The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-09-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] 568 Million Euros Have to Be Returned Hefty Penalty for O.A.

By Athina Saloustrou

The condemnatory, as was expected, decision made today by the College of Commissioners in Brussels signals the end of an era for the operation of Olympic Airlines in their present form. The Commission asked for the return of illegal grants, rising to 568 million euros, through which the Greek state financially supported Olympic Aviation and Olympic Airlines and which oppose Community legislation. At the same time, the Greek government has been given a two-month notice to take all necessary measures for the company's fate. As the Commission stated in the relevant announcement, this decision puts an end to the investigation that started on March 16, 2004, and which aimed at asserting whether the grants given by the Public Sector from December 2002 onwards were illegal or in accordance with Community Legislation. The announcement also read that in 2002, the Commission had passed a ruling requiring Olympic Airlines to return 160 million euros to the Greek Public Sector.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[02] Drowned in Blood

By Annita Paschalinou

Sources: Reuters

News agencies are broadcasting horror images from Baghdad, which was drowned in blood once again. At 07:00 on Wednesday morning, a suicide bomber scattered death in the Shia district of Kathimiya. The bomber drove his booby-trapped minibus against a crowd of people waiting in line to get a job. As per Interior Ministry sources, the suicide bomber asked people to come closer, because he allegedly wanted to offer them jobs.

Series of Attacks

He then blew up his minibus, which was loaded with at least 220kg of explosives.

Tragic death toll as per the Iraqi police, with 114 dead and over 160 injured. A while later, a new powerful blast shook the Al Andel district, in Baghdad.

The aim was an Iraqi convoy, where three soldiers lost their lives.

Ten minutes later, a third bomber blew himself up in Soula, resulting in the death of four civilians and the injury of another 22.

Almost at the same time, a new attack in eastern Baghdad was launched against American soldiers.

A US army spokesman said there was a fifth blast at another part of the Iraqi capital without any victims.

However, there seems to be no end to violence.

At 11:30 (Greek time), a new attack was reported in northern Baghdad, where at least 11 people lost their lives.

Mass Executions

In the early morning, gunmen invaded houses in Taji, north of the Iraqi capital, dragged 17 people outside their homes and executed them in cold blood.

The motive for these mass executions still remains unknown.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[03] Karamanlis' Historic Speech at SC

By Athina Saloustrou

Diplomatic cycles described todays participation and speech of Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis at the UNs Security Council Summit as "historic for the presence of Greece on the international political stage," considering that Greece is a non-permanent member of the body for the period 2005-2006. What is more, as per a diplomatic source, Secretary General Kofi Annan showed to understand the Greek stance over FYROMs name, after the meeting between Kostas Karamanlis and Mr Annan. As per the same source, the Greek Prime Minister repeated his welcomes Mathew Nimics initiative to repeat talks towards reaching an agreement for a mutually acceptable solution, which will contribute to the establishment of stability in the wider area and will significantly contribute to the further strengthening of relations between Greece and FYROM. Mr Karamanlis stressed Nimics proposal was rejected by the neighbouring countrys government. Regarding the Cypriot issue, the same source said that the Greek PM voiced his appreciation for Mr Annans personal implication in the issue with Cyprus, underlining he supports his efforts and that a new initiative should be carefully planned to avoid another failure and lead to the total solution of the problem. What is more, an announcement issued by the UN read that Kofi Annan and Kostas Karamanlis talked about Cyprus, FYROMs name, Kosovo and the UNs reformation. The same announcement also read that Mr Annans good services remain at the disposal of both sides regarding Cyprus.

The PM's Schedule

The Security Council meeting has been scheduled for 18:20 (Greek time). Earlier, the Prime Minister will attend the opening of the UN's Summit Meeting, where members will go over the Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000, as well as a series of issues on the United Nations reforms package.

Further more, Mr Karamanlis will have successive meetings with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, the Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Prime Minister of Albania.

At noon (local time), the Prime Minister will attend Kofi Annan's lunch in honour of state and government leaders participating in the Summit, while in the afternoon, Mr Karamanlis will meet with the President of Mexico and give an interview to the US Public Television (PBS)

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

Related News:

Karamanlis-Annan Meeting

PM Left for New York

[04] The Back Side of Crime

By Vagelis Theodorou

Romanian police arrested a very shrewd mobile phone thief. Mobile phone thefts keep increasing in Iasi, and one morning, the local police officers arrived at a bus stop, following a call placed by a passenger who saw a woman stealing a phone in a bus. The officers searched Petronela Brandus when she got off the bus, but they failed to find the phone. They then decided to call the number and heard a muffled ringing coming from under the womans dress. Mrs Brandus was immediately taken to the police station, where a strip search by female police officers revealed she had hidden it up her bottom! "Weve had people hiding things in their bras and knickers before, but this was a new one," said officer Madalin Taranu. As for the mobile phone, it was returned to its rightful owner, after having been disinfected.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[05] Greek PM at the UN Summit Karamanlis-Annan Meeting

By Vagelis Theodorou

The meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan focused on the issue with Cyprus and the possibilities of recommencing talks so that it can be resolved, the issue with FYROM, the situation in Kossovo and the restructuring of the UNs Security Council. After the meeting, Mr Karamanlis attended a reception hosted by the US President, George Bush, in honour of the 180 plus world and government leaders who are in New York for the 60th UN Summit. At 4:00pm (Greek local time), the PM will participate in the commencement of Summit proceedings, as well as the meeting entitled "Financing for Development". In addition, Mr Karamanlis will speak at the Security Councils meeting, as Greece is a non-permanent member for 2005-2006, while he also meet with other world leaders.

