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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 14-10-06

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

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

Monday, 6 October 2014 Issue No: 4777

CONTENTS

  • [01] Greece is exiting the crisis, PM Samaras tells ND 40th anniversary event
  • [02] SYRIZA on the prime minister's speech for the 40th anniversary of ND
  • [03] FinMin, troika agree on draft budget outline, source reports
  • [04] Foreign ministry on Turkish announcement concerning Cyprus' EEZ and continental shelf
  • [05] Greece doesn't need bailouts any more, FM Venizelos tells 'El Pais'
  • [06] Venizelos on the election of a new president of the republic
  • [07] Governments get vote of confidence from people, Tsipras tells SYRIZA youth festival
  • [08] Tsipras: SYRIZA 'the only political force that can negotiate for a better future'
  • [09] KKE general secretary Koutsoumbas says SYRIZA is not the alternative solution to today's anti-popular policy
  • [10] KKE's Koutsoumbas addresses PAME rally in Omonia
  • [11] Kouvelis re-elected president of Democratic Left party
  • [12] DIM.AR MPs ask Kouvelis not to stand for re-election as party leader
  • [13] Potami leader Theodorakis calls for common European asylum system, guarding of borders exclusively by Frontex
  • [14] Opinion poll gives SYRIZA 3.7 pct lead over New Democracy
  • [15] Labour ministry project on the codification of social insurance legislation
  • [16] Energy minister has meeting with Edison's management in Milan
  • [17] Death toll reaches five in Egnatia highway pile-up; brakes failed says arrested truck driver
  • [18] Staboulos will be remanded in custody
  • [19] Albanian man stabbed in fight between Domokos prison inmates
  • [20] Malfunction causes power outtage on Rhodes on Saturday
  • [21] Moderate quake rocks Sitia, Crete
  • [22] Two tremors reported in Peloponnese, south of Crete
  • [23] One arrest in Halkidiki for overdue debts to the state
  • [24] Three foreign nationals arrested on weapons charges
  • [25] Memorial service for the 71th anniversary of Ligiades massacre in WWII
  • [26] Clouds, rain on Monday
  • [27] The Sunday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

  • [01] Greece is exiting the crisis, PM Samaras tells ND 40th anniversary event

    Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Saturday appealed for national unity, while addressing an event to mark the 40th anniversary since the founding of the New Democracy party at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens. He outlined the next steps for the country's imminent exit from the crisis and his vision for Greece in the "post-memorandum era".

    Quoting ND founder Constantine Karamanlis, Samaras called for "wisdom, patriotism and national unity".

    He stressed the sacrifices of the Greek people said the country's economy would soon be able to resume positive rates of growth, exiting the crisis without the need for new bailout loans.

    Referring to planned tax cuts to be included in the draft budget, he said these would include a 30 pct reduction in the 'solidarity contribution', a 30 pct reduction in VAT on heating oil. He also pointed to an increase in the number of installments for paying off public sector debts, accompanied by lower fines for those that made a debt settlement arrangement.

    "We are proceeding with settlements for 'bad' loans, generous settlements. We can do this because public finances are now in order. We are preparing to cut taxes. Officers, policemen, doctors must be paid in accordance to merit. This can only be done if we have surpluses, not on borrowed money. My aim is for taxes to be reduced by 33 pct for individuals and 15 pct for businesses," he said.

    Samaras then referred to staff evaluations in the public sector, stressing that these will have to go ahead and that those with fake qualifications must be weeded out.

    The prime minister attacked MPs and even ministers within the party that had not supported the national effort and "played personal games" by trying to 'distance' themselves from unpopular policies. He also indirectly attack main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, referring to those that "put on an actor's smile, a Christian's cross and European clothing to put on a bad-taste performance," which he said would prove costly for Greece.

    Samaras emphasised that Greece was now on the verge of exiting the crisis and that ND would not allow the results of the country's sacrifices to "become the cheap merchandise" of those wishing to put the good of the country at the service of the interests of their political party.

