NEWS IN ENGLISH 21-11-2014
Protesting students demonstrated this morning outside the Education Ministry headquarters against reforms in all levels of education under the strong presence of riot police.
During student confrontations with police, tear gas and flash grenades were used. One student was sprayed directly in the face, while another was beaten up and arrested.
Meanwhile there is an occupation domino in many of the country’s universities, caused by the proposition of Rector of Athens University Mr. Fortsakis for electronic voting leading to the degradation of the role of student unions.
Student unions are currently organizing an event dealing with authoritarianism in the university within the occupied Law School.
The Greek tax system rates among the three worst systems in Europe according to a poll by Deloitte. The other two countries are Ukraine and Poland.
An additional 1.3 billion euros from taxes are programmed in the 2015 budget plan which was tabled in Parliament and is to be voted by the body on the 7th of December.
According to the new budget immediate taxes will reach the 53.5% of the GDP in 2015 compared to 53.1% of the GDP in 2014 while immediate taxes will fall from 46.5% of GDP to 46.9% of GDP in 2014.
Changes in the Code of Civil Procedure are a major political issue which will have a dramatic effect on Greek society as a whole, stated leader of Syriza Alexis Tsipras after meeting president of Athens Lawyer Association Vassilis Alexandris this morning.
Mr. Alexandris expressed his strong objections to the content of the new provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure which clearly favor the interests of banks versus the interests of the majority of the people.
Lawyers are in the third day of their strike today and have announced that they will abstain from their duties next week.
The second political conference of the party of Independent Greeks will take place the next two days in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Independent Greeks MP Panagiotis Melas has caused a serious crisis within the party as he has said he mayvote for President of the Republic, despite the ultimatum of the leader of the party Panos Kammenos .
Prison inmate Hercules Kostaris, convicted as a member of the terrorist group “17th of November”, is in a critical state of health after being on a hunger strike for 24 days and was transferred to Thriaseio hospital.
Hercules Kostaris is protesting because he has been refused the educational leaves he had been taking for the past 2.5 years to attend classes in the Pireaus Polytechnic where he is studying.
Inmate Nickos Romanos is in the twelfth day of his own hunger strike, with the support of Giannis Mihailides, also demanding the educational leaves to which he is entitled according to the law in order to complete his studies.
It is the third day that the 300 Syrian refugees remain concentrated in front of the Parliament asking to be granted asylum and travel documents by Greek authorities and demanding shelter for their families.
The fighting cleaning ladies of the Ministry of Finance and the redundant school guards expressed their solidarity to the Syrian refugees offering food and blankets.
SYRIZA MPs handed a document démarche on the matter to the Ministers of Citizen Protection, Labor, Health and Home.
Syriza demands light to be shed on the circumstances of the death of photojournalist Athanasios Kiosses in Ukraine and
express their deep outrage for his death on the 18th of November in a shelling while he was in the shelters of the Donetsk airport.
Young musicians aged from 16 to 25 are invited to participate in the new Youth Orchestra which is being created by POSPERT in cooperation with the embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
In Italy, the Ministry of Finance has announced that the use of the “social card” for people who face financial problems has been extended to include foreigners with permit of permanent residence
WEATHER
Sunshine is expected tomorrow for the largest part of the country with sporadic cloudiness. The temperature will range from 10 to 16 degrees Celsius in Athens and from 9 to 14 degrees Celsius in Thessalonica.