Blue Flag beaches
31st May 2006

Greece has the second-highest number of clean and well-maintained beaches out of the 40 countries
rated by the Blue Flag campaign in its annual awards, the results of which were made public yesterday.

The Denmark-based organization awarded Blue Flags to 404 Greek beaches (21 more than last year),
as they fulfilled 29 criteria, including those for water quality, environmental management and safety.
The campaign is run by the independent Foundation for Environmental Education, which is responsible
for inspecting thousands of beaches around the world. Spain topped this year’s list.
Among the Greek islands, Crete was found to have the greatest number of suitable beaches, gaining
92 Blue Flags.

Lassithi has been awarded blue flags at 38 beaches, the Prefecture of Hania 21 , Rethymnon prefecture
17, , while Heraklion has 16.

Meanwhile the clean up of Crete’s beaches is being organised by environmental organisations between
13th May and 10th June with schools and school children taking part.

Ekathimerini.com / Haniotika Nea

US Warplanes from carrier Enterprise turned back over Crete
27th May 2006

Stir was created on Friday evening when some 20 US warplanes took off from the aircraft carrier
Enterprise, which has been docked in Souda Bay, and flew north of Crete. Greek fighter jets were
immediately scrambled to intercept them, while a Greek Defence Ministry official communicated with the
US carrier’s captain and told him that the US warplanes were flying within the Athens FIR without
having submitted flight plans. The Athens-based US embassy announced that the US warplanes were
in contact with the Civil Aviation’s control towers and were ordered to return to the carrier upon the
Greek Defence Ministry’s request.

News.ert.gr

Suspect surrenders
27th May 2006

A 28-year-old man surrendered to authorities in Chania Crete yesterday after allegedly stabbing to
death Roman Paraskevopolous, aged 23, in Hania on May 3. The suspect told police he had been hiding
because he feared reprisal from the victim’s relatives. The suspect, of Georgian background, is expected
to face charges of homicide along with carrying and using a weapon

ekathimerini.com

Greek and Turkish Jets Collide Mid Air
23rd May 2006
Two F16 fighter jets collided Tuesday over the Aegean Sea near the island of Karpathos  - an area
where mock dogfights often occur over disputed airspace.
Greek helicopters and navy vessels are searching for the missing Greek pilot, while the Turkish airman
ejected and was rescued by a merchant ship.
A Greek military statement said the crash occurred at 12:45 p.m. (0945GMT), 38 kilometers (24 miles)
southeast of Karpathos, while a pair of Greek F-16s were intercepting two Turkish F-16s acting as
escorts to an R-F4 photo-reconnaissance plane.

The statement said the planes collided at 27,000 feet (8,200 meters) after the Turkish jets "violated air
traffic rules. They did not confirm a statement by Turkey's Foreign Ministry which said the Greek pilot
had been killed, saying he will be considered missing for at least 72 hours before being declared dead.

Both Greek and Turkish military chiefs and foreign ministers Dora Bakoyannis and Abdullah Gul spoke
shortly after the crash and Athens and Ankara said the accident would not escalate tensions between
the two rivals.
The Greek jet was based at Souda Air Force base, Chania, Crete.
Reuters

Temperatures Soar
Sunday 21st May

Temperatures reached 31oC degrees yesterday and today, and are set to soar higher on Wednesday
& Thursday as warm air from the coast of North Africa will be blowing across Crete, taking temperatures
up to 36 o C.  Friday will see temperatures take a 10 degree C drop, to around 26 o C -  a more
average May temperature.

FOREIGNERS IN GREECE
More than 6 percent rise in 14 years
20th May 2006

The number of foreigners living in Greece rose sharply from 1990-2004, according to Eurostat, which
said yesterday that 8.1 percent of the population are non-Greeks. The figure in 1990 stood at 1.4
percent. The majority of new residents come from Albania, the EU statistics bureau added, as Greece
recorded one of the highest population increases of foreigners in the EU.
Ekathimerini.com

Ferry fares deregulated
18th May 2006

The government yesterday announced that it would lift controls on ferry prices on routes from six ports
to the Aegean Islands and Corfu. In response, ferry operators, who still feel that market liberalization
has not gone far enough, immediately announced discount packages.
Restrictions on ferry fees are lifted on the following routes:

- From Piraeus to Agios Nikolaos (Crete), Agistri, Aegina, Iraklion, Santorini, Icaria, Ios, Kalymnos, Kos,
Milos, Myconos, Lesvos, Naxos, Paros, Poros, Rethymnon, Rhodes, Salamina, Samos, Siteia, Sifnos,
Spetses, Syros, Tinos, Hydra, Hania and Chios.

