The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-11-05

The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] According to Government Sources PM's Visit to Turkey

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: NET

According to government sources, the Greek Prime Ministers visit to Turkey will not take place within November, but whenever it is deemed necessary. It should be noted, however, that no specific date has been officially announced yet. Kostas Karmanlis impending visit to Ankara will constitute the first official visit to the neighbouring country by a Greek Prime Minister since 1959.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[02] 2.4-Point Lead

By Anna Kourti

ND is in the lead with 2.4 points (32.9%) in relation to PASOK (30.5%) in the intention to vote. PARON newspaper publicised these figures after an opinion poll conducted by RASS. KKE comes next with 6.1%, LAOS with 4.2%, SYN with 2.9%, while those who do not know what to vote rise to 15%. As for who is the most suitable Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis tops the list with 46%, followed by George Papandreou with 27.1%, Giorgos Karatzaferis with 5.8%, Aleka Papariga with 3.0% and Alekos Alavanos with 2.2%, while 15.9% of those asked did not answer the question. 45.8% said PASOK is mostly responsible for the corruption phenomena which exist nowadays, in relation to 34.4% who feel ND is responsible. The poll was conducted via telephone interviews around Greece from October 31 until November 2 on 1199 people.

61.3% of the people interviewed feel positively of Kostas Karamanlis, while 46.8% are in favour of George Papandreou, 35.8% of Alekos Alavanos, 35.6% of Aleka Papariga and 28.6% are in favour of Giorgos Karatzaferis.

Asked which party is mostly responsible for the economic situation in Greece, 49.8% said PASOK, 40.9% said ND, 2.4% indicated another party and 6.9% did not answer.

42.9% feel ND is mostly responsible for the negative developments in the national affairs, 30.8% think PASOK is to blame, while 18.3% did not know what to say.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[03] Sunday, November 6 23rd Athens Classic Marathon

By Anna Kourti

Gold Olympian Stefano Baldini will signal the start of the 23rd Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday morning at 08:30. Five Kenyans and on Ethiopian are expected to star in the men's marathon, while two Ethiopian athletes are most likely to top the race among the women. At the same time, the Greek men's-women's Greek Championship will also be held during the Marathon, as well as a 10km race. Throughout the Marathon, traffic will be gradually blocked around Athens. The opening ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon at the Olympic Indoor Complex in Paleo Faliro, where Alternate Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia was the honoured guest. The Athens Classic Marathon is held every year in memory of Grigoris Labrakis.

Runners will cross Marathonos Avenue, which will remain closed along both lanes from 07:15 to 12:55. The rest of the route includes Mesogeion, Vassilissis Sofias and Vassileos Konstantinou avenues, which will be blocked on both currents from 08:00 to 14:30.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[04] Ilia Remains at Large New Evidence for Extrajudicial Ring

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: NET

New evidence implicating judicial officers and lawyers, against whom criminal proceedings will be brought, keeps surfacing, following the ongoing investigation into the extrajudicial network. On his part, Petros Madouvalos repeated his consent for a full and thorough audit into his bank accounts. At the same time, Examiner Antonia Ilia remains at large, since the police have not been able to locate her yet. It should be noted that there is a possibility that other parties, including businessmen, doctors and public servants, may be prosecuted for participating in the extrajudicial network.

Chatzipanagiotou's Testimony

"I do not remember having deposited the money to Agrotiki Bank [in Evangelos Kalousis bank account], but I cannot deny it either, since the issue has arisen," said Christos Chatzipanagiotou, an associate of Madouvalos law firm, in his testimony on 12 July 2005, while he also denied knowing the former First Instance Judge, who is being remanded in custody.

However, later Chatzipanagiotou said that he had deposited the amount of 7,000,000 drachmas by order of Anastasia Delli, an associate of the law firm. He also noted that he did so as she was over 65 at the time, with locomotor disabilities and in addition, she was afraid of carrying that much money with her.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[05] Pirates Opened Fire Against Cruiser Terror Off the Somali Coasts

By Anna Kourti

A cruiser with 302 passengers and crew on board was under attack by armed men off the coasts of Somalia. There are no victims or injured. As a spokesperson for the company owning the ship, armed men on board speedboats opened fire against the Seabourn Spirit, while it was sailing some 70 nautical miles off the coasts of Somalia. "The captain of the Seabourn Spirit managed to change direction and quickly move away from the attacking point. Most passengers on board the cruiser are believed to be Americans or Western Europeans and luckily nobody got injured," stressed the company spokesperson. The Seabourn Spirit, having 302 passengers and crew on board, had sailed from Alexandria, Egypt, was bound for Mombasa, Kenya, but after the incident the cruise is now due to end in the Seychelles on Monday.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[06] Ethics Seminars at the White House

