Greece

Aircraft grounded as Greece's Olympic Airlines cancels flights

Aircraft grounded as Greece's Olympic Airlines cancels flights Athens - Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines cancelled more than 100 domestic and international flights on Wednesday as air- traffic controllers and crews joined a nationwide 24-hour strike against government plans to privatize the airline.

The cancellations will affect flights to European destinations such as London, Rome, Paris and Frankfurt as well as some domestic flights.

Greece moves to guarantee bank deposits up to 100,000 euros

Greece moves to guarantee bank deposits up to 100,000 euros Athens/Luxemburg - Greece's finance ministry on Tuesday said that it will guarantee all bank deposits up to 100,000 euros (135,000 dollars), assuring nervous savers across the southern Mediterranean country that their banks were safe.

"We intend to submit the relevant amendment to Parliament really soon and raise the limit from 20,000 to 100,000 euros," National Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said following a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxemburg.

Aircraft grounded as Greece's Olympic Airlines cancels flights

Olympic Airways staff block airport taxiway in protest over sell-off Athens - Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines will cancel more than 100 domestic and international flights on Wednesday as air- traffic controllers and crews join a nationwide 24-hour strike against government plans to privatize the airline.

Greek coastguard nabs 101 illegal migrants

GreeceAthens - Greek coastguards Sunday rounded up 101 illegal immigrants in a coordinated operation in the eastern Aegean, officials said.

The migrants, mainly from Afghanistan and Iraq, were dropped on the tourist island of Samos, the island of Farmakonisis and two rocky outcrops by a flotilla of small boats from Turkey, coastguard officials said.

The officers also detained a 30-year-old Turk suspected of smuggling 10 of the immigrants into Greece, state television reported.

People smugglers regularly use the Aegean sea route to transport their human cargoes to Europe.

Greece moves to guarantee bank deposits

Athens - Greece's finance ministry on Friday said that it will guarantee all bank deposits, assuring nervous savers across the southern Mediterranean country that their banks were safe.

National Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said the government was following the Irish lead and taking steps to increase protection afforded to borrowers defaulting on loan payments as higher lending rates squeeze disposable incomes.

"The government is approaching the issue with sensitivity and promoting every feasible measure to help people in a difficult position due to adverse international conditions," he said.

Christofias makes further moves towards reconciliation on Cyprus

Nicosia - Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias has suggested a series of proposals towards further reconciliation of the Greek and Turkish parts of the divided Mediterranean island.

Among the proposals broadcast on Cypriot television Wednesday morning was the cancellation of the annual autumn military exercises by the National Guard in the Greek Cypriot south of the island and the Turkish Army in the north.

"I also propose a full demilitarization of the Old City of Nicosia and the setting up of a demilitarized zone," Christofias said in a speech to the Council of Europe shown on television.

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