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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, December 27, 2013

Greeks turn to comedy to make light of their economic tragedies

The GuardianGreeks turn to comedy to make light of their economic tragediesThe Guardian"Greeks need to unburden their fears," says the comic, the scent of cologne permeating his dressing room after he has danced, sung and quipped his way through another rendition of "Sorry … I'm Greek". "Laughter is the flip side of fear. And what I ...and more »

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Greece ETF Leads Post-Holiday Europe Charge

European stocks are playing catch-up after a two-day Christmas break, with Greek stocks and related exchange traded fund leading charge. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (NYSEArca: GREK) rose 4.3% Friday. ...

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Winning essay in university student competition on Greek civil service

KathimeriniWinning essay in university student competition on Greek civil serviceKathimeriniAthens Law School student Daphne Yovanov, aged 19, received the top prize, as well as 3,000 euros, for an essay, in English, submitted to a competition conducted by the Karatzas and Partners law firm on "The assessment of state structures, institutions ...

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Greek tax offices take extended holiday

The Greek Finance Ministry announced on Friday that all tax offices across the country will be closed on Wednesday, January 1, through Tuesday, January 7, as January 6 is the Epiphany holiday.

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Crisis: Greece; EOPYY doctors extend strike to January 3

Crisis: Greece; EOPYY doctors extend strike to January 3ANSAmedMeanwhile, Greece's pharmacists are also said to be gearing up for action amid speculation that the government is considering plans for liberalizing the pharmaceutical market and allowing other outlets such as supermarkets to sell over-the-counter drugs.and more »

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Body found in enclosed porch of Greece home

Body found in enclosed porch of Greece homeRochester Democrat and ChroniclePolice Thursday afternoon had still not released the identity of an elderly man whose body was found Christmas Day in an enclosed porch of a house in Greece. The man's body was found a few blocks away from the Fleming Point Independent Living Center, ...

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Sales Drop Even Further

Shop-owners have reported an increase in customer traffic until Christmas Eve, but a drop in the volume of sales especially in the major Greek cities. It has been estimated that Christmas holiday turnover will reach 6.8 billion euros, which is 800 million less than last year and a 70% reduction in comparison to 2008 when turnover reached […]

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Greek Nikos Manafis Designs Car of the Future

Nikos Manafis is a graduate of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) school of architecture. Within the frame of his dissertation project, he presented a small city vehicle. In particular, Nikos Manafis’ creation is more like a hydrogen vehicle with huge wheels from the left and right side of the driver’s seat. The driver […]

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Greek Retirement Age To Hit 68 – in 2030

While their pensions and lump sums have been cut, Greeks who’ve already retired got in under the wire as the retirement age is expected to hit 68, but not before 2030. That’s according to a European Commission report assessing the economic and fiscal effects stemming from the connection of retirement age and the benefits after […]

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Surprising Poll of Greek University

The Economics Department of the University of Ioannina, Greece, carried out a poll of voting intentions during the next elections. The poll posed the question, ”How would you vote if there were a general election held next Sunday?” SYRIZA received 14.5% of the vote, the option “other party” was in second place with 10.5%, with Nea Dimokratia […]

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Santorini: 8th Prettiest European City

Readers of the American newspaper USA Today and website 10Best.com, voted on which they think is the prettiest European city for 2013. After four weeks of polling, the finalists were announced yesterday, with a touch of Greece. According to readers, the prettiest European city was Riga, the capital of Latvia, while in second place was […]

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Rare Gene Protects Greek Villagers from Cardiovascular Diseases

According to a new study by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, residents of the small Cretan village of Anogia and surrounding areas, are at reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases despite a diet rich in animal fat. The researchers found that people have evolved a rare genetic condition which protects them from cardiovascular disease […]

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Barnier: “Greece Will Recover”

  According to the Greek newspaper “To Vima,” the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier expressed his opinion that the Greek economy will not only recover, but that Greece will also be among those in a most advantageous position. Barnier, who spoke to Acheloos TV, expressed his support and solidarity to the Greek population, while he […]

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MEPs conducting troika inquiry to meet with Greek lawmakers

KathimeriniMEPs conducting troika inquiry to meet with Greek lawmakersKathimeriniTsipras proposed that the two MEPs should be heard by members of the economic, social and European affairs committees, as well as the institutions and transparency panel, so that Greek lawmakers also have a chance to ask the visiting parliamentarians ...

