The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-10-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] Britain Asks for Ban Outbreak in Sweden Avian Threat

By Athina Saloustrou

Great Britain, which is presiding over the EU currently, asked the Member-States to ban all imports of live wild birds, in an effort to contain the danger of a bird flu epidemic. The demand is connected to the concerns in Britain following the detection of the flu in a parrot, which had been imported from Latin America and was in quarantine, as per the legislation. The parrot, which has died, was infected by the H5 bird flu virus, but it has not been determined yet whether it was the virus strain that is dangerous to humans. In the meantime, the virus has also surfaced in Sweden. As per the Swedish authorities, a dead duck that was located in the east of the country had been infected with bird flu. However, it is too early yet to establish whether the bird had been infected with the deadly virus strain. The result of the virus tests which were carried out today on samples from ducks found in Eskilstuna show that one of them was infected with influenza, Swedens National Veterinary Institute announced. However, it noted said that at this time of year it is not unusual for 20-30% of ducks to carry influenza. Meanwhile, Italy decided to adopt tougher measures to deal with avian flu, with the most significant being the testing of migratory birds to establish whether they are H5N1 carriers.

Tougher Measures in Italy

The Italian TV stations broadcast that blood samples from over 500 migratory birds were collected from around the country today, for immediate analysis. Furthermore, Italy banned all imports of poultry from Romania, Croatia and other Balkan countries. In addition, fearing the spread of the disease by migratory birds, it also banned hunting in some areas.

The Italian Government will proceed with further bans if there is evidence that migratory birds travelling over the country are already infected with avian influenza.

On their part, the Swedish authorities are conducting further tests on the duck that was found dead on Friday, in order to determine whether the virus is of the H5 strain and whether it is highly or less pathogenic. At the same time, the Swedish Board of Agriculture advised poultry farmers in the central and southern regions of Svealand and Gotaland to bring birds indoors if possible or feed them in protected areas.

Britain Asks for Ban on Exotic Birds

The British Presidency asked that the ban on exotic bird imports be imposed on third world countries, fearing that these could become a Trojan Horse for the spread of bird flu. According to the Sunday Times, approximately 250,000 exotic birds are illegally imported to Britain every year.

The Government urged the Commission to impose the ban on all live wild birds, declared a spokesperson of the British Department for Environment on AFP. He also added that the EU is in favour of the ban, which could be imposed as of next week.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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[02] Nigerian Boeing Carrying 116 Crashes New Airplane Tragedy

By Athina Saloustrou

The wreckage of the Bellview Airlines Boeing 737-200 was located in the state of Oyo, southwest Nigeria, while there is no information yet on survivors. The fated Boeing, with 116 people on board, crashed last night three minutes after takeoff from the airport of Lagos. As per Nigerias state radio, some senior officials were among the passengers. The plane, which was en route to Abuja, was lost from radar three minutes after takeoff at 8:45pm (local time), while it was flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The pilot made a distress call minutes after takeoff on Saturday night, indicating the plane had a technical problem, a source at the presidency told Reuters. According to the meteorologists, the weather conditions at the time were quite adverse. Police and army helicopters, as well as coast guard crafts were sweeping the area for the eight hours to locate the plane. No one could have survived if the plane crashed on land, declared a spokesperson of the Nigerian Coast Guard. A Boeing spokesperson declared on CNN that the company would work with the US National Transportation Safety Board if invited to do so. Bellview is a Nigerian airline popular with expatriates living in the West African nation, and Western diplomats feared several of their citizens could have been on board. The plane was carrying 110 passengers and 6 crewmembers.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[03] Victim a 66-year-old Israeli Jeweller Murder Case Solved

By Athina Saloustrou

Four Greeks will appear before the Prosecutor today, accused of robbing and murdering Israeli jeweller Sam Levi, aged 66, whose body was discovered last night in a trunk at the entrance of gallery in an old mine in Agios Konstantinos, Lavrio, Attica. The culprits are a lapidary, who was an associate of the 66-year-old jeweller, and his three accomplices, who are builders. The crime was premeditated and the defendants, who were arrested yesterday, confessed that they wanted to rob the man. As they said, they believed that he was carrying diamonds, but they eventually found nothing on him, but took with wallet, containing 1,000 euros, his watch and other personal items. Attica Police is expected to announce more details relating to the case today.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[04] Damages to Cars and Shops One Killed in Birmingham Clashes

By Athina Saloustrou

One man was killed and a police officer was injured on Saturday night, during clashes in Birmingham, central England. The riot broke out during a public meeting in the Lozells area, where the incident concerning the alleged sexual attack against a teenager last week was being discussed. The discussion was interrupted when a gang of young men carrying sticks and bats attacked the gathered crowd. A police spokesperson declared that an open public meeting was taking place, where the citizens were voicing their concerns, and police officers met with representatives of the citizens to discuss the incident that happened last week. He did not clarify the reason why the young men attacked the police, but confirmed that one person had been killed. According to British Media, special police forces arrived in the area and the rioters threw rocks and makeshift bombs. Cars and shops were damaged during the clashes.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[05] Tough Win for Olympiacos

By Stathis Petropoulos

Olympiacos had a very tough time in the empty Peace and Friendship Stadium, since it was penalised, but it eventually managed to make it. Jonas Kazlauskas players scored their first victory in the basketball championship against Panellinios with 88-86 during extra time. On the other hand, despite Gulyas absence, Panellinios fought hard and came very close to winning. The score per period: 26-10, 37-28, 53-49, 76-76, (AT) 88-86.

