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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

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Employees seize Greek State TV and radio HQ after govt-announced suspension

Politics Employees of Greece's state TV and Radio Corporation have seized the headquarters in Athens following government plans to suspend it under pressure from austerity ...

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Protests as Greece shuts broadcaster

ATHENS - Greece said it was temporarily closing state broadcaster ERT on Tuesday to lay off staff and slim down the organisation as part of budget cuts, drawing protests from workers and junior partners in the ruling ...

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Bourse suffers fresh losses as index falls below 900 pts

The impact of the failure of the DEPA tender and the unrest created within the government by the closure of state broadcaster ERT resulted in a second day of major losses for most Greek stocks, bringing the benchmark index of the market below the 900-point level on Tuesday.The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 895.86 points, falling by 4.67 percent from ...

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Greece plays down effect of privatization collapse on meeting bailout conditions

ATHENS--Greece played down on Tuesday the impact of the collapse of a major privatization sale on the country's finances, saying it would not spark new budget cuts and tax rises to meet debt-rescue ...

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Images Of Taksim Square Tear Gas Usher In 2010 Greek PTSD Flashback For Market

June 11, 2013 Moments ago CNBC cued to the its gas-mask clad coverage from a violent Taksim Square, where a crowd of 50,000 was just getting the tear gas treatment from the local police. And sure enough, going back ...

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Greece just shut down its state broadcaster in an attempt to balance the books

In under 24 hours, the Greek government has twice made headlines… about privatization. First, it failed to sell DEPA, the state-owned gas monopoly, in a deal fraught with intrigue. Second, it announced ...

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Greece Pulls Plug on State Broadcaster

Greece is pulling the plug on its bloated public broadcaster and laying off all 2,700 employees, at least temporarily, as part of cost savings demanded by international creditors

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Greek government to close 'wasteful' state broadcaster to save money, axing 2,500 jobs

ATHENS, Greece - Greece is to close down all its state-run TV and radio stations with the loss of some 2,500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting drive demanded by the bailed-out country's international creditors.

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Greece Shuts Public Broadcaster for Streamlining


San Francisco Chronicle

Greece Shuts Public Broadcaster for Streamlining
Wall Street Journal
ATHENS—Greece said Tuesday it would pull the plug on its public broadcaster and lay off all 2,700 employees, at least temporarily, as part of cost savings demanded by international creditors. At midnight, the three channels produced by Greek Radio and ...
Greece Shutting Down State Broadcaster to Cut CostsNew York Times (blog)
Greece to close state broadcasterTelegraph.co.uk
Greece to close state broadcaster to save moneyBusinessweek
Reuters
all 59 news articles »

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Greece announces immediate closure of public broadcaster


Greece announces immediate closure of public broadcaster
Raw Story
Greece's government on Tuesday announced the immediate closure of public television and radio broadcaster ERT in a move that reportedly affects 2,700 jobs. “ERT is a case of an exceptional lack of transparency and incredible extravagance. This ends now ...


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Greece Shutting Down State Broadcaster to Cut Costs


New York Times (blog)

Greece Shutting Down State Broadcaster to Cut Costs
New York Times (blog)
ATHENS — In a surprise move, Greece's conservative-led coalition government said Tuesday that it would shut down the state broadcaster Net as part of a cost-cutting drive imposed by the country's foreign creditors, prompting protests from labor unions ...
Greece to Close State Broadcaster to Save MoneyABC News
Greece suspends state broadcaster ERT to save moneyBBC News
UPDATE 2-Greece shuts broadcaster to save money, staff protestReuters
Yahoo! News
all 54 news articles »

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Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos on My Greek Drama and Leading By Example


Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos on My Greek Drama and Leading By Example
Huffington Post
The first time I met Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos, author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, My Greek Drama, was at her book presentation in New York organized by the National Hellenic Student Association. There, she inspired ...


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Jewish financier threatens to sue Greek media firms with alleged neo-Nazi ties


The Times of Israel

Jewish financier threatens to sue Greek media firms with alleged neo-Nazi ties
Haaretz
A prominent Greek-Jewish financier, who will testify before a committee investigating the Greek government's failure to crack down on tax evaders, is threatening to sue several Greek news organizations he says are behind a campaign supported by neo ...
Greek-Israeli glad to have helped expose 'neo-Nazi' partyThe Times of Israel

all 2 news articles »

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State TV and radio to go off the air as part of Greek austerity cuts

The cash-strapped government is to shut down state-run television and radio temporarily to save money, despite fierce objections from unions.



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FTSE 100 falls nearly 1% on continuing fears of end to central bank measures

Bank of Japan sets tone by leaving policy unchanged, while growth worries hit mining shares

Leading shares fell sharply again on worries that central banks could be about to start turning off the money taps, the key support for markets in recent months.

News that the Bank of Japan had, against some expectations, kept monetary policy on hold set the tone and pushed the yen higher against the dollar. Then came talk that the US Federal Reserve might take the opportunity at next week's scheduled meeting to begin easing off its bond buying programme.

