Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Greece Euro
Panathinaikos beats Asteras 1-0, maintains 3-point lead over PAOK in Greek league playoffs
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Marcus Berg scored with a header in the 51st minute to lead Panathinaikos to a 1-0 victory over Asteras in the Greek league playoffs on Sunday.
Berg connected to a cross from the right by Giorgos Koutroubis and headed in from close range. Asteras goalkeeper Dani Hernandez got a hand to the ball.
Panathinaikos retained the lead in the playoffs with 10 points from four games, three more than PAOK, which scored two late goals in a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Atromitos.
PAOK has had three points deducted for crowd trouble in a Greek Cup semifinal against Olympiakos.
The playoff winner will join Olympiakos in next season's Champions League. The others get to play in the Europa League.
News Topics: Sports, Men's soccer, Professional soccer, Soccer, Men's sportsPeople, Places and Companies: Greece, Western Europe, Europe
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PAOK, Panathinaikos win in Greek league playoffs
Greek Supreme Court clears neo-Nazi party for EU vote: laywer
Greece's top court allows far-right party to contest EU vote
Airlines seize on tourism rise in Greece
Dickens letter on shelter for women: clean underwear, baths and pianos
If Eliza Wilkins was going to be helped, in 1852 the ever practical Charles Dickens decided she first needed clean underwear and a bath preferably two baths.
In 1847 Dickens had founded a "home for homeless women" with his friend the wealthy philanthropist Baroness Burdett-Coutts. With typical energy he found the premises Urania Cottage (it came with the unfortunate name, after a Greek goddess associated with astronomy and love) in London's Shepherd's Bush and then flung himself into organising every detail of it, from the food to the flower garden, and the piano around which the women would gather for wholesome evening entertainment.
Continue reading...Greek-Australian ‘Fronditha’ Aged Care Center Expands
Five Detainees Bust out of Pyrgos Police Station
Greece Selling Off Its Seashore To Developers
One of the most accepted disgraces in Greece is that developers have bought up or flat out stolen much of the prime seafront property, particularly in Athens.
The post Greece Selling Off Its Seashore To Developers appeared first on The National Herald.
3 Interconnected Risks Threaten Europe's Recovery
Two sets of numbers tell a contradictory story about the euro zone.
Economic data point to improvements by the month, even by the day: growth is picking up and the borrowing costs of even the most indebted countries keep falling.
The crisis is over, say some Eurocrats.
By contrast, polls ahead of this month's European elections point to political upheaval.
Voters are exasperated with their governments and with Europe; anti-establishment groups are on the rise and may come top in some places.
Europe may be about to test de Tocqueville's contention that the most propitious time for revolution is not when conditions are worsening, but when they start to improve.
"Evils which are patiently endured when they seem inevitable become intolerable once the idea of escape from them is suggested," he wrote.
Having witnessed the evils of falling living standards and mass unemployment, and with a general sense that citizens have had to pay to save banks (all worsened by leaders' mismanagement of the crisis), there are signs that escape is at hand.
This week euro-zone finance ministers congratulated Portugal on making a "clean exit" from its bail-out, forgoing the safety net of a precautionary loan.
In following the examples of Ireland and Spain, Portugal is perhaps being reckless. If these countries run into trouble, they will be able neither to draw quickly on loans nor to rely on the backstop of the European Central Bank, whose never-used bond-buying policy, Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), depends on there being a formal programme. But politics has trumped prudence.
Debtor countries can claim to have rid themselves of the hated "troika" (the ECB, the European Commission and the IMF); creditors can claim vindication for their policies of austerity and structural reform.
Greece and Cyprus remain under programmes. Euro-zone ministers belatedly acknowledged that, after years of austerity and a deep slump, Greece has at last achieved a primary budget surplus (ie, before interest payments).
Under a promise made in 2012 but delayed until after the European election, the euro zone will consider if Greece needs more help to bring down its vast debt. Nobody will talk of a write-off. Instead ministers may "extend and pretend" by stretching out already-long maturities.
