How the world sees Greece
Government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi announced Monday that a first round of votes for the presidential election will be held on December 17, underlining the need for Greek authorities to focus on troika talks following a decision by eurozone officials t... ...
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The decline of the euro – mainly against the dollar – gave Greek exports a fresh boost in October, exporters say, as Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data on Monday showed a rebound of 7 percent year-on-year according to provisional estimates, foll... ...
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A few months ago an employee at a major Greek bank who had just transferred to its newly created nonperforming loans management department noticed a very familiar name as he was going through the files of bad debtors. The name was the same as a client he ... ...
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The return of the Troika’s technical teams in Athens tomorrow, along with Eurogroup’s decision for a two-month technical extension of the Greek program, announced at 7:30pm local Greek time from Brussels Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijssebloem and European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici. During the press conference that followed today’s critical Eurogroup, the European officials announced the Troika’s technical teams’ return to Athens. “Although the Troika does not yet officially return, there will be budget experts,” Moskovici said. “But we need to see even more ambitious actions,” he added. He confirmed that his first personal trip will be in Greece and explaining why it did not happen earlier, he commented that “it would have been premature.” “The Troika and the euro area do not want to punish Greece. They just think that some reforms should be implemented,” he said. Tomorrow, Greece will formally submit, by letter, the request of the two-month extension that is expected to be accepted by the Council of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). In this request, Greece will reconfirm its commitment to the implementation of the program’s agreed measures. At the same time, the Troika will present its third report on Greece’s proceedings (factual report). Furthermore, the Troika has proposed extending the availability of 11 billion euros from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) until the end of February and the Eurogroup is expected to approve the request. To complete the program, a Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) is required, which shifted at the end of February “for practical reasons.” Finally, as declared, any decision regarding the precautionary credit line (ECCL) will be taken after the completion of the current program’s evaluation – if it is completed in a positive way.
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Greece, better known as the Hellenic Republic is a country in south- Eastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is the heir to the heritages of classical Greece, the ...
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The Greek medicine is systematically undermined in recent years, with a series of bills and decrees, the common denominator of which is the economic strangulation of the Greek pharmaceutical industry. In the name of the troika and the fiscal adjustment ...
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by Dan Alexe Euro zone finance ministers granted Greece a two-month extension of its bailout program, which Athens will ask for on Tuesday, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Monday. It is not the first time Greece needs extra time to implement the agreed program. Eurozone finance ministers and Greek officials haggled Monday over whether Athens needs to take more austerity measures before it emerges from its expiring bailout deal. European Union loans are due to stop at year end as Greece recovers from its economic crisis and debt default. Greece would then be switched from bailout loans to a standby credit line with less onerous conditions. The EU had considered extending the current bailout by six months to mid-2015, but Athens had said it was only willing to consider extending the unpopular programme by a few weeks. "We need an extension," Dijsselbloem said after euro zone finance ministers discussed the bailout plan, pointing out that it would not be possible to conclude a review of the program before year-end. "Let's do this as quickly as we can, and in our mind that is two months," he added. "Two months is long enough to complete review and not too long to leave questions open for the future." Greece's parliament approved next year's budget in the early hours of Monday, the plan being closest to a balanced budget Greece has produced in more than three decades. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is struggling to push through an early exit from the bailout and ensure the survival of his government after a presidential vote next year. A row with the EU and IMF over a disputed budget shortfall next year has held up the country's final bailout inspection and plans to exit the aid programme. Greece's lenders are demanding 1.7 billion euros in additional measures to hit budget targets next year, something Athens has rejected. EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said inspectors would be back to Athens on Tuesday to conclude the review. Dijsselbloem said after the bailout ends, Eurozone countries will support a credit line for Greece. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had said earlier on Monday that Greece may need some more time before the last bailout credit tranche can be disbursed by international lenders, adding however that overall the country was on the right path. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is eager to leave behind the unpopular bailout regime that has seen other Eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund lend Greece 240 billion euros. Speaking at the close of the 2015 budget debate early Monday, Samaras said bailout lenders are pressing for additional austerity measures worth 1.7 billion euros next year. "We reject that," he said. "And up to now it has been proved that our calculations are more accurate." Samaras said there may be a "small" extension to the program, mainly to allow some national parliaments to vote on the new agreement that will succeed the current bailout.
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FRANKFURT, Germany -- European finance ministers meeting in Brussels have offered Greece a two-month extension of its financial lifeline as the ...
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The Greek Manpower Organization (OAED) is launching a pilot program to test a scheme created in cooperation with Microsoft and aimed at training jobless people in information technology for free, with the eventual aim of expanding to all registered unempl... ...
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After Rolling Stone's editors admitted the magazine made a series of errors in an explosive article that described an alleged brutal gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house, several national Greek organizations asked for an apology and are calling on the school to reinstate...
