DEPA: Studying Gas Pipeline Feasibility in SE Mediterranean

The Greek Environment Ministry announced today that DEPA would be launching a study to check if it is feasible to build a

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Roma Couple Jailed For Falsely Presenting Child as Their Own

A 59-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman have been temporarily imprisoned after entering their plea to the magistrate of Katerini, Greece. The

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Eurozone Chiefs Cite Greek Progress

Eurozone finance ministers on March 10 pushed for Greece to finally settle differences over unresolved reforms with its international lenders and said

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Eurogroup urges Greece and troika to conclude review this week

KathimeriniEurogroup urges Greece and troika to conclude review this weekKathimeriniFinance Minister Yannis Stournaras came under pressure from his Eurogroup counterparts in Brussels on Monday for Greece to reach an agreement with the troika on the long-running review of its fiscal adjustment program by the end of the week, sources ...

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Amnesty criticises Globe theatre's North Korea visit on Hamlet world tour

Campaign group met with disappointment from company following plea to read up on country's human rights record

The Globe theatre said yesterday that it was disappointed with Amnesty querying its plans to include North Korea as part of a world tour in which it is taking a new production of Hamlet to every country in the world over the next two years.

The tour begins next month at the Globe on Shakespeare's birthday, 23 April, and will travel all over the world, although many of the dates are still a work in progress.

However, the announcement that the company would visit North Korea was met with a critical response from the human rights campaign group. Amnesty International did not suggest that the theatre boycott North Korea, but urged the company to read up on its human rights abuses first.

"No tragic play could come close to the misery that the 100,000 people trapped in the country's prison camps endure – where torture, rape, starvation and execution are everyday occurrences," Amnesty said in a statement. "There's a dark irony in the fact that Hamlet focuses on a prince wrestling with his conscience. Kim Jong-Un is no Hamlet. Sadly he shows no sign of wrestling with his conscience."

In a statement, the Globe said they were disappointed at this reaction. "We are very proud of our record of working with a selection of NGOs over the years – Amnesty themselves, PEN, Reprieve and Human Rights Watch. We have raised money for their operations, provided space for them, and felt their influence in many of our productions and the new plays we have performed. In that light, we were disappointed that Amnesty put out a quote about our touring without realising that it was a world tour, but under the impression that it was going solely to one country.

"Like all the best works of art, Hamlet instigates discussion and dialogue, and like any theatre, we wish to play to, and interact with, as many people as we possibly can, in as diverse a range of locations as possible. We do not believe that anyone should be excluded from the chance to experience this play," the statement said, pointing out that Hamlet was first written to be played in the England of James I, "a country riven by internal tensions, and watched over by a repressive and occasionally violent state regime".

Many of the places where they plan to take the gloomy Dane, including many war torn parts of Africa, are politically tricky and potentially dangerous, particularly for a play turning on regime change, murder, conscience and revenge.

The Globe's world tour first announced in the Guardian, described by artistic director Dominic Dromgoole as "a lunatic idea", follows on the theatre's wildly successful season in the Olympics summer, when they invited companies from all over the world to come and perform every play by Shakespeare in 37 different languages, including Troilus and Cressida in Maori, Two Gentlemen of Verona in Shona, and the Henry VI plays divided among the Balkans in Serbian, Albanian and Macedonian.

Although the map of the grand tour shows a triumphant loop around the world with dotted lines for flights and huge expanses of ocean apparently to be covered by ship, in reality much of it is work in progress.

So far the itinerary for September in 2015 just lists three performances in China, and one in North Korea, all as "details to be confirmed".

After the tour begins next month, it then heads off at the end of the month to Holland, German, Scandinavia, Russia, Greece, through the Balkan countries, and via Iceland – like the Vikings – on to the United States where they will perform at the Folger Library in Washington, which has the greatest collection of Shakespeare printed works in the world.

However they remain determined to go everywhere.

"We have decided that every country means every country, since we believe that every country is better off for the presence of Hamlet."

TheatreAmnesty InternationalNorth KoreaHuman rightsWilliam ShakespeareAsia PacificMaev Kennedytheguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Exports, imports and retail prices are all in decline

Exports from Greece declined by 4.3 percent on an annual basis in January, while imports posted a 9.4 percent yearly decline, Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data revealed on Monday. ELSTAT also announced that Greece’s deflation cycle completed 12... ...

