Greece crisis to hit India, other equity markets, says UBS
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 470Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
Greece crisis to hit India, other equity markets, says UBS!
The Greek parliament prepared to adopt a harsh austerity plan on Thursday in the face of violent unrest, as markets looked to the European Central Bank to prevent a debt crisis engulfing the euro zone! The AUSTERITY Plan resembles Indian Economic Ethnic Cleansing amusingly with the Political Economics of Exclusion as the Greek Government has loaded the TAXATION against the Majority Masses and indulged in enhancing Foreign Capital Inflow as dictated by IMF, World Bank, EUROPEAN Community and the entire developed World. It is the Global Phenomenon in the age of Free Market Democracy ,we may not understand so well! But GREECE is not so far away and it Connects to DANTEWADA as well as Lalgarh Ironically!
As a student, we often indulge in the study of Greek Civilisation, History, Philosophy. Since I used to be a student of Literature, my Youth was engaged to Greek Mythology and I was in love with Venus and APHRODITE. At the same time, Greek Tragedy always created Turmoils in our mind. Ancient Greece attracts us, the Indians specifically, as we see ourselves in MIRROR Global while GREEK Rituals, Myths and worship of natural Power, Greek Deities connect us with the Greek People. But for me, I Never dealt with GREEK ECONOMY at any level. I am afraid that most of us in South Asia as well as in the so called Developed Hemisphere, NEVER Cared for the little Greek Economy. The Tragedy climaxes as while World Bank, IMF, US War Economy, Economists, MNCs, corporate Imperialism and its super slaves were indulged projecting Recovery, RESILIENCE and Growth Rate, GREEK TURNAROUND signaled that the RECESSION is NOT Over as yet!
- Greece's only chance to avoid bankruptcy is to accept money from a joint European Union-International Monetary Fund rescue programme, the government said Thursday ahead of a parliamentary vote on new austerity measures.Sify News - 5 minutes ago
- Greece's only hope of avoiding bankruptcy is to take money from a joint EU and International Monetary Fund rescue package, the government said Thursday during a heated Parliamentary debateSify News - 6 minutes ago
- Greece to back austerity, anxious markets eye ECBGreece to back austerity, anxious markets eye ECBThe Economic Times - 53 minutes ago
- International uncertainties such as the debt crisis in Greece would have an impact on equity markets globally, including India, a top financial sector expert said.rediff.com - May 06 4:59 AM
- Greece says bailout is only hopeGreece says bailout is only hopeThe Economic Times - 2 hours, 8 minutes ago
- Greece debt crisis may impact European banks: Moody'sGreece debt crisis may impact European banks: Moody'sThe Economic Times - May 06 5:20 AM
- The debt crisis enveloping Greece could spread to hurt the banking systems in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain, a leading credit ratings agency warned Thursday.Sify News - May 06 4:08 AM
- Greece is not going to benefit by leaving Europe: V Anantha NageswaranGreece is not going to benefit by leaving Europe: V Anantha NageswaranThe Economic Times - May 06 12:05 AM
- BNP reveals Greece exposure amid contagion fearsBNP reveals Greece exposure amid contagion fearsThe Economic Times - May 05 10:35 PM
- NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) U.S. Treasuries rallied on Tuesday with benchmark yields falling to two-month lows as doubts whether debt-stricken Greece has the resolve to make sharp spending cuts fueled safe-haven demand for bonds.Deepika - May 05 6:48 PM
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International uncertainties such as the one prevailing in Greece would have an impact on equity markets globally, including India, a top financial sector expert said.
"The uncertainty in Greece will impact the Indian equity market as well those of other countries," UBS India CEO and Country Head Manisha Girotra told PTI on the sidelines of a FICCI event here.
The global environment will continue to remain choppy for sometime following the debt crisis in Greece, Girotra said, adding the contagion may spread to Spain and some other countries.
The UBS India chief, however, said India would not be affected by the crisis in a major way. In India, the growth story "is intact" and the Government policies are positive, she said.
"The country has a robust economy and our corporate sector is strong."
Asked about the interest rate regime going forward, Girotra said she expected a "gentle tightening of interest rates."
There is optimism of a good monsoon this time, she said. "We expect a good monsoon this year -- this will help in easing of high inflation rate."
The prevailing inflation (9.9%) is a reflection of last year's poor monsoon, she said.
The euro slid further amid fears that Greece's debt crisis would spread across the continent, after a ratings agency warned that contagion could hit banks in weaker countries. Spain saw its borrowing costs rise at a debt auction, and markets looked for some form of extra help from the European Central Bank.
A restructuring of Greek debt would trigger a conflagration that would be impossible to control, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday, in unusually strong language.
"If we were to have a debt restructuring, then we would have -- and we are all saying this ... exactly the kind of conflagration that we could no longer control," Schaeuble said at a conference on Europe in the German capital. "We are in a really fundamental crisis, the stability of the euro is really at stake," he added.
Credit ratings agency Moody's Investor Service said the banking systems in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain could all be hurt by a widening debt crisis.
Global ratings agency Moody's today warned that potential contagion of the worsening Greek debt crisis could hit the banking systems in some European nations, including the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.
The latest statement comes a day after the agency announced that government bond ratings of Portugal are under review for a possible downgrade due to weak public finances.
"As shown by the recent downgrade of Greek banks as a result of sovereign weakness, the potential contagion of sovereign risks to banking systems could spread to other countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, as well as Ireland and the UK," Moody's Investors Service, which is part of Moody's, said in a statement.
Despite Greece securing a 110 billion pound rescue package, to be given by Euro Zone members and the IMF, concerns are mounting about the viability of the plan and effective implementation of Greek government's austerity measures.
"Overall, Moody's notes that each of these countries' banking systems faces different challenges of different magnitudes, but warns that contagion risk could dilute these differences and impose very real, common threats on all of them," the statement noted.
The Greek government is expected to vote on stiff austerity measures, as part of the bailout package.
Meanwhile, fears about the Greece crisis impacting other European countries have increased in recent weeks.
on Wednesday, Moody's said that a review for possible downgrade of Portugal's rating was mainly on account of the country's deteriorating public finances as well as the economy's long-term growth challenges.
On April 30, Moody's downgraded the bank financial strength ratings as well as the deposit and debt ratings of nine Greek banks, citing their weak financial position.
Global rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) last month cut Greece's sovereign rating to junk status and also downgraded the rating of Spain.
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Meanwhile,
India Inc expects the economy to grow 7.5-8.5% this fiscal. The growth will be lead by rising capital investment and expanding exports, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) survey has said.
"The majority (of respondents) expect economic growth to be in the range of 7.5-8.5 % ," said the CII Business Outlook. The survey was based on responses from 458 companies.
Industry optimism was also expressed in the Business Confidence Index that rose to 67.6 points for April-September 2010-11, from 66.1 points during the second half of 2009 fiscal, the survey added.
The survey added 73% of the respondents would like to increase investments from April 2010 to September 2011 from the levels in October 2009 to March 10 .
"With headline inflation nearing double digits, inflation is mentioned as one of the top concerns for the business community," said the survey statement.
The survey also pointed out that in spite of various steps taken by the RBI to improve liquidity in the system, the actual offtake of credit has not improved substantially.
Regarding employment, 69% of the respondents expect employment to increase, during the next six months as compared with 45% during October 2009 to March 2010.
Exports could be promising over the next six months, the survey said. The survey added 79% of the respondents expected further increase in input prices over the next six months.
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6 May 2010, 0424 hrs IST,Andy Mukherjee,ET Now Jim Rogers, Chairman, Rogers Holdings and Commodities guru More Pictures |
You have been warning us for quite sometime about the currency crisis. Is that what is finally upon us?
The currency crisis has been going on for a while. It did not start this week. It started maybe with Iceland or many other countries that have been having problems. The currency crisis is going to get worse. Over the next year or two, we are going to see more, so prepare yourself. ( Watch )
Do you think the Eurozone is going to shrink because of what we are witnessing in Portugal, Greece and Spain?
Eventually the euro, unfortunately, is going to break up because it keeps weakening itself from within. If they would let Greece go bankrupt, for instance, it would strengthen the euro, it would strengthen the Eurozone because then people would know you have to maintain a sound economy. You have to maintain a sound currency and everybody would jump in and buy the euro, I would also buy more if that would be the case. Weakening from within and continuing to lend money and paper over problems is not a solution for a sound currency. I do own the euro, but I do not think this is the proper approach.
We are also seeing the impact of the crisis on most commodity markets. Do you think that this is just temporary and commodity is still the place for investors to be?
Yes, gold is making all-time highs in some currencies. So some currencies are doing well. But if the world economy gets better, then obviously commodities are going to do better because the world will use more and there are shortages developing. But let's assume the worst. Let's assume world economies do not get better, then I would rather be in commodities in most things because governments are going to print even more money, and whenever you have printed money throughout history, it has led to higher prices for real goods whether it is silver or natural gas. So, I would rather own commodities than most things in the world in the next two or three years.
Looking at the Rogers International Commodities Index, I find that rubber has done exceptionally well this year and so has lumber. What kind of commodities do you like at the moment for the long term?
I prefer agriculture just because it has not moved up as much. Metals have boomed in the past 15-18 months, energy is up a lot in the last 15 or 18 months. Agriculture for the most part is still very depressed. Yes, you are right, rubber has done well, some things have done well but for the most part, agricultural products are still very depressed including sugar. Sugar went up a lot in the past couple of years but it is still very depressed compared to its all-time high.
It is a known fact that global markets are really swayed by movements across the globe. Do you expect to see any cataclysmic events in 2010 or do you think it is going to be a largely benign kind of year ?
I have no idea. There will be more currency crises, more currency turmoil over the next year or two or three. We have huge imbalances. All the credit to nations in the world or in Asia and all the debt — you know who the debtors are and you know where they are. Those imbalances have not been sorted out yet. Throughout history, most imbalances like this have been sorted out in the currency markets or once upon a time when we were on the gold exchange through the gold markets and so we have more problems coming.
You may well see some more countries going bankrupt in this period of time because these imbalances still exist. I would be careful if I were you. I have started selling short in the last month or so. I have had virtually no shorts. In fact, I have had no shorts since the fall of 2008 but in the last month or so, I started adding to my short positions for the first time in 18 months.
A Greek tragedy to send a shiver down British spines
Chris Blackhurst06.05.10
- Greek crisis could spill over into British banks, warns ratings agency
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On holiday in Greece last summer, I was lucky enough to go to the National Theatre's production of Phèdre, performed at the 2,400-year-old amphitheatre of Epidaurus and starring Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper. It was a glorious, never-to-be-forgotten evening — a classical tragedy played in ancient Greek surroundings.
At the beginning, 11,000 people filed into the cavernous theatre and, in the heat, began clambering its steep, crumbling sides to their seats. But not those sitting on the first few rows: theirs were reserved and they ambled in just before the start. They were the country's monied set.
You could tell that not only by where they sat but by how they were dressed. There was plenty of gold on show, the men were wearing well-cut blazers and white trousers, the women silk gowns. As a display of us and them, it took some beating.
Now Greece is torn apart, with rioters protesting against the austerity measures agreed as the price to be paid for the EU and IMF's £94 billion bail-out; three workers lie dead after their bank was petrol-bombed. Much of the anger, I suspect, is directed against the sort of people I saw that night. Ordinary folk and public-sector workers feel they are being made to suffer through spending cuts and higher taxes, while the rich continue to enjoy the profits of corruption and evade tax.
There are those who hope that Greece is a one-off. It's certainly among the most corrupt countries in Europe. It has a wealthy few who seem to get ever richer, while others become poorer. It is not possessed of a large, industrious entrepreneurial sector — on several visits there I've never ceased to marvel at the seemingly little amount of work the locals do.
Lend them what they need over three years, during which time they freeze wages and take an axe to public jobs and pensions, and Greece will right itself. That's the theory. But for that to happen, there has to be economic recovery — to more than make up for the effects of the slashing and burning elsewhere.
Galvanising an economy with bloated public services and a sluggish private sector is difficult at the best of times. It may be that the usual IMF medicine of orchestrating privatisations and freeing up regulation to enable businesses to flourish may have an impact. But Greece is only seven months into a socialist government swept in by a resounding victory at the polls.
It's also a member of the eurozone and the normal opportunities for manoeuvre, to drive business growth through exports — cutting interest rates and devaluing the currency — are off-limits. Greece is at one end of the euro market. The EU, IMF and other euro states are praying it stays there. Even they, however, are being forced to confront an awful reality. Axel Weber, president of the Bundesbank and a council member at the European Central Bank, has warned of the threat of "grave contagion". He said it to justify Germany's contribution to the rescue package of 22.4 billion.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is even more stark: "This is about nothing less than the future of Europe … There is no alternative to the aid to be agreed for Greece if we want to secure the financial stability of the euro area. It must come, to avoid a chain reaction in the European and international financial system."
The problem is that the eurozone is not a collection of financial powerhouses, led by Germany and France, but mostly economically weak states that have grown rich by trading with each other — and lending to, and borrowing from, each other's banks. Instead of looking outwards, the countries have drawn in, dealing among themselves. The result is a mass of nations that are all dependent on the rest. The eurozone has effectively morphed into a single, giant economy — or potentially a single line of dominos primed to tumble.
So Greece owes France's banks $75 billion and Germany's $45 billion. It also owes banks in Ireland, similarly stricken, $8.5 billion and Portugal $9.7 billion. Portugal's banks, in debt to the tune of $286 billion, owe their Spanish counterparts $86 billion. Spanish banks, faced with borrowings of $1.1 trillion, are in hock to the Irish for $30 billion and Italians for $31 billion. And so it goes on.
Greece may be on the fringe of the eurozone, but only geographically. Financially, it is right in there, along with the other indebted states. The result is that Europe is in a dangerously fragile condition — where one country's default could trigger an economic tsunami that would bring the rest crashing down.
That wasn't in the script. Nobody contemplated a eurozone member not being able to pay its debts. Sitting in isolation, Britain may smugly reflect "there but for the grace of God..." In fact, Britain is terribly exposed to a eurozone meltdown: its banks are owed $15 billion by Greece, $77 billion by Italy, $24 billion by Portugal, $114 billion by Spain and $188 billion by Ireland. This to a country where the deficit in the public finances is already yawningly large.
The danger is of this unrest rippling across a continent, of people rising up against what they perceive as the greed and squandering of a rich minority. They will be the young, furious at seeing opportunities closed and being saddled with the costs of paying for their education and for the pensions and health care of the elderly. And they will be public-sector workers, made to take the brunt of felled expenditure budgets. Caught in the middle will be the bankers, the popular target for blame.
