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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

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

House price drop second to worst in the world

GREECE has the unenviable distinction of having the second to worst performing residential property market in the world this year, according to data up ...


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Former minister Michaelides released in Greece

… on health grounds from a Greek jail on Wednesday evening. He … . He is banned to leave Greece until a final judgment in … terms of his release. A Greek court sentenced Michaelides kai his … Russian TOR-M1 anti-aircraft missiles by Greece during the term of Akis …


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The Persian Threat

... King Xerxes was reviewing his vast land and sea forces, mustered at the Dardanelles strait for his great invasion of Greece.


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Montana Pol Visits Greece, Urges Refugee Support

MISSOULA, MT –Monstana State Senator Christine Kauffmann (D-Helena) was deeply moved by her  recent visit a refugee camp in Greece and appealed to her fellow Montanans to welcome Syrian refugees, citing her own experience. “A week before the Paris attacks, I was on the Greek Island of Lesbos, volunteering alongside young people from across Europe, […] The post Montana Pol Visits Greece, Urges Refugee Support appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greece football squad lines up friendlies with Montenegro ...

Greece will face Montenegro on March 24 and Iceland five days later in friendly home contests announced Wednesday by the country's football federation.


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GREECE lines up friendlies with Montenegro, Iceland

GREECE will face Montenegro on March 24 and Iceland five days later in friendly home contests announced Wednesday by the country's football ...


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Technological Institutions Upgraded to Universities of Applied Sciences

Deputy Minister of Education Sia Anagnostopoulou stated that the Greek government has proposed an upgrade to Technological Institutions being renamed and restructured as Universities of Applied Sciences. “We are one of the few countries that haven’t acknowledged the value of technological education” she highlighted. She stressed that the intention is that the Technological Institutions can


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Bank of Greece Sees Significant Reduction in Deposits this November

A significant reduction was noticed in business and household deposits in November. According to data from the Bank of Greece, the total deposits fell to 120.9 billion euros from 121.1 billion euros in October. According to Reuters these are the lowest figures since May of 2003. In general, from December of 2014 until July 2015 deposits


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Life as a Pakistani Student in Europe Isn't the Same as It Used to Be in My Time

