By Paris Karagounis
The former MP George Voulgarakis’ wife, Aikaterini Peleki was called on Monday by the 13th parliamentary committee. The committee investigates the exchange of land between the corporation responsible for the use of the Greek state’s land and the Monastery of Vatopaidi. Many experts believe the Greek state has lost millions, where she acted as the notary.
Mrs. Peleki has stated that the former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and his office were fully aware of the exchange. She later told reporters that she could not bear the fact that no one has taken the responsibility for a legal act that was initiated by Karamanlis’ ministers and government. At the end of the discussion she indicated that Mr. Rousopoulos and Mr. Aggelou were informed at the time. She added: “I was not expecting from a politician like Kostas Karamanlis to deny knowledge, I have four children and my professional career is ruined.” One of Mr. Aggelou’s aids later stated: ‘’my associate has already testified what has occurred concerning the exchange, everything else that contradicts his statement is an absolute lie.’’ Mr. Rousopoulos’ comment was in the same reference.
Greek parliamentary committee summoned former Prime Minister to testify
Tonight a Greek parliamentary committee probing a real estate scandal has summoned former Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to testify as a witness.
No date was set Tuesday for the appearance of the conservative former premier. Karamanlis governed from 2004 until 2009.
The summoning of the former prime minister comes at a time when his successor Antonis Samaras is trying to rectify the repercussions of New Democracy’s past. Samaras is also trying to boost its historically low figures in the polls.
Real Estate Scandal Summons Former PM Karamanlis to Testify
Planned Smoking Ban in Victoria Anticipates Negative Reaction from Greeks
Monash City Council is hoping to ban smoking in outdoor areas such as cafes and sports grounds. However the city council is anticipating backlash from the Greek Australian community.
As a result of a council meeting on Tuesday night, the council will now go ahead with community consultation on banning smoking in outdoor areas.
Councillor Paul Klisaris initiated the proposal. He stated it was important that local government promote an anti-smoking message, although he anticipated resistance from Greek Australians in the area.
“Greeks have a lot of good qualities, but they also have one negative about them, and that is that they are the biggest whiners on the planet.”
Monash is the first local council in Victoria to consider the ban. The ban has been state law in sporting clubs and cafes in Queensland and New South Wales for years.
Klisaris said since those bans were introduced data has shown an increase in patronage. “Now what does that mean?..It means that people who otherwise wouldn’t go to a cafe outside and enjoy the good weather because they didn’t want to inhale their neighbours’ smoke, all of a sudden were able to do that.”
Community consultation is now under way in the city of Monash. A subcommittee has been formed to make a recommendation to the council. Klisaris expects the recommendation will take place early next year.
(source: neos kosmos)
Striking Truckers Protest from Omonia Square to Parliament
Truck owners are firmly standing their ground on their decision to protest. They continue their blockades around various places in Athens. At eight o’clock Monday night the truckers forced a blockage at Athens – Lamias Road, resulting in a huge traffic jam. In order to escalate their mobilization many trucks around the region are moving towards Attica.
At twelve o’clock today the truckers plan to come together in Omonia Square after their General Meeting and will protest on foot to the Parliament. Meanwhile the bill on the liberalization of transport will be debated. During the protest prosecuting officers in alliance with the police, shall observe the mobilization in order to prevent or take action if any offenses are committed.
Earlier today there was a conflict on Athens Avenue when police didn’t allow receptacle and truck owners to move their aligned trucks from the road towards Athens. “We protest in peace and continue our struggle, however the police has blocked the road and doesn’t let as move the trucks,” stated Federation President Panos Tsortsatos to the Athenian News Agency.
Olympic Air's New Thessaloniki-London Flight!
Olympic Air announced that on October 31, 2010 it will begin a new route from Thessaloniki to London’s Gatwick airport. The flight OA283 will depart every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 07:55 a.m. from the Makedonia Airport of Thessaloniki. It will land in Gatwick’s South Terminal at 09:25 a.m. The return flight will be OA284 and will run on the same days. It will depart from Gatwick at 10:25 a.m. and land in Thessaloniki at 15:40 p.m. The flights will run with the aircraft Airbus A319 which offers 120 economy seats and 12 first class seats. During the opening of this new route, Olympic Air is offering an introductory price for a one-way fare of €32 for Thessaloniki-London and GBP27 London– Thessaloniki. This price includes the fuel surcharge and service fee, however does not include airport taxes. These fares are valid for booked tickets between 23/9/2010 and 92/9/2010, for trips scheduled 31/10/2010 through 16/12/2010.
Bank of Greece Announces Stress Tests
The Bank of Greece announced on Monday that Greek banks will be put under an “extreme scenario stress test” by the end of the year. In an announcement the central bank confirmed that a decision to delay Greek banks’ autumn stress tests was reached during the summer. This desicion resulted after an agreement with the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
The reason for the postponement was that Greek authorities had no recent information over the condition of domestic banks, after local financial institutions and European coutnterparts passed an EU stress test in July.
(source: ana-mpa)
Former Athelete 1st to Cover Distance between Chania – White Mountains, Crete
After two years of roadwork, 45 years old Thansassis Vogiatzakis managed to traverse Chania prefecture to the famous White Mountains of Crete. His aim was to convey the message of assistance of the soup kitchen in the Splatzia region of Chania.