    "We offer the assurance that Greece will soon be able and with dignity to settle its own affairs. At its side, Greece will have Europe but also the ally beyond the Atlantic. Our economy can and will soon find the rhythms of self-propelled economic growth," he underlined.

    "Two years ago, I promised two things: not to let Greece leave the euro and to extricate the country from the crisis and the memorandums as soon as possible. We did what we said, we achieved primary surpluses, we essayed forth into the markets and now, at the end of 2014, will will exit the memorandums. The country is regaining its dignity," he added.

    Samaras underlined, however, that Greece was not exiting the memorandum in order to go back to past mistakes.

    "No, we are exiting in order to create a new Greece that is free, has dignity and rewards worth - a Greece for those that are worthy, not cronies, for the proud and decent, not the crafty," he said, adding that this was something that ND "still owed" to the country. "At that time we succeeded in restoring democracy and getting Greece into Europe, but we did not manage to root out populism and make Greece Europe."

    The current period marked a turning point, Samaras stressed, especially in terms of unemployment. He pointed to strong signs that this was finally starting fall and said that hundreds of thousands of jobs were forecast each year in the coming years. "The forecast is for 0.6 pct this year, 2.6 pct next year, then 3.9 pct. More than 300,000 jobs are forecast. But we must eradicate bureaucracy and give banks liquidity," he said.

    It was crucial to continue reforms, the prime minister added, not because this was demanded by the country's creditors but because Greeks owed it to themselves. He noted that the country had outstripped 111 countries in the international competitiveness rankings in two years and said it would soon be in the top 10, guaranteeing full employment.

    "We have covered the greater part of the distance," he said, stressing that entrepreneurship and investments were no longer "suspect" in the country and promising support for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as Greece's farmers, through fewer taxes and more facilities for their activity.

    Among others, he pledged to exploit the country's resources in all areas, including its energy reserves and mineral deposits, and stressed that the reorganisation of the country's economy had begun, with hundreds of new start-ups created by people without any help, who opened up markets and made money.

    "These are the harbingers of the new Greece," he stressed, noting that the country would shed the mistakes of the past and not go back to sharing out money it did not have, while urging vigilance against the voices of populism.

    In this context, he indirectly attacked the main opposition for "deliberately cultivating anxiety" through the media while stressing that the Greek people now understood that the country must not "relapse" in past vices.

    "This gives us the strength to face the sirens of populism. The foundation stone of the new Greece will be responsibility, legality and truth. It is the responsibility of all politicians, the media but also the citizens. The slogan 'there is money' finds mimics even today," he stressed.

    The prime minister then pointed to recent successes against terrorism and in fighting illegal migration, noting that the government had been instrumental in making this a priority for the EU, as well. He also referred to plans for a revision of the Constitution, saying that the first phase will have been completed by June 2016 and completed in the next Parliament. Among the planned changes, he cited a new election process for the president of Greece so that it would not become the object of political games and opening the way for private universities, a Constitutional court and further separation of powers.

    The event kicked off with a recorded message by the president-elect of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and was attended by the former Greek premiers Costas Karamanlis, Constantine Mitsotakis, ministers and MPs of the party, as well as key members of the party.

    Prime Minister Samaras says parliament should elect a president of the republic and the country should speed up its return to economic growth

    Prime Minister Antonis Samars called for cooperation and understanding with everybody in an article published in the Sunday edition of Kathimerini newspaper.

    "We will not go back. We do not play political party games with the country's stability. A return to populism cannot be forgiven. The country must elect a new President of the Republic through the parliament, speed up its return to economic growth and not fall into uncertainty again," the prime minister underlined in his article.

    "We have made a leap that two years ago was not expected by most but we should not relax, what was earned with difficulty could still be lost easily; and this we cannot allow to happen," he underlined.

    The prime minister said that Greece is very close to exiting the crisis and the memorandum era, the goals have been met quicker than anticipated in the programme, the country has returned to the markets earlier and that no more money is need or another memorandum. He also spoke about "the last remaining steps before Greece's definitive return to normalcy and economic growth," noting that the steps will be made by the government despite the fact that certain ones wish for the country to fail, concerned about their own fate if there is no memorandum.

