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Tax policy tweaked as strike action looms - 9 February, 2010 As government officials sought to hammer out the details of a much-awaited tax and income policy yesterday, unionists warned they would stage more strikes, which are expected to disrupt flights in and out of the country tomorrow. The provisions on the reform of tax and public sector salaries are expected to be unveiled by the end of the week. Meanwhile Prime Minister George Papandreou is preparing for a European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday, at which the additional austerity measures being drafted by his government are expected to feature high on the agenda. Unionists yesterday indicated that they would not tolerate excessively austere measures. “We will strike on Wednesday to defend our dignity, to put an end to our sacrifices on the altar of financial markets. These are pointless sacrifices,” Spyros Papaspyros, the president of the ADEDY public sector union, told a press conference. Spyropoulos added that his union would decide on Thursday – depending on the measures announced by the government – whether to hold another strike in early March or join one on February 24 called by the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE), the country’s main labor grouping. The country’s civil aviation workers yesterday announced that they would be joining tomorrow’s strike action. As a result, all domestic and international flights scheduled for tomorrow will be canceled. From: Kathimerini Higher taxes for higher incomes - 6 February, 2010 Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou is set to announce next week a new tax bill, under the watchful eye of the European Commission, which will include tougher measures for all taxpayers. The draft law’s main points will be the abolition of individualized taxation, the creation of a single bracket for all incomes, a dramatic cut in tax exemptions and major changes in the way real estate is taxed. After the recent rise in the special consumption tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuel, the freezing of public-sector salaries and the cutting of other expenses, the government is aiming at the full implementation of the Stability and Growth Program through measures that add a further burden on salary-workers and pensioners, while trying to contain the ever-growing tax evasion. The new income tax bracket will have a tax-free threshold of 12,000 euros, according to sources, while creating two different levels in order to support low- and medium-income taxpayers: Those earning between 12,001 and 15,000 euros a year will likely have a 15 percent tax rate. Higher incomes will definitely get a more serious burden, with incomes from 40,000 euros and up having a higher rate than today. At present, the rate for incomes from 30,000 euros to 75,000 euros stands at 35 percent. Although the tax-free threshold will likely remain at 12,000 euros, this will be linked with the receipts taxpayers produce. The level of income each taxpayer declares will have to be backed up with a specific amount of euros in receipts. Otherwise, the tax-free ceiling will be lower than 12,000 euros. Low-salary workers and pensioners will be asked for receipts adding up to 1,000 euros per year, while taxpayers declaring incomes of over 70,000 euros will need to produce receipts equal to the generation of their income. All receipts will be accepted by the tax authorities except for utility bills and major purchases, such as that of a car. From: Kathimerini Carnival lovers bring color to the capital - 1 February, 2010 Cyclists dressed in colorful Carnival outfits enjoy a ride through the sunny city center on Saturday. Leading the parade in Athens were hundreds of revelers from the western port city of Patra, the focus of the country’s largest Carnival celebrations, which this year culminate on February 14. From: Kathimerini Doctors to join Feb 10 strike - 29 January, 2010 Doctors at state hospitals are to join a 24-hour strike on February 10 called by the civil servants’ union, the umbrella union representing the country’s doctors announced yesterday. The decision to take action was made to protest plans by the Finance Ministry to cut state funding for hospitals as part of a broader program to rein in public spending and get the reeling economy back on track. Synagogue fire A 24-year-old Greek American was released yesterday on conditional bail after defending himself before a Cretan prosecutor on charges related to two arson attacks on the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania. On Monday, a 33-year-old Briton was remanded in custody in connection with the attack, while two other suspects – a 24-year-old local man and a 23-year-old Briton – were released on bail pending trial. A fifth man, also an American, is being sought but is believed to have fled to Italy. The synagogue was severely damaged in the January 5 and 16 attacks. From: Kathimerini The weather - 28 January, 2010 Occasional showers are forecast, especially in western Greece, with snowfall on the mountains. Intermittent sunshine is expected in central and southern regions of the mainland, eastern Macedonia, Thrace and the islands of the eastern Aegean. Winds will be northerly at 3 to 5 Beaufort in the north and westerly at 4 to 6 Beaufort elsewhere. Temperatures will range from -1C (30F) to 10C (50F) in the north and from 2C (36F) to 16C (61F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Intermittent showers are forecast over the next couple of days, especially in western and northern parts, as well as the islands of the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese, with the possibility of rainstorms in the west. Snowfall is expected on the mountainous regions in the country's north. Winds will be southwesterly at moderate to strong speeds of 5 to 7 Beaufort while temperatures will rise, especially in central and southern parts of the country. From: Kathimerini Synagogue fire: fourth arrest - 26 January, 2010 An American man yesterday became the fourth person to be arrested in connection with two arson attacks on Crete’s only remaining synagogue, the Etz Hayyim in Hania. A 24-year-old local man and two Britons aged 23 and 33 were arrested last week on suspicion of being part of a group of five men that took part in the raids. The American man arrested yesterday was also aged 24 and has been living in Hania for the last few months, working in various jobs. Another American, thought to have fled to Italy, is also wanted in connection with the attacks. The two Britons deny any involvement in the incidents but sources said that British police are checking whether they were involved with any extremist organizations in their own country. The American is due to face a prosecutor on Thursday while the other three suspects are expected in court today. The synagogue suffered extensive damage but its director Nicholas Stavroulakis has pledged to restore the building. From: Kathimerini
The white snow prevailed yesterday throughout the mountainous prefecture of Chania. Weather conditions were the effect of snow covering the regions of Omalos, Selino and Sfakia. The damages were not particularly large and no major problems occurred, so Chania had the opportunity to make a trip to the mountains to enjoy the beauties of nature. At noon mainly the plateau of Askyfou was jam-packed with hundreds of holidaymakers who took advantage of the open road. Young and old played with the snow, having fun with nature. From early morning an employed contractor with his three machines in the prefecture of Chania was clearing the roads of snow, so that the road to the pits of up to Petra Seli be left open, but only just near to Selino and Sfakia. "Since Saturday evening there has been non-stop snow from an altitude of 900 meters or more, with the result that traffic could pass until the 28th km on the road to Omalos, as in section Petra Seli - Gyros Seliniotikos. Having been told by the Met Office we see that very early, from 7 am, four snow machines started cleaning the street, on to 11 am, so we have the road free for traffic, providing an opportunity for our citizens to enjoy nature and the snow", stated the vice-prefect Mr X . Koukianakis, who coordinated the effort of clearing snow. LANDSLIDES The most serious problems had to do with rock landslides in various parts of the road. On the way Topolia - Chrisoskalitissa several stones dropped on the pavement, and were removed by machines from the Municipality of Mythimna. Landslides have also been seen on the road Prases - Semprona - Sougia, where stones were removed. Also there were problems on the roads Vrises - Sfakia, from the 41st kilometer of road. The traffic from 9 am had to be done with snow chains and 4x4 vehicles, but after the intervention of machinery the road to Sfakia opened before noon. Smaller landslides occurred on the national road network along the North coast. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Three arrests over synagogue fire - 23 January, 2010 Two Britons, aged 23 and 33, have been arrested and two Americans are being sought in connection to arson attacks on the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania, Crete, police said yesterday. Local Police Chief Fotis Liotsakis said that a 24-year-old Greek man had also been taken into custody on suspicion of being part of the group of five men that attacked Crete’s only surviving synagogue twice this month. According to Liotsakis, one of the Americans set fire to a wooden staircase at the synagogue on January 5, while the other four acted as lookouts. He said that on January 16, the same five suspects returned to the Etz Hayyim and one of the British suspects broke into the place of worship and started the fire that caused widespread damage to the 14th-century building, which had undergone extensive restoration during the last decade. Almost 2,000 books and much of the building were destroyed in the blaze. Liotsakis said the two British men who were arrested work as nightclub doormen in Hania’s old town. The pair has denied involvement in the attack but sources said that one of the two expressed anti-Semitic sentiments during his questioning by police. Sources added that police made the arrests after questioning the 24-year-old Greek suspect extensively. A local from Iraklio, the suspect is alleged to have eventually identified the other four members of the group that burned the synagogue. Police did not identify the two Americans they are seeking. “I can’t say I’m happy now; they should have arrested them earlier, after the first attack, and not left the synagogue unprotected,” Moses Constantinis, head of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, told Reuters. Police are also questioning the suspects in connection to several recent attacks on immigrants in Hania and are investigating whether they were acting on their own or in association with racist groups outside of Greece. From: Kathimerini Cretan body - 20 January, 2010 Rescue workers on Crete yesterday recovered the body of a missing 40-year-old man in the Geropotamos River in the island’s prefecture of Rethymno. The man had been reported missing on Sunday. His body was found entangled in the roots of a tree at the river’s estuary on the southern coast of the prefecture. From: Kathimerini Synagogue attack - 18 January, 2010 An arson attack on a synagogue in the Cretan port of Hania in the early hours of Saturday, the second in the past three weeks, wreaked some 30,000 euros’ worth of damage but no injuries, police said yesterday. Police said the perpetrators broke into the synagogue at around 4 a.m. on Saturday and started a fire on the first floor. The blaze destroyed the building’s wooden ceiling as well as many of its documents, police said. From: Kathimerini Cavo Sidero scheme on ice - 14 January, 2010 The Environment Ministry has indicated it is unlikely to approve a controversial plan to build a large holiday complex and golf course on the eastern tip of Crete even though a final decision could take some time. In response to a question from Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) MPs, Environment Minister Tina Birbili said the PASOK government is taking into account a decision last year by the Council of State, Greece highest administrative court, to halt the Cavo Sidero scheme. But she said a final decision would not be reached until the government has reviewed the present zoning plan for tourist resorts. Protesters claim that the project – which would comprise five holiday villages, a string of luxury hotels and three golf courses – would damage the environment and be a heavy drain on water resources. British property developer Minoan Group (formerly Loyalward Limited) insists the 1.2-billion-euro project is environmentally sustainable. From: Kathimerini The weather - 9 January, 2010 Scattered clouds can be expected across most parts of the country, with a possibility of showers in northern Greece. Winds will be blowing in from a south-southeasterly direction at speeds of 6 to 8 Beaufort in most parts and up to 9 Beaufort in the Ionian. Temperatures will range from a low of 3C (37F) to a high of 17C (63F) in the north and from 5C (41F) to 23C (73F) elsewhere around the country. OUTLOOK: Occasional showers are forecast for tomorrow in western, central and northern parts, spreading across the islands of the eastern Aegean overnight. Rainfall is expected in the west. Winds will be southerly at 6 to 8 Beaufort and up to 9 Beaufort at sea, gradually turning southwesterly. Temperatures will drop slightly, mainly in the west and north. Occasional showers are expected on Sunday in the west, the islands of the eastern Aegean and possibly northern Greece and western Crete. Winds will be westerly at 5 to 7 Beaufort and temperatures will drop across the country. From: Kathimerini
Epiphany - 7 January, 2009 Men jump into the water at Chora Sfakion, Crete, yesterday as they compete to reach a crucifix thrown into the sea by a priest. Epiphany is marked in Greece by Orthodox priests blessing the waters, and the ships, and tossing in a cross, which the faithful try to retrieve. From: Bettina, Sfakia
Seasonal fun at unseasonable temperatures - 4 January, 2010 Both children and adults enjoyed the good weather on Saturday during a carousel ride in front of Zappeio Hall in central Athens. Temperatures over the weekend reached 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 Fahrenheit) in Attica and 26C (78.8F) on the southern Aegean island of Crete, where residents and tourists took to the beaches. Strong winds cause transport disruption at sea, in air Strong winds over the weekend caused disruptions in passenger ferry routes, as most vessels were forced to remain moored at ports. The winds dropped in most regions yesterday, allowing services to resume but there were problems in some areas. A ferry setting sail from the main port of Rhodes struck a pier early yesterday, though no harm came to any of the 80 passengers on board who took a different vessel later in the day. Another passenger ferry that had been en route from the port of Lavrio to Ai Stratis was forced to divert its route due to strong winds in the northern Aegean. Several scheduled flights to Santorini were also canceled due to the weather. From: Kathimerini Cleaning duties at Church of the Nativity - 30 December, 2009 A Greek Orthodox priest sweeps inside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, ahead of Orthodox Christmas in the West Bank of Bethlehem. Members of some Christian Orthodox Churches around the world celebrate Christmas on January 7 as they follow the Julian calendar. Study questions earthquake safety Local officials are failing to take any action to ensure buildings in their area are earthquake-proof, despite receiving details of the constructions that are at risk, according to the expert that has compiled a comprehensive report on the dangers that Greek buildings could face if the country is hit by a strong tremor. National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) professor Theodosios Tasios told Sunday’s Kathimerini that the NTUA and the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), the professional body that advises the government on engineering and technical matters, has completed a 10-year study on the dangers faced by each community in some 600 cities, towns and villages in Greece in the event of a powerful earthquake. Tasios said that the findings of the study would be sent to more than 1,000 municipalities in January with a list of proposals about the action they should take. The professor said that while the study was being conducted, a number of mayors were contacted with a view to carrying out quake safety checks on public buildings but only 10 expressed interest in the scheme. He added that the program has also been completed without any assistance from the state. “Our idea is that every mayor who receives a free CD with the information will select a public building in his area to start an earthquake safety check,” said the professor. “At the same time, he can discreetly inform the owners of the private buildings that are deemed to be most at risk about the dangers they face. “We are sitting and waiting for the next major earthquake without doing anything.” Tasios said that as part of the project, researchers have been trying to collect information about some 80,000 public buildings but so far local authorities have supplied them with details of only 5,000. From: Kathimerini The weather - 29 December, 2009 Scattered clouds are forecast, slightly heavier in places over western Greece, Macedonia and western Crete, with a possibility of brief light showers. Winds will blow in from a northwesterly direction at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and temperatures will range from a low of 0C (32F) to a high of 14C (57F) in the north and a minimum of 1C (34F) to a maximum of 18C (64F) elsewhere around the country. OUTLOOK: Local clouds are forecast for the next two days across most parts of the country, with a slight possibility of showers in northwest Greece. Winds will be coming in from a south-southwesterly direction at speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort, although in places they are expected to be stronger, up to 7 Beaufort. Temperatures are expected to rise gradually. From: Kathimerini Greeks can’t help spending on gifts - 24 December, 2009 Despite the ongoing financial crisis, Greek consumers say they will eventually spend almost as much as they have in previous years due to certain inflexible spending requirements on presents, food and for social functions, according to a number of studies. Surveys conducted last month by Deloitte, Mastercard and Focus Bari converge in the conclusion that Greek households will spend an additional 700 euros in the last two weeks of the year, mostly on gifts and food. Estimates show that during this period there will be more than 2 billion euros spent on the market, including about 150 million euros going to toy stores. A smaller amount will be spent on covering various debts, such as credit cards, loans etc. According to Deloitte, out of the extra 700 euros spent during the festive season on average, approximately 300 euros will go toward the purchase of presents, 240 will go on food and 160 for various social occasions. Mastercard and Focus Bari concur that close to five in 10 Greeks will spend their holiday bonus on gifts for their loved ones. Three in every five people, and particularly those aged between 35 and 44 years, said that their consumer behavior during Christmas changes and is different than that of the rest of the year, stating that they “cannot resist buying gifts.” Greeks prefer to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere at home with their loved ones instead of traveling, with two out of three questioned saying they would not leave home for the holidays. From: Kathimerini Jetstar to launch air link with Athens in new year - 23 December, 2009 Australia’s Jetstar, a low-cost airline owned by Qantas, is aiming to launch flights linking Athens with Melbourne in 2010, the Athens News Agency (ANA) reported yesterday. In a bid to carve out its own market share, Jetstar plans to entice passengers by offering return tickets between the two cities for as little as 1,200 Australian dollars (around 730 euros), according to ANA. The airline has arranged the purchase of an additional 15 aircraft in order to meet the demands of its new scheduled flight routes. [...] From: Kathimerini
A seven-year project to extend the roof over the gateway to the Acropolis, the Propylaea, has been completed, the Culture Ministry said in a statement yesterday. As part of the project, 255 marble blocks were taken down from the monument so that metal clamps that were installed by previous restorers but which caused cracking could be removed. Burning oil A 40-year-old man was being treated for serious burns in an intensive-care unit on Crete yesterday after an explosion at an olive oil press in Iraklio on Sunday night. It is not clear what caused the blast, which occurred when six employees were in the building. Nobody else was injured. From: Kathimerini "Possession" of mountains for ... wind farms, by spook business - 21 December, 2009 A spook business is trying to get "Possession" of 36 mountain peaks in Crete for the creation of wind farms, without any consultation with local communities, and without having answered questions. By notice in the newspaper "Parón" (Present) the company "Sarris and Co" ask the Energy Regulatory Authority, under the law on liberalization of the electricity market, to give licenses to make wind farms on 36 peaks in Crete. It indicates that this company shares no data on the internet, while searching for a contact with a company by that name through the telephone no companies could be found with this name. The issue will be discussed at today's Board LUMC of Chania and the Network of Mountain Municipalities of Crete. Once again this issue reveales the problems caused by the lack of integrated planning and determining land use. In the prefecture of Chania, the company has applied for permits for tops in 8 municipalities. Some of their Mayors (Inahorio, Platanias, Kandanos, Voukolies, Sfakia and Pelekanos) reported the issue with a very critical statement. [...] Translated from: Haniotika Nea The weather Cloudy skies and morning showers are forecast for Macedonia, Thrace, the eastern Aegean, Dodecanese, Peloponnese and Crete. Clouds will gather elsewhere over the day. Winds will be north-northwesterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort, reaching 6 Beaufort in the Aegean. Winds will turn southwesterly later in the west. Temperatures from -5C (23F) to 8C (46F) in the north, -2C (28F) to 13C (55F) on the rest of the mainland and 2C (36F) to 15C (59F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Mild conditions are forecast in the runup to Christmas, with light clouds in western, central and northern Greece, which will gather later over the northern Ionian, western mainland, Thessaly and Epirus, bringing light rain and possible snowfall on the mountains. Winds will be south-southwesterly at moderate to strong speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort, reaching 7 Beaufort in the west. Temperatures are also expected to rise slightly. From: Kathimerini Cretan food for good health - 19 December, 2009 Incitement is given by the Network of Cretan Gastronomy to restaurants, professional caterers, cooks and chefs to emphasize in view of the festive season traditional recipes. In a press release the network notes that "the philosophy of the Cretan cuisine is based on simplicity, the freshness of raw materials, the simplicity of manufacturing and the perfect balance between a few elements that make up a dish. By doing so, not only the health and well-being is strengthened, but also the local economy. Let our kitchen be filled with smoked sage, the turkey stuffed with chestnuts and herbs and let us not miss the greens by our table and a good wine that warms our friends." The network wishes everybody around the world a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Mushroom poisoning Two men aged 30 and 45 have been hospitalized in Hania, Crete, after eating poisonous mushrooms, it was revealed yesterday. The 45-year-old suffered multiple organ failure and was placed in an intensive care unit but his friend had only kidney problems. Both men are Romanian nationals who work on the island. From: Kathimerini May taxi fare hike put under review - 17 December, 2009 A planned hike in taxi charges in May, when fares are due to rise to 0.72 euros per kilometer from the current 60 cents, is to be reviewed, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas said yesterday, as cabbies prepared to increase their fares by 1 euro for the holiday period, starting tomorrow. The planned increase in May was to be the last in a series of three incremental hikes that taxi driver unions agreed to last April with Reppas’s conservative predecessor Evripidis Stylianidis. Reppas’s move was seen as a belated response to a question submitted in Parliament in October by Dimitris Papadimoulos, a deputy affiliated with the Coalition of the Radical Left. Papadimoulis had sought a freeze on the second taxi fare increase that came into effect on November 1. Reacting to rumors of a possible freeze on scheduled fare hikes last month, taxi unions had threatened to strike. From: Kathimerini GNTO decision ‘sends wrong message’ - 16 December, 2009 The Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE) yesterday described a government decision to shut down one third of Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) offices abroad as ‘hasty’ and ‘devoid of proper planning.’ ‘The closure of the offices could have been carried out more carefully with regard to the way it was communicated. This has sent a negative message to foreign companies we work with, harming already negative sentiment,’ SETE said in a statement. Late on Monday, Prime Minister George Papandreou said the GNTO offices will be closed as part of government efforts to cut spending and reduce a ballooning budget deficit. From: Kathimerini The weather - 15 December, 2009 Cloudy skies are forecast across the country, bringing rainstorms to the Ionian, the mainland and the islands of northern and eastern Aegean. Snowfall is expected on the mountains of central and northern Greece. Winds will be south-southeasterly at 6 to 8 Beaufort and temperatures will range from 2C (36F) to 13C (55F) in the north, from 6C (43F) to 17C (63F) on the mainland and from 10C (50F) to 19C (66F) in the Aegean. OUTLOOK: Overcast skies will bring scattered showers and rainstorms over the next couple of days across the country, especially in western parts of Greece and in eastern and southern coastal regions. Snow is forecast to fall on the mountains in the country's northwest. The low temperatures are expected to remain unchanged. There will be off-and-on periods of improvement in conditions throughout the week before they deteriorate again. From: Kathimerini
Christmas tree brings glitz to capital - 14 December, 2009 A couple embraces under the Christmas tree in Syntagma Square after a lighting ceremony on Friday. The lights there, and in other roads and squares, gave the city a much-needed facelift as municipal workers started gathering piles of trash from the streets. Workers ended three weeks of strike action after a court deemed it illegal. From: Kathimerini Plan for development of Sfakia - 12 December, 2009 With great success a group of professors from the Athens Polytechnic and the Agricultural University of Athens has toured throughout the province of Sfakia from 20 to 22 November 2009, organized by the International Association of Sfakians, for developing a sustainable business plan and sustainable development for the region. In particular a notice to the Association stated: "Teachers of NTUA (Department of Urban and Regional Planning) and the Agricultural University of Athens (Department of RuralDevelopment), Mr. Nikos Belavilas, Costas conservatory, Rena and George Vlahos Klabatsea arrived by ship in Chania in the early hours of Friday, 20.11.2009. Then they went by road to Sfakia, where they boarded the company vessel of Damoulis Tsirintanis, who runs a diving school in Sfakia. The teachers were guided on the morning sea-escort by the President, the Secretary-General and members of the Board of the International Association of Sfakians, all along the west coast of the province of Sfakia, until the border with the province Selino, at the gorge of Tripiti. They stopped in Agia Roumeli, where they had a discussion with residents, and then just met with residents in Loutro. Thegroup of teachers became a first impression of the unique geographical terrain of the area, and the problems the people are facing (biological treatment plant, fresh water, communication, etc.). At midday on Friday, after returning to Sfakia, the team of teachers and members of the Association met with the Deputy Mayor of Sfakia, Ms. Joanna Popodaki, who answered questions and informed them of the action taken so far by Sfakia for the development of the region. In the afternoon the same day, the visitors toured the east coast road of the province, up to Frangokastello. In Vouvas the teachers had a rich and detailed discussion with local residents, who indeed had prepared the entire text with specific proposals, which was given to the group of academics. In the evening another event followed - discussion with residents from Patsianos, Vouvas, Skaloti, Argoules, Kapsodasos at the tavern of Christos Manouselis in Kapsodasos. The next Saturday, November 21, 2009, throughout the day was "dedicated" to Anopolis and Sfakian mountains. Initially, the group visited Agios Ioannis and the plateau in Kroussia, where Antonis Georgedakis was giving extensive information on the trails and caves of the region, as well as the prospects of alternative tourism in a truly alpine landscape. After that the teachers visited the Anopoli bridge, the village and the Samaria Gorge. At noon on Saturday, with the accompaniment of members of the "Cultural Association of Anopolis (headed by president George Protopapadaki) the teachers went up along a dirt road into the Madares, admiring the awesome wild beauty of the 'lunar' landscape with its unique geological formations, and were they were briefed by members of the Cultural Association ofAnopolis on livestock, the proposals made for the revival of traditional mountain cheese dairies, problems with poaching, etc. During the descent, all participants stopped for a glass of wine outdoors, overlooking Mouri and Gavdos. On Saturday night followed a lively discussion with people in the packed hall of the Cultural Association, and then there was a copious Sfakian dinner table in the cafe of Kopasis, courtesy of the Cultural Association of Anopolis. On Sunday, November 22, 2009, the team went all the way up to Kallikrates from Kapsodasos, having a birds-eye view of the whole valley, and chatting about the prospects for residential development in the region. In Kallikrates was a discussion with residents in the cafe of Manolis Nikita Manouselis. After discussion, the group came home and were offered raki by the treasurer of the International Association of Sfakians, Petros Giannaraki, after monitoring the process of distillation and production of Sfakian raki, and they felt first hand the care and hospitality at the following Sfakian table. The afternoon was set to visit Asfendou, with Giannis Boliotis and Stavros Geronimakis, who took the group on a guided tour to the famous cave paintings, followed by a debate in the house of Giannis Xombitis. The last stop of the visit was at the hotel complex "Lefkoritis" in Askyfou, where there was a lively discussion with the villagers on local issues (farming, tourism, fresh water, etc.) and in the presence of the other Sfakian Deputy Mayor, Mr Kafkala. At the end of the tour of the visiting teachers to our province, the head teacher of NTUA, Mr. Nikos Belavilas, speaking on behalf of all stressed the enthusiasm of the team, not just hosting, but especially by the overwhelming interest of the residents of Sfakia for their visit, and for the growth prospects opened over the place. He described it even as Sfakia as a the case of "scientific challenge, on which there is no such literature throughout Europe, and because the region of Sfakia has great variety and diversity, and at the same time unique geological configurations, which appear both on the island, and in mountainous areas of Europe. Mr. Belavilas stressed that the model of mass tourism and rampant development (both locally, heavy tourist infrastructure) applicable in Greece since the late 70s, has already reached its limits, and fortunately failed to be fully implemented in Sfakia, so that saved to a large extent the natural beauty of the area. He then added that “the envisaged development model for Sfakia would not follow the disastrous development model followed in the northern part of the island with the well known results". The head teacher who visited Sfakia made it clear that a broader wider scientific working group will be established, bringing together teachers also from other universities, from laboratories of the NRP, and other independent scientific bodies and researchers. The aim of this group is to collect and process data and to develop an Operational Strategy Study - A Framework for Sustainable Development in the province of Sfakia, followed by public consultation of local stakeholders (local authorities, unions, associations, cooperatives, etc.) and also the scientific potential of the island will be involved in the research project. After this first phase there will be held an official Scientific Meeting of the National Technical University in Sfakia, which will present the initial findings and start a dialogue and exchange. The completion of the project and delivery of the Study is expected after the fall of 2010. As principal and delegating entity of this study it will be contracted by the International Association of Sfakia, which has already begun the task of generating the funds needed for developing and funding the study under the auspices of the largest and most reliable technological higher education institution in the country as a continuation of supply of active and positive interventions in the province of Sfakia. For the Board of the International Association of Sfakians, Translated from: Haniotika Nea Premier defiant on economy - 12 December, 2009 Prime Minister George Papandreou indicated yesterday that his government would attempt to revive Greece’s economy by stamping out corruption rather than cutting back on public sector salaries and levying more taxes on the middle class. The premier spoke in Brussels after talks with fellow European Union leaders, who wanted to know what measures Greece will take to reduce its 300-billion-euro debt, which stands at 113 percent of GDP, as well as its public deficit, forecast at 12.7 percent of GDP. Papandreou insisted that Greece would not default on its debts and does not intend to ask for financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We are not on the precipice,” said Papandreou. “If we were, we would be cutting wages. We will make changes but they will only hurt those that have to be hurt. Salaried workers will not pay for this situation, we will not proceed with wage freezes or cuts,” he said. “We did not come to power to tear down the social state; we are here to put right inequalities.” The prime minister is due to unveil on Monday the measures that his government plans to take to get the economy back on track. He told European leaders that the reasons behind Greece’s economic problems are not the same as those that have caused crises in other countries. “They are our distinct problems. We know them and we will tackle them,” said Papandreou, adding that his government aims to make institutional reforms that will combat systemic corruption and patron-client relationships while also slashing waste and fighting tax evasion. This may fall short of what Greece’s partners in the eurozone are expecting, given that Ireland has announced cuts of 4 billion euros in public spending and a reduction of public sector wages of between 5 and 15 percent. From: Kathimerini
Riot police stand around the Christmas tree erected in Syntagma Square, central Athens, yesterday. Security around the tree has been tightened since last year, when rioters set fire to it during protests following the shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos. It is not clear if there will be a full-time police guard around the tree this year. From: Kathimerini
Two dead, one critical in Cretan bar shooting - 10 December, 2009 A 49-year-old Cretan man died in the hospital of self-inflicted gunshot wounds yesterday, a few hours after killing his 31-year-old Russian girlfriend with the same gun in a bar and then turning the weapon on the 39-year-old owner of the venue, who was in critical condition late last night. According to police in the prefecture of Lasithi, the 49-year-old had been drinking at a local bar with his girlfriend on Tuesday evening when a dispute broke out. Witnesses said he left the bar and returned with a single-barreled shotgun which he used to shoot the Russian woman in the head, killing her instantly. He is then said to have turned the gun on the barman before fleeing in his car. Police traced him near Ierapetra and dispatched psychologists and relatives to talk to him as he was threatening take his own life. A few hours later, the 49-year-old shot himself in the head in front of his sister. He died in the hospital early yesterday. Two in Crete clinic after beating Two migrants, a 26-year-old Moroccan and a 25-year-old Palestinian, yesterday brought charges against a group of unidentified assailants who are said to have beaten them with iron bars and knives in a central square in the Cretan port of Hania on Tuesday night. The two migrants were yesterday receiving treatment in a clinic in Hania for serious injuries to their heads and arms. Tourist spending rate declines by 20 percent Average daily spending per tourist in Greece this year has declined by a considerable 20.7 percent, compared with last year, data by the Institute for Tourist Research and Forecasts showed yesterday. Visitors to this country spend an average 62.30 euros per day, down from the 78.50 euros they spent in 2008. Data also indicate that visitors to Greece are generally of a younger age and of the medium to lower social and economic strata. Tourists from the USA spend the most per person per trip, at 2,632 euros, with those coming from the European Union spending, for example, an average of 1,584 euros, for Belgians, and 1,079 euros for the Dutch. More than half of the 2,030 tourists responding to the survey said the global crisis has affected their spending habits. From: Kathimerini The weather - 9 December, 2009 Showers and rainstorms are forecast for western and northern Greece, with snowfall on the mountains. Conditions will deteriorate overnight and will spread throughout the country, with snowfall expected in northern Greece. Winds will be southerly at speeds of 5 to 7 Beaufort, gradually turning northerly in the west and north. Temperatures will range from 2C (36F) to 13C (55F) in the north and from 6C (43F) to 19C (66F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Unsettled weather is forecast throughout the country over the next few days, with showers and rainstorms, while snowfall is expected on the mountains and the plains of northern Greece. Winds will be northerly at 7 to 9 Beaufort in western, central and northern Greece and southerly at 5 to 7 Beaufort elsewhere. Temperatures will drop. Conditions will start to ease on Friday, with lighter winds, although the low temperatures will continue. From: Kathimerini Hamburg raid - 7 December, 2009 An attack by masked vandals on a police station in the northern German city of Hamburg on Friday has been claimed by a group that said the raid was linked to the anniversary of the killing of Alexis Grigoropoulos by a policeman in Athens. In a letter sent to the Hamburger Morgenpost daily, the group called itself “Koukoulofori,” or “hood wearers” in Greek, and said that it was responsible for throwing rocks at police officers and setting fire to two parked cars in protest at the murder of the Greek teenager. ATM seized Four robbers tied up the guard at the premises of the Creta Farm food company in Rethymno, Crete, early yesterday and then used a bulldozer to rip out a cash machine on the premises before loading it onto a pickup truck. Officers later found the ATM abandoned in the Arkadi municipality but it had been forced open and an unspecified amount of cash was missing. Iraklio arson The Iraklio, Crete first instance court was slightly damaged by fire on Saturday when unidentified assailants walked into the building and up to the third floor and set fire to two cooking gas canisters. The resulting fire caused damage to several offices. Nobody was injured as the courthouse was closed. Pensioner found An 83-year-old man who had gone missing from his home in the municipality of Viano in Iraklio, Crete, on Friday was found a day later. Authorities had mounted a large search operation for the pensioner but he was eventually located in the middle of a field by his grandchildren. From: Kathimerini Old foes await at World Cup - 5 December, 2009 Greece will face Argentina, Nigeria and South Korea in the soccer World Cup in South Africa next year, following yesterday’s draw in Cape Town. Two of the three teams in Group B, Argentina and Nigeria, were also in Greece’s group the only other time it has qualified for a World Cup, in the USA in 1994. Greece will meet at least one familiar face, Argentinean superstar Maradona, who scored against the national side in the USA but who is now coaching his country’s national team. “Argentina is the favorite,” said Greece coach Otto Rehhagel. “But we must not forget that Nigeria will also be playing on African soil and are a good side as well.” The German played down expectations of Greece being one of the two sides that would qualify for the next round. “We can qualify from the group if all the players are fit and we play well but all that is six months away and to say anything else now would be pure speculation.” From: Kathimerini House fire - 4 December, 2009 A fire that broke out early yesterday in a house in the municipality of Kolymvari, in the Cretan prefecture of Hania, destroyed the building but caused no injuries, as one of the two children in the house woke their parents who called the fire brigade. Firemen managed to douse the fire before it could spread to adjacent buildings. The blaze reportedly started in the fireplace on the ground floor of the building. From: Kathimerini The weather - 3 December, 2009 Showers or rainstorms are forecast across the country initially, with the wet conditions easing gradually over the course of the day and becoming restricted to the southeast. Winds will be north-northwesterly at 4 to 6 Beaufort in most parts and up to 7 Beaufort in the west and south. Temperatures will range from 3C (37F) to 15C (59F) in the north and from 4C (39F) to 18C (64F) elsewhere around the country. OUTLOOK: After the brief respite, more unsettled weather is set to move in, bringing showers and occasional rainstorms over the next couple of days across the country. Winds will be southwesterly initially, later turning northwesterly, and increasing to moderate to strong speeds of 5 to 7 Beaufort, though temperatures are expected to remain for the most part unchanged. From: Kathimerini Study: One in 10 teens hooked on the Net - 1 December, 2009 The results of a new study into use of the Internet by teenagers suggests that one in 10 have an addiction to online activities, while clinical psychologists link such addictions to behavioral disorders. According to experts, who said they interviewed all residents between the ages of 14 and 19 on the southern Aegean island of Kos, 11.3 percent of respondents displayed signs of being addicted to the Internet. Constantinos Siomos, a specialist in child psychiatry at the University of Thessaly who helped conduct the study, said its results showed “a significant increase in the addiction of children to the Internet” compared to a similar survey carried out on youths in Thessaly three years ago. Siomos said the tendency for teens to become addicted to the Internet was largely due to the absence of proper guidance by their parents and teachers. “Adolescents do not approach the Internet as part of the educational process, as should be the case, and more often than not their parents are unable to help them as they do not have the necessary knowledge to do so,” he said. Siomos said the government should intervene. “The state should plan and implement programs to avert the spread of this phenomenon among children and teenagers,” he said. Siomos said that young boys were the most susceptible to Internet addiction, noting that the problem in the provinces is usually worse than in big cities. According to Virginia Fyssoun, a clinical psychologist at Athens’s Evangelismos Hospital who participated in the study on the teenagers on Kos, addiction to the Internet is often associated with juvenile delinquency. From: Kathimerini The weather - 30 November, 2009 Cloudy skies and brief showers are forecast for northwestern Greece as well as parts of the eastern Aegean, while skies will also be overcast in other parts of the country. Winds will be southerly-southwesterly at speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Ionian and 6 to 8 Beaufort elsewhere, while temperatures will range from 2C (36F) to 18C (64) in the north, 5C (41F) to 20C (68F) in the west and 4C (39F) to 23C (73F) in other parts. OUTLOOK: More autumnal weather is forecast starting tomorrow, with showers across the country and thunderstorms in some parts. Southerly winds will pick up, reaching gale-force speeds of 8 Beaufort, and are expected to shift to northerlies, at more moderate speeds of 5 to 7 Beaufort, on Wednesday, pushing down daytime temperatures all over Greece to seasonal levels. From: Kathimerini Development planning needed for the White Mountains - 28 November, 2009 Parliament Member of PASOK Sifis Valyraki requests the filing of an integrated development program and claims funding recources for the protection of the White Mountains from the Secretary for Economic Development and the Marine, Stavros Arnaoutakis Chaniotis. In a letter to the Secretary of State and communicated to the Minister Economic Development and Shipping Luka Katseli, Mr Valyraki also wants to examine the possibility of direct financial support for the nine neighboring Municipalities and the Community of Assi Gonia, surrounding the White Mountains massive, in order to address the economic problems that have accumulated due to the lack of a development plan in their area. Details in the letter of the Member of Parliament stated: "Dear Secretary of State, as we orally had the opportunity to discuss at our recent meeting the problems and issues in general development of the prefecture of Chania, I am coming back to this matter today with my letter to you, in view of your upcoming visit to Chania. As you know, Chania is the last year in absolute lagging. It lags in development planning and studies for basic infrastructure projects. Today there are substantial mature works to join the National Regional Development Plan 2007-2013, which is currently being carried out. In particular, the mountains in the heart of the White Mountains which are about 30% of the territory of the prefecture of Chania, that, in addition to the globally unique natural beauty and tourist interest, substantially contribute to the local economy (farming, rare herbs, etc.) and have very significant growth prospects for the entire region of western Crete. So far the White Mountains is the only one of the main mountain ranges in the country without any regard for integrated development planning and no real funding. The general lagging of the county, completed by the neglect of development of the "White Mountains", especially since all the main mountain ranges of the country, such as the Pindos, the Vermio, the Pierian, Olympus and others, are now securely funded for many years for development and protection with hundreds of millions of euros, because local actors are interested in these projects. Last April, the Region of Crete presented the "Special Environmental Study for the mountains of the White Mountains" (NRP). The study was strongly criticized because it was preceded by consultation with local bodies and that is why it took into account local development needs of the region. Then last August, the Region of Crete presented the study "Operational Program for the mountains of Crete. The objectives include that the study faced the issue of development with realism, assuming correctly that the mountains can and should ensure viable conditions in local communities, to be a source of wealth for the overall economy, and if necessary, of course, environmental protection. The "Operational Program of the Cretan mountains" can be the basis for drawing up the hitherto non-existent "Integrated Program Development and Protection" of the White Mountains of training, which I think is an urgent need to obtain funding sources before the end of the NSRF. Therefore I will ask the deputy foreign minister for finance to directly award a study on the project "Integrated Development and Protection of the White Mountains" which unfortunately has not been recently accepted by the majority of the Board of LUMC Chania. I would also like you to consider the possibility of direct financial support of nine (9) contiguous municipalities and one (1) community surrounding the massive of the 'White Mountains', i.e. the municipalities Association Selino, Armeni, Therisou, Keramion, Krionerida, Mousouron, Sfakia, Fre and the Community of Assi Gonia, to address major economic problems because of the total lack of a development project in the region. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Double heist - 27 November, 2009 Two armed raids took place almost simultaneously at banks in a central square in Archanes, near the Cretan port of Iraklio, yesterday morning. Two gunmen allegedly robbed one bank, while a third held up another branch on the other side of the square. The three fled together in a car being driven by an accomplice, according to police, who said the perpetrators netted about 50,000 euros. From: Kathimerini The weather - 26 November, 2009 Clear skies are forecast across the country, with fog in the morning in the Ionian and on the mainland. Winds will be blowing at generally light speeds in the Ionian, gradually changing to southwesterly, 3 to 4 Beaufort, while they will be north-northwesterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures will range from 2C (36F) to 18C (64F) in the north and from 3C (37F) to 21C (70F) in the rest of the country. OUTLOOK: Northwestern Greece will wake up to overcast skies tomorrow, while the rest of the country can expect scattered clouds. Winds will be west-southwesterly at speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort and temperatures will remain stable. Saturday will be cloudier in all parts, bringing possible showers to western Greece, the Dodecanese and Crete. Winds will be southwesterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and temperatures will remain unchanged. From: Kathimerini Fire in car in Sfakia - 24 November, 2009 Fire broke out in a privately used motor vehicle located at a parking on the street in the center of Sfakia. It caused the mobilization of the Fire Service. In rushed immediately two vehicles with six men, who managed to cope with the situation without the fire to be extended. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Athenians soak up the November sun - 23 November, 2009 Temperatures rose above the 20-degree Celsius mark (68F) in Athens yesterday, prompting some of the city’s residents, such as those seen on a beach in the southern suburb of Faliro, to spend some time by the sea. The fair weather is expected to continue until Wednesday this week, when temperatures are due to start dropping. From: Kathimerini
In early 2010 the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Network plans to auction the project "terminal building expansion, new Control Tower for aircraft, other ancillary facilities, and landscaping the International Airport of Chania", as outlined in response to letters from the Prefect of Chania Gregory Archontaki to the Minister Dimitris Reppas. In reply from EYDE Airports Southern Greece to the Minister, by notification of the Prefect of Chania, is specifically mentioned: "Our Service will auction the project extension, a new Control Tower for aircraft, other ancillary facilities and landscaping the International Airport of Chania, after the projects' approval by the Civil Aviation Authority, which is responsible. According to information from the CAA, the study will be completed by the end of December 2009. The letter from the Prefect of Chania to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Network, with registration number 10264/23/10/2009 is as follows: "Sir, As you know, the Chania International Airport, serving Western Crete, is the first in growth rate, with a growth rate reaching 35% in the last three years, and after the 24 hour operation of the terminal. In the year 2008, according to the CAA, the movement of passengers reached 1.87 million, approximately. The current situation, especially during the summer months, it serves less than the minimum of foreign visitors and this is described as unacceptable by the tourism stakeholders. Sir, The Civil Aviation Authority has planned to implement the project "Extension building terminal, new aircraft control tower and landscaping, budgeting 55 million. The project includes the expansion of the terminal with a total area of 15,586 sq.m. at 3 levels (basement, ground floor, first floor), which can serve 2,100 passengers in both directions or 1,400 passengers per direction. It also includes construction of a new control tower, refurbishing and upgrading the existing terminal space, and the expansion of the surrounding area. The study of the project is prepared by an external design firm which has already prepared the study for the application (final stage), with a projected end of the study in December 2009. Given the very real needs of the airport of Chania, please consider the inclusion of the project at the Ministry for your immediate implementation." Translated from: Haniotika Nea Greece beats Ukraine and heads for World Cup - 19 November, 2009 Greece will be taking part in soccer’s World Cup for only the second time in its history after beating Ukraine 1-0 in Donetsk yesterday. Panathinaikos striker Dimitris Salpigidis scored the only goal in the first half of the second leg of the playoff between the two sides. The first leg in Athens on Saturday ended in a 0-0 draw. From: Kathimerini Visitors down 8 pct, outlook bleak - 18 November, 2009 Tourist arrivals at Greek airports dropped by an annual rate of 7.8 percent in the first 10 months of the year, data showed yesterday as industry officials warn of another tough year ahead. The Institute of Tourism Research & Forecasting (ITEP) said the number of tourists arriving at Greek airports fell 6.2 percent year-on-year in October. Athens and the islands of Myconos and Santorini were among the worst-hit destinations. It said Greek tourism receipts dropped 11.7 percent year-on-year in the January-September period, with hotels hit hardest by the impact of the economic crisis. “The big question is how the sector will fare in 2010,” ITEP said in a statement. Initial indications show that the rebound in Greek tourism will be “exceptionally slow,” according to the Panhellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (POET), which took part in London’s World Travel Market earlier this this month. POET, which represents mainly travel agents, said that initial bookings along with broader market trends point to a bleak upcoming season. “Greek tourism is being weighed down more by these international conditions due to its competitive disadvantages, in comparison with countries not in the eurozone, and the unresolved problems in the sector,” POET added in a statement. From: Kathimerini Children visit historic site of student revolt - 16 November, 2009 Hundreds of citizens of all ages visited the grounds of the National Technical University of Athens yesterday to pay their respects to dozens of students who died when the junta suppressed an uprising there on November 17, 1973. The commemorative events are to culminate on the anniversary of the uprising tomorrow with the traditional march to the US embassy. Thousands of police officers will be on standby to avert possible outbreaks of violence. From: Kathimerini Documentary on kidnapping General Kreipe - 14 November, 2009 Film director Dimitris Anagnostopoulos is out shooting in Crete for a dramatized documentary that is being prepared about the abduction of the legendary military commander of Crete from the period of German occupation during WW II, General Kreipe. The History Channel and National Geographic have already expressed their interest in this documentary, because this kidnapping has been characterized as one of the most daring commando operations during the Second World War. Translated from: Haniotika Nea The weather - 13 November, 2009 The on-again, off-again precipitation of the last week is forecast to have passed by tomorrow and fair weather is expected to prevail throughout the country over the weekend, with some cloud cover expected in the east and south. Winds will be northerly, at light to moderate speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort, while temperatures will range from 3C (37F) to 17C (63F) in the north and from 40C (39F) to 20C (68F) in other parts of the country. OUTLOOK: Sunny skies, mild temperatures and something of an Indian summer are forecast over the next week throughout the country, with patches of light cloud expected on Sunday in the northeast and the possibility of showers overnight. Scattered rain may continue into the early hours of Monday morning in the north but will soon give way to fairer conditions. Winds will be northerly, at light to moderate speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort, while temperatures are expected to rise slightly. From: Kathimerini Church slams ruling on classroom crucifix - 12 November, 2009 The Church of Greece yesterday criticized a European Court of Human Rights ruling that the presence of crucifixes in classrooms is a breach of human rights after hearing a case brought by a mother from Italy. “It is not only minorities that have rights, the majority has them as well,” said the head of the Greek Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, adding that the matter would be discussed by the Holy Synod if necessary. “Youngsters will soon not have any symbols to inspire and protect them,” said Bishop Nikolaos of Fthiotida. Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki said he hopes Greek officials will appeal any decision that could lead to the removal of religious icons from classrooms. The court found that the right of parents to educate their children according to their own beliefs, and children’s right to freedom of religion, were breached by the presence of a crucifix in classrooms. Holy row A Marine reservist was released from a Florida jail on bail yesterday after being charged with using a tire iron to beat a Greek Orthodox priest who he claimed had sexually assaulted him. Jasen Bruce, 28, claimed to have attacked the priest in self-defense when the latter allegedly grabbed his genitals after following him into the garage outside his apartment. According to police, Bruce also claimed to have feared that Alexios Marakis, 29, was an Arab terrorist. Marakis, who was on a visit to the US from his native Crete, was released from hospital after receiving first-aid treatment for minor injuries. “I did not even touch him,” Marakis was quoted as saying. From: Kathimerini Pollution and waste growing - 11 November, 2009 Atmospheric pollution and inadequate waste management continue to pose a problem in Athens and other major Greek cities, while the risk of desertification has intensified in the provinces, according to the first study carried out by the National Center for the Environment and Sustainable Development (EKPAA). The study noted progress in some areas – chiefly in the increased rate of recycling and in a 1 percent drop in the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming – but overall its conclusions were not positive. The report highlighted rising atmospheric pollution levels and the absence of a comprehensive waste management system in Attica as an enduring problem. Climbing air pollution in other big towns, including Thessaloniki, Patra, Volos and Kozani, was also highlighted. Another high-ranking concern was dwindling rainfall and the subsequent risk of desertification of more than a 10th of the country’s surface area. The worst affected areas are in the Peloponnese, Thessaly, central Macedonia, Crete and the islands of the Cyclades. According to EKPAA’s president, Yiannis Ziomas, the protection of the country’s forestland, much of which has been ravaged by fires in recent years, should be another priority for authorities. Ziomas also stressed the importance of improved water management in agricultural regions such as Thessaly. EKPAA board member Angeliki Kallia said one of the main reasons that Greece lags behind the European Union in the enforcement of directives aimed at environmental protection is due to “the lack of systematic preparation.” She called for “effective management, cooperation of legal and technical experts for the environment, adequate staffing and the necessary infrastructure for inspections.” From: Kathimerini One dead, another missing in rainstorms - 9 November, 2009 For the second time in two weeks, heavy rain in various parts of Greece has caused a loss of life, as one person was killed and another two went missing yesterday. A man was found dead in Grevena, northern Greece, after his car was swept away by onrushing water as he was driving between the villages of Trikokia and Karpero. The man was not named or further identified. Rescue teams were yesterday searching for a 42-year-old man after the car in which he was traveling with his wife and daughter was also swept away when they attempted to cross a river swollen by rainwater in the Aridaia municipality in Pella, northern Greece. The unnamed man’s 35-year-old wife and 17-year-old daughter managed to get out of the vehicle and swim to the banks of the river but he has been missing since the incident, which occurred at about 4 a.m. Firefighters and locals were yesterday helping in the effort to find the vehicle and the missing man. A search-and-rescue operation was also taking place yesterday off the coast of Hania, Crete, after reports that a boat with one person on board had capsized. On October 24 and 25, storms around the country had also led to one man drowning off the coast of Volos and another being swept away in Pieria, northern Greece. The rough conditions at sea yesterday also prevented the Blue Star ferry with 325 passengers on board from docking at the port of Rhodes. Cretan arms Acting on a tip-off, police on Crete arrested two men, aged 24 and 21, in Geropotamos, near Rethymno, yesterday after discovering a cache of weapons in a farmhouse. Officers seized two Kalashnikov assault rifles, an M1 rifle, several handguns, a hand grenade, 62 detonators and 1,300 bullets. The arms will be sent to police central headquarters so they can be examined by forensic scientists. From: Kathimerini More doctors - 7 November, 2009 Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou said yesterday that she has begun the process for the hiring of 671 new medical staff at state hospitals as soon as possible. She added that the government aims to hire a total of 2,000 medical staff in the near future. Earlier this week, Xenogiannakopoulou said that 6,000 state hospital staff, including nurses, would be hired by the end of next year. From: Kathimerini The weather - 6 November, 2009 Showers are expected in western and northern Greece and on the islands of the eastern Aegean and Dodecanese, with rainstorms especially in western parts. Scattered clouds elsewhere, with a possibility of light showers on the mainland and fog in the morning. Winds will be southerly at speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort and up to 7 Beaufort at sea. Temperatures will range from 5C (41F) to 20C (68F) in the north and 8C (46F) to 24C (75F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Showers and rainstorms are expected to become heavier tomorrow across the country. Winds will blow in from a southerly direction at moderate to high speeds of 6 to 8 Beaufort and temperatures will remain steady. Conditions are expected to improve as of Sunday, with winds coming in from a west-southwesterly direction at lighter speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort and normal temperatures for the time of year. From: Kathimerini Wet spell causes floods, damage - 4 November, 2009 Heavy rain and strong winds yesterday caused problems across much of the country, resulting in widespread flooding and damage to crops, wreaking chaos on the roads and even ripping the roofs off some buildings in the Peloponnese. In Athens heavy rain caused serious congestion on the roads but there were few reports of accidents. On Schistos Avenue near the Skaramanga Shipyards, west of the capital, two people were injured when the car they had been traveling in skidded on the slippery asphalt and careered into railings at the side of the road. The rain also led to the flooding of several basement and ground-floor homes and stores across Attica and the provinces. The fire services in the prefecture of Attica, Ileia and Aetoloacarnania received dozens of calls from shopkeepers and homeowners asking for water to be pumped out of their flooded premises. The problems caused by the bad weather in the Peloponnese were more serious. Parts of the peninsula were hit by small tornadoes which damaged farmland and whipped the roofs of some homes and a school in Ileia, a prefecture that was badly affected by the catastrophic forest fires of August 2007. Residents whose homes were damaged told Kathimerini that they were using plastic sheeting as temporary roofing. Strong winds also caused disruptions in coastal shipping, leading to the mooring of passenger ferries at Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina and also of some vessels at ports in the Aegean and the Ionian. In some areas winds reportedly reached 9 on the Beaufort scale. There was even some snow yesterday, chiefly in mountainous parts of northern Greece. The snowfall was heaviest in the prefectures of Florina and Kastoria. Meteorologists said that the bad weather was unlikely to abate in most parts of the country over the next few days, noting that strong winds would probably cause more problems at sea. From: Kathimerini Ferries moored - 2 November, 2009 Passenger ferries and other vessels remained moored at the ports of Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina yesterday as winds intensified. Some ports in the Aegean were also affected, though strong winds were expected to ease off overnight. Meanwhile light snow fell in mountainous parts of northern and central Greece and on Mount Parnitha, north of Athens. Nurses care more for desks Nearly half of all nurses recruited by state hospitals subsequently seek transfers to cushier administrative positions, sources have told Kathimerini, noting that the widespread practice of transfers is partly responsible for a shortage of some 15,000 nursing staff at state health facilities. According to official figures of the National Health Service (ESY), between 20 and 25 percent of nursing staff are given transfers. But sources tell Kathimerini that this rate is closer to 50 percent. Of 7,000 nursing staff recruited from 2004 to 2009, between 2,500 and 3,000 were subsequently given transfers, the sources said. The reason cited by nurses seeking transfers is usually health problems but the real motive is usually low wages and poor working conditions. According to Stavros Koutsiobelis, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hospital Workers, the problem worsened last year with a “mass exodus” of nurses. “A whole industry of transfers has developed,” he said. Health and Social Policy Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou recently issued a circular aimed at freezing the transfers. From: Kathimerini Workers place the last section... - 31 October, 2009 Workers place the last section, weighing 10 tons, on top of the Propylaea [Acropolis], the monumental gateway to the Parthenon, yesterday. After nine years of restoration work, the gateway is finally ready to be unveiled and will be freed soon of scaffolding, officials said. From: Kathimerini Greeks most fearful in EU of being poor - 29 October, 2009 One in three Greeks say they struggle to make ends meet, according to the results of a Eurobarometer survey which shows the Greek people to be among the most “fearful of poverty” in the European Union. A total of 35 percent of Greek respondents declared that their salaries were inadequate to cover their needs. This is in direct contrast to the EU average, with one in three EU citizens claiming not to have any particular money problems. The survey also showed that Greeks have one of the highest rates of “fear of poverty” in the bloc, with 84 percent saying that the worsening of their financial situation was a prominent concern. The Greeks come just behind the French in their anxiety, while the Hungarians are the most fearful with 96 percent claiming to fear poverty. At the other end of the scale, the Swedes are the most optimistic, with 61 percent claiming not to be overly worried about money. The weather Rainy conditions are expected to clear gradually, though overcast skies will prevail over much of the country and there is a chance of morning showers in northern Crete. Winds will be northeasterly at speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean, while temperatures will range from 5C (41F) to 19C (66F) in the north, 7C (45F) to 21C (70F) in central and southern Greece, and 10C (50F) to 22C (72F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Northerly winds are expected to pick up significantly, sweeping more clouds across the country and pushing temperatures down, starting from the north and spreading to the south. Rain is also expected in the north and parts of central Greece, as well as light snowfall on the mountains. The southern Peloponnese and Crete may also experience some showers as well as low temperatures on the higher elevations. From: Kathimerini TAXI FARES - 27 October, 2009 Taxi charges are to increase from Sunday with the fare charged per kilometer rising to 0.60 euros from 0.48 euros. Another hike is due in May 2010 when the rate will reach 0.72 euros per kilometer. From Sunday, the fare after midnight will rise from 0.84 euros to 1.05 euros. These incremental increases followed a gentleman’s agreement reached in April between unionists representing taxi drivers and then Transport Minister Evripidis Stylianidis. From: Kathimerini Weather warning - 23 October, 2009 The General Secretariat for Civil Protection yesterday issued a warning to local authorities that heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are likely to affect much of the country today and tomorrow. The Ionian Sea is expected to be the worst affected with southerly winds forecast to reach 8 or even 9 on the Beaufort scale. Winds are likely to intensify in the central and southern Aegean on Sunday and could affect scheduled passenger ferry itineraries. From: Kathimerini The weather - 19 October, 2009 Cloudy with scattered showers and rainstorms in western and northern Greece. Local cloud elsewhere with a possibility of occasional rain in Thessaly, Crete and the eastern Aegean. Winds will be southwesterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort, later turning west-northwesterly in the west at the same speeds. Temperatures will range from 8C (46F) to 20C (68F) in the north, 12C (54F) to 23C (73F) in the west and 10C (50F) to 26C (79F) in other parts of the country. OUTLOOK: Conditions are expected to improve somewhat tomorrow, though there is a possibility of brief local showers in western Greece, the eastern Aegean and Crete. Winds will be west-northwesterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and temperatures are likely to drop slightly. Generally clear skies are forecast for Wednesday, along with light variable winds. Temperatures are expected to rise slightly. From: Kathimerini Doctors convicted - 17 October, 2009 A court in the Cretan town of Iraklio yesterday convicted two medics in connection with the death of a 9-year-old boy who underwent an operation to have his tonsils removed at their private clinic. The surgeon was given three years in jail and the anaesthetist had his license to practice revoked for a year. Neither have the right to appeal their sentences. From: Kathimerini British Rescue - 19 September, 2009 Alarm sounded on the Fire Department and the Department of Civil Protection of Chania Prefecture shortly after 3.30 yesterday afternoon. A British 64 years old with his wife crossed the Path E4, suffered a heart attack resulting in the need of services for the Hospital to act now. The Head of the Department of Civil Protection of Chania Prefecture, Charalambos Koukianakis, referring to the event, said: "A pair of British citizens, a 64 years old man and a 60 years old woman, who stayed in a hotel in the area of Maleme, began to cross the E4 path that starts from Paleochora towards Sougia. Starting from the location Gialiskari, about midway, at around 3.30 this afternoon, the wife informed servants of a British hotel that the husband probably suffered a heart attack and is left unconscious in that area, despite her attempts with several massages to revive him. The hotelier informed the Fire Department, which informed the Civil Protection and launched an effort to reach them. Mr. Koukianakis stressed to accelerate the transition of men, the District leased a vessel from Sougia on which men of the Fire Brigade of Kampanos and volunteers of the Fire Group of Selino boarded, and they went to Lissos and then after walking - having constant contact with the foreigners - identified the tourists at 6.30 that afternoon. Meanwhile, men of the Fire Service of Kantanos and Pelekanos had begun to find the two Britons. According to Mr Koukianakis, the British were transported by ambulance finally - late afternoon - to the General Hospital of Chania, which provided the necessary medical assistance. "I want to thank everyone involved in the operation, because at this point of year we had multiple events," said Mr Koukianakis. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Spike in dead sea mammals Conservation experts yesterday highlighted a worrying increase in the number of marine mammals that have washed up dead on the country’s islands and coastlines over the past week or so. The most serious incident reported by the Institute of Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea, also known as Archipelagos, was the discovery of a young female sperm whale on the northern coast of Samos. The mammal’s body bore no sign of injury, according to experts, who noted that early fall usually brings an increase in the migration of sperm whales into the area between the islands of the eastern Aegean and Turkey. Archipelagos researchers also reported finding two dead dolphins, one in Alimos, southern Athens, and another on Samos. The cause of their deaths was also unclear. A dead loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta-caretta), found on the coast of Icaria, had been knifed, conservationists said. From: Kathimerini Pankritio Diving Festival in Loutro - 18 September, 2009 An important festival, bringing together divers from all over the island, will be held from 25 to September 27 in Loutro, Sfakia.
As noted in yesterday's press conference by Harris Karavarakis, the organiser of the the festival, it was based on an idea of the President of our Association Manos Roumeliotaki. Such events are within the objectives of our association, and with a view to creating diving in our parks.'' He added''the benefits of creating diving parks is all for the protection of marine life since those areas will be established diving parks, fishing is prohibited. 'The festival has a great impact and we hope that next year there will be contributions of divers from all over Greece.' ''I want to thank the Prefecture of Chania for the help he provides, and the diving center in Sfakia, NOTOS MARE, which will support us in the conduct of diving, he said. Roumeliotakis Manos, vice president of the Association,''said the festival is aimed at certified divers and will offer to all experience levels, from beginners to very experienced, and participation is free. Mr. Roumeliotakis''said the festival also includes a diving program rich in magical waters of southern Crete. The spokesman of the Association, Professor at the Polytechnic Mr Samoladas, said:''The centers are places of protection of the sea but are not related to species extinction. It simply places protection in order to develop a rich sea life, which will provide stunning images of the seabed to all those involved with diving. Mr. Samoladas added that the benefits of creating diving parks are numerous. They Contribute to sustainable development, tourism promotion of the place and the economic development of regions, since the interest of the people involved in the diving time increased with time.'' ''The dream of our Association is at some point in the prefecture of Chania, to create a diving park. We need enormous amounts of money or complex structures for the creation of such parks. We hope that the government will realize the benefits, and support these efforts of our Association.'' The prefecture of Chania offers exceptional areas which are suited to create a diving park. Features to mention are the Bay Area in Kalathas. In this area there are beautiful underwater caves which can be visited by anyone involved in diving, while developing rich marine life. This area alone has all the elements, rocky bottom, etc. for developing all kinds of underwater life.'' The program also includes films from the diving activities of the Association. Translated from: Haniotika Nea MIG open to idea of selling Olympic Air back to the state Marfin Investment Group (MIG), which recently purchased lossmaking Olympic Airlines, is open to talks on selling the air carrier back to the government, as it gets ready to start flight operations in October. MIG Vice Chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos said that if there is a change in government on October 4, the new administration will have three months to decide whether it wants to repurchase the airline or buy a stake in it. “We first need to find out the government’s intentions,” Vgenopoulos told reporters. In April, MIG agreed to purchase Olympic Airlines, its ground-handling and aircraft maintenance units from the Greek state and has since been preparing to launch flight operations under the new company, Olympic Air. Socialist opposition party PASOK, which is leading the conservatives in the polls by between 5 and 6 percent, is believed to be interested in buying back a minority stake in the airline, which it considers to be of “strategic importance.” Vgenopoulos ruled out running the airline alongside the government. MIG has announced a $1.1 billion investment plan for Olympic Air, providing it with “one of the newest aircraft fleets in Southeast Europe.” Olympic Air’s fleet of aircraft will number 32 planes, including 16 Airbus 319s and 320s and 10 Bombardier Q400 aircraft. It is interested in joining SkyTeam, the world’s second-largest airline alliance, with 14 carrier partners, said Vgenopoulos, adding that “it is still very early” for such a deal. From: Kathimerini Tender for airline routes postponed - 17 September, 2009 The Transport Ministry yesterday called off a tender awarding state-subsidized airline routes to private air carriers due to the October 4 elections. “The tender procedure will be relaunched after the new government takes office,” the ministry said in a statement. Recently privatized Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines were among the seven companies that took part in the tender to service 17 mainly island destinations. The tender involves providing flights from Athens and Thessaloniki to islands that include Kalymnos, Icaria, Astypalaia, Skiathos, Skyros, Samos, Chios, Lesvos, Karpathos and Kythera. The offer, announced by Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority, encompasses a total of 24 routes that are commercially unviable, hence the state subsidies for the carriers that serve them. Other companies that participated in the tender for the routes were Astra Airlines, Athens Airways, Carpatair, Hellas Jet and Sky Express. Regarding the ongoing privatization of Olympic Air, the ministry said procedures are moving ahead as planned for the completion of the sale and the new company will launch flights by the end of the month. Marfin Investment Group, which purchased the loss-making airline, is scheduled to unveil the future plans of Olympic Air at a press conference in Athens today. From: Kathimerini On the natural environment of Chania Prefecture - 16 September, 2009 Monitoring and protecting the natural environment of the prefecture is the purpose of the Geographical Information System in the prefecture of Chania, which will be presented at a ceremony today at 10 am in the Board Room West Crete of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). Yesterday, at a press conference of the District it stated that this system will monitor places like the Samaria Gorge and will promptly intervene in case of fire and all citizens can be "digital" access to the property. In a news conference yesterday the Prefect of Chania, Grigoris Archontakis, said "the project" Geographic Information System in the prefecture of Chania 'refers to support for the maintenance, development, protect the environmental and historical character by law, and to make the relevant decisions. In the same framework a comprehensive crisis management system is developed, to combat fires in the Samaria Gorge and will be providing information to operators of the county and citizens on issues and areas related to the environment via the Internet. For the project a digital geographic database of the Prefecture will be created with all the thematic information layers available, like: administrative county boundaries, cities, municipal districts, villages, digital elevation models, separate roads, fire outbreaks with their point of origin, fuel types, and illegal land dumps. Also protected areas of the county, Natura 2000 areas, and land coverage, protected areas, and it will classify the existing activities or facilities which are directly linked to the outbreak of fire, classified maps of vegetation, classified forest maps, wildlife refuges, protected forests and forest land, geology and soil type, the river network, and the division of areas, sites, places of tourist interest, etc. According to the Prefect of Chania, the project, which will group and connect together all available information so as to produce a comprehensive picture of the department, will be a valuable tool for any organization. The purpose of the meeting which will be undertaken in the TEE is to collect data and encourage the institution of laws. Mr. Archontakis added that: "The 'Geographical Information System in the prefecture of Chania" will not only protect the Samaria Gorge and the mountains of the prefecture. In the system we can include information that will digitize all roads in the prefecture of Chania on the basis of agriculture, forestry, provincial, municipal areas, Natura protected areas, landfills, protected areas, forest maps, shelters, protected forests, water costs, etc. It is a file that each institution should have participation in, so the conclusion of having a central database at county level which can be accessed by anyone who has to do with the land of the county, and is wishing to implement this development. The General Secretary of the Prefecture of Chania, Kyriakos Kotsoglou, stated that "when the database is completed anyone can come to be notified about urbanisation as a part of the land and can be informed on how close to the networks, the road is, what the coordinates, what land is, how it is used, the crops it had previously, if it is forest, how close are archaeological sites, etc. All this information will be digitized and available to every citizen. Essentially, the Prefecture is trying to create - with the collaboration of all stakeholders- an open system that will be available to the entire public. " As pointed out by Kotsoglou, the next time the Prefecture of Chania will create an GIS agency, a Topographical Department in the Prefecture, that will manage this information. The "Geographic Information System in the prefecture of Chania" is the recording, viewing and monitoring of the natural environment of the prefecture of Chania and will be available in a wide range of institutions and to individuals. The G.I.S. (Geographical Informations Systems) or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a system of collection, storage, management, analysis and display of information on matters of geographical nature which has experienced great growth in the last two decades. It is a scientific area that includes an impressive range of methods and techniques, generalized and specialized for processing, analyzing and presenting geographic data of the environment. The "Geographical Information System in the prefecture of Chania will be implemented with funding from the Prefecture and the Program Information Society. The project is scheduled to be finished by 31/12/09, with a total budget of around EUR 600,000. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Jobless rate seen above 17 percent Greece’s unemployment rate is expected to shoot up to 17.3 percent in 2010, from 8.6 percent currently, according to the country’s largest union group, the General Confederation of Greek Workers, known by its Greek acronym GSEE. GSEE, which represents some 2 million private sector workers, yesterday presented a study put together by its Labor Institute INE, which estimates that the jobless rate will rise to 15 percent by the end of the year. [...] Solar MW capacity doubled The installed capacity of solar energy systems in Greece more than doubled within just seven months by July, according to the Renewable Energy Sources Center. The combined electricity output from the installed units reached 29.8 mega-watts in July from just 14 MW in January, thanks to legislative initiatives of the last few years aimed at boosting the market’s development, said Yiannis Vouyiouklakis, head of the center’s development section. He was addressing a conference titled “Photovoltaic Systems in Greece.” Vouyiouklakis stated that the market’s growth has been helped by an impressive drop in the cost of purchasing solar panels, which has fallen over 35 percent within a year. He also suggested that it is by harnessing solar and wind energy that Greece could meet the national target of getting 20 percent of its energy via renewable energy sources. However, Giorgos Vokas, secretary general of the Association of Photovoltaic Companies, said that despite initially high expectations, bureaucracy has cut the market’s potential growth rate. From: Kathimerini Extension of Chania airport - 14 September, 2009 As is known, the existing infrastructure of the airport "Kazantzakis" [Heraklion] is unable to adequately meet the increasing needs of western Crete, and at the same time the staff takes its own "battle" to prevent problems occurring in the 24 hour operation of the airport, since shortages in specific respects are many and huge, as repeatedly has been denounced by the workers, which is acknowledged by the Assistant Airport Manager Costas Tsioros. Mr. Tsioros said, speaking to Haniotika Nea, that the extension of the terminal building will be auctioned in 2010, according to information to date, noting, however, that these are not yet sure, given the present instable political situation. Mr. Tsioros stated further that the study for the extension, and the new control tower, "have included proposals to improve the existing infrastructure of the airport, as it exists now. My intentions are to start processes to optimize existing infrastructure in the autumn. There are some issues, but in the middle of the season this is difficult to see. Finishing the season and to try in the future to be more competitive, and then we will see if some of these infrastructures will profit directly, "said Mr. Tsioros. Referring to the Staff he acknowledged that "the fact is that we operate with inadequate staff, with inadequate infrastructure, with all that it entails. Because the 24-hour operation, the testing of infrastructure and personnel, which must be constantly present, is difficult. Asked to specify how many vacancies there are for airport employees, Mr. Tsioros noted that "many are missing. I think the staff should be doubled. There are urgent and immediate staffing needs in key sectors. Especially this year, as the airport of Chania has mainly the support of seasonal personnel, like other years. Each year eight to ten people are hired as seasonal staff. This year was this was not possible due to lack of funds. It is, and stays, a problem. According to him, another problem is the reduction of funds given to the operational needs of the airport. "We know the problems, but as a decentralized body of a central organ we can not claim more. This is clear, "said Tsioros, stressing, however, that despite the difficulties given "the airport copes with the increased needs". PARKING Referring to the issue of parking aircraft, Mr Tsioros said "we made an effort and have already made plans to Athens to increase parking in the existing space by 8 today to 12 to 14 later. It is something being investigated. Also, in the process of implementing the development of an area which will be used for general civilian aviation, we hope that next season we can accommodate either small general aviation aircraft (8 to 10) or larger aircraft (business jet), which will bring us a useful and growing foreign revenue, both to the airport, and to the area of Chania, "said Mr Tsioros. He did not comment on recent reports of Haniotika Nea, whereby it was possible to find parking at the airport of Chania for six small private aircraft from Slovakia, so their owners would be able to come in for short Sitia holidays, although the original destination was the city of Chania. "As for the" denial "of the six possible private aircraft from Slovakia it should be observed that we are clearly talking about a limited area of general aviation. The location is suited for around 10 to 12 planes. In summer we have increased interest by domestic operators, who occupy the main positions, so this period is not offer sufficient places for the safe parking of six aircraft. The priority for us this year is to serve charter flights and a parking space makes a difference, believe me. " Extension of the terminal and a new control tower The project includes the expansion of the terminal by 15,586 square meters, the construction of a new aircraft control tower total on an area of 500 sq.m. after the refurbishing - upgrading the existing terminal space and the expansion of the surrounding area. The new terminal will be able to accommodate 2,100 passengers in both directions or 1,400 passengers per direction at peak hour. Translated from: Haniotika Nea The weather The Ionian, mainland and northern Aegean will see clouds and scattered downpours. Clouds and light showers are forecast elsewhere, especially on the Cycladic islands and Crete. Winds will be southerly-southeasterly, at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in most parts, and northwesterly to 4 Beaufort in the southeast, while temperatures will range from 14C (57F) to 25C (77F) in the north and 15C (59F) to 28C (82F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Mainland Greece will experience brief but heavy downpours, while winds are expected to come in from different directions and temperatures to remain mostly unchanged. The weather will improve across the county on Wednesday, although it will begin to deteriorate again overnight and into Thursday. Winds in the Ionian will be southerly-southeasterly at light to moderate speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and in the Aegean northwesterly at up to 6 Beaufort. From: Kathimerini Road accidents in Crete - 12 September, 2009 One person dies every two days on the roads of Crete and three are seriously injured. The crucial factor for the outcome of the life of the injured are the first critical minutes after the accident, during which there is an urgent need for the proper provision of primary care by rescuers, doctors and nurses.
Mr. Vourvachakis stressed that «in Greece and Crete in particular is a massacre. As you know every second day in Crete we have one dead. For every dead we have three serious injuries. [...] And you know very well that as a country we are not yet ready to be able to help these people. It is therefore more important to learn to care for them at the scene of an accident, before ending with neurological problems, rather than treating them in bad condition after», said Mr. Vourvachakis. Asked to comment on the quality of the road network of Crete, Mr. Vourvachakis noted that «it is one of the worst there is. [...] He, however, hastened to point out that «80% of road accidents is in the city because of violations of the Highway Code. It is a question, then, not only for better roads, but also on education. I think that driver education should start at primary school. Everyone must help in this.» The care for the wounded Mr. Vourvachakis stated further that «most important for life and quality of life of injured and the ones in need of any emergency are the first minutes after the injury, after the accident. when experienced and well trained people in the first minutes give the correct first aid, then not only lives, but also patient quality of life is guaranteed. We know that if the brain a few seconds is left without oxygen, it begins to breaks down. When you go several minutes without oxygen damage can be permanent. Somehow, then, should a trained doctor, rescue worker, nurse and a citizen of course, give first aid to provide oxygen to the brain of the victim, the first minutes after the injury », concluded Mr Vourvachakis. Note that the two-day meeting concludes today at the auditorium of the Hospital. Translated from: Haniotika Nea Hania sees its tourism suffer loss - 11 September, 2009 Foreign arrivals at the airport of Hania in western Crete showed a 9.3 yearly drop in the March-August period this year, according to a survey by the Economic and Business Administration Department of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Hania and the Financial Engineering Laboratory of Crete Polytechnic. The survey, which focused on the impact of the international economic crisis on Hania tourism, found that arrivals dropped from 437,358 last year to 402,911 this year. It also found that one-third of tourists (33.3 percent) reduced their spending during their stay in Hania prefecture due to the financial crisis. As for the purchase of local traditional products, some 21.1 percent of foreign tourists reported that they had reduced their spending in that direction, with 57.9 percent of British tourists in particular cutting this expenditure. There was also a decline in the use of rented cars and taxis by just over 20 percent, the survey found. From: Kathimerini Clean seas - 10 September, 2009 Scientists appear to be reassuring as to the quality of waters of the Cretan and Libyan seas surrounding the island of Crete. The data obtained in recent years by a series of investigations of the sea, show that the situation is controlled on pollution. Indeed, the contamination by oil derivatives, which were previously visible on the coast with large amounts of tar, has declined significantly, a very encouraging sign according to scientists. "What you see is that we have less extremes of marine pollution as we had earlier in Crete" said Mr. Costas Dounis researcher at the Greek Center for Marine Research in Heraklion. He stresses that "the situation is improved compared with the past and we are happy." For the reasons found for this improvement Mr Dounis replied that "in a program that we had done before 7-8 years, measuring the levels of tar in the sea and tried to look where they come from. In the report we record the problem and its source. Large tankers moving from Africa to Europe for various reasons left behind by oil and other derivatives, many of which ended in the waters and shores of the island. Making the issue public has had dramatic results. Especially in recent years there has been a dramatic improvement of the situation and I think that our research somehow helped in this." Biological cleaning The improvement of water quality has helped important biological cleaning operations in various parts of the island. Beyond the need for construction and other life, where necessary, the researchers draw attention to proper operation. "It is not enough just to have a biological treatment, but should work and correct. We have a partnership with the DEYA Chania and monitor the output of the pipeline and its biological effects are very well," said Mr Dounis. Especially with regards to the southern coast of Crete, and particularly to Paleochora, Mr. Dounis states awareness of the problem. "For Paleochora I can say that the issue is serious and can not continue because this issue is not only a matter of pollution but also of culture. Plus, it can lead to dumping waste water untreated into the sea" he concludes. Not funded research Despite the important work done by the Greek Center for Marine Research and earlier by IMBC, it lacks the necessary resources for research. Our country lags behind in research funding at European level, and does not assist either this important scientific institution to conduct a comprehensive study of pollution-registration at sea surrounding Crete, and does not respond to its propositions. Thus, they ignore all elements of the scientists from their daily contact with the sea in all research efforts. IN SFAKIA For the possession of half a gram of hashish a foreign national was accused, who, according to the Police Department Chania yesterday, was arrested Monday afternoon in Sfakia, after review by the Board of Drugs in Chania, in cooperation with the Department of Police Enterprises (TAE) Apokoronou. Translated from: Haniotika Nea More sign up for fast Internet Broadband Internet penetration in Greece reached 15.6 percent of the population at the end of June, increasing 40.7 percent from the same period last year, as the sector shows resilience to the economic downturn, according to the Observatory for the Greek Information Society. The Observatory, a state organization appointed with the task of collecting and assessing data on Greece’s Information Society, said 41,137 new connections were made every month in the first half of the year and that convergence with European Union averages looks set to take place toward the end of 2010. The Observatory was not able to provide any information on EU averages. Demand in the first half did not appear to be influenced by economic uncertainty, as aggressive pricing policy moves on the part of Internet service providers have sustained customer interest. “Prospects for the second half of 2009 continue to be favorable,” it said, adding that the penetration rate at the end of the year is seen at between 17 and 17.8 percent. From: Kathimerini The weather - 9 September, 2009 Scattered showers are forecast off and on across the country but especially in central Macedonia, Thessaly, Evia, the eastern mainland, Cyclades and Crete. Morning showers are likely in the eastern Aegean and Dodecanese and on the mainland in the afternoon. Winds will be northeasterly, 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures from 11C (52F) to 25C (77F) in the north and 14C (57F) to 28C (82F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Scattered showers are forecast on Thursday, especially in the afternoon hours in the southwest and possibly on the mountains of the mainland. Winds will be east-northeasterly, 4 to 6 Beaufort, and temperatures will rise slightly. Showers and occasional rainstorms are expected on Friday, chiefly in the central and southern parts of the country. Winds will be southeasterly to northeasterly, 5 to 7 Beaufort, and temperatures will remain stable. From: Kathimerini Greeklish mars pupils’ language - 8 September, 2009 The growing use of Greeklish by schoolchildren is adversely affecting their spelling skills and may ultimately pose a threat to the Greek language, according to a recent study. The study was carried out by the Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Western Macedonia during the 2008-09 school year, with the participation of children and teachers in all grades of secondary education at schools in Kozani, northern Greece. Greeklish, or Grenglish, is the Greek language written with the Latin alphabet. A form of transliteration, it is commonly used by Greeks in e-mail communications, instant messaging and text messages sent by cell phone. But according to the study, the widespread use of Greeklish, which begins as early as elementary school, has led to an increase in spelling and other errors in school essays. Apart from spelling, the most common types of mistakes were failing to insert accent or punctuation marks, the use of English punctuation marks and combining Greek and Latin letters in the same word. The frequency with which teachers reported finding words written in Greeklish in school essays was as high as 64.3 percent. Teachers said they were also finding unexpected errors, such as a change in the tense or person in the case of verbs, the use of the wrong declension for nouns and the replacement of one word by another with a totally different meaning. [...] The weather Cloudy with showers and rainstorms in central and eastern Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, central Greece, eastern and southern Peloponnese, Crete and the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean. Local cloud with a possibility of brief showers. Winds will be northeasterly in the Ionian at 3 to 5 Beaufort and in the Aegean 6 to 8 Beaufort. Temperatures will range from 14C (57F) to 22C (72F) in the north and 15C (59F) to 26C (79F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Changeable and cloudy over the next two days with occasional showers and rainstorms, especially over the mainland. Winds in the west will be north-northeasterly at speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort and easterly at 5 to 7 Beaufort in the east, gradually easing. Temperatures will remain at relatively low levels for the time of year. From: Kathimerini Ferry collision - 7 September, 2009 A passenger ferry that had been en route for Piraeus from the island of Rhodes yesterday, carrying 262 passengers, sustained minor damage when it hit a rocky outcrop off the island of Karpathos. The vessel moored at Karpathos for a precautionary inspection and was expected to continue its journey later in the day. From: Kathimerini Briton, 22, dies after fall on Mt Olympus - 5 September, 2009 A 22-year-old British climber suffered fatal injuries after a fall during an ascent of Mount Olympus in northern Greece, police in Pieria said yesterday. According to officers, Stephen Wright, from Gloucestershire in southwest England, had been climbing with a 21-year-old Greek friend at an altitude of 700 meters (2,300 feet) when he slipped and fell on the western slope of Zilnia, on Thursday evening. The serious head injuries he sustained in the fall led to his death during his transfer to the hospital, police said. A team of rescue crews reached the spot where Wright had fallen and retrieved his body early yesterday. Standing at 2,917 meters (9,570 feet), Mt Olympus, the mythological home of the ancient Greek gods, is the country’s highest mountain and a popular destination for climbers. From: Kathimerini The weather - 3 September, 2009 Clear skies and plenty of sunshine are forecast across the country, with the only exceptions the patches of cloud that are forecast to roll in by afternoon on the mainland and the isolated rainstorms that are likely on the mountains. Winds will be northwesterly, 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures are expected to range from 16C (61F) to 36C (97F) on the mainland and 20C (68F) to 33C (91F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Scattered clouds are forecast tomorrow afternoon on the mainland, with the chance of rainstorms, especially on the mountainous regions. Winds will be west-northwesterly, at 3 to 5 Beaufort, and temperatures will rise. Scattered clouds are expected on Saturday in the west and north, with possible showers in the afternoon, especially in the north. Hot weather will prevail in the rest of the country, with northwesterly winds blowing at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort. Karamanlis calls early elections Ending days of intense speculation, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis called early general elections yesterday, appealing to the public to give his beleaguered conservative party a “fresh mandate” to push through reforms and tackle the impact of the global financial crisis. Addressing the nation in a televised speech, Karamanlis referred to a “harsh new reality” and stressed that citizens would have to choose between the “hard road” of tougher reforms or the “easy road” of unpopular measures, including a crackdown on widespread tax evasion and curbs on public spending. The premier did not determine a date for the snap polls, though they are expected on October 4. [...] From: Kathimerini Tourist arrivals to drop around 10 percent - 2 September, 2009 Tourist arrivals to Greece will drop around 10 percent this year, Gerasimos Fokas, head of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels said yesterday. Revenue will fall by between 16 and 17 percent, or 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion), as the financial crisis hits traveler spending, according to an e-mailed transcript of Fokas’s comments, citing figures from the Bank of Greece. Passenger arrivals at Athens International Airport fell 7.1 percent in the first seven months of the year, according to data on the airport’s website. Tourism accounts for about 16 percent of Greece’s gross domestic product and about one in five jobs, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council, an industry group. From: Kathimerini ROOM RAIDER - 1 September, 2009 A 33-year-old Belgian man has been arrested on Crete on suspicion of stealing 18,000 euros in cash, jewelry and mobile phones, along with an accomplice, from several rooms in a hotel in Hania where he had been staying. Police said that the man, who was not named, is suspected of breaking into the rooms of five guests, either by climbing onto their balconies or forcing the door open in a way that did not leave any marks. The name of the hotel was not made public. Officers are also looking for a 33-year-old Frenchman who was staying in the hotel along with the Belgian. From: Kathimerini Man with shotgun lets fly in Crete pharmacy - 31 August, 2009 A pharmacist was injured in the face and hand in the Cretan city of Hania on Saturday when a robber armed with a shotgun opened fire in his store. Police said that the pharmacist, who was not named, was in the shop with an employee on Saturday evening when the robber walked in and demanded cash from the register. The pharmacist approached the armed man in an attempt to disarm him, at which point he fired his shotgun. The shot missed the pharmacist but he was injured by shards of glass that were sent flying when the pellets hit the store’s computer. The gunman fled immediately and the victim was taken to the local hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Police arrested a suspect soon after the incident took place. From: Kathimerini Wildfire destruction assessment - 29 August, 2009 65 homes in the prefecture of Attica have been totally destroyed by the devastating wildfires of last week-end, while another 143 homes have suffered partial destruction but have been deemed repairable according to damage assessment authorities at the Public Works Ministry. Full destruction has also been reported to four public buildings and 32 stables, warehouses and other buildings. Partial destruction has been reported to 8 public buildings, churches, commercial buildings and warehouses. From: ERT Cretan Mr Fix-it ‘doing well’ after 4-story fall - 28 August, 2009 A 50-year-old man who fell off the roof of a four-story building near the Cretan port of Hania was in the intensive-care unit of a local hospital yesterday but reportedly in surprisingly good health. The 50-year-old is believed to have climbed onto the roof of the apartment building to fix a television antenna and to have subsequently slipped and fallen. According to witnesses, the man landed on the hood of an agricultural vehicle that had been parked next to the building. Local residents and store owners who saw his spectacular plunge called an ambulance which arrived quickly and transferred him to Hania’s general hospital. According to a doctor at the hospital, the 50-year-old had been conscious and in “a relatively good condition” when ambulance workers collected him from the scene of the fall. ACROPOLIS MUSEUM More than half a million people have visited the Acropolis Museum since it opened to the public just over two months ago, the museum’s management said yesterday. More specifically, a total of 523,540 visitors have viewed the museum’s exhibits since June 20. Of these, 60 percent are foreign visitors, museum officials said. During the same two-month period, 409,000 hits by different users from 180 countries were recorded by the museum’s website, www.theacropolismuseum.gr. From: Kathimerini Offers by 7 airlines submitted - 27 August, 2009 Recently privatized Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines were among the seven companies that took part in the government’s call for tenders for state-subsidized routes, seeking to service 17 mainly island destinations, according to local press reports. Aegean, which competes with recently privatized Olympic Air, said it offered to service the routes with Avro RJ100 112-seat jets and ATR 72 88-seat planes. It offered to service routes including the islands of Kalymnos, Icaria, Astypalaia, Skiathos, Skyros, Samos, Chios, Lesvos, Karpathos and Kythera, providing flights from Athens and Thessaloniki. Olympic Air is believed to be interested in servicing all 24 routes. The tender announced by Greece’s civil aviation authority encompasses a total of 24 routes that are commercially unviable, hence the state subsidies for carriers operating them. The other companies that took part in the tender were Astra Airlines, Athens Airways, Carpatair, Hellas Jet and Sky Express. The deadline for offers expired yesterday. From: Kathimerini Matches postponed - 24 August, 2009 Two Greek Super League matches were postponed yesterday because of the forest fires in the northeastern suburbs of Athens. Defending champion Olympiakos had been scheduled to play AEK Athens at the Olympic Stadium and Panionios had been set to play PAOK in the district of Nea Smyrni. Organizers said new dates would be announced for both games in due course. The weekend’s other games went ahead as scheduled with the highlight being Panathinaikos’s 3-0 win over Ergotelis on Crete. From: Kathimerini Dozens of fires rage around Greek capital, thousands evacuated - 23 August, 2009 Thousands of people were evacuated Sunday from areas around Athens as over 85 wildfires blazed across the country, fuelled by hot temperatures and gale-force winds. The government has declared a state of emergency around the capital as nearly 600 fire fighters battled flames that have engulfed about 12,000 hectares. Some of the fires are suspected to have been started by arsonists. “We’re seeing panic-stricken residents fleeing from their homes,” said correspondent Helena Smith, who said the fires, which started late Friday, remind people of blazes that engulfed the country in the summer of 2007 and killed 77 people.
“Municipal officials are saying that more than 10,000 residents of these outlying suburbs have been evacuated from their homes,” she said. Two children’s hospitals, a summer camp and a retirement home are also threatened by the blazes. “We have a clearly panicked government because coordination amongst the fire fighting authorities is pretty poor,” she said, adding that fire fighters are being hampered by strong winds that are not only fanning the flames, but also constantly changing the fires’ direction. Many of the blazes were sparked by natural causes: hot temperatures and high winds combined with litter in the forest around the city. But many were deliberately set, reported Smith, by “arsonists bent on clearing land to allow developer to move in and build on it.” “It’s indicative that a lot of the real estate that has gone up in state in the last 72 hours here in Greece is prime forest land, prime real estate, and would be terribly expensive once constructed on,” she added. From: Radio France Internationale The weather - 22 August, 2009 Mostly sunny but with some cloud over the mainland. Winds north-northeasterly at 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures from 17C (63F) to 33C (91F) in the north, 18C (64F) to 35C (95F) in the west and 19C (66F) to 34C (93F) elsewhere. Some cloud on Sunday in Epirus and Macedonia. Winds northerly at 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Ionian and 6 to 8 Beaufort in the Aegean. No change in temperatures. OUTLOOK: Occasional rainstorms can be expected throughout the coming week, especially in the afternoon and early evening hours in Epirus, Macedonia, the mountains of Thessaly as well as other parts of the mainland. Winds are expected to ease off somewhat and temperatures are forecast to rise, most probably in the region of 1 or 2 degrees. Similar conditions are expected to prevail until the end of the week. From: Kathimerini Laser arrest - 21 August, 2009 Police in Halkidiki, northern Greece, yesterday detained a 37-year-old local man alleged to have used a laser pen to distract a police officer who had been driving a patrol car through the district of Nea Iraklia. The suspect is said to have sat in his parked car, shining the laser pen into the eyes of the officer. Over the past few weeks, three teenagers have been arrested for shining laser pens at the cockpits of commercial airliners coming in to land at Greek airports. From: Kathimerini The weather - 20 August, 2009 Sunny skies are expected across the country, with patches of afternoon cloud in Epirus, Macedonia and on the mountains of the mainland. Winds will be north-northeasterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Ionian and 6 to 8 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures will range from 17C (63F) to 33C (91F) in the north, from 18C (64F) to 35C (95F) in the west and from 18C (64F) to 34C (93F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Sunshine is forecast over the next couple of days, with scattered clouds, especially over the mainland during the afternoon and evening hours. Cloudless skies will prevail elsewhere around the country, with northeasterly winds at light to moderate speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and stronger at 6 to 8 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures are expected to rise slightly in the Ionian and on the mainland. From: Kathimerini Tourism registers 8 pct fewer visitors - 18 August, 2009 The number of foreign tourists visiting Greece fell about 8 percent in the first seven months of the year, indicating that the tourism sector may be holding up slightly better to the global crisis than initially expected, the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP) said yesterday. Nonprofit research group ITEP said a 7.6 percent increase in visitor arrivals to Athens in July partially offset sharp drops in areas such as Cephalonia and Hania, Crete. Rhodes’s performance was “satisfactory” ITEP added, as 2.8 percent fewer tourists visited the island this year, which means 276,840 people in total. “If this trend continues in August, in combination with satisfactory developments on Rhodes, it is possible the drop in foreign tourists visiting Greece in 2009 will not be in the double digits and could be in line with trends in global tourism [a drop of around 8 percent],” ITEP said in a statement. Industry sources had forecast a drop of around 15 percent in the number of tourists visiting Greece this year as consumers in Britain and Germany – two key markets for Greek tourism – have been hit hard by the global crisis. Performances recorded in Greece’s competing markets showed mixed results. In the first six months of the year, 11.5 percent fewer tourists visited Spain while the drop-off in Cyprus and Turkey was 10.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, ITEP added. Dangerous laser Two boys aged 13 and 14 have been arrested on Rhodes for forcing a pilot of a commercial flight to abandon a landing at the Dodecanese island’s airport on August 15 because they aimed a laser pointer at the airplane’s cockpit. The pilot of the flight from Alexandroupoli was forced to go around and land on his second attempt. The teenagers’ parents were also arrested for neglecting the care of their children. From: Kathimerini British teen dies in Malia - 17 August, 2009 The parents of a 17-year-old British tourist who was the half-brother of a Premier League soccer player flew to Crete on Friday to identify the teenager’s body after he was found dead on a building site at the Malia resort. Authorities said late on Thursday that the body of the Briton who went missing on Tuesday had been found. The 17-year-old was later identified as Andre Young, the half-brother of Aston Villa and England defender Luke Young. One witness said the teenager had been drinking heavily before attempting to make his way back to his hotel. Police on Crete are not treating Young’s death as suspicious, indicating that his head injuries resulted from a heavy fall. The behavior of British tourists in Malia has again attracted attention this summer after another visitor suffered second-degree burns when a Greek woman allegedly poured her drink over him and then set him alight. Her trial has been adjourned and is due to resume this week. Guns a’blazing Two men were admitted to hospital on Crete with gunshot wounds on Sunday after an argument outside a bar in the village of Kavro, near Hania. It is not clear what sparked the row but witnesses said both men, aged 27 and 33, pulled out handguns and fired at each other. One was shot in the stomach, the other in the arm. From: Kathimerini Feast of the Dormition in Greece - 15 August, 2009 If you're in Greece right now, don't assume anything is open on the festival date of August 15th, when the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Feast of the Dormition is observed. This is a major holiday for the Greeks, observing the day when the Virgin Mary is believed to have ascended into heaven, and they return home in droves to spend time with their families. On the day itself, archaeological sites and museums will be closed along with support businesses such as banks, many shops, and post offices and other government offices. [...] From: About.com New influenza - 14 August, 2009 The number of confirmed new influenza cases in Greece now stands at 1,424, of which 422 were confirmed by lab tests last week, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The centre’s report notes that the number of new cases last week is at about the same level as those of the previous week. Just under half of the cases are in Attica, while others are concentrated mainly in tourist regions. In the meantime, the World Health Organization has announced that pandemic was receding in countries of the southern hemisphere. In total it has killed 1,462 of the 177,457 people infected in 170 countries. From: ERT Greece tops list of drownings - 13 August, 2009 More swimmers drown in Greece than in any other European country, according to the Merchant Marine Ministry’s estimates for the season so far, largely as a result of irresponsible behavior and a lack of lifeguards on public beaches. Of the 171 people who have lost their lives off the country’s beaches this year, 134 were Greeks. “Although we have a very long coastline, it appears we don’t know how to swim properly and don’t have a good relationship with the sea,” said Spyros Mitritsakis, an instructor with Life Guard Hellas. “We often overestimate our abilities or swim after a meal.” Last summer, 314 people drowned, in 2007 it was 342, in 2006, 284, and in 2005, 275. By law, all beaches run by municipalities or private businesses must have a lifeguard, but in practice this is rarely the case, according to the lifeguards themselves. They charge that municipalities, the authorities responsible for hiring lifeguards, either fail to do so or try to find someone at the last minute. “The port authorities’ inspections are not as strict as they should be, but in any case the law itself has shortcomings. The fines for not having lifeguards are lower than what it would cost to hire them, so most municipal councils don’t bother,” added Mitritsakis. “Of course they don’t take into account the risk of loss of life or the damage done to the country’s image because of these incidents.” He said evidence showed that at