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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

Friday, August 31, 2012

FBI looking at Greece government


FBI looking at Greece government
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
21 town Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, an applicant for a zoning variance — Monroe County Legislator Richard Antelli — claimed that he was “a federal witness” in an investigation connected to the town of Greece government. Also, this week, local ...


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Greek police unionists protest planned pay cuts


Greek police unionists protest planned pay cuts
CBS News
Greek police unionists protest planned pay cuts. ATHENS, Greece — Dozens of uniformed police officers have protested peacefully outside Greece's Parliament against pay cuts that are planned under the government's new austerity drive. Shouting slogans ...


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Greek Budget Cuts Focus on Pension Curbs to Gain Troika Approval


Business Recorder

Greek Budget Cuts Focus on Pension Curbs to Gain Troika Approval
Businessweek
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has drafted an 11.7 billion-euro ($14.7 billion) package of spending cuts that will mean about a third of savings will come from reduced spending on pensions. The two-year package, which is still being discussed ...
Greek austerity package draft targets pensions, wagesReuters
Greek PM Says Euro Exit Risk Has Diminished Slightly -SpokesmanWall Street Journal
Greek PM says new austerity round will be the lastThe Seattle Times

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GOP Presidential Nominee Romney Says Greece a Bad Example


ABC News

GOP Presidential Nominee Romney Says Greece a Bad Example
Greek Reporter
U.S. Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, accepting the party's nomination at his convention in Tampa, Florida, said he wants to restore America's economy and cited Greece as an example of what happens when it goes wrong. Referring to his plan ...
Kent Bush: Republican convention like every other reality showGreece Post

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Greek austerity package draft targets pensions, wages


Telegraph.co.uk

Greek austerity package draft targets pensions, wages
Reuters
The list, obtained from a Greek coalition source, was formulated by the country's finance ministry and was submitted earlier this week for approval to the leaders of the three parties in the ruling coalition. Even though the leaders broadly agreed on ...
Greek Finance Minister Sees Signs of Improving Market SentimentWall Street Journal
Greek PM says new austerity round will be the lastThe Seattle Times

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Dutch populist leader takes aim at EU — and flops





[...] as the Netherlands heads into elections with economic crisis raging across the continent, Wilders has taken aim at a different target: the European Union.

Wilders has tried to revive his Freedom Party's fortunes on promises to ditch the euro and ignore European budgetary rules ahead of the Sept. 12 election.

[...] as Europe's debt crisis forced immigration issues into the background, Wilders' popularity began a steady slide.

Wilders has always been a skeptic of the European Union, but he hadn't concentrated on Brussels much since 2005, when he was in the vanguard as the Dutch overwhelmingly voted to reject a European constitution in a national referendum.

Wilders loudly opposed bailouts for southern European countries, at one point printing up an oversize replica of an old drachma note and trying to deliver it to the Greek Embassy as a stunt.

Under Prime Minister Mark Rutte's all-conservative coalition, the Netherlands has been a reliable supporter of the German approach to the crisis: austerity for all and support for weaker economies only when things seemed about to spin out of control.

The Socialists, long a fringe party with no experience in national government, have grown fast under affable leader Emile Roemer, dubbed "Fozzie Bear" by a popular Dutch news blog.

Polls show Roemer's Socialists and Rutte's libertarian VVD Party in a neck-and-neck race to take the most votes, with each forecast to win around 32 seats in the 150-member Dutch parliament.

With the far-left and far-right splitting the anti-euro vote, there is no credible coalition with centrist parties that would be willing to adopt a radically anti-Brussels line.


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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Obama Can Breathe Easy About Greece Leaving Euro Before Elections


Wall Street Journal (blog)

Obama Can Breathe Easy About Greece Leaving Euro Before Elections
Wall Street Journal (blog)
By Ian Talley. The risk of a Greek meltdown before the U.S. Nov. 4 presidential elections–which would pour fuel on the flames of the euro crisis and likely trigger another recession on this side of the Atlantic– has diminished to near zero, according ...


