Located on the way to Myrtia (birthplace of famous GREEK author Nikos Kazantzakis), and a short distance from the ancient city of Heraklion, the ...
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Sunday, January 17, 2016
Hellenic News of America Hellenic News of America. 24 hours website portal with news for the Greek-American
(Broomall, Pa) – Crozer-Keystone Health System is hosting a grand opening community event for Crozer-Keystone at Broomall from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday to celebrate the opening of its state-of-the-art 50,000 sq. ft. outpatient facility near the ...
Greece is the word: Annie Hazeltom has the last say at debating competition
FROM the time Annie Hazelton had her first public speaking experience at Cudal Public School when she was seven, she hasn’t been fazed by standing up in front of a crowd and expressing her opinion. That passion for public speaking was nurtured throughout ...
Ultimate Guide to Greece’s Best Ski Resorts
Below you will find need-to-know information on eighteen of Greece’s most popular ski resorts, so you can choose the one that fits your winter holiday needs better! Boeotia Parnassos (Base Elevation: 1660m – Summit Elevation: 2260m) Parnassos Ski Center, stretching across the areas of Kelaria and Fterolakka, is one of the most popular destinations for skiers
Greece Hit By Extreme Weather – 1 Dead; Bridge Collapses
Severe weather conditions and heavy rain that hit northern Greece over the weekend flooded Pineios river. As a result, a bridge in Diava, Kalambaka, partially collapsed, while according to locals’ reports, the water level is constantly rising. Greek police have blocked the way to the area near the bridge and stopped the traffic. Meanwhile a
Tsipras: ‘This is the First time Greece Will Utilize Information on Tax Evasion’
The Greek government will use the bank data provided by Germany to tackle tax evasion, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after a meeting with the Finance Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Norbert Walter-Borjans. Greece recently received a list of Greek depositors with large accounts at Swiss bank UBS from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia,
Recently Elected New Democracy Leader Sends Message to Greek Diaspora
Recently elected New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a message to the Greek Diaspora in the United States, asking for their support in creating a “new Greece.” At the same time, he assured them that he was going to do everything in his power so that Diaspora members can have the rights that they were denied.
Eide: Settlement Will Not Be Financed by Cypriot Taxpayers
The premise for financing the settlement is not to leave it to the taxpayers in Cyprus, but get real money to pay for the upfront cost, the Special Advisor of the UN Secretary General, Espen Barth Eide, said in an exclusive interview with the Cyprus News Agency. Eide underlined that eight months of talks between Greek
Foreign Ministry announcement on implementation day of the Accord on the Iranian nuclear programme
Greece welcomes the implementation day of the Accord on the Iranian nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s compliance with all of its commitments opens the way for the sanctions to be lifted.Greece congratulates all of the involved sides and expresses its great satisfaction at this positive development, which will strengthen the efforts towards international and regional security.
Refugee boat sinks off Greece, 5 dead
Five dead bodies of refugees and migrants were retrieved on Saturday at the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, Greek authorities said, adding a rescue operation was underway for the location of an unclear number of missing. The bodies were found ...
Were the Amazons of Greek myth based on a real tribe of female fighters?
In ancient Greek mythology, the Amazons were a fearsome nation of female fighters who murdered any male children born to them and duked it out with the likes of Hercules and Achilles. According to a book by Stanford University historian Adrienne Mayor ...
Greek gold miners prepare to fight Syriza
Miners from Halkidiki protested outside the Greek parliament in April 2015 when the government did not issue permits to allow operations at the gold mines [Alexandros Vlachos/EPA] Athens, Greece - Hundreds of Greek gold miners and technical staff are ...
Martin Luther King’s Great Greek Friend and Supporter
Archbishop Iakovos is known in the U.S. as the committed and caring pastor who put the Greek Orthodox Faith on the map for Americans and beyond. He is also known as the first Greek Archbishop in 350 years to officially confer with a pope, leaving behind ...
