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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2004-09-13Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY Thessaloniki, September 13, 2004 SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] NATIONAL NEWS[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS[A] NATIONAL NEWSOpposition party of PASOK will submit a question to Parliament on the issue of the three-hour delay in the reaction procedures and the location of the helicopter. Minister of State and government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos stated that PASOK chooses the easy, and at the same time, the most irresponsible way to express its positions. According to the Athens television station ANT1, the Chinook helicopter that crashed on Saturday near Mount Athos had a problem last year with one of its propellers. Meanwhile, the search continues in the sea region southeast of the Sithonia Peninsula in Chalkidiki northern Greece where the Chinook with 17 people on board, among them Patriarch Petros of Alexandria and All of Africa, crashed on Saturday morning. For t he moment, 8 of the passengers of the helicopter are still missing, while on Sunday morning the body of the Patriarch was collected from the sea and was identified. The body of the Patriarch will lay in state for three days in the chapel of the Athens Cat hedral and the funeral will be held in Cairo. lieutenant general Papanikolaou, who was asked to resign by Minister of Defense Spilios Spiliotopoulos after the negligence recorded in the handling of the issue of the Chinook crash that killed 17 people, among them the Patriarch of Alexandria and All o f Africa. The bathyscaphe "Thetis" and the oceanographic ship "Aegean" will participate in the search to locate the Chinook that lays at the bottom of the sea in Chalkidiki northern Greece. There is a divergence of views between the Teachers' Association (OLME) and the Ministry of Education regarding the operational readiness of the education institutes. The sector of education should not be an arena for political rivalry and political party confrontation, stated Minister of Education and Religion Marietta Giannakou. President of OLME Mr. Kalomiris insists that the new school year begins with 6,500 void positions, referring to the number of teachers that will have to be appointed to cover the needs of the schools across the country. On the other hand, the Cypriot exports to Greece are at 50 million euros annually, stated Mr. Zanoupas, who pointed out that this gap in the trade balance is understandable given the size of the two countries. Mr. Zanoupas said that bilateral trade relations follow an upward course especially after Cyprus' EU accession, underlining that the Cypriot people are grateful for Greece's assistance in this process. Referring to the tourist sector, he said that Cyprus sends an estimated 400,000 visitors annually to Greece, while there is an upward trend in the number of Greek tourists visiting Cyprus. Mr. Rousopoulos stated that the first committee will investigate the conditions under which the accident happened and the second, presided over by the National Defense General Staff Chief, will investigate the delay in the time the political leadership w as informed about the accident. Mr. Rousopoulos stated that the Prime Minister was informed about the accident during the meeting he had with the representatives of the production sectors in Thessaloniki while, responding to a question by a reporter, he confirmed that the Minister of D efense had tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister but it was rejected. Responding to relevant questions, Mr. Rousopoulos stated that when the findings of the investigations become public will be established who are responsible and added that the information that came to publicity show that the Greek Air Force mode of operat ion needs reorganizing. Of the stocks trading today, 77 had gains and 197 had losses, while the value of 129 stocks remained unchanged. at the party offices in Athens. On his part, the Patriarch Eirinaios referred to the friendship he shares with Mr. Meimarakis and pointed out that he briefed him on issues concerning the Patriarchate. On Wednesday, the body of the Patriarch will be taken to Cairo for burial. According to information, efforts are being made for the aircraft with the body of the Patriarch to make a stopover in Cyprus the birthplace of the Patriarch. After a decision by Minister of Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos a three-day national mourning has been declared in Greece. Meanwhile, the Metropolite of Karthageni, also killed in the Chinook accident last Saturday, was buried in Athens today. He was the closest associate of the Patriarch of Alexandria. Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece, who officiated in the funeral service, characterized the Metropolite as a man of great spirituality, who had done a notable work and his contribution to the Greek Orthodox Church was great. The body of prior Arsenios of the Monastery of Machera will arrive in Cyprus this evening and the funeral will take place tomorrow. The funeral of Giorgos Papapetrou, the brother of the Patriarch, was held this afternoon in Nicosia, Cyprus. [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWSMacedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |