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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

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Greek-American Sylvia Mathews Burwell Confirmed as HHS Secretary by Large Bipartisan Vote

OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, nominated in April by President Obama to succeed the exiting and oft-assailed Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) was confirmed overwhelmingly by the U.S. .Senate in a bipartisan vote on June 5. The 78 votes in favor of Burwell’s nomination included Republican elder statesman Senator John […]

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Longing for Ithaca

“As you set out for Ithaca, hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.” - Constantine Cavafy Positioned in the Ionian Sea off the northeast coast of Kefalonia is the legendary island of Odysseus, Ithaca. Inhabited since the second millennium BC, Ithaca has over the centuries been occupied by Romans, […]

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Free Internet for Social Dividend Beneficiaries

The Greek Ministry of Infrastructure is offering social dividend recipients 12 months of free internet access, as well as training on how to use computers. The ministry’s decision was announced on Wednesday by the General Secretary of Telecommunications-Post and Digital Convergence, Menelaos Daskalakis.  The initiative will start in July and concerns families and households entitled to receive the social dividend benefit in 8 areas of Greece: Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Ionian Islands, Western Greece, the Peloponnese, Crete and North Aegean. With a “Digital Solidarity” coupon, which will be exchanged in any of the companies cooperating with the ministry, the recipients will have the opportunity: -To acquire or maintain internet connection for 12 months -To obtain basic equipment for Internet access and familiarity with (PC or Tablet) -To receive training on the basic use of PC and the Internet, by certified instructors of information technologies and communications.

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A Surprise Wedding at 30,000 Feet!

After the initiative of several Chinese couples getting married in Greece, a couple from Belgium decided to tie the knot in Greece too. The difference however, is that this couple got married at 30,000 feet over the Greek island of Rhodes. 24-year old, Alexander Serruys entered a competition held by Thomas Cook Travel Company on Valentine’s Day to propose and get married all in the same day on a board flight. Alexander, the winner of the competition “If you could marry your girlfriend in the air, would you do it?” started planning the big surprise wedding trying not to raise suspicion. His 20-year old fiancĂ©e, Marieke, was told that she had won a trip with her sister to the Greek island and that it was being filmed for Thomas Cook. The groom succeeded in organizing the perfect wedding and the clueless bride received quite the surprise when she realized that close family members, friends and the groom were hidden at the back of the airplane. The wedding dress, chosen by Marieke’s sister and other wedding preparations couldn’t be excluded from the surprise. After they landed, a wedding celebration took place, organized in Rhodes by Thomas Cook. The couple enjoyed their honeymoon at the Island of the Knights. Watch the video to see the plan, the proposal and how the plane transformed into a spectacular wedding celebration.

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Watchdog voices concerns over coastal bill

The Ombudsman warned Thursday of the “exhaustive exploitation” of Greece’s coastline if the government goes ahead with draft legislation that would relax restrictions on building and commercial activity next to the sea. “The proposed regulations carry the... ...

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Larissa bank raid has hallmark of terrorist fugitive

An armed robbery on Thursdsy at a branch of Piraeus Bank in the small town of Sykourio near Larissa in central Greece resembled raids carried out by fugitive urban guerrilla Nikos Maziotis, according to police who have been seeking the self-professed lead... ...

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Fitch: House prices still dropping

House prices in Greece will drop an additional 15 percent in the medium term, Fitch estimated on Thursday, which would take the total decline since the peak of 2008 to 45 percent, according to the international ratings firm. Fitch has already upwardly rev... ...

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ECB measures to have little local impact

Senior local bank officials describe the European Central Bank measures on Thursday aimed at tackling deflation and low growth in Europe as particularly important. However they emphasize that no one should expect Greece’s cash flow to suddenly increase as... ...

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National Bank of Greece Upgraded to “Buy” by Nomura (NBG)

National Bank of Greece Upgraded to “Buy” by Nomura (NBG)WKRB NewsNational Bank of Greece (NYSE:NBG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Nomura from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. Several other analysts have also recently commented on ...National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG) Is Red Hot This WeekMarkets EmergingNational Bank of Greece Upgraded to "Buy" at Deutsche Bank (NBG)Mideast TimeDeutsche Bank Upgrades National Bank of Greece (NBG) to BuyStreetInsider.com (subscription)all 6 news articles »

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Greek Minister: 'Nazi' Golden Dawn party should be banned

Greek Minister: 'Nazi' Golden Dawn party should be bannedJerusalem Post“I strongly believe that [the Golden Dawn party] should be banned,” Greek Deputy Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Konstantinos Karagounis told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. Interviewed in the aftermath of European Parliamentary ...

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Jonah Hill: 'Having a bad day doesn't reflect who I am as a person'

The 22 Jump Street actor has gone from playing the 'angry nerd' in comedies to Oscar-nominated performances. This week Hill ran into trouble for a homophobic outburst

At first, I was really looking forward to meeting Jonah Hill. Sure, he will probably never be my favourite actor of all time, but I have yet to see a film in which I haven't enjoyed watching him (admittedly, I've never seen his one absolute turkey, The Sitter).

I thought he was one of the funniest things about Knocked Up, in which he played Seth Rogen's angry, nerdy friend, and his deleted scenes from that film confirm him as the movie's hidden gem. I adored him in Superbad, playing Michael Cera's angry, nerdy friend, and I thought he was hilarious as the nerdy fanboy in Get Him to the Greek. I admired his determination to break out of Judd Apatow's gang of stoner bro comedians, making him pretty much unique among that Knocked Up crew, and stretch himself with comedy-dramas such as Cyrus and The Wolf of Wall Street and straight-up dramas such as Moneyball.

Continue reading...

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Greek club OFI signs Gattuso as new coach

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Topflight Greek club OFI has signed former Italian football star Gennaro Gattuso as its new coach.

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New Cathedral Dean in NY to be Installed June 22

NEW YORK – Father John Vlahos, currently the pastor of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Brookville, NY, has been assigned as the new Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan. He will be formally installed by Archbishop Demetrios of America on Sunday, June 22 and will begin his new […]

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5 not-to-miss taste treats at 2014 Kalamazoo Greek Festival

5 not-to-miss taste treats at 2014 Kalamazoo Greek FestivalMlive KalamazooNot us, which is why we were among the first in line when Stacy Skartsiaris and her staff started serving up Greek fare. Skartsiaris, longtime owner of Theo and Stacy's restaurants in Kalamazoo, started Greek Fest in 1977 with her late husband Theo.

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Tip of the iceberg: European migration policy in Greece and the Euro-elections

Many people will be affected by the results of the Euro-elections in Greece and across the continent—including those fetching up at its borders. Reports of “push-backs” of migrants, their long-term detention and racist attacks in Greece have rightly ...

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Greek, Albanian face prosecutor over illicit antiquities

A 33-year-old Greek man and an Albanian aged 40 were to face a prosecutor on Thursday following their arrest in Argos, in the Peloponnese, in connection with 25 ancient artifacts that are alleged to have been acquired illegally. The Greek was caught red-h... ...

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Police seeking insurance salesman for fraud

Police in Drama, northern Greece, said Thursday that they were seeking a 50-year-old insurance salesman who is believed to have defrauded dozens of people and two insurance firms out of more than 40,000 euros since 2011. The suspect is alleged to have iss... ...

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Brazil 2014: Group C, Greece

Greece is takins things step by step on World Cups. Their first goal, then their first victory, and now, their first qualification? Could be Main profile: JosĂ© Holebas This summer, during the “Mundial do Brasil”, there will be few soccer players that ...

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Greece's top tax official quits just over a year into job

* Had mishandled mandate to modernise tax collection -media * Harry Theoharis says stepped down for personal reasons ATHENS, June 5 (Reuters) - Greece's top tax official stepped down on Thursday after what major newspapers said was his mishandling of some aspects of his mandate to modernise an antiquated tax bureaucracy that has contributed to its debt crisis. Harry Theoharis had been appointed ...

