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Saturday, April 2, 2016

Greece Demands IMF Explain 'Disaster' Remarks In Explosive Leak

The leaked remarks of International Monetary Fund officials suggesting the lender may threaten to pull out of Greece's bailout are eliciting anger in Athens and could jeopardize debt negotiations. The Huffington Post has exclusively obtained a private ...


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My Big Fat GREEK Wedding 2: People Change. GREEKS Don't.

The Portokalos family is back! On March 25, “My Big Fat GREEK Wedding 2” debuted in theaters across the country. Die-hard fans gathered together ...


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Lenders eye start of Greek debt relief talks at IMF meetings in mid-April

Representatives of Greece's official lenders are to resume talks with the Greek government from Monday on how to tackle non-performing loans in the banking system and pension and income tax reforms. Negotiations on these reforms have been dragging on for ...


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GREECE challenges IMF over WikiLeaks revelations

"The Greek government is demanding explanations from the IMF over whether seeking to create default conditions in GREECE, shortly ahead of the ...


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The Greek Factor

WikiLeaks today published a transcript of a meeting between two of Europe’s top International Monetary Fund officials, Poul Thomsen, the head of the IMF’s European Department, and Delia Velkouleskou, the IMF Mission Chief for Greece. The leaked ...


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Refugees Held on Greek Island Wonder About Their Future

Men lounge on concrete slabs a few meters from the barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence that surrounds this center in Lesbos, Greece. It was once a refugee camp. But now the inhabitants are more like inmates, unable to leave if they chose to. Police watch ...


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Leaked Call Shows Continued Strains Over Greece

Call between IMF officials is exposing tensions between Greece and its international creditors, highlighting the risk that the country’s bailout program could be headed for more drama this summer.


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Ancient city of Palmyra littered with mines, graffiti after ISIS' retreat

[palmyra soldiers]Handout via Reuters Islamic State militants retreating from Palmyra laid thousands of mines that they planned to set off simultaneously as the army moved in, a Syrian officer told Reuters in the ancient city after its recapture from the jihadist fighters. The officer said main streets and side roads in Palmyra had been rigged with explosives weighing up to 50 kg. More than 3,000 had already been safely detonated since government forces, backed by Russian jets, retook the city on Sunday, he said. He did not say why the Islamic State fighters failed to set off the explosives before pulling out, but his assertion echoed comments from Syria's antiquities chief, who said the militants intended to dynamite a greater area of the city's 2,000-year-old ruins than they already had. The officer, who did not give his name, said the bombs left behind were linked so they could go off together. "All the government buildings are rigged in a network connected to the Daesh leadership headquarters," he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "The idea was that as we enter it would all go off at once, not just bomb by bomb. And there are a really huge number of bombs." Islamic State's defeat in Palmyra was not only a significant military victory for President Bashar al-Assad, opening up the country's central desert to government forces and their allies. It also cast the Syrian army as an effective fighting force against jihadists bent on cultural vandalism and wanton killing. A military source told Reuters on Saturday troops had identified 45 bodies in a mass grave in Palmyra, including civilians and Syrian army members captured by Islamic State. Parts of Palmyra have been cleared, including the road from Homs. But Syrian soldiers -- soon to be joined by Russian de-mining experts -- are still working on defusing or detonating explosives. [palmyra tadmur prison explosion]Handout via Reuters "We cannot leave them there. We are dealing with 90 percent of them by exploding them because they are buried firmly in the ground, cemented in the asphalt," the officer said. Civilians, most of whom fled before Syrian and allied forces began the offensive, cannot return until de-mining is complete. Smoke could be seen rising from some parts of the modern, residential city of Palmyra, which lies next to the 2,000-year-old ruins, during a visit by journalists on Friday. But few people were to be seen and no shops were open. Residential areas had been damaged and traces of explosions could be seen on the ground.   GRAFFITI ON RUINS [palmyra graffit]Handout via Reuters As well as a network of bombs, Islamic State left traces of their 10-month rule in Palmyra. Graffiti was evident on some of the ancient stones. "Remaining", it read, part of the Islamic State motto of "remaining and expanding". On a stone among the remains of the Temple of Bel was scrawled: "No shooting without the permission of the Emir." A signpost on a road through the ruins, now bent at 90 degrees to the ground, tells travelers in the group's trademark black and white colors to "Respect God". "When we show humility, God will deliver us," the sign says, above a passage from the Koran which says: "God made you victorious at the (battle of) Badr when you were but a humble (force)," referring to a battle from the early Muslim era which the ultra-hardline group looks back to with reverence. The ancient Roman amphitheatre, where Islamic State shot dead around 20 men as it took over the city last May, appears unscathed. [palmyra museum]Handout via Reuters The Temple of Bel, an imposing monument before it was blown up last year, has been reduced to a couple of columns and a heap of rubble, although antiquities chief Maamoun Abdelkarim says it is not totally beyond repair. Other structures blown up by Islamic State include Palmyra's triumphal arch, three funerary towers and the temple of Baal Shamin. Before serious renovation can take place, officials say, the area needs to be made fully safe. Moscow has sent de-miners to help with the clear-up, and Russian military servicemen will start defusing mines in Palmyra in a few days, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday, citing the defense ministry. The first batch of specialists has left Russian airbase Khmeimim in western Syria. The convoy, consisting of more than 20 vehicles, will be guarded by Mi-24 and Mi-28 helicopters. The de-miners will deal with more than 180 hectares of territory, Russia's defense ministry has said, citing initial estimates. The aim is to clear the historic part of the ancient city as well as residential areas. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster


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Heavy fighting erupts between Armenia and Azerbaijan

[armenia azerbaijan clashes]REUTERS/Nagorno-Karabakh Military Handout via Reuters TV A new wave of fighting broke out in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday, killing dozens and drawing international calls for an immediate ceasefire to stop violence spreading in the South Caucasus. Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians, has run its own affairs with heavy military and financial backing from Armenia since a separatist war ended in 1994. The Azeri defense ministry said on Saturday the army had "liberated strategic heights and settlements" in the region. "Six Armenian tanks were destroyed (and) more than 100 Armenian servicemen were killed and injured," it said in a statement, saying 12 Azeri servicemen had also been killed. Armenia's government denied the Azeri report on the number of casualties. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan told a State Security Council meeting about 18 were killed and 35 injured. It was not immediately clear if the death toll included soldiers only. Earlier on Saturday, Nagorno-Karabakh's military said Armenian anti-aircraft forces had downed an Azeri helicopter. Baku admitted that its Mi-24 helicopter was shot down. Both sides also reported civilian casualties and accused each other of violating a 1994 ceasefire, a sign that the two-decade-old conflict which has left some 30,000 people dead is far from a peaceful resolution. Similar violence was reported last month. The violence has forced Russia, a key mediator in the conflict, to step up diplomatic efforts to quench it. [azerbaijan armenia clashes]REUTERS/Nagorno-Karabakh Military Handout via Reuters TV President Vladimir Putin urged the warring sides to immediately observe the ceasefire and "to exercise restraint so as to avert new human casualties," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have talked by phone with their Armenian and Azeri counterparts. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, called on both sides "to immediately stop fighting and to fully respect the ceasefire." Azerbaijan frequently threatens to take Nagorno-Karabakh back by force. Clashes around the region have fueled worries of a widening conflict breaking out in the region, which is crossed by oil and natural gas pipelines. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for "an ultimate resolution" of the conflict between during talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev at the State Department. [Azerbaijan armenia clashes]REUTERS/Nagorno-Karabakh Military Handout via Reuters TV (Writing and additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Editing by Larry King) NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster


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Anger in Greece ahead of EU refugee decision

Greece is preparing to start deporting migrants back to Turkey despite mounting concerns about how they will be treated once returned. It comes after MPs in Athens voted to back draft legislation, fast-tracked through parliament, to allow the returns to ...


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Greece on brink of chaos as refugees riot over forced return to Turkey

Rival ethnic groups clash in Piraeus and 800 break out of detention centre on Cchios as EU deal brings desperation The Greek government is bracing itself for violence ahead of the European Union implementing a landmark deal that, from Monday, will see ...


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Turkey stops 'nearly 200' migrants reaching GREECE

Turkey's coastguard stopped nearly 200 migrants trying to reach GREECE ... Another group of 63 were stopped as they attempted to travel to GREECE'S ...


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For well over a year, the Greek island of Lesbos has been on the frontline of the migrant crisis. Now, those left behind on this remote outpost of Fortress Europe are dreading their expulsion back to Turkey.

… on the Greek islands must be individually assessed by the Greek authorities … help implement the accord. Meanwhile, Greece's parliament has approved … social ladder. Countries north of Greece now consider virtually all Pakistanis …


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Greece's mass deportation of Syrian refugees back to Turkey could be illegal say UN

Greece looks set to send hundreds of Syrian refugees back to Turkey despite warnings that it would be illegal.


