The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-11-14

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] Karamanlis-Pavlopoulos Meeting Institutional Interventions

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: NET

The circle of the Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis contacts with Ministers and close associates has begun, in order for reforms being advanced by the Government to run the stretch. This morning, Minister for the Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos entered Maximos Mansion, and briefed the PM on the new civil servants Code of Conduct and the oral interview, objective criteria for recruitments and evaluation of civil servants. On the above issues, Mr Pavlopoulos will meet with the Presidency of the Supreme Administration of Greek Civil Servants Trade Unions (ADEDY), while he voices the optimism that the two sides will reach an agreement. As the Minister for the Interior stated, the briefing concerned the three institutional interventions of the Ministry, which will be submitted for voting in Parliament until the end of the year. Specifically, the interventions concern the civil servants Code of Conduct and the issue of their evaluation, the code of Municipalities and Communities and the regulations on the election of Mayors and Perfects by 42%, as well as regulations on blank ballots.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

[02] Throughout the Week Measures for Polytechnic Anniversary

Sources: NET

The Police have started implementing emergency measures as of today, in view of the anniversary celebrations for the Polytechnic uprising, due to culminate on Thursday. Vehicles are not allowed to park on the streets Patission, Stournari, Bouboulinas, Tositsa, George, Botassi, Kaniggos, Kapodistriou, Solonos, Chalkokondyli, Polytechniou, Averof and Solomou. In addition, traffic will be gradually halted on the streets Stournari, Patission, Bouboulinas, George, Kaniggos, Solomou, Kapodistriou, Chalkokondyli, Averof, Verantzerou and Spyrou Trikoupi, as well as Exarhia Square, during the anniversary celebrations. Furthermore, on Thursday, during the march to the American Embassy, the police will halt traffic as of 14:00 on the streets Patision, Aiolou, Stadiou, Vasileos Georgiou and Vasilisis Sofias, while added measures will be implemented to avoid any incidents.

[03] The Arrested in Sydney, as per the Authorities Training for Jihad

By Athina Saloustrou

Six out of the eight suspects arrested last week in Sydney and held in custody, accused of terrorism, were training to participate in Jihad. As per evidence presented by the Police in court, the accused were training in special camps in New South Wales. From the same evidence presented today in court by the Police, it emerged that three out of the 18 terrorism suspects were located near the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights, Sydney. It is noted in the documents that the three suspects had a trail motorcycle at the back of their car and said that they were in the area to ride, but during interrogation each gave contradictory explanations on how they reached the area. "Police investigations revealed that the lock of a gate leading to one of the reactors tanks had been broken recently," is also noted in the document. The Police stated in court that the accused were attempting to purchase chemicals in order to make extra-strength bombs, while guns and explosives were found in their houses. All of them are accused of participating in a conspiracy for the manufacture of explosives aimed at committing terrorism acts. The accused are expected to appear at Australian Justice next month.

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

Read the story on other sources:

BBC: 'Nuclear link' to terror suspects

CNN: Sydney terror accused nuclear link

ABC Newsonline: 'Jihad' training camps in Australia, documents say

The Sydney Morning Herald: Suspects 'stopped near reactor'

[04] Bird Flu Affecting Mammals? Tamiflu Responsible for Deaths?

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: NET Reuters

Japanese pharmaceutical company Chugai is examining the possible link between antiviral drug Tamiflu and the death of two teenagers. Specifically, last year, a teenage boy jumped in front of a moving truck, while another one fell from the ninth floor of a building, after they were administered Tamiflu. Japans Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency announced that 64 cases of psychological disorders have been linked to the drug between 2000 and 2004. At the same time, Vietnamese scientists are claiming that the virus has mutated into a more dangerous form, which could breed more effectively in mammals, while it is spreading quickly among domestic poultry. Moreover, the countrys Pasteur Institute announced that the decoding of 24 samples of the virus taken from poultry and humans showed significant antigen variation, which stimulates the bodys immune system to produce antibodies. In the meantime, a new outbreak of avian flu was recorded in the Danube Delta. As per the Romanian Agriculture Ministry, the H5 virus was located in four chickens southeast of the country.

Toll Increases

Meanwhile, seven people lost their lives to bird flu in Indonesia, while another two are possibly infected in Vietnam.

A Vietnamese Agriculture Ministry report mentioned that the H5N1 bird flu virus has now spread to 10 out of the 64 provinces in the country, since it resurfaced in the beginning October.

The death toll from the deadly virus in Vietnam has reached 42.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Read the story on other sources:

Japan Today: Tamiflu linked to deaths of 2 teens

Related News:

Baby Tests Positive to Bird Flu

[05] For the Passengers of Apollon Express Shipping Problems on Samos

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: NET

The 205 passengers of Apollon Express were put out yesterday, as the ship could not sail from the port of Karlovasi, on the Greek island of Samos, due to technical failure in the main right engine. The passengers were transferred to local hotels and will reach their finals destinations on board the ship Dimitroula, which is set to sail at 17:00. However, some of the passengers hassles are not over yet, since Dimitroula will not dock on Syros or Mykonos, which are their final destinations, so they will have to sail for Piraeus and catch another ship from there. Furthermore, the technical failure prompted intense protests from some passengers, who refuse to disembark, despite the instructions of the crew, and are demanding the immediate departure of Apollon Express. Finally, passengers to Ikaria are still awaiting instructions. The matter was eventually resolved with the intervention of the Port Police chief and the Prosecutor.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[06] Fatal Car Chase in Giannena