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RECALL: Some Ocean Spray Greek Yogurt Craisins May Contain Peanuts

News 92 FMRECALL: Some Ocean Spray Greek Yogurt Craisins May Contain PeanutsNews 92 FMOcean Spray announced Thursday it has taken the precautionary measure of voluntarily recalling two production lots of Ocean Spray Greek Yogurt Covered Craisins Dried Cranberries because the products may contain yogurt covered peanuts. People who ...Ocean Spray Voluntarily Recalls Limited Quantity of 8-ounce Greek Yogurt ...eNews Park ForestOcean Spray issues recall over peanut allergy riskMississippi Business Journal (blog)Ocean Spray issues recall of Craisin product after peanuts foundWNYTall 7 news articles »

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EU Commission expresses 'serious concern' as Greece's tax reform chief quits

ATHENS, Greece - The European Commission expressed "serious concern" Thursday after Greece's powerful public revenues chief — a position created in 2012 at the insistence of bailout creditors ...

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EU: 'Serious Concern' as Greece's Tax Czar Quits

Greek ReporterEU: 'Serious Concern' as Greece's Tax Czar QuitsABC NewsThe European Commission expressed "serious concern" Thursday after Greece's powerful public revenues chief — a position created in 2012 at the insistence of bailout creditors — resigned citing "personal" reasons. The Finance Ministry said it had ...Greece's first public revenues chief steps downNews & Observerall 17 news articles »

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Jeroen Dijsselbloem: Greece May Need Another Bailout

Greece may yet need another bailout package, according to the Dutch finance minister. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is also president of the Eurogroup, a forum for eurozone finance ministers, said he is not fully convinced by Greek suggestions that it will soon ...

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Irish woman murdered in Greece

Consular assistance is being provided to the Irish woman's family. Police in Greece have arrested a 52- year-old Greek man on suspicion of murdering his Irish partner and keeping her body in his Athens home for days.

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Greek Fest offers more than food and drink

Please do not eat Christine McAvoy's candle wicks. "They look too much like pasta," the Sioux City woman said of the pale, squiggly wicks sitting on a plate. "I'm always afraid people will take a bite and discover this isn't Greek food. McAvoy has a reason ...

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Greece to buy Russian gas at discounted price of $396 per 1000 cubic metres

Greece to buy Russian gas at discounted price of 6 per 1000 cubic metresITAR-TASSGreece will buy Russian gas at a price of $396 US dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, Georgios Chelikidis, the General Manager of Prometheus Gas S.A., a Greek-Russian joint venture with participation of Russia's Gazprom Export, told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.and more »

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PASOK Calls Grow For Venizelos’ Head

PASOK MP Thanos Moraitis, joining a chorus of dissent against party leader Evangelos Venizelos, has become the first to call for the Socialist chief to step down as its popularity keeps plummeting. Moraitis was the first in the party to call for Venizelos to quit even though the Socialist leader is serving as Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister in the coalition government of Prime Minister and New Democracy Conservative leader Antonis Samaras, elevated after backing the firing of public workers last year. PASOK, Moraitis said, “needs a new leadership, one that can inspire, unite and expand [the party's influence].” He said the party’s showing in the European Parliament elections, in which it managed only 8 percent of the vote despite attaching itself to the new center-left movement Elia, or Olive Tree, showed Venizelos is the wrong person to lead the party. Moraitis said the dismal showing marked “the third successive defeat in a context of victorious results for the party in ballots for social and scientific associations.” PASOK scored victories at recent elections for the Technical Chamber of Greece and the Athens Bar Association and Moraitis’s comment was seen as a snide suggestion that Venizelos is out of touch with the party base. Senior PASOK officials – including Costas Skandalidis, Dimitris Reppas and Fofi Gennimata – have over the previous days criticized Venizelos’s strategy of sticking to backing austerity measures. A statement from PASOK’s headquarters at Harilaou Trikpoupi criticized attempts to “undermine the stability of the government,” without naming Moraitis or any other official. There were no reports whether Venizelos would reprimand or eject any of the lawmakers who have been critical of him. PASOK won 44 percent of the vote in winning the 2009 national elections to gain the Premiership for then-leader George Papandreou, but he was hounded out of office two years later by protests, strikes and riots against pay cuts, tax hikes, and slashed pensions that are antithetical to the party’s principles. Samaras brought PASOK into his government two years ago because he needed the Socialist’s votes – along with the Democratic Left (DIMAR) which last year quit the coalition – to control Parliament. Former PASOK minister Andreas Loverdos, who quit the party, has just said he will return and there were reports that four others that Venizelos booted from the party for refusing to back his orders how to vote might also return, but the party had fallen to 3-5 percent in the polls before joining Elia. In the 2012 national elections, PASOK finished a distant third, with 13.18 percent and 756,024 votes. In this year’s European Parliament elections in Greece to choose the country’s 21 representatives in Brussels, Elia/PASOK got only 458,403 votes to finish fourth with 8.02 percent and a loss for the Socialists of 297,621 votes.

