Thessaloniki stock market expansion discussed
NEWS IN DETAIL
Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday that Athens would not allow
itself to be dragged into a climate of threats as Ankara desired, adding
that Greece remained a force of peace in the region.
"Greece will not allow itself to be dragged into a climate of threats, as
Ankara desires...We apply our policy with coolheadedness and take all
necessary initiatives for peace and stability in the region. Greece is and
will remain a force of peace," Mr. S imitis told reporters after a meeting
with Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and National Defence Minister Akis
Tsohatzopoulos to focus on preparations for the visit of Cyprus President
Glafcos Clerides on Friday.
The meeting was held amidst continued Turkish threats of military strikes
against Cyprus, after the island republic announced in the first week of
the year a purchase agreement for the advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft
missiles S-300. During Mr. Clerides' visit the two sides will jointly
examine developments in the Cyprus problem and "review scenarios and
positions", Mr. Simitis said.
Aristotle's Lyceum said to have been found
Three days after archaeologists claimed they had finally found the cave
where Euripides retreated to write his classic tragedies, construction
works for a modern art museum unearthed a large ancient complex yesterday,
complete with a central yard and a wrestling arena approximately 600 metres
from Parliament - which, according to initial assessments may be the famed
Lyceum where Aristotle is believed to have taught.
Archaeologists have been trying to locate the lost Lyceum of Athens -
considered one of the three greatest academies of philosophy of ancient
Greece - for the past 150 years. The other two renowned such ancient
Athenian schools were the academy of Plato and the academy of Kynosargous.
Excavations in the central Athens area started last May and were completed
a few days ago. A study by the archaeologist conducting the excavations has
not yet been published, which according to the necessary procedures, will
have to be first presented t o the Central Archaeological Council.
However, historical sources have not completely agreed on the location of
the lyceum, since some arguments place the lyceum in the wider region of
Syntagma Square (in front of Parliament) or the national garden.
Greek dig pinpoints cave of Euripides
Three days ago archaeologists announced that they have found the cave
retreat of the ancient Athenian tragic poet Euripides, at the Peristeria
site on the island of Salamis, off Attica's coast.
A thin clay pot partly intact, with the first six letters of the name
'Euripides' inscribed on its external surface was found last Friday at
Peristeria bay on the southern coast of Salamis by a 15-member team headed
by Yiannis Lolos, an assistant profess or of prehistoric archaeology at
Ioannina University.
According to Prof. Lolos, the find points to the cave retreat of Euripides
(485/480-406 B.C.)
The partly intact pot is an excellent specimen of delicate Attic pottery,
bearing an admirable engraved decoration on its bottom section, while the
dramatist's name, which is inscribed on the external surface, is partly
visible. All the finds have been taken to the Piraeus Museum, where they
are being preserved.
Historical evidence has long indicated that Euripides, the latest of three
great Athenian dramatists, sought solitude to work in a cave on the island
of Salamis.
"The pot with Euripides's name is a unique find which adds to our knowledge
of intellectual life in the fifth century BC," Mr. Lolos said.
Among the works of the reclusive Euripides are Medea, Hecuba and the Trojan
Women.
Euripides was considered eccentric for his love of solitude at a time when
company was greatly valued. Ancient biographers described him as stern,
strict and unsmiling.
He was parodied in Aristophanes' comedy, The Frogs, and was criticised by
contemporaries for his innovations in tragedy.
Disappointed, he left Athens for the court of King Archaelaus in Macedonia,
where he wrote one of his most often-performed plays - the Bacchae.
The culture ministry said the hardest evidence tying Euripides to the cave
was the clay pot inscribed with the first six letters of his name.
The pot dates to 440-430 BC and graphologists say the inscription was
applied later, around the second century BC, most probably as a votive
offer by an admirer of the writer.
State Dept. official in Athens to discuss Cyprus issue
The director of the US State Department's southern European bureau, Carey
Cavanaugh, on the second leg of his tour of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, will
hold talks here today with Greek government officials on US proposals for
adoption of measures to reduce tension in Cyprus, particularly on the issue
of the moratorium on military overflights of the divided island.
Informed sources said that Athens will receive the US official's proposals
with "an open mind", without, however, binding itself on any decision, as
Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides is expected in Athens on Friday in order
for the Cypriot and Greek go vernments to examine their positions and to
coordinate their actions.