Germany and IMF Pile Pressure on Greece to Adopt Tougher Pension Rules
Germany and the IMF appear to be unhappy with the Greek government’s pension reform plan, but details are still fuzzy. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had been asked by Greece’s international creditors at the height of the crisis last summer to ...
Greek opposition ahead of Syriza for first time in a year
[The new leader of Greece's conservative New Democracy party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis (C)]Greece's conservative opposition New Democracy party is more popular than the ruling left-wing Syriza for the first time in at least a year, two surveys show.
AEK Athens wins 2-0 at Giannena, stays 2nd in Greek league
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — AEK Athens beat Giannena 2-0 away on Sunday to stay second in the Greek league, 15 points behind leader Olympiakos.
Senioritis hurts chapter unity
Chapter meetings let us organize all the sisterhood, social and philanthropy events that keep us involved in the UK and GREEK community. After four ...
The Elounda Gulf Villas & Suites in the Cretan world of Victoria Hislop's The Island
I've wanted to go to Crete ever since reading Victoria Hislop's novel The Island. Like a siren, she lured me to the largest GREEK island and then to ...
GREEK Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teachers join efforts for peace
The Chairman of the GREEK Cypriots teachers organisation, POED, Philios Phylaktou told the Cyprus News Agency that this was the first time GREEK ...
GREEK Police Female Officials Who Stood Out in 2015
GREEK-police-refugees Two women working for the GREEK Police made an effort this year to help refugees realize their dreams and continue hoping for ...
Hundreds of GREEK hotels are up for sale
Hundreds of hotel owners have recently resorted to trying to sell their units, research by Kathimerini has found, with at least 5 percent of GREEK ...
Kostas Papanikolaou: Signs on with GREEK club
Papanikolaou agreed to a contract with Olympiacos of Greece that will run through June 2019, Sportando reports. After being waived by the Nuggets ...
Michael Essien reveals Panathinaikos reception 'forced' him to sign for GREEK giants
Ghana midfielder Michael Essien has revealed the wam reception he received at Panathinakos forced him to sign for the GREEK super powers.
What European crisis? Setting the record straight
Almost one hundred years later, GREECE finds itself faced with yet another tidal wave of humanity, ironically, many of them setting off from Izmir.
The two sides of GREECE
Was it chance or something else that set the country on a different path? Why is it that GREECE stands out among its Balkan neighbors? We owe a lot to ...
Man drowns in Serres as car swept away in flood
A 47-year-old man was found dead by rescuers after his car was swept away by a flash flood in Serres, northern GREECE, on Sunday. The man had ...
Rescuers Prepare to Help Syrian Refugees
On Monday the Jacksonville Beach rescuer will travel to GREECE. Lydon said, “Yes I'm nervous, excited and scared - very excited though mostly.”.
Home Business Banking National Bank of GREECE to Hold Emergency Meeting on Monday to ...
nbg The National Bank of GREECE (NGB) will hold an emergency general meeting on Monday to approve the sale of its Turkish subsidiary Finansbank, ...
GREECE frees migrant rescuers detained for 'trafficking'
Athens: Greek authorities have released five rescuers working for NGOs that help migrants making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey, police said ...
Jerusalem Archbishop- Palestinians will return
Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna of the GREEK Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem continues in his endeavor to incite Palestinian violence ...
Bob Byrne remembers Sigalas, the Greek milk bar that shook up Adelaide’s deli scene in the 1960s
Anglo American J. Sigalas & Co. restaurant decorated with flags for a visit by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in March 1954. This photo was taken on February 8, 1954. Photo: Bob Cunningham. IT was the place to meet in Adelaide in the ’60s ...
Manslaughter Charge After Children Drown
Ak Oskart - who also faces charges of smuggling refugees and causing a shipwreck - is being held on the Greek island of Samos.
Names of Ancient GREEK Philosophers
Many of the names of Ancient GREEK Philosophers are well-known due to the fact that philosophy was actually born in Greece, as the word itself ...
