Daily Archives: January 23, 2015

Asian Cup 2015: UAE complete shock win over Japan to reach semi-final after penalty shootout dramatics

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

United Arab Emirates has set up an Asian Cup semi-final with Australia after a shock penalty shootout win over Japan at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

Two of Japan’s biggest stars missed penalties as the defending Asian Cup champions were dumped out at the quarter-final stage by United Arab Emirates on Friday.

The Sydney fixture was forced into extra-time when the sides ended 90 minutes tied at 1-1 and, after the additional half-hour failed to produce another goal, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their respective spot-kicks to cost Japan a place in the last four.

After Kagawa’s effort had struck the left-hand post, Ismail Ahmed stepped up to seal the win for UAE.

Ali Mabkhout had given UAE the lead after seven minutes with a stunning strike, with Japan struggling to shift out of first gear for much of the encounter.

Javier Aguirre’s side stepped up their game somewhat in the second half, and pulled level through Gaku Shibasaki nine minutes from time.

However, it was UAE who came out on top after the shootout went to sudden death.

The victory sees Mahdi Ali’s side progress to face hosts Australia for a place in the final, while Japan suffer their earliest elimination since 1996, when the tournament was held in UAE.

That tournament was also the last time UAE – eventual runners-up – reached the last four.

Mabkhout fired a warning signal when he carried the ball into the Japanese box only to get a heavy touch at the crucial moment, but the Al Jazira frontman did put his side ahead in the seventh minute.

The 24-year-old expertly brought down an inviting ball over the top, before rifling his fourth goal of the tournament across Eiji Kawashima into the bottom-left corner.

Inui looked to be Japan’s biggest threat early on and should have netted a leveller 11 minutes later, but headed straight at Majed Naser from a Gotoku Sakai cross.

With the winners of the fixture going on to face hosts Australia in the semi-finals, it was little surprise to hear the lower-ranked UAE enthusiastically supported in Sydney, and Ali’s men looked assured in preserving their unexpected lead.

Yasuhito Endo blasted over and Honda disturbed the side-netting before the half was out, but Japan looked a shadow of their usual selves.

Yoshinori Muto was introduced in place of Inui at the interval, but squandered two great opportunities to pull Japan level – drilling wide left before sending a header off target just short of the hour mark.

There was no questioning Japan’s improved attacking threat in the second half, and their persistence paid off when Shibasaki found the net with a sublime finish nine minutes from time.

The substitute was teed up by Honda just outside the box and found the net with a perfectly judged curling strike.

Only some desperate defending prevented Japan snatching the win in normal time, with Naser punching clear from a Kagawa effort late on before pushing over from a Honda free-kick.

Kagawa then put the ball agonisingly wide of the left-hand post from close range with the final kick of regulation time to force an extra 30 minutes.

The first period of additional time passed without incident – much to the relief of UAE, who came under immense pressure towards the end of the 90 – and the pace barely picked up in the second, with a late Honda free-kick sneaking just wide of the target to leave the sides to contest a shoot-out.

Honda ballooned the opening penalty to give UAE the advantage, before Khamis Esmaeel also cleared the crossbar to restore parity.

Kagawa’s strike against the base of the post at 4-4 opened the door for Ahmed to seal a famous victory, and the substitute made no mistake from 12 yards.

source:goal.com

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Mutterings in unhappy Tony Abbott ranks – is mutiny on the horizon?

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Backbenchers are so fed up with the PM’s backflips, they’re even talking about Malcolm Turnbull as the man who might save the government.

Luck’s been elusive in 2015. Abbott’s first talk-back caller on Neil Mitchell’s top-rating 3AW radio program was from a self-described “through-and-through” Liberal supporter named Andrew.

The danger for Abbott is that it is in the heartland where disillusionment with the government seems at its strongest.

“I’ve got to be honest and truthful with you, Mr Prime Minster, you’re on the nose with Liberal voters and that’s a real concern to me because I don’t want to see you give the keys to Bill Shorten at the Lodge … I have got to tell you, you are the world’s worst salesman, Prime Minister,” he said.

Illustration: Simon Letch

“What is the specific problem, is there a policy thing you don’t agree with?”, Abbott inquired.

“Prime Minister, it’s the way you do things, like the Medicare thing, with the education, you’ve done so many backflips, people don’t know where you are going and business is saying there are roadblocks because there is no direction and no leadership … as a Liberal voter, I don’t particularly like you,” Andrew replied.

Ouch!

Illustration: Simon Letch

“Yes it has been a messy start,” intoned one of Tony Abbott’s ministers wearily amid nascent leadership chatter. The year had barely started when a plan “B” slashing the Medicare payment to GPs by $20 for short consultations, had been summarily abandoned on the eve of its commencement.