Series of Meetings

On Wednesday, on the sidelines of the UN Summit, the PM will meet with the President of Mexico, the Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Albanian PM, while he will also attend a reception hosted by Mr Annan in honour of the leaders participating in the Summit.

On Thursday, Mr Karamanlis will participate in a round-table session focusing on the UN reforms, as well as a French-speaking Summit meeting, while he will then meet with the PM of Belgium.

In the evening, he will attend a reception hosted by New Yorks Greek General Consular and which will be also be attended by members and representatives of local Greek social bodies. After that, the PM, along with Greek FM Petros Molyviatis, will be awarded the "Justice for Cyprus" prize at an event hosted by the Cypriot Federation of America and attended by the President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos.

On Friday, the Greek PM will address the UNs General Assembly in the context of the Summit, while he will also meet with the King of Jordan. The PM will then depart for Athens.

Apart from the one-to-one meetings with political leaders, Kostas Karamanlis will also give interviews to American TV networks, including CNN and the public US network, PBS.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Related News:

PM Left for New York

Karamanlis-Molyviatis Meeting

[06] Patriarchal Holy Mass in Edessa

By Annita Paschalinou

Sources: ΝΕΤ 105.8

The Ecumenical Patriarch is continuing his tour of Central and Western Macedonia. A patriarchal Holy Mass took place this morning and was officiated by His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and all of Greece. In the afternoon, the Patriarch will inaugurate the new retirement home of the Municipality of Edessa and later on, the Ecumenical Patriarchates exhibition on Asia Minor at the Municipalitys Folk Company. In the evening, he will be declared honorary citizen.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] Alogoskoufis' Announcements Support for Families with 3 Children

By Vicky Keleri

The Government is proceeding with granting families with 3 children the same privileges that apply to families with 4+ children. As per Economy Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis, the families with 3 children will be able to buy a car with great or total exemption from duties. In addition, the government is also looking into the possibility of them receiving interest-free loans from OEK (Workers Housing Organisation) and added benefits, as well as reducing the military service for the third child. The Minister further noted that these changes are made in the context of fulfilling the Governments pledges, while, as per information, the Economy Ministry is willing to grant increases, amounting to double the inflation, to people entitled to EKAS and OGA pensioners.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[08] In View of Elections for Chancellery German Thriller Continues

By Vagelis Theodorou

In view of the Sunday elections in Germany, tension escalates among Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. As per the latest opinion polls, no party seems capable of gathering total majority and therefore a government coalition is the only solution. However, the two main rivals for the Chancellery rejected the eventuality of cooperating and voiced their optimism for victory. In the meantime, the second and last TV debate between Schroeder and Merkel ended without a winner. "You failed in the Economy," underlined Mrs Merkel, extensively referring to the increased unemployment rate and accusing Schroeder of terrorising voters in his effort to hide his governments failure. The German chancellor replied, reminding that the CDU would appoint Paul Kirchoff as Economy Minister, a man who had stated he would pass a single taxation rate at 25%. "Kirchoff is not a gift to voters," underlined Schroeder, adding that his rivals "want the millionaires to pay the same taxes as secretaries."

Polls Show Halved Votes

As per the last opinion polls, the Social Democrats and their parliamentary allies either share halved votes with Schroeder's opposing camp, or fall behind by one unit.

In particular, Forsa institute conducted an opinion poll for Stern magazine, as per which the Social Democrats (CDU) and the Christian-Social Union (CSU) gather 42% and their ally, the Party of Free Democrats, another 6%. On the other hand, Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) gather 35% (up by one point), their Green partners get 7% and the Party of the Left receives another 7%. In total, the CDU CSU coalition gathers 48% and their rivals get 49%.

