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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Injured Greek soccer player dropped and headbutted by ...

Leonardo Koutris, a midfielder for Greek second-division side Ergotelis, was injured during a league match against AE Larissa this weekend. Unlike in ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sportingnews.com

Iraklis draws 3-3 with PAOK in Greek league

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Iraklis took the lead twice but needed a stoppage-time equalizer from defender Sebastian Bartolini to snatch a 3-3 draw with PAOK in the Thessaloniki derby in the Greek league on Sunday.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com

Acropolis Taverna bringing GREEK to South Tampa

If you are craving a kabob or longing for lamb chops, you're in luck. Acropolis GREEK Taverna, the veteran Tampa restaurant brand with locations at 7th ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT cltampa.com

Live: Kygo takes the GREEK Theatre to the tropics of EDM

On the crowded walk up the paths to the GREEK Theatre on Saturday night, two young women in clingy metallic dresses scrambled up the hill to see ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT touch.latimes.com

Two groups mulling exit from GREECE

The examples of the companies that have already left GREECE (FAGE, Coca-Cola HBC and Viohalco) are paving the way, as their common target has ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greek President Recieves IAO Delegation Speaks on Refugees, Orthodoxy, and Human Worth

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Sunday stressed the need to end sources of conflict in the Middle East and deal with the region’s refugees, as he received members of the International Secretariat and Committee Chairpersons and Rapporteurs of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) at the presidential mansion. “One understands how important


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Delay in Reforms Implementation by Greek Gov’t Might Stall Loan Tranche

Despite the fact that the omnibus bill, which includes austerity measures agreed upon with Greece’s creditors was voted on during yesterday’s plenary session, only 30 percent of prior actions required by the bailout program have been legislated. Now the finance ministry must rush to implement 49 prior actions in order to avoid further delays that


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

5 refugees drown off Greece as thousands are stranded in Croatia and Serbia

Greek authorities rescued 11 other migrants who survived their ordeal in the water after their boat sank during its perilous journey from Turkey as the weather worsens with the approach of winter.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk

A. Mavroyiannis: “Cyprus settlement not a matter of weeks or months”

Nicosia, October 18, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Kyriacos Kyriacou There are signs of progress regarding a Cyprus settlement, but we can not say that “this is a matter of weeks or some months” the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot community Andreas Mavroyiannis said on Friday. He also said the prevailing euphoria on the matter […]


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Thousands Stranded By Hungary Border Closure

The numbers waiting are expected to increase as more people travel along the so-called Balkan corridor that goes from Turkey to GREECE and then ...


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DIW economist Kritikos: Parteienfilz and entrepreneurs hostility – It remains in GREECE everything ...

The left alliance Syriza is has written, among other things on the flags, corruption, bureaucracy and Parteienfilz to announce the fight. With great ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT or-politics.com

Celtic soundscape or horrible pan pipes: behind the moans at the British museum

Some visitors to the Celtic exhibition have been annoyed by the accompanying ‘music’ – what’s the real source of these irritating rustic noises? NAME: Pan pipes. AGE: Ancient. The “Pan” in the name is the Greek god of nature, shepherds and the wild. The instrument itself was invented several thousand years before he was. Continue reading...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

ISAF Sailing World Cup Reaches Big Climax in Abu Dhabi

Oct 18, 2015 Top sailing talent heads in for regatta putting UAE capital back on world stage Abu Dhabi, UAE, 18 October 2015: Abu Dhabi steps back into the limelight as a top international sailing venue next week when more than 150 competitors from 39 countries descend on the UAE capital for the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) 2015 World Cup Final. The five-day regatta, taking place from 28 October to 1 November, marks the climax of a World Cup journey which began in Melbourne, Australia last December before continuing with other qualifying events in Miami, USA, Hyères, France, Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain and finally Qingdao, China last month. The prestigious annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors returns to Abu Dhabi following a highly successful first visit last November organised by ISAF and Abu Dhabi Sailing & Yacht Club (ADSYC), with the support of the UAE Sailing & Rowing Federation (UAE SARF), Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi). "This is an event which underlines Abu Dhabi's growing status as an international sailing hub and, at the same time, provides the entire UAE sailing community with a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best sailors in the world,” said H.E. Ahmed Thani Al Romaithi, Chairman, ADSYC and Vice-President, UAE SARF. "We’re very proud of our long and rich maritime history and are equally committed to preserving our heritage and traditions as we are to continue developing Abu Dhabi’s appeal as a destination that attracts sailors from around the world, while nurturing young UAE talent.” ISAF President Carlo Croce said: “Abu Dhabi proved to be a truly world-class venue last year and we’re excited to be working with our fully committed partners there again to stage the final of the ISAF 2015 World Cup series. “We share a determination to drive the continued development of sailing in Abu Dhabi and the Gulf region as a whole, and all our qualifiers from around the world are thoroughly looking forward to competing on the World Cup stage in such a wonderful sailing venue.” The ISAF Sailing World Cup is open to the sailing classes chosen for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has this year attracted more than 2,000 of the world's leading sailors from over 75 nations. Those who go into action in Abu Dhabi will be competing for World Cup titles in eight of the ten Olympic classes, as well as kitesurfing, and the top three finishers in each will earn a share of a USD$220k prize fund. ISAF’s top sailing regatta takes place in the waters around Lulu Island off the UAE capital’s stunning Corniche, providing a great spectacle both for crowds of local spectators as well as an ISAF television audience of millions spread across more than 100 countries. The emirate’s rising status in the international sailing world was reinforced by the first World Cup instalment last year, and again soon afterwards when it served as a stopover in the dramatic Volvo Ocean Race, which in June culminated in victory for the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew of Azzam. The 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup final will showcase Abu Dhabi’s impressive water sport credentials built around an ambient winter climate, more than 400 kilometres of coastline, Blue Flagged beaches, state-of-the-art marinas, a multitude of natural islands and warm, clean waters. Taking part will be leading competitors from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgari, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Britain, Honk Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, Holland, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and USA. For further press information please contact: Tony Lewis / Sean Muir / Ahmad Huzayem Total Communications Tel: + 971 4 4281502 - Distributed via http://www.AsiaToday.com Category:  Sports Event FeaturedNews:  Show in Featured News TopPicture: 


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Israeli catamaran rescues 11 Syrian, Iraqi refugees near GREECE

Tel Aviv (dpa) - Sailors from an Israeli catamaran early Sunday rescued 11 Syrian and Iraqi refugees whose boat had sunk near GREECE, the Israeli ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.europeonline-magazine.eu

Five drown including a baby and two children after a boat carrying refugees floundered off the ...

Five people, including a baby and two children, drowned and one was missing after a boat carrying migrants floundered off the coast of GREECE.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk

World Press View: Greece Won’t Patrol Aegean With Turkey

Despite being pushed by the international community, Greece has rejected joint patrols for refugees in the Aegean with Turkey. The post World Press View: Greece Won’t Patrol Aegean With Turkey appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

12 Refugees Including Children Drown Off Turkish Coast

Almost 400,000 people have arrived in GREECE this year, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, overwhelming the crisis-stricken government's ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.haaretz.com

'Cake-porn' priest allegedly asked mistress to get an abortion

Ethel Bouzalas told Bishop Andonios Paropoulos, the chancellor of the GREEK Orthodox church in the United States, that her lover wanted her to get an ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT nypost.com

Medics fall over attempting to carry player off the pitch during GREEK second division match ...

Carrying an injured player off the pitch was far from a seamless task for the medical staff during this GREEK second division match between AEL Larissa ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.co.uk

GREEK stretcher bearer drops injured player and then falls on top of him

A GREEK stretcher bearer literally did he opposite of his job at the weekend as he dropped injured Ergotelis midfielder Leonardo Koutris...and then fell ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.mirror.co.uk

Adoniadis ~ Barham

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Adoniadis of Ponti, Lefkas, GREECE; and formerly of Hereford, England. He is the grandson of the late Mr.