    "We can and want to discuss our future course with everybody, but if certain ones want the country - now that it has achieved the impossible - to decide to commit 'suicide' this we cannot accept or discuss," the prime minister noted.

    [02] SYRIZA on the prime minister's speech for the 40th anniversary of ND

    Main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) on Sunday commented on Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' speech in the event marking the 40th anniversary of New Democracy party, noting that "when someone sees the disaster the country has experienced as a prescription for success that has to continue, he has either lost contact with reality or he is saying that as a joke".

    "Something that is old, unsuccessful and antisocial, cannot be presented as being new. The Samaras policy has nothing to do with a new Greece," the SYRIZA announcement added.

    [03] FinMin, troika agree on draft budget outline, source reports

    Greece's finance ministry leadership and the troika representing Greece's international creditors have agreed on an outline of the draft budget for 2015 that forecasts a primary surplus "very close to 3 pct of GDP", a senior finance ministry source reported after the end of a meeting on Saturday.

    The source said the target will only be marginally lower than the original memorandum target of 3 pct and without any additional measures. It will include tax cuts announced by the prime minister at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), as well as sums for restoring salaries in the military starting in the current year. The full plan for the country's military personnel will be outlined in detail in the final version of the draft budget.

    The troika expressed "neither agreement or disagreement" with the figures of the outline and will continue to monitor everything until the final text of the draft budget is unveiled, the source added. He noted, however, that in recent years Greece has a good record in terms of its forecasts on financial figures and these cannot be strongly disputed by the representatives of its international lenders.

    The source also pointed out that the draft budget outline includes "upward and downward risks" that may or may not be confirmed in the final version to be tabled in Parliament on Monday.

    He appeared optimistic that the present budget will stay on track, noting that the figures for revenues in September were moving slightly higher than targets and 16 pct higher than September 2013, while the initial signs for the collection of the Uniform Real Estate Ownership Tax (ENFIA) were reported as 'satisfactory'.

    The meeting with the troika was attended by Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.

    [04] Foreign ministry on Turkish announcement concerning Cyprus' EEZ and continental shelf

    Foreign ministry spokesman Konstantinos Koutras on Sunday stated the following in response to journalists' questions regarding a Turkish foreign ministry announcement on the exploitation of the EEZ and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus:

    "Turkey is aware, and at any rate ought to be aware, that respect for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in the EEZ and the continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus - that is, of a member state of the United Nations and the European Union - is an obligation for the whole of the international community. Cyprus cannot bear any further violation of international law. Turkey's European course and the course of the negotiations in Cyprus hinge on Turkey's conduct."

    [05] Greece doesn't need bailouts any more, FM Venizelos tells 'El Pais'

    Greece does not need a new bailout or the troika any more, government Vice President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos stressed in an interview with the Spanish newspaper 'El Pais' on Saturday.

    Venizelos ruled out a new bailout for Greece: "Our goal is to avoid any discussion about a new programme because on an economic and fiscal level, we are in a position to proceed without it. We don't need the troika any more," he stressed.

    The head of the PASOK party, the junior partner in Greece's coalition government, stressed that Greece now had an opportunity to "turn over a new leaf" and to start exiting the crisis and the memorandum agreements. At the same time, he emphasised that the "primary factor for a real change is political stability, a new narrative, and the citizens' confidence in the prospects of life after the crisis".

    He also indirectly criticised the severity of the austerity policy imposed by Brussels, noting that "this rapid and harsh fiscal adjustment was not our choice."

    Questioned about PASOK's dramatic decline in opinion polls, Venizelos partly assumed responsibility, saying that the party had "decided to fight the crisis alone, without the necessary consensus and shared responsibility of other parties, especially the conservatives of ND". He said PASOK might be able to regain its base by "regrouping the democratic faction, the centre-left."