GREECE All Inclusive Hotels
The Chrispy World - Chryspi World, Kolymbari, Crete - hotel is in Rampaniana village, 100 metres from the sea. The area is naturally attractive and is ...
Greek Opposition Overtakes Ruling Party in Polls After New Leader Election
A poll indicated 21.3 percent support for New Democracy (ND) party against 18 percent for Syriza after Mitsotakis' victory in GREECE, according to the ...
Greek Orthodox College of St Andrews in Perth, highest rank amongst WA schools
Updates from the wildfires that burnt out Yarloop and references for the very high ranking of the Greek Orthodox College of St Andrews in Perth are the main news from our Greek program stringer in Western Australia, Kostas Dimitriadis.Η
And When They Awoke ... Their Precious Baby Was Dead. A Day In Lesvos.
[2016-01-10-1452457512-7256046-Katherineleadingpeople.png] _Katherine, pointing, carrying a child as she leads them from the shore to the camp._ My Australian friend Katherine posted on her Facebook page... 'Yassas' from Lesvos, Greece Katherine, an actor and voice actor, her husband Ian, a director, and their two children, Amira (17) and Noah (15), decided to spend their Christmas vacation on the ground in Lesvos to help the Syrian Refugee crisis. She arranged a fundraiser on GOFUNDME and raised AU$8000. They paid for their own airfares and accommodation. I interviewed Katherine, here are her experiences... Q: What prompted this? A: Back in September 2015 when the refugee crisis really hit the news I was incredibly frustrated that the world leaders couldn't come together to try and ease the problem. I also couldn't understand and greatly disagreed with Australia's treatment of refugees in particularly off-shore detention centres and the 'turn back the boats' policy. I volunteer at the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney where I meet some pretty incredible people. Many have come to Australia by boat and I shudder to think what they have gone through. Ian and I felt like we could do more than donate money, like we had to 'go help'. So we did. Q: What is it like there? A: To give you an idea, it was extremely cold last weekend, down to -4C/24F overnight. We heard that a couple of nights earlier at the the Moria Refugee Camp, a 7-month-old Syrian baby lying next to its sleeping parents kicked off its blanket. The parents woke to find their precious little one dead. The news spread so fast through the NGO network, and The Starfish Foundation sent us to help at their Donkey House Clothing Warehouse ... it's next to a donkey farm, hence the name. Our job was to sort through second hand baby clothes donated from around the World, searching for baby sleeping bags to send to Moria. It doesn't get anymore real than that! Q: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAY? A: Today it was very chaotic at the harbor to start with. It was 9 am. Several rescue boats carrying refugees were coming in. There had been a capsize and other boats were sinking or in difficulty and needed assistance coming to shore. I heard some cheers and clapping from the refugees as they docked. Children were wet, shivering and crying. They were so scared. Some had hypothermia and were being attended to by the ambulance. I was changing the nappy of a 3-year-old when I noticed he became even more lethargic and I called to the ambulance technician who said he should be checked over once more. One child had what I think was her name and family contact details written in Arabic strapped with masking tape around and around her arm over a sweater, I guess as her identification in case something happened? Little toes were white with cold and 'pruned' like having been in the bath too long. I don't know how long some of these people were in the water. Then, I had to get 41 non-English speaking people to form a line and move away as another boatload was coming in. I found one young man who could speak a little English who remained as my translator for the next 5 hours. He was from Damascus, Syria and I think he was saying he wants to go to Switzerland. He asked if we could be Facebook friends. I was in charge of my group for hours, continually promised that the buses were coming ... and then we would wait some more. Families were calling loved ones, retelling the story of their harrowing trip across the water from Turkey. Their faces were still showing the terror. The sun was bright but the adults were damp and cold having not yet received clothing. They would change their clothes at the camp. While we were waiting for the bus, I had some sandwiches to pass around. The kids played by the water, some caught tiny fish in their water bottles. I particularly connected with a mother