With a brilliant reception at the Athens Concert Hall, the Japanese ambassador to Greece Nakayama Yasunori and the Japanese embassy celebrated the Birthday of Emperor Naruhito of Japan, a national celebration in the land of the Rising Sun, on Thursday evening, in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Costas Fragogiannis. From early Thursday afternoon, Nakayama Yasunori and his wife Nakayama Chizuko welcomed their official guests to the Concert Hall to celebrate the Emperor’s Birthday with them. Excellent relations In his greeting, the Japanese ambassador praised the excellent level of relations between Japan and Greece and their “very positive dynamics”, while expressing his commitment that he is determined to make the maximum possible effort for their further promotion. Highlighting the current level of bilateral relations, he expressed the belief that at no time in the history of the two countries, since 1899, have such rapid developments been recorded as in the last 12 months of 2022, starting with the meeting of Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias and Yoshimasa Hayashi in April in Tokyo. “The two ministers, recognizing that both countries share fundamental values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, including the free and open maritime order, discussed not only bilateral relations but also various international issues, including the situation in Ukraine”. The Mitsotakis visit Nakayama Yasunori made a special reference to the results of the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Japan at the end of January, stressing that it contributed significantly to the strengthening of bilateral relations, but also to their upgrading to strategic cooperation. “It was the first visit of a Greek prime minister to Japan after 17 years, which, I believe, contributed significantly to the strengthening of relations between Japan and Greece. During their meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis issued a joint communique, in which, among other things, the bilateral relationship is upgraded to “strategic cooperation”. He also pointed out that during his stay in Japan, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife met with Crown Prince Fumihito Akishino of Japan and Kiko Princess Akishino, which lasted longer than planned and was very cordial and warm. Bilateral relations Referring to the front of bilateral economic relations, he spoke about the wide-ranging meetings of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Greek delegation with executives of Japanese business groups of the Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations of Japan) and the Japanese External Trade Organization JETRO. “They were very fruitful in increasing the visibility of bilateral business opportunities,” the Japanese ambassador to Greece emphasized. In addition, he made special mention of the Greek prime minister’s “very substantial meetings” with representatives of the Japanese financial sector, including those of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. In the wake of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit and contacts in Japan, he explained that in this very positive dynamic created in bilateral economic relations it is his duty to work hard, together with his Greek partners, to achieve tangible progress, whether it is investment or trade. The business visit He further highlighted the importance of the much-anticipated Japanese business visit to Greece, which took place in October last year and was organized by Keidanren, the Japanese Federation of Economic Organizations. “It was Keidanren’s first visit in the last 20 years and the members of the business delegation left Greece with a very positive impression of the performance of the Greek economy and business opportunities in that country.” Referring more broadly to the bilateral relations of Greek-Japanese relations, the ambassador pointed out that Japan and Greece will celebrate 125 years of their diplomatic relations in 2024, as the “Year of Culture and Tourism”. In this context, he said he looks forward to working closely with his Greek counterparts to organize a multitude of events, both in Greece and Japan to celebrate this special year. The story of the “Tokei Maru” in the destruction of Smyrna He made a special mention of the special event organized by the Japanese embassy in September to commemorate the heroic rescue carried out by the Japanese merchant ship “Tokei Maru” in Izmir 100 years ago. “During the great fire in Smyrna in September 1922, the Japanese ship is said to have dumped its cargo in order to accommodate more than 800 Greek refugees,” he said and pledged to make this story widely known in both Greece and Japan. The “Posidonia” exhibition It also demonstrated the global importance of the “Posidonia” maritime exhibition. “In June, we participated in Posidonia 2022, the most important event in the world of shipping companies. It served as an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the strong ties based on the rich maritime history between Japan and Greece, which spans more than 70 years,” he said and expressed his belief that the maritime sector remains and will remain firmly as the central pillar of bilateral economic relations. Contact results Afterwards, Deputy Foreign Minister Costas Fragogiannis addressed a greeting on behalf of the Greek government, expressing his congratulations and wishes for the Emperor’s birthday. Speaking about bilateral relations, he referred to the long-term ties between the two countries and emphasized that their relations are based on common values. K. Fragogiannis emphasized the results of the contacts during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Japan, in which he also participated. In a similar spirit, he expressed Greece’s willingness to further strengthen bilateral relations in all areas provided for in the joint statement, signed by the two prime ministers in Tokyo. The reception was attended by figures from the political, diplomatic, economic, cultural, sports, academic and journalistic worlds, as well as members of Japan-related organizations. It is noted that last night was the first reception hosted by Nakayama Yasunori in Athens for the Emperor’s Birthday since he was appointed ambassador of Japan to Greece in January 2021.