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Pharmacists mull extending strike in protest at reforms

Greek pharmacists, who on Tuesday are to enter the second part of a two-day strike against the liberalization of their sector, are considering extending their action unless the government withdraws troika-imposed reforms, Kathimerini understands. Members ... ...

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House prices set to decline further in 2014

House prices in Greece are set to slide anew in 2014, extending the crisis in the property market for one more year, according to an annual market report by Eurobank. Its baseline scenario foresees a 6 percent price drop and a rebound from next year, whil... ...

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Turkish Ship Aground Off Mykonos

Environmental inspectors were sent to the resort island of Mykonos, to inspect a Turkish-flagged vessel that ran aground with 200 tons of fuel.

The post Turkish Ship Aground Off Mykonos appeared first on The National Herald.

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Ordeal ends for Syria nuns, part of prisoners deal

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian militants released Monday a group of Greek Orthodox nuns in exchange for dozens of women held in government prisons — a rare deal between Damascus and al-Qaida-linked rebels that was mediated by Qatari and Lebanese officials.

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Syrian militants release Greek Orthodox nuns

The nuns, appearing friendly with their captors, were exchanged for women in Syrian prisons

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2.6 Million Greek Taxpayers Fail to Pay Taxes

  There are 2,653,032 Greek taxpayers who are drowning in tax debts as they cannot afford to pay the increase in taxes.

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KRI-KRI: €20M Yogurt Factory Investment in Northern Greece

Greek dairy company, Kri Kri is moving ahead with a 20 million euro investment in a new yogurt production unit, located in

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NEOSET: Greek Company Goes Bankrupt

According to the 212/2014 decision by the Multi-Member Court of Athens, Greek furniture company Neoset has been declared bankrupt, following the request of factory

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National Bank of Greece Regaining Lost Ground, Again

On Mar 10 one of Greece’s “Big Four,” the Athens-based National Bank of Greece ($NBG) notched a sizable gain, correcting a portion of the losses the bank had incurred since first announcing plans to spin off toxic assets into a separate institution.

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Technology clusters in the middle of an economic crisis: When miracles speak Greek

Fast-expanding markets (FEMs) is a broad concept by design in order to aid managers and policymakers in locating new sources of economic growth that are not captured by macroeconomic analysis. At the same time, companies and governments can provide the re... ...

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Stock market stays bullish despite minor drop

Greek stocks recorded only a minor drop on Monday despite the early losses and the pressure applied on banks. Non-banking blue chips kept the main index near Friday’s levels as the market retains its bullish characteristics. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) ge... ...

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Number of flu-related deaths in Greece this year rises to 83

The number of people who have died of flu-related causes since the beginning of the year has risen to 83, data published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) showed on Monday. KEELPNO said a total of 242 people had been hospitalized ... ...

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Baby found with Greek Roma couple who aren't real parents

A Roma couple, aged 58 and 59, from Katerini in northern Greece were remanded in custody on Monday after being found in possession of a 10-month old baby that did not belong to them. The couple said they were given the child by the 41-year-old Roma woman ... ...

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Greek prosecutor calls for new trial in share price scandal

Deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Haralambos Vourliotis has asked for the retrial of 42 people who were cleared in December of manipulating share prices on the Athens Stock Exchange 14 years ago. Vourliotis said that he has found flaws in the judgment. If t... ...

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Over 20,000 migrants in Greece have applied for repatriation since 2010

More than 20,000 undocumented immigrants have applied for voluntary repatriation since the onset of the Greek crisis in 2010, according to Daniel Esdras, head of the Greek branch of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which runs a European... ...

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Greek Temple made of Cork Sells For 25,000 Pounds at Auction

A model of a Temple devoted to the Ancient Greek God, Poseidon, fashioned out of cork, has exceeded all expectations and been sold by Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers for 25,000 pounds – about 50 times its guide price of 400 to 600 pounds.

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Greek Orthodox nuns arrive in Syrian capital after release by rebel captors

Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns and their three maids held in captivity for more than three months by a Syrian rebel group affiliated to al-Qaida have arrived back in Damascus. They were freed as part of deal in which 153 female prisoners of the ...