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The government said it had asked for parliament to move quickly so that the vote to elect a new president could be held on Dec. 17. The process was initially due to begin on Feb. 15. The presidential vote has created uncertainty in Greece for months as ...
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On December 17, two months ahead of schedule, will finally be held the first ballot for the election of the new President of the Hellenic Republic, government spokeswoman Sophia Voultepsi announced earlier today. According to Voultepsi’s written announcement, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and government Vice President Evangelos Venizelos, after informing the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, requested from Parliament President Evangelos Meimarakis to move the process of the presidential election as soon as possible so that the vote be held on Wednesday, December 17. The government spokeswoman also referred to the outcome of today’s critical Eurogroup, stressing that a “page break” was agreed along with Greece ‘s transition into the new institutional framework of the precautionary credit line. At the same time, Voultepsi launched an attack on main opposition SYRIZA, saying that it “undermines the country’s negotiation position,” underlining that the “political uncertainty must end now.” Voultepsi’s exact announcement: Prime Minister and President of New Democracy Antonis Samaras, and government Vice President and President of PASOK Evangelos Venizelos, met today and discussed the negotiation developments with the lenders and within the political scene after the debate and vote on the budget. The Eurogroup has already acknowledged the country’s efforts and achievements and agreed on the “page break” and Greece’s transition in the new institutional framework of the precautionary credit line (ECCL). This is a very positive development and also the country’s thorax against the markets. The Eurogroup also agreed that all relevant procedures must be completed within the first two months of 2015. Therefore, the coming period is critical; for the completion of the new agreement and the settling of all issues, including the debt issue. Greece must be fully prepared to line up all the forces and all the arguments in a climate of national rally and political stability. Unfortunately, the open and unconcealed instigation of the opposition to Members of the Parliament, to prevent the election of the President of the Hellenic Republic and lead the country to early elections, undermines Greece ‘s negotiating position and transmits messages of uncertainty to the markets. In addition, it is undermining the national economy, with whatever this entails for businesses and households, workers and unemployed. The government cannot allow this open subversion. Political uncertainty must end now! Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and government Vice President Evangelos Venizelos, after informing the President of the Hellenic Republic, requested from the President of the Parliament to move the process of the presidential election as soon as possible, so that the vote be held on Wednesday, December 17. The Eurogroup statement on Greece: The Eurogroup welcomes the recent positive macroeconomic developments in the Greek economy. The improving growth prospects for Greece reflect the remarkable adjustment efforts undertaken by the Greek citizens and authorities. The economic adjustment program is starting to pay off and is proving to be a cornerstone for Greece’s return to sustainable and balanced growth and job creation. We also welcome the progress made by the Greek authorities in order to address the outstanding issues to conclude the fifth review, as assessed by the European Commission (EC), the ECB and the IMF. However, we take note that despite this recent progress, the current review can no longer be completed before the end of year. Therefore, the current review will need to continue into early 2015 until the staff-level agreement is reached and all prior actions are deemed to be fulfilled. This would pave the way for the disbursement of the outstanding €1.8 billion under the current EFSF program. Therefore, the Eurogroup would be favorably disposed to a request by Greece for a 2-month technical extension of the current EFSF program. The Eurogroup asked the institutions to prepare a factual report on the state of play of the current review and gave a mandate to the EWG to report to member-states in order to launch the national procedures with a view to reach a final decision on the extension of the current EFSF Master Financial Facility Agreement by the EFSF Board of Directors by the end of the year. Moreover, we were informed by the EC, the ECB and the IMF that it would be prudent to extend the availability period of the EFSF bonds in the HFSF buffer until the end of February 2015, in parallel to the extension of the EFSF program. The Eurogroup looks favorably at such an extension. Following a request by Greece, the EFSF can make the necessary arrangements before the end of the year. The Eurogroup urges the Greek authorities to ensure a rapid and full implementation of all reform measures necessary to conclude the fifth review. These reforms are key for the Greek economy’s smooth functioning and will contribute to bringing about sustained growth and employment, and to secure the sustainability of public finances, thereby fully delivering on the program objectives. Euro area member-states remain favorably disposed to granting Greece an ESM precautionary credit line (ECCL), if Greece were to request this, and subject to the finalization of the reform measures that are still pending under the current review, continued involvement of the IMF, and the completion of relevant national and EU procedures.
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Greek government calls early presidential elections that could see anti-troika party take power
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Greece is holding presidential elections in...
