Low cost airline Ryanair will cut two months earlier the summer flights to Greece. In an interview to Sunday newspaper To Vima, Chief Commercial Manager of Ryanair David O’ Brien said that the Ryanair was «forced to move” to end two months before the summer flight schedule in Greece. The […]
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Sunday, April 17, 2016
Earthquake of 3.9 Richter Magnitude Between Aegina and Salamina
An earthquake of 4.2 Richter magnitude occurred right before 5pm on Sunday afternoon. According to first estimates the earthquake was 4.2 on the Richter Scale, however the Institute of Geodynamics classified the earthquake at 3.9. The earthquake occurred 25 kilometers Southwest of Athens, Greece, in the sea territory between Salamina and Aegina. The earthquake was also felt in
There was such suffering: Pope Francis on meeting with migrants in Greek island
Vatican City, April 17: Pope Francis spoke emotionally today of his meeting a day earlier with migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos, which culminated with him taking three Syrian families back to the Vatican. Addressing worshippers at his weekly Angelus ...
Karabotses Honored at Federation Gala on Eve of Philly Greek Parade
CHERRY HILL, NJ – On April 17, the eve of the Greek Independence Parade in Philadelphia, Greek-Americans and Philhellenes gathered at the Danielle Kousoulis Center of the St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill,, NJ – a Philadelphia suburb – to join the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of Philadelphia and the Greater Delaware Valley […]
St. Nicholas in Appleton, WI Closes Doors But Lives on in Shrine Church
APPLETON, WI – When the Church of St. Nicholas in Appleton, WI closed its doors earlier this year, the congregation merged with the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Fond du Lac, but the parish’s legacy in the history of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America lives on through an act of generosity. […]
Drawing by Greek Barista Printed on Starbucks Cups
Charitos Moudoufaris, is the Starbucks barista whose design will be featured on the Starbucks cups for a limited time. Starbucks had recently run a competition, during which employees with an “artsy” side, were called to design on the cups and “have ...
Ex-GREEK finance minister Varoufakis supports France labour protests
Paris (dpa) - Former GREEK finance minister Yanis Varoufakis appeared at France's Nuit Debout (Rise Up At Night) demonstration, decrying a set of ...
Turkey has denied reports Turkish border guards have shot at Syrian civilians fleeing the Islamic ...
GREEK authorities, worried about the spread of diseases in makeshift camps, ... Pope Francis says one of the refugees he met on the GREEK island of ...
Marathon becomes another bridge of Sino-GREEK friendship and cooperation
ATHENS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 3,000 runners from across Greece attended the third annual Half Marathon race of the Marathon Municipality ...
Pope Francis Brings 12 Muslim Syrian Refugees to Rome After GREECE Visit
After his five-hour visit to GREECE, Pope Francis took three families of Syrian Muslim refugees, including six children, back to Rome aboard the papal ...
EP advises Turkish to become EU’s 25th official language
The European Parliament has advised making Turkish an official language of the European Union, building on the initiative by Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, according to the EP’s 2015 progress report on Turkey
Get me to the Greek: History in Athens, clubbing in Mykonos and chilling in Skiathos
So in a bid to sample its best bits, I organised a three-stop trip allowing me to experience the Greek way of life and history, as well as being let loose on the dancefloor. Starting in Athens, the country’s capital and one of the world’s oldest cities ...
Pope visits migrants on Greek island, brings 12 home with him
… an emotional visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, one of … of newly arrived migrants to Greece to apply for asylum. Instead … Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, Francis greeted hundreds of …
Reports of €3 Billion in Contingency Measures by the IMF
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde discussed on Saturday night the creditors’ proposal which illustrates contingency-measures that Athens will have to adopt in case it does not make its fiscal goals, as presented at the Washington Club. Euclid Tsakalotos met late on Saturday night for the second time in 24
Pope Francis says one of the refugees he met on the GREEK island of Lesbos was the Muslim ...
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis says one of the refugees he met on the GREEK island of Lesbos was the Muslim widower of a Syrian Christian woman ...
Feature: Tourists on GREEK island replaced by volunteers amid refugee crisis
LESVOS, Greece, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A year since the refugee crisis worsened, the GREEK Aegean Sea island of Lesvos is divided under the influence ...