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Dendias Brings Changes to Greek Police and Border Administration

Nikos Dendias presented the new system, called Center of Integrated Border and Immigration Administration, which will enable safer guarding of the Greek boarders and thus greater control on the number of immigrants who enter Greece. Greek Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection also referred to new changes brought upon Greek police forces, which will include electronic and digital media inside police patrol cars. Services and information from all police departments will be available to police officers on the street from within their patrol car. Police work will be facilitated with various digital services such as an APNR system for detecting stolen vehicles, a new system of quick data transfer between police departments and the fingerprint identification E-TAP system. Furthermore, citizens will have the ability to contact the police much easier through a newly built electronic base. The Minister also highlighted how Greek police officers will benefit from systems like C.O.P, which will provide them with the opportunity to have immediate digital assistance when dealing with an incident, such as three-dimensional maps of their action field. Nikos Dendias also referred to E-Crime, which will give an important boost to the fight against electronic crime. Besides these new systems, many more are still expected to be brought to the disposal of Greek police forces. Their completion is bound to happen within the forthcoming 24 to 30 months.

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IMF postpones release of Greece's 5th review report for next week

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has postponed the release of Greece's fifth review report for next week. Its publication was originally planned for Thursday at 7 p.m. while IMF envoy Poul Thomsen was expected to brief journalists an hour earlier. So... ...

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Greek National Opera puts on two seminal operas, offers free events

Greek National Opera puts on two seminal operas, offers free eventsKathimeriniThe Greek National Opera has plenty in store for audiences this summer, with a host of new and unexpected productions, among others. The two biggest summer productions will be staged at the Herod Atticus Theater, in partnership with the Athens Festival.

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Expert Explains What Makes The Best Brand Names So Good

The best brand names become a part of consumers' vocabularies and synonymous with the items they represent, like Kleenex has with tissues.

"A name is a moniker that a company is going to wear probably the longest of anything we develop," says Sasha Stack, a partner at the Boston offices of brand-strategy and design firm Lippincott.

So why do names like Sprite and Verizon work so well? We asked Stack to guide us through the naming process using some of her favorite projects, as well as the brand names she most admires.

Determining a name for a company is about "being authentic to the personality of the organization," Stack says. A foundational aspect of this process concerns sound symbolism, the visual associations words carry.

Brand strategists often rely on what is known as the "bouba/kiki effect." In 1929, the German-American psychologist Wolfgang Köhler conducted an experiment in which he presented Spanish-speaking participants in the Canary Islands the following two images:

Which one, he asked, was called "baluba," and which one was called "takete"? He didn't report a percentage, but the overwhelming majority of participants said the first was takete and the second was baluba. The results were repeated when the test was redone in 1947 and baluba changed to "maluma."

When scientists Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward Hubbard did their own version in 2001, they presented the same shapes to American college students and Tamil speakers in India and asked which was "bouba" and which was "kiki"? Over 95% of each group said kiki was the angular shape and bouba was the rounded shape.

Stack says these experiments show how words often make our mouths feel a certain way, which in turn cues our brains into visualizing shapes. A name and a logo, therefore, have to work together, and jointly express what a company stands for in a single impression.

For effective names, Stack says, "We often go back to Latinate terms that feel universal." Stack prefers using real words, because they already possess meaning and consumers are more willing to accept them.

Lippincott created the name Sprite for the Coca-Cola Company's lemon-lime soft drink in 1961. The word means "elf, fairy, or goblin," and comes from the Latin spiritus, for spirit. The drink was to be marketed as something refreshing, lively, and energetic, says Stack, and the name fit, especially when paired with bright green and yellow.

