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Group of nine DHKP-C arrested in Greece planned to assassinate Turkey’s Erdogan

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Members of an outlawed militant group detained in Athens were planning to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was visiting Greece, says a report.

Greek newspaper To Vima reported on Sunday that the group of nine members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) had planned to kill Erdogan with rocket launchers, grenades and Molotov cocktails.

According to the report, two groups of militants were to attack Erdogan’s convoy from the sides while a third group was to attack from the vehicle’s behind.

Security forces are still trying to locate the group’s munitions stash which is thought to be hidden in the mountains close to Athens.

The group of Turkish nationals were arrested on November 28, as part of an investigation linked to various Turkish militant groups.

The development came just a week ahead of a planned visit to the Greek capital by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 7-8.

Source: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/12/18/545971/greece-turkey-erdogan-assassinate

President of Greece, Armenian FM highlight the strengthening of bilateral relations

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President of Greece Prokopis Pavlopoulos received today Armenia’s’ FM Edward Nalbandian who is paying official visit to the Hellenic Republic.

“Your visit will further contribute to the strengthening of the ties between Greece and Armenia,” President Pavlopoulos said during the reception in Athens.

As the foreign ministry reported in a release, the Greek President and Armenian FM expressed their satisfaction with the multifaceted cooperation between the two states, adding the two brotherly nations are linked through century-long friendship and mutual sympathy.

The interlocutors exchanged views on deepening of the Armenian-Greek political dialogue, activation of economic ties. With regard to the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, FM Nalbandian presented the enhancing relations between Armenia and the EU.

Nalbandian next presented the agenda and the general themes of the 2018 Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie in Armenia. President Pavlopoulos attached importance to the organization of the Summit in Yerevan and wished success in the organization the representative event.

Nalbandian also presented to the President the efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Greeks Unnerved Over Erdogan’s Call to ‘Revise’ Turkish-Greek Border Treaty

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The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the post-WWI document defining the borders of modern-day Turkey, including its western borders with neighboring Greece, has been called into question by the Turkish president.

Less than a day before setting off for his historic two-day visit to Greece, Erdogan told Greek journalists that the treaty is in need of an update.

“In fact, all agreements pacts in the world should be updated over time,” Erdogan said, speaking with Greece’s Skai TV and the Kathimerini newspaper. “Lausanne too, in the face of all these developments, is in need of an update. This update would be beneficial not only for Turkey but also for Greece,” he added.

Erdogan did not expand on what sorts of changes he had in mind, but called the distances between some of the islands in the Aegean Sea, over which Turkey and Greece have competing claims, “problematic.” He added that issues concerning territorial waters, airspace and the continental shelf could be “easily” resolved.

Greece, lenders reach deal on reforms under bailout review

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Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

ATHENS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Greece and its eurozone creditors reached a preliminary deal on Saturday on reforms Athens needs to roll out under its bailout program, a move that could pave the way for the country to leave the aid plan in August.

The agreement on a range of often politically sensitive measures – covering fiscal issues, energy and labor market reforms, bad loans and privatizations – could open up fresh loans and push Greece further along the path towards a return to full market financing.

Greek police raids find explosives, nine held over links to banned Turkish group

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George Georgiopoulos
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek police found bomb-making equipment and detonators in raids in Athens on Tuesday and were questioning nine people over suspected links to a banned militant group in Turkey ahead of an expected visit by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan next week.

Eight men and a woman thought to hold Turkish citizenship were being detained after morning raids at three different addresses in central Athens.

Earlier, police officials told Reuters the individuals were being quizzed for alleged links to the leftist militant DHKP/C, an outlawed group blamed for a string of attacks and suicide bombings in Turkey since 1990.

The police found materials available commercially and which could potentially be used in making explosives were found, they said in a statement. They also retrieved digital material and travel documents.

Witnesses saw police experts in hazmat suits and holding suitcases entering one address in Athens. Tests on an unknown substance found in jars were expected to be concluded within the day.

Turkey’s Erdogan is widely expected to visit Greece in December, although his visit has not been officially announced. It would be the first visit by a Turkish president in more than 50 years.

Another official told the semi-official Athens News Agency that the case was unconnected to domestic terror groups or militant Islamists, and described those questioned as being of Turkish origin.

DHKP/C, known also as the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front, is considered a terrorist group by the European Union, Turkey and the United States.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-arrests/greek-police-raids-find-explosives-nine-held-over-links-to-banned-turkish-group-idUSKBN1DS0TF

CNN Greece prepares report on Karabakh

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CNN Greece has aired a documentary on the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR), and its conflict with Azerbaijan.

