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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-02-05

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

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] More Letters by Archbishop Published
  • [02] G7 Decide up to 100% Reduction in Debt
  • [03] Thousands of French Workers on the Streets
  • [04] Fateful Aircraft Discovered
  • [05] Dead End in G7
  • [06] With the Air of a Pioneer
  • [07] Xanthi in Top 8
  • [08] Greece Comes Sixth in Tunisia
  • [09] "Close Cooperation over Iran and the Middle East"
  • [10] Pope to Bless Faithful Tomorrow
  • [11] Al Qaeda Members Sentenced to Death

  • [01] Including correspondence with Katsoulas More Letters by Archbishop Published

    05 Feb 2005 21:32:00

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Sources: NET

    More letters by Archbishop Christodoulos, from the time when he was Metropolitan Bishop of Dimitriada, have come to light. In these letters, Christodoulos appears responding to demands of his parishioners that he deal with important problems. In fact, among those published, are letters from the Archbishop to Asimakis Katsoulas, who was sentenced for Satanism, in his efforts to lead him onto the path of repentance. On Saturday afternoon, the Archbishop spoke from the pulpit of the Cathedral for the first time about the attacks made on him. In his speech, he compared the church to a boat, that is rocked by strong waves, which, however, do not manage to sink it. In fact, Archbishop Christodoulos said: "we are neither policemen nor judges and it is our duty to be at the side of sinners," adding that "despite the efforts being made to deceive, the Church will win."

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [02] "Rich countries have heard the voice of the poor" G7 Decide up to 100% Reduction in Debt

    05 Feb 2005 18:54:00

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Sources: BBC, Reuters

    Ministers for the Economy and the governors of the Central Banks in the seven G7 Countries declare that they are ready to accept debt relief for poor countries, going as high as 100%. According to a European source, in their final announcement, the Ministers for the Economy and the G7 bank governors state that their countries are ready to accept even a cancellation of the debt, following a case-by-case examination of the situation of each of the countries. At least 37 countries are expected to benefit significantly from this decision, mostly in Africa. In fact, the head of the Summit in London, British Chancellor Gordon Brown, stressed that this Summit will be remembered as the "100% debt relief," saying that in the London Summit, "the rich countries heard the voice of the poor, showing that no injustice can last forever."

    US, Chinese Fiscal Policy Scrutinised

    The cancellation of debt is one of the great axes of the "Marshall Plan" to aid poor countries, presented by British Chancellor Gordon Brown, who asked for a total cancellation of the debt of the poorest countries to large international financial organisations, amounting to about 80 billion dollars, as well as multilateral debt relief.

    In their announcement, the G7 countries accept a work programme aiming at development, including the examination of Browns other great proposal regarding an International Finance Facility (IFF), as well as French and German proposals to tax air traffic.

    Gordon Browns IFF is a system for loan guarantees from rich countries to poor countries, which has hitherto been rejected by the Americans. In fact, John Taylor, under-secretary of the US Treasury, repeated in London his countrys objection, adding that the Europeans can create the mechanism without the contribution of the US.

    Furthermore, in the final statement, the US pledge to clean up their public finances, as the American fiscal deficit has reached record heights after George Bushs rise to power.

    The G7 representatives also discussed oil price instability as well as managing currency exchange. In fact, they insisted on maintaining last years policy, calling for less volatile currency markets and greater exchange rate flexibility, something which mainly regards China, as it keeps its currency low, making it more competitive than other markets. "We are determined to move towards a flexible exchange rate, but no timetable," said Chinese central bank deputy governor Li Ruogu.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [03] Protesting increase in working hours Thousands of French Workers on the Streets

    05 Feb 2005 18:22:00

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Sources: BBC, ANA

    Thousands of French workers are holding mass demonstrations all over the country, protesting government plans which aim to increase working hours without giving any guarantees on raising salaries. Ignoring the bitter cold, the protestors stress that they will resist the changes to the law. Four out of the five major worker syndicates in France participated in the national protest, claiming that the proposed law, which is supported by President Jacques Chirac, would mean the "death" of the 35-hour working week, and that the workers would be forced to work extra hours with no additional pay. Conservatives under Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin claim that the laws regulating working hours must be relaxed in order to help reduce unemployment, which is close to 10%, and make the French economy, the fifth largest in the world, more competitive. The new law, which is set to be adopted on Tuesday, will allow "salaried-workers who so desire" to increase their working week "beyond established overtime" which reaches 220 hours per year.