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Shoukry heads to international conference in GREECE

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry headed to GREECE Sunday morning to attend the international conference on “Religious and Cultural and ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailynewsegypt.com

Google Celebrates 95 Years Since the Birth of Melina Mercouri

Today’s google doodlle is dedicated to Melina Mercouri, with a sketch of the famous Greek actress and politician with Parthenon in the background. Mercouri is the first Greek politician who started the campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the Londin Museum in 1982 by making the issue known to the international community.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Director Wins Best Film

Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari's comedy of manhood Chevalier was named Best Picture at the London Film Festival. The post Greek Director Wins Best Film appeared first on The National Herald.


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Olympiacos Routs AEK, 4-0

Olympiacos had no trouble beating third-place AEK 4-0 in the Greek soccer league Oct. 17 despite resting some starters. The post Olympiacos Routs AEK, 4-0 appeared first on The National Herald.


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Crisis Undercuts Greek Supermarkets

A lingering economic crisis and capital controls cut deep into Greek supermarket sales and some are going out of business. The post Crisis Undercuts Greek Supermarkets appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Kotzias Sought Out Golden Dawn

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias was ripped for asking the extreme right Golden Dawn its opinion on Greece's name dispute with FYROM. The post Kotzias Sought Out Golden Dawn appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greece’s Creditors Come Back

Envoys from Greece's international creditors are due back in Athens to push reforms passed by the ruling SYRIZA-led coalition. The post Greece’s Creditors Come Back appeared first on The National Herald.


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Shoukry participates in GREEK 'religious and cultural pluralism' conference

During the 2-day visit, Shoukry is scheduled to meet with the GREEK Prime Minister, foreign minister and defense minister among other officials to ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thecairopost.com

Berlin Offers Athens Financial Support for Refugee Crisis- But There's a Catch

The money is intended dot help GREECE strengthen its borders and keep more refugees from fleeing Turkey. “We want to support GREECE in this, so that ...


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Baby, two children drown trying to reach GREECE from Turkey

Five people, including a baby and two children, drowned and one was missing in two separate incidents of migrants trying to reach GREECE from ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.irishtimes.com

Twelve migrants drown after boat sinks off of Turkey’s Aegean coast

At least 12 migrants have drowned after a boat attempting to reach the Greek island of Lesbos sank in the Aegean Sea inside Turkish territorial waters on Oct. 17, while 23 others were rescued


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.hurriyetdailynews.com

Israelis Rescue Syrian Refugees Off GREEK Coast

After discovering boy floating off GREEK island, Israelis traveling in yacht ... from Iraq and Syria - and handed them over to GREEK authorities on shore.


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Five more refugees drown in Aegean as GREEK president urges action to end Middle East conflicts

ATHENS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- GREEK Coast Guard announced on Sunday that five more refugees, among them three children and a toddler, lost their ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.xinhuanet.com

INSIGHT-Typically Greek, delayed land register is never ...

ATHENS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - When Greece applied for its first international bailout in 2010, only two countries in Europe lacked a computerised register of ...


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Thousands stranded on new migrant route through Europe

