Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 00-08-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] Kasoulides says situation in Strovilia affects climate of scheduled Cyprus talks

[02] Avramopoulos appeals for city-level diplomacy to preserve Greek-Turkish friendship

[03] Christodoulos outlines Church positions on keeping religious studies in nationwide exams

[04] Political Spring denies scenarios of Samaras' return to ND

[05] Equities nose up in higher turnover

[06] Equity futures end higher, tracking Athens bourse

[07] Bond prices drop in light trade

[08] Drachma down vs. euro, up vs. dollar

[09] Budget revenue rises in July, tops target

[10] Police nab serial burglar

[11] Police seize thousands of cartons of contraband cigarettes

[12] Over-zealous cleric demoted

[13] Greek javelin champion reports possible setback

[14] Greek Americans denounce Turkey over Loizidou case

[15] Russia says ready to provide active assistance for Cyprus solution

[01] Kasoulides says situation in Strovilia affects climate of scheduled Cyprus talks

NICOSIA, 19/08/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Talking to reporters, he said the Turkish army's setting up of a new checkpoint in Strovilia affects the climate as the issue is still open."

"For us these talks aim at searching for a settlement in Cyprus," Kasoulides said, underlining that for a settlement to be reached "substantive talks have to take place, without preconditions and based on UN resolutions, especially 1250 of June 1999 that sets out the procedure."

"It's time to stop talking and start negotiating ... What is important is that the talks are substantive and not so much whether they are direct or proximity," he added. He said the Turkish forces illegally stationed here since they invaded and occupied 37 percent of the island's territory in 1974 must comply with agreements it has with the UN peace-keeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

"We still expect the UN Security Council to back UNFICYP," he added.

Asked if the government considers the measures taking for the restoration of the status quo ante in Strovilia as satisfactory, Kasoulides replied: "We will consider the measures satisfactory as soon as we see the status quo restored."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has written to the Security Council asking for its assistance in restoring the previous situation in Strovilia.

The UN embarked on a new procedure of proximity talks, separate meetings with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, last December aiming at paving the way for substantive negotiations.

Asked if there was a possibility that Cyprus might withdraw from the talks, Kasoulidis said that there was a commitment to take part in talks until the start of October and any decisions about continuing would be made then.

"Our stance after the beginning of October will be decided then by the National Council (the top advisory body to the President on the Cyprus question comprising parliamentary parties) depending on our assessment of the talks," he said.

Kasoulides ruled out a visit to Greece by Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides before the New York talks, but said the Greek and Cypriot governments will continue contacts when he meets with Greek counterpart George Papandreou at the end of the month.

[02] Avramopoulos appeals for city-level diplomacy to preserve Greek-Turkish friendship

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

"Our experiences up until now," the Athens mayor stresses, "prove that our peoples desire coexistence, understanding and cooperation and point the way for diplomats in our countries. These hours demand that restraint prevails, in conjunction with the new conditions that have arisen in the field of international relations and the new prospects that appearing on the horizon on a global scale."

[03] Christodoulos outlines Church positions on keeping religious studies in nationwide exams

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

Christodoulos, in his role as head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece's Holy Synod, included the Church's observations in a letter addressed to the education and religious affairs minister and following highly-publicized reports that the ministry's leadership is reviewing proposals on the specific matter.

First-term Minister Petros Efthymiou is expected to reply to the Greek Church prelate in the next few days, although in the past he has reiterated that the subject of religious instruction in public schools will not be altered. In more recent statements, Efthymiou said any decision over instructed subjects will be announced before the beginning of the upcoming academic year and will be based solely on "educational criteria".

In his letter, Christodoulos notes that subjects not included in college entrance exams or excluded from general point averages for higher education admission are "underestimated and marginalized" by pupils.

[04] Political Spring denies scenarios of Samaras' return to ND

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

He attributed the "stirring-up of this issue and its projection outward" to specific people within ND who wished to create a front against ND's leadership prior to the ND party conference and who were using Samaras and Political Spring as a pretext.

Meanwhile, other reports said tension is rising in ND, following the removal of more than 100 cadres from key positions earlier this week.

[05] Equities nose up in higher turnover

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

The general index rose 0.80 percent to finish at 3,757.83 points. Turnover was 75 billion drachmas.

Analysts were reluctant to forecast the bourse's short-term future in its current lacklustre phase.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.58 percent up, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index for medium-sized shares finished 1.64 percent higher.

[06] Equity futures end higher, tracking Athens bourse

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

The FTSE/ASE 20 index closed 0.58 percent up, and the FTSE/ASE 40 ended 1.64 percent higher.

Turnover was 13.6 billion drachmas from 13.0 billion drachmas a day earlier.

