Posts Tagged ‘Greece’
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
Three men were yesterday sentenced to prison at the Reykjavík District Court for a serious physical attack on a Greek tourist in May 2010. The fourth defendant was handed a probationary sentence.
The judges’ verdict concludes the trial, which has previously been reported on for its unusual elements.
The three men were found guilty of having perpetrated violence against the man, including heavy punches and kicks in various parts of his body, head and face.
Most witnesses in the case testified that the men got out of a car on Bankastræti in central Reykjavík, gathered around the Greek man and started kicking him repeatedly in the head in an attack the court ruled as unprovoked.
Two of the men were sentenced to two years in prison for the attack, served unconditionally. Their names are Halldór Arnar Karlsson and Guðni Guillermo Gorozpe. The third man will spend 16 month behind bars and the fourth defendant was sentenced to six months, probationary.
The Greek victim died in Italy in December of unrelated causes, so his mother was allowed to bear witness on the telephone to Reykjavík on his behalf; describing the mental impacts the attack had on her son, Vísir.is reports.
Tags: Greece, Mbl, Reykjavik
Posted in General, Iceland, International, attack, crime, featured, justice, prison | No Comments »
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Iceland has dropped out of the top ten countries most likely to default, according to CMA Credit Market Analysis. CMA’s list is compiled daily and distributed to financial markets.
Iceland’s CDS (Credit Default Swap) rating took a steep dive (which is a good thing), ending Wednesday on 330 points. The day before Iceland had been on 411 points.
Iceland has been in the CMA top ten every day since shortly before the banking crash in autumn 2008, or coming up on two years. The highest Iceland reached was fifth on the dubious Top Ten, but has been on the way down since the New Year.
Visir.is reports that there had been a large difference in ratings for Iceland with CMA’s competitor, Markit Itraxx, rating Iceland on 340 points. CMA has now adjusted its levels in Iceland’s favour and both companies are now similar in their outlook for the country.
It comes as little surprise that Greece has jumped to number one with CDS ratings at 878 points. CMA believes there is a 50 percent chance of a Greek default, which would have massive international impacts.
Tags: 411, Autumn, Cds, Cma, Competitor, Crash, Credit Default Swap, Credit Rating, Favour, Financial Markets, Glitnir Bank, Greece, Iceland, Inflation Figures, New Year, Steep Dive, Surprise
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
A rally is about to take place this afternoon in Reykjavik in support of Greece and to protest the massive austerity package Greeks are being forced to accept.
The rally is organised by the left wing activism group, Attac Iceland and a statement says that the “So called IMF and EU help to Greece is a serious attack on the rights of ordinary Greeks that will result in redundancies, reduced wages, cuts to public services and higher taxes.
Supporters are invited to assemble at Arnarholl hill in central Reykjavik today at 16.00 GMT
Tags: Activism, Austerity, Central Reykjavik, Greece, Greeks, Hammers, Imf, Left Wing, Protests, Rally, Wages
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
“Oh my God, I wouldn’t want to be in the position they are in,” said Icelandic Minister of Finance Steingrimur J. Sigfusson to Bloomberg. In the interview he said he believes Iceland avoided Greece’s fate partly because it has its own currency.
“The Greek position is very different to that which Iceland was or is in,” Sigfusson said. “Greece has the euro and we could debate whether that’s good for them at the moment.”
“The sovereign debt crisis will mark the political debate of the years to come,” Sigfusson said. “What lies ahead for the world is to sober up.”
Sigfusson told Bloomberg that the likelihood of an Icelandic default has all but disappeared now that the IMF has paid out on the second tranche of its loan package to the country. “I am optimistic that we will not need all the 4.6 billion dollars that the IMF programme allows for,” Sigfusson said.
The minister said he would like to see financial practices like derivatives and credit default swaps prohibited. Such practices do nothing for the economy as a whole, he said.
Tags: Billion Dollars, Credit Default Swaps, Debt Crisis, Derivatives, Fate, Finance Minister, Financial Practices, Financiers, Greece, Green Leader, Icesave, Imf, Krona, Likelihood, Loan Package, Minister Of Finance, Money Secret, Political Debate, Sovereign Debt, Tranche
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Friday, April 16th, 2010
A southern Swedish dairy is being sued by a Greek man after using his picture on the label for their Turkish yoghurt.
The product, manufactured by the Jonkoping-based Lindahls dairy, features the face of a bearded man in traditional dress. The man, however, is now suing Lindahls for SEK 50 million (USD 6.9 million), claiming that he never gave the company permission to use his image.
The Local reports that the Greek man was told that his picture is on the popular yoghurt product by a friend in Sweden who recognised his bearded face immediately.
“I was surprised and I could not believe my eyes. It was a shock to see him there suddenly, someone I know. He didn’t like it, he was upset and wondered how it had happened,” said Athanasios Varzakanos.