    Public Opinion on Their Side

    According to the syndicates, more than 300,000 people are expected to take part in dozens of marches, the number of which is over 100.

    In Paris, where the largest march was held, the protest was led by the leaders of workers unions as well as members of the Opposition Socialist Party.

    According to the police, in the southwestern city of Toulouse, approximately 12,000 protestors braved the extreme cold and came out onto the streets, although unions speak of 20,000 participants. Thousands of people also protested in Lyon, Lorraine, Metz, Nancy and Epinal, following calls by the syndicates and with the support of left-wing parties, mainly the Socialist Party, whose leader Francois Hollande took part in a protest in Rennes in Brittany.

    In the meantime, according to a recent poll, 77% of salaried workers would prefer to keep todays working time, while 69% of French public opinion say they are in favour of the demonstrators. The 35-hour working week was introduced by the last socialist government.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [04] No survivors Fateful Aircraft Discovered

    05 Feb 2005 13:46:00

    By Betty Savourdou

    Sources: Reuters

    Southeast of Kabul, Dutch military helicopter discovered the wreckage of the Afghan aircraft which carried 104 passengers and was lost to radar on Thursday. A representative of the Afghan Ministry of Defence announced that there were no survivors in the wreckage. On Saturday, under adverse weather conditions, the soldiers managed to approach the location in which the aircraft belonging to private Afghan company Kam Air went down. Among the passengers were nine Turks, three Americans, three Italians and one Iranian, while the eight-member crew consisted of six Russians and two Afghani.

    Search Aided by ISAF

    "The aircraft crashed in Band i Gazi," stated the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, Zaher Azimi, referring to the village which is 35 kilometres from Kabul.

    The Boeing 737 took off on Thursday at 14:30 local time (12:00 Greek time) from Herat in western Afghanistan, heading for Kabul, where it was expected to land at 15:30 local time (13:00 Greek time).

    The last contact with the aircraft, which was lost of the radar, was at around 15:15 local time.

    Searches to locate the aircraft started again on Saturday, with 80 soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) participating.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [05] "Summit against poverty" Dead End in G7

    05 Feb 2005 14:19:00

    By Betty Savourdou

    Sources: BBC Greek

    A new round of talks is taking place on Saturday, in London, under draconian security measures, as part of the annual summit of the worlds seven most powerful economies. On the table is the issue of competitive China, as well as the so-called "new Marshall plan" against poverty. The British Chancellor, Gordon Brown, tried to secure support for his proposal to cancel most of the debt of African countries, to give greater economic aid to the developing world and to make more favourable trade agreements. Notwithstanding, the American representative, John Taylor, stated that the British plans do not coincide with American economic policy. In any case, Gordon Brown will attempt to come to an agreement with the remaining members of G7 before the leaders summit in July.

    Appeal by Mandela

    On the summits agenda there is also the matter of the enormous fiscal deficit of the United States, which puts pressure on the value of the dollar, making exports to the country more expensive.

    On Friday, the first day of the Summit, the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, called on the rich countries to move quickly to cancel out debts owed by African countries and to double economic aid towards the developing world every year until 2015.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [06] With the Air of a Pioneer

    05 Feb 2005 21:07:00

    By Stathis Petropoulos

    A pioneer with a difference is Olympiacos, who, much easier than its optimistic (absent) fans would have expected, won 2-0 in the postponed 14th match day game against Panionios in Nea Smyrni. So, with no games down and "open accounts" the red-and-whites are now at +6 from AEK and +7 from Panathinaikos, which naturally gives them a different appearance to continue the Cup. Against todays calm background in Nea Smyrni, Bajevics players stood up to attacks in the first half, and then went on to step up the pace, scoring the two goals that brought them their win. In 50 Rivaldo opened up the score, and in 64, Kaffes sealed the victory for his team, who had been playing with ten men from 21, as Tasos Pantos was sent off.

