Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-08-19

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 19/08/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Greece calls for vigilance on Turkish intransigence
• Turkey should be condemned, Greek Eurodeputy says
• Ecumenical Patriarch hopes for closer ties with the Vatican
• EU citizens to be given voting rights in municipal elections
• Feminist theologians' conference opens
• Actor playing Judas found hanging on stage
• World's seismologists meet in Thessaloniki
• Gov't approves subsidised investments by DIS
• Sarantopoulos firm awarded ISO 9002
• Greek stocks tumble in thin market
• Xios Bank expands activities
• New rates for treasury bill issues
• NBC poll says Athens best choice for the 2004 Olympics
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

The foreign ministry yesterday called for continuous vigilance and opposition to Turkish intransigence on the part of Greek and Cypriot political parties and of Greek communities around the world.

Greece will take diplomatic steps the United Nations Secretary General, with all members of the UN Security Council and the European Union a foreign ministry announcement said.

Athens has also begun a briefing campaign of governments and media around the world. These moves, the foreign ministry added, were aimed at having the international community adopt positions that would permit the good services of the UN Secretary General to bear results and to deal with Turkish intransigence "so that the two communities in the island republic may live in harmony within the framework of a bi-communal and bi-zonal federation, according to UN resolutions and the summit agreements of 1977 and 1979".

Turkey should be condemned, Greek Eurodeputy says

The European Union must condemn Turkish Cypriot intransigence, which led to the deadlock of UN-led direct talks between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Eurodeputy Vassilis Efremidis said yesterday.

In a question tabled in the European Parliament, Mr. Efremidis also called on the EU Council to take all necessary action and deflect threats by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and Turkish officials regarding the annexation of the island's Turkish- occupied north.

Ecumenical Patriarch hopes for closer ties with the Vatican

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos yesterday expressed the hope that relations between Orthodox Christianity and the Vatican be soon restored.

The Patriarch made the statement at the end of his three-day visit to the eastern Aegean island of Hios.

Vartholomeos said he expected a delegation from the Vatican to visit the See of the Orthodox Church at its Phanar district headquarters in Istanbul on November 30 -- the day commemorating the founding of the Church of Constantinople by Apostle Andrew.

He added that the Phanar did not send a similar delegation to the Vatican because there had been what he called a "small distress" recently.

The Patriarch was invited officially by the Union of Mastich Producers of Hios to bless the trees producing mastich, a basic ingredient for the Holy Oil provided by the Patriarchate.

The Patriarch, who is returning to Istanbul today, also announced his forthcoming schedule, which includes a visit to the United States in October.

EU citizens to be given voting rights in municipal elections

Citizens of European Union countries who reside in Greece will have the right to vote and stand as candidates in this country's next year's municipal elections, according to a presidential decree being prepared by the interior, public administration and decentralisation ministry.

The decree, designed to bring in line Greek legislation with EU directives, does not establish the right of foreign nationals to be elected as mayors or heads of municipal councils, and sets as requirements a command of the Greek language, enrollment in the registers of the municipality they choose to stand as candidates, as well as possession of an electoral booklet.

The relevant documents for enrollement in the electoral registers must be submitted by March 31, 1998. EU citizens will be eligible to vote only if they do not vote in their countries of origin.

Feminist theologians' conference opens

"Orthodox Christian spirituality and feminist theology generally reflect two very broad and vastly different types of world view and thinking, but also contain common points of interest," an Orthodox theologian told the 7th international conference of the European Society of Women in Theological Research (ESWTR), which opened here Sunday. "

Thinking and re-thinking relationships, experience and process are main concerns of both feminist theology and Orthodox spirituality even if they operate within different traditions of thinking," Orthodox theologian Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald said.

"It was a long journey for most of the 200 women theologians from 28 countries to come to Crete for the bigeest ESWTR conference ever," Michaela Moser, the conference spokeswoman, told the ANA.

The theme of the conference is "Sources and Resources of Feminist Theologies", and it focuses on the dialogue between Orthodox women theologians and Western feminist theologians with different religious backgrounds.

"The journey towards true encounter and dialogue of women coming from different backgrounds is long, difficult and often painful," Karidoyanes FitzGerald added.

Other keynote speakers at the conference, considered "the start of a difficult journey towards dialogue" between the East and West", and include Old Testament scholar Silvia Schroer from Switzerland, Joan Martin from the United States, Letizia Tomassone from Italy, and Ulrike Bechmann of Germany.

Actor playing Judas found hanging on stage

A British actor tragically hanged himself at a hotel complex in Halkidiki on Sunday while portraying Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar".

Tony Wheeler, 25, from Oxfordshire had belonged to the hotel's animation team which staged the show live for the hotel guests.