As I reflect on the events of this past year and my recent journey studying Islam across Europe, a continent I had come to decades before as a young Pakistani student, I cannot help but think of the dramatic changes in the perception and position of young Muslims in the West. Muslim students today, irrespective of their ethnic, national and political backgrounds, tend to be seen as a monolith. Incidents of violence involving Muslims in one part of the world immediately impact Muslims elsewhere through the instant processes of global media. Reports of mosques and women in hijab being attacked and students being bullied at school further create worries for Muslims. In addition, reports of savage violence conducted by groups like the so-called Islamic State seem to support the stereotype in the minds of many that Islam promotes violence and young Muslims need to be watched. Disgusting stories of "grooming" in which Muslim men are accused of corrupting young, often underage girls through drugs and drinks and worrying ones of Muslim schools as part of a "Trojan horse" strategy circulate widely and further defame Muslims. In the media, the words "terrorist" and "extremist" are associated with Muslims and put the young further on the defensive. That so many Muslim students continue to pursue their studies with diligence in spite of these conditions and even make their mark is a tribute to their character. I am struck by how different Europe was in my student days in the 1960s. Looking through some old and fading pictures, of no particular significance except to me as a reminder of happier times, I am able to make some comparisons of Muslim life then and now. I see the contrast in the pictorial evidence from those days. I present four of my photographs picked almost at random and taken in different locations in Europe. Looking at them, I think to myself how different most Europeans would find the appearance and looks of a Pakistani student today. The media stereotype makes us believe that a Muslim student would have a beard, a skull cap and wear a loose shirt and baggy trousers while planning to blow things up in his quest for the mythical 72 virgins waiting for him in heaven. The first photograph is taken in Greece at a port as my English fellow students and I prepared to visit one of the Greek islands. It was my first visit to Greece, and I was already in love with Greek culture introduced to me through literature -- from Tennyson's "Ulysses" to Byron's "The Isles of Greece." In my meager travel bag I had Lawrence Durrell's novels from "The Alexandria Quartet." The novels, which explored the theme of love, were set just prior to and during World War II in Alexandria, Egypt, and presented different perspectives on the same events as seen by different characters. I devoured the novels with my friends that summer on a Greek island, a feat made sweet by the knowledge that Lawrence and his younger brother Gerald, also a famous author, lived on and were inspired by these very islands. The references of Durrell to big scientific names and use of difficult words only confirmed to us, if to no one else, that we were ready for adult themes and esoteric literature that at the same time was erotic. My trip to Greece was part of a dare when I impulsively accepted a challenge to hitchhike with a group of English friends from my university in Birmingham to Athens with a limited budget. For me, barely 20 years old, it was an adventure, as I had not done anything like this before. It was still possible then to hitchhike long distances before the dangers of doing so were graphically illustrated in so many popular films like "Duel" (1971) and "The Hitcher" (1986) in which there were good chances that you ended up being chopped into little bits by some psychopathic killer. It was a hard few weeks on the road -- we slept rough, ate little more than baguettes and cheese and depended heavily on the hospitality of strangers -- but it gave me insights into European society. Shortly after this photograph was taken my Greek friend from the university came to see me at the youth hostel where I was staying with my English university friends and asked me to step outside. He was visibly angry with me. He reminded me of my social background and asked what my parents would say if they saw me living in these conditions like these "dirty" English. After weeks on the road we did look scruffy and run-down, but his choice of adjective interested me. He was reflecting a historic suspicion and dislike of the English that some Europeans harbored; in that part of Europe both the Turks and Greeks, who dislike each other to this day, blamed the English for their national woes. He ignored my explanations of having accepted the challenge of hitchhiking and winning the bet as a badge of honor. He insisted on taking me home and his family, especially his mother and sisters, showed me Greek hospitality at its best. I must confess that I had missed warm home-cooked meals and specially clean clothes to wear and clean sheets to sleep in, and I was profoundly grateful to my hosts. > My experience in the 1960s could not have differed more from the > situation facing Pakistanis -- and others seeking refuge -- in > Greece today. My experience in the 1960s could not have differed more from the situation facing Pakistanis -- and others seeking refuge -- in Greece today. On recent visits to Greece in connection with my study on Islam in Europe, "Journey Into Europe," I met and saw the plight of the refugees and immigrants. They lived in fear of their lives as newly formed groups like the Golden Dawn party terrorized them. Some said that they had been physically beaten while bystanders looked on. The worst, they complained, were the police who saw them all as illegal and therefore a legitimate target for physical abuse. They were derisively called "Paki," whatever their nationalities, as a racial slur. The word ironically derives from "pure" and is a term of pride for Pakistanis. As a term of derision, it did not exist in my time. The problem of the refugees was one crisis among many facing Greece. The problems of high unemployment figures, the economic crisis and political uncertainty lay heavy on the land. In spite of this, however, there are heroic stories