Greek Taxi drivers on strike
The on-strike taxies line up on a street in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) The on-strike taxies line up on a street in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Taxi drivers attend a demonstration in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Taxi drivers attend a demonstration in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) The on-strike taxies line up on a street in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Taxi drivers attend a demonstration in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Taxi drivers attend a demonstration in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Taxi drivers confront policemen during a demonstration in Athens, capital of Greece, March 18, 2010. Taxi drivers union in Athens called a 24-hour strike in protest against the new taxation measures announced by the Greek government on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) http://www.znnw.com
BELGRADE, March 18 (Xinhua) — Serbia\’s possible boycott of the Western Balkans conference this weekend in protest against the invitation of Kosovo threatens to spoil the first meeting of all the political leaders in the region in 18 years.
The joint organizers Slovenia and Croatia have so far failed to secure the presence of both Serbia and Kosovo, the former Serbian province which declared independence in 2008.
The absence of Serbia would undermine the conference\’s goal of resolving regional disputes before European Union accession talks.
Serbian President Boris Tadic said earlier that Serbia would take part in the conference if Kosovo \”participates within the format defined by Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council,\” or UNMIK Kosovo, the acronym for the UN mission in Kosovo..
The ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on Feb. 17, 2008. Serbia has said it would never recognize Kosovo\’s independence, regarding the move as contrary to international law.
However, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said he would only attend the meeting as a representative of a sovereign state, not UNMIK Kosovo.
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said Wednesday that \”I believe that everything will be arranged and that all those whom we, as organizers, are expecting at this conference will be there.\”
Earlier, Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor described the prospects of getting Serbian and Kosovo officials together at the conference as \”an impossible mission.\”
Pahor\’s surprise trip to Belgrade on March 17 in a bid to salvage the regional conference was unsuccessful in convincing Tadic to relent.
The conference, under the name \”Together for the European Union: Contribution of the Western Balkans to the European Future,\” is to be held on Saturday in Slovenia.
The Slovenian foreign ministry said Wednesday that the meeting would go ahead this weekend regardless of a possible boycott by Serbia.
Related:
UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia needs more time: Ban
UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (Xinhua) — The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s will need more time to complete its work after originally being scheduled to wind down at the end of this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Tuesday.
The secretary-general told reporters at the United Nations Headquarters in New York that \”there is some broad agreement now that the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) may need at least a few more years, to 2013 or so,\” before it can finish its work.? Full story
Slovenia and Slovakia want Western Balkans in EU
BELGRADE, March 15 (Xinhua) — The Western Balkans is important for peace in Europe and should be included in the European Union, Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk and his visiting Slovakian counterpart Ivan Gasparovic agreed at their meeting in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia on Monday. Efforts to improve trade and the EU accession of Western Balkan countries, topped talks between Tuerk and Gasparovic.
President of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and visiting Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou attend a press conference after their meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 17, 2010. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
by Liang Yeqian, Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, March 18 (Xinhua) — Labor unions across Europe will take action as Greece is left alone in the economic crisis by other short-sighted European Union member states, Yannis Panagopoulos, president of umbrella labor union GSEE, told Xinhua in an interview.
\”The solidarity of other European labor unions has been impressive. We witness the phenomenon of German labor unions denouncing their government\’s unwillingness to back Greece,\” Panagopoulos said, referring to the fact that Berlin, together with other EU member states, is still not offering Greece enough support to solve its fiscal crisis.
Apart from making pledges of support, EU labor unions, especially those from Southern European countries, will join forces in the near future, perhaps in May, he said.
Panagopoulos believed that EU member states should give Greece more help for their own development.
\”The Portuguese, Spanish and Italian people understand that we share the same destiny; they all know that when Greece gets through this adventure, it will be their turn next,\” he said.
Panagopoulos stressed that over 70 percent of the Greek debt is owed to British, French and German banks.
\”You see that if Greece will not be able to pay, the European financial system will be greatly affected,\” he said.
