The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.Blogger Tips and Tricks
This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Two French journalists killed...[ 3171 ]

Two French journalists kidnapped and killed in Mali

Reporters worked for state-supported broadcaster Radio France Internationale

Radio France International (RFI) journalists Ghislaine Dupont (left) and Claude Verlon are pictured in this combination picture made of undated handout images released to Reuters yesterday.  Photograph: Reuters Radio France International (RFI) journalists Ghislaine Dupont (left) and Claude Verlon are pictured in this combination picture made of undated handout images released to Reuters yesterday. Photograph: Reuters
    THE IRISH TIMES //Sun, Nov 3, 2013, 09:54//First published: Sun, Nov 3, 2013, 09:49

    Two French journalists were kidnapped and killed in northern Mali yesterday, the French Foreign Ministry said, underscoring the continuing instability of a region retaken from fighters linked to al-Qaida only eight months ago.
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    The reporters, Ghislaine Dupont (51) and Claude Verlon (58) worked for Radio France Internationale, a French state-supported broadcaster. They had been interviewing a leader with a separatist group in the town of Kidal in Mali’s unstable desert north.
    Gunmen forced the reporters into a truck as they were leaving the leader’s house in the center of town yesterday afternoon, a ranking officer in Mali’s army said.
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    Their bodies were found shortly after, with their throats slit, several miles outside Kidal in the Sahara, the officer, Col Didier Dacko, said by telephone.
    French forces stationed in the town pursued the kidnappers, according to an official with the military in Kidal who insisted on anonymity.
    “Lots of military vehicles sped out of town,” the official said, “even helicopters.” The kidnappers apparently realized that “they were not going to make it” with their hostages, at which point they killed them, the official said.
    They then fled into the hills surrounding Kidal, he said.
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    A French military spokesman, Col Gilles Jaron, said a patrol was dispatched from Kidal after French forces there were alerted, and two helicopters were called in from Tessalit, 170kms to the north. The patrol found the bodies of the journalists east of Kidal, but French forces never made contact with the kidnappers, he said.
    The kidnapping occurred less than a week after four French hostages were released by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in neighboring Niger after being held for over three years in the desert, and on payment of a substantial ransom, according to reports.
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    The man the two French journalists had been interviewing - Ambeiry Ag Rhissa, an official with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, a Tuareg separatist group known by its French initials, MNLA - heard a strange noise outside his door immediately after they left his home, RFI reported.
    He saw the two journalists being forced into the truck by gunmen in turbans, and trying to resist as the gunmen beat them with rifles, RFI said.
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    The gunmen were speaking in Tamashek, the language of the nomadic Tuaregs, RFI reported. The reporters’ driver “heard the two reporters protest and resist,” RFI said.
    “It was the last time they were seen.” French and UN forces remain stationed in Kidal, and all of northern Mali continues to be a cauldron of instability even though the Malian government in Bamako, nearly 1,000kms to the south, is nominally in control. During the eight-month occupation of northern Mali, Kidal became the headquarters of another Tuareg separatist group, Ansar al-Dine, which made common cause with the al-Qaida-linked rebels who were defeated this year by French and Chadian soldiers.
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    Although it is not certain who the kidnappers were - whether al-Qaida-affiliated or members of a Tuareg splinter group - some officials in Kidal say the ransom reportedly paid for the other French hostages “encouraged” them, the official with the military in Kidal said.
    “That’s the idea that’s circulating in town now: All you have to do is kidnap a Westerner, and you can get millions,” he said.

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    French news media reported last week that as much as $34 million (€25 million) had been paid for the release of the four Frenchmen.
    Kidal remained a place of contention between the MNLA, which claimed control over it, and the Malian government until an agreement brokered by regional powers in June restored Malian control.
    Reuters