And since then, a senior source wanted it known the idea of the cut had been the Prime Minister’s from the start. Health Minister Peter Dutton had argued forcefully against it in Cabinet’s Expenditure Review Committee, and been backed by Joe Hockey, but they were overruled. The leak was telling.

Just like the friendless $7 per-patient co-payment barnacle it had partly replaced, the short-consult penalty was suddenly “off the table”. Once again, the government had sustained serious political damage for zero budgetary gain. Not for the first time, backbenchers were flummoxed.

What was going on? Had Abbott learnt the lessons of a woeful 2014 and replaced his legendary stubbornness with a new fleet-footed pragmatism? Perhaps, but a blunter interpretation saw only a triple defeat – a backflip from what had already been a backflip which had only been necessary in the first place because of a politically toxic broken promise, which was never sold to voters.

Abbott wanted more than anything to begin the game afresh having tied off the least productive fights as unwinnable. Last year had ended in desultory fashion characterised by a series of grudging half-retreats – the kind that left the government carrying both the humiliation of admitting its errors while still being lumbered with elements of the primary problem.

The Prime Minister had assured colleagues his pre-Christmas clean-up would facilitate a repositioning in the new year. Yet 2015 has commenced amid confusion at least as severe. Now, the “judgment” word is being muttered.

The horror for many Liberals, and the danger for Abbott is that it is in the heartland where disillusionment with the government seems at its strongest. MPs say they are picking up genuine anger within their own membership.

Abbott is well aware his leadership has entered its most fraught period, having already been forced to address the question before Christmas. “I think the one fundamental lesson of the last catastrophic government was that you don’t lightly change leaders,” he had told reporters. He was at it again on Thursday when asked on 3AW if he was aware of “increasing speculation” that he would consider stepping down if the problems continued?

“Yeah that’s nonsense, absolute nonsense,” he said. “… you do not change leaders; you rally behind someone and you stick to the plan.”

Yet the very fact that the PM is having to field such questions when he is trying to talk about other matters, speaks to his situation. Colleagues wonder anyway what the plan is given that it keeps changing.

A working assumption in Canberra has held that Abbott’s leadership is more secure than a Labor leader faced with the same problems. First, Liberals are culturally less inclined than Labor to embrace the percussive brutality needed to tear down a prime minister. In addition, the Coalition witnessed up-close in 2010 what voters thought about knifing a sitting PM and would simply not flirt with that. Yet another interpretation of the tumultuous events of 2010 is that they not so much reinforced the rules, as tossed them out. Hence forth, anything is possible in politics.

What is undeniable is that murmurings have started and that cracks are appearing in the government facade. On Tuesday, The Australian splashed with a story beginning “Joe Hockey has ruled out any backdown on government plans to deregulate university fees …”

The very next day, the Oz’s splash read: “The Abbott government is preparing to sacrifice up to $2 billion in budget savings in a bid to regain momentum and kick off the new year with a much-needed political victory on higher education reform”. Same government. Same subject. And yet completely contradictory positions.

For the first time since 2009 when he was bundled out of the leadership, Malcolm Turnbull’s name is being mentioned positively by influential figures on the party’s right – something that was inconceivable not so long ago.

Asked if conservatives really would consider lining up behind the moderate Turnbull now, one right-wing figure said events had already gone beyond left-right divisions.

In reality, Abbott probably has more time than his critics claim and plans to forge ahead using a National Press Club address on February 2 to chart the course for his political year.

But heavy weather externally is no longer his only existential threat. Now he must be alive to the threat of mutiny as well.

source:theage.com.au

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Macedonian Makeover: Europe’s Flailing Capital of Kitsch

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Jets of water spurt into the air in front of the warriors: red, yellow, blue, violet. The eight bronze men stare fiercely through the spray of the fountain, while far above their heads, Alexander the Great sits enthroned, raising one sword up at the sky. Wagner and Tchaikovsky blare out of the speakers and the water shoots more or less in time with the music.

Skopje has a new landmark: The Warrior on a Horse monument on the Plostad Makedonija, a square at the center of the city, is almost 30 meters (100 ft.) high, cost €10.5 million ($14 million) and is about as authentic as the imitation Grand Canal in Las Vegas. More heroes from Macedonia‘s colorful history pose nearby, sculpted on a large, if somewhat misshapen scale. The feet of the saber-rattling flag-bearer, for example, are disproportionally large.On the other side of the Vardar river, near the entry to the old town, a statue of Philip II of Macedon — Alexander’s father — shakes a colossal fist at the sky, while bronze horses jump out of a nearby fountain. New temple-like ministry buildings, a theater and a museum — with its own line-up of 19th- and 20th-century poets and revolutionaries — have been built between the monuments to the two kings.