    [06] Venizelos on the election of a new president of the republic

    Government vice-president and PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos in an interview in the Sunday edition of VIMA newspaper underlined that there will be "no new loan, memorandum or troika", adding "this is what they want those who worry that their existence will be at stake if there is no more crisis, memorandums or troika".

    Referring to the president of the republic, he said that the candidate for the office expresses the nation's unity and not the government.

    On the likelihood of general elections if the necessary majority is not achieved in parliament to elect a new president of the republic, he said that the people will be called to make a choice, adding that he has "confidence in the Greek people's instinct".

    [07] Governments get vote of confidence from people, Tsipras tells SYRIZA youth festival

    Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Sunday stressed that governments got votes of confidence from the electorate "and not from themselves," while addressing a festival organised by the SYRIZA youth party.

    "They are seeking a vote of confidence from their MPs because they don't trust their MPs...they are extorting some sort of discipline from their own camp, which is riddled with griping, nervous breakdowns and 'every man for himself'-type actions," he said, adding that the government's MPs should instead be asking for proof that the government trusts them.

    Tsipras stressed that Greece was still a democracy, though the memorandum years had taken their toll, and that this democracy would be defended by the people and the young, "as the Constitution demands". He also stressed that, in a democracy, no government could survive without the support of the social majority and no government had the right to "rip up, destroy and consent to the country's and peoples' bonds without consulting the people."

    "A vote of confidence is not given to governments by themselves. The vote of confidence is given by the people. And it is given openly and cleanly, through elections. If they really want a vote of confidence, if the confidence of the people has some meaning for them, then the path is clear: the ballot box is there," SYRIZA's leader stressed.

    [08] Tsipras: SYRIZA 'the only political force that can negotiate for a better future'

    The climate in Europe is changing and main opposition SYRIZA "is the only political force that can negotiate a better future for the Greek economy," SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras claimed in an article published on Saturday by the Greek newspaper "Efimerida ton Syntakton".

    According to Tsipras, the model based on austerity and the troika "is dying under the weight of the Greek failure" and a growing number of voices were questioning both austerity and German "paternalism".

    He openly criticised Prime Minister Antonis Samaras for failing to demand that the "noose" around Greece's neck be loosened but instead "asked for it to remain tight, prompted by the strategy of the good and obedient student, who not only does his lessons well but also 'tells' on his classmates to the teacher."

    Rather that leading the call for a change in policy and denouncing the tragic results of internal devaluation, Samaras was showing "remarkable tenacity in the self-flagellation of the 'success' story," Tsipras added, while at the same time isolating Greece from its natural allies in Europe and those pushing for a relaxation of austerity.

    Tsipras stressed that Greece now had all the potential to say 'enough' and bring forth a 'new hope' in Europe, adding that the country's image was not the same as in 2010 and everyone now understood that the Greek people were a scapegoat and unjustly made to suffer.

    "For this reason, Europe now listens to SYRIZA. It does not 'exorcise' it," he added, pointing out that the European Central Bank and other central European institutions have announced a series of measures in the way of quantitative easing.

    Tsipras also insisted that European institutions allowed margins of negotiation "between equal partners and not lenders who demand and borrowers that carry out."

    "All this shows that Samaras neither wants to nor is able to negotiate. Precisely because he has now identified with the memorandum and destruction. Because he also believes deeply in the destructuve policies of internal devaluation," SYRIZA's leader said, while promising a series of measures to give society relief and to revive the domestic market and demand.

    [09] KKE general secretary Koutsoumbas says SYRIZA is not the alternative solution to today's anti-popular policy

    Opposition Communist Party (KKE) general secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas did not rule out the possibility that the government's initiative to seek a vote of confidence could be associated with the problems in the government coalition parties of New Democracy and PASOK.

    In an interview in Real News newspaper, he said that the people should display no tolerance to the government moves and the political games surrounding the election of the president of the republic.

    He did not rule out the likelihood of general elections soon, noting that the people should make use of their experience and stop the "blind dates".