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Migrant crisis: GREECE to return first failed asylum-seekers to Turkey as part of controversial EU deal

Yiorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for GREECE'S refugee co-ordination unit, told AFP "planning is in progress", but refused to comment further on ANA's report.


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Refugee Crisis Update: 750 Due To Be Shipped From GREECE To Turkey Under EU Deal

Some 750 refugees likely will be sent back to Turkey from GREECE early next week as part of the deal the European Union made with Turkey to ease ...


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WikiLeaks: IMF to Threaten Greece with Bankruptcy

Wikileaks revealed an IMF plan to tell Germany it will abandon the Troikla if there is no agreement on Greek debt relief The Greek government demanded an explanation from the International Monetary Fund on Saturday after a leaked transcript on WikiLeaks ...


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'Saddening' scenes as refugees gather at GREEK port

Many refugees and migrants at the port are not accepting GREEK officials' suggestions of moving to camps elsewhere in the country, fearing that they ...


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Leaked Call Shows Continued Strains Between Greece and Its Creditors

ATHENS—A leaked phone call held by International Monetary Fund officials is exposing strains between Greece and its international creditors, highlighting the risk that the country’s bailout program could be headed for more drama this summer. A ...


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Turkish coastguard halts migrants as preparations for EU deal begin

[A girl stands between tents at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni]By Dasha Afanasieva and Mehmet Emin Caliskan DIKILI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's coastguard stopped nearly 200 people trying to reach Greece on Saturday, underlining the challenge security forces face in convincing migrants contemplating the voyage that they will not be allowed to enter the EU. A controversial European Union deal to return refugees and migrants who landed on the Greek islands in the last fortnight to Turkey is due to take force on Monday. A group of 118 Eritreans, Syrians, Iranian and Lebanese people were halted on Saturday as they headed to the Greek island of Chios from Cesme in Turkey in two dinghies, local news agency Dogan reported.


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ISIS reportedly left a mass grave behind in Palmyra

[palmyra soldiers]Handout via Reuters Syrian troops have identified 45 bodies so far in a mass grave in the city of Palmyra, which was recaptured from Islamic State last Sunday, a military source told Reuters on Saturday. The communal grave, on the north-eastern edge of Palmyra, is the only one found so far in the city by the Syrian forces, the source said. It held the bodies of both civilians and Syrian army members captured by Islamic State. Syrian state news agency SANA said on Friday the grave contained many women and children and some of the bodies had been beheaded. In May last year, as Islamic State took control of Palmyra, the hard-line Islamist militants were reported by Syrian state media to have killed at least 400 people in the first four days of control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the five-year-old Syrian conflict through a network of sources on the ground, said that Islamic State had killed a number of people at an earlier time and buried them on the outskirts of the city. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington, editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Larry King) NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster


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Heavy fighting broke out on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia

[azerbaijan armenia clashes]Radio Free Europe Screenshot Heavy fighting has been reported in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan. The Armenian military has accused Azerbaijani forces of launching a major offensive, involving tanks, heavy artillery, and helicopter gunships. The Azerbaijani military said its frontline forces had first come under "intensive fire" from mortars, grenade launchers, and artillery and that the Azerbaijani Army had to take "urgent measures" to respond. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that 12 soldiers had died in the fighting. It said one Mi-24 helicopter was shot down and that one tank had been destroyed in a mine explosion. The ministry claimed the army had "liberated strategic heights and settlements" in the region. "Six Armenian tanks were destroyed [and] more than 100 Armenian servicemen were killed and injured," it said in a statement. Armenia's government denied the number of casualties provided by the Azerbaijani government, while declining to disclose the death toll. The Defense Ministry in Nagorno-Karabakh said a 12-year-old boy was killed and two other children injured, while Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said one Azerbaijani civilian had died. Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians. The Armenian Defense Ministry called it the most serious escalation of fighting in the conflict since a 1994 truce and called on the United States, Russia, and France -- all involved in international efforts to mediate the conflict -- to urgently intervene. Armenian Prime Minister Ovik Abrahamian convened an urgent meeting over the "unprecedented large-scale hostilities from the enemy," the Armenian government said. "Armenia is ready to take the necessary steps to stabilize the situation," Abrahamian said. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian is expected to convene a Security Council meeting on the situation later on April 2. Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Ministry said "fierce clashes are taking place along the entire line of contact." [azerbaijan armenia clashes]Radio Free Europe Screenshot In a statement, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which has been mediating the conflict, expressed "grave concern over the reported large-scale cease-fire violations that are taking place along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. We strongly condemn the use of force and regret the senseless loss of life, including civilians. The statement -- by ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, James Warlick of the United States, and Pierre Andrieu of France -- called upon the sides to stop shooting and take all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground. Russia's President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin is "deeply concerned about the reports on resumed military actions along the line of engagement in Nagorno-Karabakh." He said Putin called on the parties to the conflict to implement an immediate cease-fire and to exercise restraint. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later spoke separately by phone with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to urge calm, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.  EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on the parties to stop the fighting immediately and observe the cease-fire. [azerbaijan armenia fighting]Radio Free Europe Screenshot “The sides must show restraint and avoid any further actions or statements that could result in escalation,” Mogherini said in a statement. She said both sides should refrain from the use of force and resume efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Hikmat Hajiyev, a spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, called on the international community to condemn Armenia's actions. The conflict broke out in the dying years of the Soviet Union and killed about 30,000 people. Years of diplomatic efforts, led by the OSCE, have been largely unsuccessful at resolving the simmering crisis between the two heavily armed neighbors.  The fresh outbreak of violence came as the presidents of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ilham Aliyev and Sarkisian, were winding up visits to the United States.  Just hours before the fighting broke out, Aliyev and Sarkisian met jointly with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who called on the South Caucasus leaders to peacefully settle the protracted dispute.  [azerbaijan armenia fighting]Radio Free Europe Screenshot On March 30, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for an "ultimate resolution" to the conflict during talks in Washington with Aliyev.  At his meeting with Kerry, Aliyev thanked the United States for trying to end the conflict but said it could only be resolved through a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the "immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops" from Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan after a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Internationally mediated negotiations with the involvement of the OSCE's Minsk Group have failed to result in a resolution. The Minsk Group is co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster


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Greece readies to send first refugees back in EU-Turkey deal

Some 750 refugees would be sent back between Monday and Wednesday, the first wave of deportations under the much-criticised deal. Greek authorities were gearing up on Saturday to send hundreds of failed asylum-seekers back to Turkey, which is racing to set ...


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Wikileaks: IMF skeptical on Greek bailout

Greece’s top international lenders are quietly anticipating an “event” that would trigger a resolution to high-pressure debt talks that have gone on for six years. In a transcript of a purported teleconference released by WikiLeaks, two top officials ...


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GREECE to send 750 refugees back to Turkey: Report

Officials in Athens say GREECE is sending some 750 refugees and asylum seekers back to Turkey as part of an agreement with the European Union ...


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Wikileaks publishes trancript revealing IMF's threat to pull out of Greece's bailout deal

WikiLeaks published what it said was the transcript of a March 19 conference call of three senior IMF officials discussing tactics to apply pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU. Greece demanded an explanation from the International Monetary Fund on ...


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After WikiLeaks Revelation, Greece Asks I.M.F. to Clarify Bailout Plan

PARIS — Greece called on the International Monetary Fund on Saturday to explain whether it was seeking to usher Athens toward bankruptcy ahead of a pivotal referendum in June on Britain’s membership in Europe. Greece’s comments came after I.M.F ...


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Shaky countdown to EU-Turkey migrant swap

Some 750 migrants are to be shipped from Greece back to Turkey on Monday at the start of the EU-Turkish relocation deal, says the Greek state news agency ANA. One of two Turkish reception sites is still a barren field.


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Tsipras contacts GREEK leaders, Lagarde after WikiLeaks publication

GREEK government officials interpreted this as the IMF encouraging a GREEK “credit event” or default. Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said ...


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Longer hours, pricier tickets at GREEK museums and archaeological sites

Meanwhile, the GREEK Ministry of Culture has announced a series of ticket price hikes for sites and museums including the Athens Acropolis, where ...


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Protests Against Migrants' Presence in Greece and Turkey

Protests against the presence, actual or impending, of migrants, were staged in both Greece and Turkey Saturday, as the plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey is set to be implemented starting Monday


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Greek Culture Camp is coming this summer

Greek Culture Camp is coming to Oak Lawn, July 25-29, 2016 for children 7-12 years of age. Children do not have to be of Greek descent; all children are welcome! Fun activities and crafts are planned as they learn about ancient Greece and modern Greek ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT patch.com

