Amal Clooney Argues New Antiquities Case in Greece, Addresses Husband George Clooney

The 36-year-old human rights lawyer is in Athens, Greece this week with members of her law firm to argue the case of the Parthenon Marbles, the ...

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Greece thinks Amal Alamuddin Clooney could solve the West's longest-running cultural spat

Amal Alamuddin Clooney might be on her way to remembrance for her involvement with a controversial part of the Parthenon. Last month, Doughty ...

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Greek PM tries to restore calm after market upheaval

Greece's government held a cabinet meeting on Wednesday as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras sought to restore calm after a terrible day for the ...

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Greek Startups 'Dream Team' Goes to London

IRISena is a promising Greek startup that will take part in DroidCon London 2014, one of the most important European exhibitions on development ...

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Greek island death: PM helps Nottingham family

The Leek's lawyer Costas Andrea said: "The Greek courts are very slow. It takes a very long time and if left to their own devices we might be waiting ...

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The Apprentice 2014: episode two as it happens

In the opening episode, black belt Chiles was given the chop. Whose dreams of business-partnership glory will Lord Sugar bludgeon this evening? Julia Raeside is watching 9.27pm BST The boys stride into JD Sports, and for some of them Id guess this isnt their first time. They show the buyers the laptop screen in portrait mode because the camera is implanted in the jumper on its side. That was some classy quick-thinking from Steven. 9.26pm BST The solar shoulder pads could almost pass for a design detail. But not actually. Just almost. It looks a bit like a donkey jacket. 9.25pm BST The camera is pointing at the boys but no one has said anything for over three minutes now. Its just noise. Daniel says Scott should get a grip, but not to his face.Finally the girls jacket arrives. I was really hoping for full-size solar panels (like youd get on a house) attached to giant shoulder pads. That just looks like a shit jacket. 9.24pm BST There was a confident Moving forward there from Scott. Please tick this off your bingo cards and drink a shot of printer ink. 9.23pm BST The huge On Air logo might be a bit of a give-away. But at least the boys have a prototype.The girls answer the door to a note saying their prototype is taking ages and isnt ready. Disaster darling. 9.22pm BST James says, The project managers been absent, when he could have just said, Scott is not here. Its this kind of estate agent-ese that is essential to the Apprentice candidate. They dont get past the audition without it.Here come the finished prototypes. The boys have a sweatshirt with a video camera in it for your busy neighbourhood sex pest. Secretly film people without them knowing! 9.20pm BST Nick poo-poos Scott and is clearly enjoying the total failure of the boys to agree on a thing. Anything now, fellas. A posing pouch with an MP3 player in it. Anything! 9.20pm BST Can the sun actually be absorbed by a solar panel if its under a piece of material, ask the girls very sensibly. This wont do. Theyre over-thinking things. I prefer it when theyre being insanely optimistic. 9.19pm BST Back at Tenaci-jacket central, they really ARE going to add in solar panels. How thrilling! All you have to do is go somewhere sunny and point your shoulders towards a strong light source. Stay there for two, maybe three hours and Bobs your uncle! You can give your phone 5-6% charge! 9.17pm BST Over at Scotts design meeting, the designer pours cold water on their jumper idea. They all put their heads in their hands, ensuring their place in the next sad montage. 9.16pm BST The designer of the Tenaci-jacket is politely trying to tell them its too complicated. Nonsense! Add small microwave in the left sleeve. Youre not thinking BIG enough. 9.16pm BST Mark is acting as a Greek chorus tonight in case were not keeping up with the complex group dynamic. To summarise, Robert was chicken shit and Scott keeps passing the blame. Got it. 9.15pm BST Scott is in the shop where I bought the fabric for my wedding dress. Fact. I am going to cut up my wedding dress and insert temperature controls, a solar panel and light-up breastplate. Cool! 9.14pm BST The Tenacity jacket looks like being a disco light-up temperature control jacket with charging socket. That should be a peace of piss. Why dont you hurl in a teasmade as well? 9.13pm BST People carriers swoop in and take the teams to meet their public at a series of always awkward focus groups. A member of the public has just done a really convincing Oh my god I would love that, as Bianca offers her a jacket with colour-change lapels. So useful! 9.11pm BST Guys guys guys. The guys simply cannot agree on what the thing should be, let alone what colour the thing should be. The girls have fashion insight. All women are wearing jackets, says Lindsay. By god, shes right! 9.10pm BST The girls all take turns in worming out of the PM job because they know this one is a poisoned chalice. Nurun is the least best at worming and gets landed with the job. Bad luck, Nurun. 9.09pm BST And the girls change their team name to Tenacity. TENACITY. Its a word that you only really ever hear on The Apprentice. What you get with me, Lord Sugar, is a person made of pure steel and high-tensile tenacity. 9.09pm BST Ah Scott! The Scot has taken charge and suggest a diet doo-hicky that somehow tells you what youre eating while you wear it. Surely youd know? 9.08pm BST While the girls gawp at a skirt made of disco lights, Robert worms his way out of being PM by inferring the whole thing sounds a bit downmarket. Robert, you are a contestant on The Apprentice. Which bit of that leads you to think you are required to be UP-market? 9.07pm BST Al suggests Robert (beautiful sheep) might like to lead the boys on this one as he works in fashion. I think I heard a small fart of fear escape his fashionable britches. 9.06pm BST People often need to dash about on this show. Surely youd wear trainers to be in a state of ever-readiness.Sugar explains wearable technology. Quite disappointed hes not wearing one of those Hat FM baseball caps with the radio and earphones built in. 9.05pm BST Im on a mission tonight to find one girl, just one, who doesnt totter around on shoes that make them walk like a poorly duck. 9.04pm BST Hang on - Scott was singled out? Is it bad that I dont remember him? And Scottish too. I bet he cant wait for all the referendum gags Alan has lined up for him.So there are 19 suits left. Which one will leave the t-shirts at the printers tonight? 9.02pm BST Remember, when he says Youre fired every candidate is well within their rights to reply, No, Im not because its just factually incorrect.Sarah reminding us in the recap that shes fairly awful and thats in a sea of so many other pretty bloody awful errrr waves. 9.01pm BST This is not about chancing yer arm, barks Sugar as he surveys a bunch of right blousy chancers. Hes swearing a lot in this preamble isnt he? Last resort of the inarticulate, they say. 8.59pm BST OK, settle in chaps. Not long now. You do know they are inventing wearable technology tonight, right? The mind boggles. I wonder who will officially be crowned the girls PM tonight so that Sarah can completely ignore their instructions? 8.58pm BST I have never seen a single episode of Waterloo Road, one of the most popular BBC dramas of all time. I apologise to all involved and promise to try and catch it. Next week, yep definitely. 8.56pm BST Butterfield nails it as per. Exactly how I feel.The Apprentice is on again? Is it next week already? #TheApprentice 8.31pm BST Welcome back if you were here last night and hello, where have you been if youre just joining us thinking this is the first episode in a new series of The Apprentice.Ive barely had time to wipe the drool from my chin or change my clothes since last nights corporate stampede. Twenty new candidates swept majestically across the forecourt of that building where they film the boardroom scenes and herded into Alans vestibule as they awaited his call to send them in. Continue reading...

