Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-11-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] Police arrest Nea Halkidona shooter who opened fire on passers-by

[02] Man runs amok in Nea Halkidona, shoots and injures three

[03] Greece, Turkey sign protocol on returning illegal migrants

[04] Athens Stock Exchange opening: Small rise

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates -Thursday

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Thursday

[01] Police arrest Nea Halkidona shooter who opened fire on passers-by

An elderly man who ran amok and started shooting at passers-by outside his home in the greater Athens district of Nea Halkidona was taken into police custody on Thursday afternoon, after he had shot and injured four people.

Pensioner Minas Antoniadis, 61, caused a panic earlier on Thursday when he began taking pot shots at people passing outside his building on Heimaras Road at around 11:00 in the morning.

At about 1:30, a special police squad entered the building and the head of the team persuaded Antoniadis to put down his shotgun and give himself up.

Antoniadis, who sources said had suffered from mental health problems in the past, was arrested and taken to the local police station.

[02] Man runs amok in Nea Halkidona, shoots and injures three

A 61-year-old man ran amok on Thursday and started shooting at passers-by in the greater Athens district of Nea Halkidona, injuring at least three people.

Workshop owner Minas Antoniadis, who according to sources is suffering from mental health problems, starting shooting at people passing in front on his home on Heimaras Road at about 11:00 on Thursday morning.

He injured two women and one man who have been taken to the Agia Olga and Athens General hospitals, while there may be a fourth injured person in another ambulance seen leaving the scene.

Police had surrounded Antoniadis' house and were trying to persuade him to give himself up, while they said they might stage an operation to take him into custody if he refused.

[03] Greece, Turkey sign protocol on returning illegal migrants

Greek-Turkish rapprochement continued to inch ahead with the signing of several bilateral protocols here on Thursday, including an eye-raising agreement allowing for the re-admission of illegal migrants between the two Aegean neighbours.

The highly visible agreement, signed by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and his visiting Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, allows for the re-entry of migrants illegally crossing into EU member-state Greece from Turkey, or, vice-versa, as the Greek FM noted.

He clarified that the protocol, the subject of detailed last-minute negotiations in Athens this week between Greeces foreign ministry and the visiting Turkish delegation, does not cover people seeking political asylum or internationally recognised refugees. In terms of details, law enforcement authorities either in Greece or Turkey -- will have a 14-day period to inform their counterparts over the exact number of people to be re-admitted, including citizens from third countries.

The agreement comes in light of another incident this past week in Greek waters involving a vessel disembarking from a Turkish port and laden with Third World migrants, mostly Iraqi Kurds.

Upwards of 1,100 would-be immigrants including many women and children were crammed aboard the decrepit Turkish-flagged freighter that ran adrift early Monday near the Ionian island of Zakynthos. The migrants are being sheltered on the isle as the Greek government ponders their fate.

Along those lines, Cem emphasised to reporters during a joint press conference that the issue of mutual cooperation by Ankara and Athens to offer humanitarian aid to the Afghan people was also discussed at length, as Turkey, he said, is also facing an enormous influx of illegal migrants over the past years.

[04] Athens Stock Exchange opening: Small rise

Equities were rising slowly at the opening of trade Thursday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the general share price index up 0.33 percent at 2,642.04 points at 11:25, and turnover at 16.2 million euros or roughly 5.5 billion drachmas.

The majority of individual sector indices were moving up, with the biggest gains in textiles, up 1.92 percent and publishing, up 1.28 percent. The biggest losses were in retail trade, down 0.54 percent and telecoms, down 0.24 percent. There was no change to the investments index.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was up 0.40 percent; the FTSE/ASE-40 index for medium capitalisation paper was up 0.80 percent; and the FTSE/ASE-80 index for small cap equities was up 0.97 percent.

Of the stocks moved, 219 were up, 36 were down and 38 were unchanged.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates -Thursday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 374.986

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 549.189

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.378

Swedish kroner 035.679

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 310.167

Swiss franc 229.879

Norwegian kroner 042.473

Cyprus pound 588.433

Canadian dollar 235.487

Australian dollar 193.322

[06] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Thursday

The weather will be cloudy throughout the country on Thursday, with showers in the west, south, eastern Aegean islands and Dodecanese. There may also be storms, mainly in the Aegean. The rest of the country will remain overcast. Winds west-southwesterly, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 7C to 18C; in the Ionian and rest of the mainland from 10C to 20C; and in the Aegean islands from 14C to 22C. Athens may see light rain in the morning. Temperatures from 14C and 20C. Cloudy in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 10C to 18C.

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