Natasa, attended celebrations at the Panaghia Soumela Monastery in northern Greece a sacred pilgrimage site for Greeks descended from the Pontus region of the Black Sea.

The church service at the monastery, in verdant Vermio, was officiated by Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos, who later preached to some 20,000 faithful that Orthodoxys faith is the ?cornerston on which we lean on for support in order to find out true self?, whereas he also noted that the Greek-Christian tradition ?teaches us to respect the other as an image of God; one that teaches us ... to be tolerant of others differentness...''

Several ministers also attended the service at the monastery.

[02] Wildfire breaks out in Corfu

A wildfire broke out in the holiday island of Corfu on Thursday, devastating woodland, authorities said.

Firefighters on land and in water-dropping helicopters fought to contain the blaze in Strongylis, northern Corfu, but high winds hampered their efforts.

[03] Two arrested for carrying forged dollar bills

Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested for carrying 400 forged 50-dollar bills hidden in their automobile in the wake of a plethora of forged banknotes found circulating in the country's north, police said on Thursday.

The two men, who were also in possession of two fake Greek passports, declined to make statements, said police in the northern town of Serres.

Police hope the arrests will help to shed light on a crime ring operating for the last five years that has distributed forged euro and foreign currency banknotes throughout northern cities and towns.

[04] Migrant trafficker caught in the act, police say

A man was arrested in the north for attempting to transport 38 illegal Iraqi immigrants to Athens in his truck for 2,500 US dollars in cash, police said on Thursday.

Arrested by border guards in Evros near the border with Turkey was Dimitrios Topalidis, 56, identified as an entrepreneur.

Police quoted the Iraqis as saying that thousands of African and Asian economic migrants were waiting in Turkey for a chance to enter Greece.

[05] Weather Forecast: Sunshine with chance of rain on Friday

Sunshine is forecast in most parts of the country, with scattered cloud on the mainland from early evening that may turn to showers or isolated storms. The north will be cloudy with showers or storms, mainly in the evening. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the southern sea. In the north, temperatures will range from 18C to 29C; on the rest of the mainland from 20C to 34C; and in the islands from 24C to 32C. Temperatures in Athens between 23C and 34C; and in Thessaloniki between 22C and 29C.

[06] Archbishop cites collective responsibility for terrorism

Speaking during celebrations for the Feast of the Assumption, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece said on Thursday that responsibility for terrorism was collective.

''We all carry a share of the responsibility for whatever bad happens in our country. Even for the abhorrent phenomenon of terrorism, we are all guilty, and all innocent,'' said the archbishop at the northern Panayia Sourmela monastery.

Police have been unravelling the deadly November 17 urban guerrilla group since the end of June in a spate of arrests and confessions.

''When we mature, we will have to realise that it is not enough to shoulder your own responsibility. You need the courage to shoulder the responsibility of others,'' Christodoulos added.

Also at the monastery for the religious holiday were Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Paschalidis, and main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis.

The mountain monastery in Imathia dedicated to the Virgin Mary is a popular destination on the annual August 15 holiday for pilgrims from Greece and abroad.

[07] Trial for Athens 2004 Olympics regatta begins on Friday

Two years to the day before the Athens 2004 Olympics, a pre-event test regatta formally begins on Friday at the Agios Kosmas sailing centre south of Athens with seven competitions in five Olympic classes.

Expected to register for the pre-event trial are 507 competitors from 43 countries in 327 vessels.

Among them is Nikos Kaklamanakis, a Greek gold medallist at the Atlanta Olympics in the mistral sailing event.

?Ill have a go at all the races to see what kind of shape Im in. Then the next target is the European championships in Austria at the start of September,? Kaklamanakis told reporters.

The pre-event regatta will allow competitors to familiarise themselves with local winds and currents. A trial race was held on Thursday.

A second test regatta is scheduled for August 2003.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 0.993

Pound sterling 0.644

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.359

Japanese yen 115.8

Swiss franc 1.471

Norwegian kroner 7.507

Cyprus pound 0.578

Canadian dollar 1.554

Australian dollar -

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