Diplomatic ‘bons amis’ apart British Prime Minister David Cameron is discovering that hosting a G8 summit is a tough job. Transatlantic trade and sorting out Syria have dominated the first day in Northern Ireland, but resulting in widely differing degrees of success. The …
Workers at Greek TV station vow to fight on
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Greek court orders state broadcaster to reopen 17/06/2013 22:30 CET
Greek PM Samaras offers partial re-opening of ERT 15/06/2013 00:55 CET
Journalists at ERT reacted with applause and cheers to news of the court ruling ordering the reopening of the Greek broadcaster.
But their relief is only temporary as the court appears to have vindicated Prime Minister Samaras’s stance that a leaner, cheaper, public broadcaster must eventually be set up.
It will mean a drastically changed company with whole departments disappearing when it is relaunched much to the dismay of journalist Marina Demertzian:
“Of course we feel relieved, but we still have a long way to go. We need to discuss with each other, we need to consult with lawyers and we need to decide what to do next. Nothing is finalised, but personally, I wouldn’t want to work for an ERT which doesn’t have its own orchestra anymore.”
Even with the station back on air, it will still be a reduced service and many employees have vowed to continue their occupation of the station.
Reporting for euronews, Nicoleta Drouga said:
“Mixed emotions for the employees; they are still insecure about their jobs and are concerned that very soon the national broadcaster will be turned into something different from what the viewers knew and loved.”
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Portuguese teacher’s strike hits exams
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The start of end-of-year exams in Portugal was disrupted on Monday as teachers went on strike
.
The education ministry says around a third of students sitting exams were affected, while teachers’ unions claimed 90% of their members had stopped work to protest at austerity measures slashing jobs and lengthening the working week.
“We’re very anxious. We don’t know when we can come back to sit our exams. The country wants to go forward, but a strike is being held on the day of a national exam,” said one student.
The education ministry says any student who was unable to sit the exam will be able to on July 2.
“I agree with the teachers’ strike. Although the Ministry says that the strike affects students, I think that the rules that are imposed on teachers have also been undermining the students throughout the year,” said another student in Lisbon.
The strike followed demonstrations at the weekend. Portugal’s two union federations have called for a general strike on June 27 in an atmosphere of hardening resistance to the cuts.
More about: Education, Lisbon, Portugal, Strike
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Assad warns Europe will pay a price if it supplies arms to rebels
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As Russia and the West clash over how to bring an end to the Syria conflict, President Bashar al Assad has issued a warning in an interview with a German newspaper.
Speaking for the first since Friday’s decision by the US to supply arms to Syrian rebels, Assad said Europe will pay the price if it follows Washington’s lead.
He went on to say such a move will backfire as it will spread terrorism leading to Europe’s own backyard becoming a haven for terrorists with extremist ideologies.
Syrian rebels are calling for the West to help arm them against the superior weaponry of Assad’s forces. After having lost the strategically important city of Qusair, they claim regime troops with the help of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants are now planning to re-take Aleppo thus cutting off opposition supplies from nearby Turkey.
More about: Bashar al-Assad, Syria, Terrorism
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Iran vows transparency on nuclear programme
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Iran’s new president Hassan Rohani has vowed more transparency over its nuclear programme but neighbouring Israel is not convinced.
“The Iranian election clearly reflects deep disaffection of the Iranian people with its regime. Unfortunately it doesn’t have the power to change Iran’s nuclear ambitions which are determined and guided not by the president but by the supreme ruler Ayatollah Khamenei,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The European Union has also reacted to the new political landscape in Iran, with the EU’s foreign policy chief hoping for a swift diplomatic solution on the nuclear issue.
“I will continue with my work to urge Iran to work closely with me and with the E3 plus 3 to build confidence in the nature of a nuclear programme,” said EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton.
Rohani will be hoping to ease economic sanctions placed on his country due to its enrichment of uranium. Western powers fear the programme could enrich uranium to nuclear weapons-grade material.
More about: Iran, Israel, Nuclear Energy
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Greek court to hear appeal by ERT union against closure
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A court hearing has begun into whether the Greek government acted illegally by suddenly shutting down its public broadcaster, ERT.
The trade union challenge to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras comes as he also faces angry coalition partners amid fears of a hugely disruptive snap election.
Aware his allies stand to lose heavily in any election, the conservative Samaras has refused in a flurry of speeches to turn what he’s called the “sinful” ERT back on.
Our Athens correspondent Stamatis Giannisis said:
Samaras has vowed to fight to modernise a country
he says had become a “Jurassic Park” of inefficiency and corruption. But his decision to move ahead with the closing of ERT is perceived as a show of determination to push forward with public sector reform, and also a message to Greek voters in favour, that he is not willing to step back regardless of the political cost.”
But a ruling in favour of the union would temporarily suspend the government decision, meaning ERT’s signal would be restored.
It could also offer a way out of the impasse by allowing coalition partners to maintain their positions but defer to the court as the final say on the matter.
More about: Athens, Greece, Greece politics, Media
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G8 protests call for action on Syria and tax evasion
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As the media spotlight shines on Northern Ireland for the G8 summits, activists have taken their campaigns to Ulster.
Police arrested unauthorised demonstrators who were marching on central Belfast carrying red flags and anti-G8 banners.
“The stakes could not be higher right now. We need G8 leaders to get behind a political solution to the crisis and not pour more weapons into the conflict that will only add fuel to the fire.The people of Syria are desperately in need of aid. 8 million people need aid,” said the Humanitarian Campaign manager for charity Oxfam.
More about: G8 Summit, Northern Ireland, Protest, United Kingdom
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