How the world sees Greece
Rhodes, October 9, 2015/ Independent Balkan News Agency By Spiros Sideris The proceedings of the 13th World Public Forum in Rhodes “Dialogue of Civilizations” began with the intervention of deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Amanatidis. The Greek deputy Minister stressed the need for a new social agreement that will regulate relations between citizens. Specifically, Mr. Amanatidis […]
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Greece's government, obeying international lenders, will confiscate from 50 to 100 percent of pension benefits for tax debts. The post Greece Will Seize Pensions for Taxes appeared first on The National Herald.
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The Economist recently reported that Tsipras had spent the summer at a shipping magnate's villa and enrolled his son in one of GREECE'S most ...
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Cash-strapped GREECE loses up to 20 billion euros a year to tax evasion and smuggling, and more than a million people and businesses are under ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Last week the GREEK startup Taxibeat organized a city-wide campaign in Athens to gather clothing and other items that the non-profit MetaAction would ...
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GREEK Ambassadrice Eva (Eyvah) T Dafaranos has curated an art exhibition focusing on Lemnos and the GREEK perspective on world War II as part of ...
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New GREEK restaurant Melina is readying to launch in the former home of Cafe Bravo, a 19-year-old sandwich and salad shop at 11 Hanover St. that ...
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It's just a major bummer, as Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson pointed out Thursday night, to make those errors in front of a sold-out crowd at the GREEK ...
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“We think the GREEK debt has become highly unsustainable,” Thomsen told a news conference on the sidelines of an IMF meeting in Lima on Friday.
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The GREEK Salad with chicken and wheat pita at Mika's GREEK restaurant in Tempe on September 10, 2015. Michael Schennum / The Republic.
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Over the past week, 7,000 refugees and migrants have arrived on the Greek islands every day. Refugees and migrants arrive on an overcrowded ...
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After years of recession, GREECE'S economy started growing again by 0.8 ... But GREECE could quickly return to growth if the government ensures ...
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* FTSE 100 records biggest weekly rise in four years * European shares head for best week since January * UK construction output slumps, points to lower GDP growth * Sports Direct CEO charged over USC administration * UK government cuts Lloyds stake below 11% 6.11pm BST With the US Federal Reserve minutes released on Thursday adding fuel to the suggestion the central bank will not raise rates this year, markets have moved higher once more. Commodity companies again led the way as metal prices climbed on the back of Glencore’s decision to cut zinc production. Oil remained close to recent highs despite edging lower on the day. So the final scores showed: 5.56pm BST GREECE’S DEBT HAS BECOME UNSUSTAINABLE AND THE COUNTRY NEEDS DEBT RELIEF, according to the International Monetary Fund. Reuters REPORTS: Greece cannot deal with its public debt through reforms alone and needs a significant extension of grace periods and longer maturities from its European creditors, the head of the IMF’s European department said. The European Commission has forecast in May that Greek debt would reach more than 180% of its gross domestic product this year and euro zone governments, the main creditors of Greece, have promised to start debt relief talks later this year, once Athens implements agreed reforms. Continue reading...
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Chancellor tells IMF meeting that Britain is not immune from rising global economic risks as he hails China’s ‘enormous’ contribution to growth Global economic risks are rising and Britain will not be immune, George Osborne has said in response to warnings from the International Monetary Fund over the potential for another crash. The chancellor said the Greek debt crisis remained a threat to the eurozone alongside the fallout from tumbling commodity prices and high debt levels in some countries. But he said concern about the slowdown in China should not be overdone, since it was still contributing solidly to global growth. Continue reading...
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Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs Nikos Xydakis met at the Foreign Ministry today with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ambassador to Greece, Behnam Behrouz.The meeting, which took place in a friendly climate, took place ahead of planned visits to Tehran by Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and, later, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Also discussed were ways to upgrade Greek-Iranian bilateral relations in areas such as energy, trade transactions and tourism, particularly following the recently established direct flights between the two countries’ capitals.