The liberalization is conditional on at least two companies being active on each route and a minimum
annual traffic of 300,000 passengers. Subsidized routes remain regulated.
The move follows recent protests by ferry operators who have criticized the government for dragging
its feet on liberalization and have threatened to moor their ships if the government does not fully
implement EU law.
Ferry operators responded yesterday by saying that, while a positive development, the circular does
not go far enough in adopting the EU Directive 3577/1992.
They said they would also like to see the abolition of charges in favor of third parties, which account for
over 20 percent of fares, and the obligation for ferries to operate 10 months each year.
The truce between the ministry and the ferry operators may not last long: at their first meeting, on May
24, the ferry operators’ association (EEA) will discuss whether the government is sincerely aiming for
full market deregulation.
Ferries are a vital lifeline for the country’s 600,000 islanders and are a critical transport means for the
millions of tourists who flock to the white-washed villages and sunny Greek islands in the Aegean and
Ionian seas each year. Earlier this month, ferry operators had announced they would hike prices
unilaterally without waiting for government approval.

Ferry operator Hellenic Seaways has already announced discount packages, with discounts ranging
from 10 percent for frequent passengers to 50 percent for retired seamen, large families and people
with special needs. “Liberalization will bring lower fares,” said Hellenic Seaways Chairman Gerasimos
Strintzis. (Kathimerini/Reuters)


Greeks’ purchasing power is far lower than the EU average
17 may 2006

The average salary of Greeks employed in industry and services reached 14,518 euros in 2002, far
below the European Union average of 23,638 euros, according to a Eurostat survey conducted every
four years. Greece stands below Cyprus (18,841 euros) and Spain (16,457 euros), but above Portugal
(9,735 euros) and Slovenia (9,040 euros). Measured in Purchasing Power Parities (PPP), the gross
income of Greeks in industry and services came to 17,393 PPPs, against an EU average of 23,190 PPPs.
The EU statistical service’s data shows there are no major differences across Greek regions in gross
salaries both in euros and in PPPs.
ekathimerini.com

Moderate quake in Aghios Nikolaos
16 May 2006

An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale shook Aghios Nikolaos, northeastern Crete,
yesterday, but there were no reports of injuries or damages. The tremor struck at 7.22 a.m. and its
epicenter was in an undersea area off Aghios Nikolaos


Illegal Renting of Properties to Tourists
11th May 2006

The Association of Hotel Owners in Hania have called on Chania Council to take steps to stop the illegal
renting of accommodation to tourists. “In the last five years there has been a huge increase in the
building and selling of property, particularly to buyers from outside of Greece. This phenomenon
generally helps the national economy, but it also clearly takes away customers from the hotel owners,
which we cannot disagree with, except that many of these properties are rented illegally by foreign
owners to tourists, without EOT licences. This means it is illegal income and no taxes are paid. We ask
that the council take steps to ensure that these illegal rents are stopped “.
Haniotika Nea

Vamos calls for more police officers.
11th May 2006

Vamos council in Apokoronas, Chania have once again called for more police officers to be stationed
locally as break-ins and petty thefts are increasing in the area, particularly in houses which are
unoccupied  -  mostly foreign owned holiday homes.
The Mayor of Vamos, Stelios Michelakis has been requesting extra police officers since 2004, to no avail.
Haniotika Nea

Drugs Bust in Hania
11th May 2006
Two undercover policemen from the narcotics squad in Hania arrested two young men in Vamvakopoulo
last night as the men tried to sell 2 kilos of hashish for 8,000 euros to the undercover officers.
According to  police the two men, aged 23 and 24 years had bought the hashish in Mulopotamos,
Rethymnon for 6,000 euros and had agreed to give the cash when they had sold it on. Police had been
following the suspects.
Haniotika Nea.