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Troika Warns Against Greek Market Return

a rates strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group in London told Bloomberg. “A market return would mean that some of the tougher reforms would never be enacted.” Greece still hasn’t implemented some 153 reforms identified by the Paris ...

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Energy in the Ukraine -- Sanctions Equation

The United States along with allied governments is considering the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. It is a strategy that trails skeptical question marks. The historical record tells us that sanctions rarely are effective. They can cause much pain and suffering but do not change the policies of governments as intended. From Japan before Pearl Harbor to Cold War China, to North Korea, Iraq and Iran in more recent times, their ineffectualness has been demonstrated. South Africa is the exception -- as were the conditions there. The willfulness of states to act in accordance with their self-defined basic interests is the main reason for the recurrent failure of sanctions. This is especially true of authoritarian regimes that have the means to contain social unrest. There also are economic factors at work. The essential nature of economic relations is that they are the expression of the parties' mutual interests (except in the case of slavery or other forms of coerced employment). That is to say, they entail mutual gain - even if the benefits are unequal or asymmetrical and leave one party feeling the outcomes as unfair. Trade dealings certainly fall within this category. And it is on matters of trade that American policy currently is focused. For it is far harder to impose curbs on financial transactions, e.g. freezing assets or denying access to banking facilities. The latter require near unanimity among countries where financial institutions are chartered. Already, we have learned that Great Britain has decided to resist the proposed imposition of financial sanctions out of fear for their impact on the City of London which is the foundation stone of the British economy. Commodity trade with Russia is the center of attention - for obvious reasons. The Russian economy is heavily dependent on the export of natural resources, oil and natural gas above all. They provide the bulk of the country's foreign exchange earnings, employ a large fraction of the nation's industrial workers, and are the main source of the state's tax revenues. The numbers paint a striking portrait o the Russian economy.Russia is the second-largest producer of dry natural gas and third-largest liquid fuels producer in the world; oil and gas revenues account for more than 50% of the federal budget revenues. Russia's economic growth continues to be driven by energy exports, given its high oil and gas production and the elevated prices for those commodities. Oil and gas revenues accounted for 52% of federal budget revenues and over 70% of total exports in 2012, according to PFC Energy. Russia was the world's third-largest producer of oil (after Saudi Arabia and the United States) Preliminary data for 2013 show that Russia still is the third-ranked producer of total liquids, with average production at 10.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) through September 2013. Russia was the second-largest producer of natural gas in 2012 (second to the United States). Russia has roughly 7.2 million bbl/d of total liquid fuels available for export. The large majority of Russian exports (84%) went to European countries, particularly Germany, Netherlands, and Poland. Around 18% of Russia's oil exports were destined for Asia, while the remainder went mostly to the Americas. Russia's crude oil exports to North America and South America have been largely displaced by increases in crude oil production in the United States and Canada. More than 80% of Russia's oil is exported via the Transneft pipeline system, and the remainder is shipped via rail and on vessels that load at independently-owned terminals. Russia also exports fairly sizeable volumes of oil products. Russia exported about 1.2 million bbl/d of fuel oil and an additional 889,000 bbl/d of diesel in 2012. It exported smaller volumes of gasoline (52,000 bbl/d) and liquefied petroleum gas (56,000 bbl/d) during the same year.Natural gas exports Russia sends about 76% of its natural gas exports to customers in Western Europe, with Germany, Turkey, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom receiving the bulk of them. Smaller volumes of natural gas are also shipped via the Gazprom pipeline network to Austria, Finland, and Greece. Europe is Russia's main energy export market. 75% goes to Western Europe, with Germany being the biggest importer, while 24% goes to Eastern Europe. Fully 25% of the European Union members' total natural gas consumption is met by Russia. This energy symbiosis dates from the early 1980s when the EU and the then Soviet Union entered into a collaborate project to construct a natural gas pipeline. Early on, the project figured in a major diplomatic dispute. In the wake of the Kremlin inspired crackdown on Poland's Solidarity movement, the United States' urged its suspension as a way to penalize Moscow. Western European governments united in opposition to the American plan. They argued forcefully that the criticality of Russian natural gas to their economies meant that disruption or prolonged delay would severely hamper growth. Moreover, a primary justification for the collaborative deal was to reduce the degree of energy dependence on the turbulent Middle East. The economic pain inflicted by the 1973-74 embargo on oil sales by the Arab members of OPEC at the time of the Yom Kippur War had left a searing memory. It provided the impetus for devising an energy strategy that diversified sources. Hence, the European conflict with the United States as to what were appropriate instruments of influence to be deployed against the Soviet Union. A similar situation may now be presenting itself. Although the Obama administration has not yet called for a boycott of Russian energy exports, it may look in that direction given the unlikelihood that other trade sanctions will dissuade Vladimir Putin from continuing to pursue as assertive policy in Ukraine. Just as the Cameron government in Britain shies away from financial sanctions due to the deleterious effect that they would have on the economy (and his political prospects in next year's elections), so too are all European leaders sensitive to the high price that their countries would pay were they to interfere with the mutually beneficial energy commerce they have with Russia. There is no doubt that on some objective scale of measurement, Russia stands to suffer more economic loss from such a disruption than does Europe. However, economic sensitivity per se does not translate into commensurate vulnerability to the pressure exerted by economic sanctions. There are crucial intervening variables of a political nature. They concern the strength of governmental leadership, how responsive