The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 05-09-26

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From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] The Trophy Has Arrived in Greece Champions Arrive in Greece

By Vagelis Theodorou

Today, Greece welcomed the triumphant winners of Belgrade, who conquered the top of European basketball after prevailing over Germany with 78-62. Under the sweet sound of cheers and applause by the people who were holding Greek flags, the plane carrying Panagiotis Yannakis and his golden boys, the other members of the Greek delegation and of course the trophy, passed under a water arc, created by fire engines. Nikos Filippos was the first to get off, followed by the architect of the new Greek triumph, Panagiotis Yannakis. "These boys made us feel proud and ecstatic. Its amazing. They gave a big boost to basketball in no time. Now, we need to enjoy this beautiful moment and focus on hard work for the better," underlined the head coach. The last to get off the plane was captain Michalis Kakiouzis with the trophy in his hands. "This is dedicated to Greece and all the Greeks. We are happy to have made them proud and let the world know Greece can make it anywhere," said the captain of the Greek basketball team. Apart from the crowd of people, Deputy Sports Minister Giorgos Orfanos was also there to welcome the players.

Warm Welcome

With the Cup in hand, the Greek team entered the airport's VIP hall, where a brief ceremony was held. During the event, Mr Orfanos awarded to each of the members of the delegation a silver wreath.

Upon welcoming Greece's golden boys, Mr Orfanos declared, "On behalf of the Greek state and the PM, Kostas Karamanlis, I welcome the great winners. Those who have been sending a message to Europe for the last ten days, sealing it last night. They are the best, they are No 1."

"They set a target, they worked with consciousness, they fought until the last minute and they proved that collaboration can bring results. They sent a general message to the Greek community, while at the same time, our minds raced back to 1987, when Greece was first glorified," added the Deputy Sports Minister, who congratulated the Greek delegation once again.

On his part, the president of FIBA Europe, Giorgos Vasilakopoulos, stressed, "This day belongs to the boys and their coaches. On behalf of European basketball, we publicly congratulate the coaches and the players of the national team, because they deserved to win the title of European Champions."

At 1pm on Tuesday, the Greek Basketball team will meet with PM Kostas Karamanlis at Maximos Mansion.

Since Sunday night, Greece has been living through some great moments and the celebrations have not died down yet, while the international Press praised the Greek triumph. With this victory, the Greek team became the second country, following the Soviet Union, to simultaneously hold the title of European champion both in football and basketball. In addition, Panagiotis Yannakis became the only European to have won a gold medal both as a player and as a coach.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

Related News:

"Europe Belongs to Greece"

Expatriate Greeks Celebrate

Yannakis: "Indescribable Feelings"

Celebrations for the Gold

Congratulations

[02] Greek Team Makes Headline News

By Ilias Papaioannou

The valuable medals, the extreme weather conditions and the ambrosia of the Greek success were what inspired the majority of the front-page news in the Greek Press, as it tried to praise the triumphant second conquest of the European crown in the history of Greek basketball. Most of the newspapers made references to the moments that followed the award ceremony of the European Champions, which gave the signal to Greeks everywhere to storm the streets and celebrate until the early hours of the morning; the second time since Greeces success last year in Lisbon. However, the news of the Greek success also monopolised the front pages of the Cypriot Press, which joined in the celebrations.

Sweeping Victory by Greece

The Greek teams triumph at the European Basketball Championship made headline news in todays Athenian Press.

Adesmeftos Typos (Mitsi) does not seem to want to wake up from the dream, as it wrote, "We are the champions! 18 years later, Panagiotis Yannakis new group wowed Europe once again. 78-62 against Germany in the final." Eleftheros Typos boasts over this magical image, "Greece sits at the throne once again. Basketball at the top of Europe after 18 years."