The recovery is gaining strength, with modest but accelerating growth expected in the euro zone this year and next. Cyprus, the only country still in recession, is likely to grow next year.
Unemployment has peaked. Investors are rushing into peripheral European debt. Yields on ten-year bonds for Italy and Spain have dipped below 3% for the first time since the euro began (though that partly reflects very low inflation). Last month Greece returned to the bond market for the first time in four years.
Yet markets are in danger of reverting to the folly of the first decade of the euro, when investors paid almost the same price for the debt of Greece as of Germany.
There are good reasons to restrain the euphoria. The prospect of a chaotic default and the break-up of the euro may have receded, but economic problems are far from over.
Debt levels have risen sharply, growth is sluggish and unemployment is worryingly high. More than a quarter of workers are out of jobs in Spain and Greece. Bank lending, on which euro-zone firms are still dependent, is shrinking. Similar companies in neighbouring euro-zone countries pay widely different interest rates. With inflation consistently below 1%, troubled countries will struggle to close the competitiveness gap with Germany and work off heavy debts.
The prospect of even more damaging deflation is uncomfortably close.
Europe faces three interconnected risks: prolonged stagnation, reform paralysis and political backlash. Especially in southern Europe, growth will be sluggish at best and joblessness will remain high for many years.
Despite the arrival of energetic new prime ministers, France and Italy have yet to make a convincing commitment to liberal reforms, while Germany is unapologetic about running a large demand-sapping trade surplus.
Beware Of Reform-Phobia TooThe euro zone, too, is shy of change. The ECB has dragged its feet over unconventional measures like quantitative easing to fight deflation.
Other European Union institutions are in pre-electoral doldrums; there is a good chance of stalemate over the choice of a new commission president. There is little energy left for measures to strengthen the euro zone through greater risk-sharing, or to boost growth by deepening the single market.
Negotiations on an ambitious transatlantic trade deal with America are losing steam (also because of nervousness in America).
One reason why European politicians are worried about further reform is the fear of populism. Eurosceptic parties are leading the polls or running second in France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and in non-euro Britain and Denmark.
Talk of leaving the euro zone is resurfacing. Silvio Berlusconi, a former Italian prime minister, has said Italy and other countries might have to give up the currency unless the ECB loosens monetary policy.
And in Finland, a creditor country, a paper published by a group of economists this week suggests that it would be better to leave the euro lest Finland gets dragged into a more federal system with joint liabilities such as Eurobonds.
If markets once seemed ready to push the weakest countries out of the euro, now it is voters who may pull their escape cord.
With a primary surplus, Greece no longer needs to borrow for itself; so it could now more easily default on its debt.
Support for the European project, always fragile, will keep falling if it fails to deliver greater prosperity. Europe's leaders still face testing times. As de Tocqueville put it, "a sovereign who seeks to relieve his subjects after a long period of oppression is lost, unless he be a man of great genius."
Click here to subscribe to The Economist
Join the conversation about this story »
Iowa State gets 2014 commitment from Greek 7-footer Giorgos Tsalmpouris
Police Believe Xeros Aided By Italian Anarchists; New Plots Planned
7-foot-1 Greek center commits to ISU
Greek Spring Food Festivals held in Athens
Giro d'Italia 2014: stage three live!
2.59pm BST
"A German living in Ireland with his Greek wife is watching the Giro," writes Roland Tritsch. "In Clontarf. Breezy, but we are looking good for a dry sprint. Go Kittel, go. And Happy Birthday."
2.58pm BST
Crash! Lots of people have been introduced to a grass verge, with some of them going full-on hedgewards. Michele Scarponi, wearing No1, is among them. Enrico Gasparotto, also of Astana, is having a faceful of mud wiped off. Valerio Agnoli also in Astana's light blue is limping and holding his back.
2.52pm BST
If anyone's still reading this from streetside, having recently been cycled past or preparing to be cycled past, are you finding this more exciting that Eurosport's commentators are? Because they're basically only a small step up from unconscious.
2.48pm BST
Sorry, just took a comfort break. The leaders are indeed now in Drogheda. 66km to go.
