ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Olympiakos was officially crowned Greek league champion for the 42nd time, and 17th in the past 19 seasons, after a 1-1 draw at Platanias in the final round of the season.
Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Lack of diversity in Greek life under scrutiny
While this first-year snapshot is not a complete look at the demographic makeup of the more than 5,000 Greek members on LSU's campus, (there are ...
Political energy wasted on small stuff
The Eurogroup is on Monday likely to endorse the progress made in the negotiations between Greece and its creditors in the last couple of weeks but the conclusion of the last review of the second bailout program is not in sight yet. History teaches the two parties may be able to agree on measures to fill the estimated fiscal gap but it will be harder to agree on other structural reforms. To bridge the gaps, it requires mutual concessions and political statesmanship, especially in Greece.
Greece hoping for nod of approval at eurozone meeting
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he hoped that a key eurozone meeting on Monday would pave the way for a badly-needed loan deal with ...
Speculation Greece is set to default on IMF debts
"What we're really looking at here is Greece is going to default, it's just a question of when it will default and how that's going to be packaged up.".
Greece, Turkey most popular vacation destinations
Prague, May 10 (ČTK) — Greece and Turkey are the most popular destinations for Czech holiday-makers this summer, according to data from travel ...
Ode on Grecian White Wines—a Modern Success Story
From the crisp Assyrtikos of the island of Santorini to the aromatic Moschofileros and Malagouzias of the Peloponnese, dry Greek white wines are lively, dynamic and very well-priced—albeit saddled with some rather challenging names. As more and better ...
#CookClub recipe: Greek Spiced Chicken Wings and Potatoes
This week's #CookClub dinner idea couldn't be easier. It requires few ingredients, which means it's simple to put together, but the roasting work the ...
Greece grab first win to eliminate Scotland
Held by Russia in their opening Group C fixture, Greece took a major step towards the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship ...
Greece Fights Default Risk While ECB Demands Progress for Funds
Warnings of an accidental default loom over debt-swamped Greece as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ anti-austerity government heads for another confrontation with an increasingly testy German-led bloc of creditors. Greece needs at least a symbolic show of ...
Greece still 'hopeful' of positive statement from Eurogroup meeting
... Central Bank to raise the limit on short-term Treasury bills that Greek banks can buy, a move that would help avert a Greek national bankruptcy.
Greece Under-17s 1 Scotland Under-17s 0: Greek defeat dumps Scots out of Euro youth ...
The Scots almost got off to the perfect start when Mark Hill's floated free-kick saw Tom McIntyre's header touched onto the crossbar by Greek No.1 ...
Greece still 'hopeful' of positive statement from Eurogroup meeting
The Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers have ruled out clinching a deal to unlock aid for Greece at Monday's meeting, saying that too many issues remain unresolved. Officials have said any statement they make is unlikely to be enough to allow the ...
An accidental default should not lead to Grexit
In the weeks after Greek voters propelled Syriza into government, it became fashionable to frame the events ahead in the language of game theory.
How the European Central Bank became the real villain of Greece's debt drama
ECB chief was attacked at in April (Reuters) As it turned out, 21-year old German Josephine Witt, was not a disgruntled Greek citizen demanding ...
Athens, creditors 'very close' to a deal: Greek official
Greece and its international creditors were “very close” to a loan deal for the cash-strapped country, a Greek junior foreign minister said yesterday, ...
Pound Sterling to Euro Exchange Rate Forecast: GBP/EUR Could Test 1.40 if Greek Negotiations ...
european-union-flags-1 After rising to 1.38 on the back of the UK general election outcome, the Pound Sterling to Euro's (GBP/EUR) uptrend could be ...
Blueprint for Greek recovery
With the government lacking fiscal room, and Greek banks burdened by nonperforming loans, it is important to mobilize the state's remaining assets ...
Eurozone pins hope on long-awaited economic rebound
Latest forecast quarterly growth of 0.5% would beat both UK and US in much-anticipated boost for single currency blocEurozone politicians are hoping for glimmers of a long-awaited economic rebound this week, with growth in the single currency bloc forecast to beat both the UK and US.Economists expect the lower oil price to have provided a fillip to eurozone growth in the opening months of the year and have pencilled in a 0.5% pick-up in GDP, according to a Reuters poll ahead of Wednesday’s figures. That would be the fastest for four years. Related: Greece debt repayment uncertain amid fresh round of talks Continue reading...
UK weather: Britain set to be hotter than Greece but be warned
Britain is expected to be hotter than Greece tomorrow thanks to a hot air 'plume' straight out of Africa. The 1,000-mile wide weather front will see ...
