The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-04-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] With Method and Plan" Satisfaction Over Vavilis' Arrest

By Betty Savourdou

In the meeting he had on Saturday morning at the Maximos Mansion with Minister of Public Order G. Voulgarakis, the Prime Minister expressed his content over Vavilis arrest, who is in the hands of the Italian Police since Friday. As for Mr Voulgarakis, he congratulated the Police for their success and announced that all actions have been taken for the extradition of Vavilis to Greece. "I would like to believe that the Italian authorities will accept the request," stressed Mr Voulgarakis. The minister stressed that with method, certainty and firm steps, the Greek Police used the existing information to reach this successful result. The Minister of Justice A. Papaligouras reassured that sooner or later Apostolos Vavilis will have to answer to Greek Justice.

Efforts in Many Countries

"There had been many efforts for his arrest during the previous period in many countries, but information was either inaccurate or untimely" said Mr Voulgarakis after the meeting and added that tracking efforts had even been made in Taiwan.

As the minister stressed, in the context of cooperation Greek authorities proceeded with the arrest of Italian outlaws in Greece, which resulted in the arrest of Vavilis by Italian authorities.

Mr Voulgarakis underlined that Apostolos Vavilis was not a top wanted man in Europe, but in the last places of the INTERPOL list.

Lastly, the Minister said he informed the PM on the ministry's affairs, as well as on the Traffic Police measures in view of the Easter holidays.

Case Before Greek Justice

The Minister of Justice A. Papaligouras said he will ask Italian authorities to allow a delegation of Greek justices to fly to the neighboring country and take a statement from the arrested man.

What is more, he stressed that Vavilis' extradition to Greek authorities could take some time because of a pending ruling in Italy, but it will be done eventually.

"I assure you that sooner or later Greek Justice will handle the Vavilis case," ended Anastasis Papaligouras.

Statements of Italian Flying Squad Chief

In a Press conference he gave in Bologna on Saturday, Flying Squad Chief Armando Nanei said that the arrest went down on Friday afternoon and that arrested Vavilis had a passport with the name Antonis Aivaliotis.

Vavilis arrived in Bologna on Thursday, where he spent the night at the house of his Italian friend, Licia Tandei, aged 64.

As per the Police, it is most likely that Tandei was not aware of Vavilis' activities. His arrest was achieved thanks to the close cooperation of Greek and Italian Police which were closely monitoring Vavilis for quite some time now.

Vavilis did not resist arrest and put on his cloth when asked to follow the police officers. He was not carrying a gun and a wig was found in his bag.

He has been taken to the Bologna prisons but he is not expected to testify before an Italian justice, as there are no charges pending against him in Italy.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[02] With New Economic Programme Berlusconi Forms New Government

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: ANA - NET 105.8

On Saturday, Silvio Berlusconi formed Italys new government, which he presented to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The Cabinet ministers were sworn into office late in the afternoon. The Health, Industry and Culture Ministers have been substituted. Furthermore, all economic affairs remain at the hands of Domenico Siniscalco, while Gianfranco Fini stays as Foreign Minister. As the Italian PM told reporters, one great change in the formation of the new government has been the return of former Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti. Earlier, Ciampi had ordered Berlusconi to form a new Government, after having officially accepted the latters resignation, following the crisis that erupted when the government coalition was split.

Parliament's Vote of Confidence

According to political analysts, Mr Tremonti, who resigned from the position of Economy and Finance Minister in July 0004, will probably be appointed Deputy PM, along with the leader of the National Alliance, Gianfranco Fini.

Silvio Berlusconi is hoping to receive a vote of confidence by the Italian Parliament next week, which will keep him in power until the next elections, around the middle of 2006.

As per the Italian PM, the governments top priorities include boosting the economy and employment, especially in the lower echelons.

Towards Forming Major Right-Wing Party

In the meantime, the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC) appeared in favour of Silvio Berlusconis idea to form a major right-wing party, based on the model of the European Peoples Party.

In an interview to newspaper Corriere della Serra , UCDs President, Rocco Buttiglione, explained that for a while now, he had been supporting the idea of a federation between Forza Italia, the conservative National Alliance (AN) and UDC, the three main parties in the government coalition.

This basically means that Lega Nord, the fourth party in the coalition, would be excluded from this federation.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[03] Government Plan Will Be Materialised No Cabinet Reshuffle Under Pressure

By Betty Savourdou

Speaking to the presidents of the ND Attica prefecture committees on Friday night, the Prime Minister said he is determined to proceed with the realization of the government plan, defying political cost. Mr Karamanlis stated he is the Prime Minister of all Greeks, while referring to Cabinet shuffle scenarios, he stressed "there can be no cabinet reshuffle under pressure." Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis gave a wide-ranging interview to the newspaper Kathimerini tis Kyrakis, where he revealed his plans for immediate reforms in crucial matters concerning Greek society. Mr Karamnlis refuted all rumours regarding a government reshuffling, while he denied implementing any new tax measures and declared he was determined to fight corruption.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[04] Turkish Coast-Guard Ship Departed New Provocation in the Aegean

By Betty Savourdou

A Turkish coastguard ship entered Greek sea waters at 10:00 on Saturday morning in the sea area of Imia and ousted a Greek fishing boat. It remained in the area until 13:20 monitored by a Greek Coast Guard vessel, at which point it left. A Turkish boat probably carrying a TV crew remained in the area for quite some time. After 17 December 2004, Greece and all the other EU member-states are the judges of Turkey in its course to the EU, said deputy minister of Foreign Affairs Evripidis Stylianidis from Komotini. Mr Stylianidis stressed that provocative actions do not help the European prospect of the neighboring country. As for the Turkish deputy minister of Foreign Affairs Erdan Arrat, he stated that these things happen with neighboring countries.

