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CRETE QUAKE - 2 July, 2009
5.9 tremor felt in Cairo but no damage, injuries reported
A strong undersea quake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, shook the island of Crete shortly after noon yesterday, but no damage or injuries were reported. The tremor was felt particularly in the prefectures of Iraklion and Lasithi and as far away as Cairo, according to Greek diplomats stationed in the Egyptian capital. According to seismologists, the quake's epicenter was quite deep, about 30 kilometers, meaning that its intensity was largely absorbed before it hit inhabited areas of land.
Road safety
Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Michalis Bekiris yesterday heralded the establishment of a national road safety committee to monitor the enforcement of the highway code and make recommendations about how to improve road safety.
From: Kathimerini
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Traders still in dark on smoking ban facts - 30 June, 2009
Just one day before Greece is due to introduce strict regulations to crack down on smoking in public places, in line with European Union law, the Health Ministry yesterday still had not issued the official decision explaining the obligations of bars and restaurants.
Mayors and prefects said they had received dozens of queries from traders regarding the necessary changes to their premises and possible changes to their operating licenses. Without a ministerial decision, local authorities say they cannot give traders clear answers to queries.
Speaking to Kathimerini, a high-ranking source at the ministry said the decision in question was due to be made public today. The source added that most bars and restaurants operated outdoor premises over summer and so would have until October to make changes to their premises. According to the new regulations, bars and restaurants larger than 70 square meters must create separate sections for smokers, while owners of establishments smaller than 70 square meters must decide whether to declare the premises exclusively smoking or nonsmoking. The City of Athens yesterday said that it had received 400 applications from establishments smaller than 70 square meters for the special sticker that will establish them as nonsmoking premises. These 400 bars and restaurants represent about one in 10 of establishments of their size in Athens.
Cypriot tourism revenues drop 17 percent in May
Revenue from tourism in Cyprus dropped 17 percent in May as Europe’s worst recession in six decades pinched traveler spending. Tourist spending fell to 158.1 million euros ($222 million) from 191.3 million euros in the same month a year earlier, according to a statement from the Nicosia-based statistics service on its website yesterday. Travelers spent 70.5 euros per day on average, marking a 7.6 percent drop from last year. Visitors from the UK, the island’s biggest source of tourists, spent an average of 56.9 euros a day, or a 16 percent decline, the service’s table showed. In the period January through May visitor spending fell 12 percent to an estimated 390.4 million euros from 442.3 million euros a year earlier, according to the statement. (Bloomberg)
From: Kathimerini
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SANTORINI QUAKE - 29 June, 2009
5.1-level tremor ‘not a worry’
Seismologists reassured citizens over the weekend that a strong earthquake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, that shook the popular Aegean island of Santorini shortly before midnight on Friday was no cause for concern. The tremor was followed by several aftershocks, the strongest of which measured 4.7 Richter and was recorded early on Saturday afternoon.
Bank disruptions
A 24-hour strike by bank workers today will disrupt transactions at several banks, including National and Emporiki. Branches of foreign banks operating in Greece are not expected to be affected by the action.
Swine flu
Another seven people were diagnosed with swine flu yesterday, raising the total number of cases recorded in Greece to 86. The latest cases include five people who visited Greece from the United Kingdom and two who are believed to have come into contact with diagnosed sufferers. Of the 86 people who have been diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease, 30 have reportedly made a full recovery. The remaining sufferers are undergoing treatment.
From: Kathimerini
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Lawyers lobby against beach rental decision - 27 June, 2009
The Athens Bar Association (ABA) yesterday appealed to the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, to overturn a ministerial decision allowing coastal municipalities to rent out strips of beach as long as they give the central government 20 percent of their takings.
According to Greek law, public access to the seashore should be free of charge, as the country’s beaches are “communal assets” and should be non-negotiable, the ABA said. The association also expressed concern about the possible damaging impact of the decision. “It does not foresee the protection of beaches as vulnerable ecosystems and it negates... citizens’ rights to freely access them,” it added.
The ministerial decision has been criticized by the Technical Chamber of Greece and conservation groups including WWF Hellas.
Fishing funds
The Spanish fishing fleet secured nearly half of all EU subsidies between 1994 and 2006 and spent most of the money on building, rather than scrapping, ships despite falling fish levels, data showed yesterday. The European Commission has often complained about overcapacity in the EU fishing fleet, saying too many boats are chasing too few fish. Overcapacity is blamed as a key factor for the poor state of EU fish stocks, especially of mainstays like cod. The data, viewable on www.fishsubsidy.org, showed a total of 8.54 billion euros ($11.9 billion) was paid across the EU to vessels, ports and processing firms, including payments likely from other policy areas of the EU budget and state government top-ups. (Reuters)
From: Kathimerini
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Exemption for smoking staff - 26 June, 2009
Just five days before Greece introduces strict regulations cracking down on smoking in public spaces in line with European Union law, Health Minister Dimitris Avramo-poulos heralded some eleventh-hour exceptions regarding offices and casinos.
According to the minister, all offices employing more than 50 people will have the right to maintain smoking rooms. Smaller enterprises with fewer than 50 workers will be obliged to ban smoking on their premises.
The second exception refers to casinos, which will remain exempt from smoking restrictions for the time being until conditions are agreed to following talks with officials from the Economy and Tourism ministries. The minister noted that live music venues larger than 400 square meters will not have smoking rooms but a 2-meter glass “wall” separating smoking revelers from nonsmokers.
As of July 1, citizens will be able to call the telephone number 1142 for clarifications about the new smoking restrictions.
Jail break
Police on Crete yesterday were seeking an Albanian fugitive who escaped from a jail near Hania earlier in the day. The fugitive had scaled the prison’s exterior wall and was caught throwing a rope to a Belarussian convict shortly before 8 a.m., prison staff said. The Albanian is then said to have drawn a gun and ordered a prison guard to abandon his car before fleeing in the vehicle. Prison guards and police gave chase and managed to stop the suspect, but the latter abandoned the vehicle and disappeared.
Hepatitis B tests
Athens municipal health clinics will be offering free tests for hepatitis B as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the infectious disease that affects around 200,000 Greeks. The tests will be conducted between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. until next Friday July 3.
From: Kathimerini
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Flight disruption - 25 June, 2009
Strike to ground services between 8 a.m. and noon
A four-hour work stoppage by air-traffic controllers at Athens International Airport today is expected to lead to the disruption of all scheduled incoming and outgoing flights between 8 a.m. and noon. Olympic Airlines said it will cancel more than 30 flights and Aegean Airlines is to cancel 20 flights and reschedule another 40. Protesters have threatened a similar work stoppage on Saturday.
Weather damage
Local authorities in many parts of northern Greece yesterday were assessing the extent of damage caused to local crops by two days of heavy rainfall and hailstorms. The worst-hit areas are Serres, Florina, Grevena, Kavala and Thessaloniki.
Swine flu
Another nine people have been diagnosed with swine flu in Greece, bringing the number of those afflicted with the virus to 67, health authorities said yesterday. The cases diagnosed were people who had returned from the USA, Australia and the UK.
From: Kathimerini
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The weather - 23 June, 2009
Unsettled weather is forecast for western and northern Greece, with sporadic showers and rainstorms. Scattered clouds elsewhere, with a possibility of showers or rainstorms on the mainland and the islands of the eastern Aegean. Winds will be southwesterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in most parts and up to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures will range from 16C (61F) to 28C (82F) in the north and 17C (63F) to 32C (90F) elsewhere.
OUTLOOK: Showers and rainstorms are forecast tomorrow, especially in western, central and northern Greece. Winds will be west-southwesterly at speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort and temperatures will drop, mainly in western, central and northern parts. Occasional showers and rainstorms are expected on Thursday, particularly on the mainland. Winds will be west-northwesterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort in most parts and up to 6 Beaufort in parts of the south.
From: Kathimerini
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Grand debut for New Acropolis Museum - 22 June, 2009
The new Acropolis Museum opened its gates yesterday to hundreds of visitors eager to explore its vast collection of sculptures and artifacts from ancient Greece. The public opening came a day after a lavish ceremony attended by foreign dignitaries including European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, and foreign heads of state and government. Conspicuously, there were no government officials from Britain, which has repeatedly refused to repatriate dozens of 2,500-year-old sculptures from the Parthenon temple that are held in the British Museum.