He set off at 04:00 a.m on Saturday morning. He covered a distance of 60 km. It took him 10 hours and 55 minutes to traverse the whole prefecture. No one else has managed to cover this distance before but Vogiatzakis made it!
“There was a moment, especially in the ascension when I felt really tired. However, I had to finish it off, as there were many people who supported and believed in me.”, declared Vogiatzakis. Before he set off he received a Cretan knife which gave him great strength.
Greek Foreign Minister Met with Saudi Arabian Counterpart in NYC
Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas accompanied Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to the US for the 65th UN General Assembly Conference. Yesterday night he met with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal. Droutsas accepted an invitation by the Saudi Arabian Prince to visit Riyadh. The two Ministers discussed numerous political issues and those of bilateral importance.
Droutsas underlined that the meeting took place in a: “friendly and constructive” climate. The Greek Minister informed his counterpart on numerous greek issues, such as Greek-Turkish relationships and the latest updates on the Cyprus issue regarding Christofia’s proposals.
Additionally they discussed the new Middle East peace process and agreed on the importance of settling disputes through peace and discussion. Finally, Droutas noted that it was a really interesting and fruitful meeting and agreed to visit Riyadh as soon as possible.
(source: ana-mpa)
PM Papandreou visits New York Stock Exchange and UN for Millenium Development Summit Goals
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stressed on Monday, during a visit to the New York Stock Exchange where he attended a working lunch with the stock exchange’s president and leading Wall Street members, that Greece has changed dramatically over the past year, since in only a few months the country’s new government has promoted the most ambitious monetary and structural reforms in the history of the eurozone.
“We are responding to our commitments in time and within the time limits that had been set and often much earlier than expected exceeding expectations,” the prime minister said, adding that now his government is focusing on strengthening growth and measures that will make the economy more competitive.
He stressed that the radical restructuring of the pensioning and taxation system has already been promoted, as well as the restructuring of the public sector that will now function with geater transparency and effectiveness.
He further said that it is proceeding with the deregulation of the markets of products, services and labour, including the liberalisation of the energy market and of closed professions and assessed that these structural reforms will lead to an increase in production by 5 percent to 6 percent.
He also pointed out that Greece is providing a great prospect for investments in renewable energy sources as well as the infrastructures sector, while mentioning that assets of the public sector whose value amounts to 270 billion euros can be privatised or utilised, an amount that corresponds to almost the entire debt of the country.
Lastly, the prime minister made it clear that there is no question of the country going bankrupt and stressed that the Greek government proved that it means what it says while expressing certainty that the spreads will recede and that while all these reforms will begin to produce results, Greece will regain the confidence of investors.
Earlier in the day, the Greek prime minister underlined what he called the disappointment caused by a lack of progress regarding the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as the 50-percent decrease by 2015 of people living with less than one dollar a day.
He spoke during an intervention at a roundtable discussion held at the UN headquarters.
Papandreou stressed that the number of people who are starving increased from 842 million in 1990 to 1.02 billion in 2009, a development that he termed as unacceptable. On the other hand, he stressed the progress achieved concerning the decrease in mortality, the combating of illnesses and access to education although, as he noted, a great deal still remains to be done on these fronts as well.
After stressing that it is certain that the economic crisis made the effort more difficult, he pointed out that monetary austerity is functioning as an excuse for there to be no further moves and protectionism to return that obstructs the growth of developing countries.
(source: ana-mpa)
Meet Constantine Maroulis in Chicago
Tony Award® Nominee and “American Idol” finalist Constantine Maroulis will be in Chicago for the next few weeks, reprising his role in the Broadway hit musical, “Rock of Ages.” The show is launching its First National Tour here in Chicago.
Maroulis plays Drew in the five–time Tony Award® nominated musical. “Rock of Ages” is playing at the Bank of America Theatre, from September 21 – October 3.
Fans will have the opportunity to meet Maroulis this Friday, September 24, when the actor/singer makes a special appearance at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago. He’ll meet and greet fans from 5:00 – 6:30 pm.
The show is set in 1987 on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. A small town girl meets a big city rocker in LA’s most famous rock club. They fall in love to the greatest songs of the 80’s. The arena-rock love story is told through the popular songs of Journey, Night Ranger, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. It’s an ode to the era of big hair, big dreams, playing loud and partying on.
$20 Million Tax Penalty to Greek Australian Nick Petroulias
The Australian Tax Office gave a tax penalty of 20 million dollars to Greek Australian Nick Petroulias.
Petroulias was in jail for two years after being found guilty of using his position in the tax office to secure private tax rulings for companies in which he had a financial interest. Petroulias was released in June. He had spent at least $13 million on his legal defense.
“The ATO is determined to turn me into a social leper. Anyone who helps me or is in any way associated with me will be attacked,” he said.
In the beginning, the Petroulias case was presented as the biggest case of deception against the Australian state.
After four trials the authorities could not condemn him. The most serious accusations were withdrawn. In the last 2007 trail he was condemned to prison for 38 months. Judge Peter Johnson said that Petroulias’ behavior was illegal and deceitful. “I’m convinced that actions like these are the worst of the kind”.