Like it or not, Greece's difficulty is our difficulty. It's not a far-flung difficulty but one that could affect us all — and project us into an even worse economic crunch. We, too, need to hope that the Greek rescue works. Otherwise David Cameron's feat in managing almost to avoid mentioning Europe in this election campaign, for fear of encouraging his own party's eurosceptic Right, could look like simple cowardice. For this is a crisis that could damage us as surely as it would the eurozone.
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| |||
Editorial Sound move Mr Sibal Cheap education loans and extended repayment period is welcome. New CJI must push reforms Democracy not able to deliver speedy justice is democracy only in name. Divide & Rule Doesn't Work In France, any Parisienne wanting to 'dress like a man' must get permission. | |||
Columnists | |||
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Rs.263 crore allocated to beautify Delhi for CWG
A sum of Rs.263.5 crore has been allocated for the beautification of Delhi for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Rajya Sabha was informed Thursday.So far the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has spent Rs.23 crore, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has spent Rs.42 crore and the Public Works Department (PWD) has spent Rs.92 crore, Minister of state for Youth Affairs and Sports Pratik Prakashbabu Patil said.
India Inc raises $4.32 bn via ECBs in March
By fe BureauReflecting the faster recovery in the economy, the corporate India Inc has raised $4.32 billion in March 2010 up by 300% over $ 1.11 billion mobilised in March 2009.
The corporate, which had rushed to overseas markets for cheaper borrowings, had mopped up $2.19 billion in February which effectively showed that in March the external borrowings had doubled to $.4.32 billion.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released on Monday. As many as 73 companies had opted for ECBs where Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 1007.85 -12.8
), Reliance Infratel, Nacil, Aircel and PFCL account for more than half the borrowings.
According to the RBI data, while 64 companies raised over $2.36 billion through the automatic route, nine companies mopped more than $ 1.96 billion through the approval route.
While RIL raised $800 million in two tranches through the automatic route for refinancing debt, National Aviation Company (Nacil) which operates Air India, raised over $855.50 million for ''import of capital goods'' Telecom players Aircel and Reliance Infratel (R-Comm's tower business) raised $300 million and $250 million, respectively during the month. Aircel Cellular raised another $100 million through the approval route.
Dishnet Wireless and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) raised $350 million and $300 million, respectively in the month.
Some of the other companies that raised foreign funds during the month included Sterling Biotech ($147.40 million), Delhi International Airport ($150 million), Air India Charters ($114.30 million), Sistema Shyam Teleservices ($71.64 million in three tranches) and L&T Turbine Generators ($ 65.37 million).
Press Statement
The Communist Party of Greece (marxist-leninist) salutes the hundreds of thousands workers, youth, unemployed and pensioners who demonstrated their wrath against the barbarity of the measures promoted by the government and the imperialist European Union and IMF mechanisms, all over Greece. We stress on the unprecedented mass anger and determination of the workers to fight in order to overthrow the measures and oust the IMF and EU criminals who along with the local capital attempt to eliminate the social majority and the future of the country and its people.
Once again various provocatsia, undermining, disorientation and terror mechanisms were mobilized in front of the justified people's wrath that flooded the streets in every city in Greece. The apparent goal is to intimidate the people and block the flood of anger and struggle. Along with the media propaganda that lasted for months and miserably failed to persuade the people, along with threats and directives concerning the bourgeois legitimacy, at the same time with a huge police operation and threats there were also mobilized the undermining practice by actions totally alien to the spirit of today's great demonstrations. Every time that our people and the workers are attempting to rise and take their fate in their hands, to get rid from the political paternalism of bourgeois parties and stand independently defending their interests, forces and actions either blind or provocative provide a leg up or even the salvation pretext to the dominants, the government and the establishment. Already the government and the media are taking brutally advantage of the tragic death of three people in order to set up scenery of concert, fear and coercion.
They will not succeed! Workers and youth, by safeguarding their mobilizations will continue and escalate their struggles, strikes and demonstrations. They will not be disorientated by the provocations, they will not submit to the calls of national concert and the so called smoothness; they will not be dragged by the spirit of submission of the political leaders' council. They will mass the lines of struggle for the overall overthrow of the brutal measures and policies of the government, EU and IMF.
Athens 5/5/2010
Communist Party of Greece (marxist-leninist)
| Thursday May 6, 06:10 PM |  |
Greece to back austerity, anxious markets eye ECB
 |
By George Georgiopoulos and Jeremy Gaunt
ATHENS/LONDON (Reuters) - The Greek parliament prepared to adopt a harsh austerity plan on Thursday in the face of violent unrest, as markets looked to the European Central Bank to prevent a debt crisis engulfing the euro zone.
The euro and world stocks fell for a third day as investors fled risk amid signs that Athens' woes are spreading to other weak euro economies, testing whether European governments are willing to extend a bailout devised for Greece alone.
The cost of insuring Portuguese and Spanish debt as well as Greek debt against default leapt to new peaks before a closely watched auction of 5-year Spanish bonds. Yields jumped for the auction but there was no shortage of demand.
Policymakers' attempts to talk down the risk of contagion and scare off "speculators" had little impact on traders unimpressed by the slow EU response to the crisis.
"There's no let-up in concerns that the euro zone debt crisis could continue to worsen and as a result equity markets across the globe remain under pressure," said Ben Potter, analyst at IG Markets.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said any restructuring of Greek debt would cause "exactly the kind of conflagration that we could no longer control".
"We are in a really fundamental crisis, the stability of the euro is really at stake," he added.
All eyes were on ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet to signal what the world's second most powerful central bank can do to pull the euro zone out of a vicious cycle of soaring borrowing costs, dwindling growth prospects and sovereign debt downgrades.
Trichet will face questions on whether the ECB may reverse its policy and buy euro zone government bonds or try other measures to keep credit markets open to Portugal and Spain at affordable rates while Greece receives EU/IMF emergency loans.
Graphic on euro's performance http://r.reuters.com/vyh72k
Euro zone crisis in graphics http://r.reuters.com/fyw72j
Comparison of maturity profiles http://r.reuters.com/buv62k
Bank exposure Greece/Portugal http://r.reuters.com/mun79j
European Council President Herman van Rompuy, who will chair a euro zone summit on the crisis on Friday, was the latest top EU official to try to erect a verbal firewall, saying the situation of Portugal or Spain had nothing to do with Greece.
"What I now see are totally irrational movements on the markets set off by unsubstantiated rumours, for instance yesterday with Spain, but also as regards Portugal," he said.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said it could not comment on market speculation it would downgrade Italy. The spread between Italian and German benchmark 10-year bonds widened earlier on Thursday to around 130 basis points.
NO RETREAT
The Greek government vowed not to retreat a single step from unpopular wage and pensions cuts and tax rises despite violence in Athens that claimed three lives on Wednesday when rioters set fire to a bank and fought running battles with police.
"We will press ahead, even if we have to walk alone, without the backing of other parties," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament.
The Socialist government has a comfortable majority but the main conservative opposition party has vowed to vote against the austerity bill, dashing hopes of political consensus which analysts said would have improved the chances of implementation.
Greek newspapers condemned the violence but some said it was now up to Greece's leaders to set a course people could follow.
"Whether we self-destruct, whether we go bankrupt, depends now on our leaders, but also on all of us," said centre-right daily Kathimerini.
The country's main public sector union ADEDY and private sector union GSEE planned to demonstrate outside parliament ahead of the expected vote late on Thursday on the bill. It is designed to save an extra 30 billion euros to reduce a bloated deficit that stood at 13.6 percent of economic output in 2009.
The euro sank to its lowest level in 14 months, below $1.28. It has fallen 10 percent since the start of the year as Greece's fiscal troubles escalated.
Concern that Greece will be unable to make all of the deep budget cuts agreed on Sunday with the EU and IMF because of social unrest is one of the drivers of the euro zone turmoil.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, speaking by video link to a conference in Berlin as the German parliament deliberated on the Greek rescue, said he was sure all 16 euro zone countries would approve the loan package.
He warned there would be a negative impact on the whole euro area unless there was a unanimous decision in support of aid. German Vice-Chancellor Guido Westerwelle, whose pro-business FDP party has been critical of helping Greece, said Germany was on track for a broad parliamentary majority in favour of the plan.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the success of the package will determine "nothing less than the future of Europe -- and with it the future of Germany in Europe". Support for the plan is accompanied by calls for a new discipline in the euro zone.
Westerwelle said the best punishment for states with excessive budget deficits would be to cut off payments from EU funds. Slovenia called for rules allowing the EU to exclude a state that breached the bloc's stability pact.
Troubles in the eurozone drove U.S. treasury debt prices higher as investors fled to safe havens, including gold and the dollar, worried the crisis could cross the Atlantic and thwart the U.S. recovery.
(Additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Athens, Gernot Heller in Berlin, Tim Heritage in Brussels and George Matlock in London; writing by Paul Taylor/Andrew Roche; editing by Janet McBride)
| Thursday May 6, 02:44 PM | Source: Financial Express |
HP evaded Rs 1,450-cr customs duty: DRI
The Indian arm of global IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has been slapped a show-cause notice by the Bangalore unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for alleged customs duty evasion of Rs 1,450 crore. If found true, this would be the single-largest case of evasion the DRI has ever unravelled. The California-based computer maker is already facing a bribery probe in Europe over a 2003 contract.
According to DRI, HP evaded duty by undervaluing products like computers, laptops, notebooks and desktops by Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt Ltd from its overseas offices in the past five years.
An HP Asia-Pacific & Japan spokesperson told FE: "HP India has been transparent and has cooperated fully with the DRI in its investigation. HP India refutes the DRI's position and will challenge its claims through the judicial process."
Even as the case is under investigation, HP voluntarily pre-deposited Rs 79.25 crore with the government, a DRI official told FE. Of this sum, Rs 35 crore was paid only last week. HP's Indian sales enjoy the Accredited Client Programme (ACP), under which it has an extended green channel facility for faster imports clearance without routine Customs checks. The company imports products from its parent's offices in the US and Singapore.
DRI says HP did not make proper and full disclosure about the pricing mechanism of imports to the Customs department. HP was allegedly raising two invoices-one for the clients and one for its offices that gave it 44-83% discounts. While importing computers, it did not declare these details to the Customs and undervalued imports, a DRI official said. HP would need to reply to the showcause notice within a stipulated time, usually 90 days, after which the tax department can take action as per law.
| Thursday May 6, 06:40 PM | |
Greek crisis questions FX trading strategies
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone's unprecedented sovereign debt crisis is leading to a re-assessment of the traditional models used to trade currencies.
While many in the market say the global economic environment favours macroeconomic analysis, some analysts and fund managers warn the model risks missing sudden fundamental shifts caused by the rapidly escalating euro zone debt crisis.
For many in the market, a fundamental approach makes sense as the varied pace of economic recovery across the globe leaves scope for relative value trades.
However, the jarring uncertainty stemming from the euro zone debt crisis may not be captured by fundamental analysis as investors have yet to grasp the scale of the problem and the risks it could pose
"Markets can get a little complacent, perhaps due to a lack of appropriate understanding of how big these debt problems are. It is very difficult to factor in something that is so large," Martin Armitage-Smith, senior fund manager at Emergent Asset Management, told the Euromoney FX forum earlier this week.
Fundamental strategies look at economies' relative growth and inflation profiles, combined with interest rate differentials and factors such as the relative steepness of their yield curves.
Strategies based on carry trades -- which involve borrowing in lower-yielding currencies to invest in higher-yielding ones -- may also be problematic in the current environment.
Anthony Chung, senior quantitative strategist at investment management firm AllianceBernstein, thinks carry strategies are tricky. He said interest rate differentials are so tight now that major central banks have cut the borrowing costs to historically low levels after the crisis.
Carry trades were one of the most favoured strategies in 2005-2007, with traders rushing to sell the low-yielding yen and Swiss franc to invest in higher-yielding currencies.
Thanos Papasavvas, head of currency management at Investec Asset Management, favours a multi-strategy approach, allocating a risk budget to a number of different strategies -- such as fundamentals, carry, valuations, momentum and geopolitics --, which adjust according to how they perform.
"It is a self-correcting mechanism which will do well in these uncertain times, rather than us predicting that one strategy will do well and one will not," he said.
| Thursday May 6, 04:20 PM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
Vedanta FY profit soars 187 pct
By AgenciesThe company that has been at the receiving end of much criticism globally has revealed numbers that will will bring cheer to the hearts of its investors.
Mining group Vedanta posted a forecast-beating 187 percent surge in annual earnings per share on a rebound in metals prices and stronger output, and was confident about economic recovery.
The recovery in demand and commodity prices appears well-founded and the medium and long-term outlook for our commodities remains strong, Chairman Anil Agarwal said on Thursday.
The London-listed group said basic EPS for the fiscal year to end-March rose to 219.6 cents, well above a consensus forecast of 186 cents, according to a poll of 14 analysts.
The company, which proposed a 10 percent rise in its final dividend to 27.5 cents, said it had a strong balance sheet with over $7.2 billion in liquidity, allowing it to press forward with growth projects.
PRODUCTION CAPACITY TO RISE
We have achieved significant milestones during the year and are on track to deliver a substantial increase in production capacity across our businesses in 2011, Agarwal said, referring to the current fiscal year.
Last month, Vedanta posted record production of iron ore and aluminium in its fourth quarter. Annual production of iron ore gained 34 percent, aluminium climbed 15.4 percent and refined zinc was up 4.7 percent.
Profits have been boosted by a rebound in metals prices as demand returns after sharp falls during the downturn. The price of zinc, one of Vedanta's most profitable products, gained 80 percent during Vedanta's fiscal year.
Vedanta said it would continue to buy back shares after spending $549 million in doing so during the year and would also seek to increase stakes in key subsidiaries.
Unit Sterlite Industries is one of several entities holding minority stakes in Vedanta, prompting complaints from investors about the group's complex structure.
Last week Sterlite surprised the market with a bonus share issue and stock split after quarterly profit more than doubled.
A year ago, Vedanta said it hoped to buy up the 49 percent stake held by the government in unit Bharat Aluminium (Balco) within six months.
Vedanta shares, which have shed 18 percent since April 12, closed at 2,394 pence on Wednesday.
| Monday May 3, 02:32 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
BEL sees fortune from defence offset policy
By Jaishankar JayaramiahThe defence offset policy has given an opportunity for Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) to grow its export revenue manifold as the company is working to close more offset deals in the coming years.
