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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Greek Cop, 2 Albanians Killed in Firefight

A 43-year-old Greek police sergeant was killed in a firefight with two Albanians in a remote area near the borders of the two countries early on Dec. 8 before the assailants were shot dead by the officer’s two partners, authorities said. Police said a patrol of three officers came across the Albanians while investigating an […]

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Toxic Smog Blankets Greece Again

With winter settting in and many people unable to afford heating oil because of big fuel tax hikes – and many others having their electricity turned off because they can’t afford to pay while under a mountain of big pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions – Greeks turning to burning wood, plastic, construction debris, […]

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Greece shows new assertive attitude to troika demands

For a year and a half, Antonis Samaras has kept Greece’s bailout programme broadly on track despite his coalition government’s shrunken parliamentary majority and resistance within his cabinet to implementing tough structural reforms. For the Greek ...

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Greece okays tough budget for 2014

ATHENS: Greece's Parliament on Saturday approved a tough budget for next year, aimed at ending the country's deep recession, despite continued differences on fiscal policy with the country's international creditors. The coalition government, which enjoys a narrow majority in the 300-seat chamber, scraped through with 153 deputies backing the 2014 budget in a late evening vote. The budget ...

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Recipe: Koulourakia / Greek Cookies

JerseybitesRecipe: Koulourakia / Greek CookiesJerseybitesKoulourakia recipe: Greek Cookies Welcome to Day 1 of Jersey Bites' very first 12 Days of Cookies! First up is a recipe for Koulourakia from Veronique Deblois. Enjoy and don't forget to PIN all of the great recipes coming your way! Koulourakia ...

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Greek Banks Plan for “in the red” Loans

Greek banks have reached a complex plan in order to deal with loans “in the red.” According to the newspaper “Ethnos,” Greek banks will move based on their own criteria. This means that they will only take into consideration the real ...

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Refreshing graphics revamp Greek National Opera's identity

KathimeriniRefreshing graphics revamp Greek National Opera's identityKathimeriniA large, full-bodied “S” for “Stachtopouta” (Greek for Cinderella) figured on Athenian billboards recently, with the letter turning into a clock about to strike midnight serving as a reference to the celebrated fairy tale which went on stage at the ...

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Police officer near Greece, Albanian border dies in shootout

KathimeriniPolice officer near Greece, Albanian border dies in shootoutUPI.comFLORINA, Greece, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A police officer and two Albanian nationals were killed early Sunday morning during a shootout in Greece, authorities said. The 43-year-old officer was patrolling the border with Albania looking for poachers and ...Greece: Three dead in raid on suspected poachersThe Voice of RussiaPoliceman, 2 Albanians dead in northwest GreeceFox News3 killed in northern Greece shootingGlobal Timesall 37 news articles »

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Greece remembers the murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos

The murder sparked the December revolt and the fifth anniversary brought people to the streets across Greece once more. In Athens thousands of high school and university students held a demonstration in the early afternoon which was surrounded by riot ...

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Greece: violence against women

Socialist ResistanceGreece: violence against womenSocialist ResistanceWhat would you say if, in this period of deep crisis which is shaking Greece, violence against women is becoming a weapon in the hands of the rulers? Such violence have been increasingly widespread in Greece. Here are four cases which are particularly ...

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Greece: Three dead in raid on suspected poachers

Greek ReporterGreece: Three dead in raid on suspected poachersThe Voice of RussiaThe Albanians, who were armed with at least one Kalashnikov, opened fire, killing the 43-year-old police officer. The other two officers returned fire, killing the two Albanians, police said. Lake Prespa is a protected waterway straddling the borders ...Policeman, 2 Albanians dead in northwest GreeceFox News3 killed in northern Greece shootingGlobal TimesPoliceman, 2 Albanians Dead in Firefight in Northwest GreeceGreek Reporterall 24 news articles »

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Troika Will Return – Without Techs

After it was first reported that envoys from Greece’s international lenders who had broken off talks over delayed reforms and big hole in the 2014 budget wouldn’t be coming back to Athens, it’s now been said that they will, but only the top negotiators and not the technical staff who do the checking of the […]

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Renowned Greek Poet Marked in Beijing

A Greek diplomat in Beijing presents a lecture on Thursday ... only is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us. CRIENGLISH.com holds neither liability nor responsibility for materials ...