it is to public sentiment, the means at their disposition to contain or repress dissent, and their ability to arouse a nationalist response. Success in fostering the feeling that the motherland is being mistreated and disrespected by foreign powers can strengthen the collective resolve not to give in to economic sanctions whatever the price paid.A New U.S. Strategy The current structure of the international energy market is unfavorable to any Western policy that aims to a) reduce Europe's dependence on the energy imports from Russia, and b) thereby, to reduce Moscow's leverage while increasing that that of the United States and its allies. This circumstance has prompted Washington officials to draw up plans whereby the logic of the markets can be reversed. Their centerpiece is the expansion of natural gas production via fracking and other non-conventional methods, an emphasis on exports to Europe that would markedly reduce reliance on Russian sources, and the promotion of fracking in Ukraine and Poland. This long-term plan acquired immediacy with the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Many in Washington were looking anxiously for methods to shift the balance of influence between Russia and the West. Freeing Europe from the energy leverage exercised by Moscow has struck many as an attractive possibility. A New York Times lead editorial opined that the Energy Department should "speed up its review of export applications, and Congress could help by easing restrictions on exports." Others go further. "In WW II, we were the arsenal of democracy; I think we're going to be the arsenal of energy" so proclaims the former director of energy issues at the NSC, Robert McNally. Increased supplies from the United States are creating "a radically changed market" that will undercut Russia's influence, according to Carlos Pascal who heads the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources (and former ambassador to Ukraine. The Bureau was set up in 2011 and with a staff of 85 is dedicated to exploiting the American energy boom to strengthen its geopolitical influence. Curbing Russia's own use of the energy instrument was the primary objective from the outset. Energy, in short, was one element in the United States' grand strategy of weakening Russia as a player on the international scene and curtailing its global influence. This has been the prevailing view ever since Vladimir Putin began to demonstrate his goal of reestablishing Russia as an autonomous power in world affairs. Minimizing the United States' own dependence on oil from the Middle East has been the second foreign policy consideration. The key to doing so is the building of export capacity - transporting Canadian oil via the proposed Keystone pipeline, extending natural gas pipelines, and constructing facilities on the Gulf Coast for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The national security factor has figured prominently in the Obama administration's deliberations about the cost/benefits of investing in these projects - along with environmental concerns, and the loss to American natural gas users of the present price advantage they derive from domestic production.* The strategy has included an aggressive campaign to promote fracking in Western as well as Eastern Europe. That has meant lobbying governments, industry and public opinion. Tangible results have been modest to date. Fracking in Ukraine and Poland is in the cards but a number of Western European countries, e.g. Germany and France, have imposed outright prohibitions, while the British government's planned limited trial runs have met with fierce resistance. The hope in Washington is that the Ukraine crisis will spur actions in both the United States and in European capitals to develop production and international trade. The effects of this on the immediate situation will be negligible. There is no spigot that can be turned on. It will be years before the United States will be technically able to export natural gas. By that time, the Ukraine's fate will be determined one way or another. Moreover, even over the long-term there are significant obstacles to a meaningful transformation of the European energy picture. First, the political opposition to fracking in Western Europe seems to be a fixed element not susceptible to change due to events in Ukraine. Second, leading governments there are reluctant to make the major capital investments in port and transport facilities that would be required to handle very large LNG imports from North America. Third, the level of concern there about Russia using energy exports as a political tool against them is quite low. For their view of Putin's ambitions is guarded; they reject the notion favored in Washington that the West is facing a strategic challenge something like that of the Soviet Union in the old days. Their response to Hillary Clinton's alarmist cry that Putin was behaving like Hitler in the 1930s has been to view it derisively. Fourth, the Western Europeans' main interest in natural gas imports from the United States, such as it is, is commercial. They wish to avoid having their industries handicapped in competition with their American rivals by wide differentiations in cost of natural gas. At present, there is little evidence of their suffering much from that seeming disadvantage. Conclusion At the present, it is highly unlikely that the Western governments will seek to use energy commerce with Russia as an instrument of leverage with Russia. The cost-benefit calculations that lead to devalue that tactic conceivably could change were the crisis to deepen. A move by Russia into the mainly Russian speaking eastern part of Ukraine in an attempt to impose a permanent division of the country would raise the stakes immeasurably. This good reason, though, to downplay the possibility of that happening since the wider implications of such an escalation do not correspond to Russia's national interests. The downside of a calculated escalation heavily outweigh any benefits that the Kremlin may reasonably envisage. The United States will be unable to export substantial quantities of natural gas until late in the decade. Its present capacity is only 5 bcm with another 20 bcm under construction. Expanding export terminals is a long and costly process. That is one reason why, as the International Energy Agency has explained "Gas remains stubbornly resistant to globalisation....downstream markets, industry and regulatory structure retain their region-specific natures." The report goes on to say: "In Europe, persistent macro-economic weakness, low carbon prices and non-market-based renewable policies squeeze gas between cheap coal and growing renewables." (IEA GAS Medium-Term Market Report 2013) At the receiving end, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import capacity additions have slowed to a crawl. "The outlook remains relatively bleak for the....LNG terminals currently at the planning stage." Moreover, LNG project costs have been steadily rising over the past few years and all are typically completed a year or more behind schedule.