OPATOVAC, Croatia (AP) — Thousands of migrants seeking to reach Western Europe were stranded in fog and cold weather in Croatia and Serbia on Sunday, a day after Hungary closed its border with Croatia and the flow of people was redirected to a much slower route via Slovenia. Tiny Slovenia has said it will only take in 2,500 people a day, significantly stalling the movement of people across the Balkans as they flee wars and poverty in countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. On Saturday, over 6,000 people reached Croatia, and most of them were stuck in the country on Sunday. The migrant route switched to Slovenia early Saturday after Hungary's right-wing government closed its border to Croatia for the influx, citing security concerns and saying it wants to protect the European Union from an uncontrolled flow of people. Croatian police said Sunday nearly 4,000 people, including women holding babies in their arms, remained in the refugee camp in Opatovac, eastern Croatia, where buses and trains were waiting to take them toward Slovenia, the next step on their journey toward richer EU states, such as Germany or Sweden. Across the border in Serbia, thousands of people have been sitting in some 50 buses since early hours Sunday waiting to cross to Croatia. More are expected to arrive during the day. "We are waiting here 4 hours on the bus," said Muhammad Samin from Afghanistan. "The weather is too cold. We wear lots of shirts. The children are also in the cold. No food." The United Nations refugee agency warned that Hungary's decision to close its border for migrants has increased their suffering and could lead to a backlog down the so-called Balkan route that goes from Turkey through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia. Babar Baloch, regional spokesman for Central Europe for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the new migrant route through Slovenia has significantly prolonged their already weeks-long journey. "The decision by Hungary to close its border has certainly added to the suffering and misery and the length of the journey for these desperate people," Baloch said. "There will be challenges if the process becomes slow or we have a backlog of people." The Hungarian border closure is the latest demonstration of EU's uncoordinated response to the surge of people reaching its borders. More than 600,000 people, mostly Syrians, have reached Europe since the beginning of this year. Hungary decided to close the border with Croatia after EU leaders last week failed to agree on a plan backed by Hungary to send EU forces to block migrants from reaching Greece from Turkey. It did the same on Sept. 15 on the border with Serbia after erecting a razor wire fence on both frontiers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was meeting Turkish leaders on Sunday to promote an EU plan that would offer aid and concessions to Turkey in exchange for measures to stem the mass movement of migrants into Europe. Merkel arrived in Istanbul as thousands of new arrivals a day are stretching Germany's capacity to house refugees and other migrants. Officials said the incentives offered to Turkey would involve an aid package of at least 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help Turkey host the more than 2 million refugees that are in the country, as well as easier access to EU visas for Turkish citizens and re-energized EU membership talks. ___ Dusan Stojanovic and Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade, Serbia, Ali Zerdin from Ljubljana, Slovenia, Ivana Bzganovic, from Berkasovo, Serbia, and Amer Cohadzic from the Croatia-Slovenia border. Join the conversation about this story »


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SNP conference: Sturgeon's "blame Westminster" routine hides dismal record as party of government

