The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-09-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] Start With Problems State DOE and OLME First Bell Has Rang

By Jenny Charalampidou

As of today, 1.5 million students attending elementary, middle and high school have started getting used to the new school year routine. "Education and culture are the lifelong investment for everyone and the new generation," stated Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. The Federation of Secondary School Teachers of Greece (OLME) and the Greek Primary Teachers Federation (DOE) stated that there are serious insufficiencies in schoolbooks and educators. "The Ministry of Education has acted on the issue of filling empty positions in time," stated Marietta Giannakou. The Traffic Police is focused at investigating school busses and vehicles chartered by educational institutions.

PM: "Qualitative Educational System"

During his visit to the Agios Dimitrios 6th elementary school Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis wished the children a safe and happy school year. The PM stated that our duty is for reforms and efforts to be made in order for our educational system to become more qualitative and worthy of the demands of youngsters and the times.

"Greek women and men have set education and culture as their first priority, with the belief that it is the most valuable investment for mankind and the new generation. Our aim and wish is that children, under the best circumstances, develop their creative abilities and ensure a better future for themselves and for Greece. It is our duty to make these necessary reforms and efforts, in order for our educational system to become more qualitative, and mainly worthy of the youngsters expectations and the demands of the era. With the above thoughts I would like to wish all the students, their families and teachers a healthy and good year."

Accusations by OLME and DOE

OLME and DOE speak of important insufficiencies in educators and schoolbooks for the new school year.

Minister of Education Marietta Giannakou, speaking to NET 105.8, said that the educational community is at the service of students and their parents, for the solution of problems, and stated that the Ministry of Education has acted on the issue of filling empty educators positions.

"Every year reality contradicts the current political leaderships. This year we will have serious insufficiencies in the educational personnel and in books as well," stated OLME Vice President Thomas Akritas to NET 105.8.

Wishes For a Creative School Year

Minister of Justice Anastasis Papaligouras attended the Holy Blessing in the Youth Prison in Avlonas.

PASOK President George Papandreou visited the Chalandri 5th elementary school and following inaugurated the Polish School in Cholargos, while SYN President Alekos Alavanos visited the Perama high school.

Safe School Buses

In the meantime, a crew of the Athens Prefecture performed strict checks, which resulted in the detection of five out of eight vehicles committing serious violations, while their license plates were removed and fines totalling 700 euros were imposed.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

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Returning to School

[02] An Original Political Party in Sweden Make Love Not Marriage

By Vagelis Theodorou

"No" to marriage and "Yes" to polygamy is the motto that perfectly suits a new political party appearing in Sweden and running for the peoples vote in the forthcoming 2006 elections. Feminist Initiative (FI), which hopes to receive 20% of the voters, is a womens only party and pledges its supporters of abolishing marriage, claiming, "it is not love but ownership." And if you are wondering what type of sexual relationship FI supports, its leader Tiina Rosenberg replies: "Instead of marriage we want to promote a co-habitation law that ignores gender and allows more than two people in a partnership." However, she states that the so-called type, which is not any different from a commune or a modern harem, does not mean a fall back to patriarchal structure and the man ordering the wife about. However, the FI goes further and in order to attract male voters states that it will implement a six-hour workday.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

[03] A Study by British Scientists Alzheimer's Disease Speaks

By Vagelis Theodorou

Sources: Reuters

Scientists are a step nearer to the creation of an improved detection test for Alzheimers disease. As per a study by British scientists presented at the British Association, a simple word test can allow the fast and early detection of the disease. The scientific team of the University of York in collaboration with the Universities of Hull and Aberdeen asked 96 patients and 40 healthy persons to name as many animals, and following fruits, as they could in one minute. As they discovered, the Alzheimers patients had a limited vocabulary that did not include words rarely heard or learned later in life. "Just by looking at the characteristics of the words people produced you could correctly determine whether somebody came from the group of healthy controls or the Alzheimers patients," stated Professor Andy Ellis of York University.

Counting Words

As per the findings of the research, healthy persons could mention 20-25 in average, at the time when Alzheimers patients could only say 10-15. According to the scientists the "lost" words were the ones learned by patients later on in child life and used less in their daily life.

Common words such as "dog" and "cat," which are learned before the age of 5 were mentioned by both groups. On the other hand, words such as "giraffe" and "zebra" which are learned later on and rarely used, were not included in the patients vocabulary.

Actually, the word loss was so apparent that the scientists could recognise the healthy persons from the patients based only on the words stated.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

[04] After 30 Years Occupation is Over

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: BBC, ANA

This morning a final end was put to the 30-year Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip after the withdrawal of the last Israeli soldier. At 07:30 Brigadier Aviv Kochavi, the commander of Israeli forces in Gaza, closed the gate in the border station of Kisufim and attended the special withdrawal ceremony. "The mission has been accomplished and an era has ended," stated the Israeli Brigadier. "Today is a day of joy and happiness for all Palestinians," stated head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. " Today a part of Palestine has been liberated and we hope that the example will be followed in the West Bank and Jerusalem," the Palestinian President said.