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Seminars for Greek Tax Office Employees on Dealing with Taxpayers

Last week the Greek Finance Ministry’s General Secretariat of Information Systems launched a seminar entitled “The sea elephant and scrappy information,” geared

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Greece's Alpha Bank Posts Net Loss

Greece's Alpha Bank Posts Net LossWall Street JournalATHENS—Greece's Alpha Bank AS on Monday posted another net loss in the fourth quarter, as bad loans continued to weigh on earnings. The lender reported a net loss of 210 million euros ($291 million) for the last three months of the year, on provisions ...Greece's Alpha Bank posts 2013 profit on accounting gainReutersall 7 news articles »

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Freed nuns reach Damascus as prisoner exchange continues

DAMASCUS/AMMAN (Reuters) - Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns arrived in Damascus on Monday after al Qaeda fighters who held them for more than three months freed them in a deal providing for the release of women prisoners held by President Bashar al-Assad's government.

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Healthy Greek Mac and Cheese: Aphrodite's Secret to Seduction

Healthy Greek Mac and Cheese: Aphrodite's Secret to SeductionHuffington PostI can't say with any shred of historical accuracy that Healthy Greek Mac and Cheese with Crispy Pita Chip Topping is how Aphrodite seduced every god on Olympus, but I think it's a reasonable theory. Think about it: Togas are not particularly flattering ...

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A list of prominent people believed held by Syrian rebels

With the release of 13 Greek Orthodox nuns held hostage by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in Syria for over three months, here's a list of some other prominent people, including clerics, journalists and activists still missing in Syria and believed in the captivity of rebels.

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Startup Greek Weekend develops skills to create future jobs

Startup Greek Weekend develops skills to create future jobseuronewsAs the Greek job market suffocates with unemployment currently running at over 27 percent and more than half the country's youth without a job. The global Startup Weekend rolled into Athens. The idea is pass on the basics on how to set up a successful ...

