Daily Archives: March 4, 2015

Greek fighter jets fly over the Rio Antirio Bridge. Photo: AAP/Dimitris Manakanatas.

Talks between Greek and Turkish diplomats are expected to resume soon with a focus on easing tensions in the Aegean after Ankara said it had mistakenly issued a notice to reserve a large chunk of air space over the Aegean Sea for military manoeuvres.

In a statement posted on the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s website on Tuesday, spokesman Tanju Bilgic said the order had been “issued erroneously with an inaccurate coordinate” and “has been cancelled.” He said “the issue of long period dangerous areas declared by Greece and Turkey in the Aegean has been on the agenda for a long time,” adding that Ankara has “proposed to Greece to mutually cancel those areas” but has yet to receive a response. The statement ended with an appeal to the new Greek government to “approach the existing issues between our countries in a constructive manner and by making use of the available diplomatic channels of dialogue.”

There had been no public response from the Greek Foreign Ministry by late Tuesday but diplomatic sources indicated that Turkey’s backtracking was a pleasant surprise. It is the first time that Ankara has made such a statement, which was widely interpreted in diplomatic circles as an indirect acknowledgement of Greece’s reaction to the move. Notwithstanding Turkey’s change of stance, Greek diplomatic sources suggested that vigilance was needed. “Irrespective of whether there was a serious mistake or not, the incident in question showed that provocative behaviour, via the armed forces, can lead to the situation spiralling out of control, for which Greece cannot be held responsible,” a diplomatic source said.

When Turkey first issued the notice on Sunday, Athens had reacted by lodging complaints to NATO, the European Union and the United Nations, prompting a flurry of diplomacy.

In a related development, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told Russian radio station Sputnik that Greece and Cyprus could act as a “bridge” between the EU and Russia as they have never been opposing powers. Kotzias also claimed that, by questioning EU sanctions against Russia, Greece led to “the Europeans listening… and now we are contributing to the creation of European policy.”

Source: Kathimerini

Elafonissi’s iconic pink beach.

An Australian beach and a Greek beach have been voted as the best in the world, taking out ninth and tenth place in Tripadvisor’s Travellers Choice top beaches in the world.

Crete’s Elafonissi beach made the list thanks to its famous pink sand while Australia’s Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays mesmerised tourists for its untouched landscape.

The awards are determined based on the quantity and quality of millions of traveller reviews and ratings for the beaches on travel review site TripAdvisor over a 12-month period.

In Elafonissi’s case, reviewers couldn’t hold back their praise, noting just how enjoyable the beach can be even when crowded.

One reviewer from Pireaus noticed that the beach never gets old thanks to its unique make up.

“Every year is not the same because of the differences of the sand,” Maria Papari said.

“It’s Magic!”

Whitehaven Beach has the luxury of being in a climate that never experiences winter, notably pushing the beach up in the rankings.

“This place is paradise on earth from its pure silicate sand to the turquoise waters,” wrote a reviewer from the United Kingdom.

Taking the number one spot on the list for the second time was Brazil’s Baia do Sancho, whith Turks and Caicos’ Grace Bay and Siciliy’s Rabbit Beach took out second and third.

source:Neos Kosmos

Debt to be paid: The government is currently owed $30.6 billion by student graduates.

Greek Australian students have voiced their anger at comments made by a leading academic saying that if students are able to travel to Europe, they should be able to pay for HECS.

Professor Bruce Chapman of the Australian National University argues that students should be asked to pay back at least $2,000 of their outstanding student loan HECS debt if they travel or move to another country for more than six months.

“If people can afford to go to Europe or the US and travel around or work then I think they can afford to make this sort of repayment,” he told The Australian.

The talk of altering the HECS repayment system has irked many current Greek Australian students.

La Trobe University arts and accounting student, Tina Halkias, 24, says she wouldn’t have been able to travel to Greece to meet her extended family if she was lumped with an upfront payment.

Working as a casual at the university, she says a $2,000 fee would put an end to her ability to travel.

“I’m only guaranteed two shifts a week, I don’t work that often,” she tells Neos Kosmos.

“So the money I do make I use when I go out, and when I have travelled it’s been built up through savings, so if I had to pile a HECS fee on top of that I wouldn’t be able to travel.”

Many students don’t classify travel as a holiday. Rather, it’s become a necessity as a way to visit family and to figure out if working overseas is right for them.

To have the experience catagorised as superfluous doesn’t sit well with them.

Deakin University student Marietta Margheriti, 21, is about to start her fourth year in her psychology degree and expects to continue with university for a while longer, undertaking a masters as well.

With family in both Greece and Italy, her travels have been much more than just for pleasure.