\”The current stance of some European political leaders is unacceptable. The problem is not only Greek, it\’s European,\” he added. \”If they do not support Greece, there will be a domino effect across the continent.\”
Speaking to Xinhua in the GSEE headquarters, Panagopoulos echoed a request made by Greek state officials, analysts, economists and citizens these past few weeks.
\”What we ask for is that Greece will be able to take loans on the same interest rates as others,\” he said, urging the EU to crack down on speculative trading blamed for aggravating the Greek debt crisis.
Moreover, he warned that the EU might become a puppet of the United States and other markets if Europe doesn\’t reform its mechanism to balance inequalities across the EU.
Commenting on what went wrong in Greece, Panagopoulos pointed to the structural weaknesses of the Greek national economy and a series of mistakes made by previous governments.
He claimed the EU member states which hesitate to support Greece should also share the responsibility.
\”Part of Europe\’s political elite knew what was going on, that the previous conservative government was hiding the truth, but due to ideological links, nobody would speak,\” Panagopoulos said.
Police search for clues around the offices of a Greek far-right group \”Golden Dawn\”, where a bomb attack occurred, in Athens, capital of Greece, March 19, 2010. No injuries were reported as there had been a warning phone call a few minutes before the time bomb blast. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
ATHENS, March 19 (Xinhua) — An explosion occurred at the office of a far-right group named \”Golden Dawn\” in the centre of Athens early on Friday morning.
No injuries were reported, but only minor damages, as there had been a warning telephone call to a Greek newspaper a few minutes before the time bomb blasts.
The bomb which had been placed outside the offices of \”Golden Dawn,\” at the corridor of the 5th floor of a building near the crowded Omonia square in the centre of Athens, exploded at 08:46 local time, according to the police.
Exactly 22 minutes earlier an unidentified person had made the warning call to \”Eleftherotypia\” daily, a common practice for Far-Left, anarchist and terrorist groups that operate in Greece.
The police had managed to evacuate the area, when the bomb exploded and windows of nearby buildings broke in rush hour.
Police cordone off the offices of a Greek far-right group \”Golden Dawn\”, where a bomb attack occurred, in Athens, capital of Greece, March 19, 2010. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
No group has claimed responsibility yet, as police investigate, gathering evidence that could lead to the perpetrators.
In a first comment from the government, government spokesperson George Petalotis condemned the attack, stressing that \”whichever is the purpose, is cancelled by the fact that occur in crowded areas.\”
\”Golden Dawn\” is the most known far-right group in Greece. It was created in the early 1980s and its members have been accused and sentenced to prison terms for a series of attacks against immigrants.
Police investigate at the offices of a Greek far-right group \”Golden Dawn\”, where a bomb attack occurred, in Athens, capital of Greece, March 19, 2010. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
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BERLIN, March 19 (Xinhua) — A high-speed German train ran over a man on Thursday late-night when whooshing from Frankfurt to Cologne, causing the busy line to be closed for hours, operator Deutsche Bahn and police reported Friday.
The accident happened at late night near Idstein, a northeastern town of Hesse state. Police said it is not known weather the man had commit a suicide.
The Inter City Express (ICE) train, which had 630 passengers at that time, had to disembark and waited in the dark until a group of buses arrived to transport passengers to Cologne.
More than a dozen other trains were canceled or forced to change the route when clearance were underway, a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said. It took about four hours before the line was re-opened.
The railway between Frankfurt to Cologne is one of the busiest lines in Germany, with an average of eight trains per hour travelling along the track.
Germany\’s ICE train, which started in the 1980s, has an average speed of 200 km per hour, and its record speed is over 400 km per hour.
http://www.znnw.com
MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) — The United States and Russia were \”on the brink\” of clinching a new nuclear arms control deal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday.
After meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday, Clinton said the two countries had resolved all major issues concerning a new nuclear arms reduction treaty.