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The euro crisis: Another southern front

WILL Spain be next? The Spanish government is trying to put off a full bail-out, but it was dealt a blow on August 28th when the regional government of Catalonia said it needed a €5 billion ($6.3 billion) rescue by the Madrid government.First it was the banks that needed help, now Spain’s second-most populous region. Bailing out Catalonia may well cost more than the requested €5 billion: it may need several billion just to cover the budget deficit until the end of 2014. A government liquidity fund has €18 billion in it, but Valencia, Murcia and other regions that are excluded from the markets are also queuing up for money. Spain can top up the fund by borrowing more—but only at punishing rates. The yield on ten-year bonds has stayed above 6% for more than three months.Not surprisingly, many think Spain will eventually need a sovereign bail-out. In public, officials claim this is not being negotiated. European leaders instead praise the reforms and austerity of Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister. Yet Spain is plunging into a double-dip recession. The economy shrank at an annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter. Bank deposits dropped by 4.7% in July. Consumption is falling at an annual rate of 3.9%. Unemployment remains stuck at around 25% of the workforce (and 50% for youths).Meanwhile in bailed-out Greece the government was relieved when the first trip abroad of Antonis...


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Germany sees Greek, Spanish influx as crisis worsens


Germany sees Greek, Spanish influx as crisis worsens
Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters) - An increasing number of Spaniards and Greeks are working in Germany as their own countries, hit by the euro zone debt crisis, struggle with record unemployment levels, preliminary data from Germany's Federal Labour Office showed on ...

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Farmer assaulted claiming stolen livestock

A stockbreeder and his wife from the village of Palabas, near Igoumenitsa, in northwest Greece, were reportedly assaulted by a group of local residents in the Albanian border village of Janjari when they crossed the Greek-Albanian frontier to claim 32 cattle and 87 goats and sheep stolen from them several days ago.

The incident, which occurred on Aug. 24, was disseminated by Albanian media and reported to authorities in the neighbouring country.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.athensnews.gr

France says EU must back Greece if it shows progress


France says EU must back Greece if it shows progress
Reuters
MADRID (Reuters) - European leaders should show support for Greece at an October 19 EU summit if the crisis-hit country's conservative government shows commitment to move ahead with economic reforms, French President Francois Hollande said on ...

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Greek money abroad to be taxed

An agreement between Greek and Swiss leaders regarding the taxation of hidden Swiss accounts owned by Greeks is near completion. The ministry of finance hopes to gain 4-6 billion from the taxation of these accounts, according to To Vima.

The contract between Greece and Switzerland would be similar to agreements that Switzerland has signed with Germany, the United Kingdom, and other governments, according to German newspaper Der Spiegel.

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Samaras heralds progress

Greece must avert a return to the drachma currency, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told a meeting of his New Democracy (ND) party's political committee on Thursday, adding that the 'drachma lobby' is the rival of the country and the party.

He stressed the need for taking the painful 11.5 billion euro measures, and said that "this package will be the last".

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Merkel in Control Despite Allies' Greek Cacophony


ABC News

Merkel in Control Despite Allies' Greek Cacophony
ABC News
Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the Greeks to keep the euro. Her vice chancellor says it wouldn't be so bad if they abandoned the common currency. Another ally says Greece should leave the euro club within months. Merkel's image abroad may be that of ...

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Greek PM says new austerity round will be the last


euronews

Greek PM says new austerity round will be the last
Boston.com
Greek PM says new austerity round will be the last. AP / August 30, 2012. E-mail |; Print |; Reprints |. Text Size: –; +. E-mail. E-mail this article. To: Invalid E-mail address. Add a personal message:(80 character limit). Your E-mail: Invalid E-mail ...
Greek coalition leaders back outline of new austerity measures needed to stave ...Washington Post
Greek Budget Cut Plan Has Basically Been FinalizedWall Street Journal

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Greece's prime minister promises that new $14.4 billion austerity measures ...


Bradenton Herald

Greece's prime minister promises that new $14.4 billion austerity measures ...
Washington Post
ATHENS, GreeceGreece's prime minister has promised that a new round of painful austerity measures planned for the next two years will be the last for the recession-mired country. Antonis Samaras told a meeting of his conservative party's officials ...
Greece's Coalition Government Rushes for Agreement on CutsBusinessweek
Greece grinds onFinancial Times
Greece's Austerity Talks End Without AgreementLoanSafe
Bradenton Herald
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Greece to Meet Troika Heads


Greece to Meet Troika Heads
NASDAQ
ATHENS--Greece's Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras will meet the heads of a delegation of international inspectors on Sunday, as the country works on finalizing savings worth 13.5 billion euros ($16.94 billion) in time for the visit, a finance ...