2.40pm BST
The crowd being cycled past is about 30% umbrella-holding, I'd say.
2.33pm BST
The front five are currently a smidgeon under three minutes clear of the pack, with 77km to go (which means they're gradually approaching Drogheda).
2.30pm BST
Endless photographs of pink-clad people having maximum if slightly damp fun. Though I think there probably are some parties even better than a Giro Dundalk party.
Ain't no party like a #GiroDundalk party... pic.twitter.com/7cVsKSwYGR
2.19pm BST
Exactly 100km into the stage, 87km to go. That puts the leaders somewhere between Castlebellingham and Dunleer.
2.10pm BST
The breakaway are just two minutes clear now, with 92km to go. TV cameras are largely showing cyclists taking jackets off, or cyclists putting jackets back on again.
2.05pm BST
Is it acceptable to paint a cow pink? I feel a little uncomfortable about it, but am willing to accept it if it makes their milk taste of strawberry.
After the sheep and the horses, today pink cow on #giro course. Now just waiting for elephants. pic.twitter.com/iYOSWyAhMD
2.02pm BST
The main thing Eurosport are broadcasting is a picture of the finish line, which I'd suggest is extremely premature. They've promised to sort themselves out during the ad break that's just begun.
2.00pm BST
Newsflash. The gap is shrinking, though still quite slowly.
100 km to go, 302 gap for Godoy, Rubiano, Cecchinel, Dockx and Tjallingii #giro
1.59pm BST
Another crash. The roads in Dublin are absolutely sodden, and there may be several slides ahead. Manuel Belletti is one of the fallers this time, and he looks in some distress as he's seen to by medical staff.
1.56pm BST
Super photograph, this. Well done.
Great views and buzz as the #girostart2014 peloton turn the corner at Red Lion Crossroads near Kilmore, Co. Armagh pic.twitter.com/8BfWZ2e0aA
1.54pm BST
Andrea Fedi has had a fall. He looks fine, but his back wheel looks all messed up. As he stands up, some chap sticks a camera at his knee for a full-on close-up of a freshly-sustained graze. Nice pic, laddo. One for the living-room wall, that.
1.48pm BST
The cyclists spent the first hour going at, on average, 39.6km/h. At that speed the stage will take four hours and 43 minutes to complete the 187km stage and finish a little after 4.30pm.
@Simon_Burnton Here in Sunny Dundalk awaiting the first riders to come through, should be any minute now pic.twitter.com/AFWRikAgHo
1.45pm BST
Your chance to own a piece of history! With a special sun roof!
if you want a Giro car suppliers http://t.co/V0b1oLZ26k are selling 80 vehicles used for the Giro here including 10 with special sun roofs
1.44pm BST
It's Marcel Kittel's birthday today. He's 26. Happy birthday Marcel!
He may be too busy to read the liveblog at present, but I'm sure he plans to catch up later.
1.43pm BST
Eurosport have finally flicked the switch, so things are looking up. There is evidence of some sunshine, and lots of people in pink.
1.41pm BST
Another photo from today, showing grey skies from which no water is falling. Heavy showers are forecast for the afternoon.
1.37pm BST
The breakaway fivesome lead by a little over five minutes. The fab five are Godoy, Miguel Angel Rubiano, Gert Dockx, Maarten Tjallingii and Giorgio Cecchinel.
1.26pm BST
Another email, this from James Longhurst: "I'm at the stage finish in Dublin (in a pub at about 400m from the finish) it's soaking here and there's a dog-leg in the road covered with a yellow junction box and plenty of puddles already if it doesn't dry out the corner is gonna be very skiddy expect a crash in the sprint!" Aha, that'll be the "chicane in the final 500 metres" that William Fotheringham mentioned. "Picture from Kennedy's pub window attached."
1.19pm BST
"Just leaving house to walk along coast road Portmarnock to Malahide," reports John Caul, who is on the scene. "Excited, roads closing, lots of pink. Sunshine at the moment. Mass was short because of race and priest is a Liverpool supporter!" Good to get the priorities right
1.16pm BST
Here's a live picture from today. Umbrellas very much in evidence.
1.14pm BST
No television coverage as yet, but the leaders appear to be approaching Fews Forrest with Yonder Godoy whose name is spectacularly hard to read on the official Giro website, where it basically looks like GOOOY at the front of a five-man break.
1.07pm BST
Incidentally, you can catch up on yesterday's rainy shenanigans with William Fotheringham's report, which can be found in full here but starts like this:
Mark Cavendish might well have something to say about it, and indeed will have his say at the Tour de France, but for the moment, cycling's new sprint king is Marcel Kittel. Victory on Donegall Square here the day before his 26th birthday means the German has now taken stages in all three Grand Tours. With his four stage wins at last year's Tour de France, and his victory at the Vuelta in 2011, he has achieved the first item on most top sprinters' to-do lists; extending his repertoire to include the points jersey here or at the Tour is for the future.
This was by no means a straightforward win. With a right-angle bend just 270 metres from the finish line the same as Friday night's team time trial but taken from the opposite direction Kittel needed to be one of the first through the corner to be in a good position. Instead, after a chaotic build-up to the sprint, with no team in control, he was a dozen places back in the field and had to come from behind.
12.30pm BST
Giro d'Italia, day three. Armagh to Dublin, via Keady, Forkhill, Castlebellingham, Balbriggan and Swords, and the last stage in Ireland before everyone jets off back to Italy. You can find today's route in full here, but in profile it looks something like this:
Cosy! MT @pcdonachy #girostart2014 #kilmore #armagh main pack pic.twitter.com/gE8UwpmEfG
Continue reading...1,500 Ballots, 40,000 Candidates To Run in Local Elections
elections 2014
Larisa Drozdova: From Greece, with Love
Trichet Blames Greeks For Austerity
The former head of the Eurozone said it was Greece's own fault it had to ask for the rescue and the harsh austerity measures that came with it.
The post Trichet Blames Greeks For Austerity appeared first on The National Herald.
Turkish, Greek teams hold friendly football match 84 years after kick-off
The 15 Sayings Greek Mothers Use for Their Children
Why Investors Are Going Crazy For The Very European Government Bonds They Used To Hate
The above chart tells one of the most important stories in the world of economics. It shows the yield on Italian 10-year bonds.
Not long ago, Italy was one of a handful of so-called "PIIGS" countries, peripheral European countries that investors were avoiding like the plague. Others in this category included Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. And even France made investors nervous. These countries had (and continue to have) high levels of government debt, and generally mediocre economies overall.
The fear was that the countries wouldn't be able to service their debt, and that they would possibly default and revert to their old currencies, leaving bond investors in the lurch.
But now look, Italian government bond yields are at their lowest levels in history. Not only has the trend reversed, the pendulum has swung far in the other direction. Investors are buying European government bonds like crazy.
What caused the turnaround?
In the Summer of 2012, ECB chief Mario Draghi laid out a plan that would allow the ECB to backstop countries that got into fiscal trouble. Specifically, if a country was having problems in the bond market (borrowing money), then the ECB would agree to step in and buy an unlimited number of bonds (which the ECB has the ability to do, because it creates money), provided the country in question agreed to undergo further fiscal reforms.
The program Draghi spelled out was known as OMT.
As it turns out, Draghi never needed to use OMT. No country has actually had to call in the ECB for help.
But just the knowledge of the program's existence — that it can be used as an escape valve if necessary — was all it took to produce a ferocious rally in government bonds and a big drop in yields.
Today
These days there's even more reason to be bullish on European government debt.
Inflation is exceptionally low in Europe, particularly in peripheral countries.
Going back to Italy (which we're just using as an example) the rate of inflation is about as low as it was during the worst of the economic crisis.
Falling inflation tends to create demand for fixed income assets, like government bonds.
Again, this story is being repeated all over the place in Europe.