Stack helped name Milk, Samsung's music-streaming service. She especially likes it because it's surprisingly different from anything else in tech. Rather than imposing a technical or esoteric word, the team chose to give consumers "something from their vocabulary," and play off the idea that Samsung wanted to make its service part of its audience's daily lifestyle, in the same way most people always want milk stocked in the fridge.

Sometimes all it takes is changing one letter of a real word to make a great brand name.

In 2012, Stack and her team were hired to rebrand Pfizer Animal Health as it spun out from a subsidiary into its own company. As they looked at the name Pfizer, the letter "z" stuck out and got ideas rolling. When searching for appropriate words, "zoetic," a Greek word meaning "pertaining to life," seemed a perfect fit. And in regards to phonetics, changing the hard "c" into a soft "s" made it a warmer word, and thus Zoetis became "elevated above the rest of the pharma landscape," according to Stack.

Sometimes a letter change is purely about aesthetics. When a Lippincott team was working with Nissan to develop a marketing strategy for the Infiniti line of luxury sedans, a designer suggested turning the "y" into an "i" would be much more visually appealing, a point the team agreed on.

And while Stack prefers short, real words, she points out that over 300,000 brand names are registered every year. A good way to stay simple but remain creative is by combining words.

Lippincott, for example, created the name Verizon in 2000 because combining veritas, Latin for "truth," with horizon suggested a reliable and forward-thinking company.

Stack thinks that the best brand names sound good in any language. American marketers may have thought the Chevy Nova was a great name, but for Spanish and Italian speakers, it was easy to mock the "No-va" in their languages as the "car that doesn't go," Stack says.

She also thinks the best names avoid trends. For example, when it was cool for tech companies to drop a letter from a real word and make it their name, like Flickr did.

If you're coming up with a name for your own company or new brand line, mull over your options for as long as you can, says Stack, and make sure you see how it looks in real-world applications, like on a website or business card.

When Stack works with a company on a name, she and her team presents them with 20-25 names that go through two and a half weeks of preliminary legal screening to make sure they can be used. They are then thoroughly tested to see if they work for non-English speakers and work with the company's products.

Stack says it's important to remember a name is linked to everything else in a company.

"A name is how a company introduces itself, so there's a lot of weight on the name initially," Stack says. "But we always look at it from the perspective of it being rooted in the strategy, and it's going to have other things that reinforce it, like the logo. We always look at names as just one piece of the puzzle of building a brand."

SEE ALSO: Expert Explains What Makes The Best Logos So Good

Join the conversation about this story »


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Greek public revenues chief leaves early in his 5-year term, citing 'personal grounds'

Greece's first public revenues chief, whose job was created in 2012 at the insistence of bailout creditors, has stepped down citing "personal grounds," the country's finance ministry says.

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Greece's first public revenues chief steps down

Greece's first public revenues chief, whose job was created in 2012 at the insistence of bailout creditors, has stepped down citing "personal grounds," the country's finance ministry says. A ...

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Greek Unemployment Falls to 26.8%

Greece still has serious unemployment issues but its jobless rate fell slightly to 26.8% in March, according to official figures. The Greek Statistical Authority (Elstat) explained that the rate fell from 26.9% in February. However, the embattled country's ...

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Greece vs. Bolivia: Road to Brazil

Greece vs. Bolivia Road To Brazil Series June 6 | 8 pm ET| Red Bull Arena - Harrison, NJ TV: beIN Sports, Univision Dep.

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RPT-Fitch Updates Greek Mortgage Assumptions; No Rating Impact

RPT-Fitch Updates Greek Mortgage Assumptions; No Rating ImpactReutersFollowing further weakening of the Greek housing market Fitch has made its house price decline assumptions more conservative. Fitch's base default expectations on Greek mortgage pools have remained unchanged; however, some borrower and product ...and more »

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Catsimatidis: Greece Needs to Treat Investors with “Aggalies,” Not “Klotsies”

ATHENS – “Greece is very, very rich,” John Catsimatidis told the crowd at Capital Link’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) forum on May 27. The event, whose theme was “For a Better Tomorrow,” honored Catsimatidis, a Greek-American self-made billionaire, with its 2014 Leadership Award. (Full story: “Capital Link Hosts 4th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Forum,” TNH, […]

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Greek Jobless Rate Falls: 0.1%

Greece's unemployment rate has fallen, but only by 0.1 percent, showing how difficult the task is for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to get people back to work.