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STOCKS TANK AFTER WILD DAY: Here's What You Need To Know (DIA, SPY, QQQ, TLT, NFLX, TWX, USO, NBR, SDRL, WLL, RIG, CXO, HP)

Stocks finished lower, but way off their worst levels, after a wild session that saw stocks open sharply lower as bond yields fell around the world, oil prices remained a multi-year lows, and several US economic data points came in below expectations. At their lows, stocks were down more than 2% across the board, with the Dow falling as much as 435 points and the S&P 500 losing all of its year-to-date gains. First, the scoreboard: Dow: 16,142.1 (-172.1 points, -1.0%) S&P 500: 1,864.4 (-12.9 points, -0.6%) Nasdaq: 4,217.3 (-9.8 points, -0.2%) And now, the top stories on Wednesday: 1. What a day for the market. Before US stocks opened for trade, the bond market went wild, with yields on the US 10-year Treasury bond falling as low as 1.86% before settling near 2%, its lowest level since June 2013. German 10-year bunds also fell dramatically, falling to 0.75%. US stocks took their lead from markets in Europe, where stock in Germany lost 2.9%, the UK's FTSE lost 2.8%, CAC in Paris lost 3.6%, and stocks in Italy lost 4.4%. These losses, however, paled in comparison with the declines seen in Greece, which lost 6%.  2. The price of oil settled near $81.40, losing another 0.5% after Tuesday's 4% decline that sent crude to its lowest level since late 2012. The decline in oil is also seriously weighing on shares of oil drilling companies, notably midsize companies such as Nabors, Transocean, Concho Resources, and Whiting Petroleum. Even mega-cap oil companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell have seen their shares decline in the face of declining oil prices.  3. It was a broad sell-off across the board on Wednesday, as seemingly every major risk of the last couple weeks popped up: softening economic data, declining oil prices, and fears of the spread of Ebola. Rich Barry, floor governor at the NYSE, wrote in an afternoon email blast that seven core factors were being blamed for the sell off at the Exchange.  4. Before the market open on Wednesday, three pieces of US economic data disappointed. Retail sales came in worse than expected, with headline sales falling 0.3% against expectations for a more modest 0.1% decline. The latest report on producer prices paid showed that prices unexpectedly fell 0.1% in September against expectations for a 0.1% increase. Additionally, the New York Fed's latest Empire manufacturing report showed that business conditions plunged 20 points to 6.17 from last month's 27.54 reading, and way below the 20.25 that was expected by economists. Late in the afternoon, a report from Bloomberg said that Janet Yellen affirmed her view that the US economic expansion would continue. 5. Also in economic news, the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book report on economic anecdotes showed that the economy is still growing, consistent with the last two reports. The report showed that consumer spending in most districts saw overall growth ranging from slight to moderate, though general merchandisers in New York saw sales that were weaker on balance than prior reports.  6. A second nurse treating an Ebola patient in Dallas contracted the disease, the CDC confirmed on Wednesday. Additionally, the patient flew on a commercial flight from Cleveland to Texas on Monday. On Wednesday, shares of airline stocks took it on the chin again, following Monday's sharp sell-off as concerns that governments could eventually impose travel bans related to Ebola weigh on the sector.  7. HBO announced that it would introduce a stand-alone streaming video service in 2015, and following the announcement, shares of Netflix sold off as investors initially interpreted the service as a direct challenge to Netflix. Netflix also reports earnings after the close on Wednesday; expectations are for earnings per share to come in at $0.93 on revenue of $1.41 billion.  8. One of the largest proposed "tax inversion" deals that would have seen Chicago-based AbbVie acquire Irish drug company Shire and redomicile to Ireland could be at risk after AbbVie said it was reconsidering its bid following US moves to curb inversions. Business Insider's Brett LoGiurato noted that this could be one of the first major wins for the Obama administration in its efforts to stem the tide of inversions. The news sent shares of Shire tumbling, making for an ugly day for hedge fund manager John Paulson, who was in line for paper losses of up to $782 million, according to Business Insider's Julia LaRoche.  9. Bank of America reported earnings before the market open on Wednesday, reporting a $0.01 loss per share against expectations for $0.09 on revenue of $21.4 billion. On an adjusted basis, Bank of America earned $0.43 per share in the third quarter, as the bank took $5.8 billion in legal charges related to its settlement with the Department of Justice.  10. The US Treasury Department announced that the budget deficit fell to about $483 billion in fiscal 2014, the lowest under President Obama and almost $200 billion below last year. This also marks the fifth consecutive year the deficit declined as a percentage of GDP.  Don't Miss: Europe Is Flirting With A Bizarre New Kind Of Economic Meltdown That Hasn't Been Seen Since The 1930s »Join the conversation about this story »

