Divergence between the Greek statistics agency and the Finance Ministry regarding the deficit for 2010 may bring new revenue measures.
Greek government should send a report of sovereign deficit to Eurostat, but there was no conciliatory agreement whether arrears and expenditure should be included.
Greece sends to Eurostat statements of accounts every six months through the now independent Hellenic statistical authority.
Government sources note that public deficit may exceed 10%, more than half a percentage point above initial estimates of 9.4%, because of the large deficits and arrears of public corporations.
The Finance Ministry has been trying for some time to “deal” part of the debts worth €2.5bn in each year of the period 2007-2009, so that 2010 deficit will not be increased.
Otherwise, new measures worth €18bn may be introduced. This amount will be added to the €1.74bn supplementary measures and the €22bn mid-term package.
The Ministry of Finance also faces the risk of the same corporations produce new arrears and debts, as they don’t respond to Treasury’s call for monthly financial reports.
Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou decided that presidents of the corporations should submit written explanation within fifteen days for not submitting the monthly reports. A fine equal to 1/25 of their salary for each day of delay is provided.
Internal Divergence May Push 2010 Deficit Up
Ethnic Armenian in Turkey rejects diplomatic post
Turkish Foreign Ministry offered a post to Daron Acemoglu as the country’s permanent representative to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). News sources first claimed he would be appointed as Turkish ambassador to France, but Foreign Minister Davutoglu, in his press conference yesterday corrected that mistake without naming names.
Acemoglu, a Turkish/Armenian and a prominent economist and academician has rejected the offer noting that his academic career has priority over political inspirations.
Critics see the offer as an act to save face against allegations of mistreatment of minorities in Turkey. Government spokespersons claim they want to normalize relations with Armenia in accordance with Turkey’s so called “zero conflict” policy with her neighbors.
Daron Acemoğlu is currently Professor of Applied Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and winner of the 2005 John Bates Clark Medal. He is said to be a good candidate for a future Nobel prize in economics.
Although there are no restrictions in law, minorities in Turkey were never appointed to official posts by the state since 1950’s and could not held public office. There was never a minority Member of Parliament nor a high level public servant since then.
Melina Kanakaredes Talks about Her Career and Future Plans
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We met Greek-American actress Melina Kanakaredes at the John Varvatos 8th Annual Stuart House Benefit in Los Angeles. The actress most widely known as detective Stella Bonasera on CSi:NY talked to us about her new career plans, her upcoming trip to Greece and the Macedonian-themed CSI episode she wrote.
Theatrical Legend Iakovos Kampanelis Passes
At the age of 89 years, the famous theatrical writer Iakovos Kampanelis has passed. After a lot of struggling with chronic kidney problem, he died in the hospital “Mitera”, where he was nursed.
Iakovos Kampanelis was born on the 3rd of December 1922, in Naxos. He wrote a lot of theatrical plays such as “Our Big Circus”(To Megalo mas Tsirko), Fairytale without Name (Paramuthi choris Onoma), “Seventh day of the Creation” (Evdomi mera τισ Dimiourgias) and many more. During his career, he cooperated with the greatest directors and actors of Greece and was honored with many prizes for his work.
Greek Police Catch Cross-Border Potato Thieves!
Nine Bulgarians, five men and four women, have been arrested after managing to steal a whopping 15 tons of potatoes from a field across the border, in neighboring Greece, police said.
The thieves, aged from 19 to 48, were nabbed Sunday morning on the site of the crime as they were loading 800 kilograms of stolen potatoes onto a truck, outside the northern Greek city of Drama, close to the border with Bulgaria.
The farmer alerted the police after losing more than 15 tons of potatoes in just two days. The man was forced to keep an overnight watch on his field, but managed to catch the marauders only after getting help from the police. Police found and seized more than 200 empty potato sacks and digging forks, according to media reports.
Police say the farmers’ fields in the region have been recently beset by thieves, who steal mostly potatoes and olives.
Tensions Plague Plans for Keratea Dump Site (video)
Another night of tensions and incidents between police and inhabitants occurred in Keratea, a working-class neighbourhood in the south-east of Athens. The inhabitants are opposing the creation of a large rubbish tip in the area.