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Greek parliament approves 2014 austerity budget

Greek parliament approves 2014 austerity budgetThe Globe and MailGreek Municipal police officers on motorbikes protest in front of a Greek flag in central Athens on Monday. On Sunday, the Greek government was given more time to make staff cuts. About 25,000 state workers must be moved into a so-called 'mobility ...

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Policeman, 2 Albanians dead in northwest Greece

Police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki say a police sergeant and 2 Albanians have died in an exchange of fire near the country's border with Albania.

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Greece approves 2014 budget plan

ATHENS — Greece’s parliament approved a budget plan yesterday (Nov 7) Dec filled with over 3 billion euros (S$5.1 billion) of austerity cuts that sees the debt-laden country emerging from a six-year recession next year. After nearly going bankrupt and ...

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Sunday, December 15

by  Associated Press Sunday, December 15 by The Associated Press, Associated Press - 7 December 2013 20:03-05:00

Today is Sunday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2013. There are 16 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1640 - The Duke of Braganca is crowned John IV, the first king of Portugal after 60 years of Spanish rule.

1711 - The plague breaks out in Copenhagen.

1791 - Sweden's King Gustavus III offers to head the crusade against France.

1806 - Napoleon Bonaparte enters Warsaw, Poland.

1890 - Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux is killed during an attempt to arrest him by reservation police in the U.S. state of South Dakota.

1916 - The French defeat Germans in Battle of Verdun during World War I.

1939 - The motion picture 'Gone With the Wind' premieres in Atlanta, in the United States.

1944 - The plane carrying American bandleader Glenn Miller, a U.S. Army Major, disappears over the English Channel, probably the victim of bombs jettisoned from British bombers returning from an unsuccessful raid.

1952 - China rejects India's plan for Korean armistice.

1957 - The United Nations rejects Greece's proposal that Cyprus is entitled to self-determination.

1961 - Former Nazi Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death in Jerusalem.

1965 - Two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7, maneuver to within 3 meters (10 feet) of each other while in orbit and relay data about Venus as it flies past the planet.

1970 - Soviet spacecraft starts sending messages from planet Venus.

1978 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year's Day and sever official relations with Taiwan.

1979 - The deposed Shah of Iran flies from the United States to "temporary" exile in Panama.

1986 - Rival ethnic groups battle in Karachi and set hundreds of homes and shops ablaze in the city's worst rioting since Pakistan's independence 39 years earlier.

1988 - The U.N. General Assembly calls for convening of international Middle East peace conference.

1989 - Manuel Noriega is named head of government and declares Panama in "a state of war" with the United States; a popular uprising begins, resulting in the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

1990 - Cattle rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves Pereira are convicted of murdering Brazilian rain forest defender Chico Mendes.

1991 - A ferry hits a reef and sinks off the Egyptian port of Safaga, killing nearly 500 people.

1992 - Chess genius Bobby Fischer is indicted in the United States on charges of violating economic sanctions against Yugoslavia by playing a highly publicized match with Boris Spassky.

1993 - Offering the Irish Republican Army a chance that "might never come their way again," British and Irish leaders sign a complex framework for negotiating peace in Northern Ireland.

1994 - The Swedish government decides not to salvage the bodies from the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic, killing 800 people. The decision is opposed by the victims' relatives.

1995 - Pioneer 6, a spacecraft launched on a journey through the solar system on Dec. 16, 1965, gets an early happy birthday call from NASA and answers back.

1996 - A Serbian court restores the opposition's election victory in Nis, Serbia's second-largest city.

1997 - The prosecutor for the tribunal on war crimes in Yugoslavia accuses French peacekeepers in Bosnia of "total inertia" when it comes to arresting war crimes suspects. The French reject the criticism as "scandalous."

1998 - Northern Ireland's most ruthless Protestant paramilitary group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, promises to start disarming by Christmas.

