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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

Friday, October 25, 2013

Roma family that says Greece's mystery girl could be theirs lives in abject poverty

Maria's case has drawn global attention ... who were arrested in Athens on Wednesday and were expected to be charged with child abduction, allegedly paid a Roma woman 4,000 euros ($5,500) for the baby, a Greek police statement said. Authorities are ...

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Christos Groutsos, Best Backgammon Player in Greece

Christos Groutsos, a doctor from Trikala, a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, is the best backgammon (better known in Greece as tavli) player in the country. Groutsos has also gained international titles for his playing, as he became world champion in 2009 in international backgammon games. The doctor from Trikala is highly regarded among the […]

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Greece mystery girl’s mother identified by DNA test

SOFIA, BULGARIA—Bulgarian authorities say DNA tests have confirmed that a 35-year-old Roma woman is the mother of a mysterious girl in Greece known as Maria. Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry announced the results of the test Friday after ...

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Maria case exposes extent of child trafficking in crisis-hit Greece

Announcing the results, Bulgaria's interior ministry said genetic profiling proved that Sasha Ruseva, a Roma woman, was the mother of the mystery girl known only as Maria. The 38-year-old had said she gave birth to the blond, blue-eyed child ...

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Why Greek Americans Should Be NY Jets Fans

The question is often directed to me: "Since you were not born and raised in NYC why do you love the NFL and why do you support the NY Jets?" Well, the answer to the first question is easy: Football is quite possibly the world's greatest game ...

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Europe's Freak-Out About Gypsy Families With Blonde Kids Looks Even Darker After New Revelation

DNA tests have confirmed that a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named "Maria" found living with a Roma family in Greece is the child of Bulgarian couple Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev, the BBC reports.

Crucially, the Bulgarian couple are Roma themselves.

This is grim twist in an already dark tale. The discovery of Maria earlier this month prompted a Europe-wide freak-out about the possibility that Roma — gypsy communities who descended from Indian nomads and are some of the continent's most persecuted minorities — were involved in the kidnapping and trafficking of children. How could a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes end up in a community that usually features dark complexions?

People assumed the worst. A spokesperson for the family of missing child Madeleine McCann told the Daily Mirror that it gave the family "great hope that Madeleine could be found alive," and the Daily Mail accompanied a story on "Maria" with a section about "How Roma gangs 'traffic children across Europe to steal.'" In Ireland, another blonde child was removed from a Roma family, even though the child had a birth certificate and a passport (that girl was later returned when DNA testing found that she was in fact their child).

Exactly how Maria came to be in Greece remains murky. Her Bulgarian mother has said that she was left in the country as a baby as they could not afford to bring her when they returned to Bulgaria. However, the Daily Mail reported that a woman with her same name was arrested twice for allegedly selling babies in Greece. Whatever the reason, the rush to assume that the only way a Roma family could have a blonde child is abduction and trafficking is scary.

Scarier still is that this is just one example of a wider trend. Anti-Roma persecution has existed for centuries, and economic troubles in the past few years seem to have led to a resurgence. In Greece, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn have targeted Roma immigrants, and political parties such as Hungary’s Jobbik, the Czech Republic’s Workers’ Party of Social Justice and Bulgaria’s Ataka support anti-Roma policies.

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‘Maria’ case brings hope, heartache to mom of boy believed kidnapped by Gypsies in ‘91

Recent news of a blonde girl named Maria turning up in a Greek gypsy camp has consumed Kerry Needham with both hope and heartache.

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DNA confirms identity of mother of girl found at Roma camp in Greece

FARSALA, Greece, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A DNA test has confirmed that a Bulgarian Roma woman is the biological mother of a girl who was removed from a Roma camp in central Greece, authorities said.