“It’s not like I’m going over there to party, it’s to meet my family, extend my language,” she tells Neos Kosmos.

Miss Halkias also agrees.

“It’s not just a holiday, it’s a learning experience,” she says.

With the cost of an average four-year degree exceeding $18,000, the government’s burden in paying for a student’s university degree up front is sizeable.

According to the December budget figures, the value of outstanding federal student loans is projected to rise from $30.6 billion to more than $52 billion by 2018.

Professor Chapman says billing graduates who are working overseas would help the government reap back some of the money they are owed.

“My sense is the community does not like high-income earners leaving Australia and in some cases never paying back their student loans,” he says.

According to The Australian, of the 300,000 Australian students who graduate each year, around 10 per cent work abroad within four years.

The Grattan Institute estimates that if the Australian government imposed a flat repayment scheme on expatriate workers, it could recoup $180 million over three years.

Currently, students in Australia will only start paying back HECS after they begin earning a salary over $53,345 a year, but if they work overseas and don’t file an Australian tax return, they go unnoticed.

As a student under the HECS system currently, Miss Halkias has no qualms about paying back the money once she’s working full time.

“Once you start working, then I can understand paying HECS off slowly,” she says.

source: Neos Kosmos

More than 600 starving koalas were killed in secret culls in the Cape Otway area of western Victoria, it has been revealed.

Wildlife officials did three euthanasia sweeps to kill 686 koalas in 2013 and 2014, in a covert campaign that was designed to avoid any backlash from green groups and the community.

The secret cull was conducted under the previous Liberal government near the Great Ocean Road to address overpopulation issues.

The marsupials were starving due to overpopulation in the Cape region, which is said to have the greatest density of koalas in Australia.

The koalas were captured and sedated before being put down.

Koala expert Dr Desley Wisson, from Deakin University, told radio station 3AW the cull was needed.

“Koalas had built up to quite high densities in manna gum areas down at Cape Otway,” she said.

“It got to the point where there were no leaves left on the trees and the koalas were literally falling out of trees.

“They were dying of starvation.”

Dr Wisson said the koalas had been introduced to the Cape manna gum areas.

“They absolutely adore manna gum … so they tend to find those manna gum locations and just sit there,” she said.

But it was difficult to relocate the koalas.

“It’s actually not a very nice thing to move a koala; a lot of them will actually die [from stress] during that process.”

Environment Minister Lisa Neville told radio station 3AW no more culls would be done in secret.  She would put in place a special koala management program after seeking advice from experts.

“I don’t want to see koalas suffer,” Ms Neville said.

“I’m making sure the advice comes to me as quickly as we can and we will obviously be very open and transparent with the community.

“It is challenging, it is distressing … but I think it’s absolutely important that we are open with the community.”

Frank Fotinas, who runs the Bimbi Park Caravan Park at Cape Otway, told ABC radio the area smelt of dead koalas.

“A lot more were dying naturally than were euthanased,” he said.

“The whole of the Cape smelt of dead koalas.

“It smelt like death. You should come and look at the trees. There are hundreds of acres of dead trees.”

source:theage.com.au

Thousands of workers rallied in Melbourne and around the country against an Abbott government inquiry into workplace relations. Photo: Jason South

Thousands of workers have converged on central Melbourne as unions mobilise nationally against the Abbott government’s workplace relations agenda.

A massive crowd gathered in Carlton shortly before 10am, marching to Federation Square, blocking traffic and several major intersections causing parts of the CBD to grind to a halt.

“They say cut back we say fight back,” organisers chanted through the sea of high-vis workwear.

Simultaneous rallies are being staged in every capital city and several regional centres, with workers from construction, healthcare, education, maritime and the public sector making strong showings.

The protests are the culmination of union anger at a looming review of the nation’s industrial relations system by the Productivity Commission, which will closely examine penalty rates, the minimum wage and workplace flexibility.

Enterprise bargaining, individual agreements between employers and workers and unfair dismissal laws will also be examined.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver told the crowd in Melbourne that the government was using the Productivity Commission review as a “Trojan horse” to reignite a Howard-era industrial relations push and wage war on workers.

“The Coalition government is using the Productivity Commission inquiry into rights at work in an attempt to cut penalty rates, abolish the minimum wage, bring back unfair individual contracts and swing even more power to the employers,” Mr Oliver said.

“The community will not stand by while the Liberals take Australia in the wrong direction.”

The union movement has been accused of hyping fears over the contentious inquiry after the Abbott government appeared to rule out a radical overhaul of penalty rates and the minimum wage.

“The government will leave the responsibility of setting modern awards, including penalty rates, and the minimum wage with the Fair Work Commission,” Employment Minister Eric Abetz said. “That’s the way it remains under the Coalition.”