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by Associated Press BC-SOC--Greek Standings Associated Press - 8 December 2014 14:29-05:00 BC-SOC--Greek Standings Greek Football Standings Greek League GP W D L GF GA Pts PAOK Thessaloniki 12 9 1 2 29 12 28 Olympiakos 12 7 3 2 26 10 24 Panathinaikos 12 7 2 3 16 11 23 Asteras 12 6 3 3 20 15 21 Veria 12 6 3 3 18 17 21 Atromitos 12 5 4 3 12 10 19 Kalloni 12 5 4 3 10 6 19 Xanthi 12 5 3 4 19 18 18 PAS Giannina 12 4 5 3 16 14 17 Panetolikos 12 4 5 3 15 11 17 Kerkyra 12 4 3 5 12 15 15 Levadiakos 12 3 5 4 13 11 14 OFI Crete 12 4 1 7 8 19 13 Platanias 12 3 3 6 8 13 12 Panionios 12 3 2 7 11 16 11 Panthrakikos 12 2 4 6 9 18 10 Ergotelis 12 1 4 7 12 22 7 Niki Volos 12 2 1 9 6 22 7 Wednesday, Dec. 3 Panthrakikos 1, Platanias 0 Atromitos 0, Veria 0 Kerkyra 1, Panionios 0 PAS Giannina 0, Levadiakos 4 Xanthi 2, Kalloni 1 Olympiakos 1, PAOK Thessaloniki 2 Thursday, Dec. 4 Niki Volos 0, Asteras 2 Panetolikos 0, Panathinaikos 1 OFI Crete 1, Ergotelis 0 Saturday, Dec. 6 Veria 2, Platanias 0 Kerkyra 1, Atromitos 1 Olympiakos 2, PAS Giannina 2 Sunday, Dec. 7 Xanthi 4, PAOK Thessaloniki 2 Niki Volos 2, Kalloni 0 OFI Crete 0, Levadiakos 2 Panetolikos 2, Panionios 1 Asteras 1, Panathinaikos 1 Monday, Dec. 8 Panthrakikos 0, Ergotelis 0 Saturday, Dec. 13 Platanias vs. Niki Volos, 1300 GMT Kalloni vs. Panetolikos, 1515 GMT Levadiakos vs. Olympiakos, 1730 GMT Sunday, Dec. 14 Panionios vs. OFI Crete, 1300 GMT Asteras vs. Veria, 1515 GMT Ergotelis vs. Xanthi, 1515 GMT PAOK Thessaloniki vs. Kerkyra, 1515 GMT PAS Giannina vs. Atromitos, 1515 GMT Panathinaikos vs. Panthrakikos, 1730 GMT News Topics: Soccer, Men's soccer, Sports, Men's sports People, Places and Companies: Thessaloniki, Crete, Greece, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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During a conversation with HuffPost Live about Greek parenting, Simplicity Parenting counselor Lambrini Stamati estimated that the average Greek ...
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Clooney's wife Amal is currently advising the Greek government on how to get the marbles returned to Athens. In his column in The Telegraph, ...
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An extension for Greece's bailout program has been approved a day after violent protests in Athens and a budget vote revived memories of the debt ...
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ATHENS--Greece's coalition government announced Monday that the country's presidential elections will take place in December, bringing them more ...
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Extending the bailout will heap pressure on the Greek government, which was unable to persuade its creditors that it is complying with terms of the bailout.
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Eurozone finance ministers agreed Monday night to extend Greece's bailout by two months after Athens failed to adopt the economic reforms required ...
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Eurozone agrees two-month bailout extension
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The father of a jailed man on hunger strike says a meeting with the Greek prime minister has not led to a deal over his educational dispute.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's conservative-led government has called for a vote in parliament for the country's new president late this month — in a surprise move that will determine its survival in the recession-weary country.
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Her optimism regarding the counterbalance of possible new taxation in the tourism industry expressed yesterday, during the budget debate in the Greek Parliament, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni, declaring at the same time that the Ministry is in constant communication with institutions in order to take absorption measures in case the government proceeds with the imposition of new taxation on the tourism industry. “The possible of new taxation in the tour package and the residence in particular, does not facilitate our plans. After so many years of recession, such a development may in no case be pleasing, especially when it concerns the Greek economy’s predominantly developmental branch,” Kefalogianni said, adding that she has “serious doubts regarding the measure’s effectiveness.” Despite that, though, the Minister declared that she understands “the seriousness of the situation” and joins the “line of responsibility,” which, as she characteristically said, requires “solutions and not just conclusions.” Referring to the clashes between riot police and protesters that shook Athens on Saturday, she underlined that such images harm the country’s image abroad. “We witnessed vandalism, destruction of property, horror conditions for our city’s residents. Such images take us back to a sad past. A past that with many efforts we have tried to erase from the memory of millions of people worldwide. These images seriously harm our country. Seriously harm Athens. They are sending the wrong message at the wrong time,” Kefalogianni concluded. Last week, scenarios leaked regarding a possible rise in the VAT rate for hotels, from the current 6.5% to 13%, which caused the strong reaction of Greek tourism industry professionals. Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) chief Andreas Andreadis characterized such a move as “suicidal,” while Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) President Giorgos Tsakiris, in a letter to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, asked him to personally intervene in order to prevent the tourism VAT rate increase.