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China's Wen calls for action on Europe debt

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed alarm Thursday about Europe's debt problems and called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and other reforms following a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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Merkel in control despite allies' Greek cacophony

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2012 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Prime Minister of Greece Antonis Samaras, right, shake hands after a joint news conference as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Merkel wants the Greeks to keep the euro. Her vice chancellor says it wouldn't be so bad if they abandoned the common currency. Another ally says Greece should leave the euro club within months. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the Greeks to keep the euro. Her vice chancellor says it wouldn't be so bad if they abandoned the common currency. Another ally says Greece should leave the euro club within months.



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Merkel in control despite allies' Greek cacophony





The chancellor still appears in control of the delicate balancing act she has performed for two years: to help struggling countries that accept tough budget cuts and reforms while convincing Germans she is defending their interests — and wallets.

Manfred Guellner, head of the Forsa polling agency, said that "people appreciate Merkel and in the end go along with her course" in hopes that the economic problems gripping much of Europe won't affect their lives.

The three-year-old coalition of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, its Bavarian sister, the Christian Social Union, and the pro-market Free Democrats has squabbled endlessly and inconclusively over issues as diverse as tax cuts, privacy laws and highway tolls.

Raising questions over Greece's future in the euro offers hopes of political gain to some in Germany's two junior coalition parties, which both face domestic political challenges, though Guellner cautioned that "no party in Germany has ever been able to score points with the euro and the issue of Europe."

The Free Democrats won nearly 15 percent of the vote in Germany's 2009 election, but have slumped to around the 5 percent needed to win seats in Parliament — a contrast with the solid ratings of Merkel's CDU, which consistently leads polls.

Just a day after Merkel asserted, while standing next to Greece's prime minister, that she wants Greece to stay in the eurozone and that others in the coalition do as well, CSU general secretary Alexander Dobrindt was quoted as telling the mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "there is no way past a Greek exit from the Eurozone."


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Greece Makes Late Push on Cuts

Greece's political leaders appeared close to agreeing on a package of austerity measures, with a deal expected before inspectors from its international creditors arrive in Athens next week.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

France offers to pick up tab for young hires

France’s President Francois Hollande, waves to the media during a joint statement with Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the Elysee Palace, Paris, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)The French government wants companies to hire young people so much that it's offering to pick up the tab.



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Greek leaders back austerity measures to stave off bankruptcy

Yannis Stournaras said officials from the three parties in the shaky, conservative-led coalition would hold further talks to settle remaining "technical" issues. "The basic scenario has been finalized, there are one or two minor issues that remain unresolved," Stournaras said after attending Samaras' meeting with the heads of the smaller Socialist PASOK and Democratic Left parties. The two-month-old government has...

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Greek Leaders Near Final Plan for Cuts

Greece's political leaders appeared close to agreeing on a package of austerity measures, with a deal expected before inspectors from its international creditors arrive in Athens next week.

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Press Watch, August 29

Can the queen of neo-liberalism be a bleeding heart liberal? Well, that’s what Angela Merkel would like us to think, at least if one is to believe the reports in the Athens press. The German chancellor is quoted in dailies as having said that, “My heart bleeds for Greece”.

The full quote reads, “One’s heart bleeds when one sees the cuts in public sector and private sector employees.

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Greece, Switzerland Near Deal on Tax Evasion Treaty


Greece, Switzerland Near Deal on Tax Evasion Treaty
Greek Reporter
After long negotiations, Greece and Switzerland are reportedly set to sign an agreement that would give the ailing Greek government access to information about accounts held in Swiss banks by Greek citizens. The document was detailed in the the German ...


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Greek coalition leaders back outline of new austerity measures needed to stave ...


AFP

Greek coalition leaders back outline of new austerity measures needed to stave ...
Washington Post
ATHENS, Greece — Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his junior coalition partners have reached a broad agreement on the latest round of spending cuts demanded by the country's creditors to keep vital rescue loans flowing, the country's finance ...
Greek leaders agree on new cuts but not how they fallReuters
Greek Budget Cut Plan Has Basically Been Finalized - Fin MinWall Street Journal
Greek coalition leaders debate new austerity driveSacramento Bee

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