Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK again demands early elections

[02] Memorial service for Helios crash victims

[01] PASOK again demands early elections

"We continue to maintain that early elections are a healthy solution, and as soon as they are held the better for the country," party spokesman Petros Efthymiou, a former minister, said.

Papandreou later met privately with PASOK secretary Nikos Athanassakis.

In justifying PASOK's standing demand for an early recourse to the ballot - elections are normally scheduled for March 2008 - Efthymiou charged that the government and prime minister are in a "position of weakness and panic".

Conversely, he avoided predicting a date for when early elections will be held, if the premier chooses to declare them.

Finally, he dismissed the latest criticism by former premier Constantine Mitsotakis questioning Papandreou's ability to govern, merely nothing that Costas Karamanlis' current government is worse that the Mitsotakis government of 1990-1993.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Efthymiou.

[02] Memorial service for Helios crash victims

The August 14, 2005 crash of the Boeing 737-300 aircraft plunged Cyprus and Greece into mourning.

Helios Flight 522 crashed en route from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens following a presumed loss of cabin pressure loss.

In October 2006, an Athens public prosecutor ruled that criminal charges should be brought against all responsible for the air tragedy. After examination of the report by by Greece's Air Accidents Investigation Committee, the prosecutor ruled charges of manslaughter with intent.

Among the direct causes of the crash, the report names the crew's inability to react correctly under conditions of gradual oxygen shortage in the cabin.

Indirect causes listed are long-term weaknesses in the Cyprus' civil aviation department, dating back to 1996, for which the report also blames international organisations that were unable to ensure that their recommendations were followed.

The airline itself is blamed for organisational and management problems, as well its failure to train and hire adequately qualified staff, while it notes recurring problems with cockpit signals and indicators in the specific type of aircraft.

Caption: A file photo shows the remains of the crashed Helios airliner in a remote region northwest of the greater Athens area on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2007. ANA-MPA / A. BELTES.

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