2011

From Phantis

Contents 1 Events 1.1 January 1.2 February 1.3 March 1.4 April 1.5 May 1.6 June 1.7 July 1.8 August 1.9 September 1.10 October 1.11 November 1.12 December 2 Deaths 2.1 January 2.2 February 2.3 March 2.4 April 2.5 May 2.6 June 2.7 July 2.8 August 2.9 September 2.10 October

Events

January

• January 5: The Greek leftist urban guerrilla group Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire claims responsibility for a powerful explosion which damaged a court house in Athens on December 30, 2010.
• January 11: German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, pays a state visit to Cyprus.
• January 18: Hector Raul Cuper resigns as coach of Aris FC.
• January 22: Olympiakos Volos shock AEK 4-0 in Athens.

February

• February 11: EU and IMF inspectors approve a fresh tranche of 15 billion euros of bailout funds, but warn its fiscal program could fail unless it accelerates reforms and scales up privatizations.
• February 19: A disallowed goal by Panathinaikos in their derby match v. Olympiakos, sets off violent clashes on and off the pitch.
• February 23: A general strike by the major unions of Greece paralyse the country as private and public sector workers protest the government's austerity measures.
• February 24: The United States announces it has added the Greek extremist group Sect of Revolutionaries to its black list of terrorist organizations, which bans US citizens from any contact with the group.

March

• March 1: A gun battle at Agios Ioannis Rentis leaves two policemen dead and another two wounded. The stolen vehicle and the weapons used by the unknown culprits were later found by the police.
• March 9: The Greek government gives in to the demands of illegal immigrants who had staged a hunger strike, demanding legal status.
• March 9: Panachaiki president, Alexis Kougias, produces tapes which he claims are evidence of attempted bribery of referees in domestic and European matches of Greeks clubs.
• March 12: Four MEPs, a bishop and others are arrested as they enter the sealed-off city of Famagusta in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.
• March 13: Cyprus President, Dimitris Christofias, pays an official visit to Israel, marking the first such visit by a Cypriot president to Israel in eleven years.
• March 15: The Athens Stock Market index falls 4.33% closing at 1,590.44.
• March 16: AEK and Atromitos Athens qualify for the final of the Greek Football Cup, the latter for the first time in their history.
• March 19: Chrysopigi Devetzi is given a two-year ban from athletics by the ΙΑΑF, due to her failure, on May 23, 2009, to submit to a drug test.
• March 20: Olympiakos clinch the league title by thrashing AEK 6-0.
• March 31: Panathinaikos BC defeat Barcelona 78-67 and qualify for the Euroleague final four.

April

• April 4: Two Cypriot brothers and an Indian national are convicted of stealing the corpse of Tassos Papadopoulos from Deftera Cemetery on December 11, 2009.
• April 8: Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker warns Greece of the importance of controlling spending, a day after news that the 2010 budget deficit overshot forecasts at more than 10 percent of GDP.
• April 15: Greece presents new fiscal and privatization plans to convince investors it can meet the terms of an EU/IMF bailout and avoid restructuring its debt.
• April 18: SKODA Xanthi international footballer, Olubayo Adefemi, is killed in a traffic accident on the Egnatia motorway.
• April 20: Despite a 76-68 victory over Panionios, AEK BC are relegated to the A2 Division for the first time in their illustrious history.
• April 22: The House of Representatives of Cyprus dissolves ahead of the May 22 parliamentary elections.
• April 25: Greece withdraws from World Children's Games in Ankara due to the presence of a team from the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".
• April 30: AEK defeat Atromitos Athens 3-0 and win the Greek Football Cup.