The defence navaratna PSU has set a target of $400 million in exports revenue in the next 4-5 years, and 75% of it could come through offset business, said Ashwani Kumar Datt, chairman and managing director of BEL.
The defence offset policy stipulates that foreign contractors catering to the armed forces should source systems and components from local vendors for at least 30% of the value of orders of more than Rs 300 crore. Nearly 80% of offsets are in the area of aerospace. According to the Union ministry of defence, the offset opportunity will grow to $ 10 billion in the next five years.
BEL, as an established player in communication and electronic warfare devices, has put in an intense effort to garner offset orders. Although the company has to face tough competition from the private sector players in areas like Printed Circuit Board (PCB), micro components and other smaller electronic devices, it enjoys monopoly in larger communication systems like radar and aerospace and navy related communication equipment.
In fact in 2009-10, the company's export revenue increased by 33% to $ 23.65 million, of which around $ 13 million worth business achieved through offset contracts from foreign companies, Datt said. The company has set a target of $ 32 million in exports in 2010-11 with an expected offset business of $ 25 million, he added.
The defence ministry's offset programme, which is active since last three years, has become as a great support for BEL's export business as the company was struggling to market its products in developed nations. According to H N Ramakrishna, director for marketing in BEL, the company has a two pronged strategy to increase its exports. One is through exporting products to developing nations in the regions of Latin America and South Asia and SAARC countries. Another is through the offset business from companies in developed countries.
The company has signed MoUs with 10 European and US companies for offset business while many other foreign companies are negotiating with BEL for tie-ups. So far BEL has signed MoUs with the foreign aerospace majors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, Northrop Grumman and Israel-based IAI Group of Companies, Thales Group, BAE Systems and Fincantieri of Italy.
The current export order book of BEL stood at $ 71.26 million that includes an offset order book of $ 59.31 million. Of this, $48 million worth offset orders were bagged in a single financial year of 2009-10. One of the major export orders executed during the year was $ 9.56 million offset order from Italy-based Fincantieri for the supply of data link and composite communication systems, versatile communication system and V/UHF search receiver with DF System. This is for installation and integration on board the fleet tanker being supplied by Fincantieri to the Indian Navy.
| Thursday May 6, 12:50 PM | |
Food price index up 16.04 pct y/y - govt
 |
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's food price index rose an annual 16.04 percent in the 12 months to April 24, while the fuel price index rose an annual 12.69 percent, government data showed on Thursday.
The rise in food price index was slower than an annual rise of 16.61 percent in the previous week.
The primary articles index was up 13.93 percent year-on-year on April 24.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had on April 20 raised key interest rates and banks' cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points each to anchor inflationary expectations.
India's wholesale price index (WPI) rose an annual 9.90 percent in March, its fastest pace in 17 months, driven by high food and fuel prices.
(Reporting by Abhijit Neogy and Matthias Williams; editing by Malini Menon)
(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
Press Statement of the Communist
Organization of Greece(KOE)
On todays huge demonstrations and the death of three bank employees
The Communist Organization of Greece
condemns the IMF-EUs government for its policy of annihilation of the society
and the orgy of repression unleashed against the people. The death of the three
bank employees because of fully condemnable acts provokes sorrow and anger,
which are added to the wrath felt by the whole society against the government
of the Quisling Papandreou.
This cynical government, assisted by
the mainstream Media that remind us of the dictatorships TV, has the
cheekiness to put the responsibility for the death of the three employees on
the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, on the mass movement and more
concretely on the Left. It is Papandreou himself who is igniting the tension
and the violence because of the measures adopted by his government. No matter
how many excuses he will invent in the Parliament, no matter how many appeals
for social consent he will make, Papandreou will remain in history as the would-be
gravedigger of the Greek people.
Athensand the whole country lived the
biggest demonstrations of the last 30 years, with half million marching for six
hours in Athensalone. The people demands that Papandreou and those MPs who intend to
vote in favor of transforming the society into a human waste bank, account for
their crimes. Those who handed over the country and the people to the hyenas of
the capital and of the markets, those who attempt to condemn the workers and
the youth to extermination, will account to the people.
The police attacked brutally the
biggest demonstrations of the last 30 years; it transformed Athensinto a huge gas chamber, and also
attacked brutally the marches in Thessalonikiand Patras. The Minister of
Repression shall account for this!
We hold accountable as well the
owner of Marfin Bank, this unsolicited "savior of the Nation" who obliged his
employees to remain inside the concrete branch, despite the fact that he knew the
danger was imminent. Obviously, human life is cheaper for the capital than the
daily profits of a bank branch.
The coordinated effort of the
government, of the right-wing opposition and of the extreme right-wing to
exploit the death of the three employees in order to stop the torrent of the
popular anger, will not go unanswered. The wrath and the despair that coexist
in society will send to hell Papandreou and any MP who will vote in favor of
the Greek people's annihilation.
Athens, 5 May 2010
Communist Organization of Greece
*****
Communist Organization of Greece / Kommounistiki Organosi Elladas (KOE)
International Relations Department
Email: laokratia@yahoo.com * aristera@tellas.com
Web: www.koel.gr * In English: international.koel.gr
NEW Phone: +30 210 3468282 * NEW Fax: +30 210 3468286
*****
Maoists officially decide to fight back retaliation
KANTIPUR REPORT
KATHMANDU, MAY 06the 2010 -
The UCPN (Maoist) on Thursday decided to retaliate against those who attempt to assault its cadres, concluding that premeditated attacks are being launched with the government backing against the Maoist during the course of banda.
The Maoist decision comes in the wake of rising incidents of clashes between the Maoist activists and different other retaliatory forces such as locals and the youth leaders of ruling parties across the nation including some parts of the valley.
The Maoist Standing Committee meeting held at party Chairman's residence at Nayabazaar today came up with the decision to fight back what it called anti-Maoist elements.
"We have been launching peaceful agitation. But we have decided to retaliate if attempts are made to attack our cadres with the government's support," said Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma.
Remarking that the "reactionary forces" have launched attacks in the peaceful strike of the Maoist, Sharma hailed such incident as an attack on democracy.
"The right of the opposition party in democracy to launch peaceful agitation has been intervened," said Sharma. "The attacks are being carried out in Panchayat era style. We will not leave those who pounce on us."
British General Election - Don't Vote - Organise and Fight Back
The May 6th Election In Britain is a fraudulent exercise by the British monopoly finance capitalists to give the impression of political choice, but the reality is that there is no real choice because all parties are committed to the bourgeois Parliamentary system and there is no choice of real mass democracy for the working class people of Britain in this Election.
The Co-ordination Committee of the Revolutionary Communists of Britain calls on the people of Britain not to be herded into the polling booths to support the Parliamentary system of the monopoly finance capitalists but to abstain from voting and organise to fight to create new organs of mass democratic people's power. Resist the war of the monopoly finance capitalists against the real economy and working people of Britain.
British Parliamentary democracy has run its historical course and has been exposed has a sham with the bail out of the monopoly finance capitalists of the City of London at the expense of the people with Parliaments corrupt consent.
The members of the British Parliament have exposed themselves has corrupt opportunists whose loyalty is to their pocket and not to the people.They are has fake has their institution of Parliament.
It is now time in Britain to create new democratic structures has the old Parliamentary structure have been hollowed out of its democratic content by the corporate power of monopoly finance capitalism in Britain
.
The Co-ordination Committee of the Revolutionary Communists of Britain opposes the sham of Parliamentary Democracy with the mass democracy of the working people of Britain in action with demonstrations, occupations,strikes and whatever new forms of struggle the ingenuity of the working class people of Britain devises.
The working class people of Britain are deserting the Parliamentary system in their droves and we should not herd them back into the polling booths like the revisionists or trotskyists wish us to do.
We should seize the time to raise the question of real mass democracy and and call on the working people of Britain to organise and fight back for democracy - the idea of the mass democracy of the working people under socialism must be put back on the political agenda now that the Parliamentary system is expiring before our eyes.
DON'T VOTE - ORGANISE AND FIGHT BACK
Co-ordination Committee of the Revolutionary Communists of Britain
20th April 2010
| hursday May 6, 05:00 AM | |
Asian consumers most upbeat, India consumer sentiment highest - Nielsen
By Nopporn Wong-Anan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Consumer confidence is strongest in emerging Asia Pacific and Latin America, while most Europeans remain edgy on the pace of their economic recovery and the euro zone debt crisis, a global survey showed on Thursday.
Consumer sentiment was highest in India, followed by Indonesia and Norway, according to the survey conducted by the New York-based Nielsen Company in March.
Globally, the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index averaged a reading of 92 points in the first quarter, six points higher than in the third quarter of 2009 and the highest level since the third quarter of 2007.
All regions saw improvement in consumer confidence, but the gap in the pace of economic recovery widened between the booming Asia Pacific and Latin American countries compared to the sluggish recovery in the United States and western Europe.
"Asia Pacific consumers who were among the first to cut back drastically on discretionary spending 18 months ago are now confident enough to spend their way out of recession," said Venkatesh Bala, chief economist of Nielsen's Cambridge Group.
In China, consumer confidence rebounded to 107 points from 101 six months ago, just one point below its record of 108 in the first quarter of 2005.
"Key economic indicators in China all point to a continued strong recovery in 2010," said Chris Morley, a managing director of Nielsen.
"While perceptions of local job prospects and the state of personal finances are improving in 2010, spending intentions are less optimistic due to rapidly rising urban housing costs and a strong saving tradition," Morley said.
The survey of more than 27,000 consumers in 55 countries, showed consumer confidence declined in seven of 28 European countries, with Greece reporting the largest fall.
"The Greek debt crisis has delivered a hard blow to Greek consumers and they're increasingly pessimistic for the future -- they have been dealt a double whammy," Nielsen vice president James Russo said.
In North America, nearly 60 percent of Canadians saw good or excellent job prospects over the next 12 months, compared with 23 percent of Americans.
Top 10 markets where consumer confidence is highest
(by index points):
Q1 2010 Q3 2009
1. India 127 120
2. Indonesia 116 115
3. Norway 115 110
4. Philippines 111 107
5. Australia 111 106
6. Saudi Arabia 108 79
7. Brazil 108 108
8. China 107 101
9. Singapore 107 96
10. United Arab Emirates 103 102
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
| hursday May 6, 02:27 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
Ministry tightens noose on retailers
By Ronojoy BanerjeeThe corporate affairs ministry is tightening the noose around retail companies a sector which has been left largely untracked due to the absence of a designated sectoral regulator.
According to government sources, distressed retail company Subhiksha Trading Services has committed multiple violations of the Companies Act, 1956, for which the penalties can be anywhere from imprisonment of up to two years to fine up to Rs 2 lakh and above.
The list of company law violations by the company is endless. These include sections 209, 292, 210, 211, 215, 193 and 628 that deal with maintaining balance sheets and profit and loss account, compiling minutes of the proceedings of the general meeting and authentication of balance sheets and profit and loss accounts by directors of the company.
The findings compiled by Registrar of Companies (RoC) Madras will be sent to minister of corporate affairs Salman Khurshid. The RoC is expected to initiate proceedings to nail the company officials. The case, however, is already pending with the Madras High Court that has imposed a stay order for one month.
Meanwhile, the corporate affairs ministry has also directed RoC to look into books of accounts of another retail giant - Vishal Retail.
"Prima-facie, we have evidence of account manipulation by the company. So we have directed RoC to look into the matter under section 209 of the Act," a government source said.
Following the closure of 1,600 retail units of Subhiksha, a petition was filed in the Madras High Court against the company. The petition was filed by one of the company's lenders Kotak Mahindra Bank (KOTAKBANK.NS : 749.9 +3.45
), which wanted to recover its dues amounting to Rs 40 crore.
Subhiksha's second-largest stakeholder, ICICI (ICICIBANK.NS : 902.85 -0.8) Venture Funds Management Co Ltd, has alleged in the past that the management of the retail company had denied other stakeholders, access to the financial details of the company.
The company's debt burden is around Rs 750 crore and is seeking cash infusion of around Rs 300 crore to restart its business. The company is looking to restructure its debts in a phased manner. A text message sent to R Subramanian, managing director of Subhiksha Trading Services went unanswered.
| Thursday May 6, 02:44 PM | Source: Financial Express |
Core investments trail Plan targets
India's ambitious plan to invest $500 billion in physical infrastructure during the 11th Plan (2007-2012) could go awry with huge slippages in key sectors like railways, roads & bridges and ports, data gathered by FE of the actual investments in the first three years of the Plan demonstrate.
While the port sector, where total intended investment for the entire Plan period is Rs 88,000 crore reported the biggest shortfall (61%), investments in the railway and road sectors where absolute amounts pegged at the beginning of the Plan were much higher (Rs 2.62 lakh crore and Rs 3.14 crore respectively), the slippages were 28% and 22%, in that order. In the power sector, where the projected investments are the highest at Rs 6.6 lakh crore for the Plan, the shortfall in the first three years of the Plan was 12% (see table).
The dismal show is due to a variety of reasons-delay in approval and award of projects and the lack of private investor interest in projects where uncertainties over returns persist. Where the end-users are ordinary consumers rather than commercial entities, the potential investor is unsure if he will be able to realise the user charges, a finance ministry official said.
Sector observers primarily blame the situation for "slow" public private partnership (PPP) project appraisals.
The PPP Appraisal Committee that which consists of the finance ministry and the Planning Commission often take longer than required for approving PPP projects, particularly in ports and highways, they said. Of the total projected investment in infrastructure in the 11th Plan ($498 billion or Rs 20.56 lakh crore at 2006-07 prices), public investment is projected at $353 billion and the private, $144 billion-a ratio of 71:29.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) could award projects for the development of only 3,351 km national highways in 2009-10, against the original target of 12,000 km. NHAI chairman Brijeshwar Singh told FE: "There are delays in getting projects approved by the Planning Commission and in getting the required funds from the government. On our part, we are spending whatever we get from the government. In some years, we have had overdrafts on expenditure."
Singh added that in many cases, there might also be under-reporting of private investments. "The private sector takes loan from banks to make capital investments. But when it comes to actual investments, a difference is found in the figures given by the companies and the banks concerned. I think there is an under-reporting of actual investment, at least in the road sector," he said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers executive director Amrit Pandurangi said the government delayed finalisation of bidding documents for public-private partnership projects, which put a break on such projects in the initial years. "The projects have now started picking up pace. However, the government should allow insurance companies and pension funds to directly invest in infrastructure projects to facilitate availability of long-term funds for infrastructure," he said.
The government had set out to achieve an investment of 9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 10 specified infrastructure sectors, in five years to March 2012 with an aim to reach an economic growth of 9%. The sectors are electricity, roads, telecom, railways, ports, airports, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and storage.
