The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-06-29

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From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] By a Gluttonous Thief Greedy Robbery

By Vicky Keleri

He could have committed the perfect crime if it wasn't for his greedy weaknesses that stuck his ambitious plans for good. We are talking about an overweight thief from Romania, who tried to rob a candy shop but ended up caught in his own trap. To begin with, it all went swell. As soon as the owner closed his shop, the 22-stone robber managed to sneak in from the window and snatch the 376 euros in the cash register without being noticed. While preparing to exit the crime scene in the same way he had entered, his greedy self rebelled and did not allow him to leave the candy shop without getting a taste of all the goodies lying around him. However, instead of simply getting a taste, he consumed endless amounts of sweets and then got stuck in the window as he tried to get back out with his face stuffed with pies. In the morning, when the shop owner arrived for work, he couldnt believe his eyes. He saw all the pie wrappers on the floor, and then looked up and saw a pair of stubby fat legs hanging out the window.

He then went outside and saw the other half of the thief poking at the front. The Romanian shop owner burst out laughing and called all his friends to come and have a look before he called the police and of course the fire brigade to release the wannabe thief.

Even though our overweight friend did not manage to realise his ambitious plan, at least he got to eat many candies, which are hard to get when you are behind bars.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[02] Twenty Dead from the Heatwave Europe Is Burning Up

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: ΝΕΤ

Southern Europe has turned into a furnace, with Italy, France and Albanian already counting their dead, predominantly older people. A total of 20 people have passed away from the tropical temperatures, which are expected to continue for the next few days. The Authorities of the countries that have been afflicted by the heatwave are on alert and are issuing warnings, advising citizens how to best deal with the rising temperatures. In Italy, the Authorities are estimating that approximately 1 million senior citizens would be in danger if the mercury continues its upward trend, while special teams of doctors, social workers and volunteers have been set up to monitor and help the elderly. In many Italian cities, the atmosphere is very stuffy due to the heat and the humidity, while Spain is experiencing an unprecedented draught.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Related News:

Heatwave in Neighbouring Italy

[03] EU Decides on Turkey

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: Reuters, BBC

The draft negotiating mandate for opening entry talks with Turkey will be place under the EUs executive Commission. The draft reaffirms that the goal of the talks is Turkeys accession to the EU, while the text also reads that "the negotiations will be based on Turkeys own merits and the pace will depend on Turkeys progress in meeting the requirements for membership." It the draft mandate should be adopted, it will constitute the basis for entry negotiations that will open on October 3. However, the document also reads that talks will last for at least a decade, while there is no guarantee that Turkey will in the end join the European bloc. It is noted that the neighbouring country is called to meet the political, economic and human rights criteria, to iron out its bilateral relations with all Member-States, including the Republic of Cyprus, and extend the Customs Union to Cyprus. Nicosia voiced its satisfaction for the context of the draft mandate, however it is determined to claim more.

Opposing Views

Turkey's accession to the European Union requires the approval of all 25 Member-States, a fact which seems rather hard to achieve these days, as Europeans are not thrilled with this prospect.

In fact, it should be noted that even if the Commission adopts the draft mandate, European leaders should confirm they want negotiation talks to open, a fact on which many have voiced doubts, especially after the referendums in France and the Netherlands. One of the main reasons for which the French and Dutch voted against the European Constitution was the prospect of the EU's enlargement.

The French Minister of Internal Affairs, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said that the EU's further expansion should be suspended for a while because "Europe cannot enlarge indefinitely," while German Christian Democratic opposition leader Angela Merkel, likely to become chancellor after a September election, is also opposed.

However, Britain which takes over the bloc's presidency on Friday and will lead the accession talks if they start on schedule in October, is a leading supporter of Ankara's bid.

EU leaders decided in December that Turkey had met the political, economic and human rights criteria for starting talks on joining the 25-nation bloc, and instructed the Commission to draw up a framework for the negotiations.

Context of the Draft Mandate:

The aim of negotiations in Turkey's accession to the EU. The pace of negotiations will depend on Turkey's progress with meeting the EU's criteria. In case of a serious and continuous breach of the principles of freedom, democracy and respect of human rights, the Commission will propose breaking off talks and conditions for their final repetition. Accession talks cannot be completed before 2014, at the earliest. Turkey cannot join the European bloc until the subsequent budgetary period has started, ie 2013. If Turkey does join, it will be expected to adopt the euro as its currency, the text says, in line with the rules for all new member states. The text sets out 35 separate "chapters", or policy areas which Turkey will have to implement into national law before it is ready for membership. The Commission reserves the right to reopen the issue of these chapters if it has any doubts over Ankara's implementation.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[04] POE-OTA on Strike

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Employees in Municipalities and Provinces held a protest at Karaiskakis Square and then rallied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Wednesday morning, asserting their institutional and financial demands. Today, the Panhellenic Federations of Workers Associations of the Local Government (POE-OTA) is holding a 24-hour nationwide strike as an answer to "the Government's policies, which aim at overturning the current labour and social security regime, as well as their discontent over the non-fulfilment of their financial, institutional and social demands, including extending IKAs Heavy and Health-Hazardous Occupations Regulation to Local Government employees," read POE-OTA's announcement.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

Related Links:

POE-OTA

[05] US President's Televised Message "Stay in Iraq as Long as we Are Needed"

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

In the afterclap of another poll showing that Americans are sceptical and even ill-affected regarding the continuous US military operations in Iraq, US President George Bush tried once again to reverse the negative climate and win back his compatriots trust. In a televised message, he stressed the war in Iraq will continue and asked for the support of all Americans, because, as he said, the only way to cope with guerrillas is to defeat them abroad before they attack us on home grounds. However, he will not send any more soldiers to Iraq, nor draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of troops on site, because such a move would make insurgents wait for it and be properly prepared.

