Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-05-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] Budget deficit down 11 percent in Jan-April, yr/yr

[02] Petras metropolitan elected to be 'locum tenens' for Jerusalem Patriarchate

[03] 41.7 percent of Greeks will not go away on vacation this summer - Hellenic Consumers' Centre survey

[01] Budget deficit down 11 percent in Jan-April, yr/yr

The budget deficit fell to 5.003 billion euros in the January-April period from 5.6 billion lastyear, with net revenues totalling 11.7 billion euros, from 11.4 billion euros in 2004, and spending up 4.7 percent to 16.432 billion euros, slightly exceeding a budget target for an increase of 4.6 percent.

[02] Petras metropolitan elected to be 'locum tenens' for Jerusalem Patriarchate

Meanwhile, the deposed former patriarch Irineos refused to hand over his diplomatic passport to a Greek Consulate employee that called on his residence at the Patriarchate.

Irineos demanded that he be given a copy of the Greek foreign ministry decision to remove his previous diplomatic passport and replace this with a new one.

The Greek foreign ministry announced that it had issued a temporary passport for Irineos on Friday, bearing his name and title as former Jerusalem Patriarch.

Despite having lost the support of his own parishioners and clergy and a decision by an all-Church Synod in Istanbul to cease to recognise him as patriarch, Irineos insists that he continues to be the rightful patriarch of Jerusalem. He was elected in 2001 and deposed over a controversy concerning property deals that handed Church land over to Israeli developers.

[03] 41.7 percent of Greeks will not go away on vacation this summer - Hellenic Consumers' Centre survey

The reasons for not planning to go away on summer holidays this year were mainly financial (71.10 percent), while 15 percent were not planning holidays due to professional reasons, 10 percent due to family reasons, and 3.9 percent due to other reasons.

Also 44.45 percent of those who would go on holiday would be spending their vacation at a self-owned summer home, 21.43 percent would be hosted by relatives or friends, and 34.12 percent would be accomodated at hotels or rented rooms.

Further, with respect to length of of the vacation, 27.38 percent would be away for 7 days, 32.54 percent for 10 days, 30.56 percent for 20 days, and just 2.38 percent for an entire month.

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