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10-year old boy from Greece with local roots killed by collapsed snow bank

10-year old boy from Greece with local roots killed by collapsed snow bankWatertownDailyTimes.comA 10-year old Rochester-area boy with Ogdensburg roots died Dec. 19 after being trapped in a collapsed snow bank. Cory E. Denoncourt, who lived in the suburb of Greece, was building a tunnel under a large snow bank with friends outside his family's ...and more »

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Greece eager to enhance image as EU president

Greek ReporterGreece eager to enhance image as EU presidentDeutsche WelleWith regard to economic growth, Greece's coalition government of Conservatives and Socialists intends to provide an example for its EU partners, promising to leave the recession behind that has plagued the country for years. However, few believe at ...'Greek EU Presidency in 2014 won't change anything'RTGreek Retirement Age To Hit 68 – in 2030Greek ReporterPREVIEW: Greece takes over EU presidency with limited time, resources By ...Europe Online MagazineANSAmed -Business Recorder -Kathimeriniall 8 news articles »

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Cuba's New Businesses Need More Customers

HAVANA (AP) — The dented metal pizza trays are packed away, so too the old blender that never worked when it was needed. Gone is the sweet smell of rising dough that infused Julio Cesar Hidalgo's Havana apartment when he and his girlfriend were in business for themselves, churning out cheesy pies for hungry costumers. Two years on the front lines of Cuba's experiment with limited free market capitalism has left Hidalgo broke, out of work and facing a possible crushing fine. But the 33-year-old known for his wide smile and sunny disposition says the biggest loss is harder to define. "I feel frustrated and let down," Hidalgo said, slumped in a rocking chair one recent December afternoon, shrugging his shoulders as he described the pizzeria's collapse. "The business didn't turn out as I had hoped." The Associated Press recently checked in with nine small business owners whose fortunes it first reported on in 2011 as they set up shop amid the excitement of President Raul Castro's surprising embrace of some free enterprise. Among them were restaurant and cafeteria owners, a seamstress and taekwondo instructor, a vendor of bootleg DVDs and a woman renting her rooms out to well-heeled tourists. Their fates tell a story of divided fortunes. Of the six ventures that relied on revenue from cash-strapped islanders, four are now out of business, their owners in more dire financial straits than when they started. But the three enterprises that cater to well-heeled foreigners, and to the minority of well-paid Cubans who work for foreign businesses, are still going and in some cases thriving. While the sample size is small, the numbers point to a basic problem that economists who follow Cuba have noted from the start: There simply isn't enough money to support a thriving private sector on an island where salaries average $20 a month. "Clearly, there is a macroeconomic environment that does not favor the private sector or the expansion of demand that the private sector requires," said Pavel Vidal, a former Cuban Central Bank economist. Vidal has long called on Communist authorities to adopt a huge stimulus package or more aggressively seek capital from foreign investors. Now a professor at Colombia's Javeriana University, he says one has only to look at the trends since 2011 to see the private sector economy is nearly tapped out. After a surge of enthusiasm, the number of islanders working for themselves has stalled for the past two years at about 444,000 — or 9 percent of the workforce. Even in developed countries where entrepreneurs have access to capital, loans and a wide pool of paying customers, startups are risky ventures. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about half of all new establishments in America close within five years, and two-thirds are gone within a decade. The failure rate of Cuban entrepreneurs followed by AP was 44 percent in less than two years, and worse if one considers only those that relied primarily on Cuban customers. "There's not enough money circulating in the economy in the hands of everyday people," said Ted Henken, a professor of Latin American studies at Baruch College in New York and author of an upcoming book on private enterprise in Cuba. "You're all competing for the same customers, most of whom are poor and have very limited disposable income." Economists have criticized the Cuban government for a series of measures to crack down on what it sees as illegal activities — including banning private movie cinemas, taxing the import of hard-to-get products in travelers' luggage, and banning the sale of imported clothing. But on Saturday, Castro came down firmly in favor of increased regulation, sternly warning entrepreneurs that "those pressuring us to move faster are moving us toward failure." Henken and Vidal said Cuba must find a way to raise state salaries, expand state-funded microcredits and create a functional wholesale market to service the new businesses. They also noted that for a relatively well-educated society like Cuba's, there are remarkably few white