of ordinary Greek landlords giving shelter to the desperate refugees and coast guard officials saving their lives on the Greek islands. The sense of Greek hospitality and humanism that I experienced as a student does survive. The second picture is taken alongside the famous Little Mermaid of Copenhagen when a Muslim student could pose with the famous symbol of the city without fear of being accused of wanting to destroy it. I point to this picture to show that I was like other students visiting famous local iconic figures and places. Today, unfortunately, Muslims -- however much they may condemn the actions -- are associated in the media with blowing up antiquities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The beautiful mermaid has been defaced and even "beheaded" by different anarchists and student pranksters, but no Muslim group has launched a campaign demanding that her modesty needs to be protected and she be clothed in a niqab. The third picture is in Cambridge with the iconic King's College in the background. I was at Selwyn College and had to cross King's to get to town. My Pakistani friends and I would often run into Ian Stephens, the famous former editor of _The Statesman_ in India and author of several books on Pakistan, as we crossed the college. I can still hear his loud greeting as he spotted us and picture his blue eyes and ruddy face lighting up -- "Pakistanis! My day is made!" While Pakistani students can take pride in the fact that their community has contributed significantly to their host country -- there are over a dozen members in the Houses of Commons and Lords, mainstream television presenters and even a former cricket captain with Pakistani backgrounds -- there is no denying that the very word "Paki" is used as racial abuse. The irony is that it is now widely used even for those not of Pakistani origin such as people from India or the Middle East. Finally, the fourth picture is taken in the English public school Sherborne in Dorset. Sherborne has produced some famous names like the actor Jeremy Irons and the mathematician Alan Turing, who was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" (2014). The school provided the background for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969), with Peter O'Toole in the lead role. In the Sherborne photograph I am standing alongside a group of my senior A-level students, who were not much younger than me. The boys are smartly turned out with ties, jackets and hats called boaters. I was sent to the school to teach English for a term as part of my diploma in Education at Cambridge University. My arrival in the small town was unusual enough to merit a small mention in the local newspaper pointing out the curious fact that a Pakistani would be teaching English at Sherborne. As part of my examination I had to do a "practical," which meant an external examiner would sit in my class at the end of term and observe my teaching and my interactions with the students. To their credit, the boys, who held my fate in their hands, behaved impeccably. I was aware of how easily they could have jeopardized my degree. The examiner's report mentioned how well the boys had responded to my class and noted their enthusiasm. In the end, I was awarded a "distinction" by the university both in my written and practical examinations. When these photographs were taken, Europe was beginning to become conscious of being an economic and political entity. The highways and hotels that would link different points of the continent were just being constructed. In certain parts, like the southern areas of Spain and Italy, there were few blacktop roads and those that existed were narrow and in disrepair while railway services were erratic. It was the time of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and Pakistan was firmly in the camp of the former. Pakistan was a key ally with vast geopolitical span as its borders touched Iran at one end and Burma at the other. Its president had received an unprecedented welcome in the United States with President John Kennedy hosting his guest in the home of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Harvard and World Bank economists spoke of Pakistan as being at the "take-off" stage of economic development. South Korean economists came to Pakistan to study its methods. > When people discovered I was from Pakistan they were mildly curious > about it as many thought it was part of India, but I did not > experience any overt hostility because of Islam. Most important, there was no overt hostility to Islam in the West. The media barely recognized the existence of the religion and certainly did not equate it to terrorism. When people discovered I was from Pakistan they were mildly curious about it as many thought it was part of India, but I did not experience any overt hostility because of Islam. Over the decades, change in attitudes towards Muslims began to take place from the Iranian hostage crisis onward and then built up rapidly with global events such as the fatwa against Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" (1988), Samuel Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations" (1993) and finally the events of 9/11 in which nearly 3,000 American lost their lives at the hand of Muslim terrorists. The media have also been slowly but steadily building up a drumbeat of antagonism and suspicion toward Muslims. Pakistani militants have not been out of the news since then: they have been involved in, to give only the more notorious examples, the 2005 bombings in Central London, in which some 50 people were killed and more than 700 injured, the 2014 massacre of 148 in the Army Public School in Peshawar, of which most were schoolchildren and the December 2015 massacre of 14 Americans in San Bernardino, Calif. I wonder if Ian Stephens were alive today in the U.K. and came across young Pakistanis heading his way, whether he would pause for a moment, turn around, and head the other way or greet them. Such is the distance we have travelled over the last half century. _EARLIER ON WORLDPOST:_ -- 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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Home GREEK news Immigration Refugee Crisis in Athens Getting Out of Control; Refugees ...