beaches where lifeguards were on duty, the number of deaths by drowning dropped by at least half. “In fact there are places where as many as 10-12 people drowned every year, but after lifeguards were hired, the accidents ceased,” he said. Although over half the victims so far this year have been aged over 60, there were also a few children and teenagers. “It only takes 30 seconds for a child to drown,” said Dr Akis Terzidis of the Children’s Accidents Research and Prevention Center. “Adults should pay attention to what their children are doing, and not read the newspaper on the beach. Of course the state can’t just remember these issues once an unfortunate accident has happened.” From: Kathimerini CRETE CRASH - 11 August, 2009 One person was killed and a pregnant woman lost her baby in a six-car pile up on the Rethymno-Iraklio highway [near Panormo] late on Sunday. The deceased was identified as a 64-year-old man from Rethymno but he was not named. Traffic police said that the 64-year-old lost control of his car and crashed into oncoming traffic. Officers said it was not clear what caused the man to swerve. The pregnant woman was one of six people injured. She suffered a miscarriage on her way to the hospital. An Italian tourist was also slightly injured in the crash. Delay in torched tourist case The trial of a Greek woman accused of setting fire to a British tourist who allegedly made lewd advances toward her in a bar in the Malia resort of Crete was yesterday adjourned after the Briton returned to the UK in apparent fear for his safety. Marina Fanouraki, 26, is accused of throwing an alcoholic drink over 20-year-old Stuart Feltham in the Electra bar along the busy Malia strip, and then setting fire to him. Fanouraki denies setting Feltham, a plumber from Swindon in Wiltshire alight, but accepts that she threw her sambuca drink over him after he allegedly fondled her. The 26-year-old’s reaction has gained some support in Crete, where many locals are fed up with the behavior of some British tourists, and Feltham’s father suggested yesterday this was why his son, who suffered second-degree burns to his chest and stomach, flew back to England. “The local people are stirring things up so much,” said Ian Feltham. “She’s a martyr. I think it does cause a dangerous situation.” However, the plumber’s lawyer suggested his client returned home for other reasons. “I asked for the postponement of the case as Mr Feltham had to return home for medical issues and to gather more evidence with the help of his father,” said Giorgos Koundourakis. The trial has been postponed until August 17 but Koundourakis suggested that there could be a further delay so he can gather more witness statements. Feltham claims the attack was “completely unprovoked” and denies making any advances or speaking to Fanouraki before the incident. However, the 26-year-old yesterday decided to press charges of sexual assault, molestation and using insulting language against the British tourist. “Marina is the real victim of the attack and humiliation and she is the one who needs to have her honor restored,” said her lawyer Nikos Maniadakis. From: Kathimerini Ships and buses packed with Athenians leaving the city - 8 August, 2009 The number of people leaving Athens picked up yesterday as ferry companies reported that their vessels were almost full and more than 100 extra KTEL intercity buses were made available to Athenians headed for their vacations. More than 50 ferries were due to depart Piraeus yesterday, another 20 from the port of Lavrio and nine from Rafina. Also, 140 more KTEL buses were added to the 245 that were due to leave Athens yesterday. Those choosing to use their cars to leave the city were reminded that only one lane is open on a 5-kilometer stretch of the Athens-Lamia highway starting from the Martino junction. The work is due to last until August 12. Dip in tourist numbers confirmed As the ongoing financial crisis keeps hundreds of thousands of potential visitors to Greece at home, data released yesterday showed that passenger arrivals in the first seven months of the year fell around 8 percent, while the decline in money spent by visitors is expected to be considerably higher. Data from the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE) showed that the reduction in visitors arriving at the country’s main airports fell 8 percent year-on-year between January and July, versus a 9.6 percent drop in the first six months of the year. “The slight difference does not give cause for celebrations and rejoicing since it corresponds to only one side of the tourist sector,” SETE said in a statement. A breakdown of the figures, which measures arrivals at Greece’s 13 largest airports, shows that Cephalonia is having a particularly bad year, with total visitor numbers falling 23 percent to 80,826 for the seven-month period. Santorini has so far seen 12.6 percent fewer people visit its shores while the decrease on Samos has hit 14 percent. Figures for Athens show a 7 percent drop in visitor numbers to 1.8 million as the capital still feels the pinch from the December riots, according to some industry sources. Looking toward figures on an annual basis, Tourism Minister Costas Markopoulos said earlier this week he expects the drop in visitor arrivals in the current year to be between “a single- and double-digit figure.” The performance of the tourism sector will play a key role in determining the shape of the economy, since it accounts for about one-fifth of Greece’s annual economic output and one in five jobs. Figures from the Bank of Greece released recently show that in the first five months of the year the money spent by tourists in Greece fell 19 percent to 1.7 billion euros, in a trend likely to continue in coming months as special offers continue during the high season – July, August, September – in a bid to entice visitors. From: Kathimerini Greek woman sets fire to Briton in Malia bar - 7 August, 2009 A 20-year-old British tourist was yesterday being treated for second-degree burns at a hospital on Crete after a Greek woman he allegedly harassed in a bar in the rowdy resort of Malia retaliated by pouring alcohol over the visitor and then setting him alight. In a statement issued by Iraklio police late on Wednesday, officers said that the incident occurred at about 4 a.m., when the 20-year-old, who was allegedly drunk, engaged in lewd behavior. The 26-year-old Greek woman, a student, was apparently upset with the tourist’s behavior and grabbed a bottle of spirits that she then poured over the Briton, before setting fire to the liquid. The woman then left the bar but later the same day turned herself in to police. She was due to appear before a prosecutor yesterday. Neither of the people involved in the incident have been named. From: Kathimerini British man set on fire in Crete A British tourist's recovering from second-degree burns in Greece after he was set on fire at a nightclub. It's claimed Stuart Feltham, 23, from Swindon, Wiltshire, pulled his trousers down in front of a woman at the club in Malia, in Crete. She then poured sambuca over him and set it alight. According to reports in Greece, she says she was acting in self defence because he'd exposed himself to other people at the bar, and was fondling her. A 26 year old woman's due in court in Crete this morning charged with assault. The story's hit the headlines in Greece, where many people are unhappy about the way British tourists behave at resorts like Malia. Many people are calling the woman a heroine for the way she acted. The Foreign Office have put out a statement saying "We can confirm that in the early hours of Tuesday a 23-year-old British male national was assaulted in Crete. "We understand he suffered burns on his chest and abdomen." Newspaper reports say the man's now recovering at a private clinic. From: BBC Number of swine flu cases surpasses 1,000 - 6 August, 2009 Almost 300 new cases of swine flu have been detected in Greece over the past week, taking the total number of people in the country who have contracted the potentially fatal virus to over 1,000, the Hellenic Center for Infectious Diseases Control (KEEL) said yesterday. However, it is estimated that the actual number of cases in Greece is much higher, because mild cases are no longer reported by authorities. Of the 1,002 confirmed cases, 435 are people who have traveled from another country or those who have come into contact with them. Almost half (460) of the cases have been reported in Attica, followed by 159 cases on Crete and 127 on the Ionian Islands. Swine flu has been responsible for more than 1,100 deaths worldwide, none of which have been in Greece, although three people here have been admitted to intensive-care units. From: Kathimerini Low score on corruption front - 5 August, 2009 Some 5 billion euros are estimated to be laundered in Greece on an annual basis, versus 1.6 billion euros two years ago, according to bank officials and government sources. The growing extent of corruption in Greece has been confirmed by a recent World Bank report that shows that Greece is losing the battle against graft, which costs businesses and the Greek taxpayer 3.5 billion euros each year. This figure consists of almost 1.2 billion euros handed over by businesses to push through requests or speed up red-tape procedures. Greece’s position slipped last year in four of the six indices used to measure transparency and the government efficiency of a country. Greece fell far short of the averages shown by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Union countries. The lack of transparency in Greece compares the country to levels seen in Costa Rica, Chile and Mauritius, according to the World Bank. Annual reports from the World Bank on governance and transparency levels show that Greece is losing ground in comparison with 2007 on indices measuring freedom of speech, political stability, the quality of the legal framework and controlling corruption. There was, however, an improvement in the area of government efficiency and level of trust shown in laws. Scores obtained in all areas were considered average, with only a good score appearing regarding the institutional framework. Greece scored 60.9 units in 2008 as regards monitoring corruption when the OECD average stood at 90.2 units. The average among developed nations, which includes Greece, was above 81 units. On an international level, there have been improvements in the fight against corruption in the last decade but not as much as there should have been, the World Bank points out. Developing countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic have been improving at a faster rate than developed countries such as Italy and Greece, it adds. From: Kathimerini Motorist loses control on Crete, injures 14 children - 4 August, 2009 Three members of a boy scouts group were in an Iraklio hospital yesterday with serious injuries after a motorist lost control of his car and drove into them at a bus stop in Ierapetra. Another 11 of the children, who are aged between 10 to 15, sustained minor injuries, while two in the group emerged unscathed. According to witnesses, the accident occurred when the motorist swerved to avoid an oncoming motorcyclist who was not in his lane. H1N1 A 30-year-old man, the latest victim in Greece of swine flu, was in serious condition in Iraklio University Hospital, Crete, yesterday. Another man was recovering in the same hospital, while the condition of another two patients, a 42-year-old man and a 16-year-old British girl, was said to be stable. The Health Ministry has announced that four other hospitals, the Amalia Fleming and the Constantopouleio in Athens and the Papanikolaou and Ippocrateio in Thessaloniki, were treating patients for H1N1. Missing Czechs Two Czech tourists, both aged 28, who had gone missing in Crete’s White Mountains last Saturday were found on Sunday afternoon by a team of rescuers. The two had to be carried out of rugged gorge on the backs of rescuers, but were in good health. From: Kathimerini Record high for red tape - 3 August, 2009 Red tape has tightly ensnared the construction of the country’s largest tourism resort in southern Greece, which requires 3,000 signatures from different government bodies in order for the project to move forward. The Costa Navarino [ www.costanavarino.com ] resort in Messenia, the southern Peloponnese, has a total budget of 1.2 billion euros and its construction will take place in a zone that has been allocated for the purpose of tourism development. “In order to move ahead with any investment in Greece, it needs to be allowed by a specific law,” said Achilleas Constantakopoulos, managing director at TEMES SA, the company implementing and managing the investment, “as compared with England, for example, where you can set up whatever business you want to as long as it is not forbidden by any law.” Red tape is often cited by foreign investors as a reason for avoiding setting up shop in Greece, leaving the economy among EU’s the worst performers in attracting foreign direct investment. The Costa Navarino complex will provide jobs for 5,500 people when it starts operating fully and currently employs 1,300 staff on the construction site. In July, TEMES said it is starting procedures to fill 750 employment positions for the Navarino Dunes hotels, set to open in May next year. Navarino Dunes, which includes two five-star hotels and a golf course, is part of the Costa Navarino resort, “the largest tourism project under construction in the Mediterranean,” according to TEMES. Islands must boost recycling The absence of a comprehensive system for recycling thousands of tons of waste produced on the islands of the Cyclades is causing irreparable environmental damage and is likely to harm the tourism on which these small communities rely, ecologists have told Kathimerini. “Each island’s chief asset is its environment; we cannot destroy this with the uncontrolled dumping of waste,” said Antonis Mavropoulos, who heads a committee of scientists at the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association (HSWMA). He said that the widespread practice of home composting would be very useful but he also proposed the use of various new technologies for creative solutions to the islands’ waste disposal problem. “We could have a floating recycling center that would tour the islands, collect the trash from each community and then sort it,” Mavropoulos said. He stressed the importance of the government providing subsidies for such a center, which could serve the 21 major islands in the Cyclades and perhaps some of the dozens of smaller islands in the group. Philippos Kyrkitsos, president of the Ecological Recycling Society (Ecorec), said that well-organized cooperation was as important as funding. “If the situation is to improve, then all sides – recycling organizations, local authorities and the central government – must work together and focus on the islands.” Experts warn that if action is not taken now, the situation may become unmanageable over the next few years. Last year, the Cycladic islands produced some 67,000 tons of solid waste but this figure is expected to climb to 95,000 tons in 2018 and to 130,000 tons in 2028, if the current system is not modernized. Experts propose Cephalonia, in the Ionian Sea, and the Aegean island of Syros as good examples of island communities that have made impressive progress with recycling. Authorities on Cephalonia, where a recycling program is in its second year, claim to have reduced the volume of local waste going to landfills by up to 25 percent. From: Kathimerini
Thousands of Athenians took to the roads or squeezed onto packed ferries yesterday as the first big wave of summer holidaymakers left the capital. Vacationers laden with bags and suitcases thronged the ports of Attica waiting to board one of dozens of ferries setting sail for the Aegean Islands. More than 36,000 people departed from Piraeus alone on 34 ferries with another 20 ferries setting sail from Rafina and nine from Lavrio. This weekend is expected to be similarly hectic, with a total of 58 passenger ferries scheduled to leave Piraeus, 41 leaving Rafina and 14 setting sail from Lavrio. Athens International Airport was busy too, with about 200 flights taking off for domestic and international destinations with thousands more holidaymakers. On the roads, traffic police intensified patrols in a bid to ease the exodus of streams of motorists but by late afternoon there were traffic jams at key road junctions and toll posts. Construction works on the Athens-Lamia national highway and the road from Corinth to Tripoli caused some delays yesterday but fewer problems are expected today and tomorrow, according to traffic police. Motorists leaving the capital on Monday will be less fortunate, as diversions are to be set up, which means delays are likely. Thousands more Athenians are expected to abandon the capital in waves over the next few weeks with the next major exodus likely prior to the Dormition of the Virgin religious holiday, one of the most important in the Greek Orthodox calendar, on Saturday, August 15. From: Kathimerini Greece to enter optical fiber era - 31 July, 2009 Greece will try to take the lead in the penetration of optical fiber networks in Europe, as it intends to cover all of the country’s cities with the means to provide rapid access to the Internet at home. Communications Minister Evrypidis Stylianidis stated yesterday that “we will be the first member state in the European Union to provide optical fiber networks to homes for the whole of the country. The bill concerns the interconnection of 52 Greek cities across the country, serving 2 million households, while at the same time it allows for bringing an end to the isolation of the Greek countryside and ensuring equal opportunities for all Greeks regardless of where they live.” The bill for the 2.1-billion-euro development of the optical fiber network will be put up for public consultation by end-September and will provide that one-third of the project will be supported by state funding, as European Union programs dictate. The project is to be implemented by three public-private partnerships (PPPs), with each covering exactly a third of the country. Sources suggest that there is already interest in the development of the project from both domestic companies and foreign ones, including from Asia and America. The optical fiber connections will have point-to-point (P2P) architecture, while contracting consortiums will not be able to have a telecommunications company as their major shareholder. “The use of new technologies has the same value as that of introducing electricity,” said Stylianidis. “The contemporary applications of distance learning, telemedicine, administration and electronic commerce, to name but a few, are applications that can change the picture and pave the way for new prospects in Greece’s development,” he added after updating the prime minister on the issue. [...] From: Kathimerini Swine flu cases rising rapidly - 30 July, 2009 Doctors urged the government yesterday to make arrangements for more rooms to be made available for intensive-care patients, as it was revealed that more than 200 new cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Greece this week alone, including that of a 16-year-old British girl who became the third person to suffer serious problems after contracting the virus. The Hellenic Center for Infectious Diseases Control (KEEL) said in a statement yesterday that 210 people had contracted swine flu between July 20 and 27, taking the total number of confirmed cases in Greece to 730. However, it is estimated that the total number of sufferers is much higher, as tests are not being carried out on all suspected cases. Authorities also confirmed yesterday that a 16-year-old British girl, who developed serious breathing problems after contracting the disease, has been admitted to an intensive-care unit at the Pendeli children’s hospital in northern Athens. Her condition was said to be serious but stable. She is the third swine flu sufferer to be admitted to an intensive-care unit. Two men are still hospitalized in critical condition in Iraklio, Crete. The rapid rise in the number of swine flu cases and the fact that some sufferers are now needing intensive treatment led to representatives of the Federation of Greek Hospital Doctors’ Unions to ask Health Ministry officials to help them set up more intensive-care beds so authorities are prepared for a pandemic. The government said that it would assist hospitals so they could offer another 50 beds. Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said that Greece is due to receive the first batch of vaccine against swine flu on September 14, ahead of a mass inoculation program. Brits on Crete ‘beaten’ after scooter crash Three Cretan nationals have been detained in connection with the alleged beating of two British tourists, one of whom crashed a scooter into a supermarket in the resort of Malia, island police were quoted as saying yesterday. The store manager and two employees are said to have laid into the Britons, both 19, after one of them hurtled into the storefront on a rented scooter on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported. Jeoffry Locton, 19, is said to have been beaten and locked in a storage closet after he refused to pay the 5,000 euros allegedly demanded by the shop managers. Locton's friend, Daniel Awonusy, was allegedly also beaten after trying to intervene. Upon his release from the closet, Locton contacted police. The brawl comes a few weeks after British and Cretan authorities launched a campaign to curb alcohol-fueled antics by Britons on the island. Tourists rescued Two Spanish women, aged 25 and 26, were in good health yesterday after being rescued by Cretan firemen from an inaccessible spot near Sougia, in the island’s west, where they had become trapped during a mountain hike. According to Haralambos Koukianakis, the head of civil protection for Sougia prefecture, the women had telephoned the European emergency number 112 for help from one of their cell phones but their directions had been vague and rescue workers needed several hours to find them. When they located them, the women had run out of water and their cell phone batteries had died. Koukianakis appealed to tourists to take all necessary precautionary measures when going on expeditions. From: Kathimerini Urban degeneration hits tourism - 28 July, 2009 The spiraling trafficking and use of drugs in the capital’s historic center, as well as brawls among addicts and illegal immigrants, has resulted in large numbers of tourists avoiding the area and has led to a 25 percent drop in hotel reservations and inestimable damage to the sector, local hoteliers have told Kathimerini. “The last straw for tourists was the constant brawls between local immigrants and the drug dealers and addicts who could often be seen outside hotels,” said Alexandros Arapakis, a local hotel manager. Arapakis said that the two foreign travel agents with whom he had longstanding cooperation wrote to him recently to break off business relations following a slew of complaints from dissatisfied visitors. “The services offered by the hotel and staff all these years remain excellent but the so-called historic center has changed and our clients no longer feel safe,” one of the travel agents noted in its letter. According to Arapakis, the impact of the area’s degeneration is not restricted to local businesses. “What bothers me more than the financial loss is this image of Athens which tourists carry back to their homes – this damage is incalculable and will take years to repair,” Arapakis said. The losses suffered by local hoteliers are significantly greater than those of hotels in other areas. According to industry analysts, hotel reservations in the historic center – where nearly half of Attica’s hotel capacity is located – have fallen by 25 percent, as compared to a 15 percent drop in other parts of the capital and elsewhere in the country. Travel agents based in the city center are also struggling with recent developments. “We have lost customers before they even get out of the cab,” Yiannis Politis, a representative of one local travel agency, told Kathimerini. According to Politis, many tourists have told their taxi driver to keep driving after seeing the shady characters lurking outside the hotels where they had planned to stay. As for those tourists who do stay, travel agents feel obliged to prepare them for the worst. “We find ourselves in the unpleasant position of giving our customers two pieces of advice: Keep your bags in front of you and never take your passport with you when you go out,” Politis said. From: Kathimerini Fire service concerns hotting up - 27 July, 2009 Despite concerns that high temperatures would spark wildfires across the country, the fire service had few major blazes to deal with but there could be more testing days ahead for the force as seasonal firefighters are threatening to go on strike next month over low wages. A fire in Keratea, southeast of Athens, one near Volos, central Greece, and two in Messenia in the Peloponnese were soon brought under control yesterday. However, the Civil Protection Authority has warned that there is a very high possibility of more wildfires today. So far this year, there have been fewer fires compared to 2008. In May, there were 473 blazes as opposed to 645 in 2008. In June, there were 1,236 fires compared to 1,400 and up to July 18, there had been 842 rather than 1,220 blazes. Authorities attributed this reduction mostly to the fact that this summer has been more humid than last year. But things could become trickier next month for the fire service, which has almost 10,000 full-time employees and another 5,500 season workers, due to a planned protest by the latter. Seasonal firefighters are unhappy that their overtime pay has been cut by almost half to 3.40 euros per hour and that there are no opportunities for permanent jobs in the service. [...] Baptism of fire Four men were arrested and three policemen slightly injured in the area of Mylopotamos, near the Cretan city of Rethymno, on Saturday when a party to celebrate the forthcoming baptism of a child got out of hand. More than 20 policemen arrived at the party after some of the guests began firing guns in the air. A brawl ensued and officers made the arrests. However, one of the men who were arrested was later released as he was the grandfather of the child that was to be baptized. From: Kathimerini Heat and wind stoke blazes - 25 July, 2009 As temperatures soared and winds remained high across much of the country yesterday, firefighters battled to control serious blazes in Livadia, north of Attica, and in southern Crete. Two water-dropping aircraft and two helicopters helped firefighters to tackle a blaze that broke out early in the afternoon near Livadia in the prefecture of Viotia. Fanned by strong winds, the fire spread toward the village of Davleio but had been brought under control by late yesterday. Another fire near the popular Cretan resort of Ierapetra also kept firemen busy for several hours but had been contained by late afternoon. Meanwhile, prefectural authorities in Athens closed all roads leading to Hymettus and Pendeli mountains to protect forestland from would-be arsonists or accidental fire starters. The Peloponnesian prefecture of Ileia, the worst hit by the catastrophic fires of 2007, has seen 68 blazes so far this year, most believed to have been started through negligence. From: Kathimerini Fears over swine flu assuaged - 24 July, 2009 Doctors urged people not to panic about the possible spread of swine flu in Greece, as authorities drafted extra measures to deal with tourists that may be carrying the disease. More than 500 people in Greece have contracted swine flu but only one person has had to be admitted to an intensive-care unit so far. The 33-year-old man, who has not been named, is also suffering from pneumonia but was reported yesterday to be in stable condition. The news that a person in Greece who has contracted the H1N1 virus is in serious condition has heightened fears among some Greeks about the impact of the disease. However, the Athens Medical Association (ISA) attempted to calm the public and stressed that unnecessary panic would only make the situation worse. “The ISA believes that the spread of the virus of panic and fear is likely to be more damaging to public health than swine flu itself,” the doctors’ group said in a statement. It also called on the media to maintain a responsible stance and not to feed blind panic. Authorities are bracing for more cases of the virus to be brought into Greece by some of the millions of visitors who will come to spend their vacations in the country this summer. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) yesterday issued guidelines on how the spread of the virus can be prevented on trains, ships and in hotels. KEELPNO has advised officials to set aside areas where potential sufferers can be placed in isolation. Authorities’ readiness could be put to the test in Piraeus today when the Ruby Princess cruise ship is expected to dock. Three cases of swine flu have been diagnosed on board the vessel, which is carrying some 4,500 passengers and crew. Increase for cruise tourism in Piraeus The number of tourists who arrived in Piraeus by cruise ship this year to May increased by about 13 percent, according to official figures. Although cruise passengers aboard ships with a European Union flag dropped by 24 percent, those coming on a cruise liner with a non-EU flag increased by 27 percent, and this despite a ban on the latter to schedule cruises exclusively within Greece. In the first six months of the year, the number of cruise ships to dock at Piraeus dropped marginally from 318 last year to 316. The most poplar destinations, according to cruise programs, have been Santorini, Myconos, Rhodes, Corfu, Katakolo in the western Peloponnese and Patmos. Tourist deaths A 31-year-old Scottish national drowned in a hotel swimming pool on the first day of his holiday on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, the Scottish press reported yesterday. According to the reports, Ryan Bain drowned on Sunday after going for a swim in the pool of the hotel where he was staying. His 29-year-old wife Natalie was not poolside at the time of the drowning, according to the report, which did not give further details about the circumstances of the incident. Meanwhile a local newspaper on Zakynthos reported that police were trying to identify a man whose remains were discovered at the foot of a 25-meter cliff. A British passport was found next to the body. From: Kathimerini The weather - 23 July, 2009 Sunny skies are forecast across most of the country, with winds blowing in from a north-northeasterly direction at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in the west and 6 to 8 Beaufort in the east. Temperatures will range from a low of 19C (66F) to a high of 38C (100F) in the west, from 18C (64F) to 37C (99F) in other parts of the mainland and from a minimum of 21C (70F) to a maximum of 35C (95F) in the Aegean. OUTLOOK: High temperatures are expected over the next few days throughout the country, with variable winds at speeds of 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and northerlies gusting at 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures are expected to rise, reaching a rather uncomfortable maximum of 42C (108F) in some parts of the country on Saturday. From: Kathimerini Tourist death - 22 July, 2009 A 26-year-old British woman who lost consciousness on a passenger ferry that had been en route to Piraeus yesterday was taken to a medical center on the Aegean island of Folegandros where she died under circumstances that remained unclear yesterday. The ferry stopped off at Folegandros after a member of the Super Jet's crew found her unconscious in one of the toilets. She had been traveling with her husband. Funds used for study into noise pollution In a bid to meet European Union guidelines and not to lose 4 million euros in funding, the government said yesterday that it was financing the drawing up of noise pollution maps for Patra, Iraklio, Volos, Larissa and Ioannina, cities that all have more than 100,000 inhabitants. Similar research has already begun in Athens and Thessaloniki as Greece attempts to meet an EU guideline issued seven years ago. The aim of drawing up the maps is to identify where residents are worst affected by noise pollution and to come up with suggestions as to how this can be tackled. A survey by the Technical Chamber of Greece last year suggested that six in 10 residents of Athens and Piraeus are exposed on a daily basis to noise levels of 75 decibels, when 70 decibels is the EU’s suggested limit. From: Kathimerini Forest fires - 20 July, 2009 Sweltering temperatures and strong winds resulted in several fires breaking out in different parts of the country yesterday. One of the worst blazes was on the Ionian island of Zakynthos. Six water-dropping aircraft helped firemen on the ground to bring the blaze under control by yesterday evening. Local authorities are today on standby in many parts of the country following a warning yesterday by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection that stronger winds will pose a serious fire risk in many parts. From: Kathimerini Cyprus tourism - 18 July, 2009 June data released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus showed yesterday that arrivals to the island from abroad shrank by 15.1 percent year-on-year, falling from 307,237 in June 2008 to 260,931 last month. The decline is mostly attributed to the 20 percent drop in arrivals from the United Kingdom, a market on which Cypriot tourism is heavily dependent. Over the first half of 2009 foreign tourist arrivals dropped from 989,851 in January-June 2008 to 883,002 this year, a decline of 10.8 percent that exceeded the corresponding drop in arrivals in Greece (9.6 percent) in the same period this year. Turk Airlines Turkish Airlines the country’s flag carrier, announced yesterday that passenger numbers in the first half of 2009 rose 9.1 percent year-on-year to 11.2 million passengers. [...] From: Kathimerini Heat wave - 17 July, 2009 Meteorologists yesterday warned of a heat wave this weekend, noting that temperatures on Saturday were set to rise to 39 Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit) in Attica and 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in central Greece. Northerly winds are set to intensify on Sunday, reaching 7 on the Beaufort scale, but high humidity levels are expected to counteract their cooling effect. Temperatures are expected to ease off early next week but then to rise again, probably bringing another heat wave. Flock reassured Churchgoers are not at risk of contracting swine flu if they attend Holy Communion, Thessaloniki’s Bishop Anthimos said yesterday. “According to a scientific theory any bacteria disappear on the silver,” Anthimos said, referring to the goblet from which worshippers drink wine. According to the bishop, cutting out church attendance out of fear of contracting the H1N1 virus would be akin to “not using spoons at home and in restaurants.” From: Kathimerini Garbage truck driver beaten for ‘speeding’ - 16 July, 2009 A Cretan garbage truck driver was in hospital yesterday with five stitches in a head wound he suffered after being set upon by a group of cafe patrons in Mouzoura, in Hania prefecture, early in the morning. The driver said he had been en route to the local landfill when a group of men sitting at a table outside a cafe ran into the road in front of the truck, forcing him to stop and accusing him of speeding. Two of them are then alleged to have dragged him out of the vehicle and onto the road before beating him up. It was unclear whether the irate group, one of whom is reportedly the president of the local council, had been under the influence of alcohol. The truck driver, whose union has lodged an official complaint over the attack, has said he will not press charges if the assailants apologize. Defense against swine flu bolstered Greece is changing its approach to tackling swine flu from one that focused on preventing the disease from spreading to ensuring that people showing serious signs of ill health get proper treatment. More than 300 cases of the potentially fatal virus have been recorded in Greece but the majority of those people have made a full recovery. However, the rapid spread of the disease abroad as well as the mounting number of people killed has prompted Greek health authorities to concentrate their efforts on treating those that are likely to be most at risk. “We are trying to ensure that everybody in our country, both Greeks and tourists, feel safe,” said Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos. “We have raised the readiness and alertness levels.” Under the new scheme, doctors will assess the seriousness of patients’ conditions without waiting for the results of tests to be returned. Those suffering heavy symptoms, or people in particularly vulnerable groups such as the very young, old people with breathing problems, the obese and women in the first months of pregnancy are to be administered anti-viral drugs. People with less serious symptoms who are not in these groups will be sent home and given instructions about how to prevent themselves infecting other people while they recover from the disease. There are also plans to vaccinate from September those most vulnerable to the virus. Children aged up to 15 are to be vaccinated at their schools and nurseries. From: Kathimerini Largest ever leap in jobless rate - 15 July, 2009 Unemployment in Greece shot up to 9.4 percent in April, its biggest annual jump on record, due mainly to a slowdown in construction and holiday bookings, official figures showed yesterday. The National Statistical Service (NSS) said the April jobless figure increased from 7.7 percent last year. “The increase in unemployment appears to be due to falling employment in manufacturing and construction and a delay in the start of the full operation of tourism enterprises on the islands,” an NSS statement said. Last week, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises said that arrivals at 13 of the country’s international airports for the first six months of 2009 was 10 percent lower than last year, with the average visitor also expected to spend less money while on holiday. The industry body said the drop was likely to lead to the loss of an estimated 19,000 jobs in the tourism sector. [...] From: Kathimerini Silence of the lambs - 14 July, 2009 Police from Hania yesterday were seeking the perpetrators behind the slaughter of 152 sheep from a farm near the Therisos Gorge on Sunday. The local mayor condemned the attack, believed to be an act of revenge, but stressed that it was an “isolated incident” in an otherwise law-abiding municipality. Fire risk The General Secretariat for Civil Protection yesterday called on local authorities on much of Crete and several islands in the Dodecanese to be on standby today as the risk of forest fires breaking out is expected to be heightened by strong winds and dry conditions. Citizens in these areas have been asked to avoid burning dry branches and using equipment producing sparks that could ignite fires. From: Kathimerini Flu treatment - 13 July, 2009 A 45-year-old British woman who is on holiday on Crete is being treated for swine flu symptoms, hospital authorities revealed yesterday as the number of people suffering from the potentially fatal disease in Greece rose to 258 although 128 of them have been given the all clear by doctors. Officials said that 16 new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Greece yesterday. Ten of these cases were foreigners. The weather Generally clear skies are forecast, with some local cloud only in eastern and northern areas of the country. Winds will blow in from a north-northwesterly direction at speeds of 4 to 5 Beaufort and up to 7 Beaufort in parts of southern Greece. Temperatures will range from a low of 15C (59F) to a high of 34C (93F) on the mainland and a minimum of 19C (66F) to a maximum of 32C (90F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Conditions over the next few days are expected to be generally fine, with light winds coming in from a northerly direction in the Ionian, but reaching speeds of around 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures are expected to rise in the Ionian as well as across mainland Greece. From: Kathimerini Hania cabbies in drive to improve reputation - 11 July, 2009 In a bid to ensure that tourists are not taken for a ride, local authorities in the popular Cretan resort of Hania have forged an unusual alliance with the island’s taxi union, setting up signs with a list of estimated charges for common trips at key locations in the prefecture. “The idea is for customers to know roughly how much they are going to pay and for us to provide better services by stopping opportunistic taxi drivers from overcharging,” the president of the local taxi drivers’ union, Ilias Karapatakis, said. The initiative also aims to boost the standing of Hania, and Crete in general, during a tough time for tourism, which brings in around a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product. “Signs are going up at taxi stands and busy tourist spots with the aim of upgrading the tourism product,” said a spokesperson for the local tourism sector. FLIGHT DISRUPTION A 24-hour strike by air-traffic controllers, due to start this morning, was called off yesterday after a court deemed the industrial action illegal and abusive. The strike would have led to the cancellation of dozens of flights and would have inconvenienced thousands of travelers as the tourist season nears its peak. However, there were delays yesterday at the country’s main international airports, chiefly in Athens and Thessaloniki, as protesting workers launched go-slow action. From: Kathimerini Briton gets card from Greece 22 years late - 10 July, 2009 A 64-year-old British woman from Wolverhampton in the Midlands received a postcard from Nisyros this week, 22 years after her niece mailed it during a trip to the Dodecanese island, press reports in Britain revealed yesterday. Wendy Bosworth said she was astounted when the postcard, slightly scuffed and enclosed in a sealed bag, dropped onto her doormat earlier this week. “The postcard said how the island was not affected by tourism and how the sea was beautiful and the people were very friendly,” said the retired bookkeeper. She added that her niece, now a government official working in Uganda, had been “amazed” on hearing the news. “She said, ‘I wondered why you never said thank you,’” Bosworth quipped. A spokesperson for the Royal Mail apologized for the delay. “It’s a bit of a mystery, I’m afraid, as we don’t track items of ordinary mail,” she said. Swine flu now a pandemic Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday announced that the country had entered “a swine flu pandemic” as the number of people infected with the H1N1 virus in Greece rose above 200. “There is now a need for cool-headedness, prudence and no panic,” Avramopoulos told a press conference, noting however that a third of the population could become infected with the virus, according to world flu statistics. Greece’s pandemic phase is expected to last between 12 and 15 months, Avramopoulos added. He said authorities had decided against closing down schools and public services as this had not proven effective in countries such as Mexico, where swine flu has run rampant. Of the 201 cases of swine flu diagnosed in Greece, 78 percent are Greeks who have returned from abroad, chiefly from the USA and Britain. As regards vaccines, the minister said they will be available as of October. Priority will be given to workers in the health sector, poultry farmers, children, the elderly and those with serious illnesses. From: Kathimerini The weather - 9 July, 2009 Clear skies are forecast across the country, with patches of cloud in the afternoon in northern Greece and a possibility of rainstorms in central and eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Winds will be north-northwesterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and up to 6 Beaufort in the south. Temperatures will range from 18C (64F) to 37C (99F) in the north, from 20C (66F) to 39C (102F) on the mainland and from 22C (72F) to 36C (97F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Occasional showers and even rainstorms can be expected over the next couple of days in parts of central and northern Greece, with a possibility of rain also in areas of the northern Aegean. Clear skies are set to prevail elsewhere. Winds will be coming in from a north-northwesterly direction at moderate speeds of 4 to 6 Beaufort while temperatures are expected to drop slightly. From: Kathimerini Tourism slump slashes 19,000 jobs - 8 July, 2009 The number of visitor arrivals in Greece in the first six months of the year fell nearly 10 percent on an annual basis, resulting in job losses of more than 19,000 positions, data showed yesterday. The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) said 3.9 million people arrived in Greece in the January-to-June period via the country’s largest airports, versus 4.3 million in the same period a year earlier. “On an income level, it is certain the percentage change will be larger, given that discounts not only continued in June but will also be offered for the remaining summer months,” SETE said in a statement. Tourism accounts for about 18 percent of the country’s annual economic output and for one in five jobs. The biggest drops regarding percentage were seen on the islands of Cephalonia and Chios, where arrivals fell by 22 and 26 percent respectively. The best performance was on Rhodes, which showed just a 4.7 percent drop in visitor numbers. “As a mature tourism market, we should not be celebrating the avoidance of catastrophic scenarios but focusing on the structural problems the sector needs to handle that are highlighted during times of economic crisis,” SETE added. Industry sources had forecast at the start of the year an annual drop in visitors of 15 to 20 percent this year. Swine flu Six new cases of the H1N1 influenza virus were detected in Greece over the past 48 hours, taking the country’s total to 162. The new cases are four British nationals who recently arrived in Greece, a 7-year-old Greek-Australian girl and a 30-year-old Greek woman believed to have come into contact with an infected person. Crete quake A mild undersea quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale occurred off the island of Crete shortly after 3.30 a.m. yesterday. There were no reports of injuries or damage. From: Kathimerini Flight of BP and Shell illustrates problems of local framework - 6 July, 2009 The departure from Greece of two major multinational companies, British Petroleum (BP) – which has already occurred – and soon Shell as well as the very low amount of foreign direct investments should all be a reminder to most that the country remains less than hospitable to multinational firms and foreign companies in general. The financial crisis, the small size of the market and, most of all, the mountain of bureaucracy, unstable tax framework, competition distortions and domestic financial interests are driving droves of multinationals away from Greece. [...] The domestic fuel market is therefore entering a new historic phase of falling into Greek hands, with unknown impact for its transparency and health. The picture is similar in the electricity market, which has shown a model of development that is unique to Greece. There is not a single foreign investor that has managed to enter the Greek market without having to forge an alliance with a local player, not necessarily a producer but someone with a permit for a plant or a plot on which to build it. [...] Police attacked again in Crete’s Zoniana Police officers have been assaulted and threatened in the notorious Cretan village of Zoniana, the scene of a botched raid two years ago, in an incident that has been kept quiet for several weeks, sources told Sunday’s Kathimerini. Three local police officers were allegedly beaten and threatened that they would be killed after they followed a pickup truck that had crashed into their vehicle and then drove off into the village. The incident occurred on June 18 but authorities chose to keep it quiet, as there is already a highly tense atmosphere in the area since the trial of 42 locals began earlier this year in connection to the shooting of a police officer in November 2007. The policeman was left paralyzed after locals opened fire on officers. Sources said that some of those who attacked the policemen last month are suspects in the ongoing trial. From: Kathimerini Thirst growing for bottled water - 4 July, 2009 The increasing reliance of Greeks on bottled water has boosted sales of the resource, reportedly retailed at 1,600 times the price of water sold by the Athens Water and Sewerage Company (EYDAP), and is becoming a real burden on the environment, still sullied by countless makeshift landfills. Recent figures show that Greeks drink more than a billion liters of bottled water annually, with consumption rising by some 10 percent each year. Production of bottled water skyrocketed from 40 million liters per year in 1981 to 278 million liters in 1993, then to 600 million liters in 2001. This rapidly growing consumption has benefited the bottlers of spring water in Greece but also supermarket chains and street kiosks, which sell bottled water for 50 cents and 1 euro per liter respectively. In restaurants, bottles of water, often brought to the table at the outset by waiters, can retail for up to 3 euros. Some blame this phenomenon on years of aggressive marketing. “Drinking bottled water has been imposed as a model of consumption,” said Athens University professor Polixeni Nikolopoulou-Stamati. “Look at advertisements on television. All these young, slim people convey the idea that drinking this kind of water will make you healthier and more attractive,” she added. Another concern is the environmental impact of all the discarded plastic. At current rates of consumption, the average Greek is drinking 70 liters of bottled water a year, and discarding dozens of plastic bottles. Plastic refuse, particularly bottles, accounts for about a quarter of trash on the country’s landfills. The production cost of millions of plastic bottles is also significant, both in terms of raw materials and energy. The process by which plastic bottles are made, using petroleum byproducts, is anything but energy-saving. According to recent statistics, about 17 million liters of oil are needed to bottle some 26 billion liters of water. Cold turkey Guards at Crete’s Nea Alikarnassos jail yesterday confiscated 13 small packages of heroin from a refrigerator in one of the prison’s common areas. The drugs, weighing a total of 40 grams, had been concealed inside a packet of rolling tobacco which had been hidden inside a plastic bag full of food. From: Kathimerini CRETE QUAKE - 2 July, 2009 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 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 SANTORINI QUAKE - 29 June, 2009 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 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 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 Flight disruption - 25 June, 2009 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 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 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
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 STRIKE DISRUPTION - 14 May, 2009 A 24-hour strike today by the civil servants’ union ADEDY will result in dozens of flights being canceled. Olympic Airlines said yesterday that more than 100 domestic and international flights will be affected, while Aegean Airlines said it was canceling 48 flights and rescheduling dozens more. The strike will not affect public transport but will close most schools and result in state hospitals running on skeleton staff. Protesting workers are seeking salary increases and better benefits. Free laptops A total of 120,000 primary school students are to benefit from a scheme involving the distribution of coupons for the procurement of laptop computers, Economy Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou said yesterday. The laptop scheme forms part of the government’s “digital policy,” which will see all pupils receiving their textbooks in electronic form in the new academic year, Papathanassiou said. From: Kathimerini Call to protect dolphins in Med - 13 May, 2009 Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Hellas yesterday called on authorities to take the necessary measures to protect the so-called common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). The population of the species is seriously dwindling in the Mediterranean due to overfishing, chiefly with trawler vessels, whose large nets often entrap the mammal. According to data made public yesterday by WWF, the number of these dolphins off the coasts of Lefkada and Kalamos in the Ionian Sea has dwindled from some 150 to just 15 over the past decade. Marine biologists have said that this rapid decline – particularly in the western and eastern Mediterranean, parts of which are theoretically protected under the European Union’s Natura program – cannot be attributed purely to the migration of the dolphins. The ecological significance of this area has been recognized by many groups, including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. WWF has also secured the backing of several other conservation and environmental protection groups, including the Alnitak Marine Environment Research and Education Center, MOm, Delphis and Blue World. The conservationists have called on the Agricultural Development Ministry and the Environment and Public Works Ministry to immediately enforce EU legislation aimed at curbing illegal fishing and to restrict the use of large trawler nets, particularly in EU-protected areas. “We are asking for the enforcement of measures that can be funded by the European Union,” Giorgos Paximadis, WWF’s marine program representative, told Kathimerini. The common dolphin, which includes long-beaked and short-beaked species, is to be found all over the world. There are hundreds of thousands in the North Atlantic. But the population in the Mediterranean has been seriously depleted due to overfishing and the deterioration of their natural habitat. There have also been incidents of the dolphins being hunted for their meat. Google ban The Data Protection Authority (APPD) has barred the US search engine Google from taking anymore images of Greek streets for its Street View feature, pending “additional information,” it was revealed yesterday. The authority reportedly wants Google to determine how long it intends to keep its images online and what measures the search engine intends to take to inform residents who may be photographed of their rights. From: Kathimerini IMF to record Greek economy data - 11 May, 2009 According to a report in the Sunday newspaper, “Kathimerini tis Kyriakis”, the International Monetary Fund plans to send a team to Greece to make a full report on the Greek economy. The team is expected to request data going back to 1995, as successive revisions of figures have caused some discrediting of the domestic economy. In the meantime, the Finance ministry is examining a series of measures, including increases in car registration fees by up to 50%, in special consumer taxes on fuel by 20-30%, on mobile phone charges by 10-20% and on bank interest by 10-15%. From: ERT More Greeks to cancel or cut vacations - 9 May, 2009 More than twice as many Greeks (30 percent of the total number of respondents) say they will take shorter or less expensive vacations this year compared with last, while the proportion of those who will not be holidaying at all is increasing, according to a survey by Kapa Research. The survey was presented at the international '14th Tourism Panorama' at the Expo Athens exhibition center in Anthousa, eastern Attica. The Cyclades, including the islands of Naxos (photo, foreground) and Paros (background), are the top choice for Greek holidaymakers, the survey found. Some 64 percent of respondents estimate there will be a decline in tourism this year but that it will not be as high as forecast. The exhibition will remain open until Sunday. From: Kathimerini The weather - 8 May, 2009 Mainly fine with some local afternoon cloud over mainland Greece and a slight possibility of scattered rainstorms in mountainous areas. Winds will blow in from a northwesterly direction at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort and temperatures will range from a low of 9C (48F) to a high of 27C (81F) on the mainland and a minimum of 12C (54F) to a maximum of 25C (77F) on the islands. OUTLOOK: Generally fine conditions can be expected in most parts of the country over the weekend, with some local cloud at times over the mainland but only in the afternoon and a possibility of scattered rainstorms in mountainous areas, especially on Sunday. Winds will be northwesterly and light in most parts of Greece, and at light to moderate speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures are forecast to continue rising. From: Kathimerini
Some 1,000 farmers from Crete staged a peaceful protest in Syntagma Square in central Athens yesterday, as representatives met with aides of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. The farmers, who descended on Athens in larger numbers earlier this year but were prevented from leaving the port of Piraeus, also met with officials of the opposition parties in their bid to draw attention to low prices and to demand more state aid for their sector. From: Kathimerini