Kammenos: Greece Supports Cyprus Government Decision for a Viable Solution

Panos Kammenos the Greek Minister of Defence, said Greece “will support any decisions made by the Republic of Cyprus and will stand by Nicosia for the achievement of a viable solution of the Cyprus problem which will safeguard national rights,” according to CNA. “The Minister, who represents the Greek government at the events marking the anniversary […]


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Wikileaks IMF Revelations Rock Gov’t; Tsipras Calls Emergency Meeting

ATHENS – Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing political turmoil in addition to Greece’s continuing economic crisis and the deteriorating refugee/migrant situation when Wikileaks revealed a leaked transcript of an alleged conversation between the head of the IMF’s European department, Poul Thomsen, and the IMF mission chief for Greece Delia Velculescu. Tsipras called for an […]


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Europe’s Double Trouble: IMF Fears Brexit, Greek Bailout May ‘Paralyze’ EU This Summer

… for Greece. The top IMF experts believe that a possible Greek default … agreement regarding the Greek bailout. The IMF chiefs want Greece to accept … . According to the leaked conversation, Greece needs to accept more of …


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Turks protest plans to process migrants returned under EU deal

The Turkish town of Dikili has been earmarked to house migrants sent back from Greece under a controversial EU deal. Many locals say they don't…


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Migrant unrest rising in GREECE

The camp on the island of Chios is overflowing, with its occupants demanding to be allowed to travel to mainland GREECE. That camp and others are ...


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Greece wants an explanation from the International Monetary Fund after leaked document surfaces

Greece has demanded an explanation from the International Monetary Fund after a leaked document stated the IMF may threaten to pull out of the country's bailout in order to make European lenders offer more debt relief. The demand comes after WikiLeaks ...


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WATCH: Refugees break out of Greek transit centre

A European Union plan to remove failed asylum seekers from Europe is already under threat, two days before it is due to be implemented. Hundreds of migrants have broken out of a holding centre on the Greek island of Chios. It is seen as a protest at plans ...


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Guardian report citing 'Wikileaked' IMF positions on Greek program sends shock waves through Athens

A Guardian article citing alleged leaks between top IMF officials regarding the Greek program, most with negative connotations, led to a flurry of activity in Athens on Saturday, with phone calls – according to reports – the first reactions. Greek PM ...


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Greek Culture Camp is coming to Oak Lawn

Greek Culture Camp is coming to Oak Lawn, July 25-29, 2016 for children 7-12 years of age. Children do not have to be of Greek descent; all children are welcome! Fun activities and crafts are planned as they learn about ancient Greece and modern Greek ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT patch.com

IMF Discussed Pressuring Germany on Greek Debt, WikiLeaks Says

International Monetary Fund officials discussed the possibility of putting pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to give Greece debt relief, or the IMF would withdraw from the country’s bailout program, according to a transcript of a purported ...


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Turkish Coast Guard detains migrants ahead of EU deal entering force

DIKILI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's Coast Guard stopped 63 Palestinians and Syrians trying to cross to a Greek island on Saturday, underlining the scale of the security forces' task in convincing illegal migrants they won't be allowed into the EU.


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In WikiLeaks Release, IMF Officials Discuss Bailing On Greek Bailout

Greece’s top international lenders are quietly anticipating an “event” that would trigger a resolution to high-pressure debt talks that have gone on for six years. In a transcript of a purported teleconference released by WikiLeaks, two top officials ...


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Obama: ‘Madmen’ must not be allowed to get nuclear material

