Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-08-19

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE SECOND "BLACK BOX" HAS BEEN FOUND

[02] STRATEGY FOR PEACE AND STABILITY

[03] SECOND BLACK BOX FOUND

[04] THESSALONIKI METRO CONTRACTOR

[05] EMERGENCY LANDING BY A HELIOS AIRWAYS PLANE

[01] THE SECOND "BLACK BOX" HAS BEEN FOUND

The contents of the second black box of the Cypriot airline Helios Airways passenger plane that crashed last Sunday near Athens were found south of the crash site.

The specific device records the discussions of the pilots and it is expected to shed light on the conditions of the crash.

The initial results of the lab tests' conducted to determine if the passengers had inhaled any poisonous gas before the crash showed that there is no trace of carbon monoxide in the bodies of the victims examined.

Athens and Nicosia are determined to investigate in depth the conditions of the Helios Airways crash that killed all 121 people on board.

US President George Bush sent telegrams of condolences to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos.

European Union representatives will be in Cyprus on August 24-25 to be briefed on the causes of the accident.

[02] STRATEGY FOR PEACE AND STABILITY

Our strategic positions are known and firm because we believe that they serve our interests and answer the wish of our peoples for peace and stability in the region, stated Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis after the meeting he had with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos, who stressed that Athens and Nicosia have agreed on the tactic and strategy they will follow.

Main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK leader Giorgos Papandreou stated after his meeting with President Papadopoulos that the government stands uneasy before the dilemmas it is facing.

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos stated that the leader of PASOK will be alone on the path of petty politics followed for clearly political party reasons.

[03] SECOND BLACK BOX FOUND

The contents of the second black box of the doomed Cypriot airline Helios Airways passenger plane that crashed near Athens last Sunday were found in a ravine south of the site where the plane's tail had landed.

The specialists working together with Boeing representatives continue the search on the crash site to gather more evidence that will help draw safe conclusions on the causes of the crash.

The protective shell of the second black box was found a few days ago and specialists had stated then that it was likely that the contents of the box, namely the voice recorder with the conversations of the pilot and co-pilot inside the cockpit, were not in a good state.

[04] THESSALONIKI METRO CONTRACTOR

The joint venture led by AEGEK is the Thessaloniki metro temporary contractor as it was announced by the Ministry of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works.

Minister Giorgos Souflias has briefed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and believes that there will be no serious objections able to delay the progress of the project.

According to Mr. Souflias, public works projects of 5 billion euros will be undertaken by contractors this year.

On the Egnatia Odos motorway project, Mr. Souflias reiterated that it will be ready by 2008, while projects of 2 billion euros will be undertaken by contractors.

[05] EMERGENCY LANDING BY A HELIOS AIRWAYS PLANE

A Helios Airways passenger plane had to make an emergency landing at a London airport at noon today. The plane was coming from Larnaca bound for London's Luton Airport but it had to be diverted to Stansted Airport when its pilot mentioned to the control tower on the ground that most likely he had flaps problems.

Airport mechanics are examining the plane and according to information, it most likely has no problems.

The Helios Airways plane crash at Grammatikos near Athens last Sunday has caused fear to airplane passengers and mostly to those who have to travel often.

This morning a passenger at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus, who was to travel to Strasbourg, suffered a panic attack after boarding a Helios Airways plane and as a result the flight was delayed by 2 hours.

Meanwhile, the European Union is considering forming a black list with the airline companies that do not meet the safety criteria and as a result they will not be allowed to fly to EU member states.

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