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Councilman Constantinides’ New Office

ASTORIA – Costa Constantinidis, Astoria’s new City Council member, hosted a reception marking the grand opening of his District Office for friends and constituents. Constantinides welcomed and thanked the guests but the loudest applause was for his wife Lori and his four year old son Nicholas who enjoyed meeting his dad’s friends as much as […]

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Area Educators and Innovative Programs

  NEW YORK –  The Direct Archdiocesan District Office of Education, whose director is Mary Makedon, and the schools of the Cathedral of St. Demetrios – Anastasios Koularmanis is their supervising principal  - presented one of Greece’s top educators, Dr. Chryse Hatzichristou on February 22. Her lecture was titled, “Strengthening the emotional support for children […]

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13 Greek Orthodox nuns released by Syrian rebel captors

ARSEL, Lebanon, March 10 (UPI) -- Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns held by Syrian rebels since December were released as part of a prisoner exchange, officials said.

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Greece looks to non-Russian pipeline

Greece launched an international tender today for a study on the feasibility of a proposed pipeline to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus in an effort to reduce dependence on Russian supplies.

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Russia's Cyber-Weapons Hit Ukraine: How to Declare War Without Declaring War

Alec Ross is a senior fellow at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. During the first Obama term, he served as senior adviser for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Follow him on Twitter: @AlecJRoss The playground fights I got into when I was a kid had closely observed, unwritten rules: you could punch, you could kick and you could even choke your opponent, but you couldn't use a weapon. Pick up a rock or a stick and bring that into the fight and you were going to earn the derision, and maybe a butt-kicking, from the entire playground crowd. Similarly, during the Cold War there were some important, unspoken rules about combat. It was okay if militaries of Soviet and American satellite States fought and killed each other, but it was not okay for an American or Soviet soldier to engage one another directly, lest the uneasy equilibrium in that Great States conflict between the world's two superpowers be thrown off balance. Today, utilizing cyber weapons falls into the category of largely being accepted (even if unhappily) as part of how countries exercise their power while falling short of the line of armed conflict treated as an act of war. We will see if this can hold. The latest example of firing off a cyber weapon is a Russian cyber weapon called Snake, also known as "Ouroboros" after a serpent drawn from Greek mythology. Ouroboros is wrecking havoc on Ukrainian government systems. It is interesting in that it has the characteristics of both a product of the intelligence services (the ability to surveil) but also of the military (the ability to physically destroy computer networks). By targeting the Ukrainian government with Ouroboros, the Russians are able to effectively engage in an aggressive, kinetic act without actually declaring war or countries reacting like it is an act of war. This will not last forever. If certain capabilities of Ouroboros go live then we will see if the playground rules hold. If the Russians deploy cyber weapons with network-destroying capabilities into other countries, there might well be one country that reacts as though the launch of a cyber weapon is no different than the launch of a missile. You see where it goes from here. The absence of a set of broadly-held norms and treaties governing the use of cyber weapons has not led to the firing of guns or launching of missiles, but this will not always be the case. We need something more than playground rules.

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Putin, Ukraine and Anti-Semitism: It's Real

The coverage and commentary about events in Ukraine have exhibited the worst of the herd instincts of Western journalism. The pro-Putin/Russian camp and the anti-Putin/Russian camp have painted two absolutely divergent narratives. For the pros, it's an anti-democratic, fascist putsch. For the antis, it's a peoples national liberation movement. A plague, if you will, on both your houses. A special mention to an awful op-ed piece in Sunday's Times (Putin's Phantom Pogroms) asserting that anti-Semitism in Ukraine is a Putin fiction. I take no position, at least here, on the course of events in Ukraine. But anyone who dismisses the resurgence of Nazism in the former Soviet Union is, well, doing a disservice to the truth, historical memory and the Jewish community. The history and severity of anti-Semitism in Ukraine is of such enormity as to touch millions across the world. Much of the great Jewish migration (including my own family whose name attaches to the great synagogues in Kiev and Odessa) came from systematic murder and pillage of Jewish communities in Ukraine. The WWII murder by Ukrainians of Ukrainian Jews is in the hundreds of thousands or millions depending on who you believe. And, across the old Soviet Union and Europe, it's back. In Russia, in Hungary, in Greece, in the Baltic states, in Ukraine it grows as Nazi and neo-Nazi political parties elect members of parliaments and uncover the icons and vocabulary of 1936. Full disclosure: I'm active in an organization called World Without Nazism which has for years been trying to get the world to pay attention to the new resurgence of Nazism. I've been to Moscow, Strasbourg and Latvia watching it happen, and to Washington to rouse an American response. It's not a phantom, it's real. And if Putin, for all his authoritarian and political agendas, is calling it out in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere, that's a good thing. Ukraine is not an anti-Semitic state. It's people have political views that range from Stalinist to neo-Nazi to liberal democrats. The Maidan uprising has a legitimacy all it's own, as do the aspirations of other elements of Ukrainian society. And armed invasions are not the solution to this kind of internal conflict. But Nazism is resurgent across Europe, including Ukraine and Russia, and Vladimir Putin has every right and obligation to name it and condemn it. So do we all.