wearing a black chador and hijab. She had four children. While one was sleeping, she went down to the water's edge, washed her feet, retied her head scarf, and found a 'quiet spot' to pray. Two of her little girls (who earlier I had helped change) came and clung to my hands and rested their heads on my leg. [2016-01-10-1452457624-2048029-Katherinemotherwithchildren.png] Getting on the bus, they were all thanking me, one very well dressed light skinned young Syrian man and his Albanian wife asked if I could come with them to the camp. I think by then they identified me as someone who would look after them. As the bus drove off many were waving and blowing kisses to me. It was an incredible day. Q: YOU STARTED A GOFUNDME page for this? A: Yes, and so far we've raised over AUD 8000 and it's still going. It's for emergency supplies for refugees. Many of the donors are strangers and are incredibly generous and supportive of what we're doing. It gives me great courage know I'm representing all these people here. When we arrived, Ian and I met with Melinda McRostie, founder of The Starfish Foundation, and learnt that their greatest needs at the moment are good waterproof walking shoes for men and women, socks for adults, and bunk-bed vinyl covered mattresses for the Moria Camp. Starfish is expanding its good work into Moira to improve conditions. A volunteer told me, when she ran out of men's shoes, all she could do was offer socks and plastic bags to tie around wet and cold feet. I've also seen a man wearing Crocs and a foil emergency blanket for socks. Will he really walk through the European snow in Crocs and foil?! Melinda told me that they often run out of adult socks, and that the mattresses in the Moria dorms are so disgustingly unhygienic she wouldn't let her dog sleep on them. Providing new wipe-down mattresses will reduce the risk of disease and give refugees a better chance at rest before continuing their journey. Ian and I researched local Lesvos vendors for shoes and socks and found two suppliers sympathetic to the refugee crisis and offering 20 percent or more discounts. We've intentionally sourced shoes made in Greece to help the country's economy. A major sponsor has just donated new mattresses. Q: HOW HAVE YOUR CHILDREN REACTED TO THIS? A: We worked at a childcare tent / playground at the Moira Refugee Camp. Firstly, when you arrive at the camp it's awfully confronting. People everywhere. The camp is housed inside old army barracks -- tall wire fencing topped with large rolls of barbed wire -- hardly inviting. It can cater for 800 people (with shelter) but last week they had a population of 6000, so the surplus sprawls out across the adjoining olive farm. There's not a blade of grass to be seen, having been trampled by thousands and thousands of feet. When it rains or snows, everything turns to mud. The so called 'lucky' ones outside the fencing have simple tents to sleep in, the very unlucky ones have been out in the open. On the day we took the kids, there had been a storm overnight. The strong wind had blown down many tents. Mud everywhere. One of the NGOs has erected a children's play tent. It was heated and filled with kids having fun drawing. My two teenagers loved it! Noah (15) made a strong connection with a stout little 3-year-old Syrian boy wearing hand-knitted trousers. His name was Yousef, Yousef told an hilarious story to Noah all in Arabic, blissfully unaware that Noah had no idea what he was talking about. Noah said he laughed at what he thought were the appropriate places. Amira had little girls crawling all over her. They drew pictures for Amira (17) and wrote her name in Arabic. Both kids used Google Translator to try to talk to other children. [2016-01-10-1452457747-5643687-AmiraandNoahgoogletranslator.png] _Amira 17, with phone, and Noah 15, blue parka, communicate with the children via Google Translator_ That night Noah commented that he had started to have second thoughts about going to the refugee camp, but is so glad that he did. He loved playing with the kids, especially Yousef. Amira later got a little emotional when she was talking to me about the day. She said "Mum, I don't know why people in Australia are afraid of Muslim refugees. The media makes them out like they're something you should be afraid of. They're just like us." Since this day both Noah and Amira have wondered how the children they met are getting on. Have they got to Athens and beyond? Are they warm? (Especially when the cold wind blows at night). Q: How much longer are you there? A: Ian and the children have gone home, but I'm here until the end of January. Earlier on Huff/Post50: -- 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.