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Sunday, 22 December 2024
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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 99-09-15The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <ert.ntua.gr/>CONTENTS[01] SIX PEOPLE KILLED IN AIR ACCIDENTThe Greek alternate foreign minister Yannos Kranidiotis, his 22-year-old son Nikolas, two journalists from Greek Radio & Television Nikoletta (Nina) Asimakopoulou and Dimitris Pantazopoulos, policeman Nikos Asimakopoulos and engineer Michalis Papadopoulos, were killed last night when the prime minister's special plane, a Falcon in which they were about to land at Bucharest airport, went into a spin, plunging more than 20,000 feet.The pilots managed to get the aircraft under control and land at the airport. The director of Mr Kranidiotis' office, Grigoris Papadopoulos, and cameraman Panagiotis Poulos were seriously injured, while the air hostess, Anna Velissariou, the minister's advisor, Maria Begliti, journalist Alfonso Vitalis, and the captain and co-pilot of the aircraft, Iannis Androulakis and Grigoris Sinekoglou, were only slightly hurt. The minister was on his way to attend the inter-Balkan conference in Romania. The transport minister, Tasos Mandelis, the foreign undersecretary, Grigoris Niotis, aviation experts, doctors and relatives of the victims have all gone to the Romanian capital. The Greek president, Kostis Stefanopoulos, prime minister Kostas Simitis, the government, political parties and foreign politicians, including Cypriot foreign minister Yannakis Kassoulidis, have expressed their sorrow at the tragedy. Greek Air Force pilots estimate that the aircraft's automatic pilot or some other flight control instrument may have failed. According to the Athens News Agency, the aviation inspector at Bucharest Airport said the captain of the plane had reported 20 minutes before landing that the aircraft's systems were not working properly. A little earlier, the head of Romanian Civil Aviation said the accident was due to the sudden loss of height when the Falcon started procedures for landing at Bucharest's Otopeni Airport. [02] MEASURES AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT IN QUAKE-HIT AREASA further package of measures aimed at easing unemployment in the districts hit by last week's earthquake in Athens has been announced by the labour ministry. These include the provision of subsidies for businesses taking on people left unemployed as a result of the closure of other enterprises after the earthquake, to the tune of 6,000 drachmas per day for three years for full employment and 4,000 drachmas for part-time.Furthermore 4.8 million drachmas will be made available to unemployed people who wish to establish their own businesses. The Bank of Greece has also decided to donate one billion drachmas to help meet the immediate needs of the quake-stricken areas. Meanwhile the bodies of three more people have been retrieved from the ruins of the Ricomex factory. The total number of people who died in the earthquake now stands at 135. The speaker of the house, Apostolos Kaklamanis, announced yesterday that Parliament would grant funds for the building of a school in each of the earthquake-hit municipalities. He said that half the amount would be paid by the deputies themselves and the other half would come from the parliamentary budget. Greek Radio and Television has also undertaken to finance the installation of prefabricated buildings to house nursery schools at Menidi and Ano Liosia. PASOK deputy Haris Kastanidis has tabled an amendment in parliament calling for a minimum ten-year prison sentence for those responsible for the construction of the houses which collapsed in last week's earthquake, causing the deaths of so many people. The amendment also provides for heavy prison sentences if the collapse of a building caused serious injury. [03] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT SATISFIED WITH TALKS IN ATHENSThe Cypriot president, Glafkos Kliridis, who stopped over in Athens yesterday on his way to New York where he will address the UN General Assembly, also visited the quake-hit districts and the camps at Menidi. Later President Kliridis had talks with the Greek prime minister on the Cyprus issue. After the meeting, Mr Simitis told a press conference that the Greek-Cypriot side was ready to cooperate with the international community for a Cyprus solution, within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions. He linked the Cyprus dispute to Turkey's course towards Europe, saying that progress in the Cyprus issue would safeguard Turkey's European prospects. He called on Ankara to show that it respected the international community. For his part, President Kliridis said he was fully satisfied with the talks he had in Athens, and that the ground had been prepared for the opening of negotiations. Earlier the Cypriot president had a meeting with the honorary president of the New Democracy party, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, who pointed out that a Cyprus settlement was the key to Greek-Turkish relations.[04] HILLARY CLINTON TO ATTEND ENTHRONEMENT OF ARCHBISHOPHillary Clinton, wife of the American president, Bill Clinton, has confirmed that she will attend the enthronement of the new Archbishop of America, Dimitrios. The enthronement ceremony will take place this coming Saturday in the Orthodox Cathedral of Aghia Triada in Manhattan. The ceremony will be attended by a Greek government delegation headed by foreign undersecretary Grigoris Niotis. Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos of Constantinople will be represented by the former Archbishop of North and South America, Iakovos.[05] NINE PEOPLE REPORTED DEAD SO FAR IN AFTERSHOCK IN TURKEYTurkish rescue teams are working against the clock to locate survivors trapped under the rubble of buildings which collapsed in Monday's powerful aftershock in Izmit, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. So far 9 people are known to have died and over 420 were injured, most of them as they were trying to flee their homes. Meanwhile an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in central Iran yesterday, causing damage and panic but no casualties.The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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