collar jobs on the list of nearly 200 activities that have been legalized. Still, not every entrepreneur is struggling. High-end bars and glamorous new restaurants have become common in Havana, with shiny state tour buses disgorging photo-snapping travelers to sample lobster tail and filet mignon at upward of $20 a plate. Private rooms and homes that rent to foreigners can go for $25-$100 a night, less than most tourist hotels. Cubans with the means, and the business sense, to tap into the gravy train can do very well. Chef-owner Javier Acosta sank more than $30,000 into Parthenon, a private restaurant catering to tourists and diplomats. He struggled at first, telling the AP back in 2011 that there were nights when nobody came in and he and his four waiters just sat around. But the restaurant slowly gained a reputation, in part because Acosta makes a potent Cuban mojito and offers a special suckling pig that can feed up to five people for $50. These days, Acosta is expanding. He recently added tables in a new room decked out with mosaic tiles and faux Greek pillars, and plans to build a roof deck. He even has started advertising, paying $300 a year to have his establishment included in a tourist magazine. "I haven't yet managed to recover my initial investment and the other money we've put into the place," the 40-year-old said. "But in two or three more years maybe I can." Even more humble operations can do well, as long as they have some access to foreign money. One woman who rents an apartment to foreigners for $25 a night in the upscale Vedado neighborhood says her business provides a stable income that supports her and allows her to help her son and granddaughter. Two women who sell $1.25 box lunches to Cubans and foreigners in a building in Old Havana with many international firms and consular offices have managed to stay afloat despite a sharp drop in customers following the departure of several companies, and what they say has been a steady rise in prices of key ingredients like black beans, rice, cooking oil and pork. "This has become difficult," said Odalis Lozano, 48. "But we're still here, because we can always make some money." For those without access to that foreign cash line, the results have been grim. Besides, the failed pizzeria, a DVD salesman, seamstress and street-side cafe owner who allowed the AP to tell their stories shut down after less than a year in business, citing high monthly taxes, a lack of customers and limited resources and business sense. The only two operations that rely on everyday Cubans for revenue which remain in business are gymnasiums. One is run by Maria Regla Zaldivar, who in 2011 was giving taekwondo classes to children in Nuevo Vedado and dreamed of converting a ruined dry cleaning factory into a proper gymnasium. The factory remains a crumbling shell, but Zaldivar said her business continues. She declined to grant a formal interview, but said in a brief phone call that she had rented a small space near her apartment and continued to give classes. The other success story belongs to Neysi Hernandez, the mother of Julio Cesar Hidalgo's girlfriend. Hernandez opened a simple gymnasium for women in the courtyard and garage of her home in Havana's La Lisa neighborhood, charging the equivalent of $5 a month for membership. Two years later, she has 25 paying clients and ekes out a small profit. Hernandez says her customers are loyal, despite the fact the gymnasium lacks basic amenities like a shower room, lockers and towels. Unable to afford imported equipment, Hernandez uses sand-filled plastic water bottles for weights. Her three exercise bicycles and mechanical treadmill are creaky and aging. "My gymnasium is modest, but they like it," Hernandez said, adding she has dreams of one day installing a small massage room and sauna. "A little bit at a time." For the pizza man Hidalgo, however, the experience with private enterprise has been a bitter one. He says he lost between $800 and $1,000 on the pizzeria. He is appealing a $520 fine levied by tax authorities who accuse him of understating his profits, even though the business failed. He has had bouts with illness, and has been unemployed since the pizzeria closed in April. Hidalgo says he has not given up on the idea of opening a new business one day. But he is also setting his sights beyond Cuba's shores. "What I wanted was to work and make money so that I could live a normal life, have money to buy myself shoes, eat, and go out with my girlfriend," Hidalgo said, punctuating each modest desire with a flip of his hand and a rueful smile. "I hope that kind of work materializes in my country, but if the opportunity presents itself to work somewhere else, I won't turn it down." Recently, Hidalgo's girlfriend, Gisselle de la Noval, 25, took out a license to operate a nail salon in the space once occupied by the pizzeria. The salon has been open a matter of weeks and it is too soon to know if it will do well. But she says she is content, charging about 40 cents for a manicure and slightly more for a pedicure. "I don't miss the pizzeria, but I am sad it wasn't a success," she says with a shrug. "But I am young, so whatever. Now I'm dedicated to this." ___ Associated Press writers Michael Weissenstein in Havana and Paul Haven in Mexico City contributed to this report.