According to the GREEK Meteorological Service, Wednesday night will be particularly cold, since the temperature is expected to drop 12 degrees.


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Gucci 'Dressed' the Ancient GREEK Sculptures of the Parthenon

The company made a joke of the GREEK people's struggle for the return of the Parthenon marbles, which was made to look as an insignificant detail, ...


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Review: Phoenicia in Redlands draws large crowds for a reason - delicious GREEK and Middle ...

Baklava, a GREEK dessert pastry made with flaky phyllo dough, honey and nuts at Phoenicia in Redlands. (TabethaWittenmyer/Correspondent) ...


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Greek kids ask Santa Claus to stop poverty, hunger ...

Athens: Officials at the Hellenic Post Office (ELTA) here were surprised when on opening Greek children's letters to Santa Claus, they found that the ...


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GREEK Festival director fired pending financial probe

GREEK Festival director Giorgos Loukos was dismissed on Wednesday pending an investigation regarding the organization's finances, the Ministry of ...


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Greece's Attica Bank covers 91 pct of share issue to plug ...

In October, the Bank of Greece carried out a comprehensive assessment of Attica, in line with the European Central Bank's health check of Greece's four big ...


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Portuguese and Syrian volunteers in Athens to help refugees

Portuguese and Syrian volunteers are currently in Athens offering a helping hand to refugees and migrants trapped in the ice-cold Greek capital. The six volunteers flew from Lisbon to Athens right after Christmas and landed in an ice-cold city with hundreds of people sleeping outdoors. The article was submitted by […]


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Refugee Baby Tragically Passes Away at Registration Camp in Lesvos

A seven-month-old Syrian baby temporarily staying with his/her family in a refugee registration camp on the island of Lesvos, Greece died today of natural causes. Health officials are trying to determine the exact cause of the baby’s death. Lesvos,  is one of the main arrival points of immigrants and refugees who arrive in Greece, most


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Obstructing Public Transportation Routes Could Land You Behind Bars

  The Greek Government decided to tighten the legislation regarding the obstruction of public transport. In particular the Greek Government with an amendment that was included in the bill of the Cohabitation Agreement for homosexual couples, modified the Article of the Criminal Code which refers to the obstruction of public transport. Specifically from now on, anyone


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GREEK Court of Audit Grants Retired MPs Up to €100000 in Back Pensions

Greece's Court of Audit has decided that retired members of parliament are entitled to up to 100,000 euros in pension pay retroactively, according to ...


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The most popular foods of 2015, according to the internet

Flickr user julochka Sweet potato fries and avocado toast dominated food online searches in 2015. Searches for the Italian cheese burrata skyrocketed, while our love for food trucks declined significantly. That's according to Google and FourSquare, which mined data from food-related searches in the U.S. to find the foods that people mentioned at higher rates than last year. Here are the trendiest foods from this year. GREEK YOGURT. Instagram Embed: http://instagram.com/p/_t9no0xZrA/embed/ Width: 658px POKÉ, A HAWAIIAN RAW FISH SALAD. Instagram Embed: http://instagram.com/p/_xvdz0TT-e/embed/ Width: 658px BURRATA, AN ITALIAN CHEESE. Instagram Embed: http://instagram.com/p/_1V6GYgGLE/embed/ Width: 658px       SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER


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Bill Cosby Officially Charged; Arrest Warrant Issued

GREECE Post · Classifieds · Jobs · Cars · HOMES. FEATURED ». NEWS NOW. Farmington man accused of making terroristic threat ... Village of Lyons ...


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Spring Lake man helps Syrian refugees in GREECE

It was 40 degrees along the coast of Lesbos, GREECE, on a recent pre-dawn morning. The Syrian family had just arrived from Turkey, crossing a ...


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Opa! Chef George Rapitis cooks favorite GREEK dishes

“The unique thing about eating GREEK is the love for herbs. Mint and dill. Those are married. They go together. They're used in soups, with fish. Greeks ...


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Dinos Michaelides released by GREEK authorities

GREEK authorities have released from jail former Cypriot interior minister Dinos Michaelides, according to reports. Michaelides was freed after he made ...


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This is the reason why GREEK beaches aren't seeing their usual average of 2000 daily refugees ...

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed today that more than one million immigrants have reached Europe by sea since the start of ...


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Petroceltic transfers GREEK exploration rights to partners

Irish oil and gas company Petroceltic has transferred its share of the exploration rights in the Patraikos Gulf in Greece to consortium owned by Hellenic ...


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3 Best Performing Dow Stocks of 2015

Throughout the first half, the major headwind for the markets was the economic crisis in GREECE. The Dow failed to end in the green in the first half of ...


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GREECE Chases Turkey Out Of Its Airspace After Repeated Violations

Turkey and GREECE engaged in a cat and mouse game Tuesday after several Turkish airplanes repeatedly violated the Greek airspace. The violations ...


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Refugees and migrants braving seas to flee to Europe in 2015 top one million – UN

More than 800,000 refugees and migrants came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into GREECE, accounting for 80 per cent of the sea arrivals.


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Winter finally caught up with Greece

Athens, December 30, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Olga Mavrou The exceptionally good weather in Greece came to an end and those who are going to travel to Greece for the New Year, should be prepared for a normal winter, rain, storms, snow and cold. According to the prognosis of the National Weather Forecast Service […]


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'Once Upon A Time' Season 5 Spoilers, Cast News: A GREEK Mythology Character Joins The Series ...

