Salon.com > Menelaos Hadjicostis

Protesters clash with riot police in Athens strike

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Riot police fired tear gas at youths hurling rocks near the Greek finance ministry Tuesday, trying to quell the anger unleashed by a general strike as parliament debated new cost-cutting measures.

The latest austerity measures must pass in two parliamentary votes Wednesday and Thursday if Greece is to receive bailout funds from the EU and the IMF to stave off a possible default in July. If the votes don't pass, Greece could become the first eurozone nation to default on its debts, sending shock waves through the global economy.

The clashes with police came at the start of a two-day strike called by unions furious that the new euro28 billion ($40 billion) austerity program will slap taxes on minimum wage earners and other struggling Greeks. The measures come on top of other spending cuts and tax hikes that have sent Greek unemployment soaring to over 16 percent.

"The situation that the workers are undergoing is tragic and we are near poverty levels," said Spyros Linardopoulos, a protester with the PAME union blocading the port of Piraeus. "The government has declared war and to this war we will answer back with war."

Greek PM faces huge pressure with austerity vote

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:20:20 +0000

One vote down, a tougher one ahead: The Greek government survived a confidence vote Wednesday but has barely a week to get new austerity measures passed by parliament to avoid a potential default.

European leaders breathed a sigh of relief but kept up the pressure on Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who faces a vote June 28 to push though more spending cuts, tax hikes and asset sales. Still, fearing the financial chaos that any Greek default would ignite, EU leaders promised Papandreou additional funds to help the shrinking Greek economy to get back on its feet.

Greece's creditors, particularly its partners in the 17-country eurozone, are demanding that Papandreou get parliamentary approval for euro28 billion ($40.24 billion) in budget cuts and new taxes and for a euro50 billion ($72 billion) sell-off of government assists by the end of June. Only then will they hand over euro12 billion ($17 billion) in bailout funds that Greece needs to avoid bankruptcy in mid-July.

A default could drag down Greek and European banks, endanger the finances of other weak eurozone countries such as Portugal, Ireland and Spain, and spark financial uncertainty across world markets.

Cairo airport a scene of chaos as foreigners flee

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion Monday as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

Nerves frayed, shouting matches erupted and some passengers even had a fistfight as thousands crammed into Cairo airport's new Terminal 3 seeking a flight home. The airport's departures board stopped announcing flight times in an attempt to reduce tensions -- but the move backfired, fueling anger over canceled or delayed flights.

Making matters worse, check-in counters were poorly staffed because many EgyptAir employees had been unable to get to work due to a 3 p.m.-to-8 a.m. curfew and traffic breakdowns across the Egyptian capital.

"It's an absolute zoo, what a mess," said Justine Khanzadian, 23, a graduate student from the American University of Cairo who was among those waiting at the airport for hours to leave Egypt. "I decided to leave because of the protests, the government here is just not stable enough to stay."

Suspect in Russian spy ring vanishes in Cyprus

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:10:00 +0000

An alleged member of a Russian spy ring that authorities say operated under deep cover in America's suburbs vanished in Cyprus on Wednesday, a day after being released on bail.

The man, who had gone by the name Christopher Metsos and was wanted in the U.S. on charges he supplied money to the spy ring, had been arrested Tuesday in the Mediterranean island nation as he tried to board a flight for Budapest, Hungary.

On Wednesday, after a Cypriot judge had freed him on $32,500 bail, he failed to show for a required meeting with police, and authorities began searching for him.

The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI -- which spent nearly a decade gathering evidence against some of the defendants in the case -- refused to comment on Metsos' disappearance.

On Monday, 10 other people, most of them believed to be Russians living under assumed names, were arrested across the Northeast, accused of gathering information for Moscow on American business, scientific and political affairs while leading what appeared to be utterly ordinary suburban lives, right down to their well-kept lawns and the barbecues they threw on the Fourth of July.