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… in Greece has already received scandalous dimensions. "Athens MOFA for Kathimerini … ; stated Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in front of the Greek parliament … Dora Bakoyannis. Prior to her post in Brussels, Papadopoulou was Greece…
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The Greek Men’s Soccer Team recorded a 12th straight game without a victory after losing 3-1 to Northern Ireland in Belfast on Thursday evening in the penultimate game of the 2016 EURO Qualifiers. This series of underperforming displays means the team will not participate in the 2016 EURO tournament in France this upcoming summer. Northern Ireland on
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The new book of author, director, and translator Bryan Doerries, entitled “The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today,” was published by Alfred A. Knopf on September 22, 2015, with the aim to initiate conversations about the visible and invisible wounds of war helping individuals and communities heal. Through his new powerful yet
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A town in Greece is being afforded a possible glimpse into the future: driverless buses. The pilot program, using French-built CityMobil2 busses, is being ...
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International Monetary Fund European Department head Poul Thomsen argued, during a global IMF conference in Lima, Peru on Friday, that Greece will need debt
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A first group of 19 asylum seekers was relocated from Italy to Sweden on Friday under under the European Union’s new emergency relocation scheme, the UN refugee agency said. The asylum seekers who had arrived in Sicily by boat over the last few weeks were registered in Lampedusa. They accepted to take part in the relocation scheme that will allow them to be relocated to other EU countries, the UNHCR said. The EU adopted last month the proposal of the European Commission to relocate 120 000 refugees over two years from Italy and Greece and other member states directly affected by the refugee crisis to other member states. The departure of the group from Italy officially starts the relocation of asylum seekers from the country. More departures will follow next week. More than 132,000 refugees and migrants have arrived to Italian shores, mainly in Sicily, since the start of the year.
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High Commissioner Guterres kicks off EU relocation program with departure of first group of asylum seekers from Italy to Sweden, prior to mission in Greece
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Steven Davis's unbelievable headed goal helped Northern Ireland beat GREECE 3-1 in Belfast and qualify for Euro 2016. The Southampton player ...
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"There must be massive support by the European Union for GREECE to be able to put in place this kind of capacity for the number of people that are ...
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A refugee sleeping on a bench wraps himself with a thermal blanket to shelter from the morning cold at the port of Mitylene on the northeast GREEK ...
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In the past week, International Organization for Migration (IOM) staff in the GREEK islands have recorded a sharp increase in the number of newly ...
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Though Tucson Meet Yourself features cultural performances throughout the celebration, the food is the most prominent presence. It's one thing to ...
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Greeks Gone West - Aliki Theofilopoulos _by HuffPost_Greece_ In the second episode of HuffPost Greece's 'Greek Gone West' video series, Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft talks about how her childhood love of cartoons eventually led her to a job at Disney. She is a director at Walt Disney Television Animation, and the storyboard artist, writer and lyricist of the animated series "Phineas and Ferb." She began her career on Disney movies such as Hercules and Mulan. This is her story. Watch the first episode here. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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Sweden has received the first refugees under an EU distribution scheme to ease capacity in Italy and Greece. Nineteen Eritreans arrived on Friday. DW takes a look.
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Northern Ireland football fans celebrated in Belfast's Shaftesbury Square following their team's victory over Greece which ensured qualification to the Euro 2016 finals. Hundreds of fans gathered outside pubs in the area to celebrate the 3-1 win.