A total of 1,746 contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 20 with turnover at 7.3 billion drachmas.

On the FTSE/ASE 40 index, 3,106 contracts changed hands on turnover of 6.2 billion drachmas.

[07] Bond prices drop in light trade

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 6.044 percent from 6.036 percent in the previous session.

The Greek paper's yield spread over German bunds was 83-84 basis points from 83-85 basis points a session earlier.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system was 58 billion drachmas from 62 billion drachmas the day before.

Sell orders accounted for 54 billion drachmas of trade.

[08] Drachma down vs. euro, up vs. dollar

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

At the central bank's daily fixing, the euro was set at 337.260 drachmas from 337.200 drachmas in the previous session.

Also at the fix, the dollar was set at 368.950 drachmas from 369.110 drachmas a day earlier.

[09] Budget revenue rises in July, tops target

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

The rise was 45 billion drachmas, or 3.9 percent, above a target of 1,158 billion drachmas, the ministry said in a statement.

The rise came to 11.55 percent in January-July this year against the corresponding period of 1999, the statement said.

The ministry attributed the rise to an increase in revenue from state financial services, which came to 904 billion drachmas, or 75.1 percent of total revenue in July.

[10] Police nab serial burglar

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

Albanian national Giorgos Pogiannis, 48, was nabbed on Thursday night by policemen while searching for valuables after breaking and entering the ground-floor flat of Halandri resident Costas Angelis.

A preliminary examination revealed that in the last three years mainly during the vacation months of July and August, Pogiannis had burgled over 70 homes in the northeastern Athens suburbs.

Police said that Pogiannis was selling the loot of his burglaries, mostly jewelry, cash, electronic items and clothing, to dealers of stolen items.

[11] Police seize thousands of cartons of contraband cigarettes

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

Police said that Nicos Theodoridis, his son Panayiotis and two foreigners were members of a gang who smuggled contraband cigarettes from Ukraine and distributed them on the Greek market.

[12] Over-zealous cleric demoted

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

The Metropolitan demoted Panayiotis Roumeliotis to a lower rank, depriving him of the privilege of receiving confessions. The over-zealous cleric will also be brought before a church disciplinary council.

[13] Greek javelin champion reports possible setback

Athens, 19/08/2000 (ANA)

Gatsioudis, who has just returned from an intensive training program in Finland, has undergone tests to discover the cause of the problem, the results of which will be out on Monday.

[14] Greek Americans denounce Turkey over Loizidou case

NICOSIA, 19/08/2000 (CNA/ANA)

The applicants, who have exhausted domestic remedies on their claims, base their case on a similar case, Loizidou vs. Turkey, on which the Court ruled that Ankara is guilty of violating Loizidou's right to enjoy peacefully her property in Turkish-occupied Cyprus and of denying her access to it and ordered Ankara to pay compensation amounting to 900,000 US dollars.

Dr. Takey Crist, and Eugene and Daniel Rossides filed their complaint after three years of litigation at the US District Court of Columbia which ruled that it lacked the jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to hear the case.

A press release, issued by the office of the lawyers who have undertaken the case, said the applicants are optimistic about the outcome of the case.

"They base their complaints on the Loizidou case, an analogous case, in which the European Court ruled in favor of the owner of the real property located in Turkish-occupied Cyprus," the press release said.

The case is handled by Achilleas Demetriades of Cyprus, who represented Titina Loizidou, Nicholas Karambelas and Andreas Akaras in the US.

The three applicants referred to a resolution the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted in July this year "deeply deploring" the failure of Turkey to comply with the Court ruling and said Turkey is disregarding its international obligations.

[15] Russia says ready to provide active assistance for Cyprus solution

NICOSIA, 19/08/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Russian ambassador to Nicosia Vladimir Pavlinov handed Ivanov's message on Friday to Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who has sent a similar message to his counterpart thanking him for Moscow's consistent support to the efforts for reaching a settlement in Cyprus and especially the principled position it takes in the UN Security Council.

"We are convinced that a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus by way of establishment of a bicommunal, bizonal federation with a single international personality, in accordance with the parameters defined in the UN resolutions on Cyprus, would be to the interest of all the Cypriots," the unofficial translation of Ivanov's letter reads.

He adds Russia is "ready to provide active assistance to the efforts of the international community in this direction in the future", noting his country "consistently stood and continues to stand, including in the framework of the UN Security Council, for the achievement of a lasting, just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem."

Ivanov added that "we welcome the continuation of the inter-Cypriot dialogue and hope that the concerted steps under the aegis of the UN will allow us to achieve tangible progress in the solution of the Cyprus problem in the foreseeable future."

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