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'Greek EU Presidency in 2014 won't change anything'

RT'Greek EU Presidency in 2014 won't change anything'RTThe EU Presidency means for Greece only delegations from the European Central Bank, from the IMF and European Commission in control of Greek ministries, but the country will remain in ruins, journalist Aris Chatzistefanou told RT. RT: Greece takes over ...Greek Families Ask Samaras and Papoulias to Adopt their ChildrenGreek ReporterPM to present Greek presidency goals to EU Parliament on Jan 16KathimeriniPREVIEW: Greece takes over EU presidency with limited time, resources By ...Europe Online Magazineall 6 news articles »

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Greek community a vital part of university life

Greek community a vital part of university lifeThe SouthernFraternities and sororities are important threads in the fabric of our university. I know from my frequent interactions with members of our Greek community how much they care about, and contribute to, the campus and the communities we serve. SIU Greeks ...

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Is Wall Street facing a Greek epidemic?

Is Wall Street facing a Greek epidemic?eFinancialCareersWhy, despite top-down efforts by banks to recruit more women, does Wall Street continue to be a playground for men, typically of a similar background? Maybe it's as simple as man's affinity for stale beer and the Greek alphabet. Bloomberg published an ...

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3 Numbers to Watch: French and Greek PPI, Spanish current account

3 Numbers to Watch: French and Greek PPI, Spanish current accountTradingFloor.comAfter the Christmas holidays, the limited newsflow, coming weekend and the approaching year-end should keep market participants reluctant to trade and thus keep price volatility low. On the other hand, several markets are near levels that could have ...

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Greek Villagers Not At Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease Despite High-Fat Diet

Medical DailyGreek Villagers Not At Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease Despite High-Fat DietMedical DailyResearchers have shown that inhabitants of the tiny Greek community have evolved a rare gene variant that appears to protect them from health risks associated with a high-fat diet and weight gain. The discovery could have significance for the ...

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Vanishing Cyprus: Long Road to Reunification

The Anastasiades government is determined to resolve the Cyprus issue one way or another. This is probably an IMF EU-Troika mnimonio memorandum condition that no politician dares to talk about openly. It is not certain, but public sentiment indicates there is something mysterious cooking and Cypriots will soon be faced with another dubious “Annan plan” […]

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Greek democracy under siege

The murder of a left-wing activist in Athens has shaken up Greece and inspired a backlash. The government has now promised to take action against violence from far-right extremists. Has Golden Dawn's far-right squad of thugs struck once again? That's what ...

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Give your party flare with Greek catering

If you are welcoming guests to your home for a holiday party, you can save yourself tons of time and stress by having the event catered rather than doing the cooking yourself. Not only will you save time before the event, but you will also have more time ...