Bank Hackers
10th May 2006
Three Greeks who broke bank customers’ online passwords and transferred money from their accounts
to associates in Russia have been arrested, police said yesterday. The three men, from Heraklion,
Athens and Corinth ,hacked into the accounts of several customers from Alpha Bank and the National
Bank of Greece. Officers did not reveal how much money the men had allegedly transferred from the
accounts but said that a percentage of the loot was wired to other suspects in Russia, where officers
think the operation initiated.
www.ekathimerini.com

Greeks snap up loans
Credit growth hits 30 percent as 60,000 loan holders stagger under debts
9th May 2006

Greek households snapped up home and consumer loans at a fast pace in the first two months of 2006
as credit growth jumped by about a third, according to Bank of Greece (BoG) data released yesterday,
while more than 60,000 loan holders are struggling under the weight of their debts.
The Bank of Greece, the country's central bank, said in a report that at the end of February, Greeks
owed financial institutions 71.3 billion euros, 30 percent more than in the same period a year earlier.
Mortgages shot up 33.6 percent, in comparison with the same period a year earlier, reaching 47 billion
euros.
Consumer credit also grew strongly, rising by 28 percent to 22.6 billion euros.
The BoG has repeatedly called on banks to be more stringent in issuing loans as signs appear that
Greek households are starting to have problems in paying money back to lenders.
The 60,000 loan holders that are having repayment problems have delayed those payments for more
than three months and owe a total of 3.3 billion euros, the BoG added.
About 6.3 percent of Greek households delayed their loan payments in 2005 while the respective figure
in the 12-member eurozone is a lower 3.6 percent.
About half of the delayed repayments on loans come from Greeks who have taken out a mortgage,
while the remaining delayed repayments are from households that have consumer loans.
www.ekathimerini.com

Political rule
7th May 2006

Greeks are far more obsessed with domestic politics than the average European, according to a survey
for the European Union made public yesterday. The Eurobaromater poll showed that 61 percent of
Greeks were “very interested” in their country’s politics compared to an EU average of just 19 percent.
That fascination with the domestic political scene may also explain why only one in 10 Greeks said they
ventured outside the country’s borders during the previous 12 months, compared to 37 percent of
respondents from other EU countries who said they had traveled abroad during that period.
www.ekathimerini.com

Fatal stabbing  in Nea Hora, Chania
4th May 2006

One 20 year old  man was fatally stabbed and another beaten in an attack in a park in the Nea Hora
area of Chania at around 8 pm last night.  According to information received by the police, 5 Russian
ponti attacked the  two men from Georgia, who were sitting on a park bench.  The suspects were
arrested and taken to Chania central police station.  It is not yet clear as to the cause of the crime, and
whether there were any personal differences between the men, although this is thought to be the case.
At the time of the crime many local residents who live around the small park heard  the shouting.  It has
become a common meeting place for  immigrants to gather, and residents say they gather there from
morning till night  drinking and playing cards.  
The residents are now asking for police patrols at the park.
Translated from the Haniotika Nea

Strikes strikes strikes
4th May 2006

Once again workers in Greece are threatening strike action over the next two weeks.
The General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) said yesterday that its members who work at public
utilities and banks will go on a 24-hour strike on Wednesday  May 10th.  The action has been called to
defend labour and social security rights and to protest against the government’s planned reforms for
public utilities.

Meanwhile the Coastal Shipowners Union has announced that all ferries will remain docked on Tuesday
May 16th, which will leave a number of passengers stranded and islands temporarily cut off from their
normal source of supplies.

The ferry companies want complete liberalization of their market so they can set ticket prices as they
see fit. So far, fares have only been partly liberalized. Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis
has stressed that there will be no liberalization for routes that are subsidized by the state and which
serve remote islands.