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Barry Strauss: “Great Leaders Nonexistent Today Worldwide”

Cornell University Professor Dr. Barry Strauss spoke of the strengths of leadership found in Themistocles – the Athenian general and politician – during a lecture at The American College of Greece October 14, on the occasion of the annual Kimon Friar Lecture – and lamented the lack of leadership worldwide today. Speaking to a packed audience in attendance for the 20–year-old lecture series aimed at promoting Greek arts and letters, Barry Strauss delivered a powerful lecture entitled “Cunning and Strength: Leadership Lessons from Themistocles,” about the Athenian personality credited with winning the Battle of Salamis for Greece in 480 BC. Dr. Strauss, who heads the history department at Cornell, referred to Themistocles as a “not one-sided personality,” outlining the features that made him stand out as a timeless symbol of leadership: ambition, foresight, innovation, strength, cunning, ruthlessness, and brazenness, among others. He also described Themistocles as a “master of tactics” who could persuade Athenians to do what he wished, “cajoling them,” or even “threatening them” to follow what he had in mind, which often proved lifesaving. Had the Battle of Salamis been lost, it would have meant that the Golden Age of Pericles and the rest of what is known as the beginning of western civilization would not have occurred, Professor Strauss maintains. He adds that studying Themistocles is a lesson in leadership but also a “challenge.” Professor Strauss described Themistocles as a “child of revolution” who turned revolutionary, much like Napoleon, and described both men as “brilliant, but flawed, with a lot in common.” He also found similarities with the late Steve Jobs, the former Apple CEO, whose recent death was, according to Dr. Strauss, “a cultural moment in the US, which showed the yearning for heroes.” In comparing Themistocles and Jobs, Professor Strauss said that Steve Jobs, the “icon of entrepreneurship” was, like Themistocles, a genius, but was also known for his temper tantrums. Like Themistocles, he was also known for boasting of his accomplishments – much like the hero Odysseus too. Due to the absence of ACG President Dr. David G. Horner, who was unavoidably detained in the US, DEREE Provost Dr. Thimios Zaharopoulos delivered the opening remarks, welcoming Barry Strauss, who has studied and written about Themistocles, not least in his book The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece—and Western Civilization (2004). Introducing Dr. Barry Strauss, DEREE History Professor Dr. Haris Vlavianos spoke of a man who has been taking bold strokes in the muddy waters of history to successfully reach the finish line. At the end of the lecture, in the Q and A session that ensued, when asked by the audience if current leadership was enough to combat the Islamic State, Dr. Strauss said he doesn’t claim to be an expert on modern politics, but maintained, “we face a leadership deficit.” When prodded to explain, Dr. Strauss reasoned that the lack of leadership in societies was due to societies’ complacency on account of its wealth and the observed lack of self-confidence. “However,” he added, “I am confident that should the need arise, there are people that can rise to the challenge today, but I hope things don’t get too drastic before great leaders are found.” The annual Kimon Friar Lecture was organized by ACG’s Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts and was open to the public. Strauss, who is also Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies at Cornell University, has also been named Honorary Citizen of Salamis, Greece, and was thanked by members of the audience from Salamina, for being such a good “Salaminian.”

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Greece Seeks UNESCO’s Aid to Regain Elgin Marbles from U.K.

Since the early 1980s, Greece and Britain have been at loggerheads over the sculptures that decorated the Parthenon’s frieze on the Acropolis for more than 2,000 years, but were removed at the beginning of the 19th Century by the British Ambassador to ...

