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.

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.........

Monday, February 8, 2010

France OKs carrier sale to Russia...[ 629 ]

RT., 08 February, 2010, 16:24

France has agreed to sell the Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia. The Russian Navy also has its eyes on three more similar vessels in the future.

The approval of the defense deal was announced Monday by Jacques de Lajugie, the international development director of France’s armaments board Delegation Generale pour l’Armement (DGA). He added the possible addition of three more helicopter carriers has only been discussed on the technical level, not on the political.

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A state-of-the-art French warship has sailed into St. Petersburg – not only...

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The King of.... Sosialistic Spain ..!..[ 628 ]

Spanish King arrives in Lebanon to inspect UN Troops

08.02.2010 22:06

King Juan Carlos of Spain

Now in Baku, Monday,, February 8,2010

Spanish King Juan Carlos arrived Monday in Beirut on a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he will inspect Spanish troops serving with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, dpa reported.

The king is accompanied by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Juan Carlos will be hosted by President Michel Suleiman at a state dinner held in his honor, later Monday.

The trip by King Juan Carlos comes after the UN Spanish battalion took command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), from the Italians last month.

According to the Lebanese Central News Agency the king's visit to Lebanon is not a state visit, but a trip to inspect his country's troops in southern Lebanon.

The Spanish king is expected to pay a 3-day state visit to Lebanon along with his wife Queen Sofia in July or ultimately by September, according to the news agency.

UNIFIL currently has 13,000 troops from 29 countries. Italy has the largest contingent with 2,500 soldiers, while Spain contributes 1,100 soldiers.

In June 2007, a UN patrol belonging to the Spanish battalion was targeted by a car bomb blast, killing six Spanish peacekeepers.

The number of UN peacekeepers was increased in 2006, following 33 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah. The main task of the peacekeepers is to monitor a fragile ceasefire at the Lebanese-Israel border.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Britain's debt more expensive than Greece's.. [ 627 ]

Is Britain once again the sick man of Europe?

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that Britain faces a “very large, and fast acting” impact on interest rates which could make our government debt more expensive than Greece’s, unless spending is dramatically curtailed.

Telegraph co.ul., 11:34AM GMT 04 Feb 2010

Comments 10 | Comment on this article, <-CLICK to see my comment # 10

An unemployed man underneath a street sign reading 'Dole Street'

How quickly can Britain recover from high unemployment and high government debt? Photo: Getty

Greece is in financial turmoil after losing credibility with investors because of its unsustainable public spending.

Gloomy outlook: Shoppers walk past Greece's General Accounting Office, which was implicated in the scandal of misreported fiscal data Photo: AP

With Britain one of the last of the major economies to emerge from recession, are we once again the sick man of Europe? Is our situation comparable with that of Greece?

What will it take to restore our standing? How should our £178 billion deficit be tackled?

US missiles:Romania in the steps of Polland..[626]

Romania 'to host US missile shield'

The US has reconfigured its plans to protect against "rogue" states

Romania has agreed to host missile interceptors as part of a new US defence shield, its president says.

President Traian Basescu said the plan was approved by the supreme defence council. It still needs parliamentary approval.

US President Barack Obama last year scrapped a previous version of the shield, based in Poland and the Czech Republic, which had infuriated Russia.

He said the US would now concentrate on a smaller-scale version.

Mr Basescu said the system would "protect the whole of Romania's territory", but stressed that it "is not directed against Russia".

Smaller system

The US has insisted that its defence shield was designed to protect its allies against attack from "rogue states" like Iran, and was not aimed at Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, however, said the system would upset the strategic balance. They threatened to train nuclear warheads on Poland and the Czech Republic in response.

Mr Obama's decision to abandon the original plan in September was greeted with enthusiasm in Russia, and came amid attempts to "reset" the relationship between Washington and Moscow.

The anti-ballistic missile shield favoured by former President George W Bush would be replaced by a reconfigured system designed to shoot down short- and medium-range missiles, Mr Obama announced.

He said intelligence suggested Iran was concentrating on shorter-range, not intercontinental, missiles.

The new system is built around ship-based SM-3 anti-missile missiles and on similar missiles to be stationed on land.

In October, US Vice-President Joseph Biden visited Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic seeking support for the new system.

Poland has already signed up.

Pakistani Taliban Leader Is Dead (?).. [ 625 ]

U.S. Believes Pakistani Taliban Leader Is Dead

Thursday, February 04, 2010

On Oct. 4, 2009: Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is seen in South Waziristan.

WASHINGTON (A.P.)— U.S. counterterrorism officials believe Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud is dead following a missile attack last month, a senior intelligence official said Wednesday in the strongest signal that Washington has offered about the militant's fate.

Neither Pakistan nor the U.S. has officially confirmed the death of Mehsud, who commands an Al Qaeda-allied movement that is blamed for scores of suicide bombings and is suspected in a deadly attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan late last year.

Mehsud's death would be the latest successful strike against suspected terrorists by the U.S. and its allies. The U.S. has recently stepped up attacks from unmanned aircraft in Pakistan, and a closer collaboration with Yemen has led to recent airstrikes there. President Barack Obama highlighted the increasing success of such attacks in his State of the Union address last week.

The U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, said the conclusion that Mehsud is dead represents the best collective information of U.S. intelligence agencies. Since the attack, authorities have said they were growing increasingly confident Mehsud was dead. The official would not say what evidence the U.S. had gathered.

The statement came after days of posturing by Pakistani Taliban officials, who first said they would prove their leader was alive and well, then reversed course and said they saw no need to prove it.

The attack by a U.S. drone came after Mehsud appeared in a video alongside the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a remote base in Afghanistan. The bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, said he carried out the attack in retribution for the death of former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike last August.

Baitullah Mehsud's death gave leadership of the Pakistani Taliban to his deputy, Hakimullah Mehsud, a 28-year-old with a reputation as a particularly ruthless militant.

He has taken responsibility for a wave of brazen strikes inside Pakistan, including the bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar last June and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier that year. There is a $590,000 bounty on his head.

U.S. drones are piloted remotely and can be controlled from local bases or from the United States. Though the program is officially a secret, the attacks are well publicized. They are Washington's only known military response to Al Qaeda and Taliban militants along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

Πέμπτη	+19°	+11°
Παρασκευή	+17°	+12°
Σάββατο	+19°	+11°
Κυριακή	+19°	+11°
Δευτέρα	+15°	+6°
Τρίτη	+16°	+10°