9 SUNDAY MAIL • August 26, 2012
World
Greece must be tackled after troika report, says Hollande Samaras: Greece determined to stay in the euro FRENCH President Francois Hollande said Greek leaders must demonstrate their commitment to push through reforms and that Europe must take decisions on the country as soon as possible following a progress report by Athens’ international lenders. Hollande also said following a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras yesterday that Greece must stay in the euro zone, echoing comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who held similar talks with Samaras on Friday. “Greece must demonstrate again the credibility of its programme and the will of its leaders to go through with it
French President Francois Hollande (right) welcomes Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to the end, whilst ensuring it’s bearable for the population,” Hollande told reporters. “On the European side, we are waiting for the troika report,” he said, referring
to the grouping of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. “Once we have this report, once the commitments ... are confirmed, Europe has to do
what it has to do. “We’ve been facing this question for two-and-a-half years. There’s no time to lose - there are commitments to reaffirm on both sides, decisions to take, and the sooner
the better. That means after the troika report at the European summit in October.” Samaras said he had assured the French president that Greece was determined to overcome the debt crisis
and remain in the euro zone, which would show that Europe was capable of solving its problems. “Some are betting that Greece will not make it. I am here to assure the French president that Greece is determined to make it and it will. It will do whatever is needed to overcome its crisis and remain in the euro zone and play the role it merits in European integration,” he said. The Greek leader added that economic recovery was crucial to help it meet its targets. Merkel on Friday reassured Samaras that she wanted Greece to stay in the euro zone, but gave no sign of ceding to his pleas for more time to meet the tough terms of Athens’ international bailout. Merkel also stuck doggedly to her policy of deferring to the troika report, though she did say that she and Hollande were in no doubt they wanted Greece to stay in the single currency. The French and German leaders had coordinated their stance on Greece over dinner in Berlin on Thursday.
Tropical Storm Isaac hits Haiti hard By Susana Ferreira TROPICAL Storm Isaac emerged over warm Caribbean waters yesterday slightly weaker but ready to regroup after dumping torrential rains on Haiti, where thousands of people remain homeless more than two years after a devastating earthquake. The storm was forecast to sweep over eastern Cuba yesterday and strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Florida Keys on a track toward the Gulf of Mexico. Lashing rains and high winds were reported along parts of Haiti’s southern coast and in the capital Port-au-Prince, where more than 350,000 survivors of the 2010 earthquake are still living in fragile tent and tarpaulin camps. Intermittent power out-
ages affected the greater Port-au-Prince area early yesterday as Isaac moved across hilly inland areas of the severely deforested Caribbean country. The centre of Isaac was about 95 miles (150 km) east-southeast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, early yesterday morning, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
WARNING A hurricane warning was already in effect in the Florida Keys, but the NHC said it was extending this to part of the southwest coast of Florida. Isaac’s march across the Caribbean comes as US Republicans prepare to gather in Tampa, on Florida’s central Gulf Coast, for tomorrow’s start of their national convention ahead of the November presiden-
tial election. The convention is expected to proceed as planned but Gulf of Mexico operators began shutting down offshore oil and gas rigs on Friday ahead of the storm. The biggest immediate concern was heavily deforested Haiti, where Isaac’s rains could trigger deadly flash flooding and mudslides. The Haitian government and aid groups evacuated thousands of tent camp dwellers on Friday but many Haitians chose to remain in their flimsy, makeshift homes, apparently fearing they would be robbed, said Bradley Mellicker, head of disaster management for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). “There’s a lot of people who are resisting because they are scared of losing what little they have now,” Mellicker said.
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