Keep Talking Greece

Athens: taxi drivers surprisingly launch 7h work stoppage Apr 29/2013

April 29, 2013 1

You should not be surprised if you see no single yellow cab on the streets of Athens and broader Attica area today. Taxi owners and drivers surprisingly launched a work stoppage from 3 pm until 10 pm in order to join their unions general convention. The Union of Attica Motorists …

Greece moves forward: 15,000 lay-offs, minimum wage at €490/month, retroactive property levy

April 29, 2013 4

Development is here to stay! Unemployment will be combated, jobless will get a bread loaf and a piece of cheese and the revenues-bringing tax called “emergency property levy” will continue as such and in some cases even retroactive. On Sunday night, Greek government passed a multi-bill paving the way for …

UPD: Two cargo vessels collide off SW Greece, “PiriReis” sinks, 10 seamen missing

April 29, 2013 1

Two cargo vessels collided in the early morning hours of Monday with one of them to have sunk 78 nautical miles south west of Methoni, Peloponnese. Cargo ship “PiriReis” under Cook Islands flag with 17 Syrian seamen crew “sunk within 7 minutes” survivors said according to Greek media. Eight seamen …

Kardashian sisters go …surreal in Mykonos

April 28, 2013 1

Famous Kardashian clan, sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé together with their parents moved to the island of Mykonos for a ten-day relaxing vacation. The Kardashian clan, 18 family members, and a camera crew of 50 people, flew from Athens to the island in the Aegean Sea, rented a luxury yacht …

Greece’s capital Athens sinks 10 millimeters per year due to excessive building construction

April 28, 2013 Comments Off on Greece’s capital Athens sinks 10 millimeters per year due to excessive building construction

Greece’s capital Athens sinks 10 millimeters annually because of the decline in surface soil, studies show. This phenomenon has been observed during the last 30 years and thus die to excessive building construction. According to Sunday newspaper Real News, the phenomenon was first observed by the European Space Agency, and …

Greece calls ISS: European Spaceport to open in Kalamata

April 28, 2013 5

Greece is soon to enter a new era. The … space era! A space port is to be set up in Kalamata, the capital of Messinia prefecture in Peloponnese. Soon. In 2015. This was revealed by Dr Periklis Papadopoulos, a NASA researcher: “Kalamata is ideal for creating a European Spaceport …

How expats experience “three years Greece in the crisis” (Part IV)

April 27, 2013 1

This is another story I received today for the series “How expats experience three years Greece in the crisis“. Because as often mentioned, the Greek crisis affects all of us living here: whether Greek or expat. The story was submitted by Katerina from UK. Below the story by Katerina: “It …

Why jobless Greeks do not go strawberry picking?

April 27, 2013 7

There has been lots of discussions in my environment about why jobless Greeks do not go strawberry picking. Of course, it’s not only strawberries growing in Manolada, Peloponnese. It’s the peaches in Naousa, Macedonia or the apples in Zagora, Pilio just to mention a few of the agricultural products flourishing in Greece. But …

German FinMin Schaeuble: Greece proved bailout program working, unemployment goes down

April 27, 2013 Comments Off on German FinMin Schaeuble: Greece proved bailout program working, unemployment goes down

He must have a weird sense of humour. German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sees nothing but effectiveness in the bailout program for Greece. In the country of 1,3 million jobless and 6%-7% recession. “The policy of the euro rescue works and Greece is an example for this,” Schaeuble told German magazine …

How expats experience “three years Greece in the crisis” (Part III)

April 26, 2013 27

One more story on Greece in the crisis seen by the eyes of expats. Submitted by Catherine, a British woman who moved in the country twenty years ago and after two decades struggles to get along. Below the story submitted by Catherine: “I came to Greece almost 20 years ago …

How expats experience “three years Greece in the crisis” (Part II)

April 26, 2013 1

Here is another post written by a KTG-reader on the topic “how expats experience the Greek crisis”. In fact it was a comment to my post “23 April 2010 – 23 April 2013: Greece under IMF – Not saved yet?“. But AntonisX – a Dutch – has a very good …

Justice Minister confirms Grevena prisoners “bear burn marks”

April 26, 2013 Comments Off on Justice Minister confirms Grevena prisoners “bear burn marks”

Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis confirmed Friday that “inmates bear burn marks on their bodies”. Greece’s Justice Minister told a parliamentary committee that an investigation into allegations of police beatings was underway. Roupakiotis had visited Grevena prison a week ago after allegations several inmates were beaten by police. On Thursday, daily …