Evidently influenced by the recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which swept through everything on their path, just like the Greek Basketball team, Vradynis title and article read, "Blue Hurricane. The Greek National Basketball team returns to its throne. Yannakis boys wrote history and intoxicated all the Greeks." The article in Apogevmatini was on the same wavelength, as it read, "Blue thunderstorm sweeps through Europe. 78-62: The Queen forced the Germans to bow to its superiority." The Thessaloniki Press also followed suit. "Hurricane Greece. National Team No 1 in Europe. It crushed Germany in the Eurobasket final with 78-62," it wrote. On the other hand, Eleftherotypia tried to relate this success to the Euro 2004 in football, as it wrote, "Golden Cup. Sweeping Greek team wins second European Championship."

And the praise continued in the front pages of the rest of the Greek newspapers. Ethnos claimed, "Another Greece shines. The National Basketball team defeated our national misery." Newspaper Nea spoke of a golden team. "12 Boys made of gold! Greece at the top of Europe once again," it wrote, while Metro boasted, "The Queen sits at her throne." In addition, Adesmeftos Typos (Rizos) wrote, "Everything is ours. Greek team becomes European Champion in basketball. The entire country celebrated the triumph over Germany by 78-62," while the City Press article read, "Eurobasket: Well done Greek team! It electrified the fans and revived the 1987 tradition. It conquered Germany by 78-62."

Finally, Espresso spoke of the lucky charms of the head coach, who became the first European athlete to win the title both as a player and as a coach. "The Dragons secret. Panagiotis Yannakis golden necklace, habits and lucky charms. Greece toyed with the Germans.

Greek Sports Press

The Greek teams historic victory over Germany, the Eurobasket conquest and the football news dominated the front pages of the sports newspapers.

"Queen of Europe," was the title of Protathilis main article, while it also wrote, "Magical night for Greece. It walked over Germany with 78-62." In other news, it mentioned, "Sollieds thoughts on the match against Real."

Sportime wrote on its article, "78-62 in the final against Germany was just the beginning for the 12 young dragons." In other news it mentioned, "Heroes welcome at 14:00 at Eleftherios Venizelos airport."

"The Big Blue," read the title in newspaper Sportday, which also wrote, "Walk in the park for the dragons boys, who won the gold with 78-62 over Germany in the final." In other news it wrote, "Oleg tamed Larissa. 1-0 for AEK in Alcazar."

"Worship them," appeared on the front page of Athlitiki Echo, which continued, "European Champions after toying with great Dirk Nowitzkis Germans." In other news it mentioned, "Darlas: Aiming at becoming established."

"Worthy," was the title in Fos ton Sport main article, which went on, "Dashing Greece becomes European Champion in basketball. It swept though the final, beating Germany by 78-62." The other title read, "Rivaldo goes crazy over match against Real."

The Greek National anthem appeared as the headline in newspaper Goal, while the article read, "Greece becomes European Champion again, again and again. Blue party in the final. 78-62 against Germany."

Newspaper Filathlos title read, "We got the Cup and we got crazy," and it continued, "78-62 against Germany in the final." In other sport news, it wrote, "AEKs golden victory in Larissa with average performance."

Cypriot Press

The majority of the Cypriot newspapers spoke of the Greek triumph. Simerini hosted an article entitled, "Greece becomes Queen of Europe," accompanied by a photo of the champions lifting the Cup.

The same photo also appeared on the front page of Fileleftheros, under the title "After the Euro, the Eurobasket."

Charavgi also printed a photo of the champions with their trophy and wrote, "They are No 1 in Europe."

Athens Arena

Many websites, as well as the Serbian Press, hosted laudatory comments about Greece winning the European Championship in basketball.

Front-page articles with titles including, "Golden Syrtaki," in Beogradska Arena, "Syrtaki in the Centre of the City," "Syrtaki at the Top of Europe," and "Arena Becomes Athens"

Most of the articles also wrote that Panagiotis Yannakis boys deserved to win the gold medal.

There was also a special on the behaviour of the Greek fans, who impressed everyone with the way they kept partying.