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Greek government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili clarified in a new interview with “Sto Kokkino” FM radio station that the prior actions that the Greek parliament will vote on next week will be separated in various articles. “Each party will have the opportunity to talk and take a stance with regards to what it supports and what it does
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The latest on the shooting at Northern Arizona University (all times local): 8:30 a.m. Authorities have released the names of the victims in the overnight shooting at Northern Arizona University. The student who died was identified by the school as Colin Brough. The victims being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center are Nicholas Prato, Kyle Zientek and Nicholas Piring. Police say the shooting erupted in a confrontation between two student groups. The parking lot where the shooting happened is just outside Mountain View Hall dormitory on the Flagstaff campus, which provides housing for many of the campus' sororities and fraternities. ___ 7:30 a.m. Arizona political leaders say the city of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona University are in their thoughts and prayers after a campus shooting left one person dead and three others wounded. Gov. Doug Ducey said the incident, which officials say began as a fight between groups of students, was "heartbreaking" and that the state stands ready to help in the investigation and response. Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick lives in Flagstaff. She said her heart and those of other Flagstaff residents are hurting. But she expressed confidence that the city "will only grow stronger in difficult moments like these. " Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake also expressed sympathy for the victims, their families and the Flagstaff community. ___ 6:45 a.m. A fraternity says some of its members were involved in an early morning shooting involving Northern Arizona University students in Flagstaff. University officials said the shooting Friday in a parking lot left one person dead and three others wounded. The suspected shooter is in custody. Iowa City, Iowa-based Delta Chi Fraternity said Delta Chi members were involved, but Executive Director Justin Sherman said in the statement that the organization doesn't have detailed information about the identity of the victims. Sherman said it was an isolated incident and not fraternity related. The shooting occurred near a large residence hall that the university's website says is home for most students in the Greek system on campus. ___ 6:30 a.m. Police say the shooting at Northern Arizona University that killed one student and wounded three others began as a fight between two groups. University police chief Greg Fowler identified the suspect as 18-year-old Steven Jones. He is believed to be a freshman at the Flagstaff school. The shooting happened at 1:20 a.m. in a parking lot outside a dorm. The university called the shooting an "isolated and unprecedented" incident and said classes will go on as planned Friday. ___ 3:05 a.m. Officials say one person is dead and three others are wounded following an early morning shooting at Northern Arizona University School public relations director Cindy Brown says the suspected shooter is in custody. She says the first police call about the gunfire came in at 1:20 a.m. PDT Friday. The shooting occurred in a parking lot outside Mountainview Hall dormitory at the northeast side of the Flagstgaff campus. Brown says she doesn't know what caused the shooting and also didn't have any details about the suspect and victims, their conditions and whether they are students. No other details were immediately available.. Join the conversation about this story »
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ROME (AP) — Italy bid farewell Friday to 19 Eritreans — the first of an estimated 160,000 refugees to be resettled throughout Europe as part of a new EU redistribution program to move asylum-seekers out of hard-hit front-line countries. Bundled up in flannel shirts and jackets to prepare for their new lives in Sweden, the Eritreans smiled and waved as they climbed up the stairs to the Italian police plane that took off from Rome and landed in Lulea, just south of the Arctic Circle, seven hours later. Swedish officials now must register the refugees and begin processing their asylum requests. Sweden's immigration agency said the 14 men and five women, who ranged from 25 to 40 years old, were selected because they have a chance of being granted asylum and have family or other connections to Sweden. A significant number of the people making dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea are from Eritrea, an authoritarian country in northeast Africa. Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said over 100 more refugees from Italian centers would be resettled in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere in the coming weeks and that overall, 40,000 asylum-seekers would be moved out of Italy over the next two years. "Today is an important day for Europe and the European Union," Alfano said at an airport press conference. "Today is a day of victory: A victory for fundamental human principles, for those who believe in Europe and for those who believe that saving human lives isn't a value that contrasts with the values of welcome or security." Italy for years has demanded that other European nations shoulder more of the burden of the refugee crisis. Though most migrants prefer to pass through Italy en route to destinations further north, Alfano was keen to show off the first flight to quiet anti-immigrant critics at home. EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Luxembourg's foreign minister joined Alfano at the airport. Later in the day, they travelled to the tiny southern Italian island of Lampedusa, where the first "hotspot" to identify would-be asylum-seekers opened a few weeks ago. The hotspots are being set up in Italy and Greece, where most of the tens of thousands of people seeking new lives in Europe first land after often-dangerous boat trips from Libya and Turkey. Hotspots aim to establish whether people are fleeing conflict or violence and have the right to some form of protection. Once selected for resettlement, the asylum-seekers will go where they are told to go, not necessarily where they want, Avramopoulos said. "We must be very clear. They must obey," he said. Lulea, the main city in Swedish Lapland, couldn't be more different from the Eritreans' desert-covered homeland. Temperatures on Friday were 3 degrees C (37 F) but will dip to below freezing at night. Outside the city, reindeer, moose and bears roam in the wilderness. Speaking Friday in Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said the influx of migrants "was the greatest humanitarian effort in Swedish history." Sweden is estimated to have at least 20,000 Eritreans, according to Swedish media. ___ Olsen contributed from Copenhagen, Denmark. Join the conversation about this story »
