Assange complaint
Niki Konstantinidis, a barrister of Julian Assange, filed a second complaint with the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman against England’s top magistrate on 27 December, 2019. The first complaint on this issue was signed with the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) on 18 November, 2019. At the time, she alleged “serious undisclosed conflicts of interest of Chief Magistrate, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot”. The first complaint had ‘vanished’.
Lockheed Martin deal
Greece has signed a US$1.5 billion agreement with Lockheed Martin for a major upgrade of its F-16 fighter fleet over the next seven years. The Greek defence minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, told parliament last month that the country’s 84 F-16s would be upgraded to the more technologically advanced Viper Class. Mr Panagiotopoulos said the speed would depend on the number of the aircraft that would be needed to be in active service during the upgrade. The deal had been approved by the US State Department in 2017.
Lower surplus targets
Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has identified the new year as the “start of a decade of constant progress”. Speaking in an interview with Vima, Mr Mitsotakis said within the first half of the year the government intended to ask international lenders to lower primary surplus targets so that the change could be part of 2021 budget planning. The prime minister said that this would speed the country’s economic revival. Greece put behind the bail-out regimen in 2018 but Mr Mistotakis said the country was still committed to meeting targets it had agreed with its creditors with the 3.5 per cent primary surplus target set until 2022 being considered necessary for the sustainability of the high debt load that the country faced.
Hague, the last option
Greece and Turkey should go to the International Court of Justice if agreement on key issues is not reached, says Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adding that Greece will not compromise its sovereign rights. Greece’s opposition to the Turkish and Libyan exclusive economic zone agreement reached in November was backed by many countries. “We want to be part of a solution in Libya because it concerns us as well … I will demand very strongly that Greece participate in the Berlin Process on Libya. Why is Turkey a participant and not Greece? A political resolution of the crisis will be needed.”
Trikala synagogue defaced
A recently renovated historic synagogue in Trikala has been vandalised with anti-Semitic slogans. A statement issued by the Central Jewish Council of Greece (KIS) said the defacement had caused “outage and deep sadness”, and highlighted that “the fight against anti-Semitism must be continuous and vigilance uninterrupted”, urging authorities to “take all necessary measures to arrest and punish the perpetrators”.
Drone fire monitors
The Olympus National Park is set to buy two drones, worth €75,000 each, to patrol the region to detect fires during the summer months when local forests are most in danger from runaway fires. They will alsobe used to capture footage to be used in promotional material for the national park.
Pirates kidnap sailors
Eight sailors, including a 45-year-old captain, were kidnapped from a Greek tanker on 30 December, 2019, that was anchored off Limbe near the coast of Cameron in the Gulf of Guinea. Greek officials said one of the 28-member crew was shot by an armed group that boarded the ship, with Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis tweeting the ministry is “doing everything so [the sailors] can be released and returned to their homes”.
Tomb at Amphilopolis fast-tracked
Greece’s Minister of Culture and Sport Lina Mendoni has brought forward the time for the completion of work on the Kasta Hill Tomb in Amphipolis, Serres. While a lot of work is still required, modern methods make it possible for the site to be ready much sooner, expected to be ready for people to visit by early 2022.
Tsitsanis Museum mural
A large mural of the legendary bouzouki player and songwriter Vassilis Tsitsanis has been unveiled in the museum dedicated to his memory in Trikala, the city of his birth. It took artists Michalis Koufogiannis and Giorgos Kourmetzas several months to complete the 18 square metre mosaic that was opened to the public for the first time on 24 December, 2019.