‘Historical Kitsch’

And the construction project isn’t finished: Numerous facades are still obstructed by construction cranes. Buildings are being retrofitted with the dictated sugarcoated new style that the local media diplomatically calls “baroque” or “neo-classical,” and architects call “historical kitsch.”

The redevelopment is called Skopje2014 and is costing VMRO, the conservative and nationalist governing party, hundreds of millions of euros. The official budget is €207 million — which includes the renovated ministry buildings, the new national theater and triumphal arch.

Critics believe that’s an impossible figure, that it won’t buy half of what the plans call for. Even Skopje2014’s overall theme — a celebration of ancient and Slavic heroes — has been condemned by experts because it ignores many of Macedonia’s ethnic groups and favors a small section of the national fabric.

According to news reports, the contracts for the project were made illegally. But the Macedonian media have been restrained in their protest. “Too much criticism can quickly cost you your job. The VMRO has long had control over the media,” says one journalist, who does not want to be named. There’s a reason Skopje2014’s monumental style has an authoritarian feel.

The case of Tomislav Kezarovski is yet more evidence of this: The journalist recently received a four-and-a-half-year jail term for having allegedly revealed the identity of a witness in a murder trial in 2008 — an accusation independent observers claim is an attempt to muzzle a journalist critical of the government.

‘Strong Message of Censorship’

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been sharply critical. The group’s press freedom appointee Dunja Mijatovic says she fears the court decision could become a “strong message of censorship directed at other journalists in the country.” The people in power have long made their threats known, and countless critical media organizations have shut down in the past few years.

The current economic situation offers little reason to build a triumphal arch. The financial crisis has hit Macedonia hard. Every second young person is unemployed, and the overall unemployment level is one of the highest in the world — almost 30 percent. Those who have jobs are relieved when their salary tides them over until the following month. The universities are underequipped, as are the hospitals. Renovations are necessary in many places, but the government apparently has other priorities.

The government and its construction project have provided people with some strange stories. Two young architects, Boro Gadjovski and Filip Dubrovski, stand in front of the recently erected Fallen Heroes of Macedonia monument. Behind them, a torch-bearing young man glistens in the autumn sun. “In the beginning you could only see his steeled muscles,” they say with a laugh, referring to its original nude state. There were waves of indignation: Such a nakedly “classical” statue wasn’t allowed, and so the torchbearer was fitted with a pair of pants.

Failed Opportunity

The two men don’t take any pleasure in the Skopje2014 prestige project — they’d rather remind people of another city construction project which had come about after the city was destroyed in a 1963 earthquake. After the catastrophe, “the reconstruction was a unique opportunity for modern city planning. Under the leadership of the United Nations a number of countries were involved. Skopje became a symbol for worldwide solidarity,” says Gadjoski. “They were going to build a humane yet utopian city,” adds Dubrovski.

The master plan for the post-earthquake reconstruction was designed by Japanese star architect Kenzo Tange, and resulted in angular cement structuralist icons and sleek skyscrapers that diverged from the normal apathetic prefab constructions of the time. Tange designed a train station that was never finished. “He wanted to put up footbridges for pedestrians to cross the streets going into the center. Pedestrians treated as more important than car traffic — where else did people think so progressively in the 1960s?” asks Dubrovski.

The Gradski Trgovski Centar shopping center is the square’s last remnant of that period. It won a national architecture prize in Tito’s Yugoslavia, and yet the Skopje2014 plan calls for it, too, to be “baroquized.”There is a group of architects in the city who oppose this transformation. They demonstrate on the edge of the shopping center in the evenings. Gadjovski and Dubrovski take part, along with another 30 allies. A woman sings lovely jazz in the cold autumn evening. Others distribute hand-decorated balloons. Only a small local TV station sends a team to cover the event. “In the summer we were still a thousand people,” says one of the demonstrators and shows the photos on his smartphone.