On top of that, eurozone woes returned, with Greece's failed privatisation on Monday and a German court hearing on the legality of the European Central Bank's bond buying plan to support the euro. Continued violence in Turkey did not help sentiment.

But shares recovered from their worst levels, and the FTSE 100 closed down 60.37 points lower at 6340.08 having fallen as low as 6280.

Miners were among the leading fallers on concerns about global economic growth, particularly in China. Evraz, due to be ejected from the FTSE 100 when this week's reshuffle is announced, fell 7.3p to 117.3p while Polymetal, also expected to be demoted to the FTSE 250, was down 27p at 617p.

Fresnillo fell 42p to £10.76 after Citigroup cut its target price from £11.20 to £10.45 with a sell rating, despite a recent site visit showing "impressive progress". The bank said:

Management is delivering on goals, transparent and shareholder focused. We have maintained for some time that Fresnillo is best-in-class among UK precious metals miners, but our bearish view on silver and our concerns about its limited free float causing excessively high valuations means we rate Fresnillo as sell.

Glencore Xstrata dipped 11.8p to 302.5p on talk it was considering combining its coal assets with those of Rio Tinto, down 37.5p at 2702.5p.

Fund management groups were under pressure again as markets headed lower, with Aberdeen Asset Management down 18.3p to 395.8p and Man dropped 6.6p to 86.25p.

Catering group Compass closed 17.5p lower at 838p as Goldman Sachs moved from buy to neutral, saying:

While we see Compass' strong organic growth, low revenue volatility, low capital intensity, and strong balance sheet as attractive, we now see more upside potential elsewhere in our sector coverage.

But Rolls-Royce rose 6p to £11.87 as Exane BNP Paribas issued an outperform rating and raised its target price from £10.75 to £13.40. It said:

Rolls-Royce shares are at a record high. Paradoxically, some investors seem to be questioning free cash flow conversion, which is close to an all-time low. We expect a strong upswing in cash generation from 2014 as Rolls-Royce's fleet in civil aerospace matures. This, coupled with the safety of Rolls' earnings and the upside from much more generous dividends, should result in further re-rating.

Tullow Oil added 5p to £10.17 after a positive note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The bank said:

We reiterate our buy rating and price objective/net asset value of 1,570p, offering around 60% upside potential, post a significant de-rating and ahead of imminent catalysts. A series of disappointing exploration wells since October 2012 have resulted in a 33% pullback; below 1,000p for the first time since August 2011. Now trading at our core plus development net asset value and with three well catalysts upcoming, we believe it offers a very attractive entry point.

Among the mid-caps, online grocer Ocado jumped 13p to 325p as investors shorting the shares continued to close their positions, hurt by the company's recent revival. There was also a smattering of revived takeover speculation, with Marks & Spencer mentioned once more.

FirstGroup has received a boost on the same day its shares began trading for the first time without entitlement to its £615m rights issue.

The bus and train group is raising the cash from shareholders to cut its borrowings and to invest in its future growth, with a 3 for 2 rights issue at 85p a share. Investors have until 25 June to decide whether or not to take up their entitlement.

From Monday's close - adjusting for the ex-rights - its shares dipped around 1p to 99.6p. And Investec has become more positive on the group and has moved its recommendation from hold to add. Analyst John Lawson said:

FirstGroup will shortly put its balance sheet issue to bed (for now) and, whilst the final outcome of the rights issue will not be known for another two weeks, investors should at long last begin to focus on the recovery story (especially in student and UK bus), instead of fretting about the group's finances. If everything goes to plan (the turnaround and the fund raising), then the present share price looks a good entry point. We move to add with an adjusted sum of the parts based target price of 110p.

Finally TEG, the green technology company which develops and operates organic composting and energy plants, added 2% to 6.125p after announcing the award of a contract by Nottingham City Council. The three year contract with the option of a further two years is for green waste composting, and revenues will be up to £1.3m over the first period of the deal.


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State broadcaster ERT to shut down as Greece seeks more savings

A government spokesman described the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation as a 'haven of waste'

Greece has said it would close down its state broadcaster almost immediately, planning to reopen it as a slimmed down operation as part of budget cuts.

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou – a former state TV journalist – described Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, or ERT, as a "haven of waste" and said its TV and radio signals would go dead early on Wednesday.

He said its 2,500 employees would be compensated and the company would reopen "as soon as possible" with a smaller workforce. It was not immediately clear how long that would take.

Large crowds of ERT employees gathered outside its Athens headquarters, vowing to fight the decision and calling for a general media blackout in protest. Unions representing ERT workers at three terrestrial TV stations, one satellite station and its national and regional radio network said they would keep the stations on air. Protesting employees were joined by opposition politicians and union leaders. Both minority government partners of the ruling conservative coalition condemned the suspension.