1999 - Venezuelans overwhelmingly approve a new constitution that eliminates the Senate and vastly increases the power of President Hugo Chavez, allowing him to stay in office for up to 13 years.

2003 - A 17-member federal commission on terrorism, created by the U.S. Congress in 1998 in response to attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, issues its final report, stating the Department of Homeland Security failed to give sufficient instruction to state and local authorities on how to foil terrorism.

2004 - The ex-Iraqi general known as "Chemical Ali," who is accused of using chemical weapons attacks to kill thousands of Kurds, is announced as the first detained former Saddam Hussein regime figure to stand trial.

2005 - The U.N. reluctantly withdraws peacekeeping staff from Eritrea, saying it faced an unprecedented crisis in its monitoring of the cold peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

2006 - Japan's conservative government revises the country's central education law to require schools to encourage patriotism in the classroom and upgrades the Defense Agency to a full ministry for the first time since World War II.

2007 - A British suspect in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners escapes from police custody in Pakistan. Rashid Rauf fled after appearing before a judge at court.

2008 - Three African armies have launched an offensive against Ugandan rebels based in eastern Congo in an attempt to end one of the continent's longest and most brutal wars.

2009 - Britain pledges to reform a peculiar legal power that lets judges order the arrest of visiting politicians and generals — a threat currently focused on Israeli visitors that, one day, might be invoked against Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin.

2010 — Police detain more than 1,000 people in Moscow and several other Russian cities after weekend rioting in the capital between racist hooligans and mostly Muslim ethnic minorities left dozens injured.

2011 —Former President Jacques Chirac is convicted of corruption related to his 18-year term as mayor of Paris, becoming France's first leader to be convicted of crime since Marshal Philippe Petain who headed the Nazi collaborationist regime during World War II, in 1945.

2012 — Thousands of opposition supporters gather outside the old KGB headquarters in central Moscow to mark a year of protests against Vladimir Putin and his government.

Today's Birthdays:

Nero, Roman emperor (AD 37- AD 68); Henri Becquerel, French chemist (1852-1908); Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (1832-1923); Maxwell Anderson, U.S. playwright (1888-1959); J. Paul Getty, U.S. oil tycoon (1892-1976); Tim Conway, U.S. comedian/actor (1933--); Don Johnson, U.S. actor (1949--); Julie Taymor, U.S. director (1952--).

Thought For Today:

History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances — Donald Creighton, Canadian historian (1902-1979).

News Topics: General news, Arrests, Municipal governments, War and unrest, Crime, Government and politics, Ferry accidents, Peace process, Army, Nazism, Law and order, Local governments, Maritime accidents, Transportation accidents, Accidents, Accidents and disasters, Transportation, Diplomacy, International relations, Armed forces, Military and defense

People, Places and Companies: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Carter, Manuel Noriega Ruiz, Manuel Noriega, Nicolae Ceausescu, Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Hugo Chavez, Saddam Hussein, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Jacques Chirac, Tim Conway, Don Johnson, Julie Taymor, United Kingdom, Moscow, Panama, Sweden, Pakistan, United States, France, Tanzania, East Africa, Eritrea, East Asia, Western Europe, Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe, Central America, Latin America and Caribbean, South Asia, Asia, North America, Africa

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Another Faulty Stove Death in Greece

As the Greek government said it would restore power to the poor who can’t pay their electric bills with winter setting in, the mayors of three Athens suburbs have written Prime Minister Antonis Samaras asking that local authorities be allowed to cover the cost, although it was too late for an 86-year-old woman living alone […]

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Greek Ministers Ignore Firing Orders

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ insistence that his ministers speed the pace of identifying workers who will be transferred, suspended or fired on the orders of international lenders has fallen on deaf ears as most of them have failed to comply, only three weeks before the deadline by which the government must complete 4,000 layoffs […]

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Pancretan Association in NY Marks Island’s Enosis Centennial; $1 Million is Pledged for Scholarships

FLUSHING – The Spirit of Liberty, Hellenism, and the great Greek Island of Crete, spiced by the humor of renowned Greek-American Harry Mark Petrakis, who was honored along with Greek parliamentarian and former foreign minister and mayor of Athens, Dora Bakoyiannis, filled the penthouse ballroom of the Terrace on the Park on December 6. This […]

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Greek 2014 budget clears parliament pending further international aid

The troika creditors said on Saturday that they had delayed until January the trip of negotiating teams to Greece for talks on a deal unblocking the 1 billion euros in bailout funds. (1 euro= 1.37 U.S dollars) ATHENS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua ...

