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

Friday, February 15, 2013

Cyprus prepares for presidential elections as bailout threat looms

With Greek debt contagion cutting GDP by 25%, opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades expected to inherit poisoned chalice

Cypriots are preparing to vote on Sunday in crucial presidential elections amid rumours of money laundering that could imperil the bailout needed to keep the crisis-hit island's economy afloat.

For the first time since the 1974 Turkish invasion, the vote is about the economy and not the perennial efforts to reunite feuding Greeks and Turks on the isle. It is an election that takes place in an atmosphere of fear, and the uncertainty that has come with the shock of violent change.

From her flower shop in the heart of the divided capital, Nicosia, Avgousta Neophytou has had a front-seat view of that change. "Custom is down by 50%," she said. "This week was an exception because it was Valentine's Day and I did surprisingly well, but usually people walk through those doors and moan about how they have lost work, how their shares have been wiped out, how from being rich, they suddenly feel very poor."

Until last year, Europe's most easterly member seemed insulated from the economic crisis savaging Greece. But, say officials, a tempest took hold when Nicosia, in the name of EU solidarity, stood by debt-stricken Athens, agreeing to participate in a "haircut" that saw the value of privately-held Greek bonds drop by over 70%. Instantly, the island's banks lost 4.5bn euro. "Overnight Cyprus lost 25% of its GDP," said George Sklavos, a senior official at the finance ministry.

Reckless exposure to Greece plunged its banking sector – one of the key pillars of the economy – into crisis and brought the island to the brink of penury.

"When the banks got into trouble it underscored how bad the fiscal situation was and our failure to take necessary measures earlier," the former finance minister Michalis Sarris said.

In a replay of the scenario that has haunted Greece, officials now speak of public coffers running dry. With Nicosia cut out of international markets since May 2011, help is imperative if bankruptcy is to be kept at bay. "At the beginning of June we will face a big debt repayment of €1.6bn and if we are not given financial assistance, it will be a make-or-break situation," said Sklavos.

"It is vital that a rescue programme is agreed with the EU and IMF," he said dismissing concerns that public debt would likely reach 140% of the island's GDP. "We are not asking for a gift but a loan that will be paid back."

The tell-tale signs of crisis are not only in the closed shops that now dot the streets. Soup kitchens have begun to appear as both public and private sector employees have suffered steep salary cuts. In a blow to tourism, hotels, unable to afford heating oil for the winter, have closed. The Cypriot middle class – which grew with the resurgence of the Greek-populated south in the wake of an invasion that saw a third of the island seized by the Turkish army – has also been hit.Many complain they can no longer afford private tuition fees or the gas to run fancy cars. In a society that takes its status symbols seriously, maids – like Porsche Cayennes – have disappeared.

The outgoing president, Demetris Christofias, an unrepentant communist, has been widely blamed for bringing Cyprus to this point. But even those who do not hold him responsible for failing to act earlier, taking unpopular reforms to shore up the economy, express fear. They look at Greece and shudder.

"Yes, I am frightened," said Christos Tombazos, general secretary of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour, the island's biggest trade union. "Unemployment is at 15% when two years ago it was at 5%. I am in contact daily with comrades in Athens and we all know what's happened there. They're one step before fascism," he said, referring to the ascent of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

Whoever wins the poll – and it is widely expected to be the conservative opposition DISY leader Nicos Anastasiades – inherits a poisoned chalice.

The island's predicament has not only brought the eurozone crisis back into sharp focus, just when market sentiment was beginning to improve but, once again, has raised fears of the bloc breaking up.

The bleak mood has been exacerbated by a feeling of injustice at the way Cyprus, the fourth country to seek financial aid, has been treated by its fellow EU member states.

German accusations of money laundering have angered many, with Nicosia vehemently denying that the island has become a tax haven for Russian oligarchs. Instead, officials say Cyprus has fallen victim to internal politics in Berlin and vicious in-fighting ahead of general elections in September.

"If you look, you will find Russian money everywhere, Germany, the UK, everywhere," said the foreign minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, pointing to international risk rankings giving the island a better rating than Germany in its ability to crack money-laundering.

"They are welcomed by everyone and definitely their money is not branded as dirty," she said. Hypocrisy is one element of the crisis enveloping Cyprus. Another is the massive reserves of natural resources in the form of oil and gas that Cypriot officials believe lie within the island's territorial waters. "It is a treasure, a gift from nature … and it has to be taken into account by our partners in the eurozone," said Marcoullis. "Whatever loans are given will be paid back fully."