As the Turkish deputy minister said, the cooperation between Turkey and Greece in fields like Economy, reinforces the efforts to improve Greek-Turkish relations.

We could discuss all the above, concluded Erdan Arran, and deal with problems better after we will have become an EU member-state, just like Greece.

It is noted, that the last Turkish appearance in the area occurred ten days ago, while the Greek Foreign Minister was visit Ankara.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[05] Creation of Palestinian State Asian-African Summit

By Anna Kourti

Sources: ANA - Reuters

The proceedings of the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta concluded on Saturday with the declaration of a new Asian-African strategic partnership. "We reaffirmed that the Spirit of Bandung, which is the spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, continues to be a solid, relevant and effective foundation for fostering better relations among us," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said. The participating countries made a commitment to work towards promoting democracy, human rights, social progress, economic growth, freedom of religion, stamping out poverty and preventing natural disasters, while the declaration also called for the creation of a Palestinian state. Finally, the meeting between Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao, aiming to improve the relations between the two countries, was quite positive.

Palestinian People Deprived

The declaration mentioned that the participants are expressing their disapproval at the fact that, 50 years following the Bandung Summit in 1955, the Palestinian people are still being deprived of their right to independence. Furthermore, they will continue to support the Palestinians and help establish a viable and dominant Palestinian state, as per the UN resolution.

The Summit was attended by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as 50 country leaders and representatives from approximately 100 countries, who basically make up two thirds of humankind. On Sunday, the country leaders will travel to Bandung for a ceremony to commemorate the original meeting.

Between 18 and 24 April 1955, 29 Third World countries from Asia and Africa met in Bandung, 120km southeast of Jakarta. The Conference was considered historic, as it marked decolonization.

Indian President Nehru, Egyptian Nasser and Chinese Zhou Enlai were the key figures of the Conference, which heralded the future independent movement in a world marred by the Cold War.

The so-called Spirit of Bandung is based on the principles of equality for all nations, regardless of size, and refusal to serve the interests of the big powers by participating in a military coalition.

"Good Meeting" Between Jintao-Koizumi

Following the end of the Asia-African Summit in Jakarta, Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, in an effort to improve the relations between the two countries.

Mr Jintao declared that he wished for the best relations with Japan, however, Tokyo would have to reflect on its past actions, during WWII. Speaking after the meeting, the Chinese President stressed that the differences between the two Asian powers would have to be resolved through dialogue. Furthermore, he noted that Japan has to meet its commitments and not support the independence of Taiwan.

Mr Jintao pointed out that, despite the problems, China continues to seek friendly relations with Japan, however, it criticized Japan for not meeting its commitments concerning historical problems, while "deeply hurting" the feelings of the Chinese people.

Upon departing the hotel, Mr Koizumi described the meeting as "good." It should be noted that violent anti-Japanese rallies took place all over China last week, following the accusations Beijing launched against Japan over the latters efforts to play down the countrys wartime atrocities during WWII.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[06] Thirteen Dead Multi-Fatality Suicide Attacks

By Anna Kourti

Sources: Reuters - ANA

At least 11 Iraqi soldiers were killed and another 20 injured, when a car bomb exploded in Abu Ghraib, 30km west of Baghdad, on Saturday afternoon. Another two civilians were killed in another cam bomb attack close to an American outpost, west of Baghdad. Unconfirmed sources mentioned that three US soldiers were injured in the attack, while one American and two Iraqi military vehicles were destroyed. According to police, another two car bombs exploded on a highway close to Basra on Saturday, resulting in the injury of seven civilians.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] Main Aim Achieved The Komotini Treaty

By Anna Kourti

Sources: ANA

The 12th Meeting of Minister Foreign Affairs of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Member-States concluded with the signing of the Komotini Treaty. "During the new European perspective for the 21st century, BSEC is ready to play a key role in ensuring peace, stability and mutual understanding in volatile areas, including the Balkans and Caucasus, while at the same time bringing the countries of the Black Sea closer to the European Union," stated Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis. Furthermore, Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis pointed out that the main aim that had been set from the start, ie for the Black Sea and Southeastern European countries to approach the EU, is being achieved.