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Angela Merkel is in serious trouble. That might sound like a surprise to many people. She's spent years as Europe's uncontested power broker, with a seemingly unassailable position in German politics — leading the centre-right Christian Democrats for 15 years, and leading her nation for 10. Recently, she's being praised around the world for her open-arms approach to the refugee crisis that's overwhelming Europe's flimsy central governance. Betting markets even had her as the favourite for the Nobel peace prize. But at home, Merkel is starting to struggle, and it looks like support for Germany's welcoming of hundreds of thousands of refugees may be wilting. At Deutsche Welle, the country's public broadcaster, editor Felix Steiner is calling it the "twilight of Merkel's chancellorship." For the first time since the beginning of her current term in office, her ratings have slipped below a figure from Germany's mainstream centre-left party, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He's a member of the governing coalition, in the position of foreign minister. That also puts her behind finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a member of her own party. It's perhaps not a coincidence that Steinmeier and Sigmar Gabriel, who led the social democrats into the 2013 election, are now cooling on Germany's refugee policy, saying that the country cannot integrate more than a million asylum seekers each year. Since September, the proportion of Germans who say they're worried about the number of refugees coming to Germany has leapt above 50%. Though the euro crisis years presented a tremendous economic challenge for the monetary union, Germany made recovery look easy, and Merkel's domination of German politics was even solidified. Strangely, though the crisis now seems to be over (or at least dormant), Merkel is facing a serious political struggle. It still seems that if an election was conducted today, Merkel would return victorious. In fact, her Christian Democrat party has demonstrated an astonishing domination of the country's politics — just take a look at the polls since the 2013 election. But it's less clear what will happen over the longer term. In August, the German government estimated that 800,000 refugees would arrive in the country. The United Nations says a million people seeking asylum will arrive in 2016. More seem to wish to travel to Germany than anywhere else in Europe. Germany is now cemented in the minds of people around the world as the most welcoming destination for refugees. Those that have already arrived may (entirely reasonably) want their families to follow on. Those who haven't already made the dangerous crossing to Europe would understandably want to go where their friends and neighbours have gone. If Merkel is now losing support for her decisions over migration, it is going to be difficult or impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Germany will demand that other European countries pull their weight, but the weak institutions that govern the EU have little power to compel countries to take refugees. A financial penalty of 0.002% of GDP has been suggested for countries refusing to take migrants. That would mean a country like Poland, with an economy over $1 trillion in size paying about $23 million — a statistical irrelevance. The situation also causes a fiscal headache for Germany. Nearly half a million refugees could be added to benefit rolls, according to labour minister Andrea Nahles. In the short-term, that could end the country's efforts to run a balanced budget, another popular policy. Optimistic suggestions that refugees will help to ease Germany's demographic squeeze are also unlikely to work in the short and medium-term. Even for those refugees arriving with the language skills to work in the country, the law will prohibit them from working until their asylum claims are processed. It is far less common in Syria for women to work, with female labour participation below 20% before the country's civil war began, as opposed to over 50% in Germany. A trickle of very small-scale but potentially very damaging stories have also started to circulate — like the handful of tenants in municipal housing being evicted to make room for refugees. None of this is any fault of the Syrians and others arriving across the Mediterranean, who were led to believe that they would be welcomed with open arms. Life in a prosperous European country with the opportunity of work (eventually) is infinitely preferable to life in Syria for millions of people, and the stagnant halfway-house of a Turkish or Jordanian refugee camp is also extremely uninviting. Merkel is not known for her radicalism, pursuing safety-first policies at almost every turn, and it seems like she did not expect the popular support for taking in refugees to evaporate so quickly. The situation is a strange reversal of Merkel's previous position. While she has been heavily criticised outside Germany for her handling of Greece's economic crisis, and is seen as the head cheerleader of the eurozone's austerity policies, those positions haven't dented her popularity at home. In fact, they're overwhelmingly popular. Now, the tables have turned, and a policy that's gaining her plaudits from around the world could end up seriously damaging her domestic strength. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here are some incredible things you didn’t know about Putin's life
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'Greek tax evasion, smuggling 'costs up to 20 bn euros a year'' on Yahoo Finance UK. Cash-strapped Greece loses up to 20 billion euros a year to tax evasion and ...