Rain has replenished reservoirs - 6 May, 2009 The substantial amount of rain that has fallen since the start of the year means that there is enough water to last Greek households for the next two years, the Athens Water Company (EYDAP) said yesterday. Just last December, the water levels in EYDAP’s reservoirs were at an eight-year low. But, since then, heavy rain has helped almost double the amount of water collected. At the end of April, there were 870 million cubic meters of water in the reservoirs. On your bike The Transport Ministry has signed a decision that will lead to the setting up of Greece’s first roadworthiness tests (KTEO) for the country’s 700,000 motorcycles and scooters. Sources said yesterday that the ministry is hoping that by next year several private centers will have been established where motorcycles will be subject to tests similar to those currently conducted on cars. Owners of bikes that are more than four years old will be the first to be called to undergo the tests. They will then have to visit the centers every two years. From: Kathimerini Eyes on the road - 5 May, 2009 Anyone due to take a driving test over the next few days could encounter problems, as the doctors that carry out eye tests on learner drivers have decided to stop the examinations in protest at not being paid since last October. All prospective drivers pay 20 euros for this test. Meanwhile, as of yesterday, thousands of civil servants are being told to pay for a range of medical tests and procedures that had previously been covered by their health insurance fund (OPAD). The change was brought about by a decision from the General State Accounting Office, which placed restrictions on what can be claimed by those insured with OPAD. Sunken dignity A vessel that had attempted to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip last December but had been prevented by Israeli forces sank in the Cypriot port of Larnaca yesterday during efforts to tow it away. The SS Dignity, which had sustained damage after being rammed by an Israeli vessel during its December mission, had been anchored at the port for the past five months. The vessel sank yesterday after capsizing in winds that reached 7 on the Beaufort scale. From: Kathimerini The weather - 4 May, 2009 Cloudy with showers in eastern Thessaly, central Greece, the Peloponnese, Cyclades, southern Ionian, Crete, Dodecanese and the eastern Aegean, with heavy rainstorms in parts of southern Greece. Local cloud elsewhere with rainstorms in the afternoon, mainly in Epirus and Macedonia. Northerly winds at 4 to 6 Beaufort. Temperatures will range from 6C (43F) to 18C (64F) in the north and 8C (46F) to 19C (66F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Showers and rainstorms are expected tomorrow afternoon on the mainland, as well as in eastern and southern parts of the mainland in the morning. Winds will be northerly to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean. Temperatures will rise. Occasional rainstorms are forecast over the mainland on Wednesday. Winds will be northerly to 3 Beaufort in the Aegean and 5 to 6 Beaufort in the Ionian, gradually easing. From: Kathimerini Greece is ready says Health minister No H1N1 case has been reported in Greece so far, but strict inspections are being conducted at all border stations and coordinated information is being conveyed to schools, military camps and places which attract large numbers of people. Following yesterday's meeting chaired by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos gave assurances that Greece has been placed on the alert from the very first moment the new flu emerged in Mexico and is ready to deal with any potential cases. Health authorities in Greece have received over 2,500 calls from people returning from trips to Mexico, the US and Europe. Tests on 27 people proved negative for the virus. Seismanogleio Hospial has set up a special clinic ready to treat any cases. The situation is under control and there is no cause for panic, even if H1N1 cases do emerge in Greece, reiterated Avramopoulos. EC spring forecasts for the Greek economy European Commissioner Joachim Almounia will announce the European Commission’s spring forecasts for the Greek economy today. They are expected to be gloomy and, according to experts, will place Greece officially in a state of recession. Growth is foreseen to be negative this year, with the public deficit rising above the target of 3.7%, while the country’s public debt will exceed 100% of the Gross Domestic Product. From: ERT Cab fares up as young, old get cheaper travel - 2 May, 2009 As taxis hiked their fares yesterday, the first in a series of increases that will double charges over the next year, a new measure offering reduced fees on public transport for the young and the elderly came into effect. Taxi fare charges are now up 33 percent to 48 cents from 36 cents per kilometer. The next increase will be in November, when the rate will rise to 60 cents, and the final hike is due in May 2010, when it will reach 72 cents. The minimum charge for a cab ride, 3.80 euros, will not change. In exchange for the fare increase, cabbies have vowed to stop common violations such as overcharging and taking on multiple fares. Meanwhile, a government initiative that also came into effect yesterday offers half-price tickets on the metro, bus, trolley bus and tram for under-18s and over-65s as well as foreign students visiting from abroad. From: Kathimerini Souflias defends tourism proposal - 30 April, 2009 Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias yesterday described as “correct and necessary” the provisions of a controversial plan to boost the country’s tourism infrastructure following the approval of the draft legislation by a government committee. The bill, rejected by an expert committee appointed to assess its impact on the environment in February, is expected to be submitted in Parliament soon. It was unclear yesterday whether any of the amendments proposed by the committee, comprising environmentalists, hoteliers and civil engineers, have been included in the draft legislation. Souflias yesterday insisted that the bill constitutes the much-delayed reform of the country’s tourism infrastructure and would boost one of the key drivers of the national economy. “It will drive construction activity, which is a fundamental lever for economic growth,” Souflias said. But conservationists as well as many civil engineers and town-planning experts continue to oppose the plan, fearing its impact on pristine coastlines and nature reserves. A representative of the Technical Chamber of Greece, the national association for civil engineers, condemned the bill, claiming that it paved the way for the “concretization” of island and other holiday resorts. In a written statement released to the press after the government committee approved the bill yesterday, Souflias insisted that the bill was a “significant structural intervention for an extremely important sector of the economy.” The minister stressed that tourism in Greece “continues to fall far behind its potential” and said the new bill could help the country achieve this potential. But he stressed that this would not be at the expense of the environment, noting that any development would be subject to “significant restrictions.” From: Kathimerini Bad start to year for Athens tourism - 29 April, 2009 Hotel room occupancy dropped by about 20 percent in the Athens region in the first quarter of 2009, pointing to a bad year and job losses for the sector, the Attica Hotel Association (EXA) said yesterday. Tourism accounts for nearly a fifth of Greece’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs one in five of the country’s work force. Just 49 percent of rooms in three- to five-star hotels were booked in the first quarter, compared with 60 percent in 2008, the association said, citing a study by GBR Consulting. Average revenue per room slumped 20 percent to 53.20 euros. Bookings may have also been hurt by the failure to highlight Attica in the state’s annual tourism advertising campaign and confusion over museum hours, said Georgios Tsakiris, president of EXA. If the first-quarter decline remains throughout the year, as many as 15,000 jobs could be lost in tourism and revenues could slide by 500 million euros, Tsakiris added. The Greek economy is expected to shrink in 2009 and 2010 after 15 consecutive years of growth, the International Monetary Fund said last week, partly due to falling tourist arrivals. Greek tourism is bracing for a difficult year, with industry sources expecting a decrease in arrivals this year of up to 20 percent from 2008 levels. Anti-smoking campaign begins Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday launched a six-month campaign to promote the enforcement of severe restrictions on smoking in public places from July 1, as a new study showed that six in 10 Greek smokers back the planned measures. [...] From: Kathimerini Cretans connected to Zoniana raid face trial - 28 April, 2009 The trial of 53 Cretans charged in connection with crimes ranging from attempted murder and drug dealing to money laundering begins today at a Piraeus court. Charges were brought against the 53 defendants following a police raid on the mountain village of Zoniana in November 2007, which resulted in a police officer being shot in the head. A subsequent police probe unraveled a web of criminal activity in the broader central prefecture of Rethymnon. Of the 53 defendants, seven face charges of the attempted murder of police officers, who were showered with gunfire when they tried to raid Zoniana. Of the remainder, 12 face charges of trading in cocaine, six are charged with the possession of and suspected trade in arms and 14 are accused of money laundering. Athens Airport arrivals down by 16 pct Data from Athens International Airport (AIA) showed yesterday that the number of international arrivals dropped 16 percent last month from a year earlier, with overall passenger figures down 12 percent in March. A total of 639,852 international passengers passed through the airport in March, down from 763,853 in 2008, according to AIA. Domestic passengers declined 3.4 percent. The figures bring the drop in the first quarter to 7.9 percent, according to the airport, with international figures down 12 percent and domestic traffic easing 0.7 percent. Industry officials expect a drop of up to 20 percent in international tourism arrivals this year from 2008 levels. From: Kathimerini We are what we eat - 27 April, 2009 The Greeks’ relationship with the Cretan diet, as the Mediterranean diet could also be termed, is typical of their relationship with their country’s culture and its natural and architectural beauty: In less than two generations we have managed to squander the wealth that was refined by centuries – if not millennia – of acquired wisdom. In the past five decades we have seen our old way of life destroyed, the cobbled paths of villages bulldozed into dust, coastlines covered in cement, rivers and ravines poisoned by garbage, towns and villages stripped of green and smothered by cars. So is it any wonder that we would violate the very foundations of our lifestyle – our diet? We are fortunate that we can still enjoy the benefits of a long tradition of healthy eating, thanks to the momentum that drives most Greeks to seek out quality in what they consume. People who have grown up eating the oily “magirefta” foods, such as lentils etc, which their mothers and grandmothers cooked, will be more likely to select them when the opportunity arises than will the children who are growing up on a staple of red meat, fried potatoes and a range of other foods that are overwhelmingly rich in calories and which lead to obesity and ill health. Here we see the dangerous confluence of tradition with the its breakdown: The older generation – today’s grandmothers – who grew up during the long years of deprivation want to make sure that their darlings are getting plenty to eat; but what they eat today is not what they would have been eating yesterday, when fast-food outlets and processed foods were not an option. Lifestyles also changed along with our diet. The majority of Greeks no longer live in the countryside and, of those who do, fewer of them are involved in agriculture. And even farmers have pickup trucks and mechanical equipment that save them from long walks and heavy lifting. The result: People who are less fit than their parents and grandparents were at a comparable age are also overindulging in food, cigarettes and drinks. From a hard life that was forced on them by their hard land, the Greeks went straight to the luxuries that their grandparents would never have imagined. With the serious lack of organized (and mandatory) school sports, very few children build up the physiques and the character to help them cope with their future sedentary lifestyles. And so we became a nation of “soft people,” the “malthakoi” that the ancient Greeks so abhorred. Prizing a sound mind in a sound body, they would surely have been horrified to see the modern Greeks surrender to the excesses of the good life. In fact, they would probably have blamed the country’s many ills on the fact that citizens had given up the rigors of physical and mental exercise and were allowing their children to grow up fat and idle. Fortunately, the healthy solution is at our fingertips. Fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, olive oil and the other features of the Cretan diet are all readily available year-round and are still cheaper than most other options. Clever businessmen understand that people want to eat healthy food but may not always have the time to cook, so even some fast-food franchises tailor their menus to reflect this. What we need now is for even cleverer people to marry the beneficial ingredients of the Cretan diet with our changing lifestyle, creating ready-to-eat meals that are actually good for us. But perhaps the most effective way to get Greeks to eat right is to force school canteens to carry only healthy food, not their greasy, sweet or highly processed fare. As all the healthy ingredients are produced in Greece, we will attain healthier bodies as well as a healthier economy: Not only will we import less, but a successful brand of healthy food would be a great product to export. From: Kathimerini / Athens Plus Tourism revenues in Cyprus plunge 12.8 pct - 25 April, 2009 Revenues in Cyprus’s vital tourism sector plunged 12.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, signaling a tough year ahead amid the global recession, official figures showed yesterday. Income from tourism, which forms 12 percent of GDP in the government-controlled southern two-thirds of the island, plunged to an estimated 124.8 million euros in the three months to March from 143.2 million euros a year ago. In March alone the drop accelerated to 14.8 percent as revenue from holidaymakers sank to 57.4 million euros from 67.3 million in the same month of 2008. Tourism income for last year as a whole fell 3.5 percent to 1.79 billion euros from 1.85 billion euros in 2007. Average daily spending by tourists in March was 65.80 euros and the average stay was 9.6 days. From: Kathimerini The weather - 24 April, 2009 Scattered clouds, showers and occasional rainstorms are forecast for the Ionian, Epirus, western Greece, the mainland, the Peloponnese and Crete, while the rest of the country will have overcast skies. Winds will be southeasterly at speeds of 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Ionian and northeasterly at 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean, with temperatures ranging from 4C (39F) to 18C (64F) in the north and 6C (43F) to 20C (68F) in other parts of the country. OUTLOOK: Local showers and stronger sporadic downpours are expected in Epirus, Macedonia, the Peloponnese and maybe as far south as Crete, as well as the mountains of Thrace, Thessaly and mainland Greece. Southeasterly winds will turn northwesterly in the Ionian and northerly in the Aegean, where they will reach speeds of 6 Beaufort, though temperatures are not expected to drop. Showers in the north on Sunday are expected to drift toward parts of the mainland later in the day and temperatures may drop slightly in some areas of the north. From: Kathimerini Tourism sector needs to get busy - 23 April, 2009 The global financial crisis can no longer be used as an alibi by every sector that wants to turn a blind eye to all the internal problems that plague it, while simply sitting back and waiting for the government to bail it out. One example of such a stance is in the tourism sector, which traditionally is weak on two very important fronts. Firstly, prices are very high and make the country uncompetitive in relation to its rival destinations. Secondly, this high cost is coupled with a very average standard of services. The business community of the tourism sector needs to wake up and deal with these two issues itself. The state should only have to step in when businesses find themselves in dire need. Greece’s tourism industry can weather the economic storm, but only if it takes the right steps in a direction that can no longer be ignored, as both local and foreign tourists become better informed about the various options that are available to them and more demanding about the quality of services they expect for the money that they must pay. From: Kathimerini Lucky miss - 22 April, 2009 Police in the Cretan port of Hania yesterday were seeking the motorist who crashed into a bus stop near the city center early yesterday before hitting a tree, a trash can and a wall and then driving off. No one was injured. Family of five survives 40-meter plunge in car A family of five, including three small children, emerged virtually unscathed from the wreck of their car early yesterday after plunging into a ravine some 40 meters deep. The accident occurred at around 9 a.m. on the road from Lamia to Domokos in central Greece at a spot that traffic police have highlighted as a danger zone. The car crashed through the roadside barriers and down into the ravine, according to police who said that a light shower had made the road surface slippery. The father, who had been driving, and his wife extricated themselves from the wreck first before rescuing their smallest children, aged 2 and 3. Their third child, a 5-year-old boy, remained trapped in the car wreck for over an hour until the local fire service managed to cut him free. He was given first aid at a local hospital, where doctors said he had suffered no serious injuries or major shock. Greeks are EU’s most pessimistic BRUSSELS – Being traditionally pessimistic even in good times, Greeks are particularly worried about the current financial crisis, with a Eurobarometer poll showing that nine out of 10 Greeks believe they have already been affected. With 88 percent admitting that the crisis has hurt them and 89 percent of the view that things will get worse, the Greeks are by far the most pessimistic citizens in the European Union, as these percentages are more than double the European average. Almost all respondents (97 percent) said that there have already been some negative impacts on the national economy, with 65 percent judging these effects to be ”very serious.” Public opinion is split over whether the euro currency has protected Greece from even worse repercussions. About 51 percent say the euro has helped and 48 percent that it has made things worse and that the old drachma would have helped more. Finally, just 10 percent of Greeks think the government and the country can respond to the crisis without help from abroad, although this is higher than the corresponding percentage in Germany. From: Kathimerini Three hurt by Easter fireworks and bonfire - 21 April, 2009 At least three people sustained serious injuries over the Easter holiday weekend, two after mishandling traditional fireworks and a third due to a bonfire. The worst case involved a 27-year-old man who lost his right arm shortly after midnight mass on Saturday after setting off a homemade firework in Nea Peramos, western Attica. On Easter Sunday, a 15-year-old youth in the Cretan port of Hania suffered serious burns after trying to throw gasoline at a bonfire that held an effigy of Judas Iscariot. The bottle containing the gasoline caught fire, badly burning the youth’s arms. Later on Sunday, a 13-year-old boy was hurt after a homemade flare he picked up in the street in the coastal suburb of Neo Faliron exploded in his hands. There were reports of several people suffering partial or total loss of hearing after standing too close to fireworks going off. Vacation houses: the potential El Dorado of the Greek economy The economic crisis has hit the real estate market hard, especially the market for second homes in many European countries, but Greece has been lucky in some respects. The rush for second homes did not start at all in many local areas and in others it started late, so the impact on the vacation home market has been negative – but so far has been contained when compared to other EU countries, such as Spain. Vacation house prices in the hard-hit Greek areas have fallen up by to 25 percent compared to a year earlier, according to real estate company executives, although the drop in house prices in the most popular tourist destinations is up to 10 percent year-on-year. Rentals of the same category are estimated to be down by around 10 percent for the same period. Although there are no official statistics, real estate agents who are active in this segment of the market estimate that 1,000 to 2,000 vacation homes were sold each year in Greece the last few years. About 50 to 60 percent of these were bought by nonresidents and the rest by Greeks. Most of the foreigners came from Western Europe, but there was a notable increase in interest by nationals from Eastern Europe, mainly Russians, the last couple of years. This weak demand reflected more the market’s supply fundamentals than anything else. To be exact, it had more to do with the extremely limited supply of modern houses and related services. [...] According to pre-crisis calculations, the country could receive more than 120 billion euros from abroad in the next 10 years by selling 1 million houses at an average price of 120,000 euros to nonresidents alone. This is a 20-times-plus multiple of the more than 20 billion euros the country is expected to receive from EU funds through 2013. The economic crisis has left its mark on the industry and a major construction company on the island of Crete, Hellenic Homes, has filed for protection from creditors. Real estate executives are quick to point out that Crete is one of the few places in Greece where the vacation home market had taken off and, thus, is likely to be hit hard. The fact that more than 50 percent of nonresident buyers in Crete appear to be British seems to have played a role, as the pound sterling has slid quite a lot against the euro in the last 12 months and the economic crisis has had greater impact in the British economy than others on the continent so far. [...] There is no doubt that the vacation house market could become a potential El Dorado for the Greek economy. For the time being however, Greece is lucky that has not become another Spain. Still, the local areas, such as Crete, with the most developed markets, should be expected to be hit the hardest. From: Kathimerini Holiday Makers Returning - 20 April, 2009 As Easter holiday makers have commenced returning home both national roads are burdened with traffic. Drivers in Epirus, central and western Macedonia, as well as on the highlands of the mainland will meet with rain and occasional storms mainly at noon and afternoon hours. The Traffic Police is on alert to secure a safe return of holiday makers, while it has deployed more police officers on dangerous parts of the highways. Extra measures have been imposed, while the circulation of trucks, weighting over 1.5 tonnes, has been banned in the entry points of big cities from 16:-22:00. Helicopters are also monitoring the traffic and offering advice to ground traffic police forces. As per information, over one million vehicles have passed through both toll stations on Attica prefecture limits from Saturday. From Elefsina toll stations 585,000 vehicles have passed and from the Afidnes toll station 421,000. Additionally, drivers should drive at low speed at Maliakos Gulf, in Stylida, Karavomilos, Tempi and Platamonas. During this year's exodus, 15 people lost their life in traffic accidents during the Holy Week. From: ERT
Good Friday in the Orthodox world is a day of mourning. The drama of the death of Christ is followed with great devoutness. The icon of Christ is taken off the cross, wrapped in linen and put it in the Bier (Epitafios) symbolizing the tomb of Christ. People around the country celebrate this day in villages, islands but it is obvious also in bigger towns in the more remote and quiet neighbourhoods. So, thousands of people are abandoning big cities to spent Eastern holidays in the countryside. Traffic patrol has taken extra measures to smooth drivers who must be very careful. In Elefsina toll station traffic is heavy. Yesterday more than 70.000 cars crossed Elefsina toll. In Zevgolation toll station, the company in charge of the road network decided to allow drivers to cross the tolls free in order to smooth traffic. In Afidnais more than 76.000 cars have crossed the toll station. Car and motorbike drivers must use seat belts as well as crash helmets in order to avoid accidents. Traffic police is in alert in order to ensure the safe transport of Eastern holiday makers in national and province roads nets around the country. Complement of Passengers in Means of Transport Complement of passengers in KTEL (Hellenic Bus Services) bus lines and OSE (Hellenic Railways Organisation) train lines has reached 100%m mainly for Athens-Thessaloniki and Peloponnese lines. According to first evidence, traffic in KTEL and OSE has risen 50%. In El. Venizelos airport 4.624 flights have been scheduled from the beginning of the Holly Week 553 of which are extra and charter and have been scheduled for today. Complement of passengers in ship lines departing from Piraeus for Aegean islands and Crete, reach 100%. For today, 38 ferry lines have been scheduled for Argosaronikos, Aegean Islands and Crete. According to meteorologists' weather forecast, the weather will be clear and high temperatures will prevail during Easter Sunday. However, holiday makers must be extra cautious during their return as National Meteorological Service predicts cloudiness and rainfalls on Monday. From: ERT Easter exodus - 17 April, 2009 Traffic on key sections of the national road network was heavy yesterday, with vehicles backed up for 7 kilometers at the Elefsina junction on the Athens-Corinth national highway, and is expected to be similar today as thousands of last-minute vacationers leave the capital. Scheduled flights leaving Athens and ferries sailing from Piraeus were said to be 100 percent full. Tickets were reportedly still available for intercity buses. Coastal ferry fares cost less this Easter Coastal shipping companies are cutting fares by as much as 40 percent, as Greeks take to the islands for their Easter holidays. The firms’ aggressive pricing policy aims at increasing passenger numbers during a period of financial crisis, so as to reap profits and offset the losses from last year’s drop in passengers. To this end, they have lower fuel prices and the certainty of subsidized routes on their side. Oil costs about $50 per barrel, against $150 last year, and there is a market of 100 million euros up for grabs for state-subsidized destinations. Already coastal shippers have cut many ticket prices by 15 to 40 percent as a test ahead of the summer period, when the same policy is likely to continue. From: Kathimerini Easter exit - 16 April, 2009 Athenians began to leave the city for the Easter holiday yesterday, ahead of what is expected to be a busy few days on the roads and at airports. More than 3,100 flights were expected to leave or arrive at Athens International Airport between yesterday and Monday. Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines said their planes would be 95 percent full. An extra 160 KTEL intercity buses, on top of the 120 scheduled journeys, are due to depart Athens today.
Bishop Alexandros of Kynouria and Mantineia’s hands are seen washing the feet of a local cleric in a traditional Easter ceremony at the Aghios Nikolaos Monastery near the town of Tripolis in central Greece. The bishop washed the feet of 12 local priests in a re-enactment of the night of the Last Supper, when Christ washed the feet of his 12 disciples. For churches around the country, this week is traditionally the busiest of the year. Orthodox worshippers will be out in force tomorrow for the procession of the Easter bier and for midnight mass on Saturday.
