Turkish Warships in Greek Waters

Greece’s National Defence General Staff said a Turkish frigate and a missile boat violated Greek territorial waters on Tuesday, May 20, during a military exercise. Turkish frigate Turgut Reis entered the Kafirea strait between Evia and the island of Andros and left Greek waters at 17:50, while the “Bora” missile boat entered Greek waters north of the island of Naxos on westward course at 13:21 and left Greek waters at 15:24 According to the NDGS announcement, the two Turkish boats were under surveillance by the Greek Navy throughout their entire journey. The frequent violations of the Greek waters and air space by the Turkish navy and air force has strained Greek-Turkish relations. According to figures from NDGS, so far, in 2014 there have been 681 violations of the Greek air space while in 2013 the violations of the Greek territorial waters amounted to 353. 

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World Travel Awards Held This Year in Athens

World Travel Awards will take place in Greece, Athens, on August 1 to August 3. “Divani Apollon & Thalasso” hotel will host the ceremony of the Awards and all visitors will have the chance to enjoy various activities. Senior representatives of Europe’s finest travel brands and travelling agents as well as foreign media are scheduled to attend the ceremony. They will be offered a full organized tour to discover Athen’s and Attica’s hotspots to form an overall- and hopefully positive – view of the capital. The tour will include visits in Saronicos bay and Acropolis. The main event will take place on August 2, when the awards will be presented. WTA will be held in partnership with the Greek National Tourism Organization and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises. The deadline for the candidates to apply is June 23 and applications are already up to 2,500. Graham E Cook, president and founder of WTA, underlined that: “The selection of our hosts is fundamental to the success of our awards programme, and Athens possesses all the ingredients to rise to the challenge of hosting our Europe Ceremony 2014. Working closely with Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso, we have put together a whistle-stop tour of Greek highlights.” Niki Fotiou, Marketing & PR Manager, Divani Collection Hotels, stated: “Our goal is to organize truly memorable moments for everyone to share. We want to offer to our guests a real taste of Greece and all that Athens has to offer.” WTA is nothing less than the “Oscars of travel industry” and are organized for the 21st consecutive year. It is worth mentioning that the event will be covered by New York Times, Le Monde, TV5, Focus, Travel News, TTN and other important media.

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Kouvelis Slams Coalition, Says No Return, Slaps SYRIZA Too

Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis said he won’t return to the coalition government headed by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ New Democracy Conservatives. The administration was left with just the fading PASOK Socialists as a partner when Kouvelis yanked DIMAR last year after refusing to back the firing of all 2,653 workers at the now-defunct ERT national broadcaster. PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos supported the firings and was named Deputy Premier/Foreign Minister but it has been costly as the Socialists have fallen to 3-5 percent support and tied themselves to a new center-left political alliance, Elia (Olive Tree) to stay alive politically. New Democracy is locked in a close duel with the major opposition Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) ahead of the May 25 European Parliament elections and a second round of balloting in Greek municipalities. Speaking at a televised news conference, Kouvelis said New Democracy and PASOK had strayed from policy agreements when DIMAR was part of the government, citing ERT and still-lagging privatization. Venizelos had hinted that with the coalition having only a two-vote majority in Parliament that DIMAR might be invited to come back with its 14 votes but Kouvelis ruled it out. DIMAR has fallen to under 2 percent in some polls now. Asked whether DIMAR would work with SYRIZA, Kouvelis said it hadn’t made it positions clear, leaving no room for him to align with it. Kouvelis also slammed the polarization strategy adopted by both New Democracy and SYRIZA ahead of the ballot, as the two keep saying he other would be disastrous for the country.

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A Modern-Day Idyll On Greece's Peloponnesian Coast: Amanzoe

A Modern-Day Idyll On Greece's Peloponnesian Coast: AmanzoeForbesThe architecture and scale of Amanzoe are as lavish as those of any number of ancient Greek palaces and acropolises, but the pervading ambience is not of pomp and circumstance but of effortless tranquility. Aman's third Mediterranean resort, like every ...

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Gas, Ukraine Top Bid Cyprus Visit

Cyprus' airport was briefly evacuated following a bomb hoax, a day ahead of a visit to the small Mediterranean island nation by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

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PAOK Fights Title Cost Points Loss

The Thessaloniki soccer team PAOK is asking the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn a three-point deduction for fan hooliganism that cost the team a place in next season's Champions League.

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DIMAR Rejects Coalition Return

Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis said he won't return to the coalition government headed by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' New Democracy Conservatives.

The post DIMAR Rejects Coalition Return appeared first on The National Herald.

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