The coastal ship owners argue that without the freedom to price tickets as they see fit heading into the
summer season, they will not be able to develop their business, attract investors and build new ships.
As a result, the EEA decided yesterday that its members should go ahead and free up their market on
their own. This move is likely to have an immediate impact on economy-class ticket prices and lead to a
showdown with the government.
www.ekathimerini.com


Driver drowns
28th April 2006
A 40-year-old man drowned in Rethymnon  yesterday when he drove off a sea wharf. Rescue teams
pulled the man out of the vehicle about 30 minutes after the incident. The circumstances of the incident
were unclear.
www.ekathimerini.com

Easter Fireworks prove too explosive
24th April 2006

At least eight people around Greece were injured, including two teen-
agers in danger of losing their hands, by fireworks over the Easter weekend, police said on Sunday.
In the most serious incident, a 17-year-old in a village near Iraklion, Crete  had his fingers severed
after he set light to a homemade firework. The teenager was flown to the KAT Hospital in Athens so
surgeons could try to restore his fingers.
Millions of fireworks are traditionally let off to mark the resurrection of Christ, but it is illegal to sell
pyrotechnics without a license. Police said they had arrested 179 people and seized some 1.5 million
fireworks of various types since the beginning of March
www.ekthimerini.com

Rubbish Strike to End?
8th April 2006

A strike by municipal workers which began on Thursday and has resulted in the suspension of rubbish
collections throughout Greece, may continue next week, unionists said yesterday. The heads of the
municipal workers’ union POE-OTA are due to meet tomorrow to discuss whether to extend their strike
for another 48 hours.
Tons of rubbish are lying around on the streets of Crete as bins are overflowing, and with the strong
winds of yesterday much of it has been strewn across roads and fields.


Fires across Crete
8th April 2006

A fire raged in western Crete at Deres yesterday, and spread quickly across hundreds of acres, fanned
by the strong south winds. At one point the village of Limni was under threat.  According to witnesses a
local farmer was burning branches in his field, but the bonfire quickly became out of control in the
strong wind.
The fire brigade were also called to 12 other smaller fires in the Hania  region on the same day.
Recent high temperatures and little rain in the last month has left the land somewhat dry for this time
of year.

Clouds of sand dust over Crete again
7th April 2006

Strong south winds from Africa of  8 – 9  Beaufort  brought sand dust clouds to Crete today, reducing
visibility like fog. The afternoon Aegean Airlines flight attempted to land 3 times at Hania airport, but
visibility was  so bad that it failed and had to return to Athens


Worker killed
7th April 2006

A construction worker was killed and another was injured in Rethymon  yesterday. The two workers,
both foreign nationals, were conducting restoration work when the building’s roof caved in and crushed
them. Firefighters freed them from the debris, authorities said.
www.ekathimerini.com

Priest Murder
7th April 2006

A 73-year-old priest found dead in his home in the yard of a church in Halepa, Hania where he had
preached for more than 20 years was suffocated by one or more attackers who also beat him.
Panayiotis Vozinakis died shortly after midnight on Sunday 2nd April, according to a coroner who said
the assailants had probably used a cushion.
Police have since arrested three young men aged 22, 28 & 29 years who have confessed to killing
Father Vozinakis. The three local men are believed to be drug users and petty thieves, whom the priest
had helped in the past.  The men say they broke into his house at 3am and tied up the priest, in order
to rob the house. They placed cushions over his face to keep him from calling out, but ultimately he
suffocated.  The murder has shocked local residents.


Shooting in Anogeia
6th April 2006

An argument outside a school in Anogeia, Rethymnon turned to tragedy yesterday.  A 21 year old was
apparently repeatedly driving past the local high school at high speed. A 24 year old man confronted
the driver, who when stopped took out a gun and shot at his confronter, shooting him in the head and
also wounding a 16 year old boy.
The driver later turned himself in at Rethymnon police station, and admitted to shooting a 16-year-old
boy and 24-year-old man on Wednesday, but said that he was attacked first. The 24 year old was in
hospital in critical condition yesterday. Police have been patrolling the area of Anogeia, where the
incident occurred, because of fears of reprisals.