Pandemonium in Streets

Straight after the Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian policemen boarded on buses and developed in the area. In the now free settlements, thousands of Palestinians staged rallies, singing and shooting in the air. The people set fire to at least three synagogues in the settlements of Kfar Darom, Netzarim and Morag.

Earlier, the Israeli Cabinet had decided to not level the synagogues, regardless of the previous decision for their demolition.

The Israeli action caused the strong discontent of the Palestinian Authority, as its spokespersons stated that they could not guarantee the security of the buildings announcing that the synagogues will be brought down.

Israel is aimed at maintaining the strict border checks to and from the Gaza Strip, while at the same time it will inspect shorelines and the FIR of the area.

The first Jewish settlement given to the Palestinians was Naveh Dekalim, where the policemen raised the Palestinian flag in the headquarters.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

Related News:

Gaza Strip Liberated

[05] Greek Experts in London Statements by British Mechanics

By Vagelis Theodorou

The statements of the two British mechanics of the Helios Company are very important in relation with the air tragedy in Grammatiko. A team of the Greek Air Accidents and Incidents Investigative Committee, led by Akrivos Tsolakis, have arrived in London and within the day are expected to meet with the two mechanics possibly in the British committees offices in Farnborough. In the meantime, Allan Irwin, one of the three mechanics, speaking to the Sunday Times stated that the Boeing was flight worthy. "The mechanics have nothing to hide and they are not worried," he stated, adding that the Helios aircrafts are of "excellent quality." However, the mechanic refused to answer questions over the check he performed in the flying coffin before it took off on its last flight.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

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Important Evidence

[06] Crews in New Orleans Started Working Collection of Bodies

By Vagelis Theodorou

The Authorities of Louisiana have given a new formal account of Hurricane Katrina victims, at the time when rescue crews continue collecting the dead from the contaminated water. As per the latest evidence, the dead have exceeded 400 and most of the bodies have been taken to the Saint Gabriel Morgue. In the meantime, the Authorities of the State have began sprayings with a C-130 in order to stop the spread of mosquitoes and other insects, and to control dangerous diseases. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that commercial flights to and from the airport have recommenced, while crews are speedily continuing the clean up. At the same time, US President George W Bush is visiting the stricken areas for the third time, while criticism on his handlings continue. Actually, as per an opinion poll by Newsweek , only 38% of Americans has a positive opinion of the President, while 52% does not think he is capable of taking the right decisions in handling crises, neither domestically nor internationally.

Bush Visits Stricken Areas

On Sunday night, President Bush arrived in New Orleans and was welcomed by the Mayor of the city and Vice Admiral Allen who replaced the Under Secretary of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michael Brown.

Mr Bush spent the night in USS Iwo Jima and the Chiefs of the rescue crews will brief him this morning over the water pumping work. Following, he will tour the city with a military vehicle and will meet with local officials.

Apart from the peoples anger and political criticism, the American President is receiving strong blows by international and domestic Press. In particular, many articles are using the example of how the Authorities of China reacted, as the country was hit by Khanun typhoon. As it is stated, the death toll of the typhoon was 14 persons and 8 unaccounted for, since the Authorities evacuated at least 1mn people and led thousands of others to ships in ports.

However, the re-operation of the Louis Armstrong Airport will offer an important contribution for the rebuilding of the city, since port facilities are expected to operate on Wednesday.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

Related News:

Nightmare Under Water

[07] A Few Votes Separate the Two Candidates Election Time for Norwegians

By Vagelis Theodorou

Some 3.4 million Norwegians are arriving in polling stations for the emergence of the new Parliament. The election showdown is described as undecided, since the latest opinion polls show a neck-to-neck battle between the governing centre-right coalition and the left-wing Opposition. The ballot boxes opened at 10:00 and will close at 21:00 local Greek time, while some election centres opened in Oslo on Sunday. As per the latest opinion polls, only a few votes separate the outgoing centre-wing coalition led by 58-year-old PM Kjell Magne Bondevik and the left-wing Opposition led by 46-year-old Labour former PM Jens Stoltenberg, while 10% of the people state that they are undecided. And while the two contenders seem suitable for winning the majority of 85 seats, 169 in total of the Parliament, the far-right Progress Party, an unofficial ally of the governing party, announced that it its renewal of support depends on the withdrawal of Mr Bondevik, as it accuses him of not offering it a place in the "great government of the right." However, analysts stated that the result of the election is not expected to bring forth important changes in the countrys policy, which the UN ranks in the top of the countries with the greatest prosperity for the last five consecutive years.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

[08] Federer Dominates the US

By Ilias Papaioannou

Swiss champion Roger Federer for the men and Belgian champion Kim Clijsters for the women triumphed in the 2005 US Open. In the mens final in New York, Federer ended American Andre Agassis dream of a third crown, since he won the match with 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1. So now, the Belgian tennis player counts six Grand Slam titles and demonstrated once again that he deserves to be ranked world No 1. With this trophy, Federer equalled the titles won by Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg and now aims at reaching Pete Sampras's record of 14. On the other hand, in the womens final, Clijsters (No 4) easily defeated Mary Pierce of France with 6-3, 6-1.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[09] They Were Superior

By Dimitris Alexopoulos

Agritis goal just in the 10 was enough to secure Egaleos victory against Akratitos, during the match in Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium. This was Egaleos first win this season, while it should be noted that the two teams have played six times in Egaleos home pitch and Akratitos has never even managed to score a tie. The team from Ano Liossia counts six losses in six games in Egaleo.