Furthermore, there's a "shortage" of safe assets in the world. The Fed has bought up a lot of US debt (through QE) and we're not producing as much government guaranteed housing debt in the US like we used to. So a European government bond that has a theoretical guarantee from the ECB (if Italy ever gets into trouble) suddenly looks kind of appealing.
So what we're seeing across Europe are historic lows in peripheral government borrowing costs, as low inflation, a shortage of safe debt, and an ECB backstop conspire to make these assets look very attractive.
Join the conversation about this story »
Greek Election Campaigns Crank Up
Greece Promises Tax Cuts – Maybe
After four years of brutal austerity measures, the Greek government said it will lower taxes in 2015 - but only if it can collect from tax evaders first.
The post Greece Promises Tax Cuts – Maybe appeared first on The National Herald.
Greek Elections Too Close To Call
The ruling New Democracy Conservatives and SYRIZA Leftists are in a horse race in elections for Greek municipalities and the European Parliament.
The post Greek Elections Too Close To Call appeared first on The National Herald.
Greek Tax Cuts: Wait Till Next Year
Once Europe's lead preacher of budget prudence, Finland loses righteousness
Ancient Greek Flavors in Athens
Greek fare gets a lift with spin on omelet
HTSF Scholarship Gala a Hit on Broadway
NEW YORK – The 23rd anniversary Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund (HTSF) gala lived up to its reputation as one of the community’s parties of the year, but onstage, front and center and in the spotlight as the guest walked in, were the true highlights of the event, the 35 young scholarship recipients, the community’s best […]
The post HTSF Scholarship Gala a Hit on Broadway appeared first on The National Herald.
Weekend Diversion: The Top 5 Spectacles from Eurovision 2014! (Synopsis)
Greek Festival This Weekend
Sceptics set to fight EU from the inside after vote
Two weeks ahead of European Parliament elections, polls are predicting a eurosceptic surge, packing the assembly with members set to fight the EU from within for the next five years. Sceptics and far-right parties are set for major gains in the likes of heavyweight European Union nations Britain and France, as well as in the Netherlands. In Germany, the AfD party aiming to abolish the euro, is rating well while Beppe Grillo's populists and the radical left Syriza are front-runners respectively in Italy and Greece. \"The Eurosceptic surge could be more dangerous than the emergence of the Tea Party in the US,\" said Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
For Mother’s Day: Thyme, Greek Honey, and Granola
Did you know that KFC’s day of largest gross sales is Mother’s Day? Think about that for a second. Why not give mom a real treat with a selection of these easy to make recipes for a breakfast in bed or a memorable brunch? Greek Thyme Honey Granola Makes 2 servings Ingredients: Grape seed oil […]
The post For Mother’s Day: Thyme, Greek Honey, and Granola appeared first on The National Herald.
The Sponge Wars of Tarpon Springs in 1914
No short account can hope to even outline every clash, engagement, or battle of the extended Sponge Wars. For nearly fifty years, Greek immigrant sponge divers fought American-born fisher folk over the richest sponging grounds on the planet. Spanning literally thousands of miles of water, these deadly engagements in the waters of Gulf of Mexico […]
The post The Sponge Wars of Tarpon Springs in 1914 appeared first on The National Herald.
Turk-Greek post-war soccer friendly ends after 84 years
Tourism Minister Calls on Australians to Visit Greece
Charlemagne: Beware Of Europhoria
Two sets of numbers tell a contradictory story about the euro zone.
Economic data point to improvements by the month, even by the day: growth is picking up and the borrowing costs of even the most indebted countries keep falling.
The crisis is over, say some Eurocrats.
By contrast, polls ahead of this month's European elections point to political upheaval.
Voters are exasperated with their governments and with Europe; anti-establishment groups are on the rise and may come top in some places.
Europe may be about to test de Tocqueville's contention that the most propitious time for revolution is not when conditions are worsening, but when they start to improve.
"Evils which are patiently endured when they seem inevitable become intolerable once the idea of escape from them is suggested," he wrote.
Having witnessed the evils of falling living standards and mass unemployment, and with a general sense that citizens have had to pay to save banks (all worsened by leaders' mismanagement of the crisis), there are signs that escape is at hand.