May

• May 6: Police announce that they have apprehended the culprits who shot dead two policemen on March 1. The suspects are Russian-born Greeks.
• May 6: Panathinaikos defeat Siena 77-69 and qualify for yet another Euroleague final.
• May 8: Panathinaikos defeat Maccabi Tel-Aviv 78-70 and win their sixth Euroleague Cup.
• May 9: Standard and Poor's cuts Greece's credit rating further into junk territory to B, one notch above Pakistan's.
• May 10: The 2011 Census commences throughout Greece.
• May 10: Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou are given 31-month suspended jail terms for staging a motorbike crash in order to skip a doping test before the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Also convicted was their coach, two false witnesses and the doctors who treated them at the time.
• May 11: A general strike by the major unions of Greece paralyse the country as private and public sector workers protest the government's continuing austerity measures. About 20,000 protesters march to parliament to mark a nationwide strike against wage cuts and tax hikes, a number smaller than previous protests.
• May 11: EU and IMF inspectors arrive in Athens to press Greece to shore up its finances and determine if the debt-choked country will get a fifth aid tranche of 12 billion euros.
• May 15: Olympiakos defeat Panathinaikos 74-68 to win the Greek Basketball Cup.
• May 18: Omonia Lefkosia defeat Apollon Limassol on penalties (FT score 1-1) to lift the Cyprus Football Cup.
• May 21: Greece must avoid debt restructuring and push on with budget cuts and privatizations to overcome its debt crisis, Papandreou and senior ECB officials say.
• May 22: Parliamentary elections take place in Cyprus. The Democratic Rally wins 34.27% of the vote and 20 seats in the House of Representatives. The governing AKEL party comes in second with 32.67% of the vote and 19 seats.
• May 23: Greece unveils a series of privatizations, part of a goal to raise 50 billion euros by 2015 to pay down its debt.
• May 29: Thousands of protesters denounce Greece's ruling class and vent their anger at the IMF and its demands for yet more belt-tightening.

June

• June 1: Moody's slashes Greece's credit rating by three notches to deep into junk territory.
• June 2: On the fortieth anniversary of the 1971 European Cup final, Panathinaikos and the Hungarian Embassy in Athens jointly announce that a statue of Ferenc Puskas will be erected at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium.
• June 3: Greece is likely to get a vital slice of aid in July to avoid default, international lenders say, as they end a month-long review of their 110 billion euro bailout program.
• June 4: Olympiakos won its 10th Greek cup in men’s water polo in the last 11 years and its 14th overall after beating Panionios at the final in Kalymnos.
• June 5: Panathinaikos win their 9th straight A1 League title after beating Olympiakos 101-94 in the 4th encounter of their championship playoff series.
• June 8: Romanian Laszlo Boloni agrees to become the new manager of PAOK.
• June 8: Greece agrees to 6.48 billion euros of extra austerity measures for 2011 and savings up to 2015 to cut deficits and keep getting aid, an official document shows.
• June 9: The Greek government approves and submits to parliament the mid-term fiscal and privatization plan required by the EU and the IMF to restore the country's finances.
• June 12: More than 20,000 Greeks protest against austerity measures in Athens and workers at state-owned utility PPC announce strikes to oppose government plans to sell the company.
• June 13: Greece becomes the country with the lowest credit rating in the world after S&P downgrades it by three notches, to CCC, just four steps away from default, from B. The short-term rating is affirmed at C and all the ratings are removed from credit watch.
• June 15: A general strike cripples Greece as people from all strata of society protest the new austerity measures being debated in the Hellenic Parliament. Police clash with protesters who seek to bar the MPs from entering the Parliament building.
• June 16: The Athens Stock Exchange index drops 2.81% and closes at 1,208.09 - its lowest level of the year.
• June 17: Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou reshuffles his Cabinet for the first time in his administration, naming former party rival Evangelos Venizelos as Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.
• June 17: Greek stocks rebound strongly, rising 3.80%, as investors are cheered by news that Germany and France have agreed on the next step to tackle the Greek crisis. The general index ends at 1,254.02 points.
• June 21: The Athens Stock Exchange index rises 3.74% to 1,275.47, with bank shares leading the way.
• June 21: Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou and his government receive a vote of confidence from the Hellenic Parliament. The vote was on party lines with the 155 PASOK MPs voting "aye".
• June 22: Greek authorities announce the names of 15 people suspected for 'fixing' matches in the Greek football championships, including club owners Makis Psomiadis and Achilleas Beos; coach Yiannis Papakostas and former footballer Dimitris Zavantias. The scandal was uncovered after the UEFA noticed irregular betting patterns involving first- and second-division club matches.
• June 24: Olympiakos owner and Super League president, Vangelis Marinakis, Greece international defender Avraam Papadopoulos and ex-Olympiakos footballer Kostas Mendrinos are among 70 suspects named in connection to match-fixing allegations by an Athens prosecutor.
• June 28: Police clash with protesters in Syntagma Square as the Hellenic Parliament debates additional the austerity measures of the "Midterm Economic Plan". Meanwhile all of Greece is crippled by a 48-hour general strike called by the major unions to protest the measures.
• June 29: The Greek parliament approves (155 votes to 138) the first step in sweeping new austerity measures aimed at securing international financing for the debt-ridden nation.