\”There are some technical issues that remain. But we are on the brink of signing a new agreement between the United States and Russia,\” she said at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
But Clinton did not specify a date or venue for the signing of the pact.
Lavrov said a reset in Russia-U.S. relations had materialized and both sides should not stop in their steps forward. \”This movement requires ongoing dialogue, without any pauses,\” he said.
Russia and the United States have been working on a new arms treaty since Medvedev and Obama met in April last year, in an effort to rebuild their ties, which plunged to an unprecedented low during the final days of former U.S. Bush administration.
Despite rounds of negotiations, the two sides failed to reach a pact before the original 1991 START expired in December last year.
An outline of the new accord, agreed by both presidents, includes slashing nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675 and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000.
Related:
Russia, U.S. close to clinch new START deal
MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) — After holding crunch talks to help seal a new strategic arms reduction treaty (START) here on Thursday, top diplomats of Russia and the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, all voiced confidence to clinch the deal in the near future.?? Full story
New START treaty to combine offensive, defensive weapons: Lavrov
MOSCOW, March 16 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reassured Tuesday that the new strategic arms reduction treaty (START) with the United States will combine offensive and defensive weaponry.
Lavrov reiterated Russia\’s stance concerning the issue in a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Konstantin Grishchenko broadcast live by local TV station Russia Today. Full story?
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BRUSSELS, March 19 (Xinhua) — The European Union (EU) top economic official called on Friday for a concrete deal at a summit next week on possible aid for Greece amid its debt crisis.
\”It is important that the EU in the course of next week comes to a more specific conclusion, specific political conclusion about the European framework for coordinated and conditional action, if needed and required,\” EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters.
EU leaders were scheduled to meet in Brussels on March 25-26, with the Greek debt crisis set to top the agenda.
Rehn said it was important for the EU to politically conclude work that had been done.
At a monthly meeting earlier this week, EU finance ministers agreed on technical arrangements on how to aid Greece if necessary, leaving the final decision on a detailed plan to EU leaders.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Thursday his country would resort to help from the International Monetary Fund if it failed to receive a concrete aid promise in Europe.
http://www.gtrip.net
PARIS, March 19 (Xinhua) — European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has told a French radio channel the European Union would aid Greece if demanded, according to a transcript released by the channel Friday.
The whole European Union, including Germany, \”is ready in case Greece needs (the aid) and so far, Greece hasn\’t asked for any financial support,\” Barroso confirmed in an interview with France 24, recorded at the European Summit on Thursday at Brussels.
Eurozone countries should prepare \”some kind of mechanism\” as soon as possible in case Greece asks for finanical aid, the president said, adding the EU would try all measures to restore the financial stability of Greece.
Barroso also said the EU would bring forward \”a mechanism of coordinated systems\” that was \”based on bilateral loans but within the European framework\” provided that all members agrees on it.
However, he didn\’t exclude the possibility that Greece would turn to International Monetary Fund for help, adding the IMF\’s help wouldn\’t harm the prestige of the EU.
\”What I want to remind is that Greece and all the member states of the EU are members of the IMF … EU member states are by far the biggest source of revenue for the IMF,\” Barroso said.
\”So it\’s not a question of prestige. It\’s a question of seeing what is the best way to respond to the situation,\” he said in the interview, which France 24 confirmed would be broadcast on Saturday.
Greece\’s government has launched austerity measures to save public revenue, but with a debt of 20 billion euros (27 billion U.S. dollars) at term between April and May, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has been anxious for support from peers.
Papandreou called for a united decision at Thursday\’s EU summit, saying solidarity in Europe was necessary for the debt-plagued country.
Government leaders and heads of states will get together to discuss this issue at the next summit in Brussels on March 25.
Related:
EU official calls for concrete deal on aid for Greece
BRUSSELS, March 19 (Xinhua) — The European Union (EU) top economic official called on Friday for a concrete deal at a summit next week on possible aid for Greece amid its debt crisis.