OLYMPIACOS: Edney 30 (1), Papamakarios 3, Argyropoulos 9 (1), Zizic 4, Lewis 10 (1), Chatzis 2, Seibutis 12 (1), Zukauskas 10, Barlos 8 (1), Vasilopoulos, Schortsianitis

PANELLINIOS: Mulaomerovic 16 (1), Kantartzis 12 (2), Tsaldaris 13 (3), Maslarinos, Sakelariou 3 (1), Page 11 (1), Thomas 21 (2), Tsopis 2, Liggos, Pschalis 3, Tsamatos 5.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[06] AEK Wins Derby

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Premiere with a victory for AEK in the mens A1 basketball championship, after defeating PAOK in its home with a score of 91-80. AEK, with Coppenrath (21pts) as its top scorer, was superior throughout the game, achieving an easy win over its opponent. On the part of PAOK, Vuksanovic (23pts) was the one who stood out. The score per period: 18-22, 35-40, 49-60, 80-91.

PAOK: Xanthopoulos 7, Vasiliadis 18 (2), Georgitsis 2, Zujovic, Gagaloudis 19 (3), Mavrokefalidis 6, Mance 5 (1), Murray 5 (1), Vuksanovic 23 (1)

AEK: Tamir 3 (1), Hajaj 13 (3), Rimac 12 (2), Pelekanos 7 (1), Pantelidis 4, Kalabokis 9, Papanikolaou 2, Coppenrath 21, Bourousis 17, Papaioakim 3.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] Tough Time for Panathinaikos

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Although Panathinaikos had a bit of a tough time in the first half, it eventually took off, defeating newcomer Larissa by 88-74 in the premiere of the basketball championship. Papanikolaou (22pts), Chatzivrettas and Spanoulis stood out on the part of Panathinaikos, contributing to a great degree to their teams victory. The score per period: 19-21, 39-38, 66-48, 88-74.

PANATHINAIKOS: Alvertis 6, Kalaitzis 3 (1), Papanikolaou 22 (4), Lakovic 9 (3), Batist 2, Femerling 2, Chatzivrettas 14, Spanoulis V.13 (1), Tsartsaris 2, Diamantidis 8 (2), Sakota, Tomasevic 7

LARISSA: Garner 13 (3), Lepoyevic, Papanikolopoulos 11 (1), Papachristos 9, Bogdanos 12 (3), Spanoulis D. 11 (3), Pavlidis 9 (1), Angelakopoulos 5, Alexeev 4.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[08] Easy Win for Maroussi

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Kolossos Rodos did not mange to accompany its first ever appearance in basketballs Division A1 with a win, after losing to Maroussi by 63-79 in the premiere of the championship. The team from Maroussi demonstrated its experience, especially in the second half, and had no trouble achieving a victory. The score per period: 16-21, 29-39, 45-57, 63-79.

KOLOSSOS RODOS: Felakas 2, Pantazopoulos 6 (2), Brasswell 6, Papadatos 3 (1), Goggidis 2, Panagiotarakos, Skordalis, Nakic 7 (1), Soulis 10, Bryant 19, Makris 8 (2), Tsiakos

MAROUSSI: Blakney 16 (1), Nikolaidis 2, Boudouris 12 (4), Kyritsis 12 (1), Sekulic 4, Homan 15, Stefanidis 2, Kolokas 4, Kaimakoglou 5 (1), Noeas, Lolas 3 (1), Karagoutis 4.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[09] Panionios Off to Great Start

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Panionios, which was superior throughout the game defeated Iraklis by 85-75 in the premiere of the mens Division A1 Greek Basketball Championship. The home team did not get threatened at any point and set the pace right from the start against Iraklis, which could not keep up. The score per period: 23-9, 44-28, 68-59, 85-75.

PANIONIOS: Kekelis 6 (2), Petropoulos, Vasilopoulos, Perperoglou 9 (1), Avery 22 (4), Angelopoulos 2, Iliadis 13, Economou 20 (3), Marmarinos, Tapoutos 2, Harvey 11

IRAKLIS: Felton 20 (2), Panagiotopoulos, Giannouzakos 5 (1), Sfeikos, Christou 4, Stefanovic 16 (3), Maglos 2, Glindic, Dedas 9 (3), Jenkins 7, Kouvelas 12.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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