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Serbia Demands A 3-0 Win In The Insane Game That Ended In A Drone-Provoked Brawl After 41 Minutes

The Football Association of Serbia has issued a scathing statement about their abandoned European Championship qualifying match against Albania on Tuesday night. The game was cancelled after 41 minutes with the score tied 0-0 when a drone carrying a pro-Albania flag provoked a brawl between the two teams and, eventually, some Serbian fans. The two nations have a history of political strife, most notably in Kosovo. In the statement, Serbia called the stunt a "terrorist action," criticized Albania for refusing to come back onto the field, and demanded that UEFA retroactively declare the game a 3-0 win for Serbia. "... We estimate that [Albania] are directly guilty for the match abandonment and we expect that UEFA disciplinary bodies will register the match with 3:0 result, in favour of Serbia," the statement reads. "At the same time, we warn UEFA that, sadly, something like this can also happen on other stadiums all around Europe and future safety measures should also foresee this new 'Albanian way' of acting against football and all parties involved." They basically want the game declared a forfeit. Serbia accuses the Albanian team of refusing multiple proposals to replay the game. Serbia offered to empty the stadium and continue playing. They also offered to replay the game on Wednesday. Both plans were rejected by Albania, according to the Serbian FA. The statement paints the Serbian team in the best possible light. Of the fan actions, the FA said: "By this way FA of Serbia would like to thank to enormous number of supporters present at the stadium, who remained in their seats and behaving as they did, contributed for the mentioned nationally and politically based provocation not to end with tragic consequences. Unfortunately, individuals who entered the pitch succumbed to the provocation and wanted only one thing — to remove the mentioned flag. Regardless understanding we have, we must not tolerate such an act and FA of Serbia will press charges against them, all in accordance with the law, legal regulations and obligations, and after reviewing footage of security cameras. Furthermore, the same procedure will be started against a person who broke into the Radio Television Serbia studio and sent offensive messages to the Prime Minister of Republic of Serbia." There is no mention of the fan who hit an Albania player with a chair, or the ones who attacked the Albanians as they exited the field: Here's the entire statement: Football Association of Serbia is expressing regret that the match between Serbia and Albania did not finish in a sports manner, as a very important event of two countries' best teams should have. In atmosphere that has not been seen for a long time in Serbia, with support of fans acting like one, Serbian National team players, with their good game, were heading towards an important victory on their way to France 2016. Unfortunately, because of a provocation from the opponent's side, started by entering a flag of non-existing so-called "Great Albania" that as such offends feelings of all citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece, with help of a drone that came from outside of the stadium, and that was continued by inappropriate scenes on the pitch, the match was not finished in the usual way and therefore our national team players lost chance to show who was better and of more quality in a fair, sportsmanlike and chivalrous contest. At this moment we do not want to deal with presumptions about the final solution. We do emphasise that while preparing this match we were in constant touch with all appropriate and relevant state authorities. However, we would like to inform domestic and foreign public about certain undisputable facts regarding last night's match between Serbia and Albania: 1. Match suspension was in the 41st minute, upon appearance of the mentioned flag that came from outside of the stadium, carried by a drone and as such found itself in the space foreseen for the game. Appearance of the object is a well-planned political diversion. It will turn out that it was the only and key reason for definite abandonment of the match that came later on. Referee Martin Atkinson stopped the match, expecting for the object to be removed. The act that the referee stopped the match was a clear sign that it had to be removed immediately. At one moment, Serbian player Stefan Mitrović managed to catch the flag and, as it can be clearly seen on all the footages, started to fold it as calmly as possible, in order to give it to the fourth official and for the match to be continued. Absolutely all of the Serbian players and officials on the bench were in their seats, calm and without any attempt to show force or rage because of the incident. However, Albanian players acted very aggressively and physically attacked Mitrović. 2. By this way FA of Serbia would like to thank to enormous number of supporters present at the stadium, who remained in their seats and behaving as they did, contributed for the mentioned nationally and politically based provocation not to end with tragic consequences. Unfortunately, individuals who entered the pitch succumbed to the provocation and wanted only one thing - to remove the mentioned flag. Regardless understanding we have, we must not tolerate such an act and FA of Serbia will press charges against them, all in accordance with the law, legal regulations and obligations, and after reviewing footage of security cameras. Furthermore, the same procedure will be started against a person who broke into the Radio Television Serbia studio and sent offensive messages to the Prime Minister of Republic of Serbia. 3. What came next were moments of acting in crisis circumstances. Forming a group of appropriate officials and being familiar with all steps and rules, members of the FA of Serbia took part in UEFA meetings in the best possible way. We declare under full responsibility that the match referee and the match delegate made a decision for the match to be continued. FA of Serbia and our representatives accepted that, but unfortunately not the people from the Albanian FF and their national team. 4. Wanting only football game to be the winner, we proposed the following options foreseen by the relevant regulations to the delegate, referees and Albanian FF: - For the match to be continued according to the decision of the referee and delegate - Albanian FF refused that - For the match to be continued after emptying the stands - Albanian FF refused that - For the match to be postponed and played on Wednesday, 15th October 2014 - Albanian FF refused that For every of the proposed options FA of Serbia had full support of all relevant authorities - match referees, match delegate and other match officials. Proposals had also been refused by the highest officials of the Albanian FF and also by their team captain Cana who was present on behalf of their national team. Further to all the above, referee Atkinson told our captain Branislav Ivanović to take the team to the pitch and therefore show decisiveness of Serbia to play, which was done accordingly. After few consultations with his teammates, Albanian team captain Cana officially confirmed that Albania did not want to continue with the match, out of reason that some of the players were mentally unfit at that moment. Referee Atkinson informed the present people that there were four remaining minutes of the game in the first half and up till then already defined two minutes of additional time. 5. FA of Serbia emphasise that before and during the played part of the match, and also after the match was abandoned neither any of the Albanian flags had been burnt nor there had been any banners with inappropriate content. Furthermore, we strongly stress the fact that at all times safety was guaranteed to every member of the Albanian FF delegation. Events that happened during the match and that resulted in the match to be abandoned have shown us one incredible synchronisation of the whole event that had only one aim - to cause abandonment of the match in Belgrade! And let us immediately stress that Football Association of Serbia has never evaded responsibility, that is not our intention now, but for the truth and justice we will not and do not want to allow the perpetrators who violated football to present themselves as victims. It is a scandalous fact that the other party, with their "job well done" is ridiculing not only FA of Serbia and Serbian people but also, we dare to say, UEFA. Starting with the person detained for questioning who operated the drone with the flag of "Great Albania", the flag that offends not only Serbian citizens, but also people of Greece, Montenegro and FYR Macedonia, to those who now boast they had brought that drone to Belgrade and display photos on social networks. It is devastating and also easily seen through that even the Albanian Prime Minister himself spoke, he, whose brother allegedly was directly responsible for taking the drone into the stadium! Now we ask: how the world, many politicians, EU and UEFA representatives would react if such a crazy, shameless scenario was to happen in Albania and directed by our "officials"? Also, do not forget organised festivities in the countries of the region after the last night's match was abandoned, when the mentioned flag and abandoned match were celebrated. Those events are in favour of the idea of the FA of Serbia for both matches between Serbia and Albania to be played without guest supporters. Because of all that, FA of Serbia strongly condemn scenes of violence at the FK Partizan stadium, but also football being shamefully politicized, what is contrary to all UEFA and FIFA regulations and what is the main reason of the match being abandoned. Football Association of Serbia also request from UEFA disciplinary bodies to react as in the Genoa case and act according to the same criteria. We welcomed our guests from the Albanian FF in the best possible way. Because of that, we are truly worried by the fact that, after decision of the match officials (delegate and referee) for the match to be continued, they did not do anything for that to happen. They simply took UEFA rules in their own hands interpreting them as they preferred. According to that, we estimate that they are directly guilty for the match abandonment and we expect that UEFA disciplinary bodies will register the match with 3:0 result, in favour of Serbia. At the same time, we warn UEFA that, sadly, something like this can also happen on other stadiums all around Europe and future safety measures should also foresee this new "Albanian way" of acting against football and all parties involved.  Summarizing all, FA of Serbia are aghast by the seen provocation and are afraid that this is scenario of a terrorist action planned in advance, above all directed against interests of our country, Republic of Serbia.Join the conversation about this story »