This week euro-zone finance ministers congratulated Portugal on making a "clean exit" from its bail-out, forgoing the safety net of a precautionary loan.
In following the examples of Ireland and Spain, Portugal is perhaps being reckless. If these countries run into trouble, they will be able neither to draw quickly on loans nor to rely on the backstop of the European Central Bank, whose never-used bond-buying policy, Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), depends on there being a formal programme. But politics has trumped prudence.
Debtor countries can claim to have rid themselves of the hated "troika" (the ECB, the European Commission and the IMF); creditors can claim vindication for their policies of austerity and structural reform.
Greece and Cyprus remain under programmes. Euro-zone ministers belatedly acknowledged that, after years of austerity and a deep slump, Greece has at last achieved a primary budget surplus (ie, before interest payments).
Under a promise made in 2012 but delayed until after the European election, the euro zone will consider if Greece needs more help to bring down its vast debt. Nobody will talk of a write-off. Instead ministers may "extend and pretend" by stretching out already-long maturities.
The recovery is gaining strength, with modest but accelerating growth expected in the euro zone this year and next. Cyprus, the only country still in recession, is likely to grow next year.
Unemployment has peaked. Investors are rushing into peripheral European debt. Yields on ten-year bonds for Italy and Spain have dipped below 3% for the first time since the euro began (though that partly reflects very low inflation). Last month Greece returned to the bond market for the first time in four years.
Yet markets are in danger of reverting to the folly of the first decade of the euro, when investors paid almost the same price for the debt of Greece as of Germany.
There are good reasons to restrain the euphoria. The prospect of a chaotic default and the break-up of the euro may have receded, but economic problems are far from over.
Debt levels have risen sharply, growth is sluggish and unemployment is worryingly high. More than a quarter of workers are out of jobs in Spain and Greece. Bank lending, on which euro-zone firms are still dependent, is shrinking. Similar companies in neighbouring euro-zone countries pay widely different interest rates. With inflation consistently below 1%, troubled countries will struggle to close the competitiveness gap with Germany and work off heavy debts.
The prospect of even more damaging deflation is uncomfortably close.
Europe faces three interconnected risks: prolonged stagnation, reform paralysis and political backlash. Especially in southern Europe, growth will be sluggish at best and joblessness will remain high for many years.
Despite the arrival of energetic new prime ministers, France and Italy have yet to make a convincing commitment to liberal reforms, while Germany is unapologetic about running a large demand-sapping trade surplus.
Beware Of Reform-Phobia TooThe euro zone, too, is shy of change. The ECB has dragged its feet over unconventional measures like quantitative easing to fight deflation.
Other European Union institutions are in pre-electoral doldrums; there is a good chance of stalemate over the choice of a new commission president. There is little energy left for measures to strengthen the euro zone through greater risk-sharing, or to boost growth by deepening the single market.
Negotiations on an ambitious transatlantic trade deal with America are losing steam (also because of nervousness in America).
One reason why European politicians are worried about further reform is the fear of populism. Eurosceptic parties are leading the polls or running second in France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and in non-euro Britain and Denmark.
Talk of leaving the euro zone is resurfacing. Silvio Berlusconi, a former Italian prime minister, has said Italy and other countries might have to give up the currency unless the ECB loosens monetary policy.
And in Finland, a creditor country, a paper published by a group of economists this week suggests that it would be better to leave the euro lest Finland gets dragged into a more federal system with joint liabilities such as Eurobonds.
If markets once seemed ready to push the weakest countries out of the euro, now it is voters who may pull their escape cord.
With a primary surplus, Greece no longer needs to borrow for itself; so it could now more easily default on its debt.
Support for the European project, always fragile, will keep falling if it fails to deliver greater prosperity. Europe's leaders still face testing times. As de Tocqueville put it, "a sovereign who seeks to relieve his subjects after a long period of oppression is lost, unless he be a man of great genius."
Click here to subscribe to The Economist
Join the conversation about this story »