Looking at the ground performance, Planning Commission has already revised the investment target to 7.6% of GDP and is confident of achieving the new milestone. "The economy is reviving and PPP projects are being awarded at a renewed pace. In the present scenario, the government should be able to meet the new target for infrastructure investment," a Planning Commission official said.
| Thursday May 6, 04:04 PM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
Nuke-free Mideast idea rises on global agenda
By AgenciesThe Middle East, that timeless tinderbox at the core of so much in world affairs, looms as a battleground in the U.N.'s meeting halls this month, as 189 nations debate nuclear
proliferation.
The idea of establishing the region as a zone free of nuclear
weapons, a notion on the back burner for 15 years, has emerged as a
central issue at the twice-a-decade conference reviewing the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
It is rising higher on the agenda because Iran's ambitious
nuclear program, which the West alleges is aimed at weapons-making,
threatens to prompt other Mideast nations to develop their own
programs. And an expected future shift toward nuclear power
worldwide will put possibly sensitive technology in more hands.
But Israel, with its long-established but unannounced nuclear
arsenal, remains a highly uncertain partner in any move toward a
"nuke-free" Mideast.
Egypt has formally proposed that this 2010 NPT conference back a
plan to start talks next year on such a Mideast nuclear ban. Algeria
has also submitted a plan.
"This conference represents a pivotal turning point in the
history of the treaty, and an opportunity that may be the last and
that must be seized," Egyptian U.N. Ambassador Maged A. Abdelaziz
told delegates Wednesday.
The Middle East would join five other nuclear-free regions -
Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the South Pacific and Latin
America - covering some 116 countries that have outlawed the
presence of atomic arms in their areas.
The United States, Israel's prime international backer, has long
endorsed the idea of a Mideast zone, but has never pushed for
action. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton caught the General
Assembly Hall's attention on Monday, however, by saying Washington
is now "prepared to support practical measures for moving toward
that objective."
The U.S. and Israel are discussing what such "practical
measures" might be, said a Western diplomatic source, speaking on
condition of anonymity about other countries' contacts.
Russia's deputy foreign minister, meanwhile, said Moscow is
partnering with Washington on a draft plan. "In recent weeks, we
have managed to develop a joint approach with the United States,"
Sergei A. Ryabkov told reporters.
He didn't elaborate, beyond saying they have focused on a
compromise, "common denominator" plan in place of the Egyptian and
Algerian proposals.
Fifteen years ago, the 1995 NPT Review Conference adopted a
resolution calling for a Mideast zone free of weapons of mass
destruction - nuclear, chemical and biological. It was a concession
by the U.S. and others to the Arabs, who want Israel to join the
nonproliferation treaty, giving up its officially unacknowledged
arsenal of perhaps 80 nuclear weapons, the Mideast's only such arms.
In exchange, the Arabs in 1995 backed the West's successful
effort to extend the NPT's life indefinitely.
With India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel is one of four
nations not party to the NPT.
After 15 years of inaction on a Mideast zone, two ideas are now
under discussion: appointing an official "special coordinator" to
study and consult with governments about ways forward; or planning a
Mideast regional conference in 2011 on the subject.
Important details would have to be worked out for a conference:
its precise mandate; its proposed length and venue; the
participating countries.
Although Western diplomats privately express optimism about
"something new" emerging here on a Mideast WMD-free zone, no one
expects quick movement after the session toward a treaty. Embattled
Israel has long maintained that a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace
must first be reached before it would consider such a region-wide
regime.
Still, any movement here would be seen again as a concession by
Washington and its allies, perhaps enabling them to win support on
other elements they favor for a 2010 conference final document -
making withdrawal from the treaty more difficult, for example.
Iran is viewed as a candidate for withdrawal, since the U.S. and
others believe Tehran's uranium enrichment program is aimed at
building bombs, something Iran denies. If it decides to produce
nuclear weapons, this thinking goes, Tehran will give the required
three months' notice and pull out of the NPT.
One more complication faces those pushing for a WMD-free zone:
the other WMD.
The Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention
outlaw possession of those mass-casualty devices. The small handful
of nations that haven't ratified those pacts include three crucial
to the Middle East effort: Egypt, Syria and Israel.
The three countries would have to accede to those treaties, and
work would have to begin on identifying and neutralizing the
chemical or biological weapons they might have.
| Thursday May 6, 07:00 PM | |
Supreme Court to rule in Ambani gas row Friday - sources
 |
By Pratish Narayanan
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Supreme Court will on Friday issue a ruling in a gas-pricing dispute between the billionaire Ambani brothers that has rattled investors and raised concerns over the influence of powerful businesses on government policy.
The highly public feud in the country's richest family has riveted India. A decision is scheduled for 10.30 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday, two sources familar with the matter said.
The outcome could set a basis for future regulations on gas pricing in India, and could determine whether Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 1007.85 -12.8), the country's most valuable listed company, makes or loses billions of dollars in potential profits on gas sales.
Mukesh Ambani is the world's fourth-richest man with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $29 billion, while estranged younger brother Anil Ambani, ranked 36th, is worth about $13.7 billion.
The case involves terms of a deal under which Reliance Industries was to supply Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural with 28 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas for 17 years at a rate below the government price.
The gas, which Reliance Natural wants at almost half the government-set rate of $4.2 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu), comes from the Krishna Godavari basin off India's east coast, which is operated by Reliance Industries.
The field is India's biggest gas find and should nearly double the nation's gas output when production is at full throttle at 80 mmscmd.
Energy-hungry India, which wants to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and become a new frontier for oil and gas exploration, has showcased the Krishna Godavari discovery to attract foreign investors.
But analysts worry the Ambani dispute is putting off foreign investors, with government interference in the pricing and marketing of gas raising investment risk in a politically sensitive resource.
"This is going to be a benchmark judgement. Everyone wants clarity on what price gas is going to be sold in this country and only then will they agree to invest in it," Deven Choksey, chief executive of K.R. Choksey Shares and Securities, said.
The disputed deal was part of a 2005 family settlement between the Ambani brothers under which the Reliance empire was split following the death of their father. The brothers have been in several disputes since then.
A verdict was expected before May 11, as Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, part of a three-judge bench that heard the case, is set to retire on that date.
Reliance Industries argues the private deal cannot take precedence over government policy, which determines who can receive gas and at what price.
Anil Ambani, who claims otherwise, rolled out a series of front-page advertisements in major newspapers accusing the government of taking the side of Reliance Industries.
The government initially filed a petition in India's highest court asking to be made a party in the dispute, arguing the family deal was not applicable, and Reliance Industries could only sell gas with its consent.
The government later modified its stance, saying it only wanted to assert that it is the rightful owner of the gas.
(Editing by Tony Munroe and David Cowell)
(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
| Thursday May 6, 06:40 PM | |
Oil falls below $80, euro zone debt in focus
By Joe Brock
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell further below $80 a barrel on Thursday, after earlier hitting a six-week low as fears a Greek-style debt crisis may spread to other European nations raised uncertainty over future global energy demand.
The euro fell to a 14-month low, while the U.S. dollar strengthened as scepticism that Greece could deliver on its promises of strict austerity measures dominated financial markets.
A stronger U.S. dollar makes oil more expensive for investors holding alternative currencies.
U.S. crude for June delivery fell 42 cents to $79.55 by 1226 GMT, having earlier slumped to $78.87 a barrel, the lowest intraday price since March 22 when it hit $78.57.
The contract dived more than 3 percent on Wednesday to below $80 a barrel for the first time in six weeks after U.S. government data showed builds in crude stocks.
Technically, $80 still remains a support level and unless U.S. crude can make a significant close below this level there could be a turn to the upside, analysts said.
London Brent crude fell 15 cents to $82.46 a barrel.
"The dollar is up as risk appetite has been dampened and prices are adjusting to more realistic levels as earlier this week prices were not backed up by fundamentals," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"More proof of weak demand came yesterday with U.S. data showing crude and products stocks rose."
For a chart on the 2010 performance of commodities, click http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/CMD_PRFG0510.html
NIGERIA
In Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as head of state on Thursday following the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua.
Analysts said his death on Wednesday was unlikely to have an impact on oil production in Nigeria, which has suffered major outages due to attacks on oil facilities in the last five years.
"I think with Yar'Adua's death at least the situation is clear now," said Holly Pattenden, head of oil and gas at Business Monitor International.
"I don't think it is in militants' interest to cause trouble at this stage and they may well want to give the new administration a chance," Pattenden added.
U.S. jobless claims data due later on Thursday was likely to focus investor attention on the strength of economic recovery in the world's largest energy consumer, after oil inventory data on Wednesday highlighted the fragile state of U.S. fuel demand.
U.S. weekly oil data showed a higher-than-expected build in crude stocks, while gasoline inventories also rose.
Doubts over Greece's ability to carry out tough spending cuts in return for a 110 billion euro aid package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund sapped risk appetite, helping to push global equities lower.
Japan's Nikkei average ended down 3.3 percent and Shanghai down more than 4 percent on tightening worries, while European stock markets were flat.
(Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
(For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)
hursday May 6, 06:41 PMAggressive India 3G bids put more pressure on telcos
 |
By Devidutta Tripathy
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Aggressive bidding for 3G mobile spectrum in India, with the cost of one nationwide licence hitting $2.5 billion, puts further pressure on Indian carriers in a cutthroat market to make the most out of the new services.
The auction among nine operators including Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL.BO : 292.25 -5.25), Reliance Communications (RCOM.NS : 156.6 -3.55) and Vodafone's Indian unit, is expected to wind up in coming days.
Bids have exceeded expectations, which is good news for a deficit-strapped government but raises the stakes for carriers who will spend billions more on equipment to build 3G networks in a market where call rates are among the cheapest in the world and selling value-added services will be tough.
Elsewhere, operators have struggled to turn high-speed 3G technology into meaningful new revenue streams, and in India the "killer application" for 3G spectrum may be additional capacity on the country's crowded airwaves.
"The bids are getting very aggressive but is there a choice for the key players?," said Hemant Joshi, telecoms practice head for consulting firm Deloitte in India, who said heavy bids could erode the profitability of the winners.
"Maybe the telcos are future-proofing their companies by getting additional spectrum. Spectrum is in short supply and service levels in voice are getting bad," he said.
The government is poised to generate roughly $10 billion from 3G alone, higher than its estimates of $8 billion in total from separate auctions for 3G and wireless broadband spectrum. The broadband auction starts two days after the 3G auction closes.
Most analysts were expecting all-India spectrum to cost between $1.3 billion to $2 billion. Brokerage Kotak (KOTAKBANK.NS : 749.9 +3.45) Securities had the highest winning-price forecast of $2.53 billion.
NATIONWIDE LICENCES
The government is selling four sets of nationwide licences -- three from the auction and one set to state-run telecoms firms which would have to match the highest bid price paid by private operators. Some bidders are competing only in selected zones.
In 2000, the UK raised more than $35 billion from a spectrum auction, while Germany collected about $67 billion from its UMTS licence auctions. In 2008, the United States raised $18 billion from spectrum auction.
The popular valuation metric for 3G auctions is dollar per megahertz of spectrum per population covered, said Kunal Bajaj (BAJAJAUTO.NS : 2101.05 0), India director for telecoms consulting firm Analysys Mason.
That metric reached as high as $4/MHz/pop in the UK auctions and has crossed $4 in some Indian zones like Delhi and Mumbai to be at "crazy levels", Bajaj said, though for the pan-India level it is at $0.40.
Deloitte's Joshi estimates each 3G-winning Indian operator would need to generate additional annual revenue of 18 billion rupees ($397 million) to maintain profitability after paying the 3G licence cost. That would mean signing up 7.5 million more subscribers on top of the current additions.
"From where they are going to come? Who is going to pay the additional top line of 18 billion rupees? What is going to happen to profitability?," he said.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have not received additional 2G spectrum for about a year, even as subscribers have soared, undermining quality of services.
"The 3G auction is kind of do or die situation for companies," said Mahesh Uppal, director at telecoms consulting firm Com First, who expects spectrum winners to upgrade high-value customers to 3G to give them better quality of services and retain them from being poached by competitors.
"One basic thing is to remain competitive in the long term, you need to secure spectrum to save voice business that is your main contributor to revenue, and at the same time look for new revenue sources in data," he said.
Reliance Communications and Bharti, the two worst-performing stocks in the benchmark index last year, are down about 11 percent and 9 percent so far this year amid concerns about a price war eating into profits, while high spending for 3G remains an overhang. The benchmark index has lost 2.7 percent.
(Editing by Tony Munroe and Surojit Gupta)
| Thursday May 6, 04:12 PM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
Air India losses falling: Govt
By AgenciesThe government claimed that the losses of Air India were coming down and admitted that there were "some issues" which were affecting the process of its merger.
The losses have started declining and with more synergy the situation will improve further, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
On the criticism regarding mounting losses in the national carrier after merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, he said "the merger was planned with a great degree of confidence...
Yes, there are some issues which need to be handled carefully and merger is not a one-day process, it is 2-3 years process for full integration."
He asserted that Air India would remain a national carrier under the UPA regime.
Taking a dig at former Civil Aviation Minister and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, who had claimed that Air India and Indian Airlines were profitable during the NDA rule, Patel said "...be assured that Air India was and will remain a national carrier in the UPA regime and not like NDA which had planned to sell it."
Asserting that the government was fully committed to support National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which runs the merged carrier, Patel said Rs 800 crore worth equity was infused into it last year and another Rs 1,200 crore would be put in this fiscal.
The Minister informed the House that Air India has offices in 13 cities where it does not have its own flights. These are Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen, Zurich, Brussels, Moscow, Cairo, Tehran, Nairobi, Sydney and Chittagong.
These offices have been established on account of code sharing with other airlines and for revenue generation.
"The commercial viability of all such offices is in the process of review by Air India and appropriate action is being taken to close all offices in cities where alternative arrangements can be made to ensure revenue generation," Patel said.
| Wednesday May 5, 05:21 PM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
'No law to cut population'
By AgenciesThe govt has made its stand official, but that means India's economy will suffer huge blows.
The Government is not in favour of any legislation to ensure population control, but would make people aware of available means of family planning, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today.
"Let me make it clear that we are not in favour of controlling population growth through any kind of legislation.
But by way of generating awareness and persuading people to have small family size for betterment of the health of the mother and child," he said.
"We also need to give them access to choices and empower them to choose their family size," the health minister said at a National Workshop on repositioning family planning for Maternal and Child Health.