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Giorgi, an Italian national, was arrested on Dec. 9, 2023 along with former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and Kaili, with whom he has young daughter Jailed MEP Eva Kaili’s domestic partner, Francesco Giorgi, was ordered released from pre-trial remand but will remain under arrest by being fitted with an electronic bracelet, according to an announcement by federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels late Thursday afternoon. Kaili, Giorgi and a handful of other individuals face felony bribery and money laundering charges related to the explosive “Qatar-gate” furor, which involves alleged influence peddling in the European Parliament in return for cash and gifts. Giorgi, an Italian national, was arrested on Dec. 9, 2023 along with former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and Kaili, with whom he has young daughter. The development comes a day after the Times of London revealed that Giorgi and Panzeri shared the same Belgian prison cell for several weeks, albeit both are charged in the same case. Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom Thursday following his conviction last year on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor, his second such lengthy sentencing in the past year. Kelly, 56, is already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. US District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber said in court Thursday that 19 years of the 20-year prison sentence would be served concurrently, or at the same time as his other sentence. One year would be served consecutively, or after that sentence is complete, he said. Kelly was convicted in September on three counts of production of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. A motion for a new trial was denied last week. Prosecutors had asked for a 25-year sentence to be served once his other 30-year prison sentence is complete. “Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who, over the course of many years, specifically targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims,” prosecutors said in a filing. “To this day, and even following the jury verdict against him, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes.” The defense said in its filing Kelly is already serving a “de facto life sentence” and asked for any sentence be served at the same time as his 30-year sentence in the New York case. “In the unlikely event that Kelly was to survive his 30-year sentence, there is no reason to believe he would reoffend as a geriatric in his mid-80s,” his attorneys wrote. “The overwhelming majority of Kelly’s criminal conduct was committed a quarter century ago.” The advisory sentencing guidelines offer a range of 14 to 17.5 years in prison, according to the prosecution’s calculations, or 11.25 to 14 years in prison, according to the defense’s calculations. The question of whether the two sentences will be served consecutively or concurrently was up to the court’s discretion. The sentencing hearing is the culmination of nearly three decades of allegations Kelly had sexually abused underage girls, accusations first laid out in the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2002, Kelly was indicted on child pornography charges for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with an unidentified underage girl, but he was acquitted in 2008. Through the allegations, Kelly was one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1990s and 2000s, known for hit songs “Bump N’ Grind,” “Ignition (Remix)” and “I Believe I Can Fly,” which won him three Grammy Awards. He has been nominated for 26 Grammy Awards in all, including as recently as 2015. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Kelly faced further allegations of wrongdoing in a 2017 BuzzFeed article and in the January 2019 Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” A month later, he was indicted in Cook County, Illinois, on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and two federal indictments followed in July 2019. What happened at the trials The federal trial in Chicago last September was based on allegations from five minors who prosecutors allege were abused by Kelly in the late 1990s by making explicit videos with four of them. One of the witnesses in the trial, a 37-year-old woman, spoke in federal court under the pseudonym Jane and testified Kelly began engaging in sex acts with her when she was 14 and had sex with her starting when she was 15. They had sex “hundreds” of times before she turned 18, she said. She testified that she falsely denied they had a sexual relationship in interviews with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Chicago