OTE cuts leasing fees for ADSL service providers
6th April 2006

Main Greek Telecoms provider OTE has cut prices on high-speed lines leased to its rivals in a bid to
expand the broadband market, which has the lowest penetration in Europe. Annual rental charges for
the lines, which are normally used for broadband services by fixed-line carriers and Internet service
providers, will be cheaper by 2.4 to 57.9 percent starting April 3, OTE said yesterday. “The new
discounts on high-speed leased lines significantly reduce the cost of high-speed data transfer, thus
contributing to the development of broadband in Greece,” it added. The country’s largest Telecoms
operator is keen to increase the take-up of high-speed broadband ADSL services to offset the erosion
of its core voice traffic as users migrate to other carriers and to mobile telephony companies. At about 2
percent, Greece’s ADSL penetration is the lowest in Europe, which has an average of 29 percent.
Analysts expect penetration to rise to 25 percent by 2010. The government plans to invest 184 million
euros this year to boost broadband use to 7 percent of the population by 2008. (Reuters)


Million-euro heist in Crete
1st April 2006

Police launched a manhunt on Crete yesterday after armed robbers held up an armored truck and made
off with an estimated 1.25 million euros in one of the biggest heists of its type to take place in Greece.
The truck had been transporting cash on behalf of ATEbank to fill cash machines at various branches
around the island. It was stopped at 1 p.m. in the area of Anogeia near Rethymnon. The driver and a
guard aboard the truck said that a car pulled in front of them and a man smashed the truck’s
windscreen with a sledgehammer while other robbers shot at the vehicle.
One of the attackers made it into the truck and drove it some 10 kilometers before forcing the driver
and guard out. After a spate of armored truck robberies around Greece recently, police chiefs had
asked banks not to transport large amounts of cash
www.ekathimerini.com


Slipped away
31st March 2006

Police in southwest Crete said yesterday that thieves had broken into the warehouse of a farming
cooperative in the area of Selino and made off with some eight tons of olive oil worth 25,000 euros. In
the latest of a string of similar incidents, the thieves used a crowbar to break the lock on the
warehouse gate and loaded the oil onto a truck. Based on the trail of oil that the thieves left behind,
officers believe the suspects headed toward the village of Temenia.
www.ekathimerini.com

Chania Airport Opens 24hours
26th March 2006

From today Chania airport will be open 24 hours a day, for the summer season. It is the first time that
night flights will be allowed into the airport - previously the airport closed between midnight and 6 am
and no flights were allowed to land or take off during this time.

Successor to OA is taking shape
20th March 2006

Olympic Airlines, Greece’s troubled national carrier, is to be replaced by a completely stripped-down
airline which will be called Pantheon Airways, according to a business plan which has been prepared by
the government and was seen by Sunday’s Kathimerini.

The new carrier will be shorn of all its subsidiaries such as ground handling, and will focus only on
actual flights. Pantheon’s first flight is slated for October 26 this year.

Under the plan, prepared by Sabre Airline Consulting, the new airline will employ less than 2,200
people compared to the 6,200 currently working at OA.

The new hirings will have to go through an application process, similar to any private company, and will
not be cherry-picked from Olympic.

The Greek state will be the main shareholder in the new airline but Deputy Finance Minister Petros
Doukas is compiling a list of private investors interested in obtaining a share of Pantheon. The
European Commission was given a copy of the business plan and has allowed Doukas until the end of
the month to present the list of interested parties.

Last September, the Commission sealed OA’s fate by ordering the airline to return up to 700 million
euros in illegal state aid.

Pantheon will operate a reduced schedule, flying to 92 destinations (26 fewer than Olympic) and less
frequently than its predecessor.

www.ekathimerini.com

Son  in murder case released on bail
17th March 2006

Ryan Johnson, the 32 year old son of the  British couple murdered in Crete last week  has been
released on bail.  Relatives voiced delight at his release, saying it was the best news they had had in a
very bad week. A great-uncle had agreed to raise the €20,000 (£14,000) bail, they said.
Ryan claims he is innocent  and his  family, including his parents’ brothers, are backing him and have
flown out to Crete to support him.

With the inquiry still under way he remains a suspect, and must remain on the island.

Strike Action to Paralyze Greece
14th March 2006

Tomorrow will be a taxing day for most people, as a 24-hour general strike, called by two of the country’
s main labor unions, promises to cripple public transport, disrupt flights and disable public sector
services.

Olympic Airlines has said it will be conducting just one flight per destination.

Ferry services will be disrupted between 8 a.m. and noon, when seamen are to stage a work stoppage.

