In Brief
PRESIDENTIAL VISIT
Papoulias arrives in Cyprus, calls for closer cooperation with Greece Greek President Karolos Papoulias arrived in Nicosia yesterday for a four-day official visit and called for constant and strong cooperation between Greece and Cyprus so the two countries could achieve their common goals and reunite the island. Papoulias said he hoped there would be no Turkish troops on the island the next time he visits and that he will be able to move around all of Cyprus freely. He also met with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos. MULTIPLE QUAKES Experts calm over Patras tremors A series of minor earthquakes that have been felt some 10 kilometers east of Patras in recent days are not a major a cause for concern, experts said on Saturday. The first quake measured 4 Richter and a number of tremors have followed. Officials at the National Observatory of Athens, investigating the quakes, will have more details this week. Helios probe Akrivos Tsolakis, head of the investigation into the Helios Airways crash north of Athens that killed all 121 people on board, was due in Cyprus yesterday for the second time since the August accident. Tsolakis is to interview 20 people during his stay. ND lead New Democracy holds a 2.2 percent lead over PASOK, according to an opinion poll by Metron Analysis published on Saturday. The ruling conservatives are ahead in the poll even though 60 percent of respondents said they thought the country was headed in the wrong direction. Six in 10 also said they disagreed with the government’s economic policy. Cyprus ambassador The State Department’s coordinator for Iraq Ronald Schlicher is to be appointed the new US ambassador to Cyprus, the White House said late Friday. President George W. Bush nominated Schlicher to replace Michael Klosson, who ended his three-year term in July. Schlicher has also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs. Two killed Officers in Thermi, near Thessaloniki, yesterday arrested a driver who turned himself in to the police after two people were killed in a car crash some 20 kilometers west of the city in the early hours. A 49-year-old man who was driving one of the two cars involved was killed along with his passenger. The driver of the other car fled the scene but handed himself in several hours later. OA flight An Olympic Airlines plane carrying 169 passengers from Athens to Frankfurt via Thessaloniki had to return to Athens Saturday evening after the pilot noticed a crack in one of the cockpit windows. No emergency measures were needed and the plane landed safely. Australian pensions Australia and Greece are likely to sign an agreement on social security by early next year, Nikos Xerakias, an adviser to Australian Minister for Family and Community Services Kay Patterson, told the Athens News Agency yesterday. Greek officials are expected in Australia within the next few weeks to meet with Patterson to finalize a draft agreement, Xerakias said.