police investigators and to a grand jury in 2002. “Why were you untruthful?” a prosecutor asked Jane in court. “Because I was afraid to expose Robert. Because I was afraid of what might happen to my parents,” she said. “I also did not want that person to be me.” The jury convicted Kelly of six charges, including three counts of producing videos depicting sexual conduct with Jane and three counts of enticing Jane and two other minors to engage in sexual activity. He was acquitted on seven other counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice. Two associates were acquitted of all charges. At the time of the Chicago federal trial, Kelly had already been convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in a New York federal trial. In that case, prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York accused Kelly of using his status as a celebrity and a “network of people at his disposal to target girls, boys and young women for his own sexual gratification.” The New York trial included testimony from witnesses who said they were sexually and physically abused by Kelly. The court also heard from people involved with orchestrating Kelly’s 1994 marriage to the late singer Aaliyah when she was just 15 years old and he was an adult after she believed she’d gotten pregnant. Last month, prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, dropped state sex-crime charges against Kelly, citing in part his lengthy federal sentence. “I understand how hard it was for these victims to come forward and tell their stories. I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for everyone who came forward,” Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a news release. “While this may not be the result they were expecting, due to the sentences that Mr. Kelly is facing, we do feel that justice has been served.” (CNN) The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum announced that 2,767 new “golden visas” were issued in 2022, a sharp rise on the 1,525 granted in 2021. In the last months of 2022, with a peak in December, 1,116 applications were submitted, compared to 337 in September. Greece introduced its Golden Visa programme in 2014. Under it, third-country nationals purchasing real estate worth at least 250,000 euros are granted a five-year residence permit, which may be renewed. A residence permit is also granted to third-country nationals who make an investment that will positively impact the national development and economy. Finally, third-country nationals may also reside in Greece if they make an intangible investment in specific forms of securities or a bank deposit exceeding 400,000 euros in value, either as natural persons or through legal entities. Based on ministry data from 2014 until the end of 2022, 62.8 per cent of the residence permits, a total of 6,159, were granted to Chinese nationals. They are followed by Turkish nationals, on 6.4 per cent with 631 permits, Lebanese, on 4.5 per cent, and Egyptians on 2.9 per cent. Some 200 permits were granted to British nationals. Greek media outlet Kathimeri reports that the rush of investors is due to new rules that double the minimum investment limit from 250,000 to 500,000 euros, which will be imposed from May 1. Eteron, a Greek think tank, reported that the scheme has a downside to it in terms of the affect on real estate prices. “There is an acknowledgement of the adverse impact of these investment schemes on the housing market; increasing the threshold without applying any other criteria may prove insufficient,” it said. As BIRN has reported, housing prices are becoming a serious issue in Greece, where rental prices are skyrocketing. Many Greeks have trouble making ends meet and turn to other solutions, such as home-sharing or returning to their parent’s home. Portugal announced on February 17 the end of its Golden Visa programme as well as a ban on new licenses for Airbnbs and other short-term holiday rentals. The country also has a housing crisis. In 2022, the European Commission called on EU governments to stop selling citizenship to investors. However, this is different to golden visas, which offer permanent residency rather than citizenship. https://balkaninsight.com/ Inflation rate in Greece drops slightly in Jan. 23 from previous month; figure stands at 7%18/2/2023 The annual inflation rate in Greece eased, slightly, to 7 percent in January 2023 (on an annualized basis), down from 7.2 percent in December 2022. The same figure for the corresponding month of 2022 was 6.2 percent. The decline, albeit marginal, is attributed decreasing electricity rates, as over the past year and a half record high power prices shocked consumers. However, a more ominous parameter of the announced inflation figure was an increase in foodstuffs by 15.4 percent, now viewed as the biggest threat to Greek households’ disposable incomes. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT), inflation moved at 3 percent for alcohol/tobacco products; 6.5 percent for clothing/footwear; 10.6 percent for durable goods; 2.9 percent in health services; 8.1 percent in transport; 2.2 percent in private education; 7.8 percent in the hospitality sector and 5.4 percent for other goods and services. The housing index eased by a negligible 0.1 percent, while the telecoms index fell by 1.3 percent in January 2023. The consumer price index was down by 0.5 percent last month, compared to December 2022, while the harmonized inflation rate increased 7.3 percent in January 2023, compared the corresponding month in 2022. ot.gr Several high-profile Bulgarian politicians were sanctioned on Friday simultaneously by the Global Magnitsky Act and the Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC of the US Treasury as well as by the British government. Among those designated by the US are GERB member Vladislav Goranov, Finance Minister in 2017-2020 in Boyko Borissov’s third cabinet, Russophile Movement party leader Nickolay Malinov, who in 2019 was charged with espionage, Bulgarian Socialist Party members 2017-2019 MP Ivan Kirov and Rumen Ovcharov, Minister of Economy and Energy from 2005 to 2007, and Alexander Nikolov, former general director of Bulgaria’s sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy. The Bulgarian Socialist Party is the successor to the one-time ruling Communist Party and is traditionally aligned with Russia. Designated entities include Bulgaria’s pro-Russian far-right Revival party, embroiled in numerous controversies, most recently in an anti-euro campaign and in intimidating journalists, and the more marginal Russophile Movement. The UK has focused on sanctioning individuals previously sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky program from June 2021: former media mogul and current Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Delyan Peevski, the exiled oligarch and gambling tycoon Vassil Bozhkov (whose business was nationalised during Goranov’s stint as Finance Minister) and the former deputy chief of Bulgaria’s special intelligence service, Ilko Zhelyazkov. “Those sanctioned have deprived the people of Bulgaria of resources crucial to its economic and social development. Money that should have been used to fix roads, build hospitals and support economic growth has instead ended up in the pockets of corrupt individuals,” UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. “The UK is acting in close coordination with the US to support Bulgaria in its efforts to tackle corruption and strengthen the rule of law by sanctioning these corrupt figures,” he added. Reformist parties and NGOs in Bulgaria have accused the Bulgarian prosecution of inactivity to sanctions and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev has been dubbed a protector of Boyko Borissov, and of GERB’s legacy. International criticism of Bulgarian corruption has intensified lately. “In Bulgaria, the oligarchs have an extremely strong grip. They amass power through the politicians and keep it through economic means to keep their image clean,” US ambassador to Sofia Hero Mustafa told a TV interview on January 22. “Real reform will happen only when there is a reform in the judicial sector and in the Prosecutor’s office as well,” he added. Former PM Kiril Petkov, whose pro-EU coalition was ousted in June and is currently on a visit in Washington, on his social media on Friday also criticised state inactivity over allegations of corruption: “Why can’t Chief Prosecutor Geshev see anything of what the US Treasury found out recently?” Petkov asked. Borissov and Goranov were both arrested under Petkov’s governance but successfully appealed. “The corruption connection between Bozhkov, Goranov and Borissov was the main reason for their arrests last year,” Petkov observed. Source: https://balkaninsight.com EU-Turkey relations were always complex and difficult. Differences regarding violations of the rule of law and Ankara’s extreme, inflammatory rhetoric are an open wound and remain on the negotiating table. In light of the disaster that has been unfolding over the last days in Turkey, however, no complexity or difficulty is of importance. That is understood by the 27 EU leaders who participated in a summit in Brussels yesterday. They sent a condolence letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which they lauded the efforts of European rescue teams to find those trapped in the rubble alive. The EU’s response, however, cannot be exhausted with symbolism and condolences. That does not suffice today, because everyone knows that the real humanitarian crisis will begin when the dust settles and the time comes to count losses and damages. EU solidarity must also be palpable in the reconstruction phase. It appears that this will happen, as the EU’s leaders in cooperation with its Swedish presidency have undertaken an initiative to organise a donors’ conference that will be held in March in Brussels, to mobilise and collect funds from the international community to support Turkey and Syria economically. Greece has a duty to be in the frontline in this and future EU initiatives, offering ideas and proposals to support the two countries. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck just after 4 a.m. local time on Monday, 23 kilometerseast of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. It is not clear precisely how many people have died, but news outlets have said the death toll is at least 641, and growing, across Turkiye and Syria with hundreds more believed to be still missing or injured. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said the official death toll stood at 284, with a further 2323 people reported as injured. Oktay also said that 1712 buildings have collapsed. News agency AFP reported at least 386 deaths in Syria, citing Syrian state media and a medical sources. Later, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 400 people with hundreds still missing. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck just after 4 a.m. local time on Monday, 23 kilometerseast of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake caused devastation across both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border claiming hundreds of lives. The quake was so strong that tremors were felt in Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Egypt. A hospital in the southeastern Sanliurfa province was completely destroyed by the earthquake, with many patients remaining trapped beneath the rubble. Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in various cities on both sides of the border. In one quake-struck Turkish city, people frantically pulled away chunks of concrete and twisted metal. People on the street shouted up to others inside a partially toppled apartment building, leaning dangerously. In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home collapsed. “I don’t have the strength anymore,” one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble, as rescue workers tried to reach him, said Muhammet Fatih Yavus a resident. Further east in Diyarbakir, cranes and rescue teams rushed people on stretchers out of a mountain of pancaked concrete floors that was once an apartment building. At least 20 aftershocks followed, some hours later, the strongest measuring 6.6, Turkish authorities said. Buildings toppled to the ground in Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkiye’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers to the northeast. Also in Syria, the quake smashed opposition-held regions that are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of Syria by the country’s long civil war. Many of them were already living in destitute conditions with little health care, with Russian-backed Syrian forces surrounding the area and sometimes carrying out airstrikes. Rescue workers said hospitals in the area were packed. “We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor, said by phone from the town of Atmeh, referring to the entire rebel-held area. Raed Salah, the head of the White Helmets, the emergency organization in opposition areas, said whole neighborhoods were collapsed in some areas. The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centered north of the city of Gaziantep in an area about 90 kilometers from the Syrian border. On the Turkish side, the area has several large cities and is home to millions of Syrian refugees. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake. “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” he wrote. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu urged people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks. “Our priority is to bring out people trapped under ruined buildings and to transfer them to hospitals,” he said. At least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkiye’s Malatya province, neighboring the epicenter, Gov. Hulusi Sahin said. In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, at least 15 buildings collapsed. Rescue teams called for silence as they listed for survivors in a toppled 11-story building. In northwest Syria, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense described the situation in the rebel-held region as “disastrous” adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the rubble. The civil defense urged people to evacuate buildings to gather in open areas. Emergency rooms were full of injured, said Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian American Medical Society. US President Biden directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess response options to the most affected areas in the Turkiye and Syria earthquake, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Sunday. The United States is profoundly concerned by the reports of the destructive earthquake, he said. The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 33 kilometers from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. It was centered 18 kilometers deep, and a strong 6.7 aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later. Syria’s state media reported that some buildings collapsed in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama. In Damascus, buildings shook and many people went down to the streets in fear. The quake jolted residents in Lebanon from beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings.The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday. Turkiye sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkiye in 1999. The earthquake came as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday. Cetizens from as far as Jerusalem and Beirut talked of being awakened by the strong shaking. “I live in Gaziantep, Türkiye. Was sleeping when it started. Absolutely terrifying,” Nasip (@iam_nasib) commented on a video posted on Twitter. “Felt it in Jerusalem,” said Amy di Nardò (@amybellabella). Sagittarius (@JRsagittarius) said he was in Beirut and the experienced “was terrifying.” Karolingston (@karolingston) of Cyprus said he was awakened because “My bed was shaking.” “Felt it in Lebanon. It was a hell of a feeling!” chimed in CharbelRahmé (@charbelrahm_e) Turkiye is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. Duzce was one of the regions hit by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 — the worst to hit Turkiye in decades. That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul. Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions. A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people. And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit the Aegean Sea, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000. (With agencies) |