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A Greek God, A Youth-Led Organization And Entrepreneurship

 

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Greece arrests three neo-Nazis for attacks, arms posession


Greece arrests three neo-Nazis for attacks, arms posession
GlobalPost
Greek police have arrested two neo-Nazi sympathisers for illegal arms possession and a third person suspected of involvement in an attack that left three Pakistani migrants hospitalised, a police source said Friday. The arrests come as Greece is ...


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Earthquake registered in Greece by 16.42 pm slightly felt in south Bulgaria


Earthquake registered in Greece by 16.42 pm slightly felt in south Bulgaria
Focus News
The first earthquake that was registered in Greece by 16.42 pm today was slightly felt in Bulgaria's regions of Petrich and Smolyan. That is what the National Institute for Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography with the Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAS) ...

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Crisis Plays Leading Role in Greek Films


Spiegel Online

Crisis Plays Leading Role in Greek Films
Spiegel Online
From the outside, the Greek financial crisis is easily reduced to an exhausting series of bailouts, austerity deadlines and protests. But to the people who live with the fallout each day, it's an existential threat, and one that raises fundamental ...


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National Bank of Greece to cut 2000 jobs: Bank officials


Press TV

National Bank of Greece to cut 2000 jobs: Bank officials
Press TV
National Bank of Greece has planned to cut 2,000 jobs, which account for 15 percent of the its workforce, in a bid to slash costs, bank officials say. The cuts will be done on a voluntary basis, and those National Bank employees who are near to ...
Bank of Greece To Fire 2000 WorkersGreek Reporter
UPDATE 1-Eurobank shareholders accept NBG's buyout offer -sourceReuters

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Greece: the new poor


Metro

Greece: the new poor
FRANCE 24
Four years after the start of the crisis in Greece, we wanted to show the consequences of the austerity plans. Our goal was to show the distress but at the same time the dignity of the Greeks, and their desire to get by despite sometimes impossible ...
60% of young people out of work as cuts in Greece biteMetro
Greek pensioners protest austerity cutsPress TV

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Greece Tries IT Approach to Fight Tax Evasion


Greece Tries IT Approach to Fight Tax Evasion
OANDA Forex (blog)
The Greek Government have appointed a former Lehman IT specialist with the difficult task of modernizing Greece's tax system, which is at the core of the massive tax evasion. Harry Theoharis was appointed Secretary General for Public Revenue — a ...

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Rural land prices hit new high

Cost of farmland increased 2% to £6,783 an acre as commercial farmers expand production of cereals to take advantage of rising prices

The constant rain and lack of sunshine that damaged crop harvests last year have failed to dampen rural land prices, which reached record levels in 2012, according to a report by the chartered surveyors body RICS.

The cost of farmland increased 2% in the second half of 2012 to £6,783 an acre while farmland with one or more homes on it increased by the same percentage to £8,520.

RICS said prices were driven primarily by the demand from commercial farmers "who remain keen to expand production given high agricultural commodity prices in many sectors", despite a poor harvest in 2012.

Land prices have risen sharply since 2009, when a commodity price shock sent wheat and barley prices spiralling. Cereals have remained highly prized on world markets and remain the driving force of the demand for rural farmland, said RICS.

"Price increases are being driven predominately by commercial farmers, who remain keen to expand production given high agricultural commodity prices in many sectors," it said.

Prime agricultural land has grown strongly while less fertile land has been left behind. Part of the reason is the collapse in sheep and lamb prices, which have fallen following an influx of cheap imports from Australia and New Zealand. Many sheep farmers have been forced to sell up at distressed prices.

According to the latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, cereal prices increased by 38% in 2012. By contrast, sheep and lamb prices have fallen 28% since November 2011.

But an influx of foreign and City investors, keen to safeguard their money during a period of economic turmoil, have also pushed up prices after a period when many quit the UK land market.

A recent report by the estate agents Savills forecast that prices will grow 40% over the next five years on average, a trend that will mirror the rise in prime residential land in central London, it said. The highest rises were in the east of the country and the south west. East Anglia topped the price charts at £8,074 an acre.

Germans remain one of the biggest foreign investors alongside Irish and Greek investors.

Savills said another reason for the jump in values was the lack of land coming to market, reducing the supply at a time of bouyant demand.

It said 134,000 acres of land was marketed across Britain in 2012 compared with 155,00 the year before, a 14% decline.


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Technology Whiz Kid Tackles Greek Tax Evasion


CNBC.com

Technology Whiz Kid Tackles Greek Tax Evasion
CNBC.com
Greece is pinning its hopes of boosting revenue from an antiquated tax system beset by massive evasion on Harry Theoharis, a boyish-looking 42-year-old who describes himself as an "IT monkey." With Athens fighting to stave off bankruptcy, the former ...