    On main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA), he said that "it has adjusted its policy to more realistic proposals that favour capital holders," adding that a SYRIZA government "will not constitute an alternative solution to today's anti-popular policy".

    Koutsoumbas said that the minimum preconditions set by KKE for a social popular alliance that will lead the country out of the crisis and allow the people and the young to have a better life, include the socialization of natural and produced wealth, disengagement from the EU and NATO, unilateral write off of the debt that was not created by the people, immediate abolition of all enabling laws, memorandums and reactionary clauses and adoption of immediate measures to tackle the acute problems faced by low income earners.

    [10] KKE's Koutsoumbas addresses PAME rally in Omonia

    Addressing a rally organised by the Communist Party-affiliated trade union group PAME in Athens on Saturday, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas called on workers Greece to organise through their trade unions and join the workers' struggle.

    "There message is one: No waiting, steer clear of the delusions spread by the disorientating two-party squabbles in Parliament, organise the popular struggle now through the unions, together with PAME, with other militant groupings, with the organisation of the Popular Alliance, by reinforcing KKE everywhere," he said.

    The rally was held to demonstrate against high unemployment and the problems faced by the jobless. Other rallies were also organise by PAME in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki and elsewhere, while its campaign will peak with the nationwide rally on November 1.

    Koutsoumbas called for universal employment, steady and permanent jobs for all, collective agreements and wages starting at 751 euros a month, with the return of the 13th and 14th 'bonus' salaries.

    [11] Kouvelis re-elected president of Democratic Left party

    Fotis Kouvelis was re-elected as president of the Democratic Left at the party's congress on Sunday, with 68.34 pct of the vote, receiving 503 out of a total of 745 votes. Rival candidate Dimitris Loukas received a total of 155 votes, or 21.01 pct of votes cast, while 79 delegates or 10.71 pct abstained.

    After the result was announced, Kouvelis said that DIM.ar is returning totally to political life and wants to meet its obligations toward society in order to bring the country out of the crisis with its people 'still standing'. "It is a force of responsibility for change and will strive steadfastly, with its positions and ideas, for solutions to the country's major porblems," he said.

    The results of a vote to elect the party's new Central Committee are expected to be announced late on Sunday night.

    [12] DIM.AR MPs ask Kouvelis not to stand for re-election as party leader

    Close aids of Democratic Left (DIM.AR) party leader Fotis Kouvelis on Saturday stressed that he will be standing for re-election as DIM.AR's president "in any case".

    The announcement followed a request by a group of DIM.AR MPs that Kouvelis should not be a candidate for the party's leadership.

    The MPs announced their decision on Friday night, at an informal meeting held after the second day of DIM.AR's congress. They have counter-proposed Nikos Tsoukalis to lead the party as the most senior MP.

    Kouvelis has not replied.

    The members of the Parliamentary group involved have not yet said what their stance will be if he insists on standing.

    [13] Potami leader Theodorakis calls for common European asylum system, guarding of borders exclusively by Frontex

    Potami party leader Stavros Theodorakis on Sunday called for a "common European Asylum System to grant European asylum and not just Greek, Italian or Spanish to those eligible," adding that "together with the Italians we should demand that the borders be exclusively guarded by Frontex".

    Speaking in a central square in Athens' Agios Panteleimonas district, Theodorakis explained that "those who need protection namely, the refugees who leave their countries to save their lives, should be given shelter by Europe and not only by Greece," adding that "economic migrants who, enter the country illegally, should be returned to their countries with the EU assistance."

    He suggested the establishment of a Coordinating Office on Migration to coordinate state agencies and save money and underlined the need for a policy promoting the social integration of migrants and refugees in cities nationwide based on their population. He also underlined the need for the implementation of rules by local administration on the number of migrants and their living conditions.

    Theodorakis said that migrants and refuges in Greece should learn the Greek language and respect the European values, noting that gender equality and the education of children are inviolable terms for those who wish to live in Greece.