Furthermore, the Serbian Press also commented on the fact that the Serbian fans supported the Greek team, while the citizens of Belgrade embraced the Greek fans with "true feelings of love," as per newspaper Politika.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Related News:

Champions Arrive in Greece

"Europe Belongs to Greece"

Expatriate Greeks Celebrate

Celebrations for the Gold

Congratulations

[03] People at the Focus New Proposal for Self-Government

By Vicky Keleri

Party leader George Papandreou referred to PASOKs new proposal on Self-Government. In his opening statements during the Electoral Procedures Committee meeting, he stated, "We are aiming at a new direction for Self-Government; to submit a new proposal that would be based on radical changes, which respect the individuals and value the citizens. Referring to the people that PASOK will be backing in the upcoming municipal elections, he noted that they would be individuals with abilities, new ethos and values. As he clarified, they will be selected through deliberations with society, while the procedures will be transparent and democratic. "The individuals that PASOK will be choosing to back will be young people that will be able to carry the burden of the reforms and changes in Self-Government," he noted.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[04] PASOK and SYN Criticise the Government Dispute over the Deficit

By Vagelis Theodorou

Eurostats announcement, whereby Greeces public deficit for 2004 reached 6.6% of the GNP, while public debt increased to 103% of the GNP, triggered an intense political dispute. However, Economy Ministry circles are claiming that the deficit for 2004 will eventually range between 6.2% and 6.3% of the GNP, while in 2005, it will decrease to 3.6%. "The skyrocketing of the 2004 deficit, combined with the inability to draw up the 2005 Budget, lead to the conclusion that very tough times are ahead for the Greek people in the years to come," was mentioned in PASOKs announcement, which continued, "One year after Mr Karamanlis and Mr Alogoskoufis infamous fiscal inventory, Eurostat still grades ND with a fail, since it does not trust the data sent by the Government." Panagiotis Lafazanis, member of SYNs Political Secretariat, also harshly criticised the Government, as he spoke of "an unprecedented degree of alchemies and forgeries" in the Budgets of the last few years. He further added, "The Government is leading the country to explosive social cul-de-sacs, at a time when the assets of the few and the extreme profits of the big businesses continue proliferating."

PASOK's Heritage

"Today, Eurostat made absolutely clear that the reform of the deficits is a consequence of the hospital debts and the EU funding from 2001 to 2004, while a possible new reform may be prompted by the data relating to the social security accounts and the amounts due for the years 2002-2004, ie when PASOK was in office.

Both the remarks and the notes of the EU Statistical Service relate solely to the policies implemented by the former PASOK Governments. NDs Government remains set on its targets for fiscal cleansing and a new development direction for the country," was mentioned in the Economy Ministry announcement.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[05] Tataoulis: "Ministry Bears no Responsibility" Accident Triggers Disputes

By Tina Valaoura

Sources: �NA, ���, ��� 105.8

A special Experts Committee, which is being currently formed by the Culture Ministry, will be assigned with the responsibility of investigating the causes of the accident at the Akrotiti archaeological site on the Greek island of Santorini. The Committee will be made up of scientists from the National Technical University of Athens, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Technical Chamber, who will try to provide answers to the questions arising as to what led to the collapse of the fated shelter over the archaeological site, where one person was killed and another six were injured. At the same time, Greek Justice is also looking into attributing responsibilities. Three employees of the consortium that constructed the shelter were arrested, but were subsequently released, after the Naxos Prosecutor brought charges against them. Investigations for the arrest of another five people are continuing.

In the meantime, today, the matter triggered a political dispute between the Government and the Opposition. During a Press conference given by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Petros Tatoulis, the Minister made public all the information regarding the accident. He also stressed that no political responsibilities arise, since the body responsible for completing the construction work was the Archaeological Company. However, he spoke of erroneous technical choices by the former Culture Ministry leadership with regard to the administrative and execution model. Mr Tatoulis statements prompted reactions by PASOK. Maria Damanaki, who is responsible for the partys Education and Culture Sector, spoke of a provocative attempt by Mr Tatoulis to shift the blame to his predecessor, while Evangelos Venizelos described the Governments stance as "political cowardice."