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Greek Unemployment Rate Reaches Record 27% in November


IBTimes.co.uk

Greek Unemployment Rate Reaches Record 27% in November
IBTimes.co.uk
About one third of the 11 million Greek population are projected to live in poverty by the end of 2012, according to a study by Greece's largest trade union, GSEE. The poverty line in Greece is set at an annual personal income of less than €7,200 (£6 ...
Greek unemployment rate hits record 27 percent as recession rolls on, poverty ...Fox News
Grim Greek jobless total hits 27 percenteuronews
Greek jobless rate double that of Eurozone: Over 60% of young workers ...RT
The Advocate
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UPDATE 1-Greek inflation evaporates as downturn weighs


UPDATE 1-Greek inflation evaporates as downturn weighs
Reuters
Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:06am EST. ATHENS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Greek inflation evaporated in January, hitting its lowest level since data began in 1996, the national statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Friday, as the country's economic downturn sapped ...


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TABLE-Greek EU-harmonised inflation at zero in January, record low


TABLE-Greek EU-harmonised inflation at zero in January, record low
Reuters
Democrats pave way for Senate showdown on Hagel · 75 · Automatic spending cuts would hurt Americans: White House. Sponsored Links. TABLE-Greek EU-harmonised inflation at zero in January, record low. Tweet · Share this · Email · Print. Related Topics ...


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Bank of Greece To Fire 2000 Workers


Bank of Greece To Fire 2000 Workers
Greek Reporter
Greece's biggest financial institution, the National Bank of Greece said it is going to eliminate 2,000 jobs, or about 15 percent its workforce to create savings needed by its acquisition of Eurobank, one of the country's four largest lenders. Beset by ...

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Puma Joins Exodus From Greece


Puma Joins Exodus From Greece
Greek Reporter
puma The noted athletic shoe and sporting goods company Puma said it's giving up on Greece too, joining companies such as Coca-Cola – the country's biggest – and the giant dairy Fage in fleeing the fiscal crisis and high taxes for other lands. Hundreds ...


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Technology whizz kid tackles Greek tax evasion


Technology whizz kid tackles Greek tax evasion
Reuters
Theoharis had long left Lehman Brothers when the U.S. investment bank collapsed in 2008. But this event set off a worldwide crisis which helped the following year to bring down Aspis Pronia, a Greek insurance group where he was chief information officer.

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Greek pensioners protest austerity cuts


Press TV

Greek pensioners protest austerity cuts
Press TV
Greek pensioners have demonstrated in Athens to protest against the government's harsh austerity measures and highlight the consequences of the program on their life. On Thursday, hundreds of elderly braved the heavy rain in the capital and marched to ...

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Greek jobless rate double that of Eurozone: Over 60% of young workers ...


RT

Greek jobless rate double that of Eurozone: Over 60% of young workers ...
RT
Tensions are running high in Greece as the country's workers suffer from unemployment rates that are double the rest of the eurozone's. More than 60 percent of Greece's young workers are unemployed, according to new data. The information, released by ...
Greek unemployment rate hits record 27 percent as recession rolls on, poverty ...Fox News
Greek Unemployment Rate Reaches Record 27% in NovemberIBTimes.co.uk
Grim Greek jobless total hits 27 percenteuronews
Scotsman -Albany Times Union
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Greek conference results in ISU recognition


Greek conference results in ISU recognition
Iowa State Daily
Keynote speeches consisted of a session on how to be socially excellent and positive leaders in the greek community and a session on why individuals are members of his or her specific chapter and how they can motivate one another and do better things.


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Cyprus Vote Looms as Clock Ticks

Cypriots head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president who will be tasked with unblocking an increasingly thorny, multibillion-euro bailout needed to rescue the island's teetering banking system and a cash-strapped government reeling from Greece's economic crash.

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Sharan Burrow: An Inconvenient Economic Truth

Inequality is a poison that is destroying livelihoods, stripping families of dignity and splitting communities. We know the antidote: strong democratic voices, strong unions and the right to collective bargaining for fair wages and conditions.

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Chico State Announces Rules For Greek System Reinstatement


KRCRTV.COM

Chico State Announces Rules For Greek System Reinstatement
KRCRTV.COM
"Today Decides Tomorrow." That is the saying engraved above the door at Kendall Hall at Chico State. It is the motto the Greek system now has to follow. Chico State University has laid out what fraternities and sororities will need to do in order to be ...

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