Pages

Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Greek Finance Minister Says Work Continues on Budget Cuts


The Guardian

Greek Finance Minister Says Work Continues on Budget Cuts
Businessweek
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the government is still working on identifying nearly a third of the budget cuts required by international creditors to resume the flow of funds under a rescue package. Reducing the number of state ...
Greek optimism hides shaky and pessimistic futureExaminer.com
Greece to issue T-bills to pay maturing bond-sourceReuters
Greek crackdown on illegal immigrants leads to mass arrestsThe Guardian
San Francisco Chronicle -ABC News
all 707 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessweek.com

Greek crackdown on illegal immigrants leads to mass arrests

Thousands of migrants are being held in detention centres near Athens before being deported back to their home countries

Greek authorities have launched one of the country's biggest ever crackdowns on suspected illegal immigrants, deploying 4,500 policemen around Athens and detaining more than 7,000 immigrants in less than 72 hours.

Most have been released, but about 2,000, mostly Africans and Asians, have been arrested. They were then sent to holding centres pending deportation in an operation that officials, bizarrely, have elected to call Xenios Zeus after the Greek god of hospitality. On Sunday, 88 undocumented Pakistanis were put on planes accompanied by guards back to their home country.

"We will not allow our towns, or our country, to be occupied and become migrant ghettoes," said Athens' hardline public order minister Nikos Dendias, as authorities discussed plans to build eight new detention centres, capable of holding up to 10,000 immigrants, in the capital.

Widely seen as the easiest entry point to the west, Greece has witnessed a surge in new arrivals, with government figures showing more than 100 migrants streaming across the country's porous border with Turkey every day. The vast majority head for Athens, a magnet for migrants desperate to find work before moving on to other parts of Europe. An estimated 1 million immigrants are believed to live in Greece whose population is barely 11 million.

But the country's economic crisis and growing political radicalisation has given rise to a xenophobic backlash with the uncontrolled influx being blamed for a sharp spike in violent crime. The neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, which has vowed to rid Greece of the "migrant scum", has seen its popularity soar with the party capturing an unprecedented 6.9% of the vote in parliamentary elections six weeks ago. Racist attacks conducted by black-clad men associated with the extremists have escalated dangerously, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch. On Tuesday the anti-immigrant fervour increased further in reaction to the prosecution of a Pakistani who appeared in court accused of assaulting a teenage Greek girl on the Cycladic Isle of Paros.

In this atmosphere Athens' fragile conservative-lead coalition has taken action with Dendias describing the problem of immigrants as "perhaps even bigger than our financial one".

"The country is being lost," he told Skai TV. "What is happening now is [Greece's] greatest invasion ever. Not since the Dorians invaded some 3,000 years ago has it received such a flow of immigration."

Defending the crackdown, the politician insisted it was imperative to preventing the debt-stricken nation from sliding into further chaos and collapse.

"Our social fabric is in danger of unravelling," he said. In the coming weeks, arrested migrants would be placed in a detention centre outside Athens and unused police academies in the country's north before being deported, he added. Immigrants were often living in such appalling conditions it was "to their benefit to be repatriated".

On Tuesday Walid Omar, an Iraqi Kurd, was sitting in an internet cafe in Athens' historic city centre when a policeman walked in. The migrant knew the officer well. As a friend of the cafe owner, Omar regularly stopped by and the policeman did too.

But the officer was unusually terse. "He told me and everyone else who did not look Greek to follow him. For the next two hours we were made to wait in a windowless bus, and then under the sun, before they first inspected our clothes and then inspected our papers at the police station," said the Iraqi Kurd whose documents proved he was legal in the country that has been his home for the past 15 years.

"The whole procedure took around five hours and there was a lot of shouting," he continued in fluent Greek. "An Algerian, a young boy, was badly beaten in front of everyone. People were really scared."

Officials say the campaign, which has coincided with the reinforcement of patrols along the Greek-Turkish border, has also been prompted by fears of a new influx of immigrants from Syria. For the most part, the media has welcomed the move with the Kathimerini newspaper opining on Tuesday that security was finally "returning to the centre of Athens".

But the scale of the operation has also unleashed widespread criticism with the left-wing main opposition Syriza party denouncing the crackdown as "a pogrom" and "insult to justice and humanity". Migrants, it said, were being used to divert attention from unpopular economic policies, including more savage spending cuts, demanded by the EU and IMF in return for much-needed rescue funds. "It is a communications stunt aimed at concealing the true crackdown against public sector wages, pensions and benefits that the government has agreed to in recent days."

The Greek office of the UN High Commission for Refugees expressed fears that refugees from war-torn countries and genuine asylum seekers could be among those summarily deported.

An unprecedented 8,000 migrants have voluntarily asked to be repatriated since the start of the year, as Greece's environment – economically, socially and politically – becomes ever more inhospitable towards them.


guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.guardian.co.uk

Portugal is longing for dictatorship

The Portuguese, like the Spaniards and Greeks, are dissatisfied with their government unable to overcome the current crisis. On these grounds many are nostalgic for the days of the dictators: Greece elected far-right nationalist and even fascist parties into parliament, and Portugal announced the dictator Antonio de Olivera Salazar "the greatest Portuguese" of all time.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT english.pravda.ru

Greeks Look to Labor Pool For Some Public Workers

Greece may have to place thousands of public workers in a special labor pool at reduced pay to help achieve as much as $4.95 billion in spending cuts demanded by international creditors, a politically risky move for the fragile coalition government.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com

Juncker calls Greek euro exit 'manageable'


