Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-11-23
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 23/11/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Three die battling tanker fire
- Croatian president begins official visit
- Prince Charles braves downpour to lay wreath
- FM confers letter sent to Albright
- Rail workers join EU-wide strike
- Flights back to normal at Athens airport
- Wild storms batter Greece
- Interior minister in London
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Three die battling tanker fire
The bodies of three of four missing crew members of a Greek tug were
recovered today after their boat was engulfed in flames in the northern
Greek port of Thessaloniki while trying to extinguish the blaze on a
burning tanker, Merchant Marine officials said. A spokesman for the
Thessaloniki port authority told the ANA that the Piraeus-based "Aghios
Georgios" tug had rushed to assist in putting out a fire that had broken
out aboard the tanker "Golden Crete", owned by the Vardinoyannis Group. The
fire quickly spread to the tugboat, which ran aground one mile off the port
of Thessaloniki. The tugboat braved gale force winds and low visibility to
extinguish the fire on the tanker, which was carrying 23 tons of gasoline,
the spokesman said.
Croatian president begins official visit
Croatian President Franco Tudjman arrived in Athens Monday on a two-day
official visit, his first since the former Yugoslav republic's independence
was recognised. Greece and Croatia's foreign ministers later signed accords
on combatting the narcotics trade, terrorism and organised crime and on
cooperation in the tourism sector. Tudjman met with President Stephanopoulos
and both said there was room for an improvement in bilateral relations,
particularly in trade and economic transactions. The situation in the
Balkans and particularly Kosovo were the focus of talks between the
presidents and delegations from the two countries.
Prince Charles braves downpour to lay wreath
Britain's Prince Charles today braved a drenching rainstorm to lay a wreath
at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, continuing a three-day visit here
coinciding with the Britain and Greece Festival. The British heir-to-the-
throne, who arrived in Athens on Sunday evening, will be received by
President Kostis Stephanopoulos today and tour the Acropolis this afternoon,
accompanied by Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos. Prince Charles
will also meet with Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos and be awarded the
Gold Key to the City. Later, he will inaugurate a new British Council
education centre. He flies to Crete tomorrow to visit the Knossos
archaeological site.
FM confers letter sent to Albright
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos on Monday confirmed press reports that
he had sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, but
refused to divulge the letter's contents. Pangalos made the comments while
speaking to reporters. Sunday newspaper "To Vima" said that Pangalos's
letter called on Albright to assist in finding a way out of the impasse
that has arisen over the issue of the deployment of Russian-made S-300
missiles on Cyprus. The missiles will be the focus of a meeting on
Wednesday between the ministers of foreign affairs and defence and the
prime minister.
Rail workers join EU-wide strike
Greek trains came to a standstill today as OSE railway employees joined
their European Union partners in five member states in a 24-hour rail
strike in protest against plans to further deregulate railways. Rail
traffic was halted in Grece, France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and
Luxembourg in a bid to stop plans to further privatise the rail sector.
Flights back to normal at Athens airport
Traffic at Athens airport was returning to normal on Monday after low
visibility early in the morning forced domestic incoming flights to be
diverted and the cancellation of outgoing flights. The storm that hit the
capital at around 9 a.m. was accompanied by thunder, lightning and low
cloud. An Olympic Aviation flight for Kastoria and another two to Syros
were cancelled. One report said that winds were so strong that it had moved
an empty Boeing 727 parked on the runway some 15 metres.
Wild storms batter Greece
Fire brigade officials in both Athens and Thessaloniki said they had
received dozens of calls for assistance from people trapped in lifts during
to power surges. Overnight, the storm struck in the areas of Argos and
Nafplion. Fifteen people were freed by fire department officers from cars
trapped by swirling waters in Argos, with another 10 saved from their
flooded homes. Winds had abated somewhat in the Rio-Antirrio region,
allowing ferries to resume crossings. The Meteorological Service said that
the bad weather would begin abating later in the day with the weather
improving markedly as of Tuesday.
Interior minister in London
Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos meets Britain's Secretary of State
for the Cabinet Office Jack Cunningham in London on Monday, to discuss
issues of public administration. Papadopoulos began an official visit to
Britain on Sunday. He is scheduled to meet with Cabinet Office officials on
administrative and equal opportunities issues.
WEATHER
Rain and storms are forecast today in most parts of the country, while snow
is expected in the mountainous regions of central and northern Greece.
Winds easterly southeasterly moderate to strong, expected to abate later in
the day. Rainstorm in Athens with temperatures from 9-16C. Similar weather
in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 5-10C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 280.538
British pound 466.716 Japanese yen (100) 233.120
French franc 49.650 German mark 166.458
Italian lira (100) 16.815 Irish Punt 414.061
Belgian franc 8.070 Finnish mark 54.788
Dutch guilder 147.664 Danish kr. 43.795
Austrian sch. 23.657 Spanish peseta 1.958
Swedish kr. 34.772 Norwegian kr. 37.527
Swiss franc 202.279 Port. Escudo 1.623
Aus. dollar 180.544 Can. dollar 181.338
Cyprus pound 562.345
(M.P.)
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