Kedikoglou said in a televised statement aired on the state broadcaster: "At a time when the Greek people are enduring sacrifices, there is no room for delay, hesitation or tolerance for sacred cows." ERT's three channels and radio services would go off air after midnight and be relaunched at a later date as a leaner organisation, Kedikoglou said.

"ERT is a typical example of unique lack of transparency and incredible waste. And that ends today," Kedikoglou said. "It costs three to seven times as much as other TV stations and four to six times the personnel – for a very small viewership, about half that of an average private station."

It is the first mass public sector layoffs in Greece , which has pledged to cut 15,000 state jobs by 2015 as part of its bailout commitments.

Debt-stifled Greece has depended on rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010. In exchange, it imposed deeply resented income cuts and tax hikes, which exacerbated a crippling recession and forced tens of thousands of businesses to close, sending unemployment to a record 27%.

Greece's POESY media union accused the government of sacrificing the broadcaster to appease its creditors.

"Bailout creditors are demanding civil service layoffs and the government, in order to meet its obligations toward foreign monitors, is prepared to sacrifice the public broadcasting corporation," a union statement said.


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Baby-Selling Ring Busted in Thessaloniki

A baby-selling ring which operated in Greece and Bulgaria has been broken up by the Aliens’ Division of the Thessaloniki Police. Five people of Bulgarian descent have been arrested, namely two men and three women, charged with criminal association and illegal adoption by profession and speculation. According to the police, the heads of the ring were a 52-year-old man and a 51-year-old ...

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Greek Champion Kiligaridis Passed Away

According to the latest information from the hospital in Poland, unfortunately Andreas Kiligaridis, who was clinically dead, passed away a little while ago. The 37-year-old canoe and kayak Greek champion had been in a coma for almost a week now. Kiligaridis had initially visited Bydgoszcz in Poland for a competition. He was found unconscious in his hotel room by his roommate and Polish coach. ...

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Abdullah bin Zayed his Greek counterpart discuss bilateral ties

WAM Athens, 11th June 2013 - Visiting UAE Foreign Minister H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed today with his Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos ways of enhancing relations and cooperation between the UAE and Greece in various sectors, especially in investment, trade and energy. The meeting, which took place at Greek foreign ministry, tackled latest developments in the ...

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Archdiocese Disputes Calatrava St. Nicks Choice

(Photo/C. Bej) Archbishop Demetrios presides over the Trisagion memorial service at Ground Zero in New York City, not far from where the St. Nicholas parish hopes to rebuild. NEW YORK - As one of the final components of the Ground Zero rebuilding of Ground Zero, the Church of St. Nicholas naturally attracts attention outside the community. TNH reprints a June 11 article, It's All Greek To ...

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Child Labor Plagues Greece

June 12 is the World Day Against Child Labor, but it seems that the fight against child labor has not yet started in Greece, where 100,000 "invisible" kids work long hours for low wages. George Moschos, Deputy Ombudsman in charge of children’s rights, stated that child workers in Greece are not recorded by the state. In Greece according to estimates, as official data does not ...

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Mercouri?s Life Coming to the Stage

A flashback to the most important points of famed actress Melina Mercouri's life, including songs, theater and film roles, and important personalities of the Greek and international artistic life of the 20th Century will come alive on stage, in a dialogue with the history of Greece in the great tribute to the life and leading Greek woman entitled Melina: Wherever I travel, ( I see) Greece ...

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Greek Students Invent Frappe Machine

Even during the darkest times in Greece, Greeks aren’t giving up their beloved frappe, a cheap coffee concoction almost everyone sips for hours while sitting around smoking or talking in cafes, and now two students at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Technological Educational Institute of Crete have put their skills to use inventing a machine that does the work for you. ...

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Imagine the City Corinth 2013 Exhibit

The v?lunteer group Diolki has organized an exhibition entitled Imagine the City: Corinth 2013. The event, which runs from June 14-23 ,will take place at the municipal market of the city of Corinth, in Corinthia region, Peloponnese, Greece. The exhibition includes more than 50 studies of students, individuals and public organizations of the region, such as the Municipality of Corinth, the ...

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Greek lenders emergency central bank funding drops in May

ATHENS, June 11 | Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:33am EDT
ATHENS, June 11 (Reuters) - Emergency central bank funding to Greece's commercial lenders dropped by 40 percent in May, Bank of Greece data showed on Tuesday.
Emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) from the Bank of Greece stood at 19.93 billion euros at the end of May from 33.43 billion euros a month earlier. Over the same period, ECB ...

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Greek Austerity is the Real Tragedy

NAFPLIO, Greece - Sipping espressos and smoking away, the Greek millennials packing the fashionable coffeehouse in the port city of Nafplio don't seem to be suffering through an economic crisis. But don't let appearances fool you, a 26-year-old named Athanasia cautions me. "Every day, I wake up feeling insecure," she says. "People my age are not sure of anything." ...

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