    15 Minutes of Opportunities!

    The first half finished with no goals, but not without stages that set television viewers hearts racing! At the start both teams were after a fast goal, which meant that the first fifteen minutes saw the only tries of the first half. The guest team had a go in just 2, when Okkas caught a header from a foul by Djordjevic, but the ball went out, while in 5, the second opportunity arrived, saved by Drobny. Earlier, in just 3, Panionios quick response with Goundoulakis trying to score just went out, and the big chance of the first half came in 11 for the host team. Breska was in the semi-circle with the ball, and after tiring the Olympiacos defenders, he shot the ball and it was knocked out instinctively by Nikopolidis. In 15, a new confusion amongst the ranks of Olympiacos was left unused by Goundoulakis, who once again faced the red-and-white goalkeeper, and at about that point the pace slowed, at least for the time being.

    Stubbornly Sent Off

    One factor contributing to the change in pace was the fact that Tasos Pantos was sent off in just 21. The Olympiacos defender made the same mistake inside 4 minutes and paid for it much more dearly than he had expected, as both times he was shown a yellow card, which meant that his team was very early down to ten men. After a few minutes getting used to the new situation, with Schurrer replacing Castillo in order to cover the gap in defence, Olympiacos dug their heels in, and by 45 they came close to opening the score, when in 29 Rivaldo caught the ball from Kaffes, and sent a header slightly out.

    Serious and Effective

    With the start of the second half, before either team could take charge, Olympiacos scored and got a lead for the win. Georgatos took a distant foul and the ball reached Rivaldo in the goal area. The Brazilian player stopped the ball, and caught a pass on his left foot, leaving no room for Drobny to react. From then on, it was nothing like the first few minutes of the first half, except a good pass by Breska once again, which failed to take Nikopolidis by surprise. In 64, Olympiacos were once again close to the tall Czech goalkeeper, and by good luck Kaffes was alone in facing him. Okkas initially tried to pass to Rivaldo, but he was not in position and just managed to touch the ball and send it to the Olympiacos midfielder, who scored with a great kick. By the end, Olympiacos had missed another great opportunity, with Drobny saving a shot by Georgatos, and Panionios lost the chance to get back into the game, even in 81. Tsiolis caught a header and Goundoulakis was just out of position, unable to get past Nikopolidis.

    Referee: Mazarakis (Kefallonia) Red cards: 22 Pantos (2nd yellow), 66 Spiropoulos (2nd yellow)

    Yellow cards: Kiassos, Spiropoulos, Domoraud, Kaisi, Nalitzis, Anatolakis, Pantos, Okkas, Stoltidis

    Teams:

    Panionios: Drobny, Vlcek, Markos, Domoraud (58 Zimonjic), Spyropoulos, Galanopoulos, Tziolis (70 Tsiolis), Kiassos (46 Kaisi), Goundoulakis, Breska, Nalitzis

    Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Pantos, Georgatos, Kostoulas, Anatolakis, Stoltidis, Castillo (38 Schurrer), Kaffes (91 Taralidis), Okkas (87 Maric), Rivaldo, Djordjevic

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [07] Xanthi in Top 8

    05 Feb 2005 18:09:00

    By Dimitris Alexopoulos

    The Xanthi team were used to the cold, as it is always much colder in Northern Greece during winter, and all they were after in Egaleo today was to manage to stand up to the pressure put on them by Dubrescus players, and return to their northern Greek home with the ticket to qualify to the next round of the Cup. And they did it in the best way possible, as with power and passion, they got the nil-all draw, and in combination with the 1-0 from the first game, they stamped their ticket for the round of 8.

    Cold Soup!

    Both teams started the match focussing on defence, and kept this rhythm all throughout the first half.

    The result of this tactic was that opportunities arose in front of the two goals, and the few fans feeling the cold at the stadium felt even more chilly.

    The only good phase worth mentioning was a strong shot by Baikaras in the second minute, with the ball going just outside Sidibes goal.