Many employees at private sector and state-controlled enterprises, such as energy company PPC, post
offices, OTE Telecom and ports are also expected to participate in the strike.

Schools across the country will be closed and hospitals will be operating on skeleton staff as teachers
and doctors join the action.

State and private television schedules will also be disturbed as workers walk off the job between 11 a.
m. and 5 p.m.

Tomorrow’s action has been called by the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) and the Civil
Servants’ Union (ADEDY), who are protesting the erosion of labor rights and calling for a collective labor
agreement.

www.ekathimerini.com

British Couple Murdered in Almirida, Chania
13th March 2006

Terry Johnson, 54, and his wife, Josephine, 53, were found dead on Sunday, a few days after they
moved into their dream villa. The bodies were  found in their home by their 32 year old son Ryan, who
lived with them.  Ryan told police he returned home from a bar in the early hours of Sunday but
assumed his parents would be asleep, so did not check their room until he woke up.   Manolis
Michalodimitrakis, the coroner, said that Terry Johnson had suffered three stab wounds to the throat
and blows to the head, and had been strangled. The cause of death was listed as death by
haemorrhage and asphyxiation. His wife had been strangled.  
Police chief Stelios Vardambasis said: "Ryan Johnson has been kept for further questioning. There are
gaps and contradictions in his testimony."   The 32-year-old son of the couple  has now been charged  
with murder and he  is due to appear in court on Tuesday. He has been visited by a representative of
the British Consulate.

Kostas Vardiambasis, a senior police officer, described the crime as “the most gruesome murder of
foreign residents in Cretan history”. The killings have shocked the foreign community in Crete.

More Strikes on the way
9th March 2006

The Civil Servants Union (ADEDY) and teachers will stage a 24 hour strike on Wednesday 15th March  
over pay demands.

End of the road for Greece’s highways
9th March 2006

The news that Greece has one of Europe’s most dangerous road networks is, unfortunately, old news.
But a press conference held yesterday by the road safety observatory of the Technical Chamber (TEE)
showed that the reality is in fact even gloomier than that.

In 2001, Greece ranked at the bottom of road safety tables among the old 15 EU members, meaning it
had the highest mortality rates from road accidents. Now Greece occupies last place on the table
among the present EU25.

Greece’s Technical Chamber estimates that even if all the measures announced by the various
governments in the past were implemented successfully, Greece would still fall short of the road safety
standards of the more developed European nations.

The primary cause of the scourge is the poor condition of Greek roads. Most Greeks have personal
experience with this, but it is still shocking to hear TEE, the competent authority of Greek engineers,
charging that the country is so sorely lacking in road regulations and standards that project studies
and their construction are often deficient.

“Intersections designed for the regions, prefectures and municipalities are not just wrong, but in many
cases are dangerous as well,” the observatory report said

www.ekathimerini.com


Greek Parliament holds special session on women's day, 8th March.

A special session dedicated to women was held in Parliament on Wednesday on the occasion of the
completion of half a century since Greek women won the right to vote.

All the political leaders, having first made a historic review of women's gains, both in the world and in
the Greek scene, noted the need for further steps to be made for the consolidation of equality and
equal treatment between the two genders.
www.ana.gr

More women jobless in Greece than EU norm
7th March 2006

The gender pay gap between men and women in Greece has narrowed recently, yet unemployment
among women is still higher than the European Union average, according to data released yesterday.
A report from Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union, showed that the jobless rate among
women in Greece is currently at 15.5 percent compared to 9.6 percent in the 25-nation bloc.
The difference is attributed partly to the fact that more part-time jobs are generally available in other
EU countries.
Recent data shows that Greek women were paid 10 percent less than their male counterparts in 2004
as opposed to 13 percent in 1999.
Greeks are also having less children that their EU peers. The Greek birth rate hovers at 1.29 children
per woman compared to the EU average of 1.5, the report said.
www.kathimerini.com

Ferry Strike
19th February 2006
All Greek passenger ferries are laid up in ports across the country as seamen go on a nationwide strike.
A 48 hour strike on Thursday 16th Feb was extended for another 48 hours yesterday, until Monday
morning.  The seamen’s union was unmoved by Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis’s
response to their demands, which include higher pensions, measures to tackle unemployment in their
sector and a new collective labour agreement. Seamen also object to legislation foreseeing the creation
of private merchant marine academies

Crete News in English – Daily
February 2006
Local Cretan TV channel, “Kydon”  have a new news programme in English, broadcast Monday to Friday
at 6.30pm.

Crete Airport improvements.

Chania airport is to be extended, and a study will be carried out throughout 2006. In 2007 the airport
will be open 24hours a day and night flights will be allowed. Currently no flights are allowed to land or
depart from Chania between midnight and 6a.m.

Meanwhile Heraklion is to get a new International Airport in the area of Kastelli, Heraklion. The current
airport has inadequate facilities and is very close to residential areas. The new airport is expected to
take 8 years to build, opening in 2013, at a cost of 1.1 billion Euros.


Earthquake Damage
1st February 2006

The first analysis of damages caused to public and private buildings in the prefecture of Chania from the
strong earthquake of the 8th January, has been reported by civil engineers.

To date 357 homes have been examined, with another 500 on the list. Most of the recorded damage is
in the old town of Chania. Of 149 houses examined in the old town, 45 are listed as being “temporarily
unfit’ and 16 as “dangerous”. Those judged as temporarily unfit can be restored to their original state
with some re-inforcements, while the “dangerous’ buildings must be demolished.. Most of the houses in
the “dangerous” category are uninhabited and abandoned, and had problems before the earthquake.

Of the public buildings and schools that have been examined, 13 schools were found to be “temporarily
unfit”, none “dangerous”. These schools have been temporarily re-housed in other buildings while work
is underway to repair them.  Public buildings of historic and archaeological importance were also
examined by civil engineers, and 10 of those were found to be “temporarily unfit”, including the “Neoria’
building which is used to house cultural events and this will remain closed during the summer of 2006
for extensive repairs.


Baby Trafficking
30th January 2006

Heraklion police arrested a 47 year old Bulgarian woman yesterday and her 25 year old daughter who
were trying to sell a 20 day old baby boy.  Police had been tipped off and undercover police offices
posed as potential buyers for the baby. The 47 year old, Grandmother of the baby, and the 25 year old,
Mother of the baby, asked for 20,000Euros, but the detective, pretending he was a desperate father,
bargained down the price to 16,000 Euros.

Police believe the Grandmother is involved in a trafficking ring. Another young Bulgarian woman, 8
months pregnant, was discovered at her home, along with 2 other young women. The authorities are
also looking into the role of a Bulgarian man, who lives in Hania but comes and goes to the Heraklion
house.



Venizelos Museum

The home of the Great Statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, in Halepa, Chania, is to be turned into a
museum. The house was built in 1877 and Venizelos lived at least half of his life there. In 2002 the
‘National Foundation Eleftherios K. Venizelos’ bought the house with the aim of transforming it into a
museum. A study of the building has been made and the first estimates of costs is 1,700,000 Euros.
One third of this cost has been promised by the Greek Parliament.

Much of the original furniture, along with photographs, remain in the house and the Foundation’s goal
is to collect, through donations and by buying, artifacts and works of art related to Eleftherios Venizelos
and the history of that era.


Ski Lessons for Chania Children.

The Chania Mountaineering Club organised their first ski lessons for children over the weekend of 21/22
January, by the Kallergi refuge in the White Mountains. Over the rest of the winter period the lessons
will continue each weekend taking up to 16 children each time. There has been a huge response so far.


Winter Sales Start Today
Monday 23rd January 2006

The winter sales officially start today in Greece and shops will be offering bargains for the next five
weeks. The sales in Greece are monitored by the government, who announce the starting date each
year.  The Development Ministry said that inspectors will be checking shops to see whether the sales
are genuine and to catch retailers using the discounts as an excuse to dump inferior-quality products.

Climber killed in Lasithi
23 January 2006

A member of a climbing party that was attempting to scale a mountain in eastern Crete under difficult
conditions was killed, though his three companions were rescued after an operation lasting more than
nine hours, police said yesterday.

The unnamed 42-year-old fell to his death during an ascent of Afendis Christos in Lasithi, officers said.
His group set off from the Limnakaros plateau on Saturday but made a call for help the same afternoon.