The maker of this report, Maria Karchilaki, visited the NKR Defense Army positions, and spoke with the leaders and ordinary residents of Artsakh.

In particular, the Greek journalist noted that Nagorno-Karabakh is between war and peace.

Also, she stressed that by the decision of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nagorno-Karabakh was annexed to the Azerbaijan SSR, albeit most of Karabakh’s inhabitants were Armenians.

In addition, the documentary states that although the Karabakh conflict is considered “frozen” ever since the ceasefire agreement in 1994, the biggest armed clash since the establishment of this truce took place in 2016, and this reminded that unresolved conflicts are perilous.

Greek Defense Minister Says Every Turkish Jet that Violates Greek Air Space Will be Intercepted

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Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Wednesday sounded a note of defiance during visits to two Hellenic Air Force bases, on Skyros and in Thessaloniki, following a spike in Turkish violations of Greek air space over the Aegean, Ekathimerini reports.

“Recently Turkish provocation has increased,” Kammenos said from Skyros. “Every day, six to eight planes of the Turkish Air Force provoke us, violating national air space, conducting overflights,” he said. “Our response is immediate. No aircraft will enter Greek national air space and not be intercepted.”

On Wednesday seven Turkish F-16s and three CN-235s carried out a total of 51 violations of Greek air space in the northeastern, central and southeastern Aegean. Two of the Turkish aircraft were armed, according to Greek defense sources.

California, Once Compared to Greece, Now Trading Better Than AAA

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California(Bloomberg) — Seven years ago, California was “the next Greece.” Today, the state’s bonds are trading better than AAA.

As the Golden State benefits from record-breaking stock prices, Silicon Valley’s boom and a resurgent real estate market, demand for tax-exempt debt in the state with the highest top income tax rate in the U.S. is “insatiable,” said Nicholos Venditti, a portfolio manager for Thornburg Investment Management. Spreads are so tight that Venditti has stopped buying California bonds for his national fund.

“They’ve gone to a level that just seems ridiculous,” Venditti said. “It just seems unsustainable for any long period of time.”

If demand for California bonds is insatiable, supply is meager. Over the next 30 days, almost $4 billion more bonds are set to mature or be paid off earlier than planned issuance, leaving investors with more cash to invest.

An investor Tuesday bought about $1.1 million of state general obligation bonds maturing in six years at a yield of 1.33 percent, or 4.3 basis points below AAA rated bonds with the same maturity. California bonds are rated AA- by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings and Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service.

f the market turns and spreads widen, investors holding California bonds may be “hit disproportionately hard,” Venditti said.

“It’s got to widen out quite a bit to get to a reasonable level relative to Kansas or Texas,” he said.

After the Great Recession, California was so strapped it took to issuing IOUs and drew comparisons with Greece. Now, flush with cash from the tech economy and record-breaking stock prices, California has boosted budget reserves to $8.5 billion and made an extra $6 billion payment to the state employee pension. At the local level, assessed values have recovered, bolstering property tax revenue.

“You have a whole swath of tech employees, tech investors, who are now trying to protect that substantial wealth from Uncle Sam,” Venditti said. “So they’ve gone out and they have bought up every municipal bond.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Martin Z. Braun in New York at mbraun6@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Maloney at cmaloney16@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka.

Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/california-once-compared-to-greece-now-trading-better-than-aaa/ar-AApJl9o

Turkish-Armenian writer who escaped from prison says he applied for political asylum in Greece

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Banu Şen – İZMİR

Turkish-Armenian linguist and writer Sevan Nişanyan, who escaped from prison two weeks ago after having been jailed in 2014 on charges of illegal construction, has announced that he had applied for political asylum in Greece and got his residence card there.

“We have applied for political asylum in Greece and got my residence card,” Nişanyan said in a post on his Facebook on July 26.

He also changed his cover photo to an image of the Acropolis.

Separately, Nişanyan also stated that his Twitter account was not under his control, pointing to a possible virus but it appeared to have already been hacked as of July 27.

Nişanyan was imprisoned in Jan. 2, 2014 on nine different charges to serve for 11 years and six months in jail after completing the construction of a house in Şirince town of the Aegean province of İzmir despite a court decision. The court had previously ruled that Nişanyan should not enter the area, regarded as a natural site.

After leaving prison on sanctioned leave, Nişanyan was supposed to surrender to the Foça Open Prison in İzmir by 9:45 a.m. on July 14, but he did not do so.

“The bird has flown away. The same wishes to the remaining 80 million,” he said in a tweet announcing his escape.

Nişanyan is one of Turkey’s leading linguists and has penned columns for the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and the daily Taraf.