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: Reuters

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that White House staffers will be required to attend briefings next week on ethics and the handling of classified information, following the indictment last week of a senior administration official for the leak of a CIA coverts name. Quoting a memo sent from President George W. Bush sent to White House aides on Friday, the paper reported that the White House counsels office will conduct a series of presentations next week for those aides with security clearances. The briefings with provide a refresher on general ethics rules, including the treatment of classified material.

Amid Pressure to Fire Karl Rove

The mandatory ethics course comes after Vice President Dick Cheneys former aide, Lewis Libby, 55, was indicted last week on five counts of obstructing justice, perjury and lying in the two-year investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plames identity.

If convicted, Libby, who resigned from his post in the White House, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The five-count indictment against Libby maintains that other government officials were aware of, if not involved in, leaking the identity of Plame to the media

The ethics briefings come amid pressure from congressional Democrats to fire top White House aide Karl Rove, who has been accused of having a role in the CIA leak.

[07] Makedonikos Prevailed

By Vasilis Kalpinos

One more victory for Makedonikos, their second in three games, after prevailing over Kolossos in Rhodes 96-91, in the match that opened the 3rd round of the A1 Basketball Championship. Kostas Charalambidis was Makedonikos' top player for one more time, scoring a total of 34 points and safely leading his team to win. This was the first away victory for Makedonikos, whose coach had to watch the game from the stands because of a penalty. The score per period: 19-26, 40-45, 62-73, 91-96.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[08] AEK Rank First

By Stathis Petropoulos

AEK continued their winning streak, in fact without receiving a goal, playing against Kallithea on home grounds and claiming victory 2-0. In a match, where there is not much room for comments or analysis, AEK took control of the game from the start and imposed their own pace, in order to finish off what seemed like a walk in the park. In the 21' the home team scored their first goal, which should have come earlier, judging from AEK's performance and the opponents' lack of reaction and resistance. Lymberopoulos was awarded a foul kick and passed to Lakis, who after creating confusion in the area, opened the score. In the rerun, Lymberopoulos scored his sixth goal for the season in the 52' and gave AEK one more expected win.

Referee: Skoufitsas (Athens) Yellow Cards: Georgeas, Koulakiotis

LINEUPS

มลส: Sorrentino, Kontis, Cirillo, Alexopoulos, Georgeas, Katsouranis, Chanko, Ivic (87' Sapanis), Lakis (+90 Morras), Soares (66' Julio Cezar), Lymberopoulos

KALLITHEA: Souloganis, Tzorbatzakis, Vokolos, Koulakiotis, Georgiev, Venetis, Passas, Telkiyski (84' Gontzos), Sulla (66' Diamantis), Yanchev (59' Koutsospyros), Lazanas

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[09] Great Victory for Larissa

By Stathis Petropoulos

In a highly exciting match, Larissa claimed victory versus Atromitos 2-1, although they were losing 0-1. All three goals were scored in the rerun, even though the first half was rich both in spectacle and opportunities. In the rerun, Larissa were better than in the beginning and acquired a better pace, which resulted in three goals overall. Atromitos opened the score in the 63' with an up-close thunder launched by Katemis, but Larissa did not give up. Thomas Kyparissis took the match on his shoulders and turned it around, thus giving his team three victorious points. Larissa's offender tied in the 70' with a beautiful kick and then formed the final 2-1 in the 79'. With this win, Larissa have bagged a total of 12 points.

Referee: Nikolaidis (Thessaloniki) Yellow Cards: Koutsis, Karadimos, Korakakis, Skarmoutsos, Sisic, Bachramis Red Cards: Sisic (two yellow cards)

LINEUPS

LARISSA: Kotsolis, Galitsios (57' Spasic), Dabizas, Simos, Digozis, Bachramis, Serban, Wella Junior, Aloneftis (77' Sisic), Kyparissis, Gavrilopoulos (67' Kalatzis) ATROMITOS: Michailidis, Pappas, Georgiou, Mikes (87' Doe), Sotirchos (80' Zacharopoulos), Katemis, Koutsis, Dimos (64' Manikas), Karadimos, Korakakis, Skarmoutsos

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article