Offenses against Bulgaria by the Greek PM..?.. [ 1026 ]

Borisov Refutes Scandalous Reports Greek PM Insulted Bulgaria

,April 16, 2010, Friday

PM Borisov (right) has refuted scandalous reports that his Greek counterpart Papandreou (left) had uttered insults against Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian government has denied media reports Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou had insulted the Bulgarian nation.

According to a local Greek radio cited by the BGNES news agency, the Prime Minister of Greece has uttered insults with respect to Bulgaria.

“If you do not agree with our anti-crisis measures, the fate of Bulgaria will befall you. Do you want to get the same salaries as they do in Bulgaria, where no one has even heard of Easter and Christmas bonuses, not to mention a 14th salary?,” Papandreou is said to have asked at a meeting with Greek pensioners.

Papandreou was reported to have compared Bulgaria to a lunar waste ground because it is covered in trash and potholes. He is further said to have stated that Greece has always been a more civilized nation than Bulgaria because of its Christian values, while Bulgaria is a nation of atheists changing their political beliefs every four years.

Papandreou was also reported to have had a laugh when he was told that the government of Bulgaria is using Greece as a negative example in order to put forwards its reforms.

The information about the offensive words of the Greek PM has been refuted by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov who explained that Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry had investigated the report of the Greek radio and has found it to be untrue.

Borisov has told BGNES that he and Papandreou are having a three-way meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in a few days at a border crossing point, and that it was impossible that Papandreou would utter such insults against Bulgaria.

Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov is quoted as saying that the information about the offenses against Bulgaria by the Greek PM is an insinuation which first appeared two days ago.

He said Bulgaria’s Ambassador in Athens has contacted the cabinet of the Greek Prime Minister, whose officials have denied the truthfulness of the scandalous reports.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mladenov has asked the media not to succumb to reporting unverified and speculative information.

Tags: George Papandreou, greece, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, insult, offense, Nikolay Mladenov, Foreign Minister

NB: Any true statements cannot be regarded as insults against Bulgaria.
Nearchus

RAF: Jet training temporarily suspended..[ 1025 ]

RAF suspends jet training over ash

Evening Standard.,22.04.10

Flight training on RAF Typhoon jets has been "temporarily suspended" after deposits of ash were found in one of the fleet's engines.

Eurofighter Typhoon - RAF

A "precautionary measure" to check all the Eurofighter jets based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire was taken after post-flight checks on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence said.

The jets - costing £69 million each - were still available for operational use however.

The MoD said training flights were suspended until technicians could ensure the ash had not caused any engine damage.

Flight training on RAF Typhoon jets has been suspended after ash was found in an engine.

A spokesman added: "These are very high-performance jets so they are just being extra cautious.

"They were flying as normal yesterday. Operational flying will continue."

The Typhoon is a multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed for air policing and high-intensity conflict.

The MoD said it was "unable to say" whether airlines carried out the same post-flight checks. But a spokeswoman added: "I would imagine that they would."

The Typhoon Squadrons at RAF Coningsby were launched in July 2005 after a multibillion-pound contract was agreed.

Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain formally agreed to start development of the aircraft in 1988, with contracts for a first batch of 148 aircraft - of which 55 are for the RAF - signed 10 years later.

Δήλωσεiς Ρώσου ΥΠΕΞ Σεργκέι Λαβρόφ. [ 1024 ]

Ρωσικές προειδοποιήσεις στο Ιράν

Pathfinder News.,22-4-2010., 20:24

Το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας (Σ.Α.) του ΟΗΕ δεν θα περιμένει επ'Α αόριστον μέχρι το Ιράν να λάβει υπόψη του τις προειδοποιήσεις της διεθνούς κοινότητας για το πυρηνικό του πρόγραμμα, δήλωσε ο Ρώσος υπουργός Εξωτερικών Σεργκέι Λαβρόφ.

«Αν βρισκόμαστε σε μία κατάσταση όπου όλα παραμένουν ως έχουν, σε αδιέξοδο, δεν πιστεύω ότι το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας θα μείνει θεατής για πολύ καιρό χωρίς να επεμβαίνει», δήλωσε ο Λαβρόφ, σύμφωνα με μεταδώσεις ρωσικών τηλεοπτικών σταθμών.