Plethora of Errors by Former Government

During his Press conference this afternoon, Mr Tatoulis voiced his sorrow over the tragic development, stressing, "It was an extreme event, which will teach us a lesson in the future." Furthermore, he announced the formation of a special committee that would shed light into the causes. Meanwhile, he clarified that the body responsible for carrying out the work is the Athens Archaeological Company, which, on the one hand, has great experience in excavations, but, on the other, does no have a technical department. So, it assigned the administration to a private company. He also referred to a plethora of errors by the current Opposition; however, he asked that the tragedy does not get converted into a field of political exploitation.

As per Mr Tatoulis, the Akrotiri archaeological site on Santorini had been open from the commencement of the works in 2000 until November 2003, when it closed for three months in order to precipitate the works.

"As per the minutes of the Central Archaeological Councils meeting, which preceded the decision, there were no doubts whatsoever as to the safety of the site, but only a note that the place was not that inviting due to the construction works in place. The prospect of opening the site once again by Easter was also mentioned. In fact, it was reopened in April 2004, with some restrictions concerning routes, schedule and reinforcement of staff, and remained open until 30 September. Archaeologist Christos Doumas, though, voiced his reservations during that time, solely because the contractors had stopped working, due to lack of funding, and as a result, none of his crews were on site.

In June 2004, we secured an extra 20 million euros and the construction works recommenced immediately, without any more reservations being voiced. As the progress of the works started getting on track, in December 2004 and March 2005, Mr Doumas agreed for the site to reopen from 26 April to 30 September, setting relevant preconditions (schedule, routes, staff etc), which were followed," mentioned the Deputy Culture Minister.

The head of excavations, Professor Christos Doumas, was absent from the Press conference. Although he had been invited to attend by the Culture Ministry, he remained on Santorini, quoting professional reasons.

Reactions by PASOK

Mr Tatoulis statements prompted reactions by PASOK. In an announcement, Ms Maria Damanaki spoke of the existence of political responsibility, which Mr Tatoulis cannot be denying so lightly. "Without ever seeking the advice of the Central Archaeological Council, he decided that the site should open for the public twice, the first time being in 2004, in view of the Olympic Games," stated Ms Damanaki, who described the attempt to shift the responsibility to his predecessor, Evangelos Venizelos, as provocative, especially when the place was closed during the latters stint in office.

In his statements, Mr Venizelos spoke of political cowardice on the part of the Government, which is trying to hide behind the Mr Doumas and a scientific body, namely the Archaeological Company. Furthermore, he called on the PM and acting Culture Minister, Kostas Karamanlis, and Deputy Culture Minister Petros Tatoulis, to assume their responsibilities and secure the objective investigation of the accident.

Petros Tatoulis issued an announcement, as a response to the statements made by Venizelos and Damanaki. "PASOK continues to politically exploit this tragedy in order to cover its errors. The Akrotiri archaeological site had been open to the public from 1999, when the works commenced, until November 2003," mentioned the Depute Culture Minister, referring to Ministry documents and Central Archaeological Council decisions. "PASOKs selection and administration procedure for major technical cultural works opens a new chapter on corruption, which we do not want to approach during these tragic times [] The Opposition should at last demonstrate its maturity and not start a whole political game over a tragic incident that could have happened at any moment," concluded Mr Tatoulis.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

Related News:

Investigating the Causes

[06] Avramopoulos-Kefalogiannis Meeting Sea Travel at the Focus

By Vicky Keleri

Sources: ��� - ��� 105.8

Greek Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos met with Mercantile Marine Minister Manolis Kefalogiannis today, as part of a series of discussion with relevant ministers and bodies over the planning process for the new tourist season. The discussion focussed on significant matters relating to improving the quality and competitiveness of tourism. Furthermore, it was decided that committees need to be formed, which would look into improving the conditions in marinas, as well as other matters relating to sea travel.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[07] Ano Liossia Dump Closes as of Tuesday Refuse Dump under Lock