But it’s not just the protests giving the Skopje2014 planners a headache. “The new buildings are much too close to the river,” says Boro Gadjovski. “When there’s flooding there could be damage.”

source:spiegel.de

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Επιμένουν για Ολυμπιάδα στην Αμφίπολη

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

του Γιώργου Ροδάκογλου

Την Ολυμπιάδα φωτογραφίζουν τα ευρήματα στο Λόφο Καστά ,επιμένουν τα στελέχη του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού παρά τις αντίθετες απόψεις που διατυπώνονται. Σύμφωνα με πηγές, τα στοιχεία που μελετούν οι ιστορικοί,

μετά τα αποτελέσματα της προκαταρκτικής οστεολογικής μελέτης, συγκλίνουν πολύ, προς αυτό το ενδεχόμενο, ενώ η περαιτέρω εργαστηριακές αναλύσεις των οστών που θα ολοκληρωθούν έως το καλοκαίρι, εκτιμάται ότι θα τεκμηριώσουν τη υπόθεση εργασίας που επεξεργάζονται.
Οι δυο νεκροί άνδρες αποδίδονται στους γιους του Βασιλιά Κάσσανδρου που ετάφησαν αργότερα στο ίδιο μνημείο όταν αυτό ανεγέρθη μετά τη δολοφονία του Βασιλιά Κάσσανδρου.
Οι συγκριτικές αναλύσεις DNA μεταξύ των οστών των δυο ανδρών του τάφου της Αμφίπολης μπορούν να πιστοποιήσουν τη συγγενική σχέση με το Φίλιππο ΙΙ αφού ουσιαστικά πρόκειται για δυο τα εγγόνια του που είναι θαμμένα μαζί με την σύζυγο του Ολυμπιάδα.
Την ύπαρξη της Ολυμπιάδας στον τάφο του Λόφου Καστά υποστήριξε από την πρώτη στιγμή ο Καναδός αρχαιολόγος Τέρενς Κλάρκ.
”Εάν έπρεπε να στοιχηματίσω θα μάντευα ότι η ένοικος του τάφου της Αμφίπολης είναι η μητέρα του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου” είχε δηλώσει πριν από δύο μήνες σε εκδήλωση του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου στη Θεσσαλονίκη .
Αντίθετη άποψη άποψη ωστόσο εκφράζει η Ντόροθι Κινγκ η οποία στην προσωπική της σελίδα έχει κάνει πολλές αναφορές για την ανασκαφή της Αμφίπολης.
Η υπόθεση εργασίας του ΥΠΠΟΑ έχει ως εξής:
Επιθυμία της Ολυμπιάδας ήταν η κατασκευή ενός μεγαλοπρεπούς ταφικού μνημείου για τον Μέγα Αλέξανδρο που δεν μπόρεσε όμως η ίδια να κατασκευάσει. Το σχέδιο της ματαίωσε ο βασιλιάς Κάσσανδρος που το 316 πχ την δολοφόνησε δια λιθοβολισμού στην Πίδνα.
Η Θεσσαλονίκη ετεροθαλής αδερφή του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου και η Κλεοπάτρα κόρη της Ολυμπιάδας κατασκεύασαν αρχικά ένα απλό και απέριττο κιβωτιόσχημο τάφο και τοποθέτησαν μέσα τα οστά. Μετά το θάνατο του βασιλιά Κάσσανδρου έφτιαξαν το μεγαλοπρεπές μνημείο για της αποδώσουν τιμές βασίλισσας.
Οι δυο γιοι του Κάσσανδρου μονομάχησαν για τη διαδοχή .Ο ένας σκοτώθηκε και ο άλλος απεβίωσε λίγο αργότερα .
Η ταφή τους έγινε στον τρίτο θάλαμο του μνημείου πάνω από τον τάφο της Ολυμπιάδας .Μαζί τους έθαψαν ένα βρέφος , και τοποθέτησαν και τα καμμένα οστά αγνώστου ατόμου .
Ο τάφος ήταν επισκέψιμος και κάποια στιγμή σφραγίστηκε για να εξαφανιστούν τα ίχνη που είχαν σχέση με την οικογένεια του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου.
Το ψηφιδωτό δάπεδο εκτιμάται ότι απεικονίζει τον Μέγα Αλέξανδρο ως ψυχοπομπό Ερμή . Ο στεφανωμένος άντρας που οδηγεί το άρμα είναι ο Φίλιππος ΙΙ και στο χέρι του κρατάει την Ολυμπιάδα ως Περσεφόνη την οποία μεταφέρει στον ‘Αδη.
Συνολικά βρέθηκαν 550 οστά αλλά οι σκελετοί δεν είναι πλήρης πλην του σκελετού που ανήκει σε γυναίκα. Έχει ύψος 1,57 ηλικία περίπου 60 χρόνων και το βάρος της ήταν περίπου 60 κιλά.
Πάνω από το σφραγισμένο κιβωτιόσχημο τάφο εντοπίσθηκαν τα οστά άλλων τεσσάρων ατόμων δυο ανδρών 35 και 45 ετών , ενός βρέφους καθώς και καμμένα οστά άγνωστου ατόμου
Ο 35χρονος είχε ύψος 1,68 και ο 45χρονος 1,62 ο 35χρονος έχει χτυπήματα από μαχαίρι στην αριστερή κλείδα .
Δεν μένει λοιπόν να δούμε εάν η υπόθεση εργασίας του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού επαληθευτεί επιστημονικά.