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Greek PM blames opposition for stoking instability, market turmoil

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday blamed the radical leftist opposition Syriza party for stoking instability in ...

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Greek PM dismisses snap election fears after bond yield surge

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at a cabinet meeting dismissed snap election fears and promised to continue reforms, ...

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Amal Clooney in media spotlight during Athens museum visit

Lawyer and wife of George Clooney is in Greece to advise government on how to retrieve Parthenon marbles from UKIn its relatively short life, the New Acropolis Museum in Athens has welcomed celebrities through its doors with some regularity. Some may go unnoticed. But that was not the case on Wednesday when Amal Clooney, the human rights lawyer and wife of George Clooney, attempted the same passage.It was like Moses parting the sea, said David Hill, an Australian campaigner who was next to her in a group at the centre of a media circus. There were five security guys, us in the middle, Professor Norman Palmer leading us through like a rugby league prop, and a thousand media people swooping in. Never before have I seen anything like it. Continue reading...

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Greek yields breach 7pc amid spat with EU ministers

The losses come amid a wider drop in markets, but were exacerbated by a survey on Monday showing the opposition anti-bailout Syriza party had a lead over the governing party. That means the ...

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Amal Clooney addresses Greece-Great Britain dispute

In her capacity as an international lawyer, George Clooney's new bride headed to Greece to tackle a controversial case between Greece and Britain that goes back centuries. NBC's Keir ...

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Stunning Finds from Ancient Greek Shipwreck

Divers and archaeologists have retrieved stunning new finds from an ancient Greek ship that sank more than 2,000 years ago off the remote island of Antikythera. The rescued antiquities include ...

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Greek-American Driver Saved by Off-Duty Fireman After Queens Accident

QUEENS, NY – Off-duty FDNY fireman Kevin Mohr saved the life of Steven Kokotos, 49 after the latter’ Mercedes flipped over on a Queens highway. “Kevin Mohr, assigned to Ladder 138 in Corona, saw a car in flames on the Clearview Expressway Sunday morning and rushed over to the wreckage, where fire was spreading from […] The post Greek-American Driver Saved by Off-Duty Fireman After Queens Accident appeared first on The National Herald.

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Long-dormant concerns over Greece flare up, causing sell-off in stocks, bonds

ATHENS -- After months out of the spotlight, Greece was back at the centre of Europe's financial troubles on Wednesday, when concerns over the stability of the government and its bailout program triggered a massive sell-off in stocks and bonds. Greece's ...

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Greek stocks plunge on political concerns as anti-bailout party takes lead

Uncertainty over the Greek government's future and Greece's bailout program spurred a second day of heavy selling on the Athens Stock Exchange, ...

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Greek Financial Markets Slump

ATHENS—Greek financial markets slumped Wednesday, extending steep losses from a day earlier amid growing fears of renewed political instability ...

