Daily Archives: November 1, 2014

Captain Vassilis Spanoulis helped Olympiakos narrowly avoid an upset on Friday as it defeated Euroleague debutant Neptunas Klaipeda 85-81 in overtime in Lithuania to preserve its perfect start to the competition.

Much as an away win is significant for any team, Olympiakos will be concerned that once again it showed serious problems in defense and lack of concentration at crucial moments of the game that could have easily cost it victory.

However the inexperience of the Lithuanian champions, who had 11 local players in their 12-player roster, made the difference as they simply could not hold on to their advantage in the last few minutes.

The Reds found themselves trailing by five points about two minutes from the end of regulation time (72-67), but managed to cover their deficit and end the 40 minutes at 76-76.

In overtime the Greeks were always on top and won the game in the end by four, to calm their nerves and stay alone on top of their group with three wins in as many games.

Spanoulis was impressive for Olympiakos, as he notched up 34 points in 41 minutes, including six out of 11 three-pointers.

source: ekathimerini.com

The reduction of Greek households’ disposable incomes in 2013 compared with 2012 amounted to a total of 14 billion euros, the biggest since the start of the crisis according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Disposable cash amounted to 122.2 billion euros last year, from 136.2 billion in 2012 – i.e. a 10.3 percent reduction within just one year.

The loss since the start of the crisis is even more staggering: In 2009 the disposable income of Greek households had added up to 170.7 billion euros.

In the years that followed and up to last year, with the application of austerity measures through the reduction to salaries, pensions and benefits and the increase in taxation, households have lost a total of 48.4 billion euros – i.e. an average of 12.1 billion euros per year.

On the reduction recorded last year, the statistics office says in its report that it was due to the reduction in workers’ pay by 10.7 percent year-on-year and the 12.3 percent drop in the amount of social benefits that households received.

Regarding consumption, ELSTAT data showed that it has followed the course of disposable incomes: Households’ consumer spending declined by 4.8 billion euros or 3.6 percent last year from 2012, amounting to 129.9 billion euros, against 134.7 billion in 2012.

The year with the highest consumer spending by households was 2008, when 164.6 billion euros was spent.

source: ekathimerini.com

Closer cooperation between Greek and Turkish coast guard authorities has led to 11,000 undocumented migrants being prevented from entering Greek borders and returned to the neighboring country since the start of the year, data presented by the Merchant Marine Ministry Friday showed.

Strife in the Middle East and Syria in particular has put increased pressure on patrols in the northern Aegean, with the ministry estimating that while 11,000 undocumented migrants were prevented from entering, as many as 30,000 or more have made it into Greece in the past 10 months alone.

The data presented Friday showed that from the start of the year until Thursday, a total of 29,281 undocumented migrants and 210 suspected traffickers were arrested during 1,063 interceptions.

“We are opposed to the concept of open borders, which is why we have elevated the issue of illegal migration to the top of the European agenda,” Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told Kathimerini Friday.

The ministry has also responded to the increased inflow of refugees and migrants in the Aegean by taking some 700 coast guard officers off their desk jobs, bringing the total number of officers conducting patrols to 2,500.

A report published last month by the European border agency Frontex showed a 50 percent hike in illegal migration to Greece and Spain in April-June compared with the same period last year.

Arrests at all European Union borders grew by 170 percent in the same period year-on-year, Frontex said.

source: ekathimerini.com

A decision by Turkey’s top security body to maintain its presence off the southern coast of Cyprus, where Cypriot authorities already have a license to drill for oil and gas, has heightened fears of tensions climaxing in the region if the Turkish seismic survey vessel Barbaros moves into other areas.

The decision, which was issued by Turkey’s National Security Council early on Friday, declared that Turkey would continue to “protect the rights and interests” of the breakaway state in northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Ankara, in the eastern Mediterranean. The statement added that Ankara would continue to closely follow the drilling activities of Cyprus.

Diplomatic sources interpreted the statement as a rebuke to the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt on the issue of drilling rights and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the region. Earlier this week, the three countries condemned Ankara for its transgressions off Cyprus, saying in a joint statement that they “deplored the recent illegal actions perpetrated within Cyprus’s EEZ, as well as the unauthorized seismic operations being conducted therein.”

Meanwhile sources indicated that Ankara has rejected a proposal by the United Nations for the Barbaros to withdraw from the vicinity of Cyprus’s EEZ for three months to allow frozen UN-buffered negotiations aimed at reunifying the divided island to resume. The proposal is said to have been relayed to Turkish officials by UN mediator Espen Barth Eide. The Norwegian diplomat is said to be working on a formula foreseeing the distribution of revenue from energy deposits off Cyprus between Nicosia and the Turkish-occupied north.

In a related development, the president of the US Senate’s foreign relations committee, Robert Menendez, has written to US Vice President Joe Biden, expressing concern over Turkey’s violation of Cyprus’s EEZ and asking the latter to urge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to withdraw the Barbaros. The letter comes before Biden’s scheduled visit to Turkey on November 20.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades spoke by telephone with Biden late on Friday, according to government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, who said Biden showed “full understanding” regarding Cyprus’s right to exercise its sovereign rights within its EEZ.

source: ekathimerini.com