Πηγή: thousandnews.gr

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Asian Cup:Iran 3-3 Iraq (pens: 6-7): Lions book place in semi-finals

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

After seeing out a draw after 120 minutes of playing time, spot-kicks were needed to separate the two sides.

Defender Salam Shakir held his nerve to score the winning penalty and give Iraq a thrilling 7-6 shoot-out win over a 10-man Iran, after the two teams were locked at 3-3 following 120 minutes of their Asian Cup quarter-final.

Iraq – winners of the tournament in 2007 – will now play South Korea on Monday, with a spot in this year’s final up for grabs.

Friday’s match in Canberra was impacted significantly by referee Ben Williams, but the stunning nature of the encounter ensures it will be remembered as one of the best ever played at the tournament.

Both sides made a stuttering start to the shoot-out, as Iran’s Ehsan Hajsafi and Iraq’s Saad Abdulameer missed the target.

The next 12 penalties were scored, though, including a Panenka from Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud at 4-3 when a miss would have eliminated his side. Mahmoud’s bravery was made more amazing by the fact he missed a similar penalty in his side’s 2-0 win over Palestine on Tuesday.

Iran’s Vahid Amiri then hit the inside of the post, allowing Shakir to slot to his right and secure Iraq’s progression.

Earlier, Sardar Azmoun’s header gave Iran a 24th-minute lead, before Williams, who was criticised heavily by Iran boss Carlos Queiroz earlier in the tournament – leading to the ex-Real Madrid coach being fined – sent Mehrdad Pooladi off in bizarre circumstances just two minutes before half-time.

Pooladi, earlier booked for a late challenge on Ahmed Yasin, made minor contact with Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan Hachim when chasing a loose ball. The keeper then shoved Pooladi, who theatrically fell to the ground holding his face, leading to another booking from Williams.

The Australian official forgot that he had already carded Pooladi, but upon being reminded by several Iraq players, produced a red card that seemed incredibly harsh.

Iraq made the man extra count in the second half, when, after a spell of pressure, Yasin fired in from a tight angle 11 minutes after the restart, and after an additional 30 minutes was forced, Mahmoud headed them in front.

Iran climbed off the canvas, though, with Morteza Pouraliganji’s thumping header bringing them level in the 103rd minute, but the defender then brought down Yaser Kasim in the area to concede a penalty – scored by Dhurgham Ismail in the 116th minute.

The drama, amazingly, did not end there, as an Iran corner – which was initially cleared off the line, before Andranik Teymourian fired against the crossbar – was finally nodded in by substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad in the 119th minute.

That brought about penalties but it was to be Iraq’s night in the Australian capital.

Pooladi was booked for the first time in the 22nd minute, before Azmoun opened the scoring with a bullet header from Vouria Ghafouri’s cross.

Williams then gave Pooladi his marching orders, leading Queiroz needing to be restrained by his players at half-time as tensions threatened to boil over.

Yasin levelled for Iraq early in the second half, thrashing in a low and hard effort from an acute angle – via a slight Pouraliganji deflection – after Alaa Abdul-Zahra’s teasing ball across the face of goal.

A string of fouls, substitutes and injury concerns stopped the flow of the game, but once extra time arrived, Iraq quickly had their second goal.

Ismail and substitute Ali Adnan linked well down the left, allowing the former to storm into the box, and his shot took a pair of deflections before falling kindly for Mahmoud – with Hajsafi helpless on the line.

Iran dug deep, though, and equalised when Teymourian’s swinging corner was powerfully headed in by defender Pouraliganji.

The match seemed surely over when Pouraliganji brought down Kasim, and 20-year-old Ismail showed nerves of steel to score, yet somehow, Iran conjured up another equaliser as Ghoochannejhad nodded in to end a goalmouth scramble.

An on-field scuffle broke out as penalties approached, after Marwan Hussein was booked for fouling Haghighi, but that mattered little in the end, as Iraq celebrated a truly famous win.

source:goal.com

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Αποκλείστηκαν από το Αυστραλιανό ΟΠΕΝ Φέντερερ και Παγδατής

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Αποκλείστηκαν από το Αυστραλιανό ΟΠΕΝ Φέντερερ και Παγδατής

Η πρώτη σημαντική έκπληξη στο ΟΠΕΝ της Αυστραλίας, που διεξάγεται στην Μελβούρνη, σημειώθηκε την Παρασκευή.

