Last tax-free state bond auction
NEWS IN DETAIL
Bad weather continues to sweep the country
Snow continued to fall today in many parts of the country, cutting off
villages in mountainous areas and creating transportation problems.
Vehicles travelling on the main and secondary road networks in Macedonia,
Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, parts of central Greece and the Peloponnese are
having to use snow chains, while drivers are being warned to be especially
careful due to patches of ice.
The temperature this morning in the northern town of Florina reached -10C,
while the snow in Pilio, eastern Greece, is one metre high.
Northeasterly gale force winds in the Aegean continue to tie up vehicle and
passenger ferries in Piraeus and Rafina destined for the islands of the
Aegean, Crete and the Dodecanese.
Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Service (EMY) forecast a respite in
the harsh weather conditions later this evening.
The snow and freezing rain hit Greece early Thursday.
Twenty-five dead, 178 injured on road in three days
Twenty-five people died and 178 were injured - 67 seriously - in 116
traffic accidents across the nation over the last three days.
Authorities have taken emergency measures on roads as the weather worsens
and the holiday season heads towards New Year's Day.
Ninety per cent of road accidents were reported on rural roads, police said,
and were mostly due to excessive speeding and drunk driving.
Tsohatzopoulos to visit Bosnia
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos will visit the Greek
peacekeeping contingent stationed in Visoko, Bosnia, on Sunday and
Monday.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos will visit the camp of the Greek force in Bosnia (ELDYB)
and of SFOR and address Greek servicemen tomorrow night. On Monday morning
he will hold talks with the Bosnian foreign minister.
Athens dismisses Turkish criticism over mosque
Foreign ministry spokesman Costas Bikas reiterated yesterday that members
of the Moslem minority in the Xanthi region were free to exercise their
religious rights, as provided in Greece's consititution and in accordance
with the 1923 Lausanne Treaty's provisions.
Mr. Bikas was responding to criticism by the Turkish foreign ministry
regarding suspension of a mosque's construction in Xanthi prefecture.
Specifically, police arrested 17 individuals in Kimmeria, Xanthi on Monday
after they refused to heed the authorities' calls to stop construction of a
mosque until a new building licence was issued.
Mr. Bikas said work had been suspended because it was not being carried out
according to the licence, which had been issued only for side extensions to
the building.
He added that construction would resume after the licence was reviewed, and
lashed out against Ankara, accusing it of referring to false facts and of
attempting to upset relations between Christian and Moslem Greek citizens
in Thrace.
The Turkish foreign ministry had lodged a complaint with Athens' embassy in
Ankara, alleging that Greek authorities were preventing the building of a
mosque even though a construction licence existed.
Source of water contamination located
Water company officials said today that the water which caused an outbreak
of gastro-enteritis in seven communities in Pieria, northern Greece,
earlier this week came from two new springs which had only recently been
connected to the region's supply network.
Following tests at the Chemistry Department of Thessaloniki University, it
was ascertained that the water came from the two new springs ''Arapis
Lakos'' and ''Aghia Triada''.
The first symptoms appeared mainly among children and elderly people in the
seven communities of Pieria early Thursday morning.
By the evening, more than 200 people had been taken to Katerini hospital
and the Litochoro Medical Centre suffering from gastro-enteritis.
All were discharged shortly after being treated.
The two springs have been disconnected from the network and the water
supply will resume later today, but only for household use.
Following the necessary repairs to the network, the seven communities are
expected to have drinking water early next week.
Turkish smuggler sentenced to 17 years imprisonment
A Turkish smuggler arrested early yesterday off the coast of Symi shortly
after putting ashore 47 Iraqi Kurdish illegal immigrants was sentenced to
17 years and seven months jail by a Rhodes court yesterday.
Akif Hoplamaz, 30, from Fetiye, had set out from Datsa on the Turkish
coast. His original destination had been the Greek island of Kastellorizo
but he changed course for Symi because of rough seas.
The illegal immigrants told the police that they had each paid $3,500 to
Hoplamaz to take them from Turkey to Greece. All the Iraqis - 31 men, 10
women and six children - have requested political asylum.
Last tax-free state bond auction
Increased interest was shown during yesterday's auction of three- and seven-
year state bonds - the last of the state tax-free securities - with
interest rates bid at lower levels than those set by the finance ministry
as a base.
The average interest rate for seven-year bonds fell to 11 per cent from
11.20 per cent initially set by the state, while for three-year ones
decreased to 10.50 per cent from 10.70 per cent, which was the auction's
base interest rate.
The finance ministry believes that the market gave a vote of confidence to
lower interest rates and this facilitates imposition of tax for the
upcoming issue in the new year.
WEATHER
Cloudy with sleet in Attica with snow on higher areas and possibly in the
northern suburbs. Strong to gale force winds. Slight improvement towards
the evening. Temperatures from 2-6C. Cloudy in Thessaloniki with possibility
of snowfall on surrounding mountainous areas. Strong to gale force winds.
Temperature -2 to 2C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
(Friday's closing rates - buying)
US dlr. 245.054 Pound sterling 413.029
Cyprus pd 521.594 French franc 46.797
Swiss franc 182.131 German mark 157.639
Italian lira (100) 16.056 Yen (100) 213.379
Canadian dlr. 179.473 Australian dlr.194.948
Irish Punt 408.605 Belgian franc 7.658
Finnish mark 52.774 Dutch guilder 140.641
Swedish kr. 35.760 Norwegian kr. 38.013
Austrian sh. 22.429 Spanish peseta 1.874
Portuguese escudo 1.564
(S.S.)
