The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 08-02-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] Barrage of Arson Attacks

Sources: ΝΕΤ, ΝΕΤ 105.8, ANA-MPA

Eight bank branches, four cars and an insurance company were torched in Athens in the early hours of Thursday. Involved in a concerted drive, the arsonists planted homemade bombs.

In particular, they torched the branches of Proton Bank in central Athens, of City Bank in Petroupoli district, of Millennium Bank in Gerakas suburb, of City Bank in Piraeus, of Open 24 by Eurobank in Piraeus, of Eurobank in Kallithea district, of the Bank of Cyprus in central Athens and of the National Bank of Greece in Vyronas district.

No group has claimed responsibility so far.

[02] Defunct US Satellite Hit

By Betty Savourdou

Sources: Reuters, ANA-MPA

A missile fired by a US warship struck a defunct spy satellite, in a bid to prevent the satellites toxic fuel tank from crashing on to the Earth, said the US Pentagon. The SM-3 missile was fired from the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific at about 22.26pm and hit the bus-sized satellite some 274km over the Pacific Ocean. Earlier, the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), operated by the European Commission in Brussels, had warned that a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the earths atmosphere. The chances of some of its debris falling on to Greek soil are rather slim, however, people are advised to avoid any contact with its materials and inform the authorities.

Translated by Areti Christou

Read the story on other sources:

CNN: Defense Department: Navy missile hits dying spy satellite

BBC: US missile hits 'toxic satellite'

[03] South Korean President Cleared

Sources: REUTERS

South Korean investigators looking into allegations the president-elect was involved in securities fraud said on Thursday they found no wrongdoing, defusing a scandal that analysts said could have undermined his authority. CEO-turned-politician Lee Myung-bak takes office on February 25 and was the countrys first president-elect to face a criminal investigation. Under local law a sitting president may not be prosecuted for such charges, but if implicated, the criminal suspicion would hang over his or her presidency. An incumbent president could face prosecution on leaving office. "Lee Myung-bak was not involved in stock-price manipulation," Chung Ho-young, a spokesman for the special counsel, told a nationally televised news conference. Lees opponents have said he was deeply enmeshed in running a US-based securities firm called BBK, which is under investigation in South Korea for suspected embezzlement by its managers and bilking investors out of millions of dollars. "We have concluded the president-elect has no involvement in BBK," Chung said.

Read the story on other sources:

BBC: S Korea president-elect cleared

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