Francis brings 12 refugees back to Vatican City
MYTILENE, GREECE — Pope Francis made an emotional visit into the heart of Europe's migrant crisis Saturday and took 12 Muslim refugees from Syria ...
TAG Pope Francis, Refugees, GREECE Pope Francis Arrives On Greek Island Of Lesbos To Show ...
Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos, arriving at what is considered the heart of Europe's refugee crisis on the morning of April 16.
Foreign Minister Kotzias meets with the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy, Matthew Nimetz ...
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias’ meeting with the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy, Matthew Nimetz, concluded a short while ago. Mr. Nimetz was briefed on the Greek government’s thoughts and on the progress that has been made in the area of confidence-building measures.Mr. Nimetz briefed Mr. Kotzias on his activities and on the discussions he is having in the context of his mandate.
Pope Francis hailed as saviour by Syrian refugees
Refugee families taken to Vatican express gratitude to pontiff for his ‘gesture of hope’ in rescuing them from Lesbos The Syrian refugees Pope Francis took in following his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos have hailed the pontiff as a saviour for offering them a new life. In a hugely symbolic move seen as a lesson in solidarity for Europe, Francis, who is the son of Italian migrants to Argentina, took 12 Syrians from three families – all of them Muslims – home with him to the Vatican on Saturday. Continue reading...
Leaders of 3 major Christian churches meet refugees on Greek isle, warn Europe: You face God's judgment for your action
The leaders of three major Christian churches—Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II—united in a dramatic show of Christian unity, meeting on Saturday on the small Greek island of Lesbos to see for ...
The Refugees and the Orthodox Church
BOSTON, MA – Visiting professor of Dogmatic Theology Chrysostomos Stamoulis from the University of Thessaloniki to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology delivered a thoughtful lecture at the Archbishop Iakovos Library on the topic “The Refugees and the Orthodox Church.” The lecture was attended by students, professors, and also guests from the […]
Migrants stuck at GREEK-Macedonian border
Moving to the GREEK-Macedonian border, where thousands of migrants are stuck in Idomeni, unable to go forward as Macedonia's border remains ...
Ohio University Cancels GREEK Week after Pro-Trump Messages Show Up
National GREEK leaders cancelled several events scheduled for an upcoming GREEK Week at Ohio University after discovering students involved in ...
Children as young as 10 stranded in GREECE
At least 1500 unaccompanied migrant and refugee children stranded in GREECE have nowhere safe to stay, many sleeping rough in the cold and ...
Greek creditors weigh extra austerity measures
Greece's creditors are considering seeking extra austerity measures that would be triggered if Athens misses its fiscal targets, in a bid to bridge differences between Europe and the IMF over bailout requirements. Under the proposal, Greece would have to ...
'Pope gave us a new life': Syrian refugees taken in by Vatican
[Pope Francis welcomes a group of Syrian refugees after landing at Ciampino airport in Rome following a visit at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16, 2016]The Syrian refugees taken in by Pope Francis following his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos have hailed the pontiff as a "saviour" for offering them a new life.
First ‘Cem-Papandreu International Peace Award’ ceremony held in Istanbul
The first Cem-Papandreu International Peace Award was given to businessmen Åžarık Tara and Theodoros Papalexopoulos, and the Greek-Turkish Forum for being pioneers and “opening innovative ways of communication between Greece and Turkey"
Pope Hails Christian 'Martyr' Killed In Syria
[Pope Hails Christian 'Martyr' Killed In Syria]Pope Francis has revealed that one of the refugees he met on the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday was the widower of a Christian "martyr" killed in Syria. The Pontiff told an audience in St Peter's Square, Rome, that the man's wife was murdered by extremists after she refused to renounce her faith. "He is Muslim, and he told me that he married a Christian girl," the Pope said.
Little GREEK Fresh Grill opens Kennesaw location and offers week-long specials
Tampa-based Little GREEK Fresh Grill, a fast-casual GREEK restaurant with an American influence, has opened in Kennesaw with specials planned for ...