    From then on it was nil-all, with Xanthi taking advantage of the slow pace, as the 1-0 from the first game guaranteed them a ticket to qualify, and with Egaleo on the other hand unable to get close to Pizanovskis goal.

    And how were they supposed to get close when for the first half they wanted a goal and played with just one striker and 4-5-1, as though they wanted to keep the result against them.

    A point worth mentioning is the replacement of the first referee, Kiros Vassaras in the eighth minute by the 4th referee, Giorgos Douros, after he slipped and fell on Egaleos wonderful pitch, which is ideal for first division matches.

    In the second half, Ilie Dumitrescu tried to change his teams image, with internal changes, and by sending a second striker, Nikolopoulos into the game.

    On the other hand, seeing that his players had reserves to keep to the desired result, and therefore to qualify, Giannis Matzourakis returned Stavros Lambriakos to the centre of defence, fortifying Pizanovskis goal.

    Egaleo presented no danger, while two attempts in the last twenty minutes did not bring the hoped-for goal.

    The first was in 72, when Agritis went alone into the Xanthi goal area and passed the ball, giving the defenders the chance to kick it away.

    The second came in 85, when Pizanovski knocked the ball away impressively, falling into the left corner to save the penalty kick shot by Barkoglou.

    As they didnt go in, the 0-0 was a natural result, with Xanthi continuing into the next round and Egaleo still searching for their pitch identity in order to return to the path of victory.

    In the quarterfinals, Xanthi will face Larisa.

    Referee: Vassaras (Thessaloniki) 10 Douros Yellow cards: Maghradze, Tsatsos, Nikolopoulos, Kazakis

    Teams:

    Egaleo: Sidibe, Amponsah, Christou, Psomas, Alexopoulos, Barkoglou, Aggos (65 Makris), Agritis, Tsatsos, Fotakis, Manousakis (46 Nikolopoulos)

    Xanthi: Pizanovski, Zapropoulos, Prittas, Antzas, Sikov, Papadimitriou, Lambriakos, Luciano (80 Kazakis), Kahraman (37 Melissas), Maghradze, Baykara (90 Kourak)

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [08] Greece Comes Sixth in Tunisia

    05 Feb 2005 16:43:00

    By Dimitris Alexopoulos

    Sources: ANA

    The Greek National Mens team came in sixth place in the international handball tournament in Tunisia. They were defeated by Serbia-Montenegro 26-37 in their last match in the tournament. After eight matches and the fact that they were knocked out of the semi-finals, the Greek team appeared both mentally and physically worn out in the match for places 5-6, and consequently did not put up strong resistance to the Serbs.

    Without Strength or Concentration

    The Greek team lost touch with the score after 12 in the first half, when they appeared to have a blackout and the 7-6 in their favour turned into 7-12 and 8-14. The Greek players reacted in the last ten minutes, with a series of four goals (12-14), which reduced the score difference. Nevertheless, things could have been even better for Ulf Schefverts players, who missed three penalties in the first half.

    In the second half, the Serbians came in more active and soon increased their lead to +7 (14-21), embracing their victory. With neither strength nor concentration, the Greek national team had no response and the difference increased progressively (18-28 in 48, 21-32 in 54, 22-35 in 56), with the final result being 26-37.

    For the first time, the third goalkeeper, Haris Dellios, competed for Greece, while Voglis and Samaras were off the team.

    The ten-minute periods (with Greece first): 5-5, 8-12, 12-15 (half time), 15-22, 19-29, 26-37.

    GREECE (Schefvert): Chrysopoulos, Kafatos, Dellios, Tzimourtos, Vasilakis 1, Zaravinas 3, Balomenos 3, Kokolodimitrakis 2, Grammatikos 1, Zivoulovich 3, Halkidis 2, Sanikis, Alvanos 5, Karypidis 6.