Local police, the fire brigade and the EMAK rescue team were alerted and launched an operation to
save the climbers. Rescuers reached the three stranded men at around 4 a.m. yesterday and helped
them to safety. The body of the fourth climber was collected and taken to a local coroner who was to
conduct an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death

www.ekathimerini.com

6.9 Quake off Crete
9th Jan 2006
An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, one of the most powerful ever to strike Greece, was
felt yesterday at lunchtime all around the country and as far afield as Israel, causing damage on the
islands of Kythera and Crete but, remarkably, no serious injuries or deaths.

The quake struck at lunchtime, around 1.30pm.  The tremor’s epicenter was  in the seabed east of
Kythera, just North of Chania.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake occurred 70 kilometers below the sea, some 30
kilometers east of Kythera.

“We were very lucky this quake happened underwater,” said the head of the institute Giorgos
Stavrakakis. “If it had happened on land it would be a mess. The fact that it was deep in the sea saved
us.” There were several aftershocks, which did not cause any problems.

In Chania the quake was felt very strongly and people rushed out of their homes into the streets.
Some buildings in the old town of Chania sustained minor  damage, including the collapse of a wall at
one of the main cafes on the harbour front. All schools in Chania were closed  Monday  for inspections,
and it has been announced that 9 schools have been declared unsafe and will remain closed.
Alternative arrangements will be made for pupils of these schools while further tests and repairs are
carried out on the buildings.  The earthquake also caused damage to the new Chania hospital; a large
crack appeared in one of the walls but it has been declared safe by civil engineers.

The quake was felt in southern Italy, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus and parts of the Balkans


Cretan tension after killing
3/1/06

Police in Rethymnon  were yesterday bracing for a possible outbreak of inter ethnic tension following
the fatal stabbing of an Albanian youth by a group of Greeks on New Year’s Day.
The 17-year-old Albanian died in hospital after being knifed 17 times by a group of seven Greeks, led by
an 18-year-old army conscript and his 40-year-old father, police said. The conscript was charged with
murder and the other six with complicity.
The seven are alleged to have attacked the youth after breaking into his home in the port’s old town
shortly after an altercation between some Greeks and Albanians outside a bar early on Sunday.
Officers were on standby yesterday after around 200 Albanians staged a protest before accompanying
the victim’s coffin to a ferry waiting to take him to Tirana for burial. By late yesterday, there were no
reports of any violence.
It was unclear what triggered the clash that led to the boy’s death but police said it was probably past
differences.
www.ekathimerini.com

Reforms go into action
2//1/06

Greeks can expect to see more reforms being implemented this year, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis
said in his New Year’s Eve address after saying he was pleased with the structural changes that his
government introduced in 2005.

“The year 2006 will be a decisive one. It will be a year when changes and reforms will be stepped up,”
said Karamanlis as he looked back on the 12 months during which his government undertook a number
of economic and labor reforms. The ruling conservatives passed legislation to introduce more flexible
work hours, reduce the cost of overtime, reform the bank pensions system, extend shopping hours and
end jobs for life at public utilities. “The year 2005 will stand as a landmark year for major structural
reforms. Bold changes everywhere, especially in the wider public sector, signal a new beginning for the
country,” said the premier

An amendment to a legislative proposal to allow the right to cremation, which is forbidden by the
Orthodox Church in Greece, was submitted in parliament yesterday.
According to the amendment the non-existence of cremation centers in Greece violates citizens’
constitutionally protected right to religious freedoms.

The EU’s executive body on Thursday submitted a proposal for the creation of a “Single Payments Area”
by 2010. The aim is to make cross-border payments, including credit cards, as easy, cheap and secure
as national payments within one member state. Currently each member state has its own rules on
payments.
This means that using a credit or debit card or any other form of money transfer within EU member
countries should not incur more charges than a similar transaction within the same country.

This will apply to the entire EU and not just the eurozone, where the proposed directive will apply the
rules for bank transfers to all payment methods. With the creation of the single payments area,
Brussels is expecting to save between 50 and 100 billion euros per year and to bolster competition
among credit institutions in favor of the consumer
                  Copyright 2004-2008  Carol Palioudaki. Latest News in Crete & Greece.   www.livingincrete.net
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