His role called for walking up to the noose, placing it around his neck and hanging himself as the spotlight was switched off him. A special hook would have allowed him to remain suspended while appearing to hang.

When he failed to turn up later, a search revealed that Wheeler had actually died on the theatrical noose. A doctor who performed an autopsy said, "There are indications of death by hanging", but could not say whether the death was accidental or not.

World's seismologists meet in Thessaloniki

Greece belongs in the highest seismic zone in the world, comprising an area stretching from Gibraltar to China, University of Thessaloniki Professor Vassilis Papazachos told an international seismology congress yesterday.

During opening remarks at the 29th international congress on seismology and physics of the earth's interior at Thessaloniki, Mr. Papazachos also said that it was appropriate that Greece had been chosen as the venue for the congress, since its ground and especially the area of the Aegean comprised a natural geophysical laboratory.

President of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI), Claude Froidevaux, said that the sea level at the Aegean was lower 20,000 years ago and said that the Mediterranean was non-existent as a water-filled basin 20 million years ago.

He pointed out that Greece's high seismic activity was due to the African plate's moving north, due to pressure it received from surrounding oceans.

The congress aims at providing solutions in facing seismic phenomena and predicting them. The congress is organised by the University of Thessaloniki and scheduled to run for 10 days.

Gov't approves subsidised investments by DIS

The development ministry recently approved new subsidised investment of 920 million drachmas by the Athens Stock Exchange-listed Delta Informations Systems.

The subsidies will amount to 322 million, and will be aimed at creating a new division for the provision of software for operational applications in industry, cooperation with foreign firms, restructuring of the company on the basis of the quality stand ard ISO 9000, and overhauling premises with a view to increasing productivity.

Sarantopoulos firm awarded ISO 9002

The K.I. Sarantopoulos construction firm has been issued with the ISO 9002 quality certificate, covering all areas in which it is active, including suppliers and subcontractors.

The total worth of projects awaiting construction by the company amount to 61.1 billion drachmas.

New contracts include external supply systems at the new Athens airport at Spata, and an east-west highway in Albania, budgeted at six billion drachmas.

Greek stocks tumble in thin market

Equity prices came under strong pressure on the Athens Stock Exchange yesterday to end sharply lower.

Market participants said the pressure was more of a technical nature and that price swings were exacerbated by a lack of supply as the market had not returned to normal after a three day holiday.

The general index closed 1.39 percent lower at 1,622.90 points. Sector indices lost ground. Banks fell 1.54 percent, Leasing eased 0.62 percent, Insurance declined 0.53 percent, Investment fell 1.98 percent, Industrials were 2.03 percent off, Constructi on eased 1.46 percent, Holding dropped 2.01 percent and Miscellaneous fell 1.76 percent. The parallel market for small cap companies index ended 1.21 percent lower. Trading was moderate and turnover was 7.8 billion drachmas.

Broadly, declining issues led advancing ones by 149 to 46 with another 14 unchanged.

Allatini, Alysida, Ideal and Balkan Export scored the biggest percentage gains, while Tzirakian Profil, Demetriades and Athinea suffered the heaviest losses of the day.

Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) rose 60 drachmas to end at 6, 610. National Bank of Greece ended at 37,000, Ergobank at 17,835, Alpha Credit Bank at 19,790, Delta Dairy at 4,200, Titan Cement at 14,870 and Intracom at 12,900.

In the domestic foreign exchange market the dollar fell sharply against the drachma following a strong correction of the US currency in international markets.

Xios Bank expands activities

Xios Bank activities in the area of investment and financial services are showing signficant growth, according to the bank's officials.

Two years after commencing operations in 1994, the bank managed to conquer 5 per cent of the market. This year it has increased market share in lead managing loan issues for firms, bringing the total to 2.2 billion drachmas, compared to 1.9 billion for the whole of last year.

It is also worth noting that Xios Bank has taken part in all 10 public subscriptions in 1997, compared to eight last year and six in 1995.

New rates for treasury bill issues

The finance ministry has announced new rates for the next issues of treasury bills, as follows:

Three-month: 8.40 per cent

Six-month : 8.70 per cent

One-year : 9.50 per cent

The next issue of one-year bills is tomorrow, by public subscription.

An auction of fluctuating-rate bills, worth 100 billion, will take place on August 25.

NBC poll says Athens best choice for the 2004 Olympics

Athens was by far the top choice to host the 2004 Olympic Games, according to a phone poll conducted by the US national television network NBC.

The poll asked which of the five prospective cities - Athens, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome or Stockholm - should host the 2004 Olympics.

The sample included 844 people, and was organised by NBC's media service department. Scores went as follows, in percentages: Athens 62, Cape Town 18, Buenos Aires 8, Stockholm 6 and Rome 5.

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