The Main Points

As per Mr Stylianidis, the main points of the Komotini Treaty are the following:

In the energy sector, new collaborations will be established In the transport sector, the connection of the road and railway networks of the Black Sea region to the European networks and the creation of sea routes that would join the Black Sea ports to the Aegean were decided during the Thessaloniki Summit In the public order sector, collaborations will be established to combat organized crime and people smuggling In the business sector, collaborations between businesses, assisted by international and European financial institutions, commenced following the Business Forum

In addition, Mr Stylianidis met with his foreign counterparts, on the sidelines of the Meeting. The proceedings were attended by the FMs and Deputy FMs of Greece, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Albania and Turkey.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[08] Pappas Saved Kalamaria

By Dimitris Alexopoulos

Apollo Kalamaria took a great step towards staying in the Greek football championships Division one, although it had trouble defeating Ergotelis by 1-0. Despite the absences of Petkakis, Spyropoulos and Muzawi, Gragan Kotokovics squad played with passion and with a goal by Charis Pappas in the 58 they achieved a valuable win. On the other hand, the Cretans are now close to relegation, since, following their loss, they remain in second last place with 19 points.

Determined to Win

Kalamaria started off the game strongly and aiming for a quick goal that would have taken the edge off. They pressured hard during the first 15 minutes, but could not convert the opportunities to goals. In the 3, Fytanidis header went wide, while in the 12, Cleytons header was blocked by Chaniotakis. The Cretans were able to balance the game, but in the 15, they proved unlucky, since following Andos corner, Soutzis kick went wide.

In the 19, Wellingtons kick was blocked by Chaniotakis once again, while in the 28, Kalamaria had its greatest opportunity to score. Iliadis passed the ball to Pappas, who kicked from up close, but Chaniotakis cleared the ball away, keeping his nets goalless.

The home team proved its superiority in the second half. In the 57, Charalambakis passed to Pappas who kicked from the box and gave his team a 1-0 lead.

After that, Kalamaria had a couple more chances to double its goals. In the 59, Wellingtons kick went wide, while in the 64, Chaniotakis cleared Cleytons free kick away to a corner.

In the 81, Cleyton entered the box and kicked to Pappas, who tried for the goal. The ball initially hit Dimitris leg and then it hit the hand of one of Ergotelis players. The referee allowed the game to continue, despite protests by the home team. So, the match finished with a score of 1-0.

Referee: Finokaliotis

Yellow Cards: Parmaxidis, Haxhi, Vella, Ogunsoto, Sylla, Charalambakis

APOLLO KALAMARIA: Zafiroroulos, Fytanidis, Papdopoulos NH, Papadopoulos NA, Cleyton, Iliadis, Parmaxidis, Haxhi, Vella Junior (89 Genitsaridis), Pappas, Wellington (90+ Orfanos).

ERGOTELIS: Chaniotakis, Charambakis (75 Parvu), Argyrakis, Dimitris, Sylla, Soutzis, Falemi, Spyridakis (61 Lambrakis), Ogunsoto, Mazibuko (58 Schlichting), Ando.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[09] All Even in Neapoli

By Stathis Petropoulos

Ionikos has taken a step closer to salvation, since in the match that signalled the beginning of the 27th round in the Greek football championship, it tied against PAOK in Neapoli with a score of 1-1. Although the visitors led in the score, they slowed down after that, and as a result Ionikos was able to impose its pace and chase the draw. This did not come about easily, especially due to Fernades, but it is the end result that counts. PAOKs goalkeeper was the man of the match, and not just for his great saves, but also because he was replacing the main goalkeeper, Tochouroglou. Even though the teams coach picked a relatively easy match to give him the chance to practice, the Portuguese goalkeeper rose to the challenge.

Great Start

PAOKs goal came early on in the 7 and mainly due to Ionikos lukewarm defence. Beqaz saved Foucinis free kick, but as the ball bounced back, Salpingidis jumped in and scored the goal. Ionikos first opportunity to tie the score came in the 11, but Issas free kick was cleared away by Fernandes, who did the same in the 25, following a long kick by Makor. PAOK tried to up its performance, but kept being hampered by Ionikos defence. So, basically, only a few opportunities to score came up.

Target Achieved

Nothing really changed in the second half, apart from a couple of substitutions. Zivkovic replaced tired-looking Makor and Giasemakis substituted Megahead, who was injured. Actually, his injury looked quite serious, especially following his concussion in the match against Olympiacos. However, the home teams efforts bore fruit in the 69. Zisopoulos made a tragic error, so Gutman saw his chance and ran for the nets, passing Fernandes and scoring a goal.

Referee: Styliaras Yellow Cards: Lettieri (4th card), Coimbra, Vaghelis (4th card)

IONIKOS (Vangelis Vlachos): Beqaz, Ofridopoulos, Vourexakis, Issa, Makor (57 Zivkovic), Lettieri, Tsimblidis (6 Roka), Coimbra, Gutman (76 Natsouras), Gavrilopoulos, Ucar.

PAOK (Nikos Karageorgiou): Fernandes, Karypidis, Megahead (63 Giasemakis), Koutsopoulos, Theodoridis, Zisopoulos (75 Vaghelis), Andralas, Foucini (80 Zavantias), Egomitis, Salpingidis, Mieciel.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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