Twitter/@HypableWith the rise of a new environment in “Once Upon a Time” season 5, fans are set to see new characters in the series, such as one ...


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No New Members Welcome! – GREEK Crisis Putting Break on Eurozone Expansion

Deputy European Commission chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, who is in charge of the single currency and social dialogue, said that the Eurozone is not ...


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Mile Runner: Ed Droste Goes on an Epic Photography Adventure in GREECE

While the purpose was to study art at the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Paros, GREECE, I remember every single thing about the place being utterly ...


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Children in GREECE ask Santa Claus to stop poverty, hunger, jihadists

According to officials from the Hellenic Post, last year Santa Claus in GREECE received about 100,000 letters, while in 2013 some 80,000 letters were ...


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Syrian refugee baby dies at registration center on Greek ...

ATHENS, Greece – Greek authorities say a seven-month-old Syrian baby temporarily staying with its family in a refugee registration camp on the island of ...


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Refugee baby dies at Greek island registration center

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say a seven-month-old Syrian baby temporarily staying with its family in a refugee registration camp on the island of Lesbos has died, apparently of natural causes.


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Comfort food of the week is spanakopita at GREEK Cove in East Norwich

You don't have to rush over to GREEK Cove in East Norwich early in the day to snag one of its spinach pies, because chef Angelo Mylomas says he and ...


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GREEK guards who killed Ilia Kareli face trial

The issue of the Albanian killed in a GREEK prison, Ilia Kareli is still being judged. The GREEK prison guards who beat him to death will go back to court.


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GREEK Gov't to Change Immigration Policy Under EU Pressure

pr The GREEK government is to change immigration policy under constant pressure by the European Union in regards to stemming the migrant inflow to ...


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GREEK Infrastructure Minister: 'Antiquities Can Co-Exist with Thessaloniki Metro'

metro-thessalonikis It is technically feasible to maintain archaeological finds unearthed during the prolonged excavations for a new metro in the ...


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Vestas receives orders in GREECE and China

Vestas has received a firm and unconditional order in GREECE for a wind energy project in the southern Greek region of Peloponnese. The order for 12 ...


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German Politicians Want Greece Out of Eurozone and Schengen

Two high-ranking German politicians expressed the opinion that Greece should be out of the Schengen zone and the Eurozone for a period of time. Wolfgang Steiger, general secretary of the Economic Council of Germany’s conservative CDU party, stated that Greece is not showing the necessary zeal in implementing the reforms required by the bailout program.


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Cold Spell Across the Greece; ‘White’ New Year

The National Weather Service warned that temperatures will drop significantly in the next 24 hours, in Greece, with sleet and wind expected for most of the country and snow forecast for the mountainous and northern regions. Snowfall is even expected in the northern parts of the capital, with temperatures dropping up to 5 degrees. In


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President Pavlopoulos Receives ISIS Victim Nadia Murad Basee Taha

“The brutal criminals of Daesh are enemies of Democracy and Civilization and commit crimes against Humanity. And as such they must be treated immediately and efficiently,” Greek President Pavlopoulos said on Wednesday while receiving 21-year old Nadia Murad Basee Taha who managed to escape from ISIS. She described how she was abducted by the Islamic


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A Little Piece of Greece in Shanghai

An increasing number of GREEK students come to China in search of new opportunities, since universities like Fudan or Tsinghua are among the top in ...


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Greece Producer Price Index (YoY) up to -8.5% in November ...

Composed by a group of 14 economic journalists and 3 FX experts the FXStreet content team produces and supervises the contents published on FXStreet. It offers a ...


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Frontex sends staff to Aegean as Lesvos struggles

Dozens more Frontex staff are to be dispatched to GREECE over the coming weeks. Greek government sources indicated however that the size of the ...


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Holiday Apartment near Moles Kalives, Chalkidiki, Northern GREECE, GREECE

Pencil2D – opensource animation software Pencil works much like that: every frame that appears in your animation is a cel that appears in the timeline ...


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Minoan says approval for Crete complex in ‘final stages’

… a flagship hotel complex in Greece. The Glasgow-based firm told investors … in Crete – which have already been unanimously approved by the Greek Council … the long-running political turmoil in Greece – combined with the previous month …


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Greece Producer Prices Fall At Slower Pace In November

Greece's producer prices continued …


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