«Η θέση μας είναι η εξής: πρώτα απ' όλα να εφαρμοστούν όλες οι αποφάσεις που έχουν ληφθεί από την Διεθνή Υπηρεσία Ατομικής Ενέργειας (ΙΑΕΑ), οι οποίες αργότερα υποστηρίχθηκαν από το Σ.Α. του ΟΗΕ», πρόσθεσε ο Λαβρόφ.

Αυτές οι δηλώσεις μοιάζουν να αναφέρονται στο σχέδιο της ΙΑΕΑ, σύμφωνα με το οποίο το Ιράν θα στέλνει στο εξωτερικό χαμηλού εμπλουτισμού ουράνιο το οποίο θα μετατρέπεται σε καύσιμο για τον πυρηνικό του αντιδραστήρα. Σημειώνεται ότι το Ιράν μέχρι στιγμής απορρίπτει αυτή την πρόταση της ΙΑΕΑ.

Από την πλευρά του ο υφυπουργός εξωτερικών της Ρωσίας Σεργκέι Ριάμπκοφ επέκρινε «την επιμονή» του Ιράν να μην «ακούει τις εκκλήσεις της διεθνούς κοινότητας» και να μην σέβεται τις αποφάσεις που υιοθετεί το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας.

Αυτή η κατάσταση «μοιάζει να καθιστά αναπόφευκτη την υιοθέτηση μίας νέας απόφασης για επιβολή κυρώσεων» κατά του Ιράν, δήλωσε ο Ριάμπκοφ στο ραδιοφωνικό σταθμό «Ηχώ της Μόσχας».

Ο επικεφαλής του Οργανισμού Ατομικής Ενέργειας του Ιράν Αλί Ακμπάρ Σαλεχί δήλωσε από τη μεριά του ότι το Ιράν θα μπορούσε να παραιτηθεί από την απαίτησή του, η πιθανή ανταλλαγή ουρανίου με τις μεγάλες δυνάμεις να γίνεται στο έδαφός του, αν λάμβανε «εγγυήσεις» γι' αυτή την ανταλλαγή.

«Το Ιράν είναι πάντα έτοιμο να ανταλλάξει χαμηλού εμπλουτισμού ουράνιο για καύσιμο. Η προϋπόθεση είναι να έχει συγκεκριμένες εγγυήσεις», δήλωσε ο Σαλεχί, όπως αναφέρει στον ιστότοπο της η κρατική τηλεόραση. «Υπάρχουν πολλοί τρόποι να δοθούν στο Ιράν συγκεκριμένες εγγυήσεις, μπορούμε να συζητήσουμε γι' αυτές κατά τη διάρκεια των διαπραγματεύσεων», πρόσθεσε, απαντώντας σε ερώτηση για την πιθανότητα η ανταλλαγή αυτή να γίνεται σε μία τρίτη χώρα, όπως η Τουρκία . «Είμαστε έτοιμοι να ξεκινήσουμε τις διαπραγματεύσεις χωρίς προαπαιτούμενα», πρόσθεσε ο Σαλεχί υπενθυμίζοντας ότι «μία ιρανική πρόταση βρίσκεται στο τραπέζι».

Στο μεταξύ, ο Αμερικανός αντιπρόεδρος Τζο Μπάιντεν, σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στο τηλεοπτικό δίκτυο ABC, δήλωσε ότι η Κίνα «πρόκειται να αποδεχτεί τις οικονομικές κυρώσεις κατά του Ιράν», που ενδέχεται να επιβληθούν λόγω της εμμονής της Τεχεράνης στο αμφιλεγόμενο πυρηνικό της πρόγραμμα.

Ο Μπάιντεν διαβεβαίωσε ταυτόχρονα ότι «είναι η πρώτη φορά που ολόκληρος ο κόσμος είναι ενωμένος στο ζήτημα αυτό θεωρώντας ότι το Ιράν ξεπέρασε τα όρια». «Είναι πιο απομονωμένοι (οι ιρανοί ηγέτες) από ποτέ, τόσο μεταξύ του λαού όσο και σε όλη την περιοχή», της Μέσης Ανατολής, πρόσθεσε ο Μπάιντεν αναφερόμενος στους φόβους των ΗΠΑ και των συμμάχων τους πως το Ιράν επιθυμεί να αποκτήσει πυρηνικά όπλα καλυπτόμενο πίσω από το πρόγραμμα που ισχυρίζεται ότι θα εξυπηρετεί μόνο ειρηνικούς σκοπούς.