Business Recorder

Juncker calls Greek euro exit 'manageable'
Boston.com
Jean-Claude Juncker, who also chairs eurozone finance ministers' meetings, told German public broadcaster WDR late Monday such a move would carry enormous risks, especially for the Greeks. But Juncker added, according to a transcript released by his ...
Eurogroup's Juncker says Greek exit 'manageable'MarketWatch

all 84 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.boston.com

Greek optimism hides shaky and pessimistic future


AFP

Greek optimism hides shaky and pessimistic future
Examiner.com
International creditors and Greek government officials sounded optimistic after their 10 day meeting which ended Sunday evening, but the future remains unstable and questionable given the shaky ground and uncertainty. Both parties agreed in principal ...
Greece to issue T-bills to pay maturing bond-sourceReuters
IMF Pushes Europe to Ease Greek BurdenWall Street Journal
Greek govt yet to finalise spending cutsAFP
Washington Post -Economic Times -Christian Science Monitor
all 605 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.examiner.com

Luxembourg's Juncker says Greece abandoning euro 'not desirable' but ...


Business Recorder

Luxembourg's Juncker says Greece abandoning euro 'not desirable' but ...
Washington Post
Greece has received bailouts from its European partners but has fallen behind on implementing agreed reforms and austerity measures, highlighting the prospect of a possible exit from the currency zone. Analysts have warned that such a move would ...
Greece exit from euro zone would be manageable-JunckerReuters
Eurogroup Juncker: Greece Eurozone Exit Would Be Manageable - TVWall Street Journal

all 90 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.washingtonpost.com

Greece exit from euro zone would be manageable-Juncker


Business Recorder

Greece exit from euro zone would be manageable-Juncker
Reuters
BERLIN Aug 7 (Reuters) - A Greek exit from the euro zone would be manageable but is not desirable, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with Germany's WDR television posted on the Luxembourg government's website on ...
Luxembourg's Juncker says Greece abandoning euro 'not desirable' but ...Washington Post

all 295 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT in.reuters.com

Greece to issue T-bills to pay maturing bond-source


AFP

Greece to issue T-bills to pay maturing bond-source
Reuters
ECB-held 3.2 bln euro bond matures Aug. 20. * Greece to issue more T-bills to pay bond. * Greek leaders resume work on austerity cuts. By George Georgiopoulos. ATHENS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Greece will issue additional T-bills to pay a government bond that ...
Greece sells ?812 million worth of T-bills, sees slight dip in borrowing costsWashington Post
Greece raises 812.5 mn as borrowing rate dipsAFP
Greece raises 812.5 million euros in six-month funds, rate dipsMSN Malaysia News

all 98 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com

Juncker Calls Greek Euro Exit 'Manageable'


Business Recorder

Juncker Calls Greek Euro Exit 'Manageable'
ABC News
Jean-Claude Juncker, who also chairs eurozone finance ministers' meetings, told German public broadcaster WDR late Monday such a move would carry enormous risks, especially for the Greeks. But Juncker added, according to a transcript released by his ...
Greece exit from euro zone would be manageable-JunckerReuters

all 295 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com

Greece to issue T-bills to pay Aug. 20 bond- source


Christian Science Monitor

Greece to issue T-bills to pay Aug. 20 bond- source
Reuters
ATHENS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Greece will issue T-bills to pay a government bond that matures later this month and avoid default as its next tranche of bailout money has been pushed back, a government official who declined to be named said on Tuesday.
Greece: Thousands detained during raids on immigrantsChristian Science Monitor
Greece rounds up thousands of immigrants in weekend sweepLos Angeles Times
Greece initiates immigration crackdownUPI.com
U.S. News & World Report -Sydney Morning Herald
all 552 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT in.reuters.com

Israeli President awarded medal in Parliament

Israeli President Simon Peres was presented with the Gold Medal of the Hellenic Parliament for his contribution to the global community on Tuesday.

When presenting the medal, Parliament President Evangelos Meimarakis said it was a historic day for the Greek parliament due to the “honourable presence” of Peres, “a man who has contributed to peace in a region that has been sorely tried.”

Meimarakis added that cooperation among (...)

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.athensnews.gr

Iran, Greece and the fear effect


Iran, Greece and the fear effect
Haaretz
Only 5000 people showed up last Saturday night at the two protest events held in Tel Aviv. And as if this weren't enough, instead of a united front, we saw a schism - a vocal confrontation, vicious accusations and baseless hatred between the two groups.

and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.haaretz.com

Greece: Thousands detained during raids on immigrants


Christian Science Monitor

Greece: Thousands detained during raids on immigrants
Christian Science Monitor
Greece has long been Europe's main entry point for illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the West. But Greece's severe economic problems and high unemployment are making the problem worse than ever. Police said Monday that ...
Greece rounds up thousands of immigrants in weekend sweepLos Angeles Times
6000 suspected illegal immigrants detained in GreeceUSA TODAY
Home > News > Greece: 6000 detained during raids on immigrantsU.S. News & World Report

all 322 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.csmonitor.com

As Greece Rounds Up Migrants, Official Says 'Invasion' Imperils National Stability


New York Times

As Greece Rounds Up Migrants, Official Says 'Invasion' Imperils National Stability
New York Times
ATHENS — A vast police operation here aimed at identifying illegal immigrants found that, of 6000 people detained over the weekend, 1400 did not have proper documentation, leading the minister of public order to say that Greece was suffering an ...
Thousands of illegal immigrants rounded up in GreeceThe Independent
Greek authorities round up thousands of illegal immigrantsScotsman
Greece rounds up thousands of immigrants in weekend sweepLos Angeles Times
USA TODAY -Businessweek
all 318 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nytimes.com

Thousands of illegal immigrants rounded up in Greece

Thousands of suspected illegal immigrants have been rounded up in a drive to combat what one government official compared to a prehistoric invasion.



READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.co.uk