\”It is important that the EU in the course of next week comes to a more specific conclusion, specific political conclusion about the European framework for coordinated and conditional action, if needed and required,\” EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters. Full story
Greek labor union: Unions in Europe to take action if EU fails to help
ATHENS, March 18 (Xinhua) — Labor unions across Europe will take action as Greece is left alone in the economic crisis by other short-sighted European Union member states, Yannis Panagopoulos, president of umbrella labor union GSEE, told Xinhua in an interview.
LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday that 2010 would be a make-or-break year to address the five global challenges.
The challenges were cementing the global recovery, halting climate change, fighting terrorism, reducing nuclear proliferation and turning the tide against poverty.
Brown told the foreign press association that 10 important global meetings to be held this year could shape what the world faces in the next decade and would be determining moments for the fortunes of millions and testing moments for the world\’s commitment and resolution to work together.
\”The truth we have learned in the last two years is that global problems cannot be answered by national or even regional solutions alone; global problems need global solutions: because we need more, not less, global cooperation,\” Brown said.
On the economic front, Brown said it was now the time to take the next steps, to complete the task of rebuilding the global economy and strengthening financial supervision in the coming months — at the G20 and G8 summits in Canada and in South Korea, and at the spring and annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
He also called for a fresh collective commitment to fully implement the G20 framework for strong, balanced and sustainable growth, to coordinate more effectively the regulation of world financial systems, and to build a coordinated approach to levies on the banks to deliver a fairer balance between risk and reward.
On climate change, Brown said: \”We must implement the Copenhagen Accord. That means fast-start finance for developing countries for the 2010-12 period.\”
\”So I want to announce that, on March 31, we will hold in London the first meeting of the Climate Finance Group, the advisory group on climate financing established by the U.N. Secretary General.\”
\”We must also re-establish negotiations towards an internationally binding global agreement, using the important meetings in Germany and Mexico this year to accelerate this goal,\” Brown said.
He said Britain must drive towards creating a low-carbon economy and plans would be announced to promote investment in clean energy and in the thousands of new green jobs they would create.
On security, Brown said the challenges were changing, noting that \”today we face a new kind of terrorism, climate change and potential conflicts over resources, cyber crime, piracy and global increases in illegal migration.\”
Britain had continued to increase investment in strong borders and counter-terrorism at home — from 1 billion pounds (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) a year on domestic counter-terrorism in 2001 to more than 3 billion pounds (4.8 billion dollars) now.
Brown said, \”Our priority remains the Afghan-Pakistan border areas. We look forward to the Kabul Conference.\”
In addition, the prime minister said relevant countries would hold discussions in Washington next month and in New York the month after on nuclear security and proliferation, the fourth challenge.
MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had not excluded the possibility of imposing reasonable sanctions on Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
\”As President Medvedev said, sanctions seldom work but sometimes they are inevitable,\” Lavrov said at a news conference after talks between Medvedev and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
However, the president said that \”sanctions must be reasonable, unaggressive and not paralyzing and should have no negative impact on the Iranian people but should be imposed on those who make decisions on cooperating with the international community,\” Lavrov said.
Clinton hoped the sides would soon reach consensus on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced Thursday the first reactor of Iran\’s long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant would be launched in summer.
Iran\’s move to produce high-grade uranium with a purity of 20 percent stoked a wave of international criticism, with the United States leading the calls for harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The West accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program, but Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
Russia, which has long been saying it prefers to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic means, is showing growing frustration with Iran\’s refusal to cooperate with the international community.
http://www.znnw.com
LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) — British Airways (BA) cabin crew will start a three-day strike early Saturday after talks between the airline and the Unite union collapsed on Friday.
British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh (C) speaks to reporters after talks with the Unite union broke down at the trade union congress headquarters in central London March 19, 2010. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Local media reported the strike will start from midnight, with a second scheduled for March 27.
BA cabin crew are striking over changes to pay and staffing levels imposed by the airline last November. BA suffered heavy losses in recent years and is trying to cut its annual cost by 62.5 million pounds.