Στο πλαίσιο του Γ` γύρου για το φημισμένο τουρνουά, ο Ρότζερ Φέντερερ ηττήθηκε 3-1 σετ (6-4, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6) από τον Ιταλό, Αντρέας Σέπι (Νο 46) και αποκλείσθηκε από την συνέχεια της διοργάνωσης.

Αξίζει να σημειωθεί, ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά από το 2001, που το Νο 2 της παγκόσμιας κατάταξης, αποκλείεται από τα προημιτελικά του Αυστραλιανού ΟΠΕΝ, όπως επίσης και πως ο Ελβετός πρωταθλητής, έχει κατακτήσει τέσσερις φορές (2004, 2006, 2007 και 2010) το συγκεκριμένο τουρνουά.

Εκτός και ο Παγδατής…

Στον Β` γύρο σταμάτησε η πορεία και του Μάρκου Παγδατή, στο ΟΠΕΝ της Αυστραλίας. Μετά από συγκλονιστικό αγώνα, ο Κύπριος πρωταθλητής, ηττήθηκε 3-2 σετ (4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3) από τον Βούλγαρο, Γκριγκόρ Ντιμιτρόφ και έμεινε εκτός συνέχειας.

Πηγή:in.gr

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Ελάφρυνση του Eλληνικού χρέους ζητούν μέσω των FT διάσημοι οικονομολόγοι

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Ελάφρυνση του ελληνικού χρέους ζητούν μέσω των FT διάσημοι οικονομολόγοι

Ο νομπελίστας οικονομολόγος Χριστόφορος Πισσαρίδης

Την ελάφρυνση του ελληνικού χρέους και την χορήγηση αναπτυξιακών κονδυλίων στην Ελλάδα ζητούν με επιστολή που απέστειλαν στους Financial Times 15 διεθνούς φήμης οικονομολόγοι, μεταξύ των οποίων και οι νομπελίστες Χριστόφορος Πισσαρίδης και Τζόζεφ Στίγκλιτς.

Οι οικονομολόγοι υποστηρίζουν πως η ελάφρυνση χρέους είναι αναγκαία συνθήκη για να μπορέσει να αναπτυχθεί η Ελλάδα και να εκμεταλλευθεί πλήρως τις ικανότητες του λαού της , ώστε να συνεισφέρει στην ενωμένη και δημοκρατική Ευρώπη.

Σε κάθε περίπτωση ξεκαθαρίζουν πως η ελάφρυνση του ελληνικού χρέους από μόνη της δεν επαρκή για να δημιουργηθεί την απαραίτητη αναπτυξιακή δυναμική και ότι η Ελλάδα οφείλει να προχωρήσει σε μεταρρυθμίσεις, δίνοντας βάρος στην ενίσχυση της αποδοτικότητας στην είσπραξη φόρων και απέχοντας από περικοπές στις δημόσιες δαπάνες.

Για τη διευθέτηση του ελληνικού χρέους οι γνωστοί οικονομολόγοι υιοθετούν τις προτάσεις που δημοσίως έχει διατυπώσει ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ αλλά ελαφρώς παραλλασσόμενες. Συγκεκριμένα προτείνουν:

Την υπό όρους παράταση της περιόδου χάριτος, έτσι ώστε η Ελλάδα να μην χρειάζεται να εξυπηρετεί χρέος, παρά μόνον όταν καταγράφει ρυθμό ανάπτυξης τουλάχιστον 3% και μέχρις ότου ανακτήσει τουλάχιστον το 50% του ΑΕΠ που έχει χάσει από το 2008 (ρήτρα ανάπτυξης).

Την μείωση κάποιου μέρους του επίσημου χρέους, ώστε να υπάρχει περισσότερος διαθέσιμος δημοσιονομικός χώρος.

Τη χορήγηση σημαντικών επενδυτικών κεφαλαίων στη βάση του σχεδίου Γιούνκερ, που θα στηρίξουν τις ελληνικές εξαγωγές.

Οι νομπελίστες που υπογράφουν την επιστολή:

Prof Joseph Stiglitz	Columbia University
Prof Chris Pissarides	London School of Economics
Prof Charles Goodhart	London School of Economics
Prof Marcus Miller	Warwick University
Michael Burke	Economists Against Austerity
Prof Panicos Demetriadis	University of Leicester
Prof Stephany Griffith-Jones	IPD Columbia University
Prof Gustav A Horn	Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK)
Prof Mary Kaldor	London School of Economics
Neil MacKinnon	VTB Capital
Prof Jose Antonio Ocampo	Columbia University
Avinash Persaud Peterson	Institute for International Economics
Helmut Reisen	Shifting Wealth Consult
Robert Skidelsky	University of Warwick
Prof Frances Stewart	University of Oxford
Prof Robert Wade	London School of Economics
Hilary Wainwright	Transnational Institute, Amsterdam
Prof Simon Wren-Lewis Πηγή: in.gr	Merton College Oxford

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Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak vows to bounce back in semi-final

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak has vowed to bounce back to his best for Australia’s Asian Cup semi-final after struggling in his comeback from an ankle injury that saw him miss the tournament’s last two group matches.

Jedinak admitted he was well below par against China, and with Mark Bresciano also not at his best, the Socceroos’ midfield wasn’t quite as fluid as coach Ange Postecoglou might have hoped after recalling the pair. The captain said his game suffered from being too “rusty”.

“It is a little bit of that. I was working my way into the game, of course, it’s part and parcel of the game – if you try and force the issue, you’re going to make mistakes,” he said. “I think what was more important was the way we reacted, even under a little bit of pressure in that first half. The way some of the boys defended, and our organisation was really really positive.

Asked how his ankle held up on the much-maligned Suncorp Stadium surface, the Crystal Palace midfielder said he “felt great”.

But while he didn’t quite hit the heights in his return match for the Socceroos, Jedinak insisted he was going to be better for the run.

“It goes without saying [that I’ll improve] – I was happy to get out there tonight and get the 90 minutes under my belt,” he said. “It’s all about recovery now, doing the right thing with travel and things like that. It is what it is, but it’s something we’ve all been used to and all been doing really well at.”

The Socceroos dominated the possession stats against China but hardly looked likely to break through in a flat opening 45 minutes. Jedinak said they just needed to think a little bit more about how to utilise their territorial advantage, something they did better in the second half, where Tim Cahill scored twice.

“[In the] first half maybe we were a little bit sluggish. They did really well sitting and blocking up the space, they denied us that. Maybe we tried to force it a little bit too much,” he said. “We addressed that at half time, be a little bit patient and keep making them spend the energy. We got the goal probably earlier than we expected but we took our chances today and, if it wasn’t for their keeper, it could have been a lot more.”

“We took that up a notch in the second half and some individual brilliance from Timmy. But overall, the team performance was very, very disciplined – something I think we’ve been crying out for, and something I think we thoroughly deserved.”

Jedinak described Cahill as being “right up there” with the all-time greatest Socceroos, although many have gone a step further since and declared him alone as the best.

“What do you want me to say that hasn’t been said? Obviously at the crucial moment he stepped up again. He thrives on that. He was probably a bit quiet before that but Timmy’s Timmy – if he gets half a sniff of the goal, he’s going to take that opportunity,” Jedinak said. “He’s been doing it for much longer than I’ve been involved with the national team and it’s a credit to him.

“He’s as hungry as ever, you can see that, and it’s the right reward for a guy who’s been an absolute legend for football in this country.”

Cahill’s international goal tally rose to 39 with his two strikes, putting him 10 ahead of the Socceroos’ next highest scorer, Damian Mori, on the team’s all-time scoring record.

“That’s not a mean feat and he’s ahead by some way now. You look at all the achievements and stuff, he is right up there. That’s full credit to him,” Jedinak said. “I’m just glad that everyone else was able to feed off that and really provide Timmy with some great chances.

“I thought some of the way that the boys got through in that second half, we made a good Chinese team look quite ordinary at times, and that’s something we can take a lot from.”

source: brisbanetimes.com.au

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Καύσωνας με 50 βαθμούς στην Αυστραλία

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Δεν αποκλείεται να καταρριφθούν όλα τα ρεκόρ θερμοκρασίας

Τους 50 βαθμούς Κελσίου αναμένεται να φτάσει αύριο Παρασκευή η θερμοκρασία στη Δυτική Αυστραλία που πλήττεται από κύμα καύσωνα, καταρρίπτοντας κάθε σχετικό ρεκόρ.

Η περιοχή που θα πληγεί περισσότερο είναι η Πιλμάρα όπου ο υδράργυρος θα σταματήσει ανάμεσα στους 49 και τους 50 βαθμούς, σύμφωνα με τις εκτιμήσεις των μετεωρολόγων.

Στην Αυστραλία έχει καταγραφεί θερμοκρασία 50 βαθμών μόλις τρεις φορες από το 1910, οπότε και άρχισε να κρατά στοιχεία η Μετεωρολογική Υπηρεσία. Η τελευταία φορά ήταν στις 20 Φεβρουαρίου του 1998, όταν το θερμόμετρο έδειξε τους 50,5 βαθμούς Κλεσίου και πάλι στην πόλη Πιλμάρα.

Το ρεκόρ θερμοκρασίας σε όλη την Αυστραλία καταγράφηκε το 1960 και ήταν 50,7 βαθμούς Κελσίου. Χθες στην πόλη Άλις Σπρίγκς ο υδράργυρος έδειξε τους 46 βαθμούς.

