Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-01-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK Central Committee conference on local elections ends

[02] Stolen radiography device a health hazard, Atomic Energy Committee

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, occasional showers on Sunday

[04] Greek lawyer files case against 'unconstitutional' euro with CoS

[05] National Bank makes end of planned merger with Alpha official

[06] Attica jolted by 4.1 Richter earthquake

[07] Weather Forecast: Showers, storms on Saturday

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[01] PASOK Central Committee conference on local elections ends

Ruling PASOK's central committee ended a meeting to discuss strategy in the upcoming local elections on Saturday evening with a unanimous agreement to adopt the proposals of the Executive Bureau, in addition to additional proposals made by committee members during the meeting.

Summing up the Central Committee's message to local governments in his closing speech, PASOK party secretary Costas Laliotis said this was linked to strategies for democratic cooperation, ballot sheets that were open to voters and local communities and which would lead to victory.

[02] Stolen radiography device a health hazard, Atomic Energy Committee warns

A radiography device containing a radioactive core that was stolen from Larisa could pose a serious health hazard to those coming into contact with it, the Greek Atomic Energy Committee warned on Saturday.

They said the device was stolen on Friday evening from the Farsala-Theophrastos junction in Larisa.

The announcement said the machine was used for the installation of natural gas pipelines and contained a radioactive source of Iridium that was highly active. The source is contained within an armored container marked with the radioactivity sign.

Warning that the device could be seriously hazardous for the health of anyone possessing or using it, the Atomic Energy Committee advises anyone who has the device to contact Thessaly police headquarters at 0410 - 683103 or the Atomic Energy Committee at 010 - 6503540.

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloudy, occasional showers on Sunday

Scattered cloud and occasional showers are forecast in the east of the country on Sunday, with storms possible in the southeast, clearing up later in the day. Light cloud in the rest of the country, getting heavier in the northwest from the afternoon. Winds northerly, moderate to strong, rising to very strong over the seas in the south. In the north, temperatures will range from -1C to 7C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 5C to 13C; and in the Aegean islands from 9C to 15C. Sunny in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 12C. Cloudy in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 2C to 7C.

[04] Greek lawyer files case against 'unconstitutional' euro with CoS

A Greek lawyer has filed a request with the Council of State, Greece's supreme administrative court, asking that laws introducing the euro as the new national currency of Greece be scrapped as unconstitutional.

The lawyer, identified as P. Mihailidis, claims that two laws that call for the drachma to be replaced by the euro contravene sections of articles 28, 80, 44 and 120 of the Constitution.

More specifically, he says that articles 28 and 80 of the Constitution dictate that bills establishing the euro as a new currency should be passed by a three fifths majority in Parliament, while article 44 demands that a national referendum is first held on whether or not to introduce the euro.

The violation of the above three articles also leads of the violation of article 120 of the Constitution, Mihailidis argues, which calls for the prosecution of any form of usurpation of the people's authority and the powers arising from this.

[05] National Bank makes end of planned merger with Alpha official

The collapse of a planned merger with Alpha Bank, Greece's largest private-sector bank, was finally made official by the management of the National Bank of Greece on Saturday, which in its announcement spoke of "an insistence by Alpha Bank that there be a radical divergence from what was agreed and jointly announced."

National announced that it was breaking off negotiations and the merger process with Alpha Bank, claiming that it was forced to make this decision because of an inability to make substantial further progress in the course of negotiations for implementing the merger.

[06] Attica jolted by 4.1 Richter earthquake

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale jolted Attica at 9:25 a.m. on Saturday morning. The quake was classed as an aftershock by the Athens Geodynamic Institute, which said its epicentre was located within the Mount Parnitha fault.

[07] Weather Forecast: Showers, storms on Saturday

Cloud and rain are forecast throughout the country on Saturday, with isolated storms, mainly at sea. Snow will fall on high ground and in low-lying areas of Macedonia and Thrace. The weather will improve from the west in the evening. Winds variable, moderate to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from -1C to 6C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 5C to 12C; and in the Aegean islands from 9C to 15C. Rain in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 10C. Rain or sleet in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 1C to 6C.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro until Monday

U.S. dollar 0.888

Pound sterling 0.619

Danish kroner 7.490

Swedish kroner 9.319

Japanese yen 118.02

Swiss franc 1.481

Norwegian kroner 7.973

Cyprus pound 0.581

Canadian dollar 1.433

Australian dollar 1.726

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