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Mystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNA

BBC NewsMystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNABBC NewsDNA tests have confirmed a Bulgarian Roma couple as the biological parents of mystery child Maria, found in Greece last week, Bulgarian officials say. They identified the couple as Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev. The officials are investigating whether the ...DNA tests show blond girl seized by police is daughter of Roma motherLos Angeles TimesTest proves Bulgarian woman mother of mystery girl from Gypsy campFox NewsDNA test confirms Bulgarian Roma couple as Maria's parentsSydney Morning HeraldABC News -CNN -TIMEall 213 news articles »

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Government and SYRIZA clash over ‘Ochi’ Day parades

New Democracy and PASOK accused SYRIZA on Friday of trying to use the events planned for Monday to mark Greece’s entry into the Second World War as an opportunity to “overthrow the government.” A military parade is planned in Thessaloniki and a student pa... ...

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Streets in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki to be closed off for Oct. 28 parades

Streets in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki will be closed on Monday as parades by students and the military take place to commemorate the October 28, 1940 anniversary of Greece’s refusal to ally with the Axis powers in World War II, known as “Ochi Day.” ... ...

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Ombudsman slams treatment of Roma by Greek state and media

Greece’s citizens’ advocate issued a scathing assessment on Friday of the way authorities and the media had handled the case of Maria, the young girl taken from a Roma family last week after authorities found her DNA did not match that of her supposed par... ...

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Roma: An unwanted people in unsafe settlements

A few weeks before Maria, the blond child found living in a Roma camp in central Greece, grabbed the headlines, public attention had briefly focused on a different girl of roughly the same age. She was not blond, she had long black hair and dark skin, and... ...

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DNA tests confirm Sasha Ruseva is Maria's mother, leaving officials with conundrum

Bulgarian authorities confirmed on Friday that a local Roma woman is the biological mother of the blond girl, known as Maria, who was discovered at a Gypsy encampment in Farsala, central Greece. Maria was removed from the camp after DNA tests showed that ... ...

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Troika to Meet Greek Ministry of Finance in Athens

The Ministry of Finance is preparing for the arranged visit of Troika representatives in Athens, on the 4th of November. This time, the main issues to be discussed are the restructure plans of EAS, ELVO and LARKO, the suspension of 12,500 public sector employees, and the payment of debts towards EYDAP and EYATH, which have […]

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Acropolis Museum Celebrates “Oxi Day”

In celebration of “Oxi Day,” on October 28, Acropolis Museum will offer its visitors free admission and special events. October 28 is an important national holiday in Greece as it commemorates the day Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum given by  Benito Mussolini, the Italian Dictator in1940. This was the day Greece entered the second […]

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Girl of Albanian Origin to Hold Greek Flag

As published by candia.gr, a school in Hersonisos, Crete, was cause for talk throughout the region. Parents and students reacted when the school decided that an Albanian student will be the leader of the school parade on October 28. The Albanian girl is the best student of the school. This decision outraged some of the girls […]

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Couple allegedly bought baby from mother for $5,519

ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A Greek couple who allegedly purchased an infant for $5,519 from a woman in Athens faced a judge Friday on charges of abduction, court officials said.

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Greek Maria Was Given Away As Gift by Bulgarian Parents

Bulgarian police have taken to the capital Sofia the alleged parents of the blond girl, found in a Roma camp in Greece, for further questioning and for DNA tests. The family was driven away in a police car overnight with three of their children. The child, known as Maria and aged about four, was found by Greek police during a drug raid on a Roma community near Larissa in central Greece. A ...

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New Greek bailout unveiled to contain debt crisis

President of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (R), President of European Council Herman Van Rompuy (C) and Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou attend the press conference after the Eurozone Emergency Summit in Brussels, Capital of Belgium, July 21, 2011. Eurozone leaders Thursday agreed on a second bailout package for Greeece, with a total official financing of an estimated 109 ...

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A solution to Greece’s debt

The issue of the Greek public debt must be dealt with sooner rather than later.All international analysts agree that it will be particularly difficult for ...

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Greek Poverty Levels On the Rise

Eurostat showed dramatic deterioration of the living conditions in Greek households, as well as uneven distribution of weight in the population. This information was based on a sample survey in 2012 dealing with household incomes in 2011. As pointed out by scholars of the INE / GSEE observatory who commented on the figures, the first half year of the memorandum, low and middle income groups ...

