Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-06-20

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Papandreou in Brussels

[02] Mid-term program condition for the 5th tranche

[03] Armed robbery in university campus

[04] Death of KKE deputy from Thessaloniki

[05] Acropolis Museum celebrates 2nd anniversary

[06] Ogier wins Acropolis Rally

[07] Athens Fringe Festival opens

[08] ASE opening: Rise

[01] Papandreou in Brussels

On Sunday the premier reiterated his call for national unity behind the government's latest batch of austerity measures and accelerated reforms, opening a three-day vote of confidence debate that winds up on midnight Tuesday with an open roll-call vote.ana-mpa

Papandreou called on Parliament to give his newly reshuffled government a renewed vote of conference, noting that the country is at a critical crossroads and warning that an image of division among the Greek people was not helping the country.

Warning that a disorderly bankruptcy would be catastrophic, Papandreou stressed that the country's lenders, the EU and the IMF, want to see Greece standing on its own two feet, adding that the problems would not be solved if the IMF was asked to leave, and warning also that the country's liquidity will be very soon exhausted without the disbursement of the fifth tranche of the EC-ECB-IMF bailout package.

Papandreou asked for national consensus on several fundamental axes, and a referendum on major changes which, as he said, will be contained in an amended Constitution.

The axes for the national understanding, as he said, include acknowledgement that the external debt and annual budget deficits constitute a national problem and that "we must be the first to put our house in order". He noted that Greece will not be able to borrow (on the international markets) in 2012 "and this is an unexpected new complication that we need to look straight in the eye, and not with our heads buried in the sand", Papandreou elaborated.

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[02] Mid-term program condition for the 5th tranche

Juncker said that progress was also made regarding the participation of the private sector in a second assistance program for the Greek economy, but added that a number of issues were still outstanding.

The eurozone chief also said that private sector participation should be voluntary and without pressure from the governments.

Juncker further said that the eurozone countries sought of the Greek government to complete the legislative procedure regarding the Medium-Term fiscal program, noting that Greece's partners in the eurozone were also awaiting the vote of confidence in the (newly-reshuffled) government of Greece.

The eurogroup president also reiterated the need for the two mainstream parties in Greece (ruling PASOK and main opposition ND) to agree on the implementation of the EU and IMF program for Greece.

According to a statement issued by the eurogroup, approval of the Medium-Term program by the Greek parliament will pave the way to disbursement of the next tranche of the bailout loan to Greece in early July, while the considerable progress achieved over the last year, particularly with respect to fiscal consolidation, was acknowledged by the eurozone ministers.

Regarding the support program for Greece, the eurozone finance ministers decided to define by early July the basic parameters "of a clear new financing strategy".

Also, for the first time in an announcement, the eurogroup made note of the need for political consensus in Greece, noting that the eurozone finance ministers called on all the political parties in Greece to support the fundamental targets of the program so as to ensure its rigorous and expeditious implementation.

Bearing in mind the length, magnitude and nature of the required reforms in Greece, national unity is a prerequisite for success, the announcement concluded.

&copy; ANA-MPA SA. Intellectual rights and copyright belong to the ANA-MPA S.A.

Reproduction of ANA-MPA content by visitors of this website is strictly forbidden.

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[03] Armed robbery in university campus

When the security employees of a private security company got out of the van, four unidentified individuals threatened them with guns and injured one of the employees on the head with a gun grip, grabbed the cash and fled.

According to early information the robbers took 100,000 euros.ana-mpa

Another incident occurred early Monday at a butcher's shop in the Rendis meat market district of Piraeus. Four unidentified individuals with machine guns broke into the shop and took approximately 100,000 euros cash and escaped in a waiting without license plates that was driven by an accomplice.

Police have launched a manhunt in both instances.

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[04] Death of KKE deputy from Thessaloniki

In an announcement by the KKE central committee, the party expresses its deep grief at the unexpected death of Tzekis, and extends its most heartfelt condolences to the deceased's family.