    Present in the event were Potami MEPs Giorgos Grammatikakis and Miltos Kyrkos.

    [14] Opinion poll gives SYRIZA 3.7 pct lead over New Democracy

    Main opposition SYRIZA was given a 3.7 point lead over ruling coalition leader New Democracy in an e-Voice opinion poll published by the Sunday newspaper "Typos tis Kyriakis".

    Specifically, in answer to the question "Which party would you vote for if elections were held on Sunday?", SYRIZA took the lead with 21.2 pct and ND came second with 17.5 pct. Support for the remaining parties was as follows: Golden Dawn - 5.3 pct, Potami - 4.6 pct, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) - 4.4 pct, PASOK - 3.9 pct. A further 8.3 pct supported 'other parties'.

    The poll showed that all parties had very low voter support, however, with another 16.7 pct of respondents saying they were undecided and 12.2 pct replying that they would not vote at all.

    In reply to whether the country should hold early elections, voters appeared to almost evenly divided, with 46.2 pct replying 'no' and 45 pct replying 'yes'.

    Asked which inspired the most confidence as prime minister, current premier Antonis Samaras took the lead with 35.7 pct, with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras receiving 31.9 pct.

    Financial News

    [15] Labour ministry project on the codification of social insurance legislation

    The labour and social insurance legislation is in the process of codification with Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis stating that "it is an unbelievably huge task".

    According to figures released by the ministry of labour, the material that has been codified covers the period from 1940 until today and concerns 80 existing and merged social insurance funds, areas and sectors of social insurance (main / supplementary pensions, lump sum payments, health insurance).

    A total of 5,436 laws, decrees, ministerial decisions and explanatory circulars were collected recorded and codified in addition to 2,800 court rulings and 26 community and international law clauses.

    The work done so far was based on 38,495 pages of laws and clauses regulating the social insurance benefits.

    According to labour ministry officials, 50 pct of the project has been completed while the remaining part will be ready by October 2015. The qualitative evaluation of existing laws and case laws will be delivered by March 2015 followed by a draft law on the Social Insurance Sector Code.

    After the project is completed the Greek state and the social insurance recipients will have at their disposal a simplified, updated and codified institutional framework with no obsolete and overlapping clauses and with the rights of the social insurance recipients intact.

    [16] Energy minister has meeting with Edison's management in Milan

    Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis held a meeting with the management of the Italian energy firm Edison in Milan on Sunday, receiving the latter's pledge to participate in hydrocarbon exploration, take advantage of investment opportunities in electricity and use new infrastructure in natural gas. Maniatis is in Italy to attend the EU energy ministers' council scheduled to take place on Monday.

    The Edison group currently has a significant presence in Greece via Elpedison, which is participating in a consortium with Hellenic Petroleum and Ellaktor and recently obtained a licence to prospect for hydrocarbons in the western Patras Gulf with Hellenic Petroleum and Petroceltic.

    Edison CEO Bruno Lescoeur said that he had confirmed in talks with Maniatis the company's commitment to hydrocarbon exploration in Greece, in addition to its existing presence in the electricity market, announcing Edison's participation in a new bid round for exploration concessions and for the IGI and IGB natural gas pipelines being build with the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA).

    "This infrastructure will offer Italy, Greece and the Balkans signficant access to the new major reserves of the Eastern Mediterranean. We believe this is a strategic opportunity for all the countries involved and, of course, an opportunity to make the opening of the Southern Corridor faster and more competitive," he added.

    Maniatis said the meeting gave him the opportunity to see the progress in implementing various important initiatives and confirm the Greek government's support for investment plan that Edison is carrying out through established partnerships with large Greek companies.

    "Especially, I underlined to Edison's management the great importance that our government places on the gradual opening of the electricity market and the development of hydrocarbon fields in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean for the benefit of Greece, the Balkan peninsula and the Italian market," he said.

