Posts Tagged ‘Moscow’
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on wednesday signed a law extending the presidential term, the Kremlin said, in a move many observers believe is designed to bring former president Vladimir Putin back to the nation’s top office.Medvedev, Putin’s hand-picked successor, proposed the changes in November, starting with the next president.
The new law extends the term of the president from four years to six. Medvedev also signed a law extending the term of members of the lower house of parliament, the Duma, from four years to five.Putin stepped down as president in May after two terms and is now prime minister.Earlier this month, Putin shrugged off the suggestion that Medvedev would step down to make way for his return when the law passes.
Putin has done call-in programs each year since 2001, but this was his first one as prime minister, rather than president. Putin remaining in the chair this year, rather than yielding it to Medvedev, showed he still runs Russia, said analyst Yevgeny Volk, the director of the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative U.S.-based think tank. Medvedev also signed a law giving the Duma more powers over the Russian government. The Duma may now consider annual performance reports issued by the government
Violence on Greece
Posted on: December 11, 2008
Riots erupted for a fifth day and strikes paralysed Greece on Wednesday, as unrest ignited by the police shooting of a teenager was fuelled further by resentment of economic hardship and government scandals.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced financial support for businesses damaged in the riots and main socialist opposition leader George Papandreou appealed for an end to the violence that has gripped more than 10 Greek cities. “Government murderers!” demonstrators shouted, furious at the shooting of a boy by police on Saturday.
Karamanlis, clinging to a thin majority, pledged to safeguard people from violence, but did not say how. Government sources denied rumours emergency measures were being considered. No more protests are planned this week and the premier flies to Brussels on Thursday for an EU summit but tension remains high.
Protesters lobbed firebombs at police, who returned volleys of tear gas outside Athens polytechnic university. Hooded youths pulled a driver from her car and set it alight in front of her. Earlier, marchers clashed with police outside parliament following a rally against economic and social policy.
“Participation in the strike is total, the country has come to a standstill,” said Stathis Anestis, spokesman for the GSEE union federation, which called the 24-hour strike along with its public sector counterpart ADEDY, numbering millions of members.
Foreign and domestic flights were grounded, banks and schools were shut, and hospitals ran on emergency services as hundreds of thousands of Greeks walked off the job. Unions say privatisations, tax rises and pension reform have worsened conditions, especially for the one-fifth of Greeks who live below the poverty line, just as the global downturn is hurting the 240 billion-euro economy.
“We are fed up with scandals and corruption,” said demonstrator Efi Giannisi, 38, an English teacher.
Counting the cost:-
The Greek Commerce Confederation said damage to businesses in Athens alone was worth about 200 million euros ($259 million), with 565 shops seriously damaged.
In a televised message, Karamanlis, who swept to power amid the euphoria of the 2004 Athens Olympics, announced subsidies, loans and tax relief measures for those affected. “The government is determined not only to make citizens feel safe but to support businesses which suffered damage,” he said.
In four years of conservative rule, a series of scandals, devastating forest fires, and unsuccessful economic measures have erased the optimistic mood of 2004. The opposition socialist party, which has overtaken the ruling conservatives in opinion polls, has called for elections.
“I appeal to all to show responsibility, restraint and to end the violence that our country is experiencing these days,” Papandreou told a conference.
One policeman has been charged with murder and his partner with abetting him over the shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15. A prosecutor on Wednesday ordered them both jailed pending trial after the officer testified he had fired in the air.
His lawyer told Reuters the investigation had shown the bullet had ricocheted but witnesses told TV stations after the shooting that the policeman had aimed at the boy and fired. The ballistics report has not yet been officially published.
Rioting over the boy’s death began in Athens on Saturday and quickly spread across the European Union nation of 11 million people. Greeks also protested in Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, The Hague, Moscow, New York, Italy and Cyprus. The unrest is the worst in Greece since the aftermath of military rule in 1974.
In Rome, demonstrators burned a garbage bin and threw fire crackers and rocks at police cars trying to stop them reaching the Greek embassy. Some shopowners in Athens started to replace broken windows and others boarded them up to prevent further damage. Bus stops and litter bins were blackened by fire, public telephone booths smashed and some buildings gutted by blazes.
Greece has a tradition of violence at student rallies and firebomb attacks by anarchist groups are common.
Akhil
Posted on: December 10, 2008
Akhil Kumar gave India a resounding start at the inaugural AIBA boxing World Cup, out-punching Germany’s Marcel Schneider 15-6 to enter the bantam weight semi-finals and assure himself of a medal in Moscow on Wednesday (Dec 10).
The 27-year-old Indian will be up against Beijing Olympics silver medallist Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba in the semi-finals on December 13. The Cuban beat Botswana’s Khumiso Ikgopoleng 7-0 in the other last eight bout.
Today’s win has not just assured Akhil of a bronze medal but also USD 2,500 in prize money. “I was slightly nervous to start with because the first bout is always crucial. He (Schneider) was not attacking and I also stuck to counter-punching. I kept my guard down, like I usually do and gained in confidence as the bout progressed,” Akhil said after the bout.
Akhil, who was a quarter-finalist in Beijing, was in rampaging mood today and didn’t allow his opponent to land a single scoring punch in the first round, at the end of which he led 4-0.
The diminutive counter-puncher built on the lead in the next two rounds, scoring seven points. Though Schneider managed to hold his own in the third and fourth rounds by landing six blows, Akhil’s first-round lead gave him a comfortable six-point cushion.
The final round belonged to the Haryana-boxer, who picked up three more points to complete the formalities.
“The coaches — GS Sandhu and Jaidev Bisht — asked me to keep moving around the ring at good pace and that did the trick for me. My fitness is nowhere near what it was during the Beijing Olympics but it is good,” said Akhil.
“My target is the gold medal. The bronze and silver medals are the ones you get by luck. Next up for me is a Cuban boxer and though he is formidable, I am ready for the challenge,” he said.
Among the other bantam weight results, world champion and local favourite Sergey Vodopyanov, whom Akhil beat in the second round of Beijing Olympics, scored a comfortable 13-7 win over Uzbek Hoorshid Tojibaev.
Vodopyanov next faces Beijing bronze medallist Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova, who defeated Azerbaijan’s Rahim Najafov.
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