However, as per another poll for TV channel N-24, Merkel's coalition should receive 48.5% of the votes, thus tying with its rival parties.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[09] For an Already Announced Decision Countdown

By Athina Saloustrou

The European Commissions decision on Olympic Airlines should be officially announced within the hour. It is a decision that will determine the future of the air carrier, while as per information OA will be called to return 1 billion euros to the Public Sector from illegal state grants for the period 2002-2005. The process to be followed is known in such cases. The Commission will send a warning letter to Athens, which will underline when and where Community legislation was broken and to what extent. The Government will have to answer back to the Commission within two months. At the moment, the Government is looking into three scenarios, reassuring that employees rights and interests will not be hurt. In the meantime, in the morning Olympic Airlines employees held a demonstration at the El. Venizelos airport with a symbolic rally at the airports runways. They then met with KKE Secretary General Aleka Papariga. Demonstrations will also be held tomorrow and the day after in the other airports of the country. All flights are performed as per normal, while employees have no intention to obstruct any passengers from boarding.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[10] Shock in Karaiskakis

By Stathis Petropoulos

Olympiacos started off a very promising season in the worst possible way tonight in Karaiskakis Stadium, where it was defeated by Rosenborg with a score of 1-3. Although the Reds started well, and even led by an own-goal in the 19, Skjlbred tied the match in the 42, while Rosenborg scored another two in the second half. In the 48, Mavrogenidis paid back his opponent with an own-goal, giving the Norwegians the lead, while Storflor kicked the third goal in the last minute of injury time.

Brisk Start

The beginning of the game could not in any way constitute a sample of what was to come next, since Olympiacos was the absolute leader, even though it didnt have any good opportunities, just good moments. The Reds applied pressure right from the start, demonstrating that a goal was going to be scored at any moment. The game was fast-paced, with Babangida creating havoc in the Norwegians defence and Olympiacos reaching E. Johnsens nets easily and quickly. Although the first goal was not the product of a coordinated effort by Sollieds players, own-goals are part of the game and Rosenborg purely ran out of luck in the 19. From that point onwards, though, the visitors demonstrated that they would not just accept their fate, showing signs of a comeback, which was not immediate, but managed to turn the game around, pushing Olympiacos in the defence.

No Spirit

The score was tied at what could be considered the worst possible time, since instead of Olympiacos heading for the change rooms with a 1-0 lead, they lost the advantage and, as was proven later, the ability to react.

In the second half, Rosenborg did not dominate, but applied pressure, just as it did towards the end of the first half, and Olympiacos was once again passive. As a result, the 1-2 came in the 48, and, apart from trailing in the score, Olympiacos also demonstrated just how low their spirits were, especially as far as the defence was concerned. An easy long ball created confusion in the Greek defence, and Mavrogenidis clipped the ball in.

Esper Johnsen Was All Alone

It took Olympiacos some 10 minutes to regain control and after the 55, their attacks kept coming in scores, but were being stopped short mainly by Esper Johnsen, and consequently, the tall Norwegian defenders. The excellent combinations by Toure and Babangida were either eliminated by Rosenborgs defence or by the Norwegian goalkeeper, who, on at least five occasions, kept his nets goalless. Neither the Nigerian, nor Konstantinou, nor Toure were able to beat him, while the latter, seeing that he could not cross the ball, kept running with it towards his target, but could not conclude his effort.

Olympiacos aim, ie a goal, was never fulfilled. Djordjevic kept missing the target and Sollied was just looking from the bench and hoping that his luck would change, mainly though a joint effort by Toure and Babaginda. As nothing was happening, he substituted Okkas for Babangida in the 80, while in the 88, he threw Kafes, who might have been more useful earlier, in the game to replace Toure.

Referee: Stefano Farina

Yellow Card: E. Johnsen

OLYMPIACOS: Nikopolidis, Mavrogenidis, Georgatos, Anatolakis, Kostoulas, Stoltidis, Toure (89 Kafes), Babangida (79 Okkas), Konstantinou, Rivaldo (87 Dani), Djordjevic

ROSENBORG: E. Johnsen, Kvarme, Lago, Dorsin, Winsnes (66 Braaten), Strand, Skjelbred (85 Riseth), Berg, Solli, Storflor, Helstad (79 F. Johnsen).

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[11] Malezani Aims at Victory

By Vasilis Kalpinos

"We came determined to win," declared Alberto Malesani during the Press conference and just 24 hours before the game against Udinese for the Champions League. Panathinaikos Italian coach stressed that the upcoming match is very tough, but both himself and his players are determined for a positive result in tomorrows game. As far as the lineup is concerned, the Italian did not reveal anything.

Anything Is Possible

The absences of key players, including Coceicao, Papadopoulos and Olisadebe, did not seem to concern Malesani, who stressed that his players are ready for the crucial match. At the same time, he said that both himself and the boys want the victory and nothing else, however, a tie would also be a good result, as it would prove valuable in the future.

"Udinese is a very dangerous team, with great strength in the centre and the offence. We are determined, but I am not going to stress my players. We are a team that is just starting to form. After the games against Wysla, we started off with a derby in Greece and you [addressing the Italian journalists] know what this means. In theory, Barcelona will finish on top in our group, but I do not think that such rules exist in football. We will take it one game at a time, one point at the time, and if we manage to win even one tomorrow, it could prove valuable in the future," he said.

The teams training took place after the Press conference. With regard to the lineup, Malesani usually surprises everyone with his choices, so it would be difficult to predict what that would be. The most probable lineup could be: Galinovic, Morris, Kotsios, Goumas, Nilsson, Seric, Gonzales, Biscan, Wooter, Charalambidis and Torghelle.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

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