By Vagelis Theodorou

The collective actions over the transfer of sewage sludge form Psitallia to the Ano Liossia Hygienic Refuse Burial Area seem to have no end. The refuse dump will close down as of tomorrow, since the employees will proceed with work stoppages, protesting against the transfer of the sewage sludge. As the employees and the residents of Ano Liossia are claiming, an awful stench emanating from the sewage sludge is wafting over the area. On their part, EYDAP experts are noting that the stench is due to other factors and not the land application process for the sludge. In its announcement, the Municipality of Athens urged the citizens not to empty their rubbish for the next couple of days, in order to avoid any problems that might arise due to the temporary closure.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[08] In Paris and Normandy Arrests for Relations to Al Qaeda

By Annita Paschalinou

French authorities arrested seven people, who were planning attacks in France and are related to Al Qaeda. The seven suspects were arrested in Paris and Normandy as a result of the close cooperation between the antiterrorist and the intelligence services (DCRG). A man in custody in the French prison facilities was the key to tracking down the seven men, who are related to terrorist groups. This man had been released in 2003. The seven suspects were related to the Algerian Islamite group GSPC, which is affiliated to Al Qaeda. As per the authorities, it is certain they were planning to launch attacks in France, however their plan has not been yet revealed. France's top judge Jean Louis Bruguiere will question the seven men.

Translated by Sofia Soulioti

[09] Steady Post-Olympic Steps

By Tina Valaoura

Sources: ANA

Alternate Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia voiced her satisfaction over the successful completion of the first stage of expressions of interest for the long-term leasing of the Olympic sports facilities. "The plethora of offers submitted by major and respectable businesses undoubtedly prove the success of the model we followed," said Mrs Petralia, who also added that the offers would be assessed under complete transparency. "We are still aiming at improving the citizens quality of life, developing new business activities, creating new jobs and securing the necessary funds to keep and operate the facilities, without burdening the Greek taxpayers. We are moving ahead and implementing the post-Olympic plan with steady steps," she noted.

Translated by Vicky Ghionis

[10] First Three Points for PAOK

By Vasilis Kalpinos

PAOK performed better and defeated Aigaleo in Toumba on match day four of the Greek Football Championship. This was the teams first victory following two ties and a defeat. The two goals that gave PAOK their first three points were scored by Salpigidis in the 11 and Feutchine in the 19.

Within 20 Minutes

PAOK got off better. They vied for an early goal and within 20 minutes they did it. In the 11, Salpigidis raced down from the left side of the pitch, kicked the ball from the narrow angle and scored, while eight minutes later Feutchine gave his team a 2-0 lead. Later on, PAOKs players slowed down without creating opportunities to score. However, they had two more good chances, first in the 35 when Sidibe saved Karypidiss header, and in the 39, when Aigaleos African goalie turned Charalambous foul away for a corner.

In the rerun, Aigaleo tried to react and achieve something better. They saved Agritiss kick in the 57, Marics header in the 72 and Nikolopouloss shot in the 83, but Fernandez of PAOK managed to save his nets. Nothing changed and PAOK claimed the victory.

In the 88, Shikabala got injured and had to abandon the game leaving PAOK with ten players for around six minutes, since Kostikos had already proceeded with the three substitutions.

Referee: Vasileiou

Yellow Cards: Maric, Cezarec, Manousakis

Lineups:

PAOK: Fernandez, Karypidis, (87 Hasiotis), Udeze, Charalambous, Feutchini, Balafas (63 Iliadis), Zagorakis, Shikabala, Mieciel (70 Christodoulopoulos), Salpigidis.

Aigaleo: Sidibe, Papoutsis (52 Nikolopoulos), Edusei, Zapropoulos, Psomas, Maric, Tsatsos, Manousakis (79 Moustogiannis), Cezarec, Argitis (74 Popov).

Translated by Areti Christou

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