The September 11 Lesson

"We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed - and not a day longer," stressed Bush, hoping to persuade Americans that the presence of US troops in Iraq is absolutely necessary.

Bush's speech was broadcast live from the Fort Bragg base in North Carolina at 03:00 (Greek time).

"The American people do not falter under threat; and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins," he stressed and further added, "The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11."

Since war began in March 2003, more than 1,700 Americans have lost the lives in Iraq, while continuous insurgent attacks and the escalation of violence have shaken US trust and Mr Bush's approval ratings have fallen to their lowest point in his presidency.

Conflicting Views

Democratic leader John Kerry accused Bush of having failed to present a new strategy for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Speaking on CNN after Bush's televised message, he said that most Americans are aware that the greenhouse of terrorism did not exist in Iraq until we got there." At the same time, Mr Kerry stressed that the change of strategy in Iraq is imperative in order to withdraw US troops at some point.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said that Mr Bush's emphasis was misplaced and his "numerous references to September 11 did not provide a way forward in Iraq". Mr Reid further added the president's speech reminded Americans that "our most dangerous enemy, namely Osama Bin Laden, is still on the loose".

However, Republicans do not seem to share the same views, not in the least, although there is an important divergence of views within the government.

Vice-President Dick Cheney had stated that insurgent attacks are in their "last throes," but Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned on Sunday that insurgency could last up to 12 years.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

Related News:

Bush Receives "Red Card"

[06] Price Per Barrel at $58.15 Small Slide of Black Gold

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: ΝΕΤ, ΝΕΤ 105.8

The price of oil in the Asian markets slid marginally by $2.34 per barrel and stabilised at $58.15. OPEK is in readiness in order to boost production by 500,000 barrels daily as soon as possible, aiming at restraining prices. At the same time, speaking on NET 105.8, Greek Deputy Development Minister Giannis Papathanasiou announced that the ministry would be conducting intensive checks to combat profiteering. In some parts of Greece, the price of unleaded fuel reached 0.98 euros per litre, while the average prices range between 0.90 and 0.91 euros. The Economy Minister described the price increase in oil as an unfortunate development, as it puts pressure on inflation. In any case, the Government will wait to see what happens, before making any decisions.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] Gold for Drymonakos

By Dimitris Alexopoulos

One gold, one silver and four bronze medals were todays harvest for the Greek athletes, during the Mediterranean Games in Almeria, Spain. Giannis Drymonakos, who finished in first place in mens 200m butterfly, won the fourth gold medal for Greece during these Games, with a time of 1:57.58. Lazaros Loizidis won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling, as he was defeated by Turk Serhat Balci by 2-0 (3-0) in the 84kg category. Vassiliki Kavarnou won the bronze in womens 50m breaststroke (33.23) and Spyros Gianniotis finished third in mens 800m freestyle (8:03.60). Finally, 24-year-old weightlifting champion Olympia Toka won two bronze medals in womens 63kg snatch and clean & jerk.

Another Medal Has Been Secured

Furthermore, Orestis Saridis has already won the bronze in boxing and he might even climb higher on the podium. With four victories and one loss, he qualified for the final four, securing a bronze in his category. He will now fight against Turk Selcuk Aydin on 30 June for the semifinals.

Furthermore, three national Greek records were broken today in the pool. Tryfonas Trivizas broke the record for mens 50m breaststroke with a time of 28.93 during the preliminaries, improving on his previous performance from 15/7/2004, at the European Championship in Lisbon.

The womens 4X100m mixed medley team (Kavarnou, Exarchou, Dimoschaki and Bliamou) covered the distance with a time of 4:13.63 during the finals, crushing the previous record of 4:17.10 from 16/5/2004, at the European Championship in Madrid. The Greek team finished in fourth place, behind France (4:09.01), Spain (4:09.33) and Spain (4:11.85).

Following the women, the mens 4X100m mixed medley team (Alyfantis, Antonopoulos, Pastras and Grigoriadis) also achieved a national Greek record with a time of 3:44.97. Despite the fact that it finished in fourth place, it managed to break the record it held since 15/4/2004 from the European Championship in Lisbon (3:45.88).

Dionysis Georgakopoulos finished in fifth place in mens 10m air pistol, as did Vassilis Stefanidis in mens skeet with 141 shots (23 in the final).

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[08] Sollied in Greece

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Olympiacos new coach Trond Sollied arrived in Athens Eleftherios Venizelos airport a little after 5pm. The Norwegian coach went to his hotel immediately, without making any statements, while later at night he met with Olympiacos owner Sokratis Kokkakis and Giorgos Louvaris, in order to discuss all pending matters. The meeting continued well into the night.

Contract and Transfers

Sollied will officially sign up with Olympiacos (2+2-year contract, which will be presented either on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon), once his current contract is dissolved. However, today, the two sides will discuss everything, but mainly player transfers.

Sollieds first concern is for the team to acquire a new striker, with Norwegian Tore Andre Flo topping the list. Another name being tossed around is that of Nenad Jestrovic, top scorer of the Belgian championship with 18 goals. Two other options are Peter McCarthy and Stefan Iversen.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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