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Greek PM: Post-Memorandum Era is Close, SYRIZA is Undermining the Country

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has called for a cabinet meeting earlier today in order to discuss the coordination of government policies in various issues. At the same time, he sent the message that main opposition party SYRIZA is undermining the country and obstructing efforts for an exit from the crisis. “For some time now, markets have noted that Greece is doing very well, while their only reservation is the political risk. In other words, the uncertainty about whether the country will continue on the road of reforms. The last few days, the stance of the main opposition has made this picture worse, directly undermining stability. And markets reacted at the expense of our country,” Samaras stated. During the presentation of the «Minimum Guaranteed Income» program on Tuesday, Samaras underlined that the government is putting things forward, which was unthinkable until some time ago, and that reforms make the country more efficient and fairer. “Social justice promotes development and consolidates democracy in our country,” the Prime Minister said. Continuing in the same context today, he asked the members of his cabinet to work towards a solution that will reverse the current negative climate in the markets, which has an immediate affect on the country’s economy. Samaras noted that the government will remain calm and “fully restore the climate of stability and confidence that Greece needs” in order to exit the crisis and claim back the markets’ trust, and expressed his confidence that the country will soon leave the memorandum era behind.

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Athens Hospital ‘Employs’ Robot Receptionist

Patients and visitors of Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece, will be greeted by a new state-of-the-art robotic receptionist. The robot’s name is “Erato” and it has been programmed to receive patients and visitors in the outpatient clinic. According to Greek website “iatronet,” it is able to communicate interactively, provide services and guide visitors and patients throughout their stay at the hospital, while people will be able to submit their views and comments to the robot in order to help with quality improvement and the patient safety program. The Virtual Presence Robot moves, speaks and communicates through the hospitals wireless internet network. Erato is equipped with a camera, microphones, sensors and a motorized remote controlled platform with a balancing system that allows it to move with absolute safety around the hospital.

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Traders Are Blaming Today's Sell-Off On 7 Things

Today's 400-point plunge in the Dow has investors a bit freaked out. So what's behind the sell-off? Rich Barry, an NYSE floor governor, identified seven catalysts in an email he just blasted from the New York Stock Exchange floor: 1- A shockingly weak Retail Sales report that hit the tape at 8:30 AM ET. (Expect Q3 GDP growth to be revised downward.) 2- News that the $54 Billion Shire-Abbvie deal was falling apart also weighed on stocks. 3- A September drop in PPI that had trading desks mentioning the dirty 'D' word. (Deflation concerns -- see the price of oil.) 4- A report on October manufacturing activity in New York that was poor too, slowing worse-than-expected after posting its strongest pace in nearly five years last month. 5- A second hospital worker contracted Ebola and flew in a plane recently. 6- The stock market in Greece came close to a full-blown crash. 7- ISIS This isn't intended to be an exhaustive list. But it pretty much addresses every category of risk: economic slowdown, corporate profit slowdown, falling prices, geopolitical turmoil, and unknown unknowns like Ebola.SEE ALSO: BIG MISSES ACROSS ALL DATA Join the conversation about this story »

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Greece's Stock Market Tanks As Government Faces Possible Collapse Next Year

ATHENS, Greece - Concerns that the Greek government could collapse next year, putting its bailout program in danger, caused a massive sell-off in ...

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Putnam: Greece coffeehouse blends music, worry-free treats

As a child, Aria Matthews of Greece had two constants: her love of music and her fear of a severe allergic reaction to peanuts and tree nuts. It seemed ...

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Euro partners see Greece softening line on ending support

BRUSSELS Oct 15 (Reuters) - Greece's partners in the euro zone believe Athens is changing its mind about giving up on their financial help next year ...

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Greece thinks Amal Alamuddin Clooney could save the Elgin Marbles

Forget Julian Assange. Amal Alamuddin Clooney might be on her way to remembrance for her involvement with a controversial part of the Parthenon.

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Greece returns to market spotlight with nosedive

After months out of the spotlight, Greece was back at the center of Europe's financial troubles on Wednesday, when concerns over the stability of the government and its bailout program triggered a massive ...

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Fresh And Frozen Genuine Greek Yogurt At Fresk'o

To celebrate back to school, the authentic Greek frozen yogurt emporium is extending their offer of 50 percent off a child's yogurt with the purchase of a ...

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Greek debt crisis sparks global selloff

The spike in the Greek 10-year yield and the sudden collapse in the equity markets seems all too familiar, and it looks like we are entering another ...

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Greece 'will wait for talks' before legal push for Elgin Marbles

Athens (AFP) - Greece is prepared to wait for the outcome of talks between UNESCO and Britain over the return of the Elgin Marbles before launching legal action, its culture minister and lawyers including George Clooney's new bride said on Wednesday.

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Three things about Greece you need to know

A lot of investors are looking at Greece on Wednesday and seeing shadows of the financial crisis. Greek stocks took their worst beating since the height of the eurozone crisis on Wednesday. The country's 10-year borrowing costs shot up by more than 80 ...