Identifying population stablilisation as a primary means of ensuring maternal and child health, Azad said more than 50 per cent of the country's population is in the reproductive age of 15-49 years, which imparts momentum to the population growth.
"We have to bear in mind the carrying capacity of the land mass and resources available at our disposal," he said.
He noted that with a land area of 2.6 per cent of the total earth, India has 17 per cent of the world's population.
Azad said the total fertility rate has declined to 2.6 in 2008. "We have an objective of achieving replacement level fertility that is TFR of 2.1 by 2012. While 14 states have achieved this, some states are way behind and need to gear up their machinery to contain the population growth," he said.
Agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan said if population policy goes wrong nothing else will have a chance to go right.
He underlined the need for a holistic approach to population stabilization with pro-nature, pro-women, pro-poor and pro-democratic choices to people that will lead to children by choice not by chance.
| Wednesday May 5, 05:23 PM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
'India to add 74K MW power capacity'
By AgenciesThe government today said that the power generation capacity addition in the XI five-year plan, ending 2012, would be about 74,000 MW, close to the original target of 78,577 MW.
"With best efforts, we would add about 12,000-13,000 MW power generation capacity over the likely addition of 62,000 MW in the current five-year plan. This would be at 74,000 MW near to the original target of electricity generation capacity of 78,577 MW," Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters at a FICCI conference on energy efficiency.
Earlier in its mid-term review, the Planning Commission had reduced power generation capacity addition target by over 20 per cent to 62,374 MW for the current plan period from the original 78,577 MW.
In the mid term appraisal report, the Plan panel had stated: "It is anticipated that additional power generation capacity of 45,234MW can be commissioned during the remaining period of the XIth Plan, noting that 19,207 MW capacity was added till December 31, 2009."
Shinde further said, "I purposely took the power generation capacity addition target of 78,577 in XIth Plan considering Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement of 'power to all' by March 2012."
"I could have taken 50,000 MW as the target. But we took the challenge and added over 22,000 MW as on today during the first three years of the current five-year plan. I have two years in hand," he said.
During the 10th Plan, 21,080 MW was added against the target of 41,000 MW.
Addressing the conference, the minister also said, "The CDM executive board has approved our 'Bachat Lamp Yojana' under which incandescent bulbs are replaced by energy efficient CFLs at a cost of Rs 15 only."
The CDM is an international organisation for approval of carbon credit projects under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The replacement of all incandescent bulbs in the country is expected to result in saving of 6,000 MW power.
RIL, RNRL shares to remain in focus on Friday 6 May 2010, 2030 hrs IST,PTI
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Greek crisis unlikely to rattle Asian markets: analystsChannel News Asia - - 2 hours ago SINGAPORE: The debt crisis in Greece is unlikely to shake the strong fundamentals for Asia. ... Euro Zone Economy Largely Shrugs Off Greece CrisisWall Street Journal (blog) - - 5 hours ago So far, the euro zone has been able to largely shake off the effects of Greece's fiscal crisis. For all the trouble in Greece and, ... Greek crisis weighs on EU growth prospectsEuropolitics.info - - May 5, 2010 Greece is not the only country still in recession. A further five member states will see their economies shrink in 2010: Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, ... Greece debt crisis: timelineThe Guardian - - May 5, 2010 The Greek government announces an ambitious plan to cut the deficit by four percentage points, as a proportion of GDP, in 2010-2011. ... General Election 2010: Britain's finances 'worse than Greece'Telegraph.co.uk - - 8 hours ago "In addition, government financial sector interventions taken during the crisis have generated large contingent liabilities," said the report. ... General Election 2010: We don't have to go up in flames like GreeceTelegraph.co.uk - - 8 hours ago Britain is not yet in crisis, but it is in need of substantive economic change. If today's election can usher in that change, there is cause for real hope. ... A look at global economic developmentsBusinessWeek - 21 hours ago European Union officials tried to calm fears that Greece's crisis is spreading to the rest of Europe by insisting the debt-ridden country is a "unique case" ... Greek crisis can bring opportunitiesMontreal Gazette - - May 3, 2010 The tepid reaction of financial markets to a long-awaited Greek financial rescue speaks volumes about the deep-seated ... European stock market, economy and companies update (May 06, 2010)Stock Markets Review - 5 hours ago He added that Europe is in a fundamental crisis with stability of Euro at stake *** Greece Fin Min Papaconstantinou commented that the only way to avoid ... Investors take fright as Greece reaches 'edge of abyss'Telegraph.co.uk - - 10 hours ago European markets faced a second day of chaos as fears mounted that the Greek crisis could presage a terminal disaster for the single currency. ... Eurozone Reaches a Critical Crossroads as Tensions Mount over GreeceChatham House - 1 hour ago While the rescue package will ease Greece's debt financing problems for 2010, the slow pace and indecisiveness in dealing with the Greek crisis has led to a ... EU tries to calm market fears over debt crisisThe Associated Press - - May 5, 2010 BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Wednesday tried to calm fears that Greece's debt crisis is spreading to other European countries, insisting Greece is ... 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Theatre of ancient Greece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The theatre of ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was institutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BC), comedy (486 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies and allies in order to promote a common cultural identity. Western theatre originates in Athens and its drama has had a significant and sustained impact on Western culture as a whole.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Etymology
The word τραγῳδία (tragoidia), from which the word "tragedy" is derived, is a portmanteau of two Greek words: τράγος (tragos) or "goat" and ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song", from ἀείδειν (aeidein), "to sing".[1] This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults. It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for tragedy and comedy.[2]
[edit] Origins
 | It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Tragedy#Origin_of_tragedy. (Discuss) |
Greek tragedy as we know it was made in Athens some years before 532 BC, when Thespis was the earliest recorded playwright. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held at Athens, he was the exarchon, or leader,[3] of the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica, especially at the rural Dionysia. By Thespis' time the dithyramb had evolved far away from its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and the innovations of the poet Arion, it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis is often called the "Father of Tragedy"; however, his importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as 16th in the chronological order of Greek tragedians; the statesman Solon, for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speak with their own voice, and spoken recitations, known as rhapsodes, of Homer's epics were popular in festivals prior to 534 B.C.[4] Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama is unclear at best, but his name has been immortalized as a common term for performer—a "thespian."
The dramatic performances were important to the Athenians - this is made clear by the creation of a tragedy competition and festival in the City Dionysia. This was organized possibly to foster loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes). The festival was created roughly around 508 B.C. While no drama texts exist from the sixth century BC, we do know the names of three competitors besides Thespis: Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus. Each is credited with different innovations in the field.
More is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC. He produced tragedies on themes and subjects later exploited in the golden age such as the Danaids, Phoenician Women and Alcestis. He was the first poet we know of to use a historical subject - his Fall of Miletus, produced in 493-2, chronicled the fate of the town of Miletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that "the Athenians made clear their deep grief for the taking of Miletus in many ways, but especially in this: when Phrynichus wrote a play entitled "The Fall of Miletus" and produced it, the whole theatre fell to weeping; they fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamity that affected them so personally, and forbade the performance of that play forever."[5] He is also thought to be the first to use female characters (though not female performers).[6]
Until the Hellenistic period, all tragedies were unique pieces written in honor of Dionysus and played only once, so that today we only have the pieces that were still remembered well enough to have been repeated when repetition of old tragedies became fashion.
[edit] New inventions during the Classical Period
After the Great Destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in 480 BC, the town and acropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even more major part of Athenian culture and civic pride. This century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centre-piece of the annual Dionysia, which took place once in winter and once in spring, was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Each submitted three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). Beginning in a first competition in 486 BC, each playwright also submitted a comedy.[7] Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the second actor, and that Sophocles added the third actor. Apparently the Greek playwrights never put more than three actors basis of what is known about Greek theatre.[8]
Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres, and no plays ever merged aspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner. However, as they were written over a century after the Athenian Golden Age, it is not known whether dramatists such as Sophocles and Euripides would have thought about their plays in the same terms.
[edit] Hellenistic period
The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against the Spartans. From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the Hellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great's conquests in the fourth century BC). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy but 'New Comedy', comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwright from the period is Menander. One of New Comedy's most important contributions was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence.
[edit] Characteristics of the buildings
The plays had a chorus of up to fifty[9] people, who performed the plays in verse accompanied by music, beginning in the morning and lasting until the evening. The performance space was a simple semi-circular space, the orchestra, where the chorus danced and sang. The orchestra, which had an average diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a flattened terrace at the foot of a hill, the slope of which produced a natural theatron, literally "watching place". Later, the term "theatre" came to be applied to the whole area of theatron, orchestra, and skené. The choragos was the head chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play.
The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theatres, as their designers had to be able to create acoustics in them such that the actors' voices could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats. The Greeks' understanding of acoustics compares very favourably with the current state of the art, as even with the invention of microphones, there are very few modern large theatres that have truly good acoustics. The first seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BC the practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to create permanent, stable seating became more common. They were called the "prohedria" and reserved for priests and a few most respected citizens.
In 465 BC, the playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, which hung or stood behind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. It was known as the skênê (from which the word "scene" derives). The death of a character was always heard behind the skênê, for it was considered inappropriate to show a killing in view of the audience. In 425 BC a stone scene wall, called a paraskenia, became a common supplement to skênê in the theatres. A paraskenia was a long wall with projecting sides, which may have had doorways for entrances and exits. Just behind the paraskenia was the proskenion. The proskenion ("in front of the scene") was columned, and was similar to the modern day proscenium. Today's proscenium is what separates the audience from the stage. It is the frame around the stage that makes it look like the action is taking place in a picture frame.
Greek theatres also had entrances for the actors and chorus members called parodoi. The parodoi (plural of parodos) were tall arches that opened onto the orchestra, through which the performers entered. In between the parodoi and the orchestra lay the eisodoi, through which actors entered and exited. By the end of the 5th century BC, around the time of the Peloponnesian War, the skênê, the back wall, was two stories high. The upper story was called the episkenion. Some theatres also had a raised speaking place on the orchestra called the logeion.
[edit] Scenic elements
There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:
- machina, a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor (thus, deus ex machina).
- ekkyklema, a wheeled wagon used to bring dead characters into view for the audience
- trap doors, or similar openings in the ground to lift people onto the stage
- Pinakes, pictures hung into the scene to show a scene's scenery
- Thyromata, more complex pictures built into the second-level scene (3rd level from ground)
- Phallic props were used for satyr plays, symbolizing fertility in honor of Dionysus.
[edit] Masks
[edit] Masks and ritual
The Greek term for mask is persona and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens, likely used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Most of the evidence comes from only a few vase paintings of the 5th century BC, such as one showing a mask of the god suspended from a tree with decorated robe hanging below it and dancing and the Pronomos vase [3] , which depicts actors preparing for a Satyr play.[10] No physical evidence remains available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and not considered permanent objects, ultimately being dedicated to the altar of Dionysus after performances. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre.[11] Masks were also made for members of the chorus, who help the audience know what a character is thinking. Although there are twelve members of the chorus they all wear the same mask because they are considered to be representing one character.
[edit] Mask details
Illustrations of theatrical masks from 5th century display helmet-like masks, covering the entire face and head, with holes for the eyes and a small aperture for the mouth, as well as an integrated wig. It is interesting to note that these paintings never show actual masks on the actors in performance; they are most often shown being handled by the actors before or after a performance, that liminal space between the audience and the stage, between myth and reality.[10] This demonstrates the way in which the mask was to 'melt' into the face and allow the actor to vanish into the role.[12] Effectively, the mask transformed the actor as much as memorization of the text. Therefore, performance in ancient Greece did not distinguish the masked actor from the theatrical character.
The mask-makers were called skeuopoios or "maker of the properties," thus suggesting that their role encompassed multiple duties and tasks. The masks were most likely made out of light weight, organic materials like stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, with the wig consisting of human or animal hair.[13] Due to the visual restrictions imposed by these masks, it was imperative that the actors hear in order to orientate and balance themselves. Thus, it is believed that the ears were covered by substantial amounts of hair and not the helmet-mask itself. The mouth opening was relatively small, preventing the mouth to be seen during performances. Vervain and Wiles posit that this small size discourages the idea that the mask functioned as a megaphone, as originally presented in the 1960s.[10] Greek mask-maker, Thanos Vovolis, suggests that the mask serves as a resonator for the head, thus enhancing vocal acoustics and altering its quality. This leads to increased energy and presence, allowing for the more complete metamorphosis of the actor into his character.[14]
[edit] Mask functions
In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, the classical masks were able to bring the characters' face closer to the audience, especially since they had intensely over-exaggerated facial features and expressions.[14] They enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, thus preventing the audience from identifying the actor to one specific character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character's appearance, ie. Oedipus after blinding himself [15] Unique masks were also created for specific characters and events in a play, such as The Furies in Aeschylus' Eumenides and Pentheus and Cadmus in Euripides' The Bacchae. Worn by the chorus, the masks created a sense of unity and uniformity, while representing a multi-voiced persona or single organism and simultaneously encouraged interdependency and a heightened sensitivity between each individual of the group.
[edit] Other costume details
The actors in these plays that had tragic roles wore boots called cothurnuses that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock. For this reason, dramatic art is sometimes alluded to as "Sock and Buskin."
When playing female roles, the male actors donned a "prosterneda" (a wooden structure in front of the chest, to imitate female breasts) and "progastreda" in front of the belly.
Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing cothurnus. Thalia is the muse of comedy and is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic's socks.
[edit] See also
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ancient Greek theatre |
[edit] References
- ^ Merriam-Webster definition of tragedy
- ^ William Ridgeway, Origin of Tragedy with Special Reference to the Greek Tragedians, p.83
- ^ Aristotle, Poetics
- ^ Brockett, Oscar G. "History of the Theatre". Allyn and Bacon, 1999. Pp. 16–17
- ^ Herodotus, Histories, 6/21
- ^ Brockett, Oscar G. "History of the Theatre". Allyn and Bacon, 1999. USA. p.17
- ^ Paul Kuritz, The making of theatre history, Englewood Cliffs 1988, p.21
- ^ Kuritz, p. 24
- ^ Paper on the Athens Theatre
- ^ a b c Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, "The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance." New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.255
- ^ Varakis, Angie. "Research on the Ancient Mask," Didaskalia, Vol. 6.1 Spring 2004, [1]
- ^ Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, "The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance." New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.256]
- ^ Brooke, Iris. "Costume in Greek Classical Drama." Methuen, London: 1962. p.76
- ^ a b Vovolis, Thanos and Giorgos Zamboulakis. "The Acoustical Mask of Greak Tragedy." Didaskalia Vol. 7.1 [2]
- ^ Brockett, Oscar G. and Robert Ball. "The Essential Theatre." 7th Ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando: 2000. p.70].