July

• July 1: Greek authorities prohibit the ship "Audacity of Hope" from sailing for Gaza. The ship was part of an international flotilla which planned to break Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
• July 2: The 68-year old American captain of the "Audacity of Hope" is taken into custody by the Greek Coast Guard.
• July 11: Blasts at a munitions dump at Zygi naval base in Cyprus cause the deaths of twelve persons.
• July 19: Six members of the terrorist organisation Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire are sentenced to penalties ranging from 11 to 37 years imprisonment. Another one is given a suspended sentence while two are found not guilty by reason of doubts.
• July 21: Eurozone leaders agree a new package, worth 109 billion euros, in aid to Greece.
• July 26: Preliminary results of the 2011 Census show the population of Greece currently stands at 10,787,690 inhabitants - a decrease of 1.34% from the 10,934,097 figure of 2001.
• July 26: The Athens Stock Exchange index drops by 2.82% closing at 1,233.22.
• July 29: Greece edges hosts China 9-8 in the women's water polo final at the Shanghai world aquatics championships. It is Greece's first ever women's gold medal in any sport at the world aquatics championships.

August

• August 5: Cyprus President, Dimitris Christofias, shuffles his cabinet for the first time since he took office in 2008.
• August 5: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index drops to 1062, marking the 10th consecutive session in which losses were recorded. Over all, the G.I. dropped 11.81% in the week, plunging to 1996 levels.
• August 5: Nicole Kyriakopoulou brakes the women's pole vault national record at the IAAF Diamond League final in London, taking it to 4.71 meters.
• August 8: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index falls below 1000 for the first time since January 7, 1997, closing at 998.24, after an overall drop of 6.02%.
• August 23: Greece recognises Libya's rebel-led National Transitional Council as the country's legitimate government.
• August 24: Large forest fires break out in southern Evros prefecture.

September

• September 1: Greek police recover a stolen 17th century painting, by Flemish master Pieter Paul Rubens, in Glyfada.
• September 19: Despite Turkish objections, Cyprus begins drilling for oil and gas off its coast.
• September 23: Moody's ratings agency downgrades eight Greek banks by two notches due to their exposure to Greek government bonds.
• September 23: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index falls below 800 - closing at 797.95 - after an overall drop of 3.87%.

October

• October 2: The government of Greece announces that the 2011 deficit is projected to be 8.5% of GDP - short of the 7.6% target set by the EU and IMF.
• October 3: The Polyviou inquiry into the Mari Naval Base explosion concludes that the main responsibility for the explosion belongs to Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias as head of the state and the government.
• October 4: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index closes at 730.33 after a drop of 6.28%. The last time the index was at such a low level was June 1993.
• October 5: A general strike by the major unions of Greece paralyse the country as private and public sector workers protest the new austerity measures announced by the government.
• October 5: Manuel Jimenez resigns as AEK coach after negotiating the terms of his departure with the club's management.
• October 11: Greece qualify for the finals of Euro 2012 with a 2-1 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi. The win extended the Greek side's unbeaten streak to 16 games.
• October 13: Former Cypriot Minister for the Economy, Michalis Sarris, is arrested on the Turkish-occupied side of Lefkosia for "unnatural sexual relations with a minor".
• October 19: A 48-hour general strike begins throughout Greece as the Hellenic parliament prepares to vote on yet another round of austerity measures.
• October 20: A law containing a series of austerity measures passes the Hellenic parliament with 153 votes.
• October 20: Michalis Sarris, posts bail of 120,000 Turkish Lira (around €47,000) and is released from a prison in the Turkish-occupied side of Lefkosia.
• October 31: PM Giorgos Papandreou calls for a referendum on the EU bailout deal for Greece.

