Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM meets health minister, discusses bonds issue

[02] Papandreou attacks PM over bonds issue

[03] Repeated earthquakes rock western Greece

[04] Deep-sea craft to seek 'Sea Diamond' missing

[01] PM meets health minister, discusses bonds issue

"This government was elected on a promise that there would be more light in Greece," Avramopoulos added.

Asked if he saw an imminent cabinet reshuffle - and if he was confident of keeping his position in the government - Avramopoulos replied that the decision was the "exclusive privilege" of the prime minister and that he felt "secure in the trajectory of this government".

The minister said that he had also briefed Karamanlis on issues concerning the health ministry, the programmes currently underway and efforts to clean up the system for health sector procurements, primary health care and other acts of legislation in the wings.

Earlier, Karamanlis was also briefed by Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis concerning the sinking of the cruise liner "Sea Diamond" and efforts to clean up an oil slick caused by the shipwreck, while he is scheduled to meet Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos later in the day.

[02] Papandreou attacks PM over bonds issue

Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou underlined that Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis bore heavy political responsibility over the affair concerning high-risk bond purchases by social security funds, in an interview given to the Greek newspaper 'Ta Nea'.

"How can the prime minister not be involved when his office appointed more than half the board chairmen that took part in the big scam," Papandreou stressed.

According to the main opposition leader, the bonds issue was "no coincidence" and all the evidence pointed to "central planning".

He also charged that there existed a network of ruling New Democracy party cadres in all ranks and positions "that are linked to scandalous decisions".

Papandreou accused the government of "having betrayed the majority of the Greek people" and of "promising one thing and doing another".

Stating that the Greek people would once again put their trust in PASOK, he promised to put an end to "practices of corruption, untransparency, lawlessness, fraud and greed" and reiterated a demand for immediate elections, while adding that any cabinet reshuffle by the prime minister at this time would be just a "communications diversion".

[03] Repeated earthquakes rock western Greece

Scientists at the Thessaloniki University Geophysics Laboratory said their instruments had recorded a tremor measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale at 10:13, followed by a 5.0 Richter quake at 10:14 and a 5.4 Richter quake at 10:15.

Thessaloniki University Geophysics professor Vassilis Papazahos virtually ruled out the possibility of a strong earthquake, however.

"We do not expect an earthquake stronger than 6.0 Richter in the Trichonida region," he told reporters, noting that a similar seismic sequence had occurred there in 1975 and that the chances of a much more powerful earthquake were very small.

"We have never had an earthquake greater than 6.0 Richter in this area. We estimate that the repeated tremors, the so-called earthquake swarm, will continue but will gradually thin out," he added.

At the same time, he advised local residents to be cautious and to evacuate buildings that had been damaged by the quakes, particularly older houses.

Earlier, before the three new tremblors, Thessaloniki university seismologist Anastasia Kyratzi had described the earthquake sequence near Trichonida as "normal" up to that time.

She also pointed out that the faults in the area have not caused catastrophic earthquakes in the past.

Between the quake at 6:17 and 10:13 there had also been a series of smaller aftershocks of less than 3.0 Richter.

According to the Athens Observatory Geodynamic Institute, the epicentre of the quake at 6:17 was 215 kilometres northwest of Athens near Lake Trichonida in Aitoloakarnania.

It was widely felt in surrounding regions, such as Achaia and Ilia in the west Peloponnese, Fokida in central Greece and the Ionian islands, such as Zakynthos and Kefallonia.

The report was also confirmed by the Thessaloniki University Geophysics Laboratory.

Both laboratories said the epicentre of an earlier quake at 2:27 had been 190 kilometres northwest of Athens, slightly south of Lake Trichonida.

Caption: Aerial shot of Lake Trichonida in ANA-MPA files

[04] Deep-sea craft to seek 'Sea Diamond' missing

"Our main concern now is to protect the environment," the minister told reporters as he left the meeting, while noting that the situation was "under control".

In response to other questions, meanwhile, the minister said that human error was definitely involved in causing the accident.

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