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The two-month extension will give Athens and the its international creditors extra time to decide on new overhauls and budget cuts and a precautionary credit line to follow the current program.
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Greece's conservative-led government has called for a vote in parliament for the country's new president late this month — in a surprise move that will determine its survival in the recession-weary country.
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One in four University of Georgia students are members of Greek organizations, yet nearly half of its student government members participate in Greek life, said Hannah Kate, Greek life senator in the Student Government Association. At a recent Senate ...
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Traders hardly batted an eyelid at the government’s positive result in the parliamentary vote for the budget, keeping most of their attention firmly fixed on developments on the troika front. Accordingly the Greek bourse saw little action, with the benchm... ...
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FRANKFURT, GERMANY — European finance ministers meeting in Brussels have offered Greece a two-month extension of its financial lifeline as the two sides argue about whether Athens should impose more budget austerity. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the group of finance ministers from countries that use the euro, said the group would “be favorably disposed to […] The post BREAKING NEWS: Eurozone Extends Greek Bailout for 2 Months appeared first on The National Herald.
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Euro zone finance ministers will take no decision on Monday on any extension of Greece's bailout programme, which expires at the end of the year, the bloc's top economics official said. The European Union is considering extending the current bailout by six ...
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SYRIZA MP Yiannis Micheloyiannakis, who announced on Saturday that he was going on hunger strike in solidarity with Syrian refugees protesting outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, responded to criticism after he was seen leaving the protest site to hav... ...
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EMAK rescue crews on Monday picked up a group of 25 undocumented migrants trapped on a sandbar in the Evros River, northern Greece. Authorities said the migrants probably got stuck as they tried to cross the river due to the unusually high level of the wa... ...
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A lot of banks and consultancies have now released their outlooks for 2015. There's a lot to look forward to. The US economy is more healthy than at any time since the crisis, and the UK is following close behind. But not everything is exactly rosy. Analysts and economists are pointing to some major crisis threats that could derail the warm, Christmassy glow of recovery. Here are the three bearish scenarios likely to be keeping investors up at night over 2015. A Chinese Credit Crisis The possibility of a rapid slowdown and crash for China could have been included in any list of risks for at least the last six years. So far, it's the dog that didn't bark, and people who keep forecasting it have looked more like doom-mongers than wise sages. But economist Michael Pettis thinks the idea of hard and soft landings is misplaced, and that it's better to think of it as the two ways the Chinese authorities could decide to deal with an inevitable growth slowdown: Beijing can manage a rapidly declining pace of credit creation, which must inevitably result in much slower although healthier GDP growth. Or Beijing can allow enough credit growth to prevent a further slowdown but, once the perpetual rolling-over of bad loans absorbs most of the country's loan creation capacity, it will lose control of growth altogether and growth will collapse. China's credit growth has been extremely fast, and with Beijing cutting interest rates and Chinese equities going parabolic, it certainly doesn't look much like the state is gently managing the situation. In a separate post, Pettis offers this ominous warning: I have studied most of the major growth miracles of the past 100 years (and directly experienced some), and in every case there have been pessimists that predicted a difficult adjustment process with much slower growth. ... that the pessimists have always been wrong, it always turned out that they were wrong because actual growth turned out to be much worse than they predicted. Pettis does not expect that the government will handle the slowdown in a disorderly way. But for more pessimistic observers, a major slump could see the world deprived of a major source of demand, which there's precious little of anywhere at the moment. Here's a chart from Nomura showing that Chinese debt has accumulated very rapidly since the global financial crisis: An Old-Fashioned Emerging Market Debt Crisis: Claudio Borio, current head of economic and monetary analysis the Bank of International Settlements, think the strong dollar is going to threaten the debt burdens of emerging nations — and cripple growth there. There's some basic but powerful logic here. In a lot of countries around the world, particularly in the developing world, it's common for companies and banks to borrow in dollars. So although their day-to-day business might be denominated in pesos, or dinars, or francs, their debt levels depend on how strong that currency is against the dollar. So when the dollar falls, it's good news! Your debts are getting smaller in real terms. You need to earn less of your domestic currency to repay them. When it rises (like it's doing now), that isn't good news at all! You need to earn more and more to pay back your debts. This wouldn't be the first crisis in emerging markets linked to the strength of the US dollar: the Asian crisis in the late 1990s and the Latin American crisis of the 1980s were both spurred by dollar bull markets. Andy Xie, the former Morgan Stanley economist, noted that the coming strength of the dollar would be unpleasant for emerging markets. What's more, this year's Geneva Report (an annual study) noted that there is a lot more debt in emerging markets than there was at the start of the crisis. While emerging nation stock markets have barely grown (they're actually smaller than they were in 2007), debts have surged. Debt crisis, in other words, is a bigger systemic risk than an equity collapse in emerging markets: Euro Crisis Round Two Europe really can't handle any more big shocks. The currency union is struggling to generate any visible growth or inflation, and this is meant to be a recovery. It really seems unlikely that the eurozone could weather any major negative economic surprises without slumping into recession and deflation. Maybe the most obvious catalyst is back in Greece: the current government has to nominate a president in February, and it doesn't look like it has the votes. To install a president, the coalition would need the support of 180 MPs, not the 155 that it currently has. If it can't get the votes, a snap election would be won by left-wing radical party Syriza (based on current polls). The party is in favour of serious bondholder haircuts and abandoning the bailout deals that have been negotiated with international authorities. That would almost certainly send bond prices crashing and yields surging for Greece like they did in during the crisis (rapidly raising the cost of issuing debt). Syriza aren't the only new anti-austerity party leading in southern Europe: Podemos are in the lead in Spain. Here's Citi's global outlook for 2015 on the rise of anti-establishment parties on both the left and right in Europe: Future developed country elections will likely continue to see the popularity of new — and not so new — anti-establishment parties, from France’s National Front to Greece's Syriza to Spain's up-and-coming far-left Podemos, increasing the risk of fragile multi-party coalitions and reducing the already limited political capital of leaders. In our view, the appetite for political alternatives will endure for many years to come, and their public support could increase in the event of a triple-dip European recession. Podemos has captured the public debate in Spain, and is dipping in and out of first place in political polling: Join the conversation about this story »
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The Republic of Cyprus is entering into an unpredictable phase in its troublesome history. If the economic crisis was not bad enough, it is also facing constant provocation by Turkey while the bi-communal negotiations have come to a dead-end due to Turkey’s military threats. As for the natural gas bonanza, the verdict is yet to come – it could turn out to be a blessing or could develop into a curse; only time will tell. Meanwhile, the political situation with the Turkish-Cypriot side is getting nowhere. Irrespective of how hard the government tries to bridge the gap between the two, it’s getting wider by the day. After forty years, the negotiation results are dismally disappointing. It demonstrates that there is not much hope for reconciliation in the foreseeable future because Turkey blocks progress and prefers to keep its military trophy. The talks are simply a smoke screen. With the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits within the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Turkey has become more aggressive and keeps flexing its military muscles against the Republic of Cyprus. Flouting international law, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglou keeps on threatening the Republic’s existence, insisting that Turkey will not stop its search for gas inside the EEZ unless Cyprus abandons its exploration. In his official visit to Athens recently, he stated: “Let’s solve this issue in order to exploit our energy resources and connect possible natural gas resources with Greece through Turkey.” Turkey is determined to bully its way to gain some rights over Cyprus’ natural gas deposits and, if successful, will then hold Cyprus hostage. Ankara would ultimately take control over Cyprus’ affairs through the back door. Turkey justifies those lawless tactics by siting its “guarantor status” under the 1959 London/Zurich Agreement. Ironically, Ankara suitably ignores the fact that it negated that “guarantor status” the day it chose to invade the island. In fact, Turkey has a long-term strategy on the Cyprus question and it’s quite an effective one: implant false propaganda into people’s minds, including doubts and lies; keep repeating them and soon people will start to believe those lies are true. Add a tactical delaying equation into the brew and soon an illegal action is accepted as “reality.” In the lapse of time, people not only forget historical events of atrocities but also the new generation hardly cares about the past. For Turkey, this strategy is already yielding positive results. Today, most outsiders across the world believe there are two separate countries on the island – the North, Turkish Cyprus and the South, Greek Cyprus! This is an area where the Cypriot government has totally failed to anticipate, overt this public perception from the start and expose Turkey for what it is; a military aggressor that has illegally occupied a sector of the Republic of Cyprus. In view of such complex developments, the political climate in Cyprus is forever evolving and yet remains the same. The Turkish-Cypriot administration has now also decided to challenge the legitimacy and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus – just like Turkey does. The Eroglu administration is actually questioning the sovereignty of its own ancestral country; strange analogy in an effort to serve “motherland” Turkey. Recently, the Turkish-Cypriot negotiator, Mr Orun, at a book presentation at the London School of Economics, publicly repeated those declarations by saying that “he and his ‘government’ do not recognize the existence of the Republic of Cyprus.” Such controversial and crude statements coming from the Turkish-Cypriot chief negotiator for a solution, means a campaign in full gear to mislead. It also confirms that the talks are simply a Turkish charade designed to deceive; in fact, they were never sincere from the start. Unless the Cypriot government confronts these innuendos effectively and ridicules these campaigns with action, things could escalate and get worse. Closing the crossings in the UN Buffer zone may trigger a way for the Turkish-Cypriot administration to come to its senses and negotiate in good faith. However, in its ambitions to establish a Turkish-Cypriot state, the hawkish Eroglu administration has been very active to break links with the Republic. Advocating “turkishness” – a word used by Mr. Erdogan – it has now become a slogan to encourage nationalistic views similar to those shared by the Grey Wolves (Ulku Ocaklari); an influential terrorist neo-fascist organization that advocates “turkishness” to be supreme above all. Those that disagree are treated as enemies of the state with serious repercussions – often with murder. Faced by such an ultra-nationalistic environment, Turkish-Cypriots today are not even permitted to declare their ancestral birthright. It is considered illegal to fly a Republic of Cyprus flag in the occupied area; a flag that was unanimously and democratically adopted as the national flag of the Republic by both the Turkish and Greek-Cypriot population. A classic example of such oppressiveness is the case of a young Turkish-Cypriot couple living in Famagusta, Koray Basdogrultmaci and Cinel Senem Husseyin. As Cypriots, they were flying Cypriot flags outside their shop and were both apprehended by the police, charged with “public disorder” and incarcerated for breaking the “law” of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – a pseudo-state not recognized by any other country except Turkey. Out of such uncompromising behavior, there are serious questions that come to the surface; does the silent majority of the Turkish-Cypriot population truly want a solution to the Cyprus problem or not? If so, how can negotiations proceed when the Eroglu regime, his “ministers” and Turkey publicly claim not to recognize the existence of the Republic of Cyprus? Turkish-Cypriots cannot have it both ways: benefit from Cypriot citizenship and be treated as European citizens, enjoying all citizenship privileges, and at the same time actively pursue ways to plot and destroy the Republic. That is considered treason! In Turkey, such behavior is deemed to be “unturkishness” with serious repercussions. Under the present conditions, it is obvious that the Turkish-Cypriot side does not want a solution other than to establish their own separate state as the result of Turkey’s 1974 military invasion of the island. In doing so, they hope to enjoy EU membership and also grab a share of the natural gas handed to them on a silver platter. This will never happen. But it is possible, if and when a solution is adopted by both sides in a referendum, and not necessarily by politicians. All things considered, the Cypriot government is under immense pressure from all fronts to negotiate the gas deposits as part of a solution. Pressure comes from all sides but especially from the newly appointed UN Special Adviser Mr Espen Barth Eide – a Norwegian career diplomat. In fact, he has been quite outspoken and cavalier with his new “ big idea for a solution” and that is: to negotiate the natural gas simultaneously alongside the talks. All the political parties in Cyprus, including the government, flatly ridiculed his naive suggestion. That aside, the Rule of Law and Equality must always be held supreme. Under those terms, no ethnic minority should be able to demand special privileges from the state, other than those available to the rest of the citizens whether they are: Greeks, Turks, Armenians, British, Russians and more. Turkish-Cypriots are not entitled to special privileges not provided to others. The country’s national wealth belongs to all its citizens equally and without exceptions. Those rights are enshrined in the Constitution, protected by Rule of Law and enjoyed by all Cypriots. It’s saddening, however, to see the Turkish-Cypriot minority being swallowed up by the presence of thousands of Anatolian Turks, imported to change the island’s demographic character. Along with that comes friction and the erasure of an ancient culture for political expediency. If no steps are taken to combat this devious ethnic cleansing, it is only a matter of time before the Turkish-Cypriot community vanishes forever. This should be avoided at all costs but only the Turkish-Cypriots can prevent such a tragedy facing their community. The choice is strictly theirs to decide. The surest way to prevent this indigenous cleansing by Ankara is the island’s reunification and for both sides to live peacefully in one democratic and unified, EU member-state, Cyprus. Cyprus will then leap forward to great prosperity; prosperity shared equally by all citizens under a new Constitution. Today is a good day to start. Turkish-Cypriots must break their silence, come out and be counted; for they have been silent for far too long. One nation, one nationality, one-man/one vote, equality and social cohesion is the only way forward to peace and security. All else will end in failure. An olive branch is out there; all one has to do is to reach out and grasp it…
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BRUSSELS--Eurozone finance ministers agreed to extend Greece's bailout by two months, three European official said Monday, giving Athens and ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nasdaq.com |
The Greek parliament on December 8, 2014 adopted a budget for 2015 that was a victory for politicians ready to celebrate the glimmer of returned ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT hereandnow.wbur.org |
National fraternity and sorority organizations have asked the University of Virginia to lift its suspension of Greek activities after Rolling Stone magazine ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.businessinsider.com |
We'd been waiting for Petra, the new Greek restaurant in Scarsdale, having seen the sign on the door for over a year. Would we still need to schlep ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.westchestermagazine.com |
Following a raucous debate with demonstrators massed before it, the Greek parliament on Sunday voted through a budget that has put it at odds with ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.marketpulse.com |
A core tenet of the Greek system calls for fraternities and sororities to build their pledges into leaders. As the Director of Leadership at the Center for ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailynebraskan.com |
Scientists exploring the 1st century BC Antikythera shipwreck off Greece’s southern coast will be unveiling findings from the first part of an international mission in Piraeus on Wednesday. Underwater Antiquities Ephorate chief Angeliki Simosi has reveale... ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece will ask on Tuesday for a two-month extension to its bailout programme and which the euro zone is in favour of granting, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Monday. ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
The two-month extension will give Athens and the its international creditors extra time to decide on new overhauls and budget cuts and a precautionary credit line to follow the current program.
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by Associated Press France gets relatively easy group for Euro 2015 Associated Press - 8 December 2014 11:55-05:00 PARIS (AP) — Defending champion France has been handed a relatively easy opening group for the 2015 European basketball championship at Monday's draw in Disneyland, near Paris. The tournament was slated for Ukraine, but was moved because of unrest. France will stage a group in Montpellier and the final stage of the September tournament in Lille. Other group matches will be spread around three other European cities: Berlin; Zagreb, Croatia; and Riga, Latvia. Group A in Montpellier comprises France, Finland, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Poland and Israel. Group B in Berlin has Germany, Turkey, Spain, Serbia, Italy and Iceland. Group C in Zagreb features Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Macedonia, Georgia and the Netherlands while Group D in Riga has Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belgium and the Czech Republic. News Topics: Sports, Basketball People, Places and Companies: France, Paris, Spain, Croatia, Berlin, Riga, Zagreb, Latvia, Western Europe, Europe, Eastern Europe, Germany, Middle East Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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by Associated Press French Toast Crunch returns as cereal sales slide by The Associated Press, Associated Press - 8 December 2014 12:02-05:00 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — General Mills is bringing back popular '90s cereal French Toast Crunch in a nod to nostalgia and in the hopes of boosting its weak cereal sales. Cereal sales have slid as alternatives such as Greek yogurt and breakfast sandwiches have gained popularity. The Minneapolis-based food maker said Monday that it is reintroducing French Toast Crunch starting this month in response to consumer demand. The company says fans gathered thousands of signatures for an online petition, created a Facebook page and contacted the company with calls and emails to bring back the cereal, which was discontinued in 2006. General Mills makes packaged foods including Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Yoplait yogurt and Progresso canned soups. News Topics: Business, Food and drink, General news, Lifestyle, Cereal manufacturing, Food manufacturing, Food, beverage and tobacco products manufacturing, Consumer product manufacturing, Consumer products and services, Industries People, Places and Companies: General Mills Inc, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, North America Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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On the night of December 7 to 8, 1966, Greek ship “Heraklion,” en route from Chania, Crete, to Piraeus, capsized and sank near the island of Falkonera. The sinking resulted in the death of hundreds of people onboard and still remains one of the greatest tragedies to ever occur in Greek waters. The ship that belonged to Typaldos Lines was travelling under extreme weather conditions, with winds reaching 9 on the Beaufort scale. A total of 73 crew members and 191 passengers were onboard, but only 46 people survived – 16 crew members and 30 passengers. The ship’s captain, Emmanuel Vernikios, was one of the first people to abandon the ship, according to survivors, but was never found. The ship had been delayed for 2 hours due to the extreme weather conditions. Just before it sailed, a refrigerator carrying five tons of oranges arrived at the port and requested to board the ship. The captain, who did not want to upset the company’s customer, decided to let the vehicle on board. That was his fatal mistake. The vehicle had to board the ship from the side and it was not properly tied to the hold. During the journey, it started moving from side to side, thus breaking one of the doors and falling into the sea. At that moment, the hold was flooded and minutes later the ship began to sink. According to survivors’ reports, the captain was afraid of arriving in Piraeus delayed so he was sailing at a very high speed, which was risky due to the bad weather. Despite the crew’s efforts, the captain refused to slow down and around 1:30 am, when the truck fell into the sea, the hold flooded and within the next 45 minutes, the ship had capsized and sank. The rescue boats could not be used since the mechanism for lowering them to the sea was broken, therefore the ship’s crew members started throwing anything that could be used as life-raft into the sea. By 2:45 am the ship had sunk but the passengers’ suffering was long from over. Many died while waiting for help and remained in the sea until 11am when the ferry-boat “Minos” arrived at the scene.
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Athens/Brussels (dpa) - The following are key moments in Greece‘s economic struggles, which have led to two international bailouts: December 2009: Greece admits that it has a debt of 300 billion euros (368 billion dollars) - the equivalent of 113 per ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.europeonline-magazine.eu |
by Associated Press Science proves high heels do have power over men by THOMAS ADAMSON, Associated Press - 8 December 2014 11:04-05:00 PARIS (AP) — The well-heeled Marilyn Monroe once said, "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." The allure of high-heeled shoes is no secret among women, who have used them to entice men from the streets of Ancient Rome to the New York City sidewalks of Carrie Bradshaw. Heels have also been a controversial symbol in the battleground of sexual politics. Now a scientific study in France has measured their power. Scientists from the Universite de Bretagne-Sud conducted experiments that showed that men behave very differently toward high-heeled women. The results, published online in the journal "Archives of Sexual Behaviour," may please the purveyors of Christian Louboutin or Jimmy Choo shoes — yet frustrate those who think stilettos encourage sexism. The study found if a woman drops a glove on the street while wearing heels, she's almost 50 percent more likely to have a man fetch it for her than if she's wearing flats. Another finding: A woman wearing heels is twice as likely to persuade men to stop and answer survey questions on the street. And a high-heeled woman in a bar waits half the time to get picked up by a man, compared to when her heel is nearer to the ground. "Women's shoe heel size exerts a powerful effect on men's behavior," says the study's author, Nicolas Gueguen, a behavioral science researcher. "Simply put, they make women more beautiful." Raised shoes have an unglamorous beginning: worn first by Egyptian butchers, who donned platforms to avoid treading in bloody offal. But on women as "signifiers of femininity," raised shoes initially appeared in Ancient Greece and Rome, according to Elizabeth Semmelhack of The Bata Shoe Museum. In Rome, where the sex trade was legal, high heels helped clients identify prostitutes in crowds. Although high heels were worn for centuries in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia for horseback riding, they only minced into the West in the 1500s, when they were associated with imperial power and popularized as erotic in the 19th and 20th centuries. Such was the allure that a person with status or wealth became referred to as "well-heeled." This study shows this allure is very much alive. "Though it's a relatively small cross-section, this study is very significant since the results are clear and consistent," said Paris-based sociologist Jean-Claude Kaufmann, who was not involved in the study. "In a relation of seduction, men are very attracted by a woman in heels as she looks taller, more sexually confident, sure of herself, with a lengthened silhouette and sensual jutting buttocks." Gueguen's study had 19-year-old female volunteers wearing black shoes with heels that were 0.5cm (0.2 inches) or 5cm (2 inches) or 9cm (3 1/2 inches) high. Then they asked men between the ages of 25-50 for help in various circumstances. One situation involved a woman asking passers-by: "Excuse me, sir. We are currently conducting a survey on gender equality. Would you agree to answer our questionnaire?" Flat heels got a 46.7% answer rate, medium heels a 63% rate and the highest heels a whopping 83% success rate from the men. Nowadays, the most fashionable heels on the runways and in nightclubs are higher still — with spiked heels commonly measuring 10 cm (4 inches) and extreme heels, dangerously, above 13 cm (5 inches). Medically, high heels can cause back pain and increase the risk of ankle injuries. Prolonged heel wearing can even permanently shorten calf tendons. And in social terms, women's rights advocates have objected to high heels, saying they reinforce a misogynist stereotype: women as sex objects to be ogled by men. "If a woman ... never takes off her high-heeled shoes, how will she ever know how far she could walk or how fast she could run?" famed feminist and flats-wearer Germaine Greer, author of "The Female Eunuch," once asked. Those who disagree note that high heels have other uses. "Heels don't subordinate women — they empower them in romance," said Kaufmann. "The important thing to remember in seduction is that it's all a game." ___ Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP News Topics: General news, Health, Science, Shoes, Gender issues, Fashion accessories, Fashion, Beauty and fashion, Lifestyle, Social issues, Social affairs People, Places and Companies: Bata Shoe, Marilyn Monroe, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, France, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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A major rescue operation took place earlier today at the Evros river, on the Greek-Turkish border in the region of Thrace, where there has been flooding recently, as 25 immigrants were trapped on one of the river islets’ embankment. The operation was held by the Greek Fire Brigade’s Special Counter-Disaster Unit (EMAK) amid bad weather conditions, with heavy rain and low temperatures. According to first information, the 25 individuals are all men and were taken to the islet by a trafficker who abandoned them. The particular spot is currently accessible only by water, as the river’s water level has risen to an alarming level. Regional officials, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Coast Guard also cooperated for their rescue, while ambulances arrived on the spot for the immigrants’ direct transport to the nearest hospital in order to receive first aid, as their health condition is still unknown. According to the Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Giorgos Pavlidis, the Civil Protection Department was put on alert, while local authorities have already been mobilized in order to cover the immigrants’ basic needs, as they are reportedly exhausted by their adventure. As Evros’ deputy regional Governor, Dimitris Petrovic, explained, the 25 were probably stranded as they tried to cross the river due to the water’s high level. The incident comes only a few days after some 700 immigrants were rescued 30 nautical miles southeast of Crete, sailing adrift on M/V “Baris.”
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