November

• November 1: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index closes at 752.65 after a drop of 6.92%. The drop is blamed on PM Giorgos Papandreou's announcement that he will hold a referendum on the EU bailout deal for Greece.
• November 4: "The last thing I care about is my post. I don't care even if I am not reelected. The time has come to make a new effort ... I never thought of politics as a profession," Prime Minister Papandreou says before a confidence vote was to be held in the Hellenic Parliament.
• November 5: PM Giorgos Papandreou wins a parliamentary confidence vote as 153 MPs vote "aye".
• November 10: After much deliberation, the main political parties in Greece agree to name economist Lucas Papademos as head of an interim unity government. Afterwards, Papademos meets with President Karolos Papoulias and receives the mandate to form a government.
• November 11: A new national unity government, under PM Lucas Papademos, is sworn in.
• November 15: Greece lose 3-1 to Romania, in a friendly, ending their 17-game undefeated streak.
• November 16: Lucas Papademos' government wins a confidence vote in parliament as 255 MPs vote "aye".
• November 21: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index falls below 700 for the first time since January, 1993, closing at 686.00, after an overall drop of 3.74%.
• November 23: APOEL make history as they become the first Cypriot team to advance from the Group Stage of the Champions' League after a 0-0 draw in St Petersburg against Zenit. Olympiakos manage a 1-0 away win at Marseille to keep their qualification hopes alive.
• November 30: PAOK come away with a surprising 2-1 away victory over Tottenham Hotspur to seal their qualification into the knockout stages of the Europa League.

December

• December 1: Private and public sector workers go on strike in Greece protesting the government's austerity measures.
• December 5: The International Court of Justice rules that Greece breached its interim agreement with FYROM by blocking the latter country's attempt to join NATO.
• December 7: The Hellenic parliament approves the 2012 austerity budget with a 258-41 vote.
• December 13: Thousands of Cypriot civil servants hold a three-hour strike to protest austerity measures being debated in the Cyprus House of Representatives.
• December 18: Municipal elections are held in Cyprus. The results show a marked shift towards opposition party, Democratic Rally (DISY) with 26 out of the 38 candidates supported by DISY being elected compared to just nine candidates supported by ruling party AKEL. Konstantinos Georkadjis is elected Mayor of Lefkosia, unseating incumbent Eleni Mavrou, with a landslide 57% of the vote.
• December 26: In an interview given to Turkish daily "Birgun", former Turkish PM, Mesut Yilmaz, admits that in the 1990s, and under the premiership of his rival Tansu Ciller, Turkish secret services were responsible for setting several forest fires in Greece.

Deaths

January

• January 11: John Modinos, Cypriot baritone

February

• February 9: Miltiades Ewert, politician and Mayor of Athens
• February 12: Konstantinos Kosmopoulos, Mayor of Thessaloniki.
• February 15: Yiannis Karabesinis, laika composer and songwriter.

March

• March 13: Manolis Rasoulis, singer, lyricist
• March 18: Christos Tsaggas, actor
• March 29: Iakovos Kambanellis, playwright

April

• April 11: Akis Kleanthous, Cypriot economist and politician.
• April 17: Nikos Papazoglou, singer-songwriter, music producer.
• April 30: Apostolos Santas, member of the Greek Resistance who lowered the swastika from the Acropolis, Athens.

May

• May 3: Thanassis Veggos, actor
• May 25: Takis Talliadoros, basketball player.

June

• June 20: Domnitsa Lanitou, pioneer woman athlete.

July

• July 25: Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot filmmaker

August

• August 16: Pete Pihos, Greek-American National Football League player
• August 16: Vasilis Andreopoulos, actor
• August 21: Nikos Themelis, author, politician
• August 27: Lykourgos Kallergis, actor, director
• August 28: Leonidas Kyrkos, politician
• August 28: Nico Minardos, Greek-American actor
• August 29: Vasilis Staikos, footballer

September

• September 5: Georgios-Alexandros Mangakis, professor, anti-Junta activist
• September 17: Phaedon Mattheou, basketball player and coach.
• September 23: Nikos Koemtzis, notorious murderer.

October

• October 9: Antonis Christeas, basketball player
• October 25: Leonidas Andrianopoulos, footballer