NEWS ARCHIVE - AUGUST 2010

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August 18, 2010

West Nile outbreak kills 3, infects 47+

AFP News via the Google news site:

"Greece's health ministry said Tuesday it was stepping up the fight against West Nile virus which has killed three people since the beginning of the month.

Some 47 people were diagnosed with the virus on Monday including 11 new cases discovered over the weekend, according to a statement from the Centre for the Control and Prevention of Diseases (KEELPNO).

Of this total, 45 patients have been diagnosed with encephalitis -- an inflammation of the brain caused by the virus -- of whom three elderly patients, also suffering from unrelated diseases, died. According to KEELPO, seven of the 28 people hospitalised on Monday are in intensive care. "

Dimitrios Ioannidis has died

Netanyahu and Papandreou to meet

UPI News on the meeting between the Israeli premier and Papandreou:

"The two leaders spoke of enhancing cooperation between their countries on matters including security, tourism, agriculture and energy, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Natanyahu was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Greek Defense Minister Evangelos Venizelos on an Israeli ship that was purchased by Greece, the Post said.

"I know that many Israeli tourists will come to Greece," Netanyahu said following his talk with Papandreou. "It is a challenging, interesting and beautiful country. We spoke of the possibility of bringing hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world for a joint visit to Athens and Jerusalem, two cornerstones of the western cultures."

More coverage of this meeting is on the English language side of Kathimerini newspaper site.

August 9, 2010

Another €2 billion in cuts coming

Kathimerini on coming round of government reductions:

"Although Greece has secured the next installment of the 110-billion euro emergency loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kathimerini understands that the Finance Ministry is looking to cut another 2 billion euros from public spending to make up for a shortfall in revenues, as the head of the IMF mission in the country warns that the government cannot let up in its efforts to restore fiscal stability.

Officials from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF have warned the ministry that the government’s revenues are likely to be 2 billion euros lower than planned at the end of the year. Revenues would have to increase by more than 20 percent in the second half of the year for Greece to hit its targets.

...An EU-IMF team is due back in Greece in September to check on how the government is progressing with its deficit-slashing and structural reforms"

Greek cash deficit shrinks 32% in 7 months

George Georgiopoulos at Reuters with a brief that is to the point:

"...The Bank of Greece said the central government's cash deficit fell to 14.47 billion euros ($19.2 billion) from 21.47 billion in the same period a year earlier.

It said the budget's primary deficit, which excludes debt servicing costs, also narrowed to 5.23 billion euros from 12.34 billion in Jan-July 2009, based on provisional data."

Greece getting thumbs up from Orphanides

"Pessimism in Greece in misplaced " - Paul Thomsen