NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of National Bank of Greece (NBG - Get Report) are down 6.95% to $1.40 in afternoon trading today as Greek ...
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How the world sees Greece
Friday, March 6, 2015
National Bank of Greece (NBG) Stock Slumped Today as Greek Markets Declined
Merkel wants a braver Germany. But will the German people let her have it?
Crises in Greece and Ukraine have forced the chancellor to rethink her country’s role in EuropeTake a stroll down Berlin’s Unter den Linden avenue, heading towards the Brandenburg Gate, and history will ambush you. First, you pass by the Willy Brandt Forum, paying homage to the German chancellor who from 1969 to 1974 invented Ostpolitik, Germany’s overture to the East and to the Soviet Union. You also pass near Russisches Haus, a German-Russian cultural centre currently commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of what the Russians call the great patriotic war. A short walk away, the beautiful modern glass dome built on top of the Reichstag building comes as a reminder that it was only 15 years ago that the German parliament moved from Bonn to Berlin – shifting Europe’s centre of gravity eastwards.German power is now mostly seen in economic terms. Given its 20th century past, the dream of simply being a bigger Switzerland still holds a strong appeal to the German public: a country without any serious external security concerns, focused on prosperity and wellbeing. Related: The rise of far right parties across Europe is a chilling echo of the 1930s | John Palmer Countering Europe’s fragmentation has become the key objective in Merkel’s third term Continue reading...
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Greek Govt to Call Tourists, Students and Houskeepers to Arms to Tackle Tax Evasion
mykonos Tourists, students and housekeepers are going to be called, among others, to deal with Greece's long standing tax evasion problem, ...
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Pessimism ahead of key eurozone meeting on Greece
Greece has outlined reforms and suggested another aid plan ahead of a meeting of eurozone ministers on Monday (6 March) but negotiations are set ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT euobserver.com |
Why you should visit Greece with this foodie insider
To Stergiopoulos, Greece is home. He knows about hole-in-the-wall falafel shops in Athens as well as remote country restaurants most tourists will ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.indystar.com |
Greece, Israel eye increased cooperation; focus on tourism, innovation
A meeting between Israel's ambassador to Greece and Minister Stathakis
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Ex-Greece cop could take plea in child porn case
A plea hearing has been scheduled this month for a former Greece police officer accused of possessing and distributing child pornography.
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Stournaras Says Eurozone Talks Critical
The meeting of the Eurozone's 19 finance ministers is critical for financially stricken Greece, Bank of Greece Gov. Yannis Stournaras says.
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Greece Wants Immediate Talks With Troika on Bailout
Greece asked euro zone countries on Friday for an immediate start of technical talks with international creditors on the first batch of reforms that would ...
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It might be time to panic about Greek government bonds
Judging by the prices of Greek government bonds, the investing community seems to have overcome its blind, unreasoning panic about the Syriza-led ...
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Greece to 'hire undercover army of tourist and student tax spies'
The Greek government plans to hire an army of amateur tax sleuths -- including tourists -- in a bid to fill the gaping hole in the country's finances, according to an embarrassing leak published Friday. The document, which purports to list the seven major reforms Athens will present at a crunch meeting of the Eurogroup in Brussels on Monday, claimed these "casual onlookers" could be equipped ...
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Greek Theatre Announces 2015 Concert Season
This morning, The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles' premier outdoor venue tucked away in the hills of Hollywood, has unveiled its 2015 concert schedule.
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One Week in Europe: Net neutrality, Ebola aid and Merkel in Brussels
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stopped by Brussels on Wednesday (March 4), meeting with the College of Commissioners to discuss a number of pressing issues, most notably Greece and the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, the European Council took a position on the digital single market and EU and African leaders met to plan the next […]
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Golden Dawn MP Kasidiaris’ Persecution Over Assault Against KKE MP Kanelli Ceased
From grievous to simple bodily harm converted an Athens court the charges against extreme right Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris for the attack against Greek Communist Party (KKE) MP Liana Kanelli that took place during a live TV show panel in Greece on Thursday, June 7, 2012. Thus, Kassidiraris’ prosecution has ended for this case, as according to the public prosecutor, the victim should have submitted a complaint, something that Kanelli did not do. The presiding judge described Kasidiaris’ behavior as “unacceptable.” “You had to ask for an apology,” she said, adding that the court shall not judge influenced by the surrounding climate but based on real facts. “The offense you committed was simple bodily harm and the persecution against you is ceased,” she concluded. On her behalf, Kanelli told the court that she “was punched four times in the face” and that she tried not to fall down “to avoid embarrassment.” She further explained that she did not file a complaint against Kasidiaris because “that act in itself is humiliating.” During her testimony, Golden Dawn supporters yelled slogans against her and caused a fuss. While exiting the court, the KKE MP underlined that the words “not guilty” were not heard, highlighting that “the Greek people must understand what the real goals of Golden Dawn are.” Furthermore, she referred to the necessity of Golden Dawn’s “political condemnation.” It is reminded that before slapping and attacking Kanelli, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party MP threw a glass of water at SYRIZA MP Rena Dourou (today a governor of Attica Perfecture). Kasidiaris became really upset after Dourou made reference to a court case pending against him. Kassidiaris is currently being held under custody, along with other Golden Dawn MPs and party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, facing charges over running and belonging to a criminal organization, as well as other serious criminal offences. In his 700-page argument, the prosecutor handling the criminal investigation of Golden Dawn, proposed that a total of 70 party members, amongst them its leader Michaloliakos and imprisoned MPs Kasidiaris, Christos Papas, Ioannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, Nikos Kouzoulos, Panagiotis Iliopoulos as well as ex member Stathis Mpoukouras, should appear before the judge. According to his recommendation, every current or ex MP belonged to the criminal organization’s “hard core” that operated under the party’s cloak. The prosecutor recited all the charges being brought against Golden Dawn, underlining the murders of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas (a.k.a. Killah P) in September 2013 and Pakistani immigrant Luqman Shahzad in January 2013, as well as several individual assaults on foreign nationals and leftist activists, including the attack against PAME members in Piraeus, just a few days before Fyssas’ murder. Although, the party leader as well as MPs Pappas and Lagos will be released from custody on March 27, ahead of their trial tentatively scheduled for April, as the maximum 18-month period in pre-trial custody expires. A specific date for the trial has not yet been set but, according to judicial sources, it will take place after the April 12 Greek Orthodox Easter. Michaloliakos and Pappas will remain under house arrest as they face additional charges of weapons possession.
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School Bullying and Violence on the Rise in Greece
On Friday, March 6, on the occasion of the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, students, teachers and parents across Greece will discuss and exchange opinions, beliefs and experiences on the global phenomenon called bullying. Furthermore, they will make suggestions toward tackling the phenomenon. Bullying has only recently been recognized in Greece, after incidents started occurring and being reported more often, over the recent years. A Smile of the Child survey revealed that 6.3% of Greek teenagers have been victims of cyber bullying over the last four months. Another 3.6% believe that they have acted as bullies. Meanwhile, it appears that bullying incidents in schools are often covered up –a belief that is supported by 42% of teachers in Greece. The country comes fourth after Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, in regards to school bullying, while the survey revealed that intimidation is the most common form used in schools. Smile of the Child claimed that only one in every 10 bullied children receives the necessary help and support in Greece. As for Europe, the British BeatBullying group revealed that 34% of adults think that bullying is a natural part of childhood. Meanwhile, 55% of children stated that they had reached to the point of depression due to such incidents while more than 30% have considered suicide or self-harm. In the U.S., 70.6% of students up to 12 years old claim to have witnessed a bullying incident and 28% report that they have been the victims of such behavior. In light of this survey and the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, the Greek Education Ministry called on school staff members to participate in various activities to raise awareness and put an end to violence and bullying incidents.
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Former New Democracy Minister Vasilis Magginas Dies at 66
Former Greek Employment Minister in Costas Karamanlis’ cabinet and spokesperson during 1992-1993 under Konstantinos Mitsotakis, New Democracy MP Vasilis Magginas passed away Friday morning at the age of 66. Magginas, who recently faced minor health issues, undergone a routine hernia operation when he suddenly fell into a coma from which he never recovered and died a few hours later due to septicemia. Magginas was born in October 22, 1949, in Athens and later graduated Athens’ Law School. His origin is from Astakos, Aitoloakarnania. He got involved with politics from a very young age and in 1976 he took part in the negotiations between Greece and the European Economic Community (EEC), precursor of the European Union (EU). He was first elected MP with New Democracy in the 1993 general elections and was elected in all parliamentary elections ever since until 2007. As a New Democracy member, he served as the party’s spokesperson in 1992-1993 and for a short period of time, in 2007, as Employment Minister, under Costas Karamanlis. Within a few months, though, he resigned from his Ministerial post on December 15, 2007, after facing negative publicity over allegations he employed illegal, uninsured immigrants at his holiday residence. He was married to Katerina Papadaki and they had one daughter.
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Juncker Declines to Meet with Tsipras Before Eurogroup, Athens Refutes
With Greece facing a serious liquidity problem, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has asked for a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. However, the European official replied that he will wait for Monday’s Eurogroup results before he meets with the Greek Premier. According to a report in German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung entitled “Tsipras Appeals to Juncker for Help,” the Greek Prime Minister asked for an emergency meeting on Friday but received a negative reply, said the report citing a government source in Athens. Juncker said that he will meet with Tsipras after the conclusion of Monday’s critical Eurogroup. Tsipras agreed for a meeting next week, however, a Commission official said that the two men are in constant communication over the telephone. According to the report, Tsipras wants Juncker’s support in the Eurogroup so that Greece can receive about 15 billion euros left in the bailout program extension. However, Greek government sources said that Tsipras never asked to meet with Juncker before the Monday meeting of Eurozone Finance Ministers. Instead, they said, the two men spoke on the phone on Thursday and arranged to meet next week, after the Eurogroup.
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Administrative Inquiry Results of Missing Greek Student
The administrative inquiry completed today, Friday, March 6, mentioned that Vangelis Giakoumakis, the student who went missing on February 6 in Ioannina, northern Greece, was being continuously bullied by his peers. The inquiry conducted in the Dairy School of Ioannina where Giakoumakis used to study, resulted in several cruel and shocking incidents coming to light. It was revealed that a group of students from Crete where always teasing and hazing Giakoumakis since his first year at the Dairy School. Actually, in March 2014, a faculty professor had even reported the fact. For a little while things were better for the young student but, according to the report, the teasing and attacks started once again in January 2015, a few days before 20-year-old Giakoumakis went missing. Furthermore, the inquiry also found out that during that time, the “leader” of the Cretan group had returned to Ioannina to receive his diploma. According to Greek media, Giakoumakis’ fellow student testified that he was being constantly bullied. They said that the group would tie him to a chair and then lock him in closets. Giakoumakis was so afraid of them that he wouldn’t even go to the bathroom at night. Finally, the inquiry revealed that, according to witnesses, a politician had in fact been involved in the case. On Monday, the school board will have a meeting in order to make the necessary decisions.
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Are you a tourist with time to spare? Mr. Varoufakis has a job for you...
Want to lend a hand in combating tax evasion in Greece? The Greek state wants people "from all walks of life" to pose as customers and be wired for audio and video to catch offending businesses that do not provide ...
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Greece's new promises to the Eurozone: we'll hire tourists and cleaners as undercover tax ...
Licencing online gambling and using students, housekeepers and tourists as undercover tax agents are among the new ways Greece has promised ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.co.uk |
Greece Gears Up for Euro-Area Talks as Cash Crunch Looms
(Bloomberg) -- Greece's creditors are assessing proposals including hiring non-professional inspectors to clamp down on tax evasion as the ...
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National Bank of Greece (ADR) Submits EU Reform Proposals
Struggling to scrape cash together, Greece has submitted a reform draft that lists seven proposals to creditors on Friday. Athens' list includes promises ...
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Poland's digital economy near EU bottom, ahead of Greece, Italy
The EU's top executive body has come up with a single index of digital development as part of its ongoing effort to produce a digital-market strategy for ...
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Wired-up tax snoopers could be unleashed in Greece
The 11-page letter followed last week's breakthrough agreement of a four-month extension of Greece's bailout despite the new leftwing Syriza ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
Greece, Israel eye increased cooperation; focus on tourism, innovation
A meeting between Israel's ambassador to Greece and Minister Stathakis
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Future for pond in Greek is uncertain
Chancellor Victor Boschini said the new Greek housing construction plans already put in place will have the potential to make the historic pond more ...
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Foodie calendar: Explore Greek and Peruvian cuisines
Yianni's Taverna in Lower Saucon Township will host a five-course Greek wine dinner this week to benefit the Judith Adele Agentis Charitable ...
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Greek Airports Show Passenger Traffic Increase
The Greek airports of Athens, Heraklion, Chania, Mykonos and Thessaloniki were included on the list of European airports with the highest performance in terms of increase in passenger traffic. According to the International Airports Council International ...
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Greece meets IMF payback date ahead crucial talks in Brussels
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and former finance minister, now Greece's central bank chief, Yannis Stournaras held meetings in Athens on the ...
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Varoufaki’s “undercover agents” vs tax evasion: tourists, students, housewives
From Euro-Shrek to Super Taxman: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis will hire part timers as undercover agents to grab out tax evaders. Tourists, students and housewives – desperate or not – will work armed with wire devices (camera, etc) to catch shopkeepers and service providers who offer their goods, pocket […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.keeptalkinggreece.com |
Greece: the Rocky Road Ahead
It's been a week now since the guns fell silent between Greece and its creditors and a 4 month armistice was agreed – so what are we to make of the ...
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Despite rollback on election pledges, Greece's new government enjoys massive popularity
Anna-Maria Zoumbou, 50, a laid-off tax office cleaner stands in front of a protest tent set up 19 months ago after hundreds of state-paid cleaners were sacked, in central Athens on Thursday, March 5, 2015. Greece’s radical left-led government has ...
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Greece reaches agreement with its Eurozone creditors
On Friday, February 20, Greece (GREK) managed to get an agreement with its Eurozone creditors for a four-month extension on its loan.
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Greeks still hope for change despite government's stumble
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Cleaning ladies who have waged Greece's longest-running anti-austerity protest have camped outside a finance ministry building in Athens for nearly two years with one goal — getting their state-paid jobs back.
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German Finance Ministry: Greece Could Get Money Earlier if Reforms Come Sooner
His certainty that Greece would be in a position to receive payment earlier than scheduled if its list of reforms is approved by the institutions and the reforms are implemented earlier, expressed German Finance Ministry spokesperson Martin Jaeger. On the flip side though, German officials see no reason for giving the next bailout installment to Greece immediately. Asked if Monday’s Eurogroup could discuss whether Greece could get money to prevent it from becoming insolvent if it decides on certain reforms, Jaeger said that from his country’s “point of view, there is no basis for that.” He repeated that the February 20 Eurogroup meeting decided that Athens should develop its own detailed list of reforms by the end of April, which should be later agreed with the creditors’ institutions (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) and then implement those measures by the end of June. “If the Greek program is in a position to work out its list of reforms in detail earlier than the end of April and the Troika agrees to it, and if this program is, accordingly, implemented earlier, it would of course be possible to make a payment earlier,” the German Finance Ministry representative explained, adding that the date of the next aid installment has not yet been determined. Earlier today, Greek finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis submitted the Greek list of “real structural reforms” to Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
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Forgotten History: The Klan vs. Americans of Greek Heritage in an Era of Hate and the Birth of the ...
The story, republished here, is a sobering reminder of the struggles Greek immigrants to the United States and Canada faced when they arrived in the ...
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Greek PM Tsipras: ECB has Noose Around our Neck
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused the European Central Bank (ECB) of holding a noose around the country's neck, amid his ...
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Greek Theatre Unveils 2015 Lineup, Subscription Program
As the drama over who will run The Greek Theatre continues to play out, the shows must go on, and so the iconic L.A. venue this morning unveiled its ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.hollywoodreporter.com |
World NewsGreek reforms include undercover tax inspectors
World NewsGreek reforms include undercover tax inspectors ... Athens says will be called a "Contract for Recovery and Growth of the Greek Economy.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |
Green party committed to free social care for over-65s, Natalie Bennett tells conference: Politics Live blog
Rolling coverage of the Green party’s spring conference in Liverpool, including Natalie Bennett’s party leader speech 4.18pm GMT Caroline Lucas wraps up the session with a quote: “We are the people that we are waiting for,” she says. 4.18pm GMT Q: Does the Green party need tighter links with other Green parties in the world?Molly Scott Cato says there is a green links organisation already encouraging these connections. 3.56pm GMT Q: [To Kostas Loukeris, a senior member of the Greek Green party] What can we in the UK do to help you? And how can we avoid the rise of fascism, given what has happened with Golden Dawn in Greece?Kostas Loukeris is speaking from Greece by Skype. 3.44pm GMT The panel discussion on Syriza is underway. I’ve missed the opening statements, but we’re on to the Q&A now.Caroline Lucas starts by inviting a contribution from a UK representative of Podemos, the leftwing anti-austerity in Spain which has been attacting huge support since it launched last year. 3.40pm GMT Here’s one Green member explaining why Natalie Bennett is so popular.There's a lot of love for @natalieben at #gpconf. Standing ovation for walking in! We know she was pivotal in creating the #greensurge 3.38pm GMT James Dennison, a political scientist, has posted this graph on Twitter.It suggests that, for Green supporters, having coherent policies matters less than it does for the supporters of most other parties.A good #gpconf is a policy-light #gpconf. GP voters just want a vision of society (thx to @philipjcowley) pic.twitter.com/1UNd5tFPsM 3.29pm GMT ComRes has published the findings of a poll it has carried out for ITV looking at public perceptions of the Greens, the Lib Dems and Ukip.On the plus side, the Greens are seen as the most idealistic and most honest of those three parties. 3.09pm GMT Well, the members who are here certainly like Natalie Bennett. It was not exactly a speech that achieved “an explosion of excitement without raising unrealistic expectations” (see 9.16am), and at times it was rambling and unfocused, but Bennett did seem to get a genuinely enthusiastic reception. Perhaps there’s an element of showing solidarity with someone who’s had a tough time in the media recently (the sympathy clap), but there does seem to be an authentic buzz here too; people keep talking about how much larger this is than previous Green party conferences. Bennett had some good lines about the Greens being the agents of change, or a potential “peaceful political revolution”, but what was most interesting was her policy announcement on social care. Green support comes disproportionately from the young, but today Bennett announced a policy likely to appeal most to the middle aged and the elderly. Put simply, the Greens are going after the Telegraph vote. I’m not sure how well this will work, but it is an interesting act of re-positioning.Here are the main lines from the speech.Free healthcare is the very cornerstone of our NHS. Whether you are rich or poor you have the right to the best that is available.That’s something the Green party will restore – and extend. For that same principle should apply to social care – the support and services that you need to lead a fulfilling life should be available when you need it, free at the point of use. 2.45pm GMT Bennett says some people want business as usual politics to continue. They will vote for the politics of yesterday.But if we all vote Green, we can change Britain for good. 2.43pm GMT Bennett it is impossible to overstate the importance of people who can vote making their voice heard.The deadline for voter registration is 20 April. But don’t wait, she says; register today. 2.42pm GMT Bennett says the manifesto will include free social care as a core pledge.Social care is not a privilege; it is a right. 2.41pm GMT Bennett says the same principle that applies to health care should apply to social care. It should be free at the point of use.We believe that to be a decent, humane, caring society, social care must be free. 2.40pm GMT Bennett says she is glad the Greens are working on an NHS reinstatement bill to remove the market mechanism from the NHS. 2.39pm GMT Bennett says the ideology of Thatcher and her successor, Blair, Brown and Cameron, has failed.The market is short-sighted and short-term. it is blind, it is senseless. It works for the 1%; it fails the rest of us.‘All in it together’? I don’t think so. 2.36pm GMT Bennett says things cannot carry on as they are.Since 2000 food prices have risen 22%. But wages have fallen 7%.But individual charity is no substitute for collective justice. 2.34pm GMT Bennett says Caroline Lucas “put her freedom on the line” to oppose fracking.She shows “passion, sensitivity and courage”. 2.32pm GMT Bennett says the Greens approach the election as a central player in British politics.But it isn’t just the Green party. Campaigns for a new politics are getting stronger. Look at the people’s assemblies, the Occupy movement, anti-fracking campaigns and fossil fuel divestment campaigns.At last the people are fighting back. 2.31pm GMT Bennett says the green surge is much more than a hashtag, although it is a very successful hashtag.She has seen the party expand all over the country. And the Greens got their first MEP in the south west, Molly Scott Cato. 2.30pm GMT Bennett says no one should be living in fear of not being able to feed their families, in fear of debt, worried about fracking drilling into their communities or at risk of being driven to destitution by Iain Duncan Smith.That is the failed politics. The Green party is offering a politics that works for the many. 2.28pm GMT Bennett says she is addressing her comments to the country. 90% of people will have the chance to vote for a Green candidate. For some people, it will be their first chance to vote Green.In 9 weeks time you will have in your hands something miraculous. The possibility of a peaceful political revolution. 2.25pm GMT Bennett says this has been a momentous year for the party. It has taken its place at the forefront of British politics.Nearly 300,000 people helped to ensure the Greens were included in the debates. 2.23pm GMT Natalie Bennett is taking the stage now. She is getting another standing ovation.(I can’t tell whether this always happens, or whether this is partly a show of support in the wake of that interview.) 2.22pm GMT Lucas says that, even with just one seat, the Greens have been able to shape the agenda on issues like fracking and renationalising the railways. And it will be the Greens who champion the NHS reinstatement bill. This would not just repeal the Health and Social Care Act; it would turn back 25 years of Labour and Conservative marketisation. 2.20pm GMT Lucas turns to the election.This time, the Greens are fighting “from a position of strength”.Labour want to end our presence in parliament because, deep down, they are ashamed at how they have abandoned their principles. 2.16pm GMT Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, is speaking now.She says this is the fourth venue the party has used for a conference in Liverpool. Each one was bigger than the last. If all party members attend, even Anfield would not be big enough. 2.11pm GMT Dobson says people are working around the clock to get the first Green MP elected in Liverpool.Vivienne Westwood is coming to the city to do a campaign event, he says. Some 1,000 people have signed up to see her. 2.10pm GMT Dobson says Liverpool has had the second worst cuts of any council in the UK. Every person in the city has lost £252 in services. Yet Labour have voted with the government to back another £30bn in cuts, he says.That’s a reference to Labour voting for the coalition’s charter for budget responsibility. 2.08pm GMT Martin Dobson says the Green party are the official opposition to Labour on Liverpool council. He welcomes members to the city.(Joe Anderson, the Labour mayor of Liverpool, has also welcomed Green party members to Merseyside, with an open letter identifying what he describes as some of the party’s most “eye-catching” policies.) 2.05pm GMT Martin Dobson, the Green candidate for Liverpool Riverside, has just taken the podium. And Natalie Bennett and Caroline Lucas have come in too, to sit on the platform. They get prolonged applause, which eventually becomes a standing ovation. 2.03pm GMT I’m in the main hall of the conference centre now waiting for Natalie Bennett’s speech to start.It’s reasonably full, but they’re not turning anyone away yet.Green Party conference - view from the Guardian's seat pic.twitter.com/o7sBu3Xy2i#gpconf pic.twitter.com/75pehxUb7l 1.37pm GMT Here’s the view from the balcony outside the room where we had the briefing. The Green party flag is flying over the Mersey.Green Party flags flying outside #gpconf in Liverpool pic.twitter.com/gDlPlY3jx1 1.33pm GMT I’m back from the press briefing. A press officer was doing it and he began by telling us that the conference “is not really for journalists”, which wasn’t auspicious. What he meant was that it’s for members to make policy. Any member can turn up and vote on policy (unlike, for example, in the Labour party, where local parties are allocated a certain number of delegates). The conference won’t actually approve the manifesto, but the policies agreed will feed into the manifesto, which is being drawn up by a separate party committee and which will be published at the end of March.The spokesman also wanted to take issue with the idea that existing Green policy would ban almost all cars. (See 12.25pm.) That’s not the case, he said. An activist just included that line in his motion to ensure it got attention, he claimed. 12.55pm GMT And here’s a shot from the bookstall.The Greens appear to be big fans of Owen Jones (and maybe Russell Brand?) #gpconf #GreenPartyConf pic.twitter.com/A4TPClD9dd 12.52pm GMT You certainly don’t get this at other party conferences.From the Green Party conference guide: the most Green Party thing ever pic.twitter.com/1IS4DARscN 12.50pm GMT I’ve just had an email from Labour highlighting these figures, showing that the Greens fell from second place to third place in a council byelection last night in St Pancras & Somers Town in Camden, the war ward where Natalie Bennett lives.It's the first day of the Green Party conference today. Here's what happened in Natalie Bennett's ward last night. pic.twitter.com/IejuLtFhwH 12.25pm GMT The Greens describe their conference as the “supreme decision-making body” for the party and the agenda, setting out the motions and amendments that are going to be discussed over the next four days, runs to 86 pages.The party says it has three key campaign themes for the election.Our current transport policy has a line that would ban almost all currently roadworthy cars. As this would probably prove unattractive with the electorate, this motion replaces it with text that is more in line with the intentions of the policy [which is got manufacturers to limit the speed of cars]. 11.47am GMT Natalie Bennett has arrived.Bennett insists she's been practicing her speech #gpconf https://t.co/iogbU556lN 11.36am GMT Last year, as the Ukip surge was taking off, YouGov published some research looking at the composition of people supporting the Greens now.Around half of Green supporters voted Lib Dem in 2010. 11.21am GMT If you’re a detailed account of how the Green party emerged in recent years from obscurity to become semi-mainstream, this article by Adam Ramsay for Bright Green, The history of a political surge, is excellent. He looks at the internal, party, factors that have made a difference, as well as the external ones, and he argues that Natalie Bennett’s influence has been important. And choosing to have a leader in the first place was key too, he says.All of this leads us back to another vital date: November 30 2007. Because the very existence of a leader made much of this change easier. The post was only created in the party after a referendum among the membership, whose result was declared that day. The change didn’t only allow for one new role in the party: it signalled a new seriousness.Perhaps most importantly, in hindsight, it let the party finally move on from the “realo/fundi” (realist/fundamentalist) debates which had plagued Greens across Europe in the Nineties, and to focus instead on questions relevant to, well, anyone apart from the hacks. Closure on the issue also meant that two powerful groups in the party and their fellow travellers: Young Greens (who tended to be on the left, but pro-leader ‘realos’) and Green Left (who were very much anti-leader ‘fundies’), were able to move beyond these disagreements on internal structures, and push through the various changes I’ve listed above. 10.57am GMT Here’s a gem from the conference agenda.It's a shame this Green Party trainiing (sic) is on Sunday instead of before Natalie's big speech today pic.twitter.com/Q692xLXbMo 10.55am GMT Someone once claimed that the most scary words that a politician can hear are: “Michael Crick is in the lobby to see you.”. But it’s good to see that he is welcome up here.Just came out of the toilets and saw @MichaelLCrick. We're not in Kansas anymore...! #gpconf 10.48am GMT Another sign of the Greens emergence as a more prominent party is that journalists are starting to write about personality splits within it. This does not happen with more minor parties, because reporters tend not to know who any of the personalities are.Earlier this week Anoosh Chakelian wrote a lengthy piece for the New Statesman, under the headline “the Granola Pact”, about the relationship between Natalie Bennett, the leader, and her predecessor., Caroline Lucas. Chakelian’s conclusion was that, although there are tensions between the two women, they are not too serious. The splits for now are only shallow, and the Greens’ startling last-minute success in terms of polling and membership figures remains the bigger story. Bennett is likely to hold on to the leadership, and Lucas is just as likely to remain professional and supportive, as well as a popular MP. However, signs of infighting are not necessarily a bad thing. Blair and Brown’s civil war raged throughout Labour’s most successful period in modern times, after all. Just as press scrutiny of Green policies means they’re finally being taken seriously, internal spats means they’re finally growing up as a party. As one party official quipped on the day of Bennett’s LBC interview: “So we’re getting a pasting. Welcome to the club.”A minority argue that the cynical public would warm to a fallible, unpolished leader.For many members, however, it was a decisive exchange. It was preceded with an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil in which Ms Bennett had struggled to explain how the proposed wealth taxes would work. Later, she told BBC Radio 4 that concessions should be granted to Vladimir Putin. 10.24am GMT And, while we’re on the subject of polling, here’s today’s Guardian seat projection.Conservatives: 276 10.14am GMT Here is a YouGov chart illustrating how support for the Greens has risen over the last year or so. It shows party support from October 2013. 10.02am GMT I’m in the press room at the ACC conference centre in Liverpool, and it’s clear the Greens have hit the big time; Michael Crick from Channel 4 News is here.There aren’t many other people about. The conference does not get going properly until lunchtime.With the rise of the SNP, and with our own Green surge, we have the chance to forge a new grouping in parliament. A progressive alliance.Of course, in Scotland and in Wales we’ll be fighting hard for our distinctive values and policies. Just as we do against those individual Labour and even Lib Dem candidates with whom we have something in common. 9.16am GMT In her new book, Honourable Friends? - Parliament and the Fight for Change, Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP, writes about how hard it has been for small parties like hers to make progress in British politics.Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats could agree on one thing at least: they wanted to leave no space for alternative voices. Indeed, if politics were a business – and I sometimes wonder if that is so far-fetched an idea – it would be a prime case for a referral to the Competition and Markets Authority for monopolistic collusion in excluding new entrants to the market.In her opening speech to her party’s conference this weekend, [Bennett] needs to inspire an explosion of excitement without raising unrealistic expectations. She has to encourage a flourishing of activity yet gather a focussing of energy. She must give journalists one hell of a headline while speaking to the manifold concerns which have attracted almost one in a thousand adults in the UK to become a signed up Green Party member in the past year. And she will have to do all of that only 240 short hours after her “day from hell”. Continue reading...
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Greek drama as Tsipras struggles to meet IMF loan repayments
Greece made its first €310m (£223.6m) payment to the International Monetary Fund, but will struggle to make the €1.5bn of repayments to the fund over the next two weeks. Three other instalments are due on March 13, 16 and 20, as part of the agreed ...
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Greek Government Acts to Reinstate Public Broadcaster
ATHENS—Greece’s newly elected government is expected to submit to parliament on Monday legislation to reopen the country’s defunct national broadcaster whose abrupt closure almost two years ago had become a flash point in Greece’s long austerity ...
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Europe holds 'rope around Greece's neck'
… 's perceived hostility to Greece's woes, Mr Tsipras … week to "discuss how Greece will utilise European funds to … insolvency woes. Mr Stournaras insisted Greek banks are "sufficiently capitalised …
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Europe holds 'noose around Greek necks' says PM Alexis Tsipras
… 's perceived hostility to Greece's woes, Mr Tsipras … week to "discuss how Greece will utilise European funds to … insolvency woes. Mr Stournaras insisted Greek banks are "sufficiently capitalised …
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£1m Greek property scam man jailed
… to invest in a bogus Greek property scheme has been jailed … firm on the island of Crete. Christie had promised the Thompsons … were planning semi-retirement on the Greek island, a 25% return on …
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Greek PM hits out at ECB over cash squeeze
… " over Greek finances unless the ECB backs down. Greece kt/cam … , 2015 Angelos Tzortzinis, AFP/File Greece's new anti-austerity government … this end," Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras told reporters …
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Greece’s best ‘secret’ beaches (Photos)
Summer is only a few months away and finding the best hidden beaches in Greece can be challenging for a first time visitor.
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PM Tsipras to Der Spiegel: ‘ECB has noose round our neck’
The Greek Prime Minister mentioned in his interview that he all his cabinet ministers, including feisty FinMin Yanis Varoufakis, for “fewer words and more deeds.”
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Greece says updated reforms list a first step for agreement in April
Greece struck a deal with the euro zone last month to extend its financial lifeline by four months. It has promised to specify its pledged reforms and ...
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Turkish F-16 flies over Greek isle during DM’s visit
The Turkish aircraft was part of a formation that entered the Athens FIR at 11.13
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