Tzekis was elected an MP for the first time in 2000 on the KKE ticket in Thessaloniki B' district.ana-mpa

The Greek parliament observed a minute of silence on Monday morning in tribute to Tzekis, whose death was announced to the House by parliament's 2nd vice president Rodoula Zissi, who said that parliament and the Greek society was poorer as of today.

"We lost an eminent Communist, a fighter for the working class' interests," KKE parliamentary spokesman Spyros Halvatzis said.

Labor minister George Koutroumanis said that Tzekis was a consistent fighter and exceptional person.ana-mpa

Ruling PASOK MP Dimitris Papoutsis expressed the party parliamentary committee's deep grief, saying that "we came to know him from his action...he contributed to the popular struggles in a very worthy way".

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) parliamentary group secretary Costas Tassoulas said the party was crushed by Tzekis' sudden death.

Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) parliamentary spokesman Adonis Georgiadis said Tzekis had been a "tough ideological rival".

Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) parliamentary spokesman Dimitris Papadimoulis said that "the entire parliament's grief is mirrored in a stark truth...Angelos Tzekis' sudden death is a big loss for the Greek parliament and Greek society".

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[05] Acropolis Museum celebrates 2nd anniversary

The 25,000 square-meter Museum will be open to the public on Monday from 8:00 in the morning until midnight, to celebrate the event.

The Museum includes more than 4,000 exhibits spread over 14,000 square meters of exhibition space.

To mark the event, the City of Athens Symphony Orchestra will stage a free concert at 9:00 p.m., performing works by Strauss, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and Piazzola.

(Photo ANA-MPA)

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[06] Ogier wins Acropolis Rally

Ogier and co-pilot Julien Ingrassia, with their CITROEN DS3, clinched the 56th Acropolis Rally, after a close showdown with fellow Frenchman and Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb, who retains his number one ranking overall in the WRC.

The Acropolis Rally, dubbed the "Rally of the Gods", is the midway seventh round of the 13-round 2011 World Rally Championship.

According to the WRC, the Acropolis Rally is one of the most iconic events in the sport, and winning it earns significant kudos.

The ceremonial start took place beneath the historic Acropolis site at on Thursday evening, with a total of 42 crews participating in what is said to be the toughest race of the World Racing Championship (WRC).

Third place in the Acropolis Rally went to Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, followed by Norwegians Petter Solberg and Henning Solberg in 4th and 5th, Britain's Matthew Wilson in 6th, and Finland's Kimi Raikkonen and Juho Hanninen in 7th and 8th place.

Loeb was first overall after seven rounds, followed by Hirvonen, Ogier, Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala, Solberg, Norway's Mads Ostberg, and Wilson.

The WRC 2011 opened with the Sweden rally in February, followed by Mexico and Portugal in March, Jordan in April, and Italy and Argentina in May.

The next rounds after Greece will be Finland (July 28-30), Germany (August 18-21), Australia (September 8-11), France (September 29 to October 2), Spain (October 20-23), and Wales (November 10-13).

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[07] Athens Fringe Festival opens

The third annual Festival, which runs through June 26, is organised by the Synthesis Media Company in collaboration with the renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the biggest off-Festival on the planet.

Adopting the successful Fringe format, the Festival aims to present the work of young, upcoming Greek and European artists representing all art forms.

Athens Fringe Festival is an open-to-all celebration of the arts, a true off-Athens Festival.ana-mpa

The organisers invite artists, visitors and volunteers alike to think about what makes them happy and be inspired by that.

All forms of art have a place in the Athens Fringe Festival, from music, dance and theater to literature, crafts, video art and installations.

Fringe is much more than a festival, it is a social network, but unlike the Internet social networks, it is not virtual but living, with live actions and interventions in the everday life of the city.

A novelty this year will be a double-decker bus that will take artists around the cities of Athens for "lightning" performances, bringing the Festival to the public itself.

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

[08] ASE opening: Rise

Individual sector indices were moving upward, with the biggest gains in Technology, up 6.15 percent; Health, up 2.46 percent and Insurance, up 1.96 percent.

The biggest losses were in Commerce, down 1.72 percent; and Raw Materials, down 0.53 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was up 0.28 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.43 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 1.12 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 40 were up, 29 were down, and 17 were unchanged.

More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article