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Greek economy in dire need of reforms

Greece is in need of radical reforms to its pension system if it is to cease being a burden on longer-term fiscal sustainability, and to prevent a rise in pension costs that would otherwise see these accounting for more than 20 per cent of GDP by 2050, warns the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In ...

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Greek pair held after buying baby

Athens - A Greek couple has been arrested for buying a Roma baby girl from her mother for 4 000 euros and they will appear before a prosecutor on Friday to face charges, police ...

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Cocaine workshop raided in Athens neighborhood of Tavros

A 38-year-old Albanian was arrested on Friday after a raid on his home in the Athens neighborhood of Tavros revealed a workshop where he is alleged to have cut and packaged cocaine for distribution on the Greek market.The raid was carried out by officers of the force's anti-drugs squad who seized from the premises 3.7 kilograms of cocaine as well as a pistol, ammunition, two hand grenades ...

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War memories surface in Greece as German auto makers feel anti-austerity blow

Protesters throw stones at riot police during clashes in front of the parliament in Athens on Tuesday Oct. 9, 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel got a hostile reception from Greeks Tuesday when she flew into Athens on her first visit to the country since its debt crisis erupted three years ago. (Nikolas ...

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Stournaras 500 million euros Should Come From Social Security Funds

government will seek an additional 500 million euros in budget cuts from social security funds. In an interview with Greek newspaper "Ta Nea" the Minister of Finance on the one hand, repeated the government's slogan "no more measures" saying that no additional across-the-board fiscal cuts will be imposed. On the other hand, he said that additional savings will be ...

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Greek Maria to Be Placed in Bulgarian Crisis Center Foster Home

The four-year old blond girl, found in a Roma camp in Greece, which turned out to most likely be Bulgarian, will be brought to her native country and placed in a crisis center of the family type. The news was reported Friday by the Bulgarian news cite BGNES, citing the Director of the Regional "Social Assistance" Directorate in the city of Stara Zagora, Yana Kaneva. She added that ...

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Bulgarian confirmed as mother of girl Maria found with Greek Roma couple

Maria, who was found by Greek police during a raid on a Roma settlement. Her mother has been confirmed as a Bulgaria, Sasha Ruseva. Photograph: ...

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Samaras Management Audit on all Universities

Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos asked the Ministry of finance to begin management audit on all universities. This order was given by Greek Prime ...

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Bulgarian woman is mother of girl in Greece say authorities

A DNA test has confirmed a Bulgarian Roma woman is the mother of a girl known as "Maria", above, found living with a couple in Greece, authorities in Bulgaria have said. Photograph: Greek ...

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Russian FM Sergey Lavrov to visit Athens on Oct. 29-30

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will make a working visit to Greece on October 29 and 30, Moscow has ...

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Clocks go back 1 hour on Sunday

The issue of the Greek public debt must be dealt with sooner rather than later. All international analysts agree that it will be particularly difficult for ...

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More arrests made in operation against international cocaine cartel

Representatives of the Greek Police brief the media on the progress of Operation Avalanche in central Athens on Thursday night. A total of 16 people from Greece, Albania, Georgia, Venezuela and Ukraine were arrested on Friday and Thursday in five Greek cities as part of a large-scale police operation ...

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Mysterious girl in Greece is not KCs Baby Lisa

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgarian authorities say DNA tests have confirmed that a 35-year-old Roma woman is the mother of a mysterious girl in Greece known as ...

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DNA Test This is the Mother of the Little Blond Girl Found in Greece

Acording to the results of the DNA test, published by The Minisrty of Interior of Bulgaria, Sasa and Atanas Rusevi are the biological parents of ...

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At EU summit Greece insists only 500 mln in savings needed next year

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (center) is flanked by his finance chief, Yannis Stournaras (left), and government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou (right) at a press conference in Brussels on Friday. No more than 500 million euros in new savings will be needed next year and this will all come from structural adjustments, rather then austerity measures, Greek government sources insisted on Friday at ...

