... with a cheese and wine reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m., on Oct. 24 at the GREEK Orthodox Church of the Archangels, ...
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How the world sees Greece
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Opa! GREEK festival shares culture, faith with local community
BEAU CABELL/THE TELEGRAPHMembers of the Holy Transfiguration GREEK Orthodox Church "Troupe Eleftheria" group perform traditional dances ...
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Portugal's center-right govt returns to power, despite risk
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's president invited the center-right coalition government of the past four years to return to power Thursday after it won a general election, even though it will be outnumbered in Parliament by opponents who vow to force it out within days. The coalition won the Oct. 4 ballot with 38.4 percent of votes and will rule as a minority government, with Pedro Passos Coelho expected to continue as prime minister. But an unprecedented alliance of left-of-center parties, led by the moderate Socialists and including the Communist Party and radical Left Bloc, has 122 seats in the 230-seat Parliament. The alliance says it will use that majority to quickly bring down the government and take power itself. The political environment in Portugal has introduced a note of uncertainty into the 19-country eurozone that could rattle investors only recently settled after Greece's radical Syriza rang alarm bells. The issue is whether governments in the bloc are in a position to enact debt-reduction policies analysts say are needed to restore their financial health. Debt-heavy Portugal needed a 78 billion-euro ($86.7 billion) bailout in 2011 amid the eurozone's financial crisis. Its economy is improving but remains fragile. The head of state, who is usually a symbolic figure, faced two alternatives: bring back the government despite its disadvantage in Parliament, or opt for an unprecedented alliance of leftist parties which have yet to provide details of their commitments to each other. President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a televised address to the nation that he could not give power to a government that opposed Portugal's membership of international institutions such as the European Union and the 19-nation eurozone. Both the Communist Party and the Left Bloc campaigned against the policies of those institutions, though the Socialist Party has said it would abide by eurozone financial rules. "Out of the EU and the eurozone, Portugal's future would be catastrophic," Cavaco Silva said. The Social Democratic Party and Popular Party coalition, which over the past four years enacted unpopular austerity measures, have 10 days to form a government. After that, they need Parliament's approval for their four-year policy program — which the center-left parties said they won't grant. Join the conversation about this story »
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Masked attackers puncture rafts, remove engines of migrant boats en route to GREECE: Human ...
As Europe grapples with the rising tide of migrants, asylum seekers are facing opposition and, in some cases, violence from locals. Human Rights ...
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Princess Tatiana of GREECE on the importance of social responsibility and the comfort of leading a ...
Marrying a prince is the ultimate fantasy for some women – but the role usually comes with a sizable social responsibility. Princess Tatiana of GREECE ...
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GREECE, a unit for measuring catastrophe
“Is Kenya Africa's GREECE?” a newspaper poster in South Africa asked a few days ago in a photo on Twitter that caused a stir in GREECE. Kenya is ...
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Where Is the Peace Camp in Jerusalem?
The ancient history of the Middle East is repeating itself today as young Muslim Arabs from East Jerusalem stab any Jew they can reach before Israeli soldiers and police shoot the attackers to death. The bony finger of war is clearly marking an ancient route to the players. It is difficult to know what to say or write that might chart a path to a more wholesome future. The questions one must ask and possibly answer are: What side to take? Who is right and who is wrong? Does might make right? Does injustice justify violence? Can the children and grandchildren of Israel and Palestine repair the damage of the past? These questions may lead honest and principled people on both side of the Israeli-Arab divide - and I have met many of them in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, in Jerusalem and Jaffa -- to construct a process for peace, economic cooperation and -at the very least - survival. If the future is to be an improvement on the present, both Arabs and Jews will have obligations: Israelis must plan and resume talks to prepare for the end of occupation, which was promised in the 1993 Oslo accords. Foreign troops in Arab streets cannot fail to provoke resistance, mainly by young men and boys. Israelis must also continue to free up the Palestinian economy so it can deliver the fruits and vegetables now ripening in the hothouses of the Jordan Valley to supermarkets in Europe. Israel must permit the building of new housing estates and factories; and allow access to ports and airports for international trade. Israelis must also prepare for some form of "return" by the Palestinian diaspora in dead-end refugee camps Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. But these descendants of the refugees from the1948 Israeli War of Independence will not be able to return to the sites of their grandparent's homes, now developed into Israeli kibbutzim, farms, towns and factories. But they can return to housing that could be built in the wide-open places of the West Bank. Palestinians must accept what I call "the lesser return" from refugee camps to housing in the West Bank. Palestinians must bite the bullet and give up unrealistic anachronistic demands that Israel rewrite the past and delete the insults, dishonor and loss of dignity Arabs believe was imposed upon them. When both sides accept that they cannot receive all they dream, some practical steps forward will begin. Palestinians must unplug their search for reversal of 20th century history and begin teaching their children to accept the status quo and move onward. Today there are 320,000 Arabs living in Jerusalem, mostly in areas seized from Jordan in 1967. About 500,000 Jews also live in the holy city at the heart of the current mini-intifada. Neither side appears ready to leave or give up control over the contested portions of the city. And the fanatical intersection of religion, politics and history is a witch's brew of combustible feeling ready to explode. Clearly someone - Hamas, Iran, the Wahabbi Sunnis of the Gulf--has an interest in whipping up tension. All the unrest in the region is not enough for them. Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia are all bleeding from attacks by bearded zealots who believe God gave them the right to force everyone else to obey their interpretation of Islam. Why spare the Israelis? Let's drag them down in the pit we are in, they might reason. The region's history and legends are replete with ethnic cleansing, crucifixion and worse forms of murder and depopulation: think of the Hebrew take over of Canaan; the Babylonian, Greek and Roman invasions; the destruction of the first and second temples; the 2,000 year long diaspora; the sudden, violent spread of Christianity through Constantine; the violent spread of Islam; the crusades; the expulsion of Moors and Jews from Spain. (Whew. Pause for breath.) Shiite-Sunni wars. Ottoman suppression of the Arabs for four centuries; colonial rule by Britain, France and Spain; rule by Arab kings in the 1940s and 50s then rule by dictators. Finally came the insult when the tiny Jewish state defeated five Arab armies in 1948, 1967, and 1973, leading to the massive transfer of 700,000 Palestinians to refugee camps and 700,000 Middle Eastern Jews to Israel. But all this is unfinished history to those seeking to rewrite it. Today, millions of Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others seek to enter Europe and promise to live under its Western, Democratic, Judeo-Christian culture. But they are leaving destroyed lands in which tribes and nations are writing the future in the flames of hate, poverty, violence, crime, corruption and rivers of blood. Even as Hillary Clinton prepared to defend the US role in Libya - bombing dictator Muammar Gadhafi's forces to prevent him from massacring rebel Benghazi - we are reminded that the Middle East plays by different rules. We used to call them "Hama rules." In 1982, Hama was a Syrian city where Muslim fundamentalists backed a Muslin Brotherhood rebellion. It was brutally crushed by the artillery of then dictator Hafiz al-Assad, father of the present dictator Bashar al Assad, killing perhaps 20,000 people, many buried in the rubble. How does one deal with such cruel yet effective forms of violence - ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Syria today are slaughtering prisoners, beheading journalists and aid workers, burning captives alive, raping girls, and even crucifying anyone who does not buy into their ideology. The most brutal forces are the Sunni fundamentalists who slaughter Shiites, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and all considered idolaters or apostates for having their own ideas. Today, if you look at Syria and its environs it is hard not to say that life was far, far better five years ago when Assad ruled his country with an iron fist. There was no freedom of speech and assembly. But if you were not politically active and watched what you said, life was pretty good. Syria was at peace with its neighbors: Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey. It seems that only those countries ruled by a strong man, general or king have been able to survive the mob rule and violence left behind by the Arab Spring. Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia remain calm. Egypt is restoring calm under a military lockdown. Compared to the deaths of 250,000 Syrians in the past four years of civil war, Israel is a piece of cake even with its daily stabbings. Israelis say this is a time for "cutting the grass" - a euphemism for killing off the violent extremists as they try to terrorize the Israelis. They know it won't solve the underlying problems of occupation, which always produces resistance. But this is the region of riddles. A local legend widely repeated in the Middle East says that a frog was approached by a scorpion who asked to be ferried across a river. The frog was reluctant. The scorpion said "Don't worry, I won't sting you. If I did that I would drown in the river too." "Sounds logical," said the frog. "Get on my back and I'll ferry you across." In the middle of the river the scorpion stings the frog who is paralyzed and starts to go under. "You said it would not be logical to sting me. Now we will both drown." Said the scorpion: "Don't expect logic to prevail here. This is the Middle East." -- 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.
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Enjoy A Greek Retreat
… in Greece vary from place to place. Mealtime in Greece is best … , restaurants, and taverns. Joining the Greeks during mealtime is a fun … a lifetime marriage. Crete The island of Crete is located between the …
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Hollande visits Athens to bolster Greece’s struggling economy
… : come to invest in Greece,” Hollande told Kathimerini daily. Hollande will be … confidence and optimism in Greece’s future.” Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili … fall of embattled socialist Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in 2011, just …
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One dead, one injured in wet front sweeping GREECE
ATHENS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A 41-year-old man lost his life and his mother, 71, was injured on Thursday in a western Athens suburb when the car they ...
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GREECE'S top tax collector sacked by Tsipras
GREECE'S top tax collection official has been sacked by prime minister Alexis Tsipras in a move that has reawakened concerns about the politicisation ...
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Tsipras sacks Greek tax collection chief
Katerina Savvaidou faces charges for breach of duty over advertising tax
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Bismarck