Turkey makes a point the day before Greece celebrates its independence , Pangalos stands down from running in the next election and the IMF warns Greece is still a debacle despite the can kick exercise recently conducted and shockingly proposes a new and improved can kick exercise....

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_24/03/2012_434581

Turkish frigate violates Greek waters A Turkish frigate sailed on Greek waters, to the south of the island of Kythnos in the early hours of Saturday, according to the Hellenic National Defense General Staff. The frigate violated Greek waters at the Cyclades, going to the Kafireas straight before heading east again and sail west of Psarra, close to Chios in the eastern Aegean. The HNDGS said that Navy boats and monitoring systems are discreetly following the course of the Turkish warship. Originally a pair of aircraft also followed the Turkish frigate. The warship’s move has additional significance as it comes on the eve of Greece’s national holiday. and.... http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_24/03/2012_434555 Pangalos announces retirement from politics Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos told state TV channel NET on Saturday that he is not going to be a candidate for the upcoming early elections, thereby retiring from politics. Pangalos, 73, who has served as a parliamentary deputy continuously since 1981, has repeatedly been at the receiving end of attacks by citizens owing to controversial statements he has made in his long career. He has also served in many top ministerial posts, heading the Foreign Ministry in 1999 during the notorious crisis with Kurdish guerilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. "The political system is corrupt, which is why I am withdrawing,» said Pangalos. Speaking on NET he also predicted that neither his party, PASOK, nor New Democracy, which is leading in the polls, will secure an outright majority, but also that the two main parties could not form a coalition government that would overcome the country's problems. and.... http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_24/03/2012_434564 IMF warns of fiscal gap, proposes slower reforms  Report suggests a third bailout, only from the eurozone, will be neededThe International Monetary Fund expects Greece to show a fiscal gap between 32 and 67 billion euros after the end of the new funding program, in 2014, according to a report seen by Dow Jones Newswires, and proposes an alternative plan with a slower pace in reforms. The IMF therefore expresses its worry that Athens may well require a third bailout package in a few years’ time as the first two simply would not suffice. “Prospects for a return to the markets are becoming ever less certain,” the Fund’s report says. European officials have estimated that after the completion of the new program for Greece, Athens would be able to return to the markets, at least with short-term bonds of high risk as the country’s record in the market will initially run counter to the issue of long-term bonds. That may actually entail a dependence on official creditors. Given the particularly high exposure of the IMF in Europe, and particularly in Greece, the Fund assumes that any further assistance would need to come from eurozone coffers only. However, the IMF considers the threat to the full and timely implementation of the reform program to be particularly high. It therefore offers an alternative plan according to which fiscal reforms would be put off by up to three years and reforms would be conducted at a slower pace than planned owing to market limitations and political obstacles. According to this scenario, the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio would reach up to 171 percent in 2014 instead of 160 percent, and to 146 percent in 2020 instead of the 117 percent planned by the agreement between Athens and its creditors.