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Indiana's Trojan Horse offers Greek cuisine and more

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - May sound strange but my favorite food at the Trojan Horse Restaurant & Tavern is the B’town BBQ. In a landmark restaurant known for its Greek food, you might think diners would hardly give a thought to BBQ. Must admit that I ...

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Greek tourism exceedes 17 million foreign arrivals

ATHENS, Greece - Greek tourism has exceeded 17 million foreign arrivals on an annual basis for the first time ever, without even having to wait for 2013 to end. The record is not expected to last for long, though, as 2014 is promising to be an even better ...

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Wet front to sweep in from the west, bringing storms to most parts of Greece

A wet front is expected to sweep in from western Europe, bringing downpours and storms to most parts of Greece on Friday, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) said on Thursday, warning that winds will reach speeds of 6-8 on the Beaufort sca... ...

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Share of part-time workers in Greece rises to 4.3 percent

Part-time workers in Greece totaled 213,900 in the second quarter of the year, or 4.3 percent of the country’s work force, compared with 130,000, or 2.6 percent of the labor force, in the same quarter of 2010, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) a... ...

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Greek police arrest six people on human trafficking charges

Four suspected human traffickers were arrested in Evros, northeastern Greece, on Thursday. The four men, aged 22 to 38, were caught as they were allegedly preparing to transport 20 irregular migrants to Athens. Earlier in the day, a 25-year-old man was ar... ...

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Greece blasts Turkey over non-recognition of Cyprus

On Christmas Day the Greek Foreign Ministry blasted Turkey’s decision to send a letter to the European Commission saying that it could not fully implement an agreement regarding the readmission of illegal immigrants because it does not recognize the Repub... ...

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PM to present Greek presidency goals to EU Parliament on Jan 16

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due to present the priorities of the Greek presidency of the EU to a plenary session of the European Parliament on Thursday, January 16. The official ceremony marking Greece assuming the six-month rotating presidency will... ...

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Sales fall further after Christmas bonus cut

According to shopkeepers in Greece’s major cities, up until Christmas Eve, stores had seen an increase in traffic but a drop in sales this festive season. Although the decent weather last weekend allowed for a stroll in city centers, above all in Athens, ... ...

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Tourism arrivals surpass 17 mln

Greek tourism has exceeded 17 million foreign arrivals on an annual basis for the first time ever, without even having to wait for 2013 to end. The record is not expected to last for long, though, as 2014 is promising to be an even better year in terms of... ...

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Exporting companies reach limit

Greek exports fell 2 percent in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period in 2012, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority data released on Tuesday, confirming that export firms have reached their limit. However imports have register... ...

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Retirement age set to keep rising

The retirement age by law in Greece will rise to 68 years, but not before 2030, according to a European Commission report assessing the economic and fiscal effects stemming from the connection of retirement age and the benefits after retirement on the inc... ...

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The Christmas 2013 Hope In All Of Us

There have to be miracles during these days of Christmas. Our life undergoes a change. It emits light – like the lights on Christmas trees. A man looks down and touches the ground. He looks up he touches God. Man is easily influenced it seems. He is certainly affected by the festive atmosphere created by […]

The post The Christmas 2013 Hope In All Of Us appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greek Radar Locks On Turkish Fighters

The occasional mock dogfights that happen when Turkish fighter pilots routinely violate Greek air space took a new turn on Dec. 23 when Greek defenses put the intruding Turks on radar lock, the Turkish military said. Four F4-E/2020 Phantoms were honed in by Greece’s Patriot missile defense system twice, for 15 seconds each time, at […]

The post Greek Radar Locks On Turkish Fighters appeared first on The National Herald.


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Delphi: the Earth’s Navel

Located on the Southwestern part of Mount Parnassos in central Greece is the ancient city of Delphi, famous for its oracle and the Temple of Apollo, among other features. In the ancient times, the site was a major area of worship for Apollo, the god of the sun and music. In Greek mythology, it is […]

The post Delphi: the Earth’s Navel appeared first on The National Herald.


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