Reimagining of Greek tale of two women
… 17/04/2016 | 02:30 Greek mythology isn't normally … present in the stories of Greek mythology, not least in the …
AZAL to open direct air flight to Crete
… new air flight to Hanya (Greece, Crete). Sources in AZAL report that … tourism companies of Azerbaijan and Greece agreed to organize a direct … air communication between Baku and Crete. Greek embassy in Azerbaijan has already …
Greek stores to give Israeli tourists 20% discount
Israeli tourists will be offered 20 percent discounts at many Greek stores in 2016, as part of an initiative to help the struggling Greek economy, Greek officials said. The plan, announced last week by Deputy Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas and the ...
DAVID ROSENBERG: Janet Yellen's use of one word shows something has gone wrong
[David Rosenberg]Screenshot via Bloomberg TV In a truly seminal speech on March 29th, Janet Yellen used the title, The Outlook, Uncertainty, and Monetary Policy. I have been in this business for 30 years and have never seen a central bank chief slip the word “uncertainty” into the headline. Not just that, but she invoked the term no fewer than 10 times to describe the domestic and global macro and market backdrop — this even as we pass seven years since the worst point of the Great Recession and seven years into the most radical easing of monetary policy in recorded history. It begs the question: what has gone wrong? Well, the obvious answer is that monetary policy simply is a weak antidote to the fundamental and structural impediments to global growth. The world is still grappling with a problem of over-indebtedness. This is particularly acute in China as the country simultaneously rebalances from overinvestment in the industrial sector to consumer services. Germany is following a policy of austerity to the detriment of its Eurozone allies (in part due to trust issues with its partners or possibly just a pervasive culture of frugality) -— running a budget surplus, and a current account surplus-to-GDP ratio of over 8% (Germany has now had current account surpluses for 15 years in a row). So yes, there are lingering debt and competitive hurdles in the way of European growth, but Germany’s refusal to share its economic engine with its neighbors has been a hindrance to say the least. In Japan, Abenomics has hit a wall as the country continues to weave in and out of a recession with consumer spending and incomes stagnant. The experiment with negative interest rates has failed so far, highlighted by the firming yen and the renewed stranglehold placed on the country’s export sector. The Brexit vote on June 23rd is a classic fork in the road for the European Union, and the 64% vote (non-binding) in the Netherlands against the treaty with Ukraine (for greater economic ties) underscores the contempt that many in the region have towards the union. All the more so with the refugee and terrorism files, partly the product of open (porous more like it) borders. Spain’s coalition government is about to fall. Italy’s banks are in disarray. Prime Minister Hollande has backed down on French reforms. Greece is at risk of defaulting again this summer. [Greece riot protest]Screenshot via Bloomberg TV So it is clear the European Union is splintering. That said, the soft global background only goes so far in explaining why the U.S. economy has been on such soft ground this cycle. After all, nearly 90% of U.S. GDP is autonomous. The U.S. economy does not reside on an island, that is true, but the global economy really is a two-bit player — a truly decimal place impact. Where it matters is whether global market anxiety leads to an undesired tightening in domestic financial conditions or if the U.S. dollar rises too far too fast. To be sure, both of these have been in play at different times since last summer, but over time, U.S. growth is much more a local story. The big story is how the U.S. has shot itself in the foot many times over. While Obamacare may have been good social policy, it froze the small business sector two years after the detonation of the housing sector and capital markets. One shock layered on top of another. Fiscal policy was never loosened enough and the move to tighten it so dramatically in 2013 via spending restraint and broad-based tax hikes has exerted dampening economic effects to this day. The structural component of the deficit, once as high as 7%, is now close to zero, as revenue growth (the tax take) is exceeding program spending growth currently by a three to one ratio. Meanwhile, the Republican who shut down the government four years ago is now in second spot in the GOP primaries, and the leader has become the poster boy for the anti-free-trade movement. [Ted Cruz]Screenshot via Bloomberg TV The tax code has not undergone a face-lift in three decades. We have a White House now making it up as it goes along when it comes to merger activity, adding to business uncertainty over tax and regulatory policy —which is running at historically high levels. So we have supply side sclerosis in the country, where the lack of budget policy clarity has led to a freeze-up in capital spending and a record-low pace of growth in the private sector capital stock. This in turn has impaired productivity growth, as Janet Yellen herself warned repeatedly before she took over the helm. Sadly, this is more the domain of fiscal