[edit] Additional Literature
- Brockett, Oscar G. and Robert Ball. The Essential Theatre. 7th Ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando: 2000
- Brooke, Iris. Costume in Greek Classical Drama. Methuen, London: 1962
- Buckham, Philip Wentworth, Theatre of the Greeks, London 1827.
- Davidson, J.A., Literature and Literacy in Ancient Greece, Part 1, Phoenix, 16, 1962, pp. 141-56.
- ibid., Peisistratus and Homer, TAPA, 86, 1955, pp. 1-21.
- Easterling, P.E. (editor) (1997). The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521412455. http://books.google.com/books?id=Fy4iSjY2VTYC&printsec=frontcover.
- Easterling, Patricia Elizabeth; Hall, Edith (eds.), Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession, Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0521651409
- Else, Gerald P.
- Aristotle's Poetics: The Argument, Cambridge, MA 1967.
- The Origins and Early Forms of Greek Tragedy, Cambridge, MA 1965.
- The Origins of ΤΡΑΓΩΙΔΙΑ, Hermes 85, 1957, pp. 17-46.
- Flickinger, Roy Caston, The Greek theater and its drama, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1918
- Freund, Philip, The Birth of Theatre, London : Peter Owen, 2003. ISBN 0720611709
- Haigh, A.E., The Attic Theatre, 1907.
- Harsh, Philip Whaley, A handbook of Classical Drama, Stanford University, California, Stanford University Press; London, H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1944.
- Lesky, A. Greek Tragedy, trans. H.A., Frankfurt, London and New York 1965.
- Ley, Graham. A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theatre. University of Chicago, Chicago: 2006
- McDonald, Marianne, Walton, J. Michael (editors), The Cambridge companion to Greek and Roman theatre, Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 0521834562
- Moulton, Richard Green, The ancient classical drama; a study in literary evolution intended for readers in English and in the original, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1890.
- Padilla, Mark William (editor), "Rites of Passage in Ancient Greece: Literature, Religion, Society", Bucknell University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8387-5418-X
- Pickard-Cambridge, Sir Arthur Wallace
- Dithyramb, Tragedy, and Comedy , Oxford 1927.
- The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, Oxford 1946.
- The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, Oxford 1953.
- Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin (2008). Greek Tragedy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. ISBN 9781405121606.
- Ridgeway, William, Origin of Tragedy with Special Reference to the Greek Tragedians, 1910.
- Riu, Xavier, Dionysism and Comedy, 1999. review
- Ross, Stewart. Greek Theatre. Wayland Press, Hove: 1996
- Schlegel, August Wilhelm, Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature, Geneva 1809.
- Sommerstein, Alan H., Greek Drama and Dramatists, Routledge, 2002.
- Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane, Tragedy and Athenian Religion, Oxford:University Press 2003.
- Varakis, Angie. "Research on the Ancient Mask", Didaskalia, Vol. 6.1 Spring 2004, .
- Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance. New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004.
- Vovolis, Thanos and Giorgos Zamboulakis. The Acoustical Mask of Greak Tragedy, Didaskalia Vol. 7.1.
- Wiles, David. Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2000
- ibid. The Masked Menander: Sign and Meaning in Greek and Roman Performance, 1991.
- Wise, Jennifer, Dionysus Writes: The Invention of Theatre in Ancient Greece, Ithaca 1998. review
- Zimmerman, B., Greek Tragedy: An Introduction, trans. T. Marier, Baltimore 1991.
[edit] External links
- Ancient Greek theatre history and articles
- Drama lesson 1: The ancient Greek theatre
- Ancient Greek Theatre
- The Ancient Theatre Archive, Greek and Roman theatre architecture - Dr. Thomas G. Hines, Department of Theatre, Whitman College
- Greek and Roman theatre glossary
- Illustrated Greek Theater - Dr. Janice Siegel, Department of Classics, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia
Greece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
| Motto: Eleftheria i Thanatos, (Greek: "Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος", "Freedom or Death") (traditional) | ||||||||||||||
| Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν Ýmnos eis tīn Eleftherían Hymn to Liberty1 | ||||||||||||||
 Location of Greece (green) – on the European continent (light green & grey) | ||||||||||||||
| Capital (and largest city) | Athens 38°00′N 23°43′E / 38°N 23.717°E / 38; 23.717 | |||||||||||||
| Official language(s) | Greek | |||||||||||||
| Demonym | Greek | |||||||||||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||||||||||
| - | President | Karolos Papoulias | ||||||||||||
| - | Prime Minister | George Papandreou | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||||||||||
| Modern statehood | ||||||||||||||
| - | Independence from the Ottoman Empire | 25 March 1821 | ||||||||||||
| - | Recognized | 3 February 1830, in the London Protocol | ||||||||||||
| - | Kingdom of Greece | 7 May 1832, in the Convention of London | ||||||||||||
| - | Current constitution | 11 June 1975, Third Hellenic Republic | ||||||||||||
| EU accession | 1 January 1981 | |||||||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||||||
| - | Total | 131,990 km2 (96th) 50,944 sq mi | ||||||||||||
| - | Water (%) | 0.8669 | ||||||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||||||
| - | 2010 estimate | 11,306,183[1] (74th) | ||||||||||||
| - | 2001 census | 10,964,020[2] | ||||||||||||
| - | Density | 85.3/km2 (88th) 221.0/sq mi | ||||||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2009 estimate | |||||||||||||
| - | Total | $333.533 billion[3] | ||||||||||||
| - | Per capita | $29,881[3] | ||||||||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2009 estimate | |||||||||||||
| - | Total | $330.780 billion[3] | ||||||||||||
| - | Per capita | $29,635[3] | ||||||||||||
| Gini (2005) | 332 (low) (36th) | |||||||||||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.942[4] (very high) (25th) | |||||||||||||
| Currency | Euro (€)3 (EUR) | |||||||||||||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |||||||||||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||||||||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||||||||||
| Internet TLD | .gr4 | |||||||||||||
| Calling code | 30 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Also the national anthem of Cyprus. | |||||||||||||
| 2 | CIA World Factbook. | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Before 2001, the Greek drachma. | |||||||||||||
| 4 | The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. | |||||||||||||
Greece (English: /ˈɡriːs/ (
listen); Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen); Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [helːás]), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]),[5] is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. The country has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in the world at 14,880 km (9,246.00 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1400, 227 of which are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570.21 ft).
Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of ancient Greece, generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy,[6] Western philosophy,[7] the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama,[8] including both tragedy and comedy. This legacy is partly reflected in the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are located in Greece.
A developed country with a very high Human Development Index,[9][10][11][12] Greece has been a member of what is now the European Union since 1981 and its Economic and Monetary Union since 2001,[13] NATO since 1952,[14] and the European Space Agency since 2005.[15] It is also a founding member of the United Nations, the OECD,[16] and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. Athens is the capital; other major cities include Thessaloniki, Piraeus, Patras, Heraklion and Larissa.
Contents[hide] |
History
Greece was the first area in Europe where advanced early civilizations emerged, beginning with the Cycladic civilization of the Aegean Sea, the Minoan civilization in Crete and then the Mycenaean civilization on the mainland. Later, city-states emerged across the Greek peninsula and spread to the shores of the Black Sea, South Italy and Asia Minor, reaching great levels of prosperity that resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, that of classical Greece, expressed in architecture, drama, science and philosophy, and nurtured in Athens under a democratic environment.
Athens and Sparta led the way in repelling the Persian Empire in a series of battles. Both were later overshadowed by Thebes and eventually Macedonia, with the latter under the guidance of Alexander the Great uniting and leading the Greek world to victory over the Persians.
The Hellenistic period was brought only partially to a close two centuries later with the establishment of Roman rule over Greek lands in 146 BC.[17] Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch, Seleucia and the many other new Hellenistic cities in Asia and Africa founded in Alexander's wake.[18]
The subsequent mixture of Roman and Hellenic cultures took form in the establishment of the Byzantine Empire in 330 AD around Constantinople. Byzantium remained a major cultural and military power for the next 1,123 years, until the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. On the eve of the Ottoman conquest, much of the Greek intelligentsia migrated to Italy and other parts of Europe not under Ottoman rule, playing a significant role in the Renaissance through the transmission of ancient Greek works to Western Europe.[19] Nevertheless, the Ottoman millet system contributed to the cohesion of the Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the empire based on religion, as the latter played an integral role in the formation of modern Greek identity.
After the Greek War of Independence, successfully waged against the Ottoman Empire from 1821 to 1829, the nascent Greek state was finally recognized under the London Protocol in 1830. In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, from Corfu, was chosen as the first governor of the new Republic. However, following his assassination, the Great Powers installed a monarchy under Otto, of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. In 1843, an uprising forced the King to grant a constitution and a representative assembly.
Due to his unimpaired authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in 1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. In 1877, Charilaos Trikoupis, who is attributed with the significant improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of confidence to any potential prime minister.
20th century
As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece increased the extent of its territory and population. In the following years, the struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of World War I dominated the country's political scene, and divided the country into two opposed groups.
In the aftermath of WWI, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war which resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne.[20] According to various sources,[21] several hundred thousand Pontic Greeks died during this period.[22] Instability and successive coups d'état marked the following era, which was overshadowed by the massive task of incorporating 1.5 million Greek refugees from Turkey into Greek society. The Greek population in Istanbul dropped from 300,000 at the turn of the century to around 3,000 in the city today.[23]
On 28 October 1940 Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas refused and in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land. The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece. The German occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance. Over 100,000 civilians died from starvation during the winter of 1941–42. In 1943 virtually the entire Jewish population was deported to Nazi extermination camps.[24]
After liberation, Greece experienced a bitter civil war between communist and anticommunist forces, which led to economic devastation and severe social tensions between rightists and largely communist leftists for the next 30 years.[25] The next 20 years were characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres but also by rapid economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan.
King Constantine's dismissal of George Papandreou's centrist government in July 1965 prompted a prolonged period of political turbulence which culminated in a coup d'état on 21 April 1967 by the United States-backed Regime of the Colonels. The brutal suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising on 17 November 1973 sent shockwaves through the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as dictator. On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the regime collapsed.
Former premier Konstantinos Karamanlis was invited back from Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era. On the 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of NATO in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.[26][27] The first multiparty elections since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican constitution was promulgated on 11 June 1975 following a referendum which abolished the monarchy.
Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's conservative New Democracy party, with the two political formations alternating in government ever since. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.[26] Traditionally strained relations with neighbouring Turkey improved when successive earthquakes hit both nations in 1999, leading to the lifting of the Greek veto against Turkey's bid for EU membership.
Greece became the tenth member of the European Communities (subsequently subsumed by the European Union) on 1 January 1981, ushering in a period of remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast-growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Government and politics
Greece is a parliamentary republic.[28] The nominal head of state is the President of the Republic, who is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term.[28] The current Constitution was drawn up and adopted by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 after the fall of the military junta of 1967–1974. It has been revised twice since, in 1986 and in 2001. The Constitution, which consists of 120 articles, provides for a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and grants extensive specific guarantees (further reinforced in 2001) of civil liberties and social rights.[29] Women's suffrage was guaranteed with a 1952 Constitutional amendment.
According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government.[28] From the Constitutional amendment of 1986 the President's duties were curtailed to a significant extent, and they are now largely ceremonial; most political power thus lies in the hands of the Prime Minister.[30] The position of Prime Minister, Greece's head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The President of the Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation, appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet.[28]
Legislative powers are exercised by a 300-member elective unicameral Parliament.[28] Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the President of the Republic.[28] Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the President of the Republic is obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance.[28] The President is also obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of no confidence.[28]
The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Court of Auditors (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Judiciary system is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge disputes between the citizens and the Greek administrative authorities.
Political parties
Since the restoration of democracy, the Greek two-party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (ND) and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).[31] Other significant parties include the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS). The current prime minister is George Papandreou, president of the PASOK, who on October 4, 2009, won with a majority in the Parliament of 160 out of 300 seats.
Peripheries and prefectures
Administratively, Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-one prefectures (nomoi, singular Greek: nomos). There is also one autonomous area, Mount Athos (Greek: Agio Oros, "Holy Mountain"), which borders the periphery of Central Macedonia.
Map | Number | Periphery | Capital | Area (km²) | Area (sq mi) | Population | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Attica | Athens | 3,808 | 1,470 | 3,761,810 | |||||||||
| 2 | Central Greece | Lamia | 15,549 | 6,004 | 605,329 | |||||||||
| 3 | Central Macedonia | Thessaloniki | 18,811 | 7,263 | 1,871,952 | |||||||||
| 4 | Crete | Heraklion | 8,259 | 3,189 | 601,131 | |||||||||
| 5 | East Macedonia and Thrace | Komotini | 14,157 | 5,466 | 611,067 | |||||||||
| 6 | Epirus | Ioannina | 9,203 | 3,553 | 353,820 | |||||||||
| 7 | Ionian Islands | Corfu | 2,307 | 891 | 212,984 | |||||||||
| 8 | North Aegean | Mytilene | 3,836 | 1,481 | 206,121 | |||||||||
| 9 | Peloponnese | Kalamata | 15,490 | 5,981 | 638,942 | |||||||||
| 10 | South Aegean | Ermoupoli | 5,286 | 2,041 | 302,686 | |||||||||
| 11 | Thessaly | Larissa | 14,037 | 5,420 | 753,888 | |||||||||
| 12 | West Greece | Patras | 11,350 | 4,382 | 740,506 | |||||||||
| 13 | West Macedonia | Kozani | 9,451 | 3,649 | 301,522 | |||||||||
| - | Mount Athos (Autonomous) | Karyes | 390 | 151 | 2,262 |
Foreign relations
Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include the enduring dispute over Cyprus, differences with Turkey over the Aegean sea, as well as the naming dispute with the Republic of Macedonia, which Greece refers to internationally by the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".
Geography
      Greece |
Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans, the Peloponnesus peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth), and numerous islands (1400, 227 of which are inhabited), including Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Chios, the Dodecanese and the Cycladic groups of the Aegean Sea as well as the Ionian Sea islands. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in the world with 14,880 km (9,246 mi); its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi).
Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Mount Olympus, a focal point of Greek culture throughout history culminates at Mytikas peak 2,917 m (9,570 ft), the highest in the country. Once considered the throne of the Gods, it is today extremely popular among hikers and climbers. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus reaches a maximum elevation of 2,637 m (8,652 ft) at Mt. Smolikas and is essentially a prolongation of the Dinaric Alps. The Vikos-Aoos Gorge is yet another spectacular formation and a popular hotspot for those fond of extreme sports.