    In this framework, the minister added, he had repeated the Greek government's full commitment to a rapid implementation of the IGB and IGI pipelines. "In parallel to promoting development of the East-Med pipeline, IGB is a basic, strategic choice for the Balkans, while IGI Poseidon will secure the export to Italy of new quantities of natural gas from Greece and the Mediterranean, in the framework of free and fully competitive development of new natgas routes," he said.

    General News

    [17] Death toll reaches five in Egnatia highway pile-up; brakes failed says arrested truck driver

    The death toll from the multi-car pile-up that took place on the Egnatia motorway earlier on Sunday had climbed to five by the evening, after one man died during surgery, while the count for those injured had risen to 30. In statements after his arrest, the 39-year-old foreign truck driver that ploughed into at least 30 cars told police that his brakes had failed.

    The tragic accident occurred on the Egnatia Odos national motorway near the village of Messi, at the intersection between Veria and Kouloura, at 10:20 am on Sunday morning. It was caused when a truck with Romanian license plates crashed into a line of cars brought to a standstill by roadworks. According to police, the truck was loaded with 19 tonnes of freight.

    Central Macedonia Fire Brigade commander Chyssanthos Athanassopoulos told ANA-MPA that more than 30 cars were involved in the collision, which happened on the Veria-Thessaloniki lane, among them three large trucks. The cars were smashed together into a single mass and some caught fire.

    The response by emergency service was immediate, with authorities rushing to the scene to extricate people trapped in the wreckage. Four people pulled out dead at the site of the accident, including two Greek women aged 53, a 42-year-old Greek man and a Bulgarian national of unknown age. A fifth man who was seriously injured died on the operating table at a Thessaloniki hospital later the same day.

    More than 30 people with injuries were taken to hospital, either in ambulances or in private cars. Two infants, aged six months and 1.5 years, were reported to be in grave condition.

    The fire brigade commander also said that two vehicles, a private car and a truck, were destroyed by fire and charred remains were found in the private car.

    Police arrested the 39-year-old driver of the truck that caused the accident, as well as the 42-year-old supervisor left in charge by the contractor carrying out the roadworks. Under questioning, the driver said that he had seen electronic signs warning motorists of the roadworks ahead, as well as two workers with flags, but that his brakes blocked and he was unable to reduce speed, especially since the road was downhill at that point.

    Both the driver and the supervisor will be held in custody until Monday, when they will be led before a Veria public prosecutor. According to the latest reports, the driver is to be charged with manslaughter through negligence, while the supervisor will face charges in connection with transport offences.

    The lanes from Thessaloniki to Veria were opened again to traffic shortly after 17:00 on Sunday, while the opposite lane heading from Veria to Thessaloniki remains closed, with traffic diverted onto other roads.

    [18] Staboulos will be remanded in custody

    Suspected member of terror group Revolutionary Struggle Antonis Staboulos, 31, who was arrested last week in Athens' Vyronas district outside a garage known to be used by convicted terrorist Nikos Maziotis, will be remanded in custody following his testimony on Sunday before examining magistrate Eftihis Nikopoulos.

    He is charged with being a member of a terror group, explosion, possession of explosives, theft, forgery, resisting arrest, false testimony and gun possession.

    According to information, the defendant refused to testify until he reads the indictment against him.

    At the time of his arrest on Wednesday night, Staboulos was carrying a rucksack that seemed to give details of a planned terrorist strike on October 4, the founding anniversary of New Democracy party. Evidence associated with the explosion at the Bank of Greece in Athens in April 2014, for which Maziotis has claimed responsibility, was also found.

    [19] Albanian man stabbed in fight between Domokos prison inmates

    A 39-year-old prisoner was rushed to Lamia hospital on Sunday after he was stabbed in a fight that broke out between inmates at Domokos prison, including the notorious Albanian convict Alket Rizaj. Doctors said that the 39-year-old was not in danger.

    The reasons by 40-year-old Rizaj and two other Albanian inmates, aged 32 and 27 years old, attacked the stabbing victim with a makeshift knife remain unknown. When prison guards attempted to break up the fight, they were also threatened by the three and had to call for back-up in order to rescue the 39-year-old.