policy than monetary policy. Here we are, more than a year later, with no movement on the fiscal front, and a productivity performance that has gone from bad to worse. We have endured an erosion in the growth of the capital stock that is impairing productivity. The other input to the production process, labor, is also seeing ever-present constraints. Because of birth and fertility rates that have gone in reverse, coupled with a decline in immigration (to an extent that would most assuredly bring a smile to The Donald’s face), we have a situation where the growth in the working-age population has slowed to a mere 0.5% annual rate, less than half of what was typical in the past. In contrast to the old boomer-led cycles of the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, female participation rates are no longer rising, and the rapid growth in two-income families that helped juice up the spending power of cycles gone by, is long over. So much of the comparatively sluggish growth this cycle is purely demographic. Then we have a slate of socio-economic factors, many of which have scars from the Great Recession. Employment among males aged 20 to 24 has not increased in eight years and the employment rate for this group is extremely depressed even if off the bottom. Ditto for those aged 25 to 34. [guy reading on a couch books]Screenshot via Bloomberg TV As for those fertility rates, what woman wants to date, let alone marry, a guy who’s still living with mom and dad? Indeed, an unheard-of 35% of males aged between 18 and 34 live at home. Part of the problem, a big part, is the dramatic surge in student debt, now equivalent to $100,000 per college grad, and seven years into the recovery, the delinquency rate sits at 8%. So kiss your FICO score goodbye and kiss your ability to secure a mortgage goodbye, too — and so say hello to a massive reversal in the U.S. homeownership rate which is in such steep descent that it is starting to look more and more European. On top of that, the household sector, at the margin, continues to focus on repairing balance sheets as opposed to embarking on a spending binge, even with incomes picking up recently and the de facto tax windfall from sharply lower gas prices. Debt-to-income and debt-to-asset ratios are still receding and savings rates trending higher as the typical boomer hitting 60 looks at the life expectancy tables and sees he or she has 25 years left on earth and the dread realization sets in that they haven’t come close to preparing financially for the not-so-golden years that lie ahead. There is this other little matter called income inequality, which has become a global issue and indeed part of the discourse during this primary season. Always good to see a revolt being conducted peacefully and within the political process (good thing Maximilien Robespierre isn’t around). But this anti-establishment feel to the primaries, whether it is in the Trump or Sanders camp, certainly does resonate. This feeling of being left out or left behind. [U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in an airplane hanger in Rome, New York April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri]Screenshot via Bloomberg TV I mean, there is nothing wrong with building wealth, but remember that democracy and capitalism are always dancing with each other on a pin. You don’t want to have too many trailing behind because history shows us time after time that this triggers discontent among the masses, instability and inevitably, upheaval. The Gini coefficient— a measure of income dispersion — has risen to unprecedented levels. This by no means suggests that folks at the lower income echelons aren’t better off than they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago, but it means their share of the national income pie is getting smaller, and if you don’t think people, by their nature, aren’t constantly looking over their shoulder, then go and take a Psychology 101 course at your nearest university or community college. It wouldn’t be so bad if the “middle class” wasn’t disappearing, because what its depletion has done is polarize society — which is why the rancor is so loud during this pre-election circus otherwise known as the U.S. primary season. The near eradication of the middle class has coincided with a multi-year decline in the labor share of national income, and only very recently has this started to carve out a bottom and hook up (a clear reason why profit margins have started to roll over). Of course, even as the spoils now are diverted more towards the personal sector, the implications for GDP growth which is all about “spending” are unclear given the uptrend in the savings rate. A rising savings rate amidst lingering high excess capacity in a global basis means that deflationary pressures are not going to go away. Central banks will be forced to offset these pressures by ongoing monetary accommodation, though as we are seeing with quantitative easing and negative rates in the euro area and Japan, central banks are losing their effectiveness. So all this means lower for a lot longer — low growth, low inflation, and low interest rates — from an investment strategy standpoint, it is all about “Safety & Income at a Reasonable Price”, all over again. NOW WATCH: The science behind why you shouldn't pop your pimples
How Will The Pope's Invitation To Refugees Impact The Migrant Crisis?