The range continues through the central Peloponnese, crosses the islands of Kythera and Antikythera and find its way into southwestern Aegean, in the island of Crete where it eventually ends. The islands of the Aegean are peaks of underwater mountains that once constituted an extension of the mainland. Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other karstic landscapes. Most notably, the impressive Meteora formation consisting of high, steep boulders provides a breathtaking experience for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the area each year.
Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. The famous Dadia forest is in the prefecture of Evros, in the far northeast of the country.
Expansive plains are primarily located in the prefectures of Thessaly, Central Macedonia and Thrace. They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. Rare marine species such as the Pinniped Seals and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to the endangered brown bear, the lynx, the Roe Deer and the Wild Goat.
Phytogeographically, Greece belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the European Environment Agency, the territory of Greece can be subdivided into six ecoregions: the Illyrian deciduous forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rodope montane mixed forests, Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests and Crete Mediterranean forests.
Climate
The climate of Greece can be categorised into three types (the Mediterranean, the Alpine and the Temperate) that influence well-defined regions of its territory. The Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making the western side of it (areas prone to the south-westerlies) wetter on average than the areas lying to the east of it (lee side of the mountains). The Mediterranean type of climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Crete, the Eastern Peloponnese and parts of the Sterea Ellada (Central Continental Grece) region are mostly affected by this particular type of climate. Temperatures rarely reach extreme values along the coasts, although, with Greece being a highly mountainous country, snowfalls occur frequently in winter. It sometimes snows even in the Cyclades or the Dodecanese.
The Alpine type is dominant mainly in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece (parts of Epirus, Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia) as well as in the central parts of Peloponnese, including parts of the prefectures of Achaia, Arcadia and Laconia, where extensions of the Pindus mountain range pass by. Finally, the Temperate type affects Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace; it features cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers with frequent thunderstorms. Athens is located in a transitional area featuring both the Mediterranean and the Temperate types. The city's northern suburbs are dominated by the temperate type while the downtown area and the southern suburbs enjoy a typical Mediterranean type.
Economy
Annual growth of Greek GDP has surpassed the respective levels of most of its EU partners.[32] The tourism industry is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue accounting for 15% of Greece's total GDP[33] and employing, directly or indirectly, 16.5% of the total workforce.
The Greek labor force totals 4.9 million, and it is the second most industrious between OECD countries, after South Korea.[34] The Groningen Growth & Development Centre has published a poll revealing that between 1995 and 2005, Greece ranked third in the working hours per year ranking among European nations; Greeks worked an average of 1,811 hours per year[35]. In 2007, the average worker made around 20 dollars per hour, similar to Spain and slightly more than half of average U.S. hourly income. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, occupied mainly in agricultural and construction work.
Greece's purchasing power-adjusted GDP per capita is the world's 26th highest. According to the International Monetary Fund it has an estimated average per capita income of $30,661 for the year 2008,[36] a figure comparable to that of Germany, France or Italy. According to Eurostat data, Greek PPS GDP per capita stood at 95 per cent of the EU average in 2008.[37] According to a survey by The Economist, the cost of living in Athens is close to 90% of the costs in New York; in rural regions it is lower.[38]
However, the Greek economy also faces significant problems, including rising unemployment levels, an inefficient government bureaucracy and widespread corruption.[39]
In 2009, Greece had the EU's second lowest Index of Economic Freedom (after Poland), ranking 81st in the world.[40] The country suffers from high levels of political and economic corruption and low global competitiveness relative to its EU partners.[41][42]
Although remaining above the euro area average, economic growth turned negative in 2009 for the first time since 1993.[43][verification needed] An indication of the trend of over-lending in recent years is the fact that the ratio of loans to savings exceeded 100% during the first half of the year.[44]
By the end of 2009, as a result of a combination of international (financial crisis) and local (uncontrolled spending prior to the October 2009 national elections) factors, the Greek economy faced its most severe crisis after 1993, with the highest budget deficit (although close to those of Ireland and the UK) as well as the second highest debt to GDP ratio in the EU. Greece has currently adopted harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control, which have won support from EU leaders and the European Commission, and will be monitored by the Commission.
Maritime industry
The shipping industry is a key element of Greek economic activity dating back to ancient times.[45] Today, shipping is one of the country's most important industries. It accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce), and represents 1/3 of the country's trade deficit.[46]
During the 1960s, the size of the Greek fleet nearly doubled, primarily through the investment undertaken by the shipping magnates Onassis and Niarchos.[47] The basis of the modern Greek maritime industry was formed after World War II when Greek shipping businessmen were able to amass surplus ships sold to them by the United States Government through the Ship Sales Act of the 1940s.[47] According to the BTS, the Greek-owned maritime fleet is today the largest in the world, with 3,079 vessels accounting for 18% of the world's fleet capacity (making it the largest of any other country) with a total dwt of 141,931 thousand (142 million dwt).[48] In terms of ship categories, Greece ranks first in both tankers and dry bulk carriers, fourth in the number of containers, and fourth in other ships.[48] However, today's fleet roster is smaller than an all-time high of 5,000 ships in the late 70's.[45]
Tourism
An important percentage of Greece's income comes from tourism. In 2004 Greece welcomed 16.5 million tourists. According to a survey conducted in China in 2005, Greece was voted as the Chinese people's number one choice as a tourist destination,[49] and 6,088,287 tourists visited only[clarification needed] the city of Athens, the capital city. In November 2006, Austria, like China, announced that Greece was the favourite destination.[50][dead link]
Numismatics
In Greece, the euro was introduced in 2002. As a preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 2001, however all Greek euro coins introduced in 2002 have this year on it; unlike some other countries of the Eurozone where mint year is minted in the coin. Eight different designs, one per face value, was selected for the Greek coins. In 2007, in order to adopt the new common map like the rest of the Eurozone countries, Greece changed the common side of their coins. Before adopting the Euro in 2002 Greece had maintained use of the Greek drachma from 1832.
Greece has one of the richest collections of collectors' coins in the Eurozone, with face value ranging from 10 to 200 euro, mainly issued to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone. For instance, a €10 Greek commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country.
Transport
Since the 1980s, the roads and rail network of Greece has been significantly modernized. Important works include the Egnatia highway that connects north west Greece (Igoumenitsa) with northern and north east Greece. The Rio-Antirio bridge (the longest suspension cable bridge in Europe) (2250 m or 7382 ft long) connects the western Peloponnesus from Rio (7 km or 4 mi from Patras) with Antirion on the central Greek mainland. An expansion of the Patras-Athens national motorway towards Pyrgos in the western Peloponnese is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Most of the highway connection of Athens to Thessaloniki has also been upgraded.
The metropolitan area of the capital Athens had a new international airport (opened in 2001), a new privately run suburban motorway Attiki Odos (opened 2001), and an expanded metro system (since 2000).
Most of the Greek islands and many main cities of Greece are connecting by air mainly from the two major airlines of Greece, Olympic and Aegean air. Maritime connections have been improved with modern high-speed craft, including hydrofoils and catamarans. Railway connections play a somewhat lesser role than in many other European countries, but railways too have been expanded, with new suburban connections around Athens, a modern intercity connection between Athens and Thessaloniki, and upgrading to double lines in many parts of the 2500 km (1550 mi) network. International railway lines connect Greek cities with the rest of Europe, the Balkans and Turkey.
Demographics
The official Statistical body of Greece is the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG). According to the NSSG, Greece's total population in 2001 was 10,964,020.[51] That figure is divided into 5,427,682 males and 5,536,338 females.[51] As statistics from 1971, 1981, and 2001 show, the Greek population has been aging the past several decades.[51]
The birth rate in 2003 stood 9.5 per 1,000 inhabitants (14.5 per 1,000 in 1981). At the same time the mortality rate increased slightly from 8.9 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 to 9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2003. In 2001, 16.71% of the population were 65 years old and older, 68.12% between the ages of 15 and 64 years old, and 15.18% were 14 years old and younger.[51]
Greek society has also rapidly changed with the passage of time. Marriage rates kept falling from almost 71 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 until 2002, only to increase slightly in 2003 to 61 per 1,000 and then fall again to 51 in 2004.[51] Divorce rates on the other hand, have seen an increase – from 191.2 per 1,000 marriages in 1991 to 239.5 per 1,000 marriages in 2004.[51] Almost two-thirds of the Greek people live in urban areas. Greece's largest municipalities in 2001 were: Athens, Thessaloniki, Piraeus, Patras, Iraklio, Larissa, and Volos.[52]
Throughout the 20th century, millions of Greeks migrated to the US, Australia, Canada, UK and Germany, creating a thriving Greek diaspora. The migration trend however has now been reversed after the important improvements of the Greek economy since the 80's.
Immigration
Due to the complexity of Greek immigration policy, practices and data collection, truly reliable data on immigrant populations in Greece is difficult to gather and therefore subject to much speculation. In 1986, legal and unauthorized immigrants totaled approximately 90,000. A study from the Mediterranean Migration Observatory maintains that the 2001 Census from the NSSG recorded 762,191 persons residing in Greece without Greek citizenship, constituting around 7% of total population and that, of these, 48,560 were EU or EFTA nationals and 17,426 Cypriots with privileged status. People from the Balkan countries of Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania make up almost two-thirds of the total foreign population. Migrants from the former Soviet Union (Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, etc.) comprise 10% of the total.[53]
The greatest cluster of non-EU immigrant population is in the Municipality of Athens –some 132,000 immigrants, at 17% of local population. Thessaloniki is the second largest cluster, with 27,000, reaching 7% of local population. After this, the predominant areas of location are the big cities environs and the agricultural areas. At the same time, Albanians constituted some 56% of total immigrants, followed by Bulgarians (5%), Georgians (3%) and Romanians (3%). Americans, Cypriots, British and Germans appeared as sizeable foreign communities at around 2% each of total foreign population. The rest were around 690,000 persons of non-EU or non-homogeneis (of non-Greek heritage) status.
According to the same study, the foreign population (documented and undocumented) residing in Greece may in reality figure upwards to 8.5% or 10.3%, that is approximately meaning 1.15 million – if immigrants with homogeneis cards are accounted for.
Greece is a gateway for the entry of illegal immigrants to Europe. The Cabinet has approved a draft law that would allow children born in Greece to parents who are immigrants, one of whom must have been living in the country legally for at least 5 consecutive years to apply for Greek citizenship.[54].
The government, despite strong objections from oppositions is determined to pass the bill. The main objective is to facilitate the smooth integration of legal immigrants and their children in the Greek social reality. The basic criteria remain the legality of residence and children's participation in Greek culture.
For the same reason, moreover, long-term residents, political refugees and expatriates will be allowed to participate in local elections.
Religion
The constitution of Greece recognizes the Greek Orthodox faith as the "prevailing" religion of the country, while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all.[28] The Greek Government does not keep statistics on religious groups and censuses do not ask for religious affiliation. According to the State Department, an estimated 97% of Greek citizens identify themselves as Greek Orthodox.[55] However, in the Eurostat – Eurobarometer poll of 2005, 81% of Greek citizens responded that they believe there is a God,[56] which was the third highest percentage among EU members behind only Malta and Cyprus.[56] Estimates of the recognized Muslim minority, which is mostly located in Thrace, range from 98,000 to 140,000,[55][57] (between 0.9% and 1.2%) while the immigrant Muslim community numbers between 200,000 and 300,000. Albanian immigrants to Greece (approximately 700,000) are usually associated with the Muslim religion, although most are secular in orientation.[58] Following the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne Greece and Turkey agreed to a population transfer based on upon cultural and religious identity. About 500,000 Muslims from Greece, predominantly Turks, but also other Muslims, were exchanged with approximately 1,500,000 Greeks from Asia Minor (now Turkey).[59] Athens is the only EU capital without a purpose-built place of worship for its Muslim population.[60][61]
Judaism has existed in Greece for more than 2,000 years. Sephardi Jews used to have a large presence in the city of Thessaloniki (by 1900, some 80,000, or more than half of the population, were Jews),[62] but nowadays the Greek-Jewish community who survived German occupation and the Holocaust, during World War II, is estimated to number around 5,500 people.[55][57]
Greek members of Roman Catholic faith are estimated at 50,000[55][57] with the Roman Catholic immigrant community approximating 200,000.[55] Old Calendarists account for 500,000 followers.[57] Protestants, including Greek Evangelical Church and Free Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000.[55][57] Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and other Pentecostal churches of the Greek Synod of Apostolic Church has 12,000 members.[63]
Independent Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest Protestant denomination in Greece with 120 churches.[64] There are not official statistics about Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers in 20,000.[65] The Jehovah's Witnesses report having 28,243 active members.[55][57][66] There are also 653 Mormons,[67] 501 Seventh-day Adventists,[68] and 30 Free Methodists.[55][69] The ancient Greek religion has also reappeared as Hellenic Neopaganism,[70] with estimates of approximately 2,000 adherents (comprising 0.02% of the general population).[71]
Languages
Greece is today relatively homogeneous in linguistic terms, with a large majority of the native population using Greek as their first or only language. The Muslim minority in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 0.95% of the total population, consists of speakers of Turkish, Bulgarian (Pomak) and Romani. Romani is also spoken by Christian Roma in other parts of the country.
Further minority languages have traditionally been spoken by regional population groups in various parts of the country. Their use has decreased radically in the course of the 20th century through assimilation with the Greek-speaking majority. This goes for the Arvanites, an Albanian-speaking group mostly located in the rural areas around the capital Athens, and for the Aromanians and Moglenites, also known as Vlachs, whose language is closely related to Romanian and who used to live scattered across several areas of mountaneous central Greece. Members of these groups ethnically identify as Greeks[72] and are today all at least bilingual in Greek. In many areas their traditional languages are today only maintained by the older generations and are on the verge of extinction.
Near the northern Greek borders there are also some Slavic-speaking groups, whose members identify ethnically as Greeks in their majority. Their dialects can be linguistically classified as forms of either Macedonian (locally called Slavomacedonian or simply Slavic), or Bulgarian (distinguished as Pomak in the case of the Bulgarophone Muslims of Thrace.[73] It is estimated that in the aftermath of the population exchanges of 1923 there were somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 Slavic speakers in Greek Macedonia.[23]
The Jewish community in Greece traditionally spoke Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), today maintained only by a small group of a few thousand speakers.
Among the Greek-speaking population, speakers of the distinctive Pontic dialect came to Greece from Asia Minor after the Greek genocide and constitute a sizable group.