    The injured man was initially taken to the Domokos health centre and then the Lamia hospital. A search of the prison revealed two makeshift metallic 'blades'.

    [20] Malfunction causes power outtage on Rhodes on Saturday

    The island of Rhodes, one of the top tourist destinations in the country, was without power from 5:20 on Saturday morning until about midday, as a result of a serious malfunction in a power unit on the island that took down the entire power grid.

    The power outtage also took the Rhodes wind park offline and severely hampered efforts to get it running again.

    No problem were reported at the island's hospital and airport, however, where emergency power generators kicked in without any problems.

    [21] Moderate quake rocks Sitia, Crete

    A moderate quake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred at 15:27 on Saturday, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens and the Geophysics Laboratory of Thessaloniki University.

    The earthquake's epicentre was 380 km southeast of Athens, in a region of sea 14 km east of Sitia, Crete.

    [22] Two tremors reported in Peloponnese, south of Crete

    Two earthquakes measuring about 4.5 and 4.8 on the Richter scale were reported in the early hours of Saturday, one near Dimitsana, Arcadia in the Peloponnese and the second in the sea region south of the island of Crete.

    According to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens and the Geophysics Laboratory of the University of Thessaloniki, a 4.8-Richter magnitude earthquake shook the south of Crete at 1:20 local time. The epicentre of the quake was located 445 kilometres south southeast of Athens and 59 kilometres south southeast of Zakros on Crete.

    A quake estimated at 4.5-Richter by the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and 4.4 Richter by the Geodynamic Institute in Athens and the Geophysics Laboratory in Thessaloniki occurred at 3:12 on Saturday and was felt strongly throughout the Peloponnese.

    The epiceture of the quake was 148 kilometres west southwest of Athens, 19 kilometres north of Tripoli and 23 kilometres south southwest of Dimitsana, occurring at a depth of two kilometres. No damages have been reported.

    [23] One arrest in Halkidiki for overdue debts to the state

    A 36-year-old man was arrested in Kassandria, Halkidiki, in northern Greece, for millions of euros in overdue debts to the state, it was announced on Sunday.

    The arrest was made for debts amounting to 12,624,141.29 euros.

    [24] Three foreign nationals arrested on weapons charges

    Three Bulgarian nationals aged 40, 39 and 34 years old, respectively, have been arrested by police in Promahonas, Serres for violating weapons laws.

    The three were arrested on Friday after police found a gun and ammunition hidden in the boot of the car they were driving, as well as two knives. They will be led before a Serres public prosecutor.

    [25] Memorial service for the 71th anniversary of Ligiades massacre in WWII

    A memorial service and a wreath laying ceremony were held on Sunday marking the 71st anniversary of the WWII Nazi atrocities in the village of Ligiades in Epirus, northwest Greece.

    On October 3, 1943, the Nazis executed 81 people in Ligiades, including infants, small children, women and elderly people, while the village was burned down.

    Weather forecast

    [26] Clouds, rain on Monday

    More wet and stormy weather is forecast on Monday, especially in northern, central and western parts of the country. Winds will blow from mainly easterly directions, with wind velocity ranging from 3-7 Beaufort. Temperatures will be between 12C and 24C. Cloudy and wet in Attica, with temperatures from 15C-24C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 13C-19C.

    [27] The Sunday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

    AVGHI: Swan song

    DIMOKRATIA: Fire terrorists - Military-style operation burned down Greece in 2007

    ELEFTHEROTYPIA: They give breadcrumbs and take souls

    ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: The die is cast for tax reliefs and debts

    ETHNOS: Golden Dawn's skeletons in the closet

    KATHIMERINI: Double message by Prime Minister Samaras ahead of the election of the president of the republic

    LOGOS: Government counts the first "noes"

    RIZOSPASTIS: No waiting! Organized struggle with strong KKE

    TO VIMA: Extensive haircut to loans, taxes, contributions

    VRADYNI: Early retirement based on the old calculation system

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