The death of the 7 students caused deep grief and anger across Greece.

The funerals of the schoolchildren killed when their bus collided with a truck yesterday were held today.

Meanwhile, "Athens 2004" Organizing Committee decided to cancel the artistic part of the Paralympic Games closing ceremony.

Schools in Greece will be closed tomorrow in a show of mourning, after a decision by Minister of Education Marietta Giannakou.

Yesterday, Minister of Environment, Public Works and Land Planning Giorgos Souflias reiterated that the part of the Athens-Lamia national motorway known as the "Maliakos Horseshoe" will be turned into a modern closed motorway by the end of 2007.

Mr. Souflias stated that at the specific part of the national motorway the speed limit is at 50 km per hour and appealed to those driving large vehicles to be careful.

This was not a good year for tourism not only for Greece but for many other countries as well, stated Mr. Avramopoulos, who asked for the cooperation of all responsible agencies for the promotion of the Greek tourist product.

Mr. Avramopoulos stated that a total of 31 million euros will be spent on Greece's promotion campaign.

Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis undertook to prepare the proposal concerning the establishment of a national motorway traffic police, while penalties for traffic violations will be tougher.

The Prime Minister made the statements after the governmental committee meeting today, while yesterday he had demanded answers to all the questions raised regarding road safety and called for an investigation to get underway immediately to find and punis h those responsible for yesterday's bloody accident in which 7 schoolchildren were killed.

Mr. Karamanlis stated characteristically that a small town is lost in traffic accidents every year in Greece.

The Greek branch of the Doctors of the World went to the suffering region just 24 hours after the devastating earthquake and offered their services to the earthquake stricken population. Since then, the Greek Doctors of the World have undertaken the rest oration and support with modern medical equipment of five health centers in the region.

Of the stocks trading today, 170 had gains and 100 had losses, while the value of 133 stocks remained unchanged.

Based on the caller, the bomb was allegedly placed on board Olympic Airlines Flight 411 with 295 passengers and a 12-member crew that had departed from Athens and was en route to New York.

The OA Airbus 340 is now making an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in Ireland for security reasons.