Pope Francis is back at the Vatican this morning after his visit to the front lines of Europe's migrant crisis in Greece. Francis took 12 Syrians with him to Rome as a "humanitarian gesture."
The Latest: Greece urges migrants to head to cleaner camps
[A migrant uses his mobile phone as he sits by the sea near the old international airport which is used as a temporary camp in Athens, on Sunday, April 17, 2016. Greek authorities, worried about the spread of diseases in makeshift camps, are urging migrants to relocate to organized camps with better living conditions. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)]VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Latest on Europe's migration crisis (all times local):
Pope Francis speaks of Christian woman killed for her faith
[Pope Francis, center, is flanked by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, left, and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos II as they meet refugees at the Moria camp, on the Greek island of Lesbos, Saturday, April 16, 2016. Pope Francis travelled Saturday to Greece for a brief but provocative visit to meet with refugees at a detention center as the European Union implements a controversial plan to deport them back to Turkey. (Filippo Monteforte/Pool Photo via AP)]VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says one of the refugees he met on the Greek island of Lesbos was the Muslim widower of a Syrian Christian woman killed by extremists for refusing to renounce her faith.
Enjoying the Nice Weather? You can Thank the GREEK Letter Omega
Well you can thank your new favorite GREEK letter, Omega, for that! Right now Wisconsin and much of the eastern US is under what is known as the ...
Israelis among tourists offered special discounts at GREEK stores
ATHENS, Greece (JTA) — Israeli tourists will be offered 20 percent discounts at many GREEK stores in 2016, as part of an initiative to help the ...
Clear-out imminent at GREEK bank boards
More than a third of the board members at Greece's four largest banks will be replaced within weeks as part of a governance overhaul of the banking ...
Schaeuble wants the IMF, the IMF wants Debt Relief, Tsipras doesn’t want more austerity measures
Greek program Review, Debt Relief, participation of International Monetary Fund in Greece’s program. Key words for a temporary solution that would allow Greece to receive a bailout tranche and avoid default to its lenders. However, the key players, Greek government, Germany and the IMF still have not found a formula […]
Visiting the Northern Greece refugee camps with Tim Farron
On Monday I flew out to Greece with Tim ahead of his visit to the camps in the North on Tuesday. Hours earlier UNHCR informed us they would no longer be able to facilitate the visit of a ‘high-profile’ individual given the security concerns after the ...
Turkey- Pope Francis visits Greek island amid refugee crisis
… the waters from Turkey to Greece. Tsipras said the Catholic pontiff … crisis. Pope Francis praised Greece and the Greek people and the role … the Greek territory on Friday. Almost 30000 are in northern Greece; just …
Pope Francis in GREECE: 'We Are All Migrants'
The Archbishop of Athens and All GREECE was the first to offer his prayer for the souls of the departed migrants, asking God to give them “rest in a place ...
Pope lands on Greek island of Lesbos to meet with refugees
Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos, arriving at what is considered the heart of Europe's refugee crisis on the morning of April 16. Migrants wept at his feet, kissed his hand and begged for Pope Francis' help yesterday at a Greek refugee camp ...
Parents of Thane seaman detained in Greece run from pillar to post to free son
22-year-old Thane seaman was on board a merchant vessel illegally carrying arms for Islamic State | Held in Greece last year It has been seven months of despair and frustration for the parents of 22-year-old Kalpesh Shinde, a seaman detained in Greece for ...
German Finance Minister urges Greece to 'do more'
Finance ministers of France and Germany have voiced hope that Athens would soon reach a new bailout deal with its international lenders. Both also urged the IMF to continue its involvement with the debt issue.
Church leaders comfort refugees in GREECE
Church leaders comfort refugees in GREECE. Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew have visited the Greek island of Lesbos to draw the ...
Pope visits Lesbos, brings 12 Muslim refugees back to the Vatican
Source: www.latimes.com - Saturday, April 16, 2016 On a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos — the front line of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II — Pope Francis chided the continent for its treatment of refugees and migrants.Then, leading by example, he flew back to the Vatican with 12 Muslims from three Syrian families under his... All Related | More on Lesbos