Greece suspends state broadcaster as part of austerity measuresJune 12, 2013 - 13:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Greek government has shut down the public broadcaster ERT, calling it a "haven of waste". Viewers watching the news on the main TV channel saw the screens go to black late on Tuesday June 11 evening, BBC News reported. All employees have been suspended pending a re-organisation. Thousands of people held a protest against the decision outside ERT headquarters. It is the latest move in rafts of spending cuts and tax rises aimed at leading the country out of recession. "ERT is a case of an exceptional lack of transparency and incredible extravagance. This ends now," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said earlier. While all 2,500 employees would be sacked, he added they would be paid compensation and would be able to apply for work when the corporation relaunches as a smaller, independent public broadcaster. The head of ERT's foreign desk, Odin Linardatou, said the announcement had taken journalists by surprise. "We are very shocked, we are angry," she told the BBC's Newshour programme. "What I cannot accept in a democracy is that Greece will not have a public broadcaster." Riot police have been deployed in Athens as thousands of people have gathered outside ERT's headquarters to protest against the decision. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |