Italian national arrested
NEWS IN DETAIL
Simitis to undergo minor surgery tomorrow
Prime Minister Costas Simitis will be admitted to the Hippocrateion
Hospital in Athens tomorrow for removal of a gallstone, it was announced
today.
Simitis will undergo a laparotomy - the surgical cutting of the abdominal
wall - and is expected to be discharged on Sunday.
The announcement said the surgery had been scheduled for some time.
Simitis was due to 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.
Cyprus cultural attache dies
Andreas Malekos, cultural attache of the Cyprus Embassy in Athens, died
suddenly at noon today, most likely of heart failure.
Malekos, 58, was also director of the "House of Cyprus" cultural,
educational and technological foundation.
Malekos, who was suffering from diabetes since 1994, was rushed to Erythros
Stavros hospital at noon after sufferring a heart attack. Hospital doctors
told the ANA that he was dead on arrival, while an autopsy was taking place
to establish the cause of death.
Born in a village on Mt. Troodos in Cyprus, Malekos studied at the Athens
University's School of Philosophy and at London University. He taught
literature at various schools in Cyprus. In 1996 he joined the Cyprus
Education Ministry's educational service and later moved on to the
Secondary Education division of the Cyprus Education Institute.
National Bank of Greece cuts interest rates
The National Bank of Greece announced today that interest rates will drop
as of January 7, 1997.
It said variable rates on housing loans will drop by 0.50 per cent, from
15.25 per cent to 14.75 per cent.
The new base lending rates on fixed assets will drop by 1.25 per cent, from
16.25 per cent to 15 per cent while the base lending rate on liquid assets
will fall by 0.75 per cent, from 17.50 per cent to 16.75 per cent.
Credit lending rates will drop by 1.0 per cent, from 23.75 per cent to
22.75 per cent.
The new personal lending rate will fall by 0.75 per cent, from 24.75 per
cent to 24 per cent while the personal credit rate will drop by 0.25 per
cent, from 26.25 per cent to 26.0 per cent.
Interest rates on deposit accounts will drop by 0.50 per cent, from 10.75
per cent to 10.25 per cent.
The interest rate on current accounts is also set to fall by 0.50 per cent,
from 9.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent.
Rozakis resigns as foreign undersecretary
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.
Consumer group awards
Greece's leading consumer rights organisation, INKA, said today that 1996
was a year in which the buying power of consumers was further whittled away
and that the consumer rights movement was further strengthened.
Greek consumers found the most to complain about in their dealings with
spoiled food products, electricity bills, and overcharging and bad tourism
services.
INKA said yesterday that it had recorded a record number of complaints last
year: as a reflection, as a body, it had increased its staff to 53 and its
membership to 100,000.
Bakers got brownie points from the group, however, for significantly
reducing the number of complaints about the quality of bread as did the
city of Corinth "for being consistently cheaper".
School canteens and the "consistently expensive" town of Corfu got the
thumbs down from the consumer body.
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.
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
(M.P.)