Jamie Leek's family seek justice over Greece holiday death
The parents of a boy killed when he was hit by a motorbike in Greece say they want to see "justice done" as they travel back for the rider's trial.
Investors Watch List: ServiceSource International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SREV), National Bank of Greece ...
National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG) shares moved up 2.08% in last trading session and ended the day at $1.47. NBG return on assets is ...
Tsipras' Greek Dilemma; Default Or Betray His Electorate
The general view is that the Greek endgame is coming ever closer. There's a €750 million repayment to be made to the IMF this coming week (which everyone says will indeed happen) but there's not a lot more cash left scraping around at the bottom of the barrel. Already all [...]
World Press View: Anyone Know How to Save Greece?
There's a lot of ideas how to keep Greece from going bust and try to recover, but the problem is they don't add up: the math doesn't work. The post World Press View: Anyone Know How to Save Greece? appeared first on The National Herald.
Nazi invasion footage shown on Athens metro demands German war reparations
Footage of the Nazis invading Greece is being shown on the Athens metro to highlight the atrocities committed by German soldiers during the Second ...
Ex Greek Fin Min Hardouvelis and wife awarded 'couple of the year' at Berkeley ceremony
Former Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and his wife Suzan Bezjian received "The I-House Couple of the year" award at a ceremony which took place at International House του Berkeley. Hardouvelis holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Berkeley. Last year ...
No solution in sight for Greek crisis as Tsipras weighs impossible dilemma
The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, in parliament. The government is so short of funds that it has ordered local authorities and public bodies to ...
Jack Knox: Latest bizarre happenings are all Greek to me
Jack Knox: Latest bizarre happenings are all Greek to me. Jack Knox / Times Colonist May 10, 2015 06:33 AM. Email; Print. • Times Colonist •.
Festival, Chacko born same year
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR - HIGH PROFILE VOLUNTEER - Jason Chacko is a Volunteer for the Greek Food Festival, at the Greek ...
Germany's Schaeuble warns of Greek 'sudden insolvency' risk: report
Germany's finance minister said in comments published Sunday that Berlin wants to help indebted Greece stay in the eurozone, but warned of the risk ...
Shootout In Macedonia Kills At Least Eight Police And 14 Gunmen
By Matt Robinson KUMANOVO, Macedonia, May 10 (Reuters) - Eight police officers and 14 members of an "armed group" were killed in a day-long gun battle in an ethnic Albanian suburb of northern Macedonia, the government said on Sunday, violence that added a dangerous twist to months of political crisis. Sporadic gunfire on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the police operation began, subsided by early afternoon and flat-bed trucks towed away several lightly-damaged armored vehicles. The suburb in Kumanovo, 40 km (25 miles) north of the capital Skopje in a region that saw heavy fighting during an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001, remained locked down by special police units. Interior Ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski told a news conference 37 police officers were also wounded. He said no civilians were reported killed. The government declared two days of national mourning and President Gjorge Ivanov summoned a meeting of the national security council, inviting leaders of the opposition and the main ethnic Albanian parties in a gesture of unity. The events, however, will deepen concern in the West over stability in the impoverished Balkan country, where the government is on the ropes over allegations by the main opposition, the Social Democrats, of illegal wire-tapping and widespread abuse of office. Protesters demanding the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski clashed with police last week and the opposition is threatening to rally thousands on May 17. Observers fear political leaders on either side may try to stoke ethnic tensions as leverage. "INFILTRATED" Albanians in Kumanovo were deeply skeptical of the official version of Saturday's events. "This is pure manipulation," said 40-year-old unemployed man Elham Murad, who fled his home in the Kumanovo suburb after fighting broke out. He said he had seen nothing unusual in the days leading up to the police operation, bar an unmanned drone flying above the town the day before. "This is a stunt by Gruevski to cover up Zaev's revelations," he said. Asked if he would attend the May 17 protest, Murad replied: "I'll go, dead or alive." Police said on Saturday they had acted on information about gunmen planning "terrorist acts" having "infiltrated" the country from a neighboring state, without saying which. Explosions and heavy automatic gunfire rang out and black smoke rose above the town. Some residents left, carrying their belongings in bags. Macedonia has previously identified armed men in the country as coming from neighboring Kosovo, which is majority-Albanian and broke from Serbia in war in 1999. An estimated 30 percent of Macedonia's 2 million people are ethnic Albanians. Guerrillas took up arms in 2001, clashing with security forces before the West brokered a peace deal offering the Albanian minority greater rights and representation and the insurgents entered government. But implementation has been slow and tensions sometimes flare. Many citizens, regardless of ethnicity, are frustrated at the slow pace of development and integration with the West. Macedonia's bid to join the European Union and NATO is blocked by a long-running dispute with Greece over the country's name. (Additional reporting by Kole Casule in Skopje; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Janet Lawrence) -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Populism and Democracy: Friend or Foe? Rising Stars Deepen Dilemma
The election of the Syriza government in Greece and the rise of Podemos in Spain have drawn attention to the rise of left-wing populism in Europe.
A Global Victory Day in Moscow
MISSING MAY 9TH After the Cold War (1945-1989) ended and the "Berlin Wall" came down, the United States and Russia confronted each other on many issues. However, when it came to celebrating the Victory of the Allies over Nazi Germany in May 1945, the Presidents of Russia and the United States came together. Russia set Victory day as May 9th. Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin jointly marked the 50th Victory Day on May 9, 1995, despite America's reservation about Yeltsin's war in Chechnya. Ten years later (2005), George W. Bush was in Moscow next to Vladimir Putin, despite Russia's criticism of America's invasion of Iraq. However, this year, Barack Obama will NOT be attending the Victory Day celebration, even though this year's 70th anniversary is probably the last big celebration for many of the surviving WWII veterans. Obama is not the only world leader who declined to attend in protest of Russia's policies in Ukraine. Of the 68 leaders invited to Moscow, more than half declined the invitation. Of course, Russia's president will not be alone: many European leaders will attend including Czech, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovakia and Greece among others outside the EU such as the heads of China, Brazil and India. The Secretary General of the U.N. will be there. But that hardly makes up for the fact that no single leader of the three nations who fought the Nazis shoulder to shoulder with Russia - the United States, Britain, and France - will join its former ally. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also be missing the celebration but be there the next day May 10th to honor Russia since Germany has always been sensitive about its deep gratitude to the Russian people for their pivotal role in defeating Hitler. Obama and other western leaders are still concerned over the seizure of the Crimea in March 2014 and Moscow's subsequent meddling in Eastern Ukraine. Merkel is coming the next day to celebrate the WWII Victory for that reason. Yet Mr. Putin was thrown out of the G-8, and Russia became a subject of unprecedented economic sanctions. In most Western capitals, it has become politically untenable to make any conciliatory gestures towards Mr. Putin. The standoff between Russia and the West now has dragged into its second year, and it has turned into a geopolitical game of chicken with increasingly dangerous geopolitical consequences. PROPAGANDA AT WORK @font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; }span.MsoEndnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }p.MsoEndnoteText, li.MsoEndnoteText, div.MsoEndnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.EndnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 8pt; line-height: 107%; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; } Putin will undoubtedly use the Victory Day parade on May 9th as proof that his country has not been brought to its knees by the Western sanctions. Far from it. On May 9, Russia's new weapons will roll through Red Square, including its new T-14 tank (pictured on the right during the Victory Parade rehearsal). Sukhoi's new stealth fighter jets will fly overhead. The parade will no doubt produce a wave of patriotic enthusiasm and should lift the approval ratings for Putin's policies both domestically and abroad. The USA and other western nations are not the only world powers today. The Kremlin has not been shy about using the images and language that evoke memories of the Great Patriotic War. In fact, for Mr. Putin to get more support, he is taking a tough stance against Ukraine, saying that Russia is fighting against efforts to revive Nazi ideology in Europe. The West dismisses Russia's description of the Ukrainian crisis as "propaganda." The fact is that propaganda is only one side of an issue. There are other sides known as data, facts and public policies. Besides, Russia is hardly alone in its effort to deploy historic memories for its present political aim, occasionally rewriting history in the process. Politicians in Ukraine, Poland or the Baltics have been doing the same thing. Ukraine recently passed a controversial "decommunisation" law, and gave public recognition to WWII militias implicated in Nazi atrocities against Polish people (Volyn tragedy). In Poland, the foreign minister recently amused historians by claiming that the Auschwitz was liberated by Ukrainians (Auschwitz controversy) Poland is even staging its own Victory Day parade in the town of Gdansk, where the first shots of the WWII were fired. Then in Lithuania, the government recently distributed a brochure to its citizens with instructions on how to conduct oneself in case of a Russian invasion that states: "Stay rational and don't panic. Shooting outside your windows does not mean the end of the world." It is hardly surprising that politicians in Moscow, Kiev and other capitals have resorted to heated rhetoric involving war-time language, such as "fascism". Today fascism and its modern equivalent (that is the dominance and control of economies and governments by a few extremely wealthy people and companies) is growing in France, USA, UK and even Germany as well as other nations. The memories of the fascist impact and then WWII remain vivid and powerful across Europe, and recalling those notions whips up powerful emotions that blunt people's ability for rational analysis. As Noam Chomsky noted , the whole point of good propaganda is to stop people thinking about the issues.[i] In short, propaganda exists strongly in the western nations in what they call, "news". Hence when the mass media reports "news", it is often based on their point of view --- in short propaganda. The other side and angles are rarely reviewed. Today in the USA, there is more and more of this "false news" is reported, but in reality, it is only propaganda. Both Kiev and Moscow need a good dose of "propaganda" to help their citizens forget the extent to which their respective government's policies failed. In short, they need to report the "breaking news" as the western nations do. The Ukraine, instead of reforming its economy, fighting corruption or developing a green economy that would reduce its reliance on Russian gas, has been spending blood and treasure on its civil war in Eastern Ukraine. Russia has hardly been a winner either: its currency devalued by half, interest rates reached 20%, and the direct costs of the Crimea have publicized by Prime Minister Medvedev's own admission, at 25 billion Euros. Most Western countries also suffered damage from the closing of the Russian market. The sanctions that the West implemented against Russia a year ago generated plenty of economic pain, but failed to prevent escalation of the crisis. Both Russia and Ukraine have scored partial news or propaganda victories: Mr. Putin's approval ratings exceed 80% domestically, while Mr. Poroshenko continues to enjoy laudatory coverage from the Western press. A recent Economist article condemned the Kremlin for cynically exploiting the memory of the second world war while praising Ukraine's decision to adapt a new wartime remembrance symbol, which turned out to be... the British crimson poppy.[ii] MATTER OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLE Those European and American politicians who continue to support sanctions against Russia say that this is not about the economy, but about principles. Russia violated international norms of conduct, and unless the West teaches Russia a harsh lesson, the entire post-WWII global order is in danger. The principled Western powers state that they cannot accept that. In fact, some politicians in Brussels recently announced that Russia will face further sanctions unless the Crimea is restored to Ukraine. The Ukrainian president recently asserted that Russia and Ukraine will only be at peace when Ukraine recovers Crimea. When asked how long it could take, Mr. Poroshenko pointed to the conflict between North and South Korea as a "model." The fact is that all of this conflict is over basic philosophical and economic perspectives that separate the western nations today. This is a vast exaggeration of the European borders issue and the significance of the Crimea. It would be good to remember the during the post-Cold War period, European borders were changed quite a few times. The entire state of Yugoslavia had been carved up, Czechoslovakia was split into two independent countries, while Eastern and Western Germany merged into one country. The process was not entirely peaceful or voluntary: in 1999, NATO planes bombed the Yugoslavian capital. And Ukraine and Russia themselves emerged as independent states by carving themselves out of the Soviet Union. responsible politician would condone Russia's seizure of the Crimea. Yet Russia has already been punished enough. Perhaps a wise way to resolve the standoff would be by allowing Russia to keep the Crimea on the condition that it hold an internationally monitored referendum on whether the Crimeans want to stay with Russia or come back to Ukraine. It would also be useful to keep in mind that the Crimea, in the end, is not that significant. It accounts for only 5% of Ukrainian territory, and, unlike Eastern Ukraine, the Crimea houses no critical industries. It makes no rational sense for Ukraine to hold on to the Crimea at all costs, which is what Mr. Poroshenko seems to be firmly set on. In fact, the net economic and political effect of the transfer of the Crimea to Russia was mildly positive: the peninsula had been a drag on the Ukrainian budget, and its population had always historically supported pro-Russian candidates. So, it is not the loss of the Crimea that damaged Ukraine, but everything else that occurred after that. Finally, it is worthwhile to recall when and how this all started. On February 27, 1954, the New York Times ran a small article reporting on the transfer of the Crimea to Ukraine, noting in the subsequent analysis that the symbolic nature of the transfer resulted in "little practical changes." Perhaps the West should go back to that characterization of the Crimea as an internal Russian-Ukrainian matter. Let's consider the change of Crimea's ownership as a psychologically important, but as a practically insignificant event. In fact, it can even be viewed as a positive sign that Ukraine is finally freeing itself from the vestiges of its Soviet past, of which Crimea was one. By overcoming the obsession with one patch of land, perhaps the leaders of the West, Ukraine, and Russia can address what appears to be a real threat to global order: the loss of common ground among the former Allies that was so obvious during the May 9 Victory day parade. The bottom line is the economies of all these nations. And that is what we will address next: "connecting the dots". -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Merkel Pressed to Give Up on Greece as Germans Urge Strong Euro
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under growing pressure from within the ranks of her own party bloc to give up on Greece for the sake of the euro. Members of Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc are openly challenging her stance of keeping Europe ...
Feedback: readers salute the resilience of Greek entrepreneur
From more than 20 years of teaching Greek students, I know the old stereotypes are untrue. They are as hard-working, intelligent and industrious as ...
Greece Faces New Eurozone Showdown Without Deal, Allies
Admitting it won't get a deal at a May 11 Eurozone meeting as hoped - because it still hasn't completed reforms - Greece's Radical Left SYRIZA-led government still hopes for political backing to unlock blocked aid soon. The post Greece Faces New Eurozone Showdown Without Deal, Allies appeared first on The National Herald.
Skelos’ Story Greek-American Tragedy
Over the past few days we have been witnessing a community tragedy, the federal charges brought against NY Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. The post Skelos’ Story Greek-American Tragedy appeared first on The National Herald.
Greek Festival returns to Mercer County May 14-17
St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Hamilton (Mercer County, N.J.), once again celebrates Greek culture and cuisine with its 40th annual Greek ...
Greek TV Channel Rating Rises Fourfold After Moscow V-Day Parade Broadcast
The rating of the Greek parliament TV channel rised fourfold due to a live broadcast of Moscow's Victory Day Parade on May 9, one of the channel's ...
Greece hits crunch time over €750m repayment to IMF
Monday's meeting of Eurogroup ministers in Brussels may or may not turn out to be a make or break moment for Greece and the eurozone. There is no ...
Making Sense of the Options for Greece
Greece seems to lack a strategy for extricating itself from its parlous state. Not only does the government, led by Alexis Tsipras, lack a credible plan for ...
Greece debt repayment uncertain amid fresh round of talks
Cash-strapped nation is due to repay €770m on Tuesday, with its finance minister indicating it could avoid a default it was thought to be heading forGreece and the eurozone face a week of fresh nail-biting uncertainty as the single currency area’s finance ministers prepare to report on progress towards an agreement with Alexis Tsipras’s government.On Tuesday, Greece faces having to repay around €770m (£507m) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The two events had been widely linked. It was assumed that the cash-strapped Athens government would be unable to meet its obligations to the IMF without a cash-for-reforms deal with its creditors that would release more than €7bn. Continue reading...
Runners and bystander at Run Greece in Ioannina, Greece
Please note: the text contained in "Runners and bystander at Run Greece in Ioannina, Greece" has not been corrected, edited or verified by Demotix ...
German finance minister reaffirms will to keep Greece in euro under 'justifiable conditions'
Germany's finance minister says his country will do everything it can to keep Greece in the eurozone under "justifiable conditions." Eurozone finance ministers will meet on Monday amid slow-moving talks on a deal with Greece's creditors.
Greeks Want Troika Compromise
Fearful of the country being pushed out of the Eurozone, most Greeks want the government to reach a compromise with lenders. The post Greeks Want Troika Compromise appeared first on The National Herald.
Mayors Ready To Turn Over Cash
Greek Mayors said they are willing to turn over all their spare cash to the government if the country's economic situation gets worse. The post Mayors Ready To Turn Over Cash appeared first on The National Herald.
Germany's Schaeuble Reaffirms Will to Keep Greece in Euro
Germany's finance minister says his country will do everything it can to keep Greece in the eurozone under "justifiable conditions." Eurozone finance ...
Schaeuble flags risk of default with Greece stalling
Greece is preparing for a meeting of euro-region finance ministers tomorrow with the European Central Bank threatening to restrict the country's ...
Cypriot President hopes for reconciliation between Turkey and Greece
Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis said that after the election of a new leader of the Turkish community, opportunities have appeared to start ...
Labour needs to be ready when the Tories slip up
All governments mess up and with an EU referendum looming and a new financial crisis lurking Labour must be ready to seize its chanceThe election is over and it is back to business as usual. This week the Bank of England will announce its delayed decision on interest rates, while Greece is growing increasingly desperate for cash.Britain’s new majority Conservative government would probably not be all that unhappy to see the Bank start to raise interest rates fairly soon, if only as insurance against the possibility of inflationary pressure that might require tougher action later in the parliament, when dearer borrowing costs become more politically sensitive. Continue reading...