Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-06-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus Airlines flight interrupted to let off drunken passenger

[02] Memorial service for 5th year since Andreas Papandreou's death

[03] Court rules Monday work stoppage by OA cabin crews illegal

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Saturday

[05] Papandreou, Cem meet on Samos to promote rapprochement

[06] Powerful tremor rattles southeastern Aegean islands, Crete

[01] Cyprus Airlines flight interrupted to let off drunken passenger

A Cyprus Airlines plane was forced to land at Thessaloniki's 'Macedonia' airport on Saturday in order to let off a passenger who had become drunk and attacked fellow travellers and the cabin crew.

The plane was flying from London to Larnaca and landed in the early hours of the morning, delivering a 27-year-old UK national into the custody of Thessaloniki airport police.

Shortly afterward, the plane continued its journey to Larnaca, while the inebriated passenger was let off with a warning from the public prosecutor and caught a later flight to Cyprus.

[02] Memorial service for 5th year since Andreas Papandreou's death

A memorial service commemorating the fifth year since the death of PASOK founder and leader Andreas Papandreou was held at the Athens 1st Cemetery on Saturday, with all PASOK's leadership and thousands of ordinary people in attendance.

Many people had arrived early on to deposit flowers on the late politician's grave, while his widow Dimitra Liani arrived together with Prime Minister Costas Simitis for the memorial service carried out by Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece.

The event also highlighted the current divisions and problems within PASOK, while many people commented on the irony of it coinciding with such a difficult time for the party.

Characteristic was the enthusiastic welcome bestowed on Dimitra Liani and Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on their arrival, while the prime minister, conversely, was the target of slogans objecting to his 'blackmail' in bringing forward the PASOK party conference.

After the memorial service, Simitis made a brief statement saying that by founding PASOK and winning the elections in 1981, Andreas Papandreou had created the political framework that determined Greece as it was today.

"Andreas Papandreou gave the opportunity to social forces and groups to express and pursue goals they had had for many decades. Democracy and social justice. Freedom and a society that progressed.

"These are our goals. It is for these that we fight and will continue," he said.

Many people remarked on the absence of Papandreou's first wife, Margarita, who held a private memorial later on with her daughter Sophia, her son-in-law Theodoros Katsanevas, Andreas Papandreou's brother George and Aggela Kokola. The press was asked to stay away from the second memorial service.

[03] Court rules Monday work stoppage by OA cabin crews illegal

Olympic Airways flights should be conducted as normal on Monday after an Athens court ruled that a work stoppage called by air-hostesses and stewards for that day was illegal.

A 24-hour strike called by OA technicians for Tuesday, meanwhile, was also cancelled.

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Saturday

Sunshine is forecast on Saturday, turning to scattered cloud on the northern mainland later in the day. Winds northwesterly, moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 14C to 30C; in the rest of the mainland from 16C to 32C; and in the islands from 18C to 29C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 18C and 32C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 16C to 30C.

[05] Papandreou, Cem meet on Samos to promote rapprochement

Foreign Minister George Papandreou and his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem met on the Greek island of Samos on Saturday, as part of their efforts to promote Greek-Turkish rapprochement.

The two ministers, both of whom were accompanied by their families, will take part in the third conference of chambers of commerce based on the Aegean islands and the Turkish coast, which will discuss cooperation in economic affairs and tourism.

The conference will continue on Sunday in the Turkish coastal town of Kusadasi, again with both ministers attending.

Cem was greeted upon his arrival on Samos by Papandreou and Aegean Minister Nikos Sifounakis, and immediately afterward he was taken on a tour of the Samos Archaeological Museum.

The two foreign ministers are due to give a press conference on Saturday afternoon and to plant a olive sapling to symbolise the desire for friendship between their two countries.

In statements made earlier on the island, both Papandreou and Cem agreed that true friendship was developing between the Greek and Turkish peoples, while Papandreou also stressed the role that local government could play in this.

Both Papandreou and Cem have been awarded for their efforts to foster closer ties between traditional foes Greece and Turkey, which they have done by brokering bilateral agreements on uncontroversial "low-policy" issues. So far, however, almost no progress has been made on key differences between the two countries, such as the Cyprus problem or the Aegean continental shelf.

[06] Powerful tremor rattles southeastern Aegean islands, Crete

A strong earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale shook the southeastern Aegean islands of Rhodes, Kastellorizo, Karpathos at 9:52 a.m. on Saturday, while it was also felt on Crete.

The Geodynamic Institute at the Athens Observatory reported that the quake's epicentre was located in the sea 60km due south of Rhodes and 460 km southeast of Athens.

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