In his legal writ, the Greek man has underlined that he is not Turkish and lives in Greece, and that the use of his picture is therefore misleading for both buyers and those who know him.
Lindahls dairy was surprised at the writ, claiming that the image was purchased from a respected picture agency, and that the rights of the photographer were respected.
Tags: 50 Million, Bearded Face, Bearded Man, Greece, Greek Man, Legal Writ, Photographer, Shock, Sweden, Traditional Dress
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
It is self explanatory that there is not much sympathy worldwide for a country which first behaved irresponsibly and then tried to export its problems to other countries.
Like other countries which have run their economies into the ground – including Greece as a good example - Iceland must take responsibility for itself. So even if the Icelanders voted no and every last one of them had banged pots and pans in the streets of Reykjavik, the global community has to remain steadfast. If the Icelanders can not agree with the Dutch and the British about payment terms, then they naturally can not expect further loans from either the IMF, the Nordic countries or progression in the EU talks.
It must be noted for fairness sakes that the Icelanders have underlined that their position is not one of not paying, but about the details. And Netherlands and the UK have listened. When Iceland voted no anyhow, the two countries had already offered a better deal, which the Icelandic leadership had already rejected as not good enough. It does not bear witness of either humility or sense of reality.
From Denmark’s Berlingske Tidende (in Danish)
Berlingske noting that Icelanders seem to lack the understanding that actions have consequences.
Related posts:
- What Have You Done?
- It Came To The Point Where I Saw No Sense In Continuing To Pay
- A Farewell Letter – I am escaping to a different reality that is more FAIR to me
Tags: Berlingske Tidende, Consequences, Danish, Denmark, Different Reality, Fairness, Farewell Letter, Global Community, Greece, Humility, Imf, Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Pots And Pans, Pots Pans, Reykjavik, Sakes, Sense Of Reality, Sympathy, Witness
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Iraqi refugee Nour Al-din Al-Azzawi returned to Iceland on Friday evening after a two-month stay in Greece. His friends in Iceland paid the travel cost. Al-Azzawi can stay in Iceland while his application for residence and work permit is being reviewed.
Tags: Din, Friday Evening, Friends, Greece, Iceland Travel, Iraqi Refugee, Refugee Returns, Work Permit
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Residence permits for Sweden are available on the black market for just EUR 2,000, which would then allow the buyer to travel freely across Europe.
Swedish radio network Sverigies Radio (SR) announced the news which was later reported in The Local.
The Swedish residence permits that are available on the black market are the same design sticker as those issued to permanent residence recipients with the same watermarks and identical seals. Once received, the sticker is then fastened into a passport visa section together with the picture and name of the recipient. However, the Swedish Migration Board claims that this fastening process can only be done by them.
According to the report, the stickers are purchased through the black market and then sent on to Greece where associates use a complex printing and fastening machine comparable to that used by the Migration Board.
SR also reports that some refugees who are hiding within Sweden confirmed that they have also been able to buy the residence permit stickers. One Iraqi man in Jonkoping claimed that he had bought two such stickers with the aim of allowing family members to travel to Europe to seek asylum.
It is not clear if the residency stickers that are available via the black market are originals or not. The seller has naturally claimed that the stickers are authentic whilst the Migration Board has advised that they have no reports of any missing stock or thefts.
Tags: Aim, Asylum, Eur 2, Family Members, Fastening, Greece, Iraqi Man, Migration, Passport Visa, Permanent Residence, Radio Network, Radio News, Recipient, Refugees, Seals, Stickers, Sweden, Swedish Radio, Visa Section, Watermarks
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Friday, October 16th, 2009
Four asylum seekers were deported from Iceland to Greece yesterday. The three men are all Middle-Eastern and three of them have lived in Iceland for over a year. The asylum seekers spent their last 12 hours in Iceland in the care of the police.
Tags: Asylum Seekers, Greece, Iceland, Three Men
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
The Althingi parliament’s general committee has written an opinion on the Ministry of Justice’s report on the position of asylum seekers in Greece and the Dublin Regulation, concluding that the conditions there are improving and that Iceland could therefore continue to send refugees there, just as the other Nordic countries.
Tags: Althingi, Asylum Seekers, Dublin, General Committee, Greece, Iceland, Ministry Of Justice, Nordic Countries, Parliament, Refugees
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
Seven people protested silently outside the Althingi parliament yesterday against Iceland’s policy on asylum seekers, displaying their demands on signs reading “Save our lives” and “Stop deportation of refugees to Greece.”
Tags: Althingi, Asylum Seekers, Deportation, Greece, Iceland, Parliament, People, Protest, Refugees, Signs
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
A group supporting the five asylum seekers, who were supposed to be deported to Greece on Friday on the grounds of the Dublin Agreement, are now demanding a lawyer to represent them.
Tags: Asylum Seekers, Dublin, Greece, Iceland, Lawyer
Posted in Iceland | No Comments »