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Greek parliament approves tough 2014 budget plan

A total of 153 MPs voted in favour of the 2014 budget plan in the 300-seat house    

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Greek Lawmakers Set Budget Vote to Keep Aid on Course

Greek lawmakers will vote on the country’s 2014 budget shortly after midnight, a step toward securing additional aid under an international bailout. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters in Athens yesterday he expects the plan to ...

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Central Diner offers Greek specialties and traditional diner fare

Central Diner offers Greek specialties and traditional diner fareTribune-ReviewNotes: Full bar. All major credit cards accepted. Highchairs, booster seats and children's menu available. Catering and private parties offered. Menu items can be customized to suit diners' dietary needs. Reservations accepted, especially for large ...

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Greek MPs approve budget amid deepened austerity

Press TVGreek MPs approve budget amid deepened austerityPress TVGreek lawmakers have adopted a tough budget for next year, endorsing more austerity measures, including further spending cuts of 3.1 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to try to put an end to the country's deep recession, media report. On Saturday, the ...

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Syrian refugees found on Turkish beach waiting for boat

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A group of Syrian refugees turned to Turkish authorities for help after waiting for hours for promised transport to the Greek island of Rhodes, officials say.

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Greece passes 2014 'growth' budget

Greece's 2014 budget, which forecasts a return to growth after six consecutive years of deep recession, has been passed by MPs.

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Greek workers protest against 2014 austerity budget

Worker unions in Greece have protested against the 20-14 state budget that was voted in parliament. The draft bill includes deeper austerity cuts against increasing unemployment, poverty and a crumbling welfare state. Workers and unionists of the state and ...

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For Greece woman, running provides healing, pride

For Greece woman, running provides healing, prideRochester Democrat and ChronicleAs a caregiver, Field helped her husband, a Greece Olympia High School teacher, regain some of his energy. But for months after his death, Field sat at home inactive. Thanks to persuasive pushing from her daughter-in-law, Sharon Shepler Field, that ...and more »

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Greece approves more austerity cuts

Aljazeera.comGreece approves more austerity cutsAljazeera.comGreece's parliament has approved a budget plan filled with over 3 billion euros of austerity cuts with the hope that the debt-laden country will emerge from a six-year recession next year. After nearly going bankrupt and almost crashing out of the euro ...Greece Passes 2014 BudgetABC NewsParliament Approves 2014 Budget in GreeceNew York TimesTroika review to continue next year as Greece falls behind with bailout pledgesKathimeriniall 128 news articles »

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Greek parliament approves budget projecting sliver of growth

Prime minister Antonis Samaras hails forecast of technical end to six years of recession and tentative steps towards recovery


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Greek lawmakers pass 2014 budget that forecasts return to growth

ATHENS, Greece - Greek lawmakers have passed the government's 2014 budget, which forecasts a return to growth after six consecutive years of deep recession, but its revenue and spending targets have been ...

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Greek Lawmakers Approve 2014 Budget to Plot Debt-Relief Course

Greece ’s 300-seat parliament passed the plan today with 153 votes in favor and 142 votes against, according to results read out by the speaker, Evangelos Meimarakis.

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Troika suspends Greek negotiations as Athens clears budget

Greece's parliament has passed a 2014 budget continuing the country's course of austerity measures. Meanwhile, international creditors have suspended a visit to Athens - and by extension the next tranche of loans.