Σύμφωνα με τη Μετεωρολογική Υπηρεσία της Αυστραλίας, το 2014 ήταν η τρίτη πιο θερμή χρονιά που έχει καταγραφεί στην ήπειρο.

Πηγή: ligo.gr

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Πατρινό Καρναβάλι 2015: σταθερά πρώτο, με καινοτομίες και αλλαγές!

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Το Καρναβάλι της Πάτρας, η μεγαλύτερη αποκριάτικη εκδήλωση της χώρας μας, με ιστορία 180 και πλέον ετών, προσφέρει στις δεκάδες χιλιάδες καρναβαλιστές ανεπανάληπτες εμπειρίες και έντονα συναισθήματα μέσα από μια ολόκληρη σειρά εκδηλώσεων.
Οι χοροί και οι παρελάσεις, το Κυνήγι του Κρυμμένου Θησαυρού, το Καρναβάλι των Παιδιών, το Θέατρο Δρόμου, οι διάφορες εκθέσεις, το κινηματογραφικό αφιέρωμα συνθέτουν ένα μοναδικό εορταστικό και εικαστικό σκηνικό στην πρωτεύουσα της Αχαΐας, όπου κυριαρχούν το κέφι, η ευρηματικότητα, η δημιουργική φαντασία και το πνεύμα συνεργασίας.
Οι εκδηλώσεις κορυφώνονται, ως γνωστόν, το τελευταίο Σαββατοκύριακο της Αποκριάς, με τη νυχτερινή παρέλαση το Σάββατο, τη φαντασμαγορική παρέλαση αρμάτων και πληρωμάτων την Κυριακή και το τελετουργικό κάψιμο του βασιλιά καρνάβαλου στο λιμάνι της Πάτρας.
Ψυχή και πυρήνας των πατρινών καρναβαλικών εκδηλώσεων είναι οι χιλιάδες καρναβαλιστές, κάτοικοι της Πάτρας, επισκέπτες και φίλοι του Πατρινού Καρναβαλιού, άνθρωποι κάθε ηλικίας, που συμμετέχουν με ενθουσιασμό στις επίσημες και ανεπίσημες καρναβαλικές εκδηλώσεις (αποκριάτικους χορούς, μπαλ μασκέ και γλέντια σε σπίτια, γειτονιές, κλαμπ, καφέ, εστιατόρια κ.α.).
Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι το φετινό (9ο κατά σειράν) Παιχνίδι Διαδικτυακού Κρυμμένου Θησαυρού θα πραγματοποιηθεί με πολλές καινοτομίες και αλλαγές, χωρίς όμως να αλλάζει η φιλοσοφία του Παιχνιδιού (απαντήσεις των συμμετεχόντων σε ερωτήματα πολλαπλών επιλογών και κλιμακούμενης δυσκολίας).
Μια από τις κυριότερες διαφορές σε σχέση με το παρελθόν αποτελεί το γεγονός πως το φετινό Παιχνίδι (που θα είναι διαθέσιμο σε δύο γλώσσες, στην ελληνική και την αγγλική) θα αποτελεί μια εφαρμογή του facebook και θα παίζεται μέσω αυτού, ενώ οι Κυνηγοί θα έχουν πρώτη φορά τη δυνατότητα να συμμετάσχουν στο Παιχνίδι μέσω κινητών τηλεφώνων και tablets και όχι αποκλειστικά μέσω σταθερών υπολογιστών, όπως συνέβαινε μέχρι πρότινος.
Εξάλλου, οι συμμετέχοντες θα μπορούν να βλέπουν όλες τις ερωτήσεις κάθε φάσης χωρίς να απαιτείται να δώσουν απάντηση σε κάθε ερώτηση για να προχωρήσουν στην επόμενη, όπως ήταν αναγκασμένοι να κάνουν τις προηγούμενες χρονιές.
Το 9ο Παιχνίδι Διαδικτυακού Κρυμμένου Θησαυρού, στο πλαίσιο των εκδηλώσεων του Πατρινού Καρναβαλιού, θα ξεκινήσει το Σάββατο 24 Ιανουαρίου και θα ολοκληρωθεί την Παρασκευή 20 Φεβρουαρίου, με την ανεύρεση του Διαδικτυακού Κρυμμένου Θησαυρού.
Η πρόσβαση στο Παιχνίδι γίνεται μέσω της επίσημης ιστοσελίδας του Πατρινού Καρναβαλιού στην ενότητα του Διαδικτυακού και μέσω του facebook στο CARNIVAL PATRAS GAME.

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