Nerves and Performances at Times

Playing against a team, which, as was the case in the opening match of the season, had 10 foreigners in its lineup, Egaleo took control of the game from the start. This paid off in the 10, when Agritis caught a header from Tsatsos corner kick, scoring a goal.

Egaleo continued to dominate and in the 13, Manousakis was just beaten at the ball by Stelea, while in the 19, Chloros long kick did not find its mark.

The game slowed down from that point onwards and the match became tougher. As a result, referee Pamboridis was forced to show three yellow cards in six minutes, in an effort to calm the nerves.

In the 30, Egaleo lost its scorer, as Agritis was substituted by Cesarec, because he was experiencing some injury problems.

In the 36, Cezarecs kick from outside the box went just wide, during the last effort by either team for the first half.

Just in the first minute of the second half, Egaleo threatened its opponent once again, but Nikolopoulos header off Cezarecs cross was cleared away by Stelea.

After that, the game took a turn a turn for the worse, while the man-to-man battles continued, resulting in one player from each team being sent off (Omo in the 65 for Egaleo and Marinescu five minutes later for Akratitos).

The final opportunity for the night came in the 87, but Sidibe saved Sales kick.

Referee: Pamboridis (Kilkis)

Yellow Cards: Tsatsos, Maric, Barkoglou Pipinis, Marinescu

Red Cards: Omo (65) Marinescu (70)

EGALEO: Sidibe, Papoutsis, Edusei, Psomas, Omo, Maric, Chloros (65 Zapropoulos), Tsatsos, Manousakis, Nikolopoulos (56 Barkoglou), Agritis (31 Cezarec)

AKRATITOS: Stelea, Paganin, Zuela, Pipinis, Obradovic, Macquet, Marinescu, Londo, Sales (87 Vandenbroeck), Vujovic, Gustavo.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[10] At Least They Won the Point

By Vasilis Kalpinos

Playing badly for the second time running, Panathinaikos did not mange to win its first three-pointer this season, tying against Ionikos with 1-1. The Greens showed their nasty face once again, while the home team demonstrated that they wanted to win more desperately. As for the actual match, Ionikos took the lead with Makor in the 7, while Malezanis team tied the score in the 52 with a successful penalty kick by Gonzales. Both teams finished the game with fewer players. Ionikos was left with 9, as Beqaj and Perrone were sent off, while Panathinaikos with 10, after Seric was shown a yellow-red card.

Goal Right from the Start

Ionikos got into the game right from the start. Just in the 6, Konstantinidis long kick forced Galinovic to intervene, which demonstrated what was to come next. One minute later, Makor scored a goal for the home team. The striker took advantage of Conceicaos error, entered Panathinaikos box and kicked the goal.

After overcoming the initial shock, Panathinaikos lashed out on the offence and tried to level the score. However, the opportunities did not pay off. In the16, Olisadebes kick went wide, while in the 37, Biscans rocket kick was saved by the Beqaj.

Ran Out of Gas

The visitors started off the second half in the best possible way. Panathinaikos was awarded a penalty in the 54, when Wooter received the ball after a great error by Poulopoulos, but was knocked over by Beqaj. At the same time, Ionikos was left with 10 players, as the Albanian goalkeeper was sent off. Gonzales kicked the penalty, scoring the first goal for his team.

Panathinaikos took control of the game from then onwards, but could convert the score. In the 72, the visitors started disputing with the referee, when Conceicao was knocked over in the box, after passing Kantimiris, but the referee just showed that the ball was wide.

The only excitement after that was that another two players were sent off. Panathinaikos Seric was shown a red card, after hitting Tsiblidis, who was accusing him of trying to force a penalty call by falling inside Ionikos box. In addition, Ionikos was left with 9 players, when Perrone was shown a yellow-red card. Nothing changed in the dying moments of the match, while Panathinaikos demonstrated that it has many problems to solve if they want to make it both in Greece and Europe.

Referee: Fotiadis (Thessaloniki)

Yellow Cards: Gutman, Makor, Da Costa, Perrone Seric, Gonzales

Red Cards: 50 Beqaj, 89 Perrone 77 Seric

IONIKOS: Beqaj, Tsiblidis, Da Costa, Melabianakis, Poulopoulos, Lettieri, Vourexakis, Gutman (50 Kantimiris), Makor, Konstantinidis (53 Pajuelo), Coimbra (80 Perrone)

PANATHINAIKOS: Galinovic, Vintra, Seric, Biscan (46 Charambidis), Goumas, Conceicao, Nilsson, Wooter (86 Darlas), Gonzales, Gekas, Olisadebe (69 Torghelle).

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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