A rat bit a patient who was recovering from surgery in Rethymnon Hospital on Crete, the local hospital workers union said yesterday. A union spokesman said that the patient was bitten on the hand on March 25. A visitor killed the rat. From: Kathimerini Jobless rate climbs to 9.4 percent - 15 April, 2009 As Greece’s unemployment rate continues to climb higher, the government yesterday announced a 2.5-billion-euro package to subsidize jobs in an effort to stem rising jobless numbers. The conservative government said it will subsidize existing jobs and public sector hirings in a bid to support young people and those working in tourism, construction and small businesses. A total of 500,000 people will benefit from the measures, said Employment and Social Security Minister Fani Palli-Petralia. About 70 percent of the package will be financed by European Union funds while the rest will come from national resources. “Our aim is to minimize the impact of the crisis by supporting jobs and workers,” she told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. Economists expect the measures to have only a limited impact on the labor market, as jobless numbers are expected to keep rising this year due to the downturn. Meanwhile, data released yesterday showed that Greece’s unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent in January from 8.9 percent in December as the economy slows under the weight of the global crisis. The average unemployment rate in the 16-member eurozone was 8.3 percent in January, according to Eurostat. The Economy and Finance Ministry has said it expects the jobless rate to average 8 percent in 2009, versus a 9 percent estimate by the European Commission. National Statistics Service figures showed unemployment in the 15-24 age group, at 25 percent, was much higher than the average. Unemployment was also affecting women more than men with the jobless rate at 13.3 percent versus 6.7 percent for males. The European Commission sees the Greek economy growing by just 0.2 percent this year, compared to the government’s more optimistic 1.1 percent forecast. Greece’s central bank recently revised downward its 0.5 percent growth forecast to zero. From: Kathimerini Greek tourist industry faces summer drought - 14 April, 2009 The Greek tourist industry faces a grim summer, with bookings down by 25 to 30 per cent as recessions deepen in Germany and the UK, Greece's main tourist markets. Dozens of four-star and five-star hotels in Crete, Rhodes and Corfu, the most popular islands, decided against opening for Easter, the traditional start of the season, in an attempt to keep down costs. "Many hotels will stay closed in April and May and hope to break even over the peak months," said Nikos Angelopoulos, president of SETE, an industry group. Hoteliers also face constraints because banks are cutting lending to the tourist industry, in spite of a €28bn ($37bn, £25bn) government support package aimed at sustaining small and medium-sized businesses, said Mr Angelopoulos. The €35bn tourism industry is Greece's biggest employer, but more than 50,000 jobs could be at risk if hotels shut down during the "shoulder" seasons in spring and autumn. Greek hoteliers are offering foreign tour operators discounts averaging 15 to 25 per cent amid intensifying competition from cheaper destinations such as Turkey and Croatia. British-based tour operators TUI Travel and Thomas Cookreported strong growth in bookings for Turkey. The recession has hit all sectors of the Greek market, with yachting, cruise and alternative tourism operators seeing a drop of 20 per cent in bookings and a steady flow of cancellations. Tourist arrivals were flat last year at 17m after three years of growth, according to Aris Ikkos, managing partner of GBR Consulting. German and UK visitors accounted for almost 30 per cent of total arrivals. [...] From: Financial Times Visitors to museums fall in 2008 As Greek tourism braces for a difficult season this year, data on visits to ancient sites and museums in 2008 showed a sharp drop on the year before. The National Statistics Service said the number of museum visitors plunged 18.7 percent to 1,994,864 in 2008, while the more famous archaeological sites saw drops of up to 30 percent. The Acropolis attracted the most visitors in 2008 with 1,071,060, a decline of 7 percent, followed by the Minoan palace at Knossos on Crete with 610,664, down 10.2 percent. Ticket sales at Delphi fell by 27.2 percent and at Corinth by 33.8 percent. Of the country’s museums, the Athens Archaeological Museum was the most popular, followed by the Palace of the Grand Master / Knights’ Castle on Rhodes. From: Kathimerini
Ancient shipbuilding museum in Crete - 13 April, 2009 One of the 17 dockyards built by the Venetians to repair their Medieval and Renaissance-era vessels, the "Moro" dockyard in the old port of Hania, Crete, now houses a special exhibition showcasing a Minoan trireme -- an ancient oar-powered warship. The ancient man-o-war is part of a permanent exhibition of ancient and traditional boat-building that also features conventional vessels and ship-building tools. A total of 10,000 adults and 5,000 children visited the museum last year, the majority of them foreign tourists. From: ANA The weather Cloudy with showers and local storms in western, central and northern Greece. Light cloud elsewhere, becoming heavier in the afternoon with a possibility of rain in the northeastern Aegean. Winds will be southerly at 5 to 7 Beaufort and up to 8 Beaufort in the Ionian. Northeasterly winds at 4 to 6 Beaufort in the northern Aegean. Temperatures will range from 6C (43F) to 19C (66F) in the north and 7C (45F) to 22C (72F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Unsettled conditions are expected over the next two days, cloudy at times with scattered showers and rainstorms, especially in southern and central Greece. Winds will blow in from a southerly direction at speeds of 5 to 7 Beaufort, gradually turning northwesterly at the same speed. A temporary drop in temperatures is also forecast. Illegal construction booming Inefficient town planning services, excessive bureaucracy and selective enforcement of existing laws have resulted in 2.5 million illegally built structures across the country and countless more buildings that have been illegally modified, according to research by Kathimerini. Of some 25 million buildings in Greece, 10 percent are totally illegal, while 90 percent of the remainder have been extended or embellished in some way that is also unlawful. In many cases, owners with permits for private homes build nightclubs or other businesses. With one such building in the coastal resort of Voula, town planning officials carried out inspections in 2004 and the owner was handed a hefty fine. But no action was subsequently taken to demolish the building and the business is still operating. [...] From: Kathimerini Greece, Russia look to higher tourism power - 11 April, 2009 Tourism Minister Costas Markopoulos met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirrill in Moscow late on Thursday where they agreed to set up joint committee to promote tourism activities focusing on religious sites in both countries. The Greek side of the committee will be represented by the Church of Greece. The minister also met with senior Russian government officials and representatives from the tourism sector. A growing number of Russians have been visiting Greece in recent years, with many of them favoring destinations in northern parts of Greece, such as Halkidiki. Of the 16 million people that visit Greece every year, about 260,000 are Russians, according to government data. From: Kathimerini
Iraklion Mayor Yiannis Kourakis (r) reveals Aegean Airlines’ new Airbus A320 yesterday, named after the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis. Iraklion airport, where the ceremony took place, also bears the name of the Cretan writer and is the company’s hub. This is one of the three new aircraft that Aegean has just added to its fleet. Theodoros Vassilakis (l), the company’s president, stated that these airplanes will be used for charter flights to Poland, Romania and Russia, within the context of the firm’s efforts to boost tourism from those markets. ‘In a period of tough conditions in the global economy, we will be strengthening our network further after expanding it to seven new destinations in the last 12 months,’ Vassilakis said. Old and young to get cheap public transport Elderly citizens and those under 18 are among those who will benefit from a new initiative heralded yesterday by Transport and Communications Minister Evripidis Stylianidis that will halve the cost of public transport from May 1. In Athens, the price of tickets on the metro, bus and trolley bus networks as well as the tram are to drop by 50 percent for certain groups of citizens with relatively low incomes, the minister said. Beneficiaries include those aged over 65, who until now only been eligible for reduced fares on travel to the airport. The cheaper fares will also apply to all those aged under 18 and to students of private vocational schools aged under 22. Foreign schoolchildren and university students visiting from abroad will also be able to take advantage of the initiative by showing their student identification. From: Kathimerini Greece on Coffee Boycott On Saturday, April 11th Greek will not be out in coffee shops drinking their coffee and reading their newspapers as they usually do. The reason is that they will boycott against all kinds of coffees and all coffee shops because of the high prices of the brown aromatic liquid. The boycott is organized online, where a message is distributed, which claims that Greece has the most expensive coffee in Europe. Usually, the black filter coffee starts from €2.50, the cappuccino and the frappe start from €3.50 and some finer types of coffee like the fredochino, mochacino, and caudito reach €6.50. Those prices are in not in a 5 star hotel bar but in normal square cafeterias. Greeks have a soft spot for coffee – each year they drink 5.8 billion cups of coffee, which cost them €1.8 billion. So Saturday is the big day – Greece without coffee! This is moment long awaited by producers of ouzo, wine, souvlaki, gyros and all other culinary alternatives of the coffee. From: GreekCity Tourism sector in crisis - 9 April, 2009 The Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises estimates that the Greek tourism sector will note a reduction of over 20% in 2009. During a press conference yesterday, the Association’s president, Nikos Aggelopoulos requested bank funding with the guarantee of the public sector, a reduction of VAT charges for tourism services by 3 percentage points and a 75% reduction in regional airport taxes. From: ERT Youngsters picking up bad habits One in five Greek adolescents is a regular smoker and one in seven admits to drinking alcohol two or three times a week, according to a new European study which shows Greek youngsters as having a greater tendency to embrace these bad habits than their European counterparts. Four in 10 – or 42 percent – of Greek adolescents admit to drinking alcohol to excess regularly, according to the study, carried out by the Athens-based University Research Institute for Mental Health on a sample of 10,455 secondary school students aged between 13 and 18 in 35 different countries. Compared to youngsters in other European countries, the Greeks claimed to drink more frequently, although fewer reported experiences of extreme drunkenness. Around half of the Greek youths questioned claimed to have tried a cigarette at least once, while one in five said they smoked regularly. One in 10 admitted to being a “heavy smoker,” puffing on more than 10 cigarettes a day. Some 12 percent of the Greek youths claimed to have taken drugs at least once, while one in four boys aged between 17 and 18 said they had taken drugs. [...] Raider in red A woman wearing a red jacket, red cap and glasses raided a bank branch in the northern Athens district of Halandri yesterday after calmly handing the chief cashier a note reading, “This is a robbery; I have a gun, give me the money.” According to staff at the Eurobank branch, the woman handed over the note and then opened her jacket to show a gun she had concealed there. The cashier gave a bag of cash to the woman who left on foot. There had been no sign of her by late yesterday. From: Kathimerini Bold, painful reforms seen as answer - 8 April, 2008 The majority of Greeks are calling on the government to push through bolder reforms to meet the challenges of the global crisis, even though they know that some people will be hurt by the changes, according to the results of a survey made public yesterday. The survey, commissioned by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), found that 76.9 percent of those questioned said Greece will not be able to get through the crisis unless bolder and deeper reforms are implemented. “A high number of people, 80.2 percent, believe that today’s crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the Greek economy which have existed for decades,” SEV said in a statement. Greece’s massive public sector, costly healthcare services and creaking social security system are among the key areas that require changes, according to economists. [...] From: Kathimerini Taxis hike fares for ‘better service’ - 7 April, 2009 Talks between unionists representing taxi drivers and Transport Minister Evripidis Stylianidis have produced a “gentleman’s agreement” that will allow cabbies to gradually increase their fares by 100 percent over the next year in exchange for improved service to customers, it emerged yesterday. According to ministry sources, the fare charged by taxi drivers per kilometer will increase 33 percent to 0.48 cents from 0.36 cents on May 1. The next increase is planned for November, when the rate will rise to 0.60. The final hike is due in May 2010 when the rate will reach 0.72 cents per kilometer. The minimum charge for a cab journey – 3.80 euros – will not change. But the cost of ordering a taxi by telephone will rise from 2.80 euros to up to 5 euros. The deal foresees additional benefits for taxi drivers, including much-coveted access to bus lanes, which cabbies will be able to use on weekdays but not during the peak periods of 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., and only if they have a passenger. In exchange for these advantages, taxi drivers will be obliged to clean up their act, improving treatment of passengers and cutting out common violations such as overcharging and taking on multiple passengers. “Improvement means cleaner vehicles, better behavior, customer service for passengers and the strict observance of the law,” Stylianidis said yesterday. It remained unclear how authorities would determine that cabbies are holding up their side of the deal. Sources said taxi unions will be asked to monitor their behavior and police will carry out checks. A presidential decree foreseeing strict fines for offending cabbies, signed by Stylianidis yesterday, is expected to have some impact. Drivers who refuse to pick up a passenger or take multiple fares will face fines of up to 1,200 euros. Greeks shaken by Italy quake Hundreds of Greek university students in the Italian town of L’Aquila, devastated by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake yesterday, were being put on planes back to Greece last night as the search continued for one Greek man whose sister was hospitalized after being pulled from the rubble of a building. Around 400 Greeks studying in the medieval central Italian town were transferred by coach to Rome yesterday where dozens boarded flights home. Olympic Airlines said it would fly all Greek citizens back to Athens free of charge. A total of 879 Greek schoolchildren currently on exchange trips to Italy are all safe, Education Ministry sources in Athens said. As the death toll from the quake rose above 100, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis telephoned her Italian counterpart Franco Frattini and said Greece was ready to send humanitarian staff and supplies to help with the rescue effort. Wrong bus An Afghan youth who strapped himself under a bus leaving Athens with the aim of smuggling himself into Italy found himself in Poland after a 30-hour trip, Polish authorities told Agence France-Presse yesterday. Polish transport mechanics discovered the 19-year-old after checking the bus, border guards said. The youth had strapped himself to the underside of the gear box using a belt, they said. The 19-year-old was said to be cold and exhausted but otherwise in good health. From: Kathimerini Longer museum and site hours as of Easter - 6 April, 2009 A year after receiving heavy criticism for its failure to ensure that museums and archaeological sites were open early on in the summer season, the Culture Ministry has announced that extended hours will be in place much earlier. In a statement yesterday, Culture Minister Antonis Samaras said that he expects the process to assign staff to major museums and sites so that they can stay open seven days a week until 8 p.m. to be completed this week. “This year will be the first time that the summer timetable, which we are extending by half an hour, will be implemented so early,” said Samaras. “Until now, it was only in full effect in the middle of June, but this year it will be implemented before Easter.” Greece is expecting a drop in the number of visitors this year due to the economic crisis and Samaras suggested the ministry’s initiative is aimed at attracting more tourists. From: Kathimerini
Airport charges at regional terminals, such as the Corfu airport pictured here, have been temporarily abolished, the government announced yesterday. Development Minister Evripidis Stylianidis and Tourism Development Minister Constantinos Markopoulos declared that the charges have been lifted for the April-September period in order to provide additional incentive for foreign tour operators to choose Greece as a destination. The state is likely to lose 8 million euros in revenues, but Stylianidis estimates this money will return to the Greek market with the higher numbers of foreign tourists. Although there has been no forecast on the measure’s effect, the ministers noted that the lifting of the charges will signify savings of 10 to 12 euros per person for tour operators. From: Kathimerini Nationwide Strike - 3 April, 2009 Greek public services closed down and transport was disrupted across the country yesterday as thousands of workers went on strike to protest government spending cuts. Up to 10,000 people marched peacefully in the rally held by the country's two biggest umbrella unions, GSEE and ADEDY, representing the private and public sectors. The central gathering in Athens took place at Areos Park which was followed by a march to Parliament, while PAME organized a separate gathering in Omonoia Square. The nationwide general strike shut down all government offices and state schools, while state hospitals functioned with emergency staff. Air traffic controllers started a three-hour work stoppage at noon, halting all flights to and from Greek airports. The country's largest airline, Olympic Airways, canceled 140 flights. Most ferry and railway schedules were also canceled, while public transport in Athens was disrupted. Journalists also joined the strike, keeping news programs off the air and preventing Friday's newspapers from being published. About 8,000 people also demonstrated in the northern city of Thessaloniki in two separate marches. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' conservative government this month announced a salary freeze for many civil servants and a one-off tax increase on higher-income earners. The move angered unions, which said high-earning businesses should shoulder the burden. They also oppose a government decision to let struggling businesses relax labor rules. From: ERT The weather - 2 April, 2009 Scattered clouds are forecast for the Ionian and mainland, with sporadic rain and storms primarily in the countryΥs northwest. Clouds are expected elsewhere. Winds will be southeasterly at 3 to 5 Beaufort in the Ionian, and northeasterly at similar speeds in the Aegean, strengthening later to 6 to 7 Beaufort. Temperatures are expected to range from 7C (45F) to 19C (66F) in the north and from 8C (46F) to 24C (75F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Clouds are expected tomorrow in the Ionian, on the mainland as well as in northern Crete, with possible showers in the west, Thessaly and Macedonia and clouds elsewhere. Winds will be southeasterly at 3 to 4 Beaufort in the Ionian and northeasterly at 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean, with a drop in temperatures, primarily in the east. The weekend will see a slight possibility of rain in the west and south, winds at similar speeds and no significant change in temperatures. From: Kathimerini General strike set to affect road, rail and air travel - 1 April, 2009 A four-hour work stoppage tomorrow by air-traffic controllers, organized to coincide with a 24-hour strike by civil servants’ union ADEDY and labor union GSEE, will cause flight disruptions between noon and 4 p.m. Passengers should contact their airline for details. The strike will also disrupt public transport services tomorrow. Trams will stop running for 24 hours while bus, trolley and metro services will be suspended for a few hours at the beginning and end of the shifts. Journalists will also join the strike, keeping news bulletins off radio and television and newspapers off Friday’s stands. From: Kathimerini Paris hopes Greeks will be a towering success - 31 March, 2009 More than 30 Greeks are due today to begin the massive task of giving the Eiffel Tower in Paris a new coat of paint to mark the 120th anniversary of the French landmark. A company from Thessaloniki, Stelma SA, has been awarded the contract to cover all 250,000 square meters of the iron structure in a special bronze paint. Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has organized the start of the project to coincide with the tower celebrating its 120th birthday. It is expected to take the experienced Stelma workmen more than a year to complete the job, which will require some 60 tons of paint, costing 170 million euros. “It is the first time that we are taking on such an important monument,” said the company’s vice president, Dimitris Mamantzis. “It is a great burden of responsibility but it fills us with pride.” This will be the Eiffel Tower’s 18th makeover. From: Kathimerini Dealing with the African dust cloud Directives for the protection of Greek citizens from the scattering dust cloud from Africa in the atmosphere were issued yesterday by the Health Ministry which are mainly for citizens with cardiopulmonary problems. The ministry proposes limiting unnecessary exposure outdoors and excessive physical activity in outdoor areas which combine high temperatures and humidity. From: ERT Greeks get closer to World Cup - 30 March, 2009 Greece moved a step closer to the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa thanks to a 1-1 draw in Israel on Saturday but will now need to beat the Israelis in Crete on Wednesday if it wants to firm up its chances of qualification. The draw at the Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv leaves Greece joint top of its qualification group with Switzerland after five matches. Halfway through the qualification games, the Greeks and the Swiss both have 10 points. Israel is just a point behind, which means that there is a great deal riding on the return game between the two sides at the Pankritio Stadium near Heraklion on Wednesday. [...] African dust Unseasonably high temperatures and a cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert will burden the atmosphere tomorrow and Wednesday, meteorologists say. The elderly and those with breathing problems are advised to restrict outings. From: Kathimerini Tourism exhibition opens it doors - 28 March, 2009
From: Kathimerini
The weather - 27 March, 2009 Occasionally cloudy with showers in eastern and southern Greece and rainstorms especially in the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese. However, conditions will soon improve. Generally fine elsewhere in the country. Northerly winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort in the Ionian and 5 to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean, easing from the afternoon. Temperatures will range from -1C (30F) to 15C (59F) in the north and 0C (32F) to 17C (63F) elsewhere. From: Kathimerini OUTLOOK: Generally fine weather is expected tomorrow, with light cloud over the west and north of the country. Light winds in the Ionian, later turning southerly at 4 to 5 Beaufort, and northerly at 4 to 6 Beaufort in the Aegean, gradually easing. Temperatures will rise. Warm weather is forecast Sunday with scattered clouds, becoming heavier in western, central and northern Greece. Winds will be southerly in the Ionian at 4 to 5 Beaufort, later picking up to 6 to 7 Beaufort, and westerly in the Aegean, gradually turning southerly to 4 Beaufort. Temperatures will rise further. Cabinet meeting on tourism The crucial subject of tourism in Greece – in view of the global economic crisis – will be discussed at a cabinet meeting today, chaired by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. From: ERT
Children in Chora Sfakion and all of Greece's major cities were out in force yesterday to celebrate the War of Independence against Ottoman rule. Athens witnessed a military parade yesterday while other cities around the country saw students from local schools march through the streets. There were also 'anti-parade' marches in Athens and Thessaloniki that were not particularly well attended and which drew criticism from some politicians. From: Kathimerini / photo © Bettina Kouris New era for Olympic Airlines - 24 March, 2009 The government signed an agreement yesterday to sell ailing state airline Olympic Airlines to Greece's private Marfin Investment Group. The deal to privatize the national air carrier is worth a total of 177.2 million euros, said Development Minister Costis Hadzidakis. The process will be completed in October if ratified by parliament next month. From: ERT The weather - 23 March, 2009 Scattered cloud forecast in eastern and central Greece with local showers, mainly in the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese, where thunderstorms are expected in the morning. Conditions will gradually improve. Light cloud elsewhere with plenty of sunshine. Winds will be north-northwesterly at 5 to 7 Beaufort and temperatures will range from -4C (25F) to 13C (55F) and -2C (28F) to 16C (61F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Generally fine across the country tomorrow, with a possibility of rain in the evening in western Greece. Winds will be west-northwesterly at 6 Beaufort, gradually easing, and temperatures will rise. Local showers are forecast for Wednesday, initially in the west but later spreading across the country. Occasional rainstorms are also expected in the west, north and eastern Aegean. Winds will be southwesterly at 5 to 7 Beaufort, gradually turning west-northwesterly at the same speed. Maximum temperatures will fall slightly. From: Kathimerini Russian tourists for Greece? Tourism Development minister Costas Markopoulos yesterday expressed hopes for better tourism traffic from Russia this year. He made the comments on a visit to two major tourism fairs in Moscow, where he also met with the city’s governor, Yuri Luskov. He underlined that Greece will be even more attractive this year as a tourist destination, as packages will be significantly cheaper than previous years. From: ERT Bank explosion - 21 March, 2009 Unidentified arsonists caused serious damage to a branch of Citibank in the Cretan port of Iraklion early yesterday after smashing the bank’s facade and throwing in an improvised explosive device comprising three gas canisters. The ensuing fire totally destroyed the ground floor but caused no injuries. Weather outlook Conditions will begin to improve later tomorrow, with showers petering out gradually, starting from the Ionian and mainland Greece. Winds will shift to a northerly direction and reach speeds of 8 Beaufort, bringing a small drop in temperatures, especially in eastern and southern parts of the country. The weather will improve further on Monday as showers stop altogether and wind speeds decline, pushing temperatures back up to more seasonal levels by midweek. From: Kathimerini Crete quake - 20 March, 2009 An undersea quake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale shook the island of Crete shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday but no serious damage or injuries were reported. Seismologists said the epicenter of the quake was located off the island’s coast. Russians are not coming MOSCOW – The rise in tourist arrivals from Russia to Greece is showing clear signs of ending this year, with Greek hoteliers recording a 20 percent decline in reservations to date. However it is still too early to make reliable forecasts about the course of tourism traffic from the Russian market for the entire year as the number of bookings remains very small, said the president of the Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation, Andreas Andreadis, in Moscow. It will be safer to draw conclusions at the end of April, he suggests. The Russian capital yesterday saw the opening of the Moscow International Travel and Tourism (MITT) exhibition, in which the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) is also participating with its own stand. Rival destinations are also receiving negative signals from the Russian market, with the state tourism agency in Russia projecting a drop in outgoing tourism of up to 25 percent in terms of the number of overnight stays of Russians in Europe and more remote destinations this year. The depreciation of the ruble against the euro, the ongoing international economic crisis and low oil prices are among the main factors for the decline in outgoing tourism from Russia. [...] From: Kathimerini Greeks spending less on fun, food - 19 March, 2009 Most Greeks have cut spending on clothing and food due to the economic crisis while many believe the downturn is still in its initial stages, according to survey results made public yesterday. The survey, commissioned by public servants’ worker group ADEDY, found that 86 percent of respondents have trimmed expenses on entertainment, while four in five currently spend less on clothing. Close on half said that they have reduced their food bills. Greece’s economy, which has been one of the fastest growing in the eurozone in recent years, is headed for a sharp slowdown this year under the weight of the global crisis. The government sees the economy expanding at an annual rate of 1.1 percent while the European Commission is less optimistic, placing the figure at 0.2 percent. The study also found that two-thirds of Greeks believe the economic woes have only just begun, with 40 percent projecting that the crisis will run for another two to three years. Just less than 75 percent said they consider Greece’s participation in the single currency a positive fact for the country. From: Kathimerini The weather - 18 March, 2009 Occasionally cloudy in western Greece with a possibility of local showers. Cloudy with local showers elsewhere, with rainstorms especially in the Aegean. The adverse conditions will gradually be confined to the Aegean. Northwesterly winds in the west and north at 5 to 7 Beaufort and west-northwesterlies elsewhere at 4 to 6 Beaufort. Temperatures will range from 0C (32F) to 10C (50F) in the north and 1C (34F) to 17C (63F) elsewhere. OUTLOOK: Local showers tomorrow in the west and north of the country and the eastern Aegean, mainly in the afternoon. Rainstorms in the west and snow on the mountains. Northwesterly winds at 4 to 6 Beaufort, turning southwesterly in the west and south at the same speed. Rain and storms are forecast for Friday, mainly in the Ionian, on the mainland and islands of the northern and eastern Aegean. Conditions will be quite severe in places. Winds will be southeasterly to southwesterly at 5 to 7 Beaufort with no change in temperature. From: Kathimerini Parthenon Marbles - 17 March, 2009 According to a report in the American magazine, “Time”, the case of the Parthenon Marbles constitutes one of the 10 most important and controversial disputes worldwide, in relation to the ownership of archaelogical finds and treasures. The article goes on to present the history of the removal of the marbles from the Acropolis monument by Lord Elgin and their transport to London, where they are currently on display in the British Museum. The British authorities maintain, says the report, that the return of the marbles to Greece will lead to their “irreparable destruction”, and that the number of demands for the return of antiquities would increase, thus decimating European museum collections. From: ERT Hoteliers reducing prices - 16 March, 2009 Greek hoteliers have been cutting prices offered on the German market in a bid to hold on to their existing market share as the vital tourism sector heads for a difficult season due to the global crisis. Germany is a key source of visitors for Greece’s tourism market, corresponding to about 20 percent of the economy. During a series of meetings held at the ITB exhibition in Berlin, the world’s largest travel and tourism event that wound up yesterday, Greek hotel owners reduced prices offered to tour operators, while also offering them special deals in an attempt to lure travellers to the country’s shores. Greek authorities and officials are hoping to contain this year’s drop in German tourists visiting the country on organized trips to 20 to 30 percent, according to sources. Data from Germany showed recently that 2.3 million Germans flew into Greece last year. With initial figures showing the drop in bookings at high levels, sector officials are expected to call on the government to deliver a second package of measures to support the industry. According to the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, Andreas Andreadis, hotel owners will ask the government to reduce their value added tax (VAT) and cut airport taxes. Some press reports are saying the European Commission has already given the green light for Greece to cut VAT in sensitive sectors such as tourism and construction to 5 percent, from 19 percent currently. One dead, many hurt in Cretan family feud Police on Crete yesterday detained eight members of two rival families after a heated dispute led to the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man and the injury of several other people. The trouble started on Saturday afternoon when the 25-year-old and a relative were burning branches in a field near Kissamos in the Hania prefecture. Members of the other family objected to the fire, prompting an argument, which culminated in the 25-year-old being shot dead. According to police, a brawl ensued, resulting in one woman receiving serious head injuries and others suffering minor injuries. Later the same day at the hospital, tensions escalated into another brawl, resulting in more injuries as knives were drawn. Police said the two families have a history of antagonism, noting that a vendetta in the early 1990s resulted in deaths on both sides. From: Kathimerini
An aggressive breed of mosquito, which can carry potentially deadly viruses, has been spotted in the capital, according to scientists who have pressed the government to take action to curb the spread of the insect. The Asian tiger mosquito – a native of Asia, Africa and South America that has yellow stripes on a black body – can carry West Nile virus and dengue fever, which can both provoke fatal illnesses. A team of experts from Athens’s Benakio Institute of Phytopathology and the Agricultural University of Athens have called for a “comprehensive approach to solving the mosquito problem in our country to avert serious public health issues.” Though the Asian tiger mosquito was spotted in Thesprotia and Corfu in 2004, no action has been taken to eradicate it. It is thought the mosquitoes reached Greece [but not Crete] via ferries arriving at the busy port of Igoumenitsa. From: Kathimerini |
In the Prefecture of Chania: Finally ... snow - 25 January, 2010
Acropolis gateway restored - 22 December, 2009
Protection for Athens Christmas tree - 11 December, 2009
Early 2010 Chania airport extension - 21 November, 2009
The 1st Pankritio Diving Festival, organized by the 'Hania Association of Friends of the 'bottom''and is aimed at knowledge, exchange experiences and technical diving, quality company, and of course for the participants to enjoy separate dives.
The «massacre» which occurs on the roads of the island and the importance of emergency pre-hospital and hospital care was reported yesterday by the doctor - an anesthesiologist, president of the nonprofit company «Pre-hospital care», Dimitris Vourvachakis, speaking on the sidelines of the two-day nursing care for pre-hospital and hospital care conference, organized in the auditorium of the Regional Hospital of Chania, Crete, Department of the National Association of Nurses in Greece, a scientific nonprofit company «Pre-hospital care» and Nursing Service Foundation, under the auspices of the Commander of the Hospital.
The fire started in Grammatiko, a rural area about 40 kilometres northeast of the capital. It has spread to many of the city’s residential suburbs.
Vacationers take to roads, ports - 1 August, 2009
New Acropolis Museum set to open its doors - 20 June, 2009 
Cretan farmers return to the capital - 7 May, 2009
Easter Exodus in Full Swing - 18 April, 2009
Traditional Easter ceremony...
Airbus A320 is added to Aegean’s fleet - 10 April, 2009
Regional airport charges lifted - 4 April, 2009 
Tourism Minister Costas Markopoulos (left) at the inauguration ceremony of a tourism exhibition in Athens yesterday. The sector is bracing for a difficult season this summer due to the international crisis, with estimates about a drop in visitor arrival figures ranging from 10 to 30 percent, according to sources. The minister said earlier this week that the government has increased campaigns promoting the country abroad by 50 percent this year in a bid to cushion the effects of the crisis that has hit two of the largest markets for Greek tourism hard: Britain and Germany. The third international exhibition on ‘Tourism and Property’ winds up tomorrow at the former Olympic Games facilities at Hellenikon, on the capital’s southern coast.
Children and flags out for nationwide parades - 26 March, 2009
Asian tiger mosquitoes arrive in the capital - 14 March, 2009 