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File photo by AFP . ROME, Italy – Greece was hit by a huge new surge in migrants as the United Nations Friday, October 9, approved a European seize-and-destroy ...
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Rome (AFP) - Greece was hit by a huge new surge in migrants as the United Nations Friday approved a European seize-and-destroy military operation against people ...
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Panathinaikos, shaking a jinx, eliminated Olympiacos from the Greek Cup basketball tourney with a 70-64 win. The post Panathinaikos Busts Olympiacos, 70-64 appeared first on The National Herald.
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Mad GREEK, an authentic GREEK restaurant in Leeds, is one of the independent local takeaways in the running for a British Takeaway Award.
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Father George Gartelos, priest of the Holy Trinity GREEK Orthodox Church, stands near the 15- by 40-foot, wood-carved icon screen that was recently ...
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‘Our hearts are heavy’ school president says as 18-year-old student taken into custody after confrontation early Friday morning that escalated into shooting An early morning confrontation between two groups of Northern Arizona University students escalated into a shooting that left one student dead and three more injured, campus police said on Friday. An 18-year-old NAU student, identified as freshman Steven Jones, was taken into custody after allegedly killing one student and injuring three others outside of a Greek-life dormitory, NAU police chief Gregory T Fowler said during a press conference on Friday morning. Continue reading...
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It has been associated with death and negativity throughout history. But without black, you wouldn’t be reading this, fashion would lose its power to flatter – and there’s only one cat that’s lucky, isn’t there? Is black a colour? No, say scientists. In the visible spectrum, white reflects light and so is actually a presence of all colours. But black absorbs it, sucks it all in. True black is the absence of colour. Black is what happens when no light at all reaches your eye. Except, of course, that we almost never see pure black. Unless you happen to have the misfortune to be gazing into a black hole, everything you perceive as black has some light, however small, bouncing back at you. Throughout history, for many cultures and societies, black and white have stood as opposites: white the positive, pure light, black its negative counterpart. From the Greeks, who sat the god of the underworld, Hades, on a black ebony throne to the Romans – death, in Roman poetry, was the _hora nigra_, or the black hour – black was not a friendly colour. Continue reading...
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LIMA Oct 9 Greece cannot deal with its public debt through reforms alone and needs a significant extension of grace periods and longer maturities from its ...
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High Commissioner António Guterres is scheduled to begin a two and a half-day mission to GREECE tomorrow (Saturday) aimed at assessing the ...