Education
Compulsory education in Greece comprises primary schools (Δημοτικό Σχολείο, Dimotikó Scholeio) and gymnasium (Γυμνάσιο). Nursery schools (Παιδικός σταθμός, Paidikós Stathmós) are popular but not compulsory. Kindergartens (Νηπιαγωγείο, Nipiagogeío) are now compulsory for any child above 4 years of age. Children start primary school aged 6 and remain there for six years. Attendance at gymnasia starts at age 12 and last for three years.
Greece's post-compulsory secondary education consists of two school types: unified upper secondary schools (Ενιαίο Λύκειο, Eniaia Lykeia) and technical–vocational educational schools (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TEE"). Post-compulsory secondary education also includes vocational training institutes (Ινστιτούτα Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "IEK") which provide a formal but unclassified level of education. As they can accept both Gymnasio (lower secondary school) and Lykeio (upper secondary school) graduates, these institutes are not classified as offering a particular level of education.
Public higher education is divided into universities, "Highest Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ΑΕΙ") and "Highest Technological Educational Institutions" (Ανώτατα Τεχνολογικά Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, Anótata Technologiká Ekpaideytiká Idrýmata, "ATEI"). Students are admitted to these Institutes according to their performance at national level examinations taking place after completion of the third grade of Lykeio. Additionally, students over twenty-two years old may be admitted to the Hellenic Open University through a form of lottery. The Capodistrian university of Athens is the oldest university in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Greek education system also provides special kindergartens, primary and secondary schools for people with special needs or difficulties in learning. Specialist gymnasia and high schools offering musical, theological and physical education also exist.
Some of the main universities in Greece include:
National and Capodistrian University of Athens • National Technical University of Athens • University of Piraeus • Agricultural University of Athens • University of Macedonia (in Thessaloniki) • University of Crete • Technical University of Crete • Athens University of Economics and Business • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki • University of the Aegean (across the Aegean Islands) • Democritus University of Thrace • University of Ioannina • University of Thessaly • University of Western Macedonia • Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences • University of Patras • Charokopeio University of Athens • Ionian University (across the Ionian Islands)
Culture
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, the Hellenistic Period, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern successor the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire too had a significant influence on Greek culture, but the Greek War of Independence is credited with revitalizing Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture throughout the ages.
Philosophy
Most western philosophical traditions began in ancient Greece in the 6th century BC.The first philosophers are called "Presocratics" which designates that they came before Socrates. The Presocratics were from the western or the eastern colonies of Greece and only fragments of the original writings of the presocratics survive, in some cases merely a single sentence.
A new period of philosophy started with Socrates. Like the Sophists, he rejected entirely the physical speculations in which his predecessors had indulged, and made the thoughts and opinions of people his starting-point. Aspects of Socrates were first united from Plato, who also combined with them many of the principles established by earlier philosophers, and developed the whole of this material into the unity of a comprehensive system.
Aristotle of Stagira, the most important disciple of Plato, shared with his teacher the title of the greatest philosopher of antiquity but while Plato had sought to elucidate and explain things from the supra-sensual standpoint of the forms, his pupil preferred to start from the facts given us by experience. Except from these three most significant Greek philosophers other known schools of Greek philosophy from other founders during ancient times were Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism and Neoplatonism.[74]
Literature
The timeline of the Greek literature can be separated into three big periods: the ancient, the Byzantine and the modern Greek literature.
At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of Homer: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Though dates of composition vary, these works were fixed around 800 BC or after. In the classical period many of the genres of western literature became more prominent. Lyrical poetry, odes, pastorals, elegies, epigrams; dramatic presentations of comedy and tragedy; historiography, rhetorical treatises, philosophical dialectics, and philosophical treatises all arose in this period.The two major lyrical poets were Sappho and Pindar. The Classical era also saw the dawn of drama.
Of the hundreds of tragedies written and performed during the classical age, only a limited number of plays by three authors have survived: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The surviving plays by Aristophanes are also a treasure trove of comic presentation, while Herodotus and Thucydides are two of the most influential historians in this period. The greatest prose achievement of the 4th century was in philosophy with the works of the three great philosophers.
Byzantine literature refers to literature of the Byzantine Empire written in Atticizing, Medieval and early Modern Greek, and it is the expression of the intellectual life of the Byzantine Greeks during the Christian Middle Ages.
Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in common Modern Greek, emerging from late Byzantine times in the 11th century AD. The Cretan Renaissance poem Erotokritos is undoubtedly the masterpiece of this period of Greek literature. It is a verse romance written around 1600 by Vitsentzos Kornaros (1553–1613). Later, during the period of Greek enlightenment (Diafotismos), writers such as Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios will prepare with their works the Greek Revolution (1821–1830).
Contemporary Greek literature is representated by many writers, poets and novelists: Dionysios Solomos, Andreas Kalvos, Angelos Sikelianos, Kostis Palamas, Penelope Delta, Yannis Ritsos, Alexandros Papadiamantis, Nikos Kazantzakis, Andreas Embeirikos, Kostas Karyotakis, Gregorios Xenopoulos, Constantine P. Cavafy, Demetrius Vikelas, while George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Science and technology
Broadband internet availability is widespread in Greece; approximately 15.6% of the general population have broadband connections to the internet,[75][76] mainly ADSL2. Internet cafes that provide net access, office applications and multiplayer gaming are also a common sight in the country, while mobile internet on 3G cellphone networks and public wi-fi hotspots are existent, but not as extensive.
Because of its strategic location, qualified workforce and political and economic stability, many multinational companies such as Ericsson, Siemens, SAP, Motorola and Coca-Cola have their regional R&D Headquarters in Greece.
The General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development is responsible for designing, implementing and supervising national research and technological policy.
In 2003, public spending on R&D was 456.37 million euros (12.6% increase from 2002). Total research and development (R&D) spending (both public and private) as a percentage of GDP has increased considerably since the beginning of the past decade, from 0.38% in 1989, to 0.65% in 2001. R&D spending in Greece remains lower than the EU average of 1.93%, but, according to Research DC, based on OECD and Eurostat data, between 1990 and 1998, total R&D expenditure in Greece enjoyed the third highest increase in Europe, after Finland and Ireland.
Greece's technology parks with incubator facilities include the Science and Technology Park of Crete (Heraklion), the Thessaloniki Technology Park, the Lavrio Technology Park and the Patras Science Park.Greece has been a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since 2005.[15] Cooperation between ESA and the Hellenic National Space Committee began in the early 1990s. In 1994, Greece and ESA signed their first cooperation agreement. Having formally applied for full membership in 2003, Greece became ESA's sixteenth member on 16 March 2005. As member of the ESA, Greece participates in the agency's telecommunication and technology activities, and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Initiative.
Cuisine
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Greek cuisine is often cited[who?] as an example of the healthy Mediterranean diet (Cretan diet). Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, stifado, Greek Salad, spanakopita and the world famous Souvlaki. Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece like skordalia (a thick purée of potatoes, walnuts, almonds, crushed garlic and olive oil), lentil soup, retsina (white or rosé wine sealed with pine resin) and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey). Throughout Greece people often enjoy eating from small dishes such as meze with various dips such as tzatziki, grilled octopus and small fish, feta cheese, dolmades (rice, currants and pine kernels wrapped in vine leaves), various pulses, olives and cheese. Olive oil is added to almost every dish.
Sweet desserts such as galaktoboureko, and drinks such as ouzo, metaxa and a variety of wines including retsina. Greek cuisine differs widely from different parts of the mainland and from island to island also uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines do: oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill and bay laurel leaves. Other common herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use "sweet" spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon and cloves in stews.
Music
Greek music extends far back into Ancient times were mixed-gender choruses performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons, instruments during that time period included the double-reed aulos and the plucked string instrument, the lyre, especially the special kind called a kithara. Music played an important role in the education system during ancient times were boys taught music from the age of six. Later it was influenced from the Roman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire that changed Greek music.
While the new technique of polyphony was developing in the West, the Eastern Orthodox Church resisted any type of change. Therefore, Byzantine music remained monophonic and without any form of instrumental accompaniment. As a result, Byzantine music was deprived of elements of which in the West encouraged an unimpeded development of art. However, the isolation of Byzantium, which kept music away from polyphony, along with centuries of continuous culture, enabled monophonic music to develop to the greatest heights of perfection. Byzantium presented with a melodic treasury of inestimable value for its rhythmical variety and expressive power the monophonic Byzantine chant.
Along with the Byzantine chant, a form of artistic musical creation, the Greek people also cultivated the Greek folk song which is divided into two cycles, the akritic and klephtic. The akritic was created between the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. and expressed the life and struggles of the akrites (frontier guards) of the Byzantine empire, the most well known being the stories associated with Digenes Akritas. The klephtic cycle came into being between the late Byzantine period and the start of the Greek War of Independence struggle in 1821. The klephtic cycle, together with historical songs, paraloghes (narrative song or ballad), love songs, wedding songs, songs of exile and dirges express the life of the Greeks. There is a unity between the Greek people's struggles for freedom, their joys and sorrow and attitudes towards love and death.
The Second World War, German occupation of Greece and the Greek Civil War decisively influenced the Greek folk song. After the first World War and the 1922 debacle, the trend towards urban living focused on Athens where popular musicians congregated and, in 1928, founded their own professional society: the Athens and Piraeus Musicians Society. Until the early years of this century, musical tradition was preserved in the villages where there was little contact with the outside world. The events and social changes of the 20th century changed the fate of the folk song in Greece. Once the seat of folk song was the village, now the reverse applies. The commercialized folk song spreads in all directions to the remotest villages. The authentic songs and dances have been replaced by the stylized modern "folk songs" written by contemporary musicians which they write new lyrics to authentic folk tunes, changing them enough to ensure copyright protection.
Sports
Greece, home to the first modern Olympics, holds a long tradition in sports. The Greek national football team, currently ranked 12th in the world,[77] won the UEFA Euro 2004 in one of the biggest surprises in the history of the sport.[78] The Greek Super League is the highest professional football league in the country comprising of 16 teams. The most successful of them are Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, and AEK Athens.
The Greek national basketball team has a decades-long tradition of excellence in the sport. In August 2008, it ranked 4th in the world.[79] They have won the European Championship twice in 1987 and 2005,[80] and have reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA World Championships, taking the second place in 2006. The domestic top basketball league, A1 Ethniki, is composed of fourteen teams. The most successful Greek teams are Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris, AEK Athens and PAOK. Water polo and volleyball are also practiced widely in Greece while cricket, handball are relatively popular in Corfu and Veroia respectively. As the birth place of the Olympic Games, Greece was most recently host of 2004 Summer Olympics and the first modern Olympics in 1896.
In 2009, Greece beat France in the under-20 European Basketball championship.[81]
Mythology
Greek Fashion
Greek fashion, despite having a short tradition, is very popular throughout the world. The Athens Fashion week is one of the most important events of the year. Main representatives of Greek Fashion:
- Michael Aslani, popular fashion designer for men and women
- Sylia Kritharioti, popular fashion designer for men and women
- Vasileios Kostetsos, popular fashion designer for men and women
- Sophia Kokosalaki, haute couture, women, designer for the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Panagiotis Papadopoulos, swimwear designer for Panos Emporio (based in Sweden)
- John Varvatos, haute couture - men
- Peter Speliopoulos, vice President, DKNY design
- Sotirios Voulgaris, jeweler who founded the company that would become Bulgari
- James Galanos
- Patricia Field
- Nick Verreos
- Jean Desses, fashion designer in the 1940s to 1960s
- Jeremy Angelis, shoe designer - women
Armed forces
| Armed forces | ||
|
The Hellenic Armed Forces are overseen by the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας – ΓΕΕΘΑ) and consists of three branches:
The civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defence. Furthermore, Greece maintains the Hellenic Coast Guard for law enforcement in the sea and search and rescue.
Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for males while females (who may serve in the military) are exempted from conscription. As of 2009, Greece has mandatory military service of 9 months for male citizens between the ages of 19 and 45. However, as the Armed forces had been gearing towards a complete professional army system, the government had promised that the mandatory military service would be cut or even abolished completely.
Greek males between the age of 18 and 60 who live in strategically sensitive areas may be required to serve part-time in the National Guard, service in the Guard is paid. As a member of NATO, the Greek military participates in exercises and deployments under the auspices of the alliance.
International rankings
| Organization | Survey | Ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute for Economics and Peace [3] | Global Peace Index[4] | 57 out of 144 | |||
| United Nations Development Programme | Human Development Index 2006[82] Human Development Index 2004[83] Human Development Index 2000[83] | 18 out of 177 24 out of 177 24 out of 177 | |||
| International Monetary Fund | GDP per capita (PPP)[84] | 18 out of 180 | |||
| The Economist | Worldwide Quality-of-life Index, 2005[85] | 22 out of 111 | |||
| Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal | Index of Economic Freedom[86] | 57 out of 157 | |||
| Reporters Without Borders | Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006[87] Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005[88] Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2004[89] | 32 out of 168 18(tied) out of 168 33 out of 167 | |||
| Transparency International | Corruption Perceptions Index 2006[90] Corruption Perceptions Index 2005[91] Corruption Perceptions Index 2004[92] | 54 out of 163 47 out of 158 49 out of 145 | |||
| World Economic Forum | Global Competitiveness Report[93] | 47 out of 125 | |||
| Yale University/Columbia University | Environmental Sustainability Index 2005[94] | 67 out of 146 | |||
| Nationmaster | Labor strikes[95] | 13 out of 27 | |||
| A.T. Kearney / Foreign Policy | Globalization Index 2006[96] Globalization Index 2005[97] Globalization Index 2004[98] | 32 out of 62 29 out of 62 28 out of 62 |
See also
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References
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Notes
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- ^ History of Philosophy, Volume 1 by Frederick Copleston
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- ^ K. Mavrias, Constitutional Law, 477–478, 486–487
- ^ For a diachronic analysis of the Greek party system see T. Pappas, Transformation of the Greek Party System Since 1951, 90-114, who distinguishes three distinct types of party system which developed in consecutive order, namely, a predominant-party system (from 1952 to 1963), a system of polarised pluralism (between 1963 and 1981), and a two-party system (since 1981).
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Further reading
- Clogg, Richard (2002), A Concise History of Greece (Second ed.), Cambridge University Press .
- Minorities in Greece - historical issues and new perspectives. History and Culture of South Eastern Europe. An Annual Journal. München (Slavica) 2003.
External links
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- History of Greece: Primary Documents
- The Greek Heritage
- Wikimedia Atlas of Greece
Coordinates: 39°N 22°E / 39°N 22°E / 39; 22
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