Mr Oliver said nothing had been officially ruled out in the inquiry and workers were “again under attack”.

The rally condemned the federal government’s plans to hike education and medical costs.

Victorian Trades Hall Council said tens of thousands of workers were expected to march in Melbourne.

“People just don’t trust this government with our rights at work, with Medicare, with education funding, with community services,” Trades Hall industrial and campaigns officer Wil Stracke said.

source:theage.com.au

Two public prosecutors on Tuesday suggested the conditional release of Golden Dawn chief Nikos Michaloliakos and the party’s second-in-command, Christos Pappas, after their 18-month maxim detention period ends on March 29. Both Golden Gawn officials are facing charges for organizing and leading a criminal organization.

On Tuesday, the public prosecutor suggested that Michaloliakos posts 125,000 euros in bail and that he is placed under house arrest following his release.

In the case of Pappas, the prosecutor suggested that following his release he is banned from leaving the country and the Attica region and that he reports to his local precinct three times a month, among other conditions.

source:ekathimerini.com

Greece, the European Union’s most indebted member, will receive financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through 2020 to promote an economic overhaul.

The London-based lender, which is owned by 64 countries, the EU and the European Investment Bank, aims to end a dearth of capital among Greek private companies, in particular small and medium-sized businesses, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said in Brussels on Tuesday.

“There are two broad areas where the EBRD might well make a number of operations: firstly helping Greek companies regain access to finance,” Chakrabarti said. “The other area we’d like to do more to promote is regional economic integration, bring private sector knowledge and finance to such areas as energy and infrastructure.”

Last month, euro-area finance ministers approved a four- month extension of Greece’s bailout program after the government pledged to revamp tax collection, consolidate pension funds and maintain sales of state-owned assets.

As part of the agreement, the European Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund all signaled their support for Greece’s commitments. The country can’t tap more bailout funds, including the next portion of about 7 billion euros ($7.8 billion), unless it passes the authorities’ review. Greece, whose debt stood at 176 percent of gross domestic product in 2014 according to the EU Commission, has since 2010 obtained bailouts pledging 240 billion euros and the biggest debt restructuring in history.

Contagion threat

The country remains short of cash and cut off from financial markets, with the threat of wider contagion ever present. The EBRD also seeks to expand Greek private enterprises’ role in infrastructure and energy projects.

“We can get going straight away, as soon as we find the right projects,” Chakrabarti said.

The Greek government asked to become a recipient of EBRD funding in November and the government of Alexis Tsipras, which came into power after an election in January, stood by the request.

Greece, an EBRD shareholder since its 1991 inception, has contributed 2.3 billion euros to EBRD funding across emerging Europe, especially in the neighboring Balkan region. The EBRD supported the subsidiaries of Greek banks in Romania, Bulgaria and some former Yugoslav republics during the global financial crisis.

The EBRD invested 8.9 billion euros last year. The bank expanded its geographical scope to include nascent democracies in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011 and currently lends and invests in 35 economies.

Cash-strapped Cyprus became a recipient last year and, like Greece, will get funding through 2020.

source:ekathimerini.com

Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan (front) and Myuran Sukumaran (back) were found guilty of trying to traffic heroin out of Indonesia and sentenced to death during their 2006 trial in Denpasar ©Sonny Tumbelaka (AFP/File)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – The government is ready to execute the Australian drug offenders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran from the “Bali Nine” gang who are now on death row, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasona H. Laoly stated.

“For sure, we are ready,” Minister Laoly remarked at the vice presidential palace, here, Tuesday.

He, however, desisted from divulging the exact date of the execution.

Some preparations have been made, which include providing special rooms for the two convicts.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will soon be moved from Krobokan prison in Bali to Nusakambangan, Central Java.

Some 100 police personnel will guard the transfer of the two Australians to Nusakambangan, where the executions will be carried out.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has turned down their request for clemency.

Earlier, Jokowi stated that no clemency will be granted to drug traffickers who have been sentenced to death.

“It (capital punishment) is still our positive law, and it is not the president who decides the death penalty, but it is the courts verdict. The president is only requested to grant clemency, but there is no clemency for drug traffickers,” the president remarked here, Monday.

As 50 people die every day due to drug consumption, therefore drug offenders should not be given clemency, he emphasized.

“How can we give them clemency when 50 people die every day, 18 thousand die every year, and 4.5 million people need rehabilitation? I say no, no clemency for such crimes,” he stated.

He affirmed that no country should interfere in Indonesias legal sovereignty.

Executions of drug-related criminals on death row are part of the legal sovereignty of Indonesia, he noted.

The attorney general plans to execute 11 criminals, comprising eight involved in drug offenses and three in murders.(*)

source:antaranews.com