Reuters/Russell Cheyne The Scottish National Party annual conference in Aberdeen just ended was the last big gathering of the party before elections for a new Scottish parliament next May. The SNP has been in power in Scotland since 2007 and the polls put them on course to win a third straight term next spring. This is extraordinary. The SNP exists for only one reason: to seek the break-up of Britain and independence for Scotland. It won the right to put that issue to the Scottish people in an historic referendum in September 2014, but Scots voted against independence by 55.3% to 44.7%, so Scotland remains – with England, Wales and Northern Ireland – one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom. The SNP’s defeat in the referendum ought to have caused it traumatic shock. But the referendum losers have emerged victorious in the year since. The 45% who voted Yes to independence rallied to the SNP’s cause, whereas the 55% who voted No are otherwise divided between those on the left (who support Labour), those on the centre-right (who support the Conservatives) and those few who remain in the middle (who used to support the Liberal Democrats). A vote of 45% per cent is enough only to come second in a two-horse race – but in the UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system it is enough for a landslide. Thus, in the May 2015 general election the SNP won an astonishing 56 of Scotland’s 59 seats in the House of Commons, reducing the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties to one Scottish seat each. That the SNP has managed to consolidate the support of close to half the Scottish population is a remarkable feat. For years support for independence was stubbornly stuck at about 30%. That the referendum result was 55%/45% rather than 65%/35% owed a great deal to the Yes movement taking on the character of a mass protest movement. Harnessing the same energy and, indeed, using much of the same rhetoric, as has fired Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain, the argument for independence became ever more stridently left-wing and anti-austerity as the referendum campaign wore on. The “45” is really the conjoining of two groups: a “30” who are ideologically committed to independence and would vote for it come what may and a “15” many of whom had never previously voted for the SNP and who embraced “the idea of Yes” as an act of protest. The SNP has managed to hang on not only to its natural 30% but to the full 45% by pulling off the trick of being, in fact, the party of power in Scotland while at the same time taking on the appearance of a party of opposition. The nationalists are expert in mining the rich seam of Scottish grievance politics, which holds that everything is someone else’s fault, pointing the finger of blame at the Tories, the English, or Westminster. Its tactic in the forthcoming Scottish parliamentary election will doubtless be more of the same, for all the bombast we have heard in Aberdeen this week about the party being happy to stand on its record in government. POOR PERFORMANCE The SNP’s record in government is precisely the terrain the opposition parties in Scotland want to fight the election on, because that record is dismal. It is dismal, in large measure, because the SNP has spent so long on the blame game and on its constitutional obsession with independence that they have governed too little. The devolved arrangements in Scotland were created and are in the process of being further developed by unionists, not nationalists, seeking a way of giving Scots the home rule they crave without breaking up the state. Plainly, it does not suit the SNP to use their devolved powers to the full. Rather, it suits them to play those powers down, as if the only way in which Scotland could enjoy real autonomy is if Scotland were to leave the UK to become an independent state. In the core devolved areas of health and education, SNP administrations have done as little as possible. Back seat: Alex Salmond applauds from the audience. Reuters/Russell Cheyne The result is that investment in health has declined relative to investment in England, that hospital waiting times are growing longer, alarmingly so in accident and emergency, that Scottish schools are struggling to maintain even the most basic standards in key skills such as numeracy, and that further education has been cut horrifically (with 140,000 college places slashed in Scotland in recent years). None of these outcomes is the fault of Westminster: health and education are fully devolved to Edinburgh, and have been since the inception of devolution in 1999. CONTROL FREAKERY When the SNP government does exercise its powers, two tendencies are striking. For all its talk of progressive politics, the SNP is a markedly illiberal party in practice. Whether it be bureaucratic interference with family life, the covert arming of police officers, or extensive use of coercive powers such as stop and search, Scottish nationalism in power betrays that trend so often seen in national liberators: that the freedom of the nation matters much more than the freedom of the people who inhabit it. A second tendency is a control-freakish centralisation. Power is hoarded in Edinburgh, not disbursed to the cities and regions of Scotland – there is no equivalent here of George Osborne’s “northern powerhouse” in Manchester and Sheffield. On the contrary, powers are removed from local communities and centralised in the capital. Take policing: when the SNP came to power in 2007 Scotland had eight police forces; now we have just the one, accountable to a board appointed directly by Scottish ministers. A similar move is underway with regard to Scotland’s universities, where SNP ministers are seeking to exert unprecedented controls. Wither academic freedom in Scotland? With angry mobs descending on the BBC when the broadcaster dares to run news stories critical of the SNP administration, political freedom in Scotland can feel precarious. SNP ministers may say they oppose any attempt to alter the UK’s human rights laws but, at the same time, the human rights of Scots are repeatedly jeopardised by SNP policy. Very little of this is understood outside of Scotland. From elsewhere in the UK, the SNP leader, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, looks the consummate social democrat. Poised, elegant and polished – and passionate in her rhetoric and commitment to social justice – Sturgeon is indeed a great performer. But underneath the act lies an altogether different reality, of an illiberal and centralising government that would rather sit on its hands than use its powers to transform Scotland for the better. _Adam Tomkins is a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Scottish Conservatives in May’s Scottish parliamentary election._


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT theconversation.com

Survey records complaints of doctors, nurses in GREECE'S cash-strapped hospitals

At any outpatient department in any Greek hospital you will find dozens of patients waiting to be examined and the chances of an angry outburst aimed ...


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Joe Biden Quotes Son Beau in Human Rights Awards Speech

The vice president, who was this year's recipient of the award, the highest bestowed by the GREEK Orthodox Church, shared something he said his son ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com

5 more migrant deaths in Aegean – GREEK coastguard

ATHENS, Greece – The GREEK coastguard on Sunday, October 18, said 5 more migrants including a baby and two boys had died trying to cross the ...


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GREECE bank loans

Please complete all fields in the form to login. Username and password fields are case sensitive. If you have forgotten your username or password ...


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Refugee crisis: Smugglers offer 'seasonal discounts' to Syrian refugees as oceans turn wild

Several brokers plying their trade in front of Basmane station last week were already offering to transport refugees to GREECE for the lower price.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.co.uk

Receiving GREEK Orthodox award, Biden says religious freedom is key to fighting extremism

It's the highest award bestowed by the GREEK Orthodox Church. Biden says terrorist groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State pervert Islam to justify ...


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In Greece, forgoing paper maps for GPS

ATHENS, Greece - I am a paper guy, always have been. I read this newspaper in its paper version, the dead-tree form you can hold in your hand, fold, use to ...