In a related development, according to an ANA dispatch from Nicosia, Mr.
Cavanaugh told the press after meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf
Denktash last night that he was satisfied because, as he said, "there was
support and agreement on military dialogue and particularly on the issue of
terms of engagement and of unmanning."
He also said that there would be meetings within the week to discuss
implementation of these measures.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that "both
President Clerides and Mr. Denktash agreed to give their full support to
immediate implementation of the package of measures proposed by the United
Nations."
Army assistance in flooded areas
Army rescue units were trying yesterday to remove scores of cars and trucks
carried away by the flash floods in and around Corinth, some of which were
swept into the sea as the death toll from Sunday's flash floods rose to
six.
The Public Power Corp.(DEH) did not yet restore electricity to the whole
city of Corinth for fear of electrocutions, since dozens of power lines
have collapsed, a DEH spokesman said.
The worst-hit was the prefecture of Fthiotida, where five river bridges
collapsed after being engulfed by the waters of the swollen Sperhios
River.
Interior Undersecretary Lambros Papadimas told ANA that Fthiotida had
literally been cut in two as a result of the collapse or serious damage to
the five bridges connecting the prefecture.
He said dozens of villages on one side of Fthiotida had been cut off, while
the national road network in the prefecture could not be used due to severe
damage.
Mr. Papadimas said the armed forces were assisting, with marines and a
batallion of engineers trying to build a floating bridge to enable
communication with the villages which have been cut off.
State Dept. comments on Pangalos visit to Belgrade
The Clinton administration expressed its gratitude yesterday for Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos' weekend mission to Belgrade, which aimed to
resolve the protracted political crisis in the Yugoslav capital.
"We are grateful for Foreign Minister Pangalos' actions over the weekend,
which help a lot, and are in line with the will of the OSCE and the
international community. We are grateful for the effective way in which he
represented all of us," State Depart ement spokesman Nicholas Burns
said.
Replying to a question by ANA, he added that Athens had previously informed
Washington of its intentions regarding the mission, and there was also a
briefing after Mr. Pangalos' return to Athens.
Bourse discusses Thessaloniki stock market expansion
Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) President Manolis Xanthakis yesterday announced
the conversion of paper shares on the bourse into electronic securities
will be completed by the end of the year.
Mr. Xanthakis attended the first 1997 board meeting of the Stock Exchange
Centre of Thessaloniki.
It was stressed during the meeting that the Thessaloniki bourse aims at
increasing the Stock Exchange's daily volume of transactions, which has
stabilised at 7 per cent currently. Informational seminars will be
organised to attain this target.
Greek products go on show in Nicosia
"Greece and Cyprus even closer" is the motto this year for the exhibition
of Greek products to be held in Nicosia January 15-19.
Organised by Helexpo-TIF, this year's fair will be attended by Macedonia-
Thrace Minister Philipos Petsalnikos and National Economy Undersecretary
Alekos Baltas.
Some 30 firms from Thessaloniki and other parts of Greece will be
participating in the trade fair and representatives are expected to hold a
series of meetings with Cypriot entrepreneurs in the hope of joint ventures
as well as exploiting Cyprus's good relation with the Arab world and
Greece's proximity to the emerging markets of the Balkans, eastern Europe
and the Black Sea region.
WEATHER
Cloudy skies with scattered rainfall in eastern and southern Greece and
snowfall in the mountainous regions. Moderate to strong northernly winds.
Athens will be cloudy and rainy with temperatures ranging from 7-12C. Same
for Thessaloniki with temperatures between 4-8C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
(closing rates - buying) US dlr. 246.095
Pound sterling 413.267 Cyprus pd 519.808
French franc 46.124 Swiss franc 178.748
German mark 155.645 Italian lira (100) 16.005
Yen (100) 211.157 Canadian dlr. 182.528
Australian dlr. 192.170 Irish Punt 406.621
Belgian franc 7.546 Finnish mark 52.266
Dutch guilder 138.597 Danish kr. 40.970
Swedish kr. 35.712 Norwegian kr. 38.777
Austrian sh. 22.090 Spanish peseta 1.864
Portuguese escudo 1.562
(C.E.)