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Greece share prices tumble to 2014 low

Sell-off prompted by spike in 10-year bond yields

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Balkan nationalism has been reawoken by the attack of the drone

This ill-tempered football war between Serbia and Albania will end like every other Balkan conflict with no clear winner and arguments over who started it Serbia v Albania violence: Uefa opens inquiryAll in all, it was just another brick in the wall of good old Balkan nationalism. But this time, it came with the twist: the dark, medieval ideology was launched on a hi-tech gadget. It is certainly not the worst way that drones can be used as people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, living in fear of blue skies and US drone-bombers, might confirm but the drone that flew across Belgrades Partizan Stadium during a football match between Serbia and Albania on Tuesday was still intended to do harm. The game, a Euro 2016 qualifying match, was the first time Albanias national side had visited Belgrade since 1967. Tensions were running high because of the Serbian-Albanian conflict over Kosovo, which has a majority Albanian population and declared independence from Serbia in 2008.First reports said that the drone came from the roof of a nearby church. It was carrying the flag of Greater Albania, the dream of Albanian nationalists. Greater Albania is supposed to comprise todays Albania and Kosovo, but also to include parts of four more independent Balkan states: Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Its pretty much the same concept as the notorious Greater Serbia project all Serbs/Albanians in one ethnic state the reason the Balkans was burning two decades ago. So, if anyone thinks that the Balkans is tired of nationalist madness, destruction and the confirmation of so-called Balkan stereotypes ... well, were not. It seems that the Balkans never fail to prove the theory that the one willing to bet on the worst in men will always win. Continue reading...

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Debt Crisis Reawakens in European Bonds as Greece Roils Market

Yields on 10-year securities from Europe's most-indebted nations surged, led by Greece and sweeping up Portugal, Ireland and Italy. At the same time ...

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Second Day of Losses in Athens Stock Exchange

For a second day in a row, Greek stocks and state bonds remain under heavy pressure. Starting yesterday and hit by a wave of selling foreign investors, the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) index fell more than 7%, significantly below the 900-point level, while turnover was heavy at more than 130 million euros. Closing 1.3% lower than yesterday, this was ASE’s worst trading day since June 2013. In addition, bond prices came under heavy pressure in the domestic electronic secondary bond market, with the yield spread between the 10-year Greek and German benchmark bonds widening to 6.75%, while during midday trading, the Greek bond yielded more than 7.6%. Foreign investors are now facing the fear of political uncertainty in Greece. Fueled by the ongoing speculation over early general elections following the presidential one in March and the latest polls showing leftist main opposition party SYRIZA with a significant 6.5% lead over ruling New Democracy, they are steadily withdrawing from the Greek market. The negative climate was not reversed even after a Goldman Sachs report revealed that Greek banks will only need one billion euros for their capital needs, while at the same time, the drop of ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has caused concerns for the development course of Eurozone’s strongest economy.

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Pedophile Lured Athens Kids Through Online Game

Greek Cyber Crime Unit Head Manolis Sfakianakis presented shocking data to the Parliament regarding pedophiles, operating mostly in Athens. According to data released by Sfakianakis, one particular pedophile had managed to lure ten children from Athens, using an online game called “Dress up Doll.” The man got the children to photograph themselves or have their parents take a photo of them naked in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Education Minister Andreas Loverdos submitted a report regarding a school teacher in Chania, Crete, who had seduced a sixth-grader in the past and was later reappointed as a substitute teacher in Heraklion, while her file only included the comment “innapropriate behavior during service.” Sfakianakis presented further data regarding internet crimes. Over the last three years, a total of 1,028 people have been arrested on charges of Internet crimes, 271 of which were accused of child pornography. He also said that during the last eight years, the Cyber Crime Unit has managed to prevent 1,060 suicides. “When I was in New York, someone said that there was a young person in my country who was injuring herself on camera. I immediately found the channel and notified the Unit who tracked her down and alerted the Greek Police and the Health Service. The FBI has rewarded us for this case,” he said. Furthermore, he mentioned the TLO program which scans the web in Greece and monitors everything that is happening, for example, tracking child pornography material. “This program has been approved by the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy and the Supreme Court prosecutor who believe that it is not violating any personal data,” said Sfakianakis.

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Greek stocks in tailspin

Greek stocks went into a free fall after ratings agency Fitch issued a warning about its banks at a time when the country is already on the verge of a political crisis.

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Greece pins Marbles hopes on UN and Clooney factor

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - After more than a century of fruitless lobbying, Greece is pinning its hopes of reclaiming the 5th-Century B.C. Parthenon Sculptures from Britain on mediation by the United Nations' cultural agency - and a touch of Hollywood glamor.

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Greek Health Ministry Plan to Deal with Hospital Doctor Shortage

The Greek Health Ministry is drawing a bill where doctors in public hospitals will be hired at the same rate as departures. The Federation of Greek Hospital Doctors (OENGE) estimates that there is a shortage of some 6,000 doctors in public hospitals. The government’s draft legislation seeks to ensure that numbers do not fall further, which means that every doctor who leaves or retires will be replaced by a newcomer. It will also seek to gradually increase the number of doctors at understaffed departments. Under the proposed law, doctors will not have to work any overtime beyond that set in a 2010 law. Passing the legislation could help Greece avoid a fine of up to 150 million euros. Last November, the European Commission referred Greece to the EU Court of Justice for not complying with the 48-hour per week (including overtime) limit on working time for doctors in public health services. “In practice, doctors working in public hospitals and health centers in Greece often have to work a minimum average of 64 hours per week and over 90 hours in some cases, with no legal maximum limit,” said the Commission. “There is no legal ceiling to how many continuous hours they can be required to work at the workplace, and they often have to work without adequate intervals for rest or sleep.”