[Obama nuclear summit]AP Photo/Alex Brandon U.S. President Barack Obama urged world leaders on Friday to do more to safeguard vulnerable nuclear facilities to prevent “madmen” from groups like Islamic State from getting their hands on an atomic weapon or a radioactive “dirty bomb.” Speaking at a nuclear security summit in Washington, Obama said the world faced a persistent and evolving threat of nuclear terrorism despite progress in reducing such risks. “We cannot be complacent,” he said. Obama said no group had succeeded in obtaining bomb materials but that al Qaeda had long sought them, and he cited actions by Islamic State militants behind recent attacks in Paris and Brussels that raised similar concerns. “There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many innocent people as possible,” he said. "It would change our world.” Obama hosted more than 50 world leaders for his fourth and final summit focused on efforts to lock down atomic materials to guard against nuclear terrorism, which he called "one of the greatest threats to global security" in the 21st century. Obama has less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives. While gains have been made, arms-control advocates say the diplomatic process – which Obama conceived and championed - has lost momentum and could slow further once he leaves the White House in January. A boycott by Russian President Vladimir Putin, unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine and Syria, may have contributed to summit results marked by mostly technical measures instead of policy breakthroughs. At the closing news conference, Obama, a Democrat, made clear that the raucous Republican presidential race, particularly controversial comments by party front-runner Donald Trump, weighed on leaders' discussions on the summit sidelines. Obama sternly dismissed as proof of foreign-policy ignorance Trump’s recent suggestion that Japan and South Korea should be allowed to build their own nuclear arsenals, putting him at odds with decades of U.S. policy. “The person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean peninsula, or the world generally," Obama said, adding that Americans don’t want anyone with such views to occupy the White House. [homemade bomb brussels]AP Photo/Alex Brandon 'DIRTY BOMB' THREAT Deadly bomb attacks in Brussels last month have fueled concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants, steal material and develop radioactive dirty bombs. Militants were found to have videotaped the daily routine of a senior manager of a Belgian nuclear plant, Obama said. Obama said the required 102 countries have now ratified an amendment to a nuclear security treaty that would tighten protections against nuclear theft and smuggling. “We have measurably reduced the risks,” he said. But he acknowledged that with roughly 2,000 tons of nuclear material stored around the world, “not all of this is properly secured.” Obama, wrapping up the summit, said leaders had agreed to strengthen their nuclear facilities against cyber attacks, something that outside experts see as a major weak point. The United States and Japan also announced they had completed the long-promised task of removing all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from a Japanese research reactor. Japan is an avowedly anti-nuclear-weapons state as the only country to have ever suffered a nuclear attack. Despite significant strides by Obama in persuading dozens of countries to rid themselves of bomb-making materials or reduce and safeguard stockpiles, much of the world's plutonium and enriched uranium remain vulnerable to theft. Obama convened a separate meeting of world powers to take stock of the landmark nuclear pact they negotiated with Iran last July. It is a critical component of his nuclear disarmament agenda and a major piece of his foreign policy legacy. LANDMARK PRAGUE SPEECH Obama inaugurated the first Nuclear Security Summit nearly six years ago, after a 2009 speech in Prague laying out the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. There is no guarantee that Obama's successor will keep the issue a high priority. Obama made no public mention of Putin as a summit no-show. But he did say that because of the Russian’s leader’s emphasis on building up his military, there was unlikely to be any further deals for reducing the two countries’ vast nuclear weapons stockpiles during what is left of the Obama presidency. [ISIS Islamic State]AP Photo/Alex Brandon For now, U.S. experts are less concerned about militants obtaining nuclear weapons than about thefts of ingredients for a low-tech dirty bomb that would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material and sow panic. U.S. officials said they had no doubt that Islamic State, which controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, was interested in obtaining such materials, but authorities had no explicit evidence that the group had tried to do so. Obama held a special summit session to coordinate the overall fight against Islamic State. He touted gains against the group in Iraq and Syria, which he said were forcing it to lash out elsewhere, and called for stepped-up efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters to and from the battlefield. Also looming over the summit was continuing concern about North Korea. Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in vowing to ramp up pressure on Pyongyang in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests. But So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told Reuters on Friday that Pyongyang will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States and its allies, saying there is now a state of "semi-war" on the divided peninsula. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Doina Chiacu, Patricia Zengerle, Lesley Wroughton, Idrees Ali, Timothy Gardner, David Alexander, Susan Heavey and Jeff Mason; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by James Dalgleish, Leslie Adler and Mary Milliken) NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster


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GREECE demands IMF explanation over leaked debt transcript

ATHENS, April 2 (Reuters) - GREECE demanded an explanation from the International Monetary Fund on Saturday after an apparent leaked transcript ...


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Greece to kick off migrant deal with EU

Turkish officials have said the centres are not refugee camps, but processing points from which the refugees and migrants will be sent elsewhere as soon as possible. Shockingly, police did not immediately intervene, but said they were monitoring the situation.


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GREEK farmer demands refugees leave his fields by ploughing around camp site

The owner of the land where refugees and migrants are camping in the GREEK town of Idomeni attempted to plough his land on Thursday, driving the ...


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SIUE to present GREEK drama, "The Trojan Women"

Among surviving GREEK tragedies, only Euripides' The Trojan Women shows us the extinction of a whole city, an entire people. Despite its grim theme, ...


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Roundup: Greece reacts to Wikileaks allegations over IMF threat with Greek default in 2016

Greece strongly reacted on Saturday to Wikileaks allegations published in British "Guardian" newspaper that International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials were planning to threaten Athens with a Greek disorderly default this summer so that Greeks would accept ...


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