The airline\’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, said the strike was \”deeply regrettable\”. \”Tens of thousands of BA people stand ready to serve our passengers and BA will be flying and will continue to fly through these periods of industrial action,\” he said.
Tony Woodley, general secretary of Unite, the union representing BA\’s cabin crew, said: \”BA does not want to negotiate and ultimately wants to go to war with this union.\”
BA has announced contingency plans that will allow it to fly 65 percent of its customers during this weekend\’s strike. A total of 1,100 flights out of the 1,950 scheduled to operate during the first three strike dates will be cancelled.
But all long-haul flights and more than half of short-haul flights from London\’s Gatwick airport are expected to operate as normal. At Heathrow, more than 60 percent of long-haul flights will operate, though only 30 percent of short-haul flights are expected to operate with the help of aircraft leased from eight rival airlines.
http://www.nmgmzbwg.com.cn
VIENNA, March 24 (Xinhua) — European Union leaders were not able to reach a decision on concrete measures aimed at aiding Greece\’s financial difficulties, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said Wednesday.
The prime minister made the remarks after the day\’s EU summit.
Some Austrian politicians even criticized the EU inactivity.
Alexander van der Bellen, former chairman of Austria\’s Green Party, said the EU summit usually finds it hard to come to an agreement.
Wolfgang Schussel, former Austrian prime minister, said the EU summit is more like a \”commonplace.\”
Up until now Greece has not applied for concrete assistance from the union, only to leave bilateral assistance to the International Monetary Fund.
While addressing the EU summit, Austrian Prime Minister Faymann said that his government would focus more on achieving the five major objectives of the new EU prosperity strategy \”Europe 2020,\” on research and development, climate change and clean energy, education and poverty reduction.
Related:
Greece to seek but not beg for a European solution to debt crisis
ATHENS, March 23 (Xinhua) — Greece said Tuesday it would seek a European solution to its financial problems but will not appear as a beggar during the forthcoming EU summit on Thursday.
\”Greece will not appear at the Brussels meeting begging for support. We did not ask for financial aid from anybody,\” Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told a forum in Athens. \”We do not wait for saviours. We can solve our problems on our own.\”?? Full story
Germany faces mounting pressure on Greek bailout
BRUSSELS, March 22 (Xinhua) — Germany faces mounting pressure from the European Union (EU) to agree on a bailout plan for debt-hit Greece at an EU summit later this week.
\”We need a decision at this summit so that we know how we are going to manage (the Greek debt crisis),\” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told German daily Handelsblatt.?? Full storoy
Greek Bank governor warns about economy shrinking further
ATHENS, March 22 (Xinhua) — The Greek economy will shrink by two percent this year, more than the earlier expectation of between 0.3 percent and 1.2 percent, Bank of Greece Governor Giannis Provopoulos warned here on Monday.
\”The Greek economy has fallen into a vicious circle. Unfortunately the developments of the past few months have verified the negative projections and damaged confidence to the future of our economy,\” Provopoulos said.? Full story
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ANKARA, March 19 (Xinhua) — A Polish aircraft on Friday violated Turkey\’s air space over the Aegean Sea, a Turkish military statement said.
Polish M-28 aircraft, which took off from Kos island of Greece, violated Turkish air space over the Aegean province of Aydin three times early on Friday, said the statement posted on the General Staff website.
The statement said the Polish aircraft had violated the Turkish air space for a total of 11 minutes.
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ANKARA, March 19 (Xinhua) — A Polish aircraft on Friday violated Turkey\’s air space over the Aegean Sea, a Turkish military statement said.
Polish M-28 aircraft, which took off from Kos island of Greece, violated Turkish air space over the Aegean province of Aydin three times early on Friday, said the statement posted on the General Staff website.
The statement said the Polish aircraft had violated the Turkish air space for a total of 11 minutes.
http://www.pq365.com