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: NET

A high-speed chase in the early hours of Monday morning at the borders of the Prefectures of Preveza and Ioannina ended tragically. The driver of a minivan, which had been stolen from Athens, failed to stop at a police checkpoint and speeded off. The police officers started pursuing the vehicle, which crashed into some road signs. The co-driver was killed instantly, while three of the other eleven passengers were injured. According to initial information, the passengers were all Albanian nationals. The wounded are being hospitalised under guard, while the rest were taken into custody.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] For the French Government Crucial Decisions

By Mary Lou Tzempelikou

Sources: Le Monde - BBC - NET

Today, the French government is expected to make one of the most crucial decisions with regard to dealing with the riots, as it will determine whether to extend the state of emergency, which includes curfews during the night. Sporadic incidents were recorded on Sunday night, the 18th night of unrest, in Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg, while the riots seem to be subsiding. Actually, as per Michel Gaudin, the French police chief, "Things should begin to get rapidly back to normal." In the meantime, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, offered 50 million euros in aid to France, to help the country recover from more than two weeks of rioting.

As Mr Barroso wrote in the letter he sent to French PM Dominique de Villepin, this amount is available immediately, while up to 1 billion euros could be made available eventually for job creation and to help social cohesion.

In a radio interview, Mr Barroso said that the best social politics is to create employment, while he described the violence in the cities as a European affair.

Over 8,000 cars and dozens of public buildings have been torched since the riots began, on 27 October. In addition, there has been one reported death and dozens of injuries. Furthermore, over 2,650 were arrested and 592 were taken into custody.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Read the story on other sources:

Le Monde: Bruxelles propose une aide de 50 millions d'euros a Paris

BBC: EU offers France aid after riots

Le Figaro: Les heurts decroissent mais ne s'arretent pas

Liberation: Dans les cites, le desarroi des victimes

Related News:

French Rioting Affects Provinces

[08] During her Tour of the Middle East Rice Applies Pressure on Palestinians

By Athina Saloustrou

US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice urged Palestinians to fight terrorism, underlining that no democratic Government tolerates armed groups. "Dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism is essential for peace, because in the final analysis no democratic government can tolerate armed parties, with one foot in the realm of politics and one foot in the camp of terrorism," she noted during a US-Israeli forum. Speaking at the same forum, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon described Syria and Iran as the "axes of evil", and called on the international community to act against the regimes of those two countries. Some time ago, US President George Bush had also used the term "axis of evil" for Iran, but he had also included Saddam Husseins Iraq and North Korea. In the meantime, Israeli troops killed a military leader of the group Hamas during a raid in Nablus, just a few hours before Condoleezza Rices scheduled meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Hamas Leader Killed

As per Palestinian security sources, the man killed was Amjad al-Hinawi, the 35-year-old head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, who had found shelter in a home in Nablus, which had been surrounded by Israeli sources. According to witnesses, Hinawi was killed in the exchange of fire. Hospital sources revealed that Hinawi had received a bullet to the head from close range. In addition, eyewitnesses reported that over ten explosions were heard when soldiers stormed the eastern part of Nablus.

The Axis of Evil

"On the one side stand the states that president Bush called the axis of evil. This group is headed by Iran and Syria, which are both governed by irresponsible leaders," underlined Ariel Sharon. "These countries advocate the activity of extremist terror groups, provide them with shelter, guide them, train them and sponsor them," he added.

He also urged the people to pressure Iran, so that it halts its nuclear programme, and make Syria cooperate with the UN investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

On the other hand, Rice condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads recent remark that Israel should be "wiped off the map."

"No civilized nation should have a leader who wishes or hopes or desires or considers it a matter of policy to express that another country should be pushed into the sea," Rice noted and concluded by saying, "It is unacceptable in the international system."

"If Palestinians fight terrorism... and if Israel takes no actions that prejudge a final settlement and works to improve the daily lives of the Palestinian people, the possibility of peace is both hopeful and realistic," she further added.

Finally, the US State Secretary referred to the ongoing negotiations for the Rafah crossing, set to link the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and appeared in favour of greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians.

H. Clinton in Favour of the Fence

US Senator Hillary Clinton is also visiting the Middle East, accompanied by her husband, former US President Bill Clinton. The couple arrived in Israel to attend the memorial ceremonies for the 10-year anniversary since the assassination of Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

While touring the separation fence Israel is building along the edges of the West Bank, she said she supported it and that the onus was on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. According to newspaper Haaretz, the Senator was quoted as saying, "This is not against the Palestinian people. This is against the terrorists. The Palestinian people have to help to prevent terrorism. They have to change the attitudes about terrorism."

Israel started building the fence in 2000, after a series of bombing attacks from the West Bank against Israeli cities.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Read the story on other sources:

BBC: Rice pushes for Middle East peace

CNN: Rice rebukes Iranian leader over Israel remarks

Yediot Aharonot (Israel): Rice in Israel: Isolate Syria

Ha'aretz (Israel): Rice to raise Gaza crossings, Hamas in meeting with Sharon

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