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Greek Parliament approves budget for 2014

KathimeriniGreek Parliament approves budget for 2014KathimeriniThe Greek Parliament early on Sunday voted a budget for 2014 into law with 153 MPs in the 300-seat House voting in favor despite reservations among many in the coalition to backing further austerity. The budget was backed by all but one of the ...Greek MPs Set to OK 2014 BudgetGreek Reporterall 3 news articles »

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Troika review to continue next year as Greece falls behind with bailout pledges

Troika review to continue next year as Greece falls behind with bailout pledgesKathimeriniBrussels - Earlier this week, the eurozone's troika partners received an e-mail from the International Monetary Fund detailing Greece's record of compliance with its adjustment program commitments since last summer. The data table included in the e ...Troika creditors delay return to Greece to JanuaryGMA NewsProtest on anniversary of teenager's death turns violent in GreeceeuronewsTroika Delay Return to Greece to JanuaryGreek ReporterEurope Online Magazineall 93 news articles »

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Moody’s Takes Positive Rating Actions on Five Greek Banks

Moody’s Investors Service has today upgraded the long-term deposit and senior debt ratings of Piraeus Bank SA, National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank AE by one notch to Caa1 (stable outlook) from Caa2 (negative outlook) and increased the banks’ baseline credit assessments (BCAs) to caa2 from caa3, within the bank financial strength rating […]

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Lagarde List: Penalties Exceed 50 Million Euros

The Financial and Economic Crime Unit (S.D.O.E), after completing the first 150 audits of taxpayers who are included in the Lagarde list, has imposed penalty charges that exceed 50 million euros. The newspaper “TA NEA,” invoking S.D.O.E sources claims that almost every Greek citizen is hiding money from the tax authorities. S.D.O.E  has imposed penalties […]

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Kidney for Sale – a Fathers Desperate Plea

A 49 year-old father from Pyrgos, Greece decided to put his kidney up for sale in order to provide for his 8 year-old daughter. The desperate father put an advertisement in a local newspaper saying, “I’m selling my kidney. I made this decision because I am unemployed and homeless. I do not care whether I live […]

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Great Turnout at Thessaloniki’s New Waterfront Opening

Despite the wintry scene in Thessaloniki Greece, many have seized the opportunity to enjoy the newly refurbished waterfront and repaved Nikis avenue. The coastal project was completed over the course of the last two and a half years. Since yesterday, residents and visitors have had the opportunity to enjoy walking along the esplanade, which is […]

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Golden Dawn MPs Testimony Delayed

As the Greek government continues to build a case and said it has uncovered a wealth of new evidence, three Golden Dawn MPs – Giorgos Germenis, Stathis Boukouras and Panagiotis Iliopoulos – who were due to testify on Dec. 7 have had their appearance set back until next month on charges of participating in a […]

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Number of Greek Civil Servants Has Decreased

After the demand of Greece’s lenders for staff reduction in the public sector, it appears that the Greek government managed to decrease the number of civil servants. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Minister of Administrative Reform, reported that Greece is likely to recover in the following year. According to government sources, the number of employees in the public […]

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Olympic Brewery Expands Activities in Canada, Brazil and Russia

Olympic Brewery SA is expanding its activities in three new markets – Canada, Brazil and Russia – expecting the first beer exports by the start of the new year. Yiannis Hitos, chairman and chief executive of the company, speaking to reporters, said Fix Hellas will become the first Greek beer to enter the Russian market, […]

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Chairman Visits Sailors in Greece as Part of USO Tour

Chairman Visits Sailors in Greece as Part of USO TourDepartment of DefenseSOUDA BAY, Greece, Dec. 7, 2013 – Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stout and U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay today as part of his annual USO ...and more »

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Holiday Greek pastry sale Dec. 14 in Missoula is taking advance orders

Holiday Greek pastry sale Dec. 14 in Missoula is taking advance ordersThe MissoulianThe Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 301 S. Sixth St. W., will hold a holiday Greek pastry sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14. A variety of other ethnic and holiday baked goods will also be available. Advanced orders of baklava ...and more »

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Greek Creditor Talks to Resume Fully in January

BRUSSELS—Negotiations between Greece and its international creditors over the country's financial bailout won't fully resume until January, a European Commission spokesman said Saturday. Experts from the so-called troika of institutions ...

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Troika creditors delay return to Greece to January

International creditors said on Saturday that they have delayed until January their next trip to Greece for talks on a deal key to unblocking one billion euros in bailout funds. Senior auditors from the so-called creditor troika -- the EU, IMF and European ...

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