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Tsipras's coalition with Independent Greeks is akin to Bernie Sanders forming a government with Sarah Palin. It should be obvious how this is going to end. Tsipras's refusal to coalesce with the moderate parties is troubling. And now for the bad news ... the total market capitalization for the four systemic banks is approximately €4.0 billion. The banks have lost 25% of their value since our last update (September 21, 2015). The total equity of the banking system, including the four systemic banks is approximately €29 billion. Of this €29 billion, €13 billion is deferred taxes. As of now the European Central Bank has not challenged this asset. However, the bottom line is that there is €16 billion in tangible equity. As a footnote, the banks will not be able to recognize additional deferred tax assets after July 1, 2015. Non-performing loans are €82 billion according to the Bank of Greece. The total loans are €205 billion. Based on anecdotal information (reviewing performing loans of a number of Greek businesses), we would not be surprised to see 15% of the €123 billion of performing loans move to non-performing. This is against a backdrop of the hedge funds (who own massive amounts of bank stocks) claiming that the banks do not need as much new capital as the European Central Bank has stated; as much as €25 billion. The math tells an even bleaker story. €29 billion (the equity of the banking system) - €90 billion (assumes a 10% recovery of the estimated €100 billion of non-performing loans) + €41 billion (reserves for NPL's) = -€20 billion. The banking system needs a minimum of €16 billion in equity to meet minimum capital requirements. The total amount needed in a capital infusion is therefore €36 billion (€20 + €16 billion) (and if the deferred taxes do not count as capital, the number is €49 billion). The €49 billion (or €36 billion) needs to come from the European Central Bank, investors, haircutting deposits (there are €151 billion of deposits in the banks), wiping out the bondholders (€3 billion) or selling the NPL's for more than a 10% recovery. Of course, Greece may adopt their favorite strategy ... extend and pretend, instead of dealing with the issue. No matter how you slice the numbers, they are ugly. The four systemic banks should report second quarter earnings any day. Rumors are the banks will report an additional €8 billion in reserves for non-performing loans (to take advantage of the last chance to add to deferred tax assets, as mentioned above). The net hit to equity will be €5.5 billion. Certainly the math calculations in the previous paragraph will not improve. The breakdown of non-performing loans is 30% in home mortgages, 17% in consumer loans, 10% in small businesses and 43% in corporates. For the most part all of the collateral for the loans is real estate. Greece now must pass over 48 separate laws/prerequisites by next Thursday (the 15th) to receive the next tranche of financing from the EU. These laws deal with, among other things, reducing pensions, taxing farmers and allowing for the foreclosure on real estate (principally primary residences). The last of the issues could result in another drop in real estate prices. One theory is that Greece will pass the 48 laws/prerequisites, but will not allow the 48 to take effect. One example would be to allow for foreclosure on primary residences, but not allow for the servicing of loans by anyone but a Greek bank, thereby making it difficult to buy mortgage loans. The point being that this settlement with the EU is in doubt. The situation in Greece is approaching a nuclear meltdown. The economy is in a death spiral. It is hard to imagine how Greece can avoid a haircut for depositors. One has to wonder: what is Tsipras's strategy? Is he prepared to allow foreclosures in order to satisfy the rights of a lender? How long can capital controls remain in effect? Or does he want the Europeans to throw Greece out of the EU? No one believes the last point, but if this is not the case, then why not simply capitulate to the agreement. To quote Alfred from The Dark Knight, "Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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“Mr. Speaker,Ladies and Gentlemen MPs,Subsequent to the government’s policy statements, I will present to you our positions and planning with regard to our policy within the framework of Europe.Greece is pursuing proactive participation in and contribution to the shaping of the European Union, strengthening the institutions of solidarity, cooperation, transparency and democracy. The ongoing economic and financial crisis, in combination with the flare-up of the refugee/migration issue, are calling into question the fundamental European values and are testing the cohesion of European societies.Euroscepticism, or even Europhobia, awakening nationalism, as well as the growing strength of extremist political forces, are worrying...
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Over the last few days people have been trying to figure out which Greek island will be turned into the Davos of Greece. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas announced that he was planning on creating a summer tourist destination that would resemble the Swiss city. Davos is in the Swiss Alps, within the canton of
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A hidden deficit of 8 billion euros is threatening to blow Greece’s social security funds as more than 300,000 retirees have their pension applications pending. Furthermore, the deficit may throw off the 2016 state budget, as the total expenditure for new pensioners in 2016 is estimated at 4 billion euros. The waiting period for issuing
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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on Thursday elected new president, Greece’s trade unionist George Dassis. The EESC, which acts as a bridge between the European Union and civil society, elected with an overwhelming majority their new president, who represents the workers’ group, a New Europe report said. Dassis will head the institutions with
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Greece’s tourism sector has become a poll of attraction for foreign investors as half of foreign investments in 2014 were made in tourism and real estate, according to Enterprise Greece member, Constantinos Angelopoulos. Greece retains its comparative advantage and its strategical position, despite the crisis. In regards to the type of investments being made, he
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