    SERBIA MONTENEGRO (Vujovic): Saric, Djurkovic 4, Tchuruvija 5, Marko Krivokapic 4, Milorad Krivokapic 2, Djukanovic, Stojanovic 6, Petric 5, Muratovic 4, Sudjum 1, Sterbik, Milosavlievic 5, Andjelkovic, Nikolic 1.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [09] "Europe-USA must work together" "Close Cooperation over Iran and the Middle East"

    05 Feb 2005 17:39:00 (Last updated: 05 Feb 2005 20:17:18)

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Sources: NET 105.8

    The American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice calls for unity in Europe, from Turkey where she is continuing her tour around countries in Europe and the Middle East. The focus of the talks, which are held with government leaders and officials, is the nuclear arsenal of Iran, as well as the Middle East question. In Ankara, she met with the Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom she discussed Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East and Cyprus. The Turkish PM did not give details of the discussion, but he underlined that "our military relations continue maturely and positively." Later she will meet with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, on whom she is expected to bring pressure to bear regarding Washingtons plans to halt Irans nuclear programme. During her journey to Turkey, Ms Rice stopped for a few hours in Poland, where she thanked the government for its significant contribution to the war in Iraq, and underlined that Europe and the US must work together for freedom and democracy.

    "Diplomacy Can Bring Results"

    Tomorrow she will meet with her Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul.

    On her way to Turkey, Ms Rice made a stop of a few hours in Poland, where she thanked the government for its significant contribution to the war in Iraq and underlined that Europe and the US must work together for freedom and democracy.

    Nevertheless, Condoleeza Rice downplayed the matter of the withdrawal of 800 Polish troops from Iraq, claiming that "in no way" does this withdrawal reduce Polands contribution to the country. "Poland is one of our most important cross-Atlantic partners," stressed Ms Rice, underlining that "what we expect from Europe is the desire to open a new chapter in this great alliance."

    Earlier, in Warsaw, the American minister stated that Russia should make significant democratic reforms if it wishes to strengthen its ties with the West.

    Before arriving in Poland, Ms Rice visited Berlin, where she met with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The American minister referred to the improvement of relations between America and Germany, while she promised close cooperation of the US with Germany and other European countries in order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Ms Rice noted that diplomacy can bring results, if there is unity in the aim and the message.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [10] "His health is improving" Pope to Bless Faithful Tomorrow

    05 Feb 2005 16:33:00

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Pope John Paul seems to be doing better. In fact, Vincenzo Palia, the leader of a delegation of five bishops who visited the Pope at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, told journalists that the Pontiff seemed very pleased to see them. "We gave him the letter (a prayer for his health) signed by 80 bishops. He wanted to see all the signatures, and we showed him every page. He said thank you for this display of solidarity. His health is improving," Palia told journalists, adding that the 84-year-old leader of the Catholic Church seemed very happy. Besides this, the Vatican announced today that the Pope will bless the faithful from his hospital room on Sunday, but his speech will be read out on his behalf by one of his assistants, while the Pontiff will not even read the prayer accompanying the speech.

    He is Still Weak

    The statement from the Vatican implies that the Pope, who was admitted to hospital on Tuesday with respiratory problems, is doing better, although he is not yet strong enough to complete the ceremony alone.

    In the meantime, the delegation of five bishops from Europe, Africa and Asia went to visit Pope John Paul after praying at the hospitals chapel. There were almost 100 bishops from Europe, Africa and Asia attending the prayer, from various Christian denominations.

    Translated by Millie Williams

    [11] In Yemen Al Qaeda Members Sentenced to Death

    05 Feb 2005 15:56:00

    By Despina Hristopoulou

    Sources: BBC

    Two members of a Yemeni terrorist group connected to Al Qaeda have been sentenced to death. One of the convicts, Fawaz al-Rabeei is a leader of a 15 member group accused of being connected with Al Qaeda and found guilty for the bomb attack in the French tanker Limburg, on October 2002. Last December Rabeei had stated in court that the men had promised Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to kill Americans. Rabeei had been sentenced to 10 years jail term for participation in a policemans murder. The second convict is Husam Saleh Mejalli, a member of the same group, who was also found guilty for the policemans murder in 2002 and today the court ratified the death sentence, which was ruled in August. It has not yet been made known if the death-row convicts will turn to the Yemen Supreme Court, which can reverse the rulings.

    Translated by Eirene Nisiriou


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