Σε άλλο σημείο των δηλώσεών του ο Μπάιντεν τόνισε ότι το Ισραήλ δεν πρόκειται να επιτεθεί στο Ιράν για να αποτρέψει την Ισλαμική αυτή Δημοκρατία να αποκτήσει πυρηνικά όπλα. Επεσήμανε επίσης ο Αμερικανός αντιπρόεδρος ότι και οι Ισραηλινοί υποστηρίζουν την επιβολή νέων αυστηρότερων κυρώσεων κατά της Τεχεράνης από τον ΟΗΕ στην περίπτωση που αποτύχουν οι διπλωματικές προσπάθειες.

General Election party leaders' debate [ 1023 ]

Six held after debates centre demo

22.04.10

Tempers flared outside the General Election party leaders' debate as a number of protesters were arrested.

Left-wing protesters are halted by police after scuffles near the centre hosting leader election debates

Officers on horseback, dogs and police equipped with riot shields held back the 150-strong crowd, just metres away from the arts centre hosting the televised debate in Bristol.

The mass was made up of numerous groups - including Palestinian campaigners, anti-war protesters and, earlier in the evening, a few members of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL).

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Police confirmed six people had been arrested for public order offences.

She said: "We had planned for peaceful protests and there have been multiple protests in a number of locations across the city. They have been largely peaceful and compliant with our requests."

Eyewitnesses reported seeing EDL members hitting cameras and shouting.

They were overheard chanting: "There's only one Maggie Thatcher."

Some protesters were seen waving pictures of the party leaders with offensive language written across their faces.

Placards and banners were waved with "stop the war", "troops home" and "Bankers, politicians, fat cats, we won't pay for their crisis" on them.

Gordon Brown was met with a chorus of booing from the protesters as he pulled up to the Arnolfini arts centre. As the Prime Minister got out of his car, the jeering escalated and demonstrators goaded him over megaphones.

Apocalypses on Tupolev Tu-154 airliner crash [ 1022 ]

Polish plane crew knew their fate: prosecutor

The crew of a doomed Polish jet that crashed in Russia, killing president Lech Kaczynski, knew they were going to die after it hit trees while coming in to land, Poland's chief prosecutor said Thursday.

"On the basis of the data in the possession of prosecutors one could say that the crew was aware of the inevitability of the coming catastrophe, if only due to the plane shaking after the wings hit the trees -- which we are certain happened," Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet told TOK FM radio.

The Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154 airliner crashed Saturday while trying to land in heavy fog near the western Russian city of Smolensk. All 96 on board, who were heading to a memorial for a World War II massacre, were killed.

Russian investigators were quoted Thursday as saying that the first analysis of black boxes from the crash showed pilot error was to blame, and that crew were unfamiliar with the plane's handling.

Krzysztof Parulski, Poland's chief military prosecutor called Thursday's revelations sheer speculation.

"Reports appearing about the apparent findings concerning the causes of the catastrophe must be regarded only as unauthorised speculation which is not related to our findings so far," Parulski told Polish media at the crash scene in Smolensk.

Russian air traffic controllers who dealt with the flight have said the crew refused three times to heed advice to divert to another airport and also suggested that language barriers had contributed to the crash.

Seremet, however, insisted the pilots made only two attempts to land before the crash.

Earlier this week Seremet said there was no evidence to back reports that the pilots were under pressure to land from Kaczynski or others on the plane, who included Poland's top four military commanders.

Russia's Interfax news agency said two of the black boxes found at the scene of the crash were being examined by Russian and Polish investigators at a defence ministry investigation centre in the Moscow region. A third is being examined in Poland.

Kaczynski's delegation was headed to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when thousands of Polish officers were slaughtered by the Soviet secret police in 1940. -
Sapa-AFP