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Greece’s public revenue chief Haris Theocharis resigns

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has accepted the resignation of the country's general secretary for public revenues Haris Theocharis. In a statement, the ministry said Theocharis had resigned for “personal reasons.”... ...

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NYT: The Financial Crisis Hasn’t Reached Mykonos

“The international jet-set appeal of Mykonos has helped the island escape some of Greece’s economic woes. Prices have fallen since 2008, real estate agents said, but sales never completely stopped, and a new wave of buyers from the Middle East has helped compensate for the loss of the Greek market,” noted a New York Times article about the real estate market in Mykonos. Furthermore, the extensive article of the American newspaper refers to a traditional 5,000 square meter villa on the southeastern side of the island that was sold for over 2.9 million euros. According to NYT, “in recent years, agents said, Mykonos has become popular with buyers from the Middle East — in particular Egypt, Israel and Lebanon — who are looking for an escape from the region’s turmoil.” Moreover, the article stresses that the “European buyers tend to come from Britain, France, Germany and Italy, he said, with a sizable contingent of Americans, many with Greek ancestors,” while “buyers are looking both for a vacation home for themselves, and to take advantage of Mykonos’s strong rental market.” According to a local real estate agent, foreign buyers always consider the income they are going to have when they buy a property, which is very good for the market.  

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Greeks in Normandy Invasion: Who they were and how they fought

Friday, June 6, 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of the Western Allied Forces landing in Normandy. Soldiers from Dodekanisa Greek islands took part in the military operations during the Normandy invasion. Stathis Papaststikos from Kastellorizo served on the Greek torpedo boat “Navarino,” which took part in the military operation alongside other Greek warships. He is one of the few survivors of the Normandy invasion. “Our destroyer followed and protected American and English cargo ships containing soldiers and tanks to land in Normandy coasts.” says the elderly soldier who can’t forget the excitement Navarino’s crew felt when informed of the successful military assault in on June 6, 1944, otherwise commonly known as D-Day. During his interview in “Rhodiaki” newspaper, Stathis Papastatikos, today aged 87, describes the heroic moments of the landing with emotion “As soon as we were informed that the Allies had landed in Normandy we started celebrating, throwing our hats in the air.” The interview was taken in 2010, 66 years after the memorable era. Greek ships “Kriezis” and “Tobazi” played an important role in the invasion. Kleanthis Zervos from the Greek island Kalymnos, who served as a lieutenant in “Kriezis” was later elected a Dodekanesian MP with the Greek socialist party PASOK. “We knew this invasion would be the beginning and the end of World War II” highlights Papastatikos. “Our ship was very strong and my duty was to fill the firearms when we were fighting against German ships” he proudly adds. Stathis Papastatikos was born in Kastellorizo. When Germans bombarded the island he had to escape by boat and reach the Turkish city Antifylos. At that time, he was only 18 years old. The English unit located in Antifylos, sent the young fisherman and other soldiers from Dodekanisa in Cyprus and this is when his big adventure started.

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Greek Crisis Causes Drop in Gambling

The classic notion that the average Greek likes to gamble in the hopes of winning easy money, has been ruined. As a result of the economic crisis, gambling turnover decreased by 37% over the last five years (2009-2013). According to data released by the Gaming Oversight and Control Commission (EEEP), the total gambling turnover in 2013 amounted to 5.495 billion euros, compared with 8.739 billion euros in 2009. This data concerns OPAP, ODIE, state lottery, and casinos. In its report the Gaming Oversight and Control Commission states that several important projects will be completed in the coming months. The plan for 2014 provides the establishment of regulations for the control of OPAP games. After consulting with the European Commission, a new regulation will be published in order to amend the existing provisions and establish new regulations, which emerged as necessary during discussions. Meanwhile, an IT control and oversight system is expected to be installed in all gaming machines in order to facilitate data collection, identify any software problems, and generally ensure the smooth and credible conduct of gaming.

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Public Revenue General Secretary Theoharis Resigns

While rumors regarding the upcoming cabinet reshuffle and the possible ministerial appointments are widespread, Greek General Secretary of Public Revenue Haris Theoharis announced his resignation Thursday after a meeting with Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, causing discontent among Greece’s international partners, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Theoharis took over the leadership at the General Secretariat of Public Revenue, which for over a year was without a supervisor at the most difficult time during the peak of Greece’s fiscal crisis, and under the most harsh conditions,” Finance Minister Stournaras announced, while acknowledging the reforms put through during his tenure and his accomplishments. “I thank him very much for his services and wish him good luck in his future undertakings,” Stournaras added. According to sources, already since Wednesday afternoon, the Greek Finance Minister is said to have asked Theoharis to resign, blaming the Secretary for a recent initiative, which was addressing foreign Greek bondholders and prompting them to pay taxes for their titles. The decision, which was made public right before last month’s elections, displeased the government and caused severe turmoil in the Finance Ministry cycles, and was immediately revoked. This development doesn’t appear to come as a surprise, as government officials had recently cited problems in their working relations with the General Secretary. Theoharis, however, argued that he was being targeted for the government’s political decisions, while mentioning that the resignation is for personal reasons. The term of the General Secretary of Public Revenue has a length of five years, is an independent non-political appointment, and the only possibility for Theoharis to be removed from his position is only by tendering his resignation. Greece’s International partners displeased The prompted resignation of Theoharis has created further turmoil, with Greece’s international partners showing their great discontent, while the abrupt seasonal closure of the Greek Parliament Wednesday also triggered political upheaval in Greece’s domestic and foreign political scene. Officials in Brussels and the Troika are said to have been informed about the decision to remove Theoharis while more changes are imminent in the state mechanism. European Commission officials are reported to have expressed their great dissatisfaction with Theoharis’ removal, underlining that the 5-year term is in place so as to protect the General Secretary from political appointments, while mentioning that Theoharis has accomplished many tasks during his tenure. The IMF is reported to have also reacted to the decision. At the same time, Greece’s partners are very displeased with the government’s decision to conclude the current Parliament session and redirect urgent policy changes to the summer session, which begins in two weeks. Many reform measures that were due to be addressed prior to the Eurogroup meeting on June 13, which would likely approve Greece’s new bailout installment, have to be put off until the Parliament opens for its summer recess session, in which only one-third of the total 300 Greek MPs participate.

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Taste of Syracuse, Greek fest will keep health inspectors busy this weekend

Taste of Syracuse, Greek fest will keep health inspectors busy this weekendThe Post-StandardFrom Thursday through Sunday, meanwhile, the annual St. Sophia's Greek Fest in DeWitt serves up thousands of plates of souvlaki, spanikopita and other dishes. It'll keep the folks at the Onondaga County Health Department pretty busy. It's one of the ...and more »

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Farage Vows to Visit Greece for Holiday after Grexit

The British Eurosceptic and leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage predicts that Greece will be forced to exit the Eurozone, saying that this would devalue its currency and as a result make it a “hot” tourist destination. Speaking at the ...

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Informative tours add to Greek Festival's food, fireworks and fun

Informative tours add to Greek Festival's food, fireworks and funShore News TodaySubmitted/A junior dance troupe performs at a previous Greek festival in Egg Harbor Township. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is set to open the gates to its 30th Annual Greek Festival on Thursday, June 5. Sure, there ...

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BC-AP--Europe News Digest, AP

by  Associated Press BC-AP--Europe News Digest, AP Associated Press - 5 June 2014 07:29-04:00

TOP STORIES FROM EUROPE AT 1130 GMT

OBAMA

BRUSSELS — President Barack Obama and the leaders of two of the United States' main European allies — Britain and France — are trying to navigate shifting conditions in the Ukraine crisis now that a new government is coming to power. By Nedra Pickler. SENT: 570 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: urgent updates from 9:50 a.m. news conference, then 1,000 words by 2 p.m., photos.

— ECONOMY — Stepping away from Russia relations, G-7 leaders center second day on economic growth, jobs. SENT: 130 words, photos.

— FRANCE-US-BANK — French president says he will raise U.S. investigation of BNP Paribas bank with Obama during dinner. SENT: 140 words, photo.

EUROPE-SYRIAN-JIHADISTS

AMSTERDAM — European interior affairs ministers are meeting to discuss ways to prevent radical Muslims in their countries from traveling to fight in Syria's civil war and then returning home to commit acts of terrorism. The meeting was by a deadly shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last month and the subsequent arrest of a suspected French jihadi whom officials say had been in Syria. SENT: 130 words.

FRANCE-BRUSSELS-SHOOTING

VERSAILLES, France — A Frenchman suspected in the shooting deaths of three people at the Brussels Jewish Museum is formally opposing extradition to Belgium. Masked, armed police special forces guarded Mehdi Nemmouche as he appeared in a Versailles court Thursday. The 29-year-old is believed to have had contact with Islamic extremists in Syria. He was arrested last week in the probe into the May 24 killings. SENT: 130 words.

RED CROSS-LIBYA

BERLIN — Armed men killed a 42-year-old Red Cross staffer in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, firing at his car after he left a meeting, the organization said. Michael Greub, a Swiss national, died in the attack midday Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement on its website Thursday. By David Rising. SENT: 300 words, photos.

D-DAY COMMEMORATIONS

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — Ceremonies to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day are drawing thousands of visitors to the cemeteries, beaches and stone-walled villages of Normandy this week, including some of the few remaining survivors of the largest sea-borne invasion ever mounted. World leaders and dignitaries including President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II will gather to honor the more than 150,000 American, British, Canadian and other Allied D-Day veterans who risked and gave their lives in the battle to defeat Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. By Greg Keller. SENT: 690 words, photos.

GREECE-GOOGLE

ATHENS, Greece — Google has launched its Street View map service in Greece after winning approval from the privacy authority that blocked the ground-level map application five years ago. Company officials said the service went live Thursday after "extensive and detailed" negotiations with the country's Data Protection Authority, which last year lifted objections made to the project in 2009. SENT: 130 words.

GERMANY-ECONOMY

BERLIN — German factory orders rebounded in April, rising by a stronger-than-expected 3.1 percent compared with the previous month with help from a surge in demand from other countries in the eurozone. The increase reported Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office was more than double the 1.4 percent rise economists had forecast. It followed a surprise 2.8 percent fall in March. SENT: 130 words.

ECONOMY

BRUSSELS — Leaders of the G-7 group of major economies are turning their attention during the concluding day of their summit to spurring growth and jobs in an attempt to reinforce a rebound from the global financial crisis. And after President Barack Obama's new effort to curb greenhouse gas pollution, the seven leaders are set to show their determination to find a global deal on climate change in Paris next year. They will also seek ways to increase energy security, which has become especially touchy for the European Union because of its dependence on Russian gas. SENT: 130 words, photos.

News Topics: General news, Economy, Cultural history museums, New products and services, Business, Museums, Recreation and leisure, Lifestyle, Leisure travel, Travel, Products and services, Corporate news

People, Places and Companies: Bnp Paribas, Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, France, Brussels, Europe, United States, Greece, Western Europe, Belgium, North America

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Parliament Shuts Down, SYRIZA Objects

The sudden shutdown of the Greek Parliament on June 4 came just a day ahead of a reportedly critical report on the country's finances, preventing any debate.

The post Parliament Shuts Down, SYRIZA Objects appeared first on The National Herald.


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Panathinaikos Greek Hoop Champs Again

Storming back from a 2-1 deficit, defending champion Panathinaikos wiped out arch-rival Olympiakos 82-71 on June 4 to hold on to its Greek basketball league title.

The post Panathinaikos Greek Hoop Champs Again appeared first on The National Herald.


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PASOK MP Tells Venizelos To Quit

A beleaguered PASOK Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, presiding over his party's near-demise, should step down immediately, one of his lawmakers, Thanos Moraitis said.

The post PASOK MP Tells Venizelos To Quit appeared first on The National Herald.


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