The incidents started when a group of residents set fire to a bulldozer. The bulldozer was trying to clear the road to Lavorio from the barricades that had been put up by local residents, in an attempt to block traffic.
Keratea, together with Grammatiko’, both near Athens, have been selected to host waste tips that should serve the capital and the whole Attica region after several waste disposal crises in the past.
The citizens of Keratea are against the construction of the new large rubbish tip. They claim that normal procedures have not been followed, and that the dump would be constructed near an archaeological site.
The government is pushing for a rapid execution of the projects, also to secure the provided European funds. After a judge temporarily halted works until a verdict was reached, the Greek State Council decided on January 10th to give green light to the construction of the Keratea dump. Today the newspaper To Vima writes that the Greek police are studying a plan to deal with the ”Keratea crisis”, considered by many to be one of the most serious problems authorities were faced with in the past years. According to the newspaper, police sources say that the violence will increase and that a ”painful” attack by some illegal armed organisation on the police or on machinery in the area where the rubbish tip is planned to be built cannot be ruled out.
Tension continued in Keratea, eastern Attica, on Tuesday (video)
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Roots of "American Idol" & "Dancing with the Stars" are Ancient Greek!
Who could imagine that modern shows such as “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” are based on a Greek idea from 2,500 years ago? This is about a real event that is also written down in the official Guinness Book of World Records.
Everything started in 500 B.C., in the ancient theatre of Dionysos, which is the oldest theatre in the world. It was constructed in ancient Athens under the Acropolis. “In that space, the ancient Greek drama was born, and there has been hosted for the first time the drama competitions during which the audience voted their favorite play. It was like the modern “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars”, states Claire Bourges to APE-MPE, the representative of Guinness Records in London.
The Greek innovation is about the capability of the audience taking part in the procedure of choosing the best drama writer. Today, the voting “by graze” of the ancient times has been replaced by sms messages and phone calls of the audience, but the basic idea is still the same.
Blaze at New York City Greek Restaurant Injures 12
A large fire at a Greek restaurant-bar in the New York City borough of Queens on early Tuesday morning injured at least 12 firefighters, emergency officials said.
A spokesman for the New York Fire Department (FDNY) said it received a 911 call about a fire at 37-20 30th Avenue at 7.19 a.m. local time. It involves a 3-story building with on the ground floor the FLO Lounge Restaurant and multiple dwellings on the first and second floors.
The fire was later on Tuesday morning upgraded to a fourth-alarm fire, and a total of 39 units with 168 firefighters were at the scene to get the blaze under control. There were no civilian casualties but 12 firefighters sustained minor injuries, including five whom were transported to an area hospital.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Greek Governor Michail of West Australia Ends Term in June
On the 30th of June 2011, the term of office of the Greek expatriate governor of West Australia, Komninos Michail ends. Australia’s regime is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The queen of the country is the Queen of England and her representative in Australia is the General Governor. Australia is a federation state, and every state has its own governor who is the supreme leader.
The new governor of the West Australia on the 1st of July will be lawyer Malcom Musker, a known philanthropist. He states that he will donate all his salary to charities. The current governor, Dr. Komninos Michail, was born in West Australia in 1938. His parents were from Kastelorizo but they died shortly after he was born and Mr. Michail was an orphan in an early age. Dr. Komninos Michail graduated in Political Engineering at the University of West Australia and took his postgraduate degree in London. In 1968, he took his doctorate from the University of London. He held very important offices in public administration and in the academic domain. He also became dean of the University of West Australia. In 1996, he was honored with the “Member of the Order of Australia” and in 2006 with the “Companion of the Order of Australia”. He became Governor of West Australia in January 2006.
Last Goodbye to Konstantinos Georganas
Mr. Konstantinos Georganas is a distinguished executive of the expatriate Greeks in Canada and former treasurer of the Council of Hellenes Abroad. He was born on the 16th of July, 1946 in the village Chirades of Arkadia in the Pelloponisos. He was the fourth child of Nikolaos and Dimitra Georgana.
He came to Canada in 1968. He received his economic degree at the University of York and later graduated from the Institute of Canadian Bankers (F.I.C.B) as a Director’s College (McMaster University and The Conference Board of Canada). Georganas was a supporter of the Greek Orthodox Church and offered a lot in social and charitable organizations and institutes, helping people in a national as well as an international level.