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NPL portfolio offers are ‘humiliating’

By Evgenia Tzortzi The foreign funds that are scouring the Greek market for opportunities are making offers similar to those made in Romania for the acquisition of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in ...

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Some of Greece’s best ferries sent into hibernation

Olympiakos produced an emphatic win at Galatasaray with an 78-67 score on Thursday to make it two out of two in the first group stage of the Euroleague. The Piraeus giant played its best ...

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DNA test proves mystery Roma girl's parents

Bulgarian Roma couple are biological parents of four-year-old blonde girl found in Roma camp in Greece, test confirms.

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DNA confirms mystery girl's parents

DNA tests confirmed that a Bulgarian Roma couple are the biological parents of Maria, the blonde girl found in a Greek Roma camp last week,    

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Europe: Bulgarian Roma confirmed as mother of mystery girl

DNA tests confirmed that a Bulgarian Roma couple, Sasha and Atanas Rusev, are the biological parents of Maria, the blonde girl found in a Greek Roma camp last week, Bulgaria's interior ministry said Friday.

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'Maria's' DNA matches Bulgarian couple

DNA from a girl taken from a Roma couple in Greece matches that of a Bulgarian couple who said they were her parents, officials say.

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DNA test: Bulgarian Roma woman is mother of Greek mystery girl

DNA test: Bulgarian Roma woman is mother of Greek mystery girlThe Seattle TimesCostas Yannopoulos, director of the Greek children's charity "Smile of the Child" which has been looking after the girl said he had no comment on her fate. "We are dealing with the humanitarian side of this issue, looking after a young girl ...and more »

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Maria will have access to interpreter 'as needed', charity says

Although Maria communicates mostly in the Roma dialect and understands only a few words of Greek,...

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DNA tests prove Roma couple in Bulgaria are parents of "Maria"

Authorities say DNA test confirms Roma couple in Bulgaria are parents of blue-eyed blond girl found living with Gypsy couple in Greece

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Greece: Absolutely Absent... and Then Wondering Why

Greece: Absolutely Absent... and Then Wondering WhyHuffington PostAnd yet, rarely have there been measures on a governmental level, in an organized, systematic and coordinated fashion to explain to the world why Skopje is not Macedonia, how feta cheese dates back to ancient Greece, that behind the fancy Italian flag ...

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Greek Exhibit Moves Heaven and Earth

WASHINGTON ? After arriving with no particular buzz, then being kept on ice by the government shutdown, Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium From Greek Collections has finally opened at the National Gallery of Art here, and it?s ambushingly resplendent, like a somber cloud with a fire inside. With around 170 objects ? icons, mosaics, frescoes, jewelry and embroideries, illuminated books ? all on loan, the show takes a processional sweep through Byzantine art from its Greco-Roman beginnings to its multicultural late phase in the 15th Century, with an emphasis on its development in Greece itself. Like many government-sponsored treasure shows, this one ? organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports in Athens, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum there ? has a promotional angle: It would love to get us to go to Greece and spend some tourist dollars, especially given that country?s recent fiscal woes.

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Questions Answered: DNA Reveals Girl's Identity

DNA confirms that a child found by police in a Gypsy encampment in central Greece is the daughter of a Bulgarian migrant, who says she gave her baby up because she could not afford to care for her.    

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Couple Arrested On Charges of Buying Baby

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greek police said they have arrested a childless couple in Athens on suspicion of buying an 8-month-old Roma girl and trying to register her as their own, amid international uproar over another little girl who was found living with unrelated Gypsies in Greece. Bulgarian authorities are now trying to establish whether a local Roma woman is the mother of that child, a strikingly fair girl aged 5 or 6 known as Maria. The woman has been tested for a DNA match and served with preliminary charges of child selling, but has not been detained. The case of Maria has drawn global attention, playing on the shocking possibility of children being stolen from their parents or sold buy them. But its handling by media and authorities has raised concerns of racism toward the European Union's estimated 6 million Gypsies ? a minority long marginalized in most of the continent.

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