Greek truckers on strike

Petrol stations across Greece are closed because they have no petrol to sell. Haulers parked their trucks on Sunday, and then blockaded refineries so that even privately owned tanker fleets couldn’t deliver. That has brought panic at the pump, just as Greeks are poised to go on their summer holidays. The government is now ordering truckers back to work. If they refuse, their trucks could be confiscated and driven by the army – an emergency measure not implemented in a generation. But the truckers say they will not back down down. The dispute began after the government said it will make trucking licenses free within three years, to introduce more competition. New trucking licenses have been frozen for a decade under pressure from the union, but Greece has committed itself to competitive measures in an agreement with the EU and IMF, which are keeping the country solvent.

Revolutionary Sect claims Giolias

Terrorist organisation Revolutionary Sect has claimed responsibility for the assassination a week ago of a journalist at his home. Revolutionary sect says it targeted Sokratis Giolias because of his blog posts insulting urban guerrillas and the anarchist movement. Giolias had written a condemnation of terrorism after a bomb left outside a government building killed a 15 year old Afghan passer-by earlier this year. He had also allegedly humiliated anarchists after an attempt to burn down his internet news service headquarters. Revolutionary Sect launched itself in February last year with an unsuccessful Oklahoma City-style attempt to destroy a Citibank building in Athens. Its inaugural proclamation said the group’s targets would include journalists it deemed to be in the pocket of big business.