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Banking on Greece is a risky investment

Greek banks preparing for their fourth recapitalisation in five years are about to discover whether investors are ready to back the four lenders still standing after ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com

A dozen migrants drown enroute to GREECE

Migrants arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos crossing the same water where 12 migrants drowned when their boat sank off the Turkish coast.


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Food, fun and Disney: Successful last day of GREEK Fest

The last day of the 53rd Annual GREEK Fest wrapped up Saturday night. Thousands of visitors came to Midtown Mobile to enjoy music, shopping and of ...


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Massive Exhibition of GREEK Treasures from Agamemnon to Alexander's Era Coming to the United ...

Drawing from the collections of 21 GREEK museums, it will be the largest exhibition on the ancient Greeks in North America in 25 years.


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Merkel heads to Turkey over migrant crisis

Cologne (Germany) (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel was due in Istanbul Sunday to press Turkey to stem the flow of migrants into Europe, a day after a German mayoral candidate was seriously wounded in a "racist" stabbing. Her meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has heaped scorn on Europe's efforts to deal with the crisis, comes with her government's migrant policies fuelling growing tensions in Germany, triggering a backlash from her conservative allies and spawning a growing number of increasingly vocal far-right protests. She has pushed for a fairer distribution of people across the European Union, but the crisis has sorely tested ties between member states and put unprecedented strain on the right to free movement that is at the core of the 28-nation bloc's values. On Saturday, Merkel expressed "shock" over the attack in the western city of Cologne which left mayoral hopeful Henriette Reker with serious neck wounds. Reker, an independent close to Merkel's ruling Christian Democrats who is active in helping refugees, was stabbed while at a party information stand in the city.  Four other people were also injured, one of them seriously, with regional police chief Wolfgang Albers saying it was a "political act". The attacker was arrested at the scene and told police he had "a racist motivation for committing this act", Cologne police official Norbert Wagner said at a news conference.  More than 630,000 people fleeing war and misery in the Middle East and Africa have landed on Europe's shores this year. Most of the refugees and migrants are trying to get to Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, which has said it expects up to one million asylum seekers this year after saying it would open its doors to Syrian refugees. - Risky crossings - As a result of the influx, German authorities have warned in recent weeks of a rise in unrest, with the country's domestic spy chief saying last month, "what we're seeing in connection with the refugee crisis is a mobilisation on the street of right-wing extremists, but also of some left-wing extremists". Long-dormant protest movement PEGIDA, radicalised by Germany's record influx of refugees and migrants, turns one year old next week and is also back in the headlines. Last week, one PEGIDA protester carried a mock-gallows with the names of Merkel and her deputy, despised by the protesters as "Berlin dictators" and "traitors" for their open-door policy to refugees. Of those making the trip to Europe, many have attempted risky sea crossings from Turkey to Greece and, highlighting the human cost of the crisis, another 12 people drowned on Saturday when their wooden boat sank off the Turkish coast as they were trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported. Slovenia, meanwhile, said Saturday it was drafting in the army to help police cope with an expected influx of thousands of migrants arriving after Hungary shut its border with Croatia overnight in its latest hardline move to stop the flow of people. Croatia began ferrying migrants by bus and train to Slovenia on Saturday, away from the Hungarian frontier, and the Slovenian government said 2,700 men, women and children had entered its territory by late Saturday. Hungary's border closure came as much-hyped EU attempts to reach a deal with Turkey ran into difficulties, with Erdogan on Friday ridiculing the bloc's efforts to help Syrian refugees, but meanwhile urging Brussels to take Ankara's EU membership bid more seriously. "They announce they'll take in 30,000 to 40,000 refugees and then they are nominated for the Nobel for that. We are hosting two and a half million refugees but nobody cares," Erdogan said. The comment appeared to be a jab at Merkel, who had been tipped as a Nobel Peace Prize contender earlier this month, in part over her welcoming stance to the refugees. Turkey's demands in return for helping to stem the migrant flow into Europe include three billion euros ($3.4 billion) in aid and an easing of visa restrictions. Join the conversation about this story »


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Joe Biden speaks out in defense of religious liberty

Speaking to a group of Greek Orthodox Church leaders in Manhattan, Biden talked about one of his inspirations: his son.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nydailynews.com