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Britain splashes £2million to kick illegal immigrants out of Greece BEFORE ...

Express.co.ukBritain splashes £2million to kick illegal immigrants out of Greece BEFORE ...Express.co.ukForeigners caught coming across the EU's furthest border in Greece are being offered free flights home. The Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration project, backed by the Home Office and Foreign Office, is paying to persuade 1,500 illegal ...

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Influenza’s Greek Victims List Extends

According to the epidemiological data of the Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO), up to this morning there were 83

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“Kitchen Nightmares” with Gordon Ramsay in Greece

A legend of high gastronomy, whose restaurants have been awarded with 14 Michelin stars, and who is famous for television shows like

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Zack Snyder and the West Should Stop Killing Ancient Persians

ForbesZack Snyder and the West Should Stop Killing Ancient PersiansTIMEThe muscled, taciturn Greeks—this time fighting on sea—carry on flexing their freedom-loving biceps, hacking and slashing their way through faceless mobs of easterners. The Persians remain the incarnation of every Orientalist stereotype imaginable: ...SHOWBIZ: It's not all Greek to SullivanNew Straits TimesGet Her to the Greeks: "300: Rise of an Empire," "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," and ...River Cities Reader'300' sequel lacks grit and structureThe Michigan DailyThe Fan Carpet -Financial Express -KGMIall 362 news articles »

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UPDATE 1-Greece to commission feasibility study for Mediterranean gas pipeline

The European Commission has said Cypriot gas could play an important role in diversifying supplies but its development is complicated by the long-standing rift between Cyprus and Turkey. The pipeline would pass through disputed waters.

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'300: Rise of an Empire' Wins Box Office Battle With $45.1 Million

Ancient Greek battles topped the box office this weekend, as '300: Rise of an Empire' beat out 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman.'

    

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Beware Greeks selling bonds as EU frets on reforms

Greece’s plan to return to debt markets this year is meeting opposition from its bailout creditors, who are concerned it may allow the government to ease off on efforts to fix the economy. The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Interna... ...

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Rare Battle of Navarino manuscript up for auction in Athens

An unpublished manuscript detailing the events of the October 2, 1827 Battle of Navarino off the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese during the Greek War of Independence is going up for auction in Athens on Monday, March 17, at the Athens Plaza hotel on... ...

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Greek Consumer Price Index falls 1.1 percent in February

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority’s (ELSTAT) data, the Greek Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 1.1 percent in February. In addition, the rate of the deflation has decreased compared to last month. Deflation, which hit its ...

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Jailed Golden Dawn MP Seeks Office

A Golden Dawn lawmaker who's in jail facing charges of running a criminal gang is a candidate for governor in Greece's May municipal elections.

The post Jailed Golden Dawn MP Seeks Office appeared first on The National Herald.

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Two Cretan Businessmen Kill Selves

Law enforcement officials said two businessmen on the island of Crete killed themselves within 24 hours over the March 8-9 weekend in separate incidents.

The post Two Cretan Businessmen Kill Selves appeared first on The National Herald.

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Greek Banks Are Back on Capital Markets

Greek banks have returned to international capital markets after five years of financial turmoil for the country. This development followed talks between Greek politicians and their international lenders, with the latter insisting that Athens ...

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Sole Greek Teacher in Crimea Talks about Ukrainian Crisis

Greek seconded teacher, Pavlos Papadopoulos who had been living in Simferopol during the last nine years — the administrative center of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, southern Ukraine — talked to the Greek newspaper “TA NEA” about ...

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