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Never Mind the Elgin Marbles — Give Us Back Amal Alamuddin

The new Mrs. Clooney is advising the Greek government on its campaign to regain looted sculptures. But she stands in danger of being looted herself

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Greek Government Seeking 17.4 Bln in Revenue

The Greek government needs to reach 5.7 billion euros in monthly revenue in order to meet this year’s budgetary target. The state budget implementation is considered highly critical. The Greek Ministry of Finance has stated that during the first 9 ...

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Greek stocks sink, bond yield surge threatens bailout exit

Greek stocks posted their biggest one-day loss since the height of the euro zone crisis on Wednesday, while bond yields soared to levels that may threaten government plans to quit an international bailout a year early. Ten-year borrowing costs shot up by more 80 basis points to 7.85 percent, their highest since February, partly reflecting a lack of faith in Prime Minister Antonis Samaras ...

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Political uncertainty in Greece spurs dramatic sell-off in stock, bond markets

ATHENS, Greece — Concerns that the Greek government could collapse next year, putting its bailout program in danger, caused a massive sell-off in ...

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Greek ASE Index Plunges In Biggest Intraday Drop In 6 Years

Yield on Greek 10-year government bonds continued to trade well above 7% on Wednesday amid mounting political worries Greek equities are being hammered on Wednesday with Athens Stock Exchange’s benchmark index losing 5.1% at 899.65, with traders citing ...

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Here's What Happened that Caused Greek Markets To Go Back Into Chaos

There are two factors absolutely tearing into Greek markets this week. The Athens Stock Exchange is down 6.25% today, and 23.24% since January. One of those factors is the seemingly unstoppable rise of SYRIZA, Greece's anti-establishment and anti-austerity radicals. They're establishing a solid lead in the polls, and given the unpredictable nature of Greek politics, they could upset the market in a massive way. But there's another major factor. Despite Greece's pretty grim economic state, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras wants to end the country's international bailout early, without taking the €8.2 billion ($10.44 billion) still left in the package. In a note, Capital Economics' Sarah Pemberton explains the government's logic:  "There may also be a hope that an early exit would further boost market confidence in Greece’s economic and fiscal outlook. After all, Ireland and Portugal’s exits from their programmes appeared to have positive market effects." Greece's 10 year bond yields beg to differ with the government, and are definitely not seeing any positive market effects. Bond yields are climbing way back up above 7%, the highest level in six months. The Greek government has already tentatively experimented with going back to the bond market, issuing small amounts of debt. And though yields are way down from where they were during the euro crisis, it’s paying far more interest on that than other European finance departments. Government bond yields (the most common measure of how much it costs for a state to service its debt) are still far above Portugal or Ireland's, when those countries exited their bailouts. There's also a vicious cycle here. A plan to exit the bailout early sends bond yields upwards, making the prospect of Greece going it alone increasingly scary. So, bond yields go up some more.  This morning, A Fitch report came out this morning saying that the “large amounts of unreserved problem loans leave the four major banks' balance sheets vulnerable to developments in an improving but still very weak economy.” Greece's big listed banks are right in the middle of Wednesday's brutal sell-off, with the National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Pireaeus Bank and Eurobank's share prices all dropped by more than 10% during the day. The problem is, if even Germany is flirting with recession, it seems increasingly unlikely that we’ll even be able to call Greece’s economy “improving” at all in a few months. So what Samaras is talking about could be extremely dangerous. Greece’s economy is shattered in a way nowhere else in Europe has seen: it’s nearly 30% smaller than it was in 2008, and is barely out of a recession that’s lasted for almost seven years.  Given what's happening today, and the slump the eurozone seems to be heading into,  people might soon wonder what on earth Samaras was thinking. SEE ALSO: GREECE IS IN FULL-BLOWN STOCK MARKET COLLAPSE Join the conversation about this story »

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Amal Clooney weighs in on Greek battle for Parthenon Marbles

By Deepa Babington ATHENS (Reuters) - Hollywood actor George Clooney's new wife, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, made an impassioned plea on Wednesday for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, in what Greeks hope may inject new energy into their national campaign. The Lebanese-born Briton, part of a legal team advising the Greek government on its bid to secure the return of ...

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Market Stabilization has Yet to be Achieved

NYSE.jpg Home Page News Page Market Stabilization has Yet to be Achieved The US equity market was unable to sustain early gains yesterday and, although several Asian markets posted minor gains, Europe is seeing red again today.  US equities are called lower as well.  The European bond market rally continues, except for Greece, where the 10-year yield rose to about 70 bp over the past five sessions. The US equity market was unable to sustain early gains yesterday and, although several Asian markets posted minor gains, Europe is seeing red again today.  US equities are called lower as well.  The European bond market rally continues, except for Greece, where the 10-year yield rose to about 70 bp over the past five sessions.  See Also links url:  http://www.economywatch.com/stock-markets-in-world/financial-market-analysis.html Title:  Financial Market Analysis See Also type:  Reference Featured Report That You Might Like:  Nomura Holdings, Inc. Bank of Nova Scotia read more

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Amal Alamuddin Clooney Meets Greek Prime Minister Αntonis Samaras, Provides Legal Counsel

Amal Alamuddin Clooney meets Greek Prime Minister Αntonis Samaras during a visit to Greece to provide legal advice over the Parthenon Marbles.

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Greek debt and stocks slump on concern over bailout ending

Athens (AFP) - Greek bonds and stocks slumped on Wednesday as investors fretted about the political situation in the country and the government's intention to end its IMF programme early.

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