"Today, the whole world can see, all together, the most significant sculptures of the Parthenon. Some are missing. Now is the time to heal the monument's wounds with the return of the marbles to where they belong ... their natural setting," stated Greek President Karolos Papoulias while addressing the international audience and television viewers across the country. In addition, the president sent out a message for the need to return the Greek sculptures located in the British Museum to their natural space.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis emphasized that the new 130-million-euro museum is the work of all Greeks that belongs to all of humanity and forms part of the world's cultural heritage.
The prime minister made special reference to his uncle, Greek statesman Constantine Karamanlis, who along with iconic Greek actress and culture minister Melina Mercouri, spearheaded the decades-long campaign to build the new museum.
Greek Culture Minister, Antonis Samaras noted from his end that the “Museum is the result of years long efforts by all the political powers. All governments, he noted, embraced it and the Greek people supported it highlighting that the dream was now a reality.
From: ERT
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 New Acropolis Museum set to open its doors - 20 June, 2009
The New Acropolis Museum is set to officially open tonight during a ceremony attended by dignitaries from all over the world, but as the final preparations were being made yesterday, representatives of Greece’s two main parties argued over who should receive the kudos for bringing the long-awaited project to fruition.
Roads around the museum will be closed from 6 p.m. and the Acropolis metro station will shut down at 6.15 p.m. to facilitate the arrival of VIPs that will include the Presidents of Cyprus, Bulgaria and the European Commission as well as seven prime ministers. The ceremony is due to begin at 8 p.m. when Greece will unveil its 130-million-euro museum, which will house about 4,000 artifacts, some of which will be going on public display for the first time. Even before its inauguration, the museum is proving a big hit with Greeks and foreigners alike, as some 9,000 tickets have already been booked online at www.theacropolismuseum.gr.
However, as Greece prepared to host this global event, ruling New Democracy and main opposition PASOK argued over who was responsible for constructing the museum. The Socialists were apparently angered by a spot on state TV which indicated that the idea for the museum was provided by late conservative premier Constantine Karamanlis and had been seen through by his nephew and current Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. PASOK felt that late Culture Minister Melina Mercouri, who in the 1980s spearheaded a campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from Britain and promoted the idea of a new Acropolis Museum, should have been mentioned. “I am glad that Melina Mercouri’s universal dream has been realized after many years of effort,” said PASOK MP and former culture minister Evangelos Venizelos. “But I am sad that some people in Greece are trying to belittle or to politicize this major event.”
From: Kathimerini
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Ex-police chief blamed for fiasco at Zoniana - 18 June, 2009
The father of a policeman who was left paralyzed after a botched raid on a notorious Cretan village in November 2007 told a court in Athens yesterday that the local police chief was to blame for his son’s injuries as he had informed locals the operation would take place.
Stathis Lazaridis was paralyzed from the neck down after some residents of the village of Zoniana opened fire on a group of about officers that was sent there to break up criminal gangs.
Yiannis Lazaridis, Stathis’s father, claimed that Cretan Police Chief Antonis Vitorakis had contacted Zoniana residents ahead of the raid to ensure that police did not meet resistance, so that claims that criminals in the area were operating with impunity would be disproved. Lazaridis added that the operation was not aborted even after villagers began shooting at the officers.
From: Kathimerini
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Libel charge - 17 June, 2009
A 22-year-old Cretan student has been detained on charges of libel and violation of laws protecting personal privacy after allegedly creating a profile of his former landlady on Facebook and uploading indecent photographs of her. According to police, the student created the page on the social networking site two months after moving out from the apartment of the landlady, who is a Navy officer. The motive of the student’s alleged action was unclear.
From: Kathimerini
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The weather - 16 June, 2009
Mostly clear skies are forecast with some scattered clouds, though mainly in the morning. Winds will be light, but in the Aegean they will be blowing in from a northerly direction at speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort. Temperatures will range from a low of 16C (61F) to a high of 36C (97F) across most parts of the mainland and from a minimum of 18C (64F) to a maximum of 33C (91F) on the islands.
OUTLOOK: Local rainstorms are expected tomorrow afternoon in Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and Thessaly. Winds will be northwesterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort and temperatures will remain high. Local showers and rainstorms are forecast for Thursday over the mainland, especially in the afternoon. Winds will be northerly at 4 to 6 Beaufort and up to 7 Beaufort in parts of the Aegean. Temperatures are expected to gradually drop.
From: Kathimerini
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20 cases of new influenza in Greece - 15 June, 2009
The National Committee for the Influenza Pandemic meets today on the initiative of Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, as the number of cases of the new influenza has risen to 20. Subsequently, Avramopoulos will give a press conference. The 20th case involves a young woman from Peru who came to Greece from New York. Of the 20, eight have recovered fully.
Meanwhile, following a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis over the weekend, on measures taken to shield the country from the H1N1 virus, Avramopoulos gave assurances that Greece is a safe country and there is no cause for concern. The Health minister stressed that the country has been protected and that all relevant services have taken all the necessary measures for the month of September as well, when there may be a possible increase in cases.
From: ERT
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Google photos to protect land - 20 May, 2009
Forestry authorities have started using old Internet satellite photographs to protect forestland from illegal construction, according to the forest ranger for Pyrgos, in the Peloponnese, which was badly ravaged in the wildfires of 2007 that killed more than 70 people.
“We are using Google Earth photographs from before the fires as a reference point to avert all forms of illegal exploitation of land,” Dionysis Thomopoulos said yesterday. “It is much more practical than traditional aerial photographs, as we have the precise geographical coordinates, which we can compare with our measurements on the ground,” Thomopoulos told Agence France-Presse. He added that there had been “far fewer attempts” at illegal construction on fire-ravaged land.
The forestry decision may take the heat off the US search engine, which last week saw its Street View feature banned due to concerns about violations of privacy.
Great Greeks
Ancient warrior Alexander wins Skai’s television poll
The ancient warrior king Alexander the Great was heralded the “greatest Greek” of all time late on Monday when the results of Skai’s three-month television poll were revealed. Of some 700,000 viewers who cast votes, 127,011 voted for Alexander, followed by 103,661 for eminent research scientist Georgios Papanicolaou, inventor of the Pap test, and 84,007 for revolutionary war hero Theodoros Kolokotronis.
From: Kathimerini
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Flurry of opinion polls - 18 May, 2009
Five new opinion polls published in Sunday newspapers yesterday indicate a lead, ranging from 2.8% to 5.5%, for the socialist PASOK party over the conservative New Democracy party for the June 7 European Parliament elections. In one surprise result, the Ecologists-Greens came in as third party, garnering 6.5% in a survey conducted by the firm Public Issue and published in "Kathimerini tis Kyriakis".
From: ERT
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The weather - 16 May, 2009
Clear skies are forecast across the country, with some patches of cloud in the afternoon over the mainland and a possibility of showers in the northern mountains. Winds will blow in from a south-southeasterly direction at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and later up to 6 Beaufort in the Ionian. Temperatures will range from 13C (55F) to 32C (90F) on the mainland and 17C (63F) to 31C (88F) on the islands.
OUTLOOK: Warm and humid weather is forecast for tomorrow across the country, with occasional showers especially in the west. Winds will be south-southeasterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and 6 Beaufort in the Ionian. Unseasonably high temperatures are expected. Clouds and showers are forecast on Sunday in Epirus, Macedonia and Crete. Winds will be south-southeasterly at 4 to 6 Beaufort, turning northerly in the afternoon in the west and north at the same speeds. Temperatures will drop slightly.
From: Kathimerini
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Google’s Street View... - 15 May, 2009
A car rigged with a camera yesterday toured the capital, taking pictures of roads for Google’s Street View feature. Earlier this week, the Data Protection Authority barred the US search engine from taking any more images of Greek streets, pending ‘additional information.’
The weather
Clear skies are forecast across the country, with some patches of cloud in the afternoon over the mainland and a possibility of showers in the northern mountains. Winds will blow in from a south-southeasterly direction at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and later up to 6 Beaufort in the Ionian. Temperatures will range from 13C (55F) to 32C (90F) on the mainland and 17C (63F) to 31C (88F) on the islands.
OUTLOOK: Warm and humid weather is forecast for tomorrow across the country, with occasional showers especially in the west. Winds will be south-southeasterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and 6 Beaufort in the Ionian. Unseasonably high temperatures are expected. Clouds and showers are forecast on Sunday in Epirus, Macedonia and Crete. Winds will be south-southeasterly at 4 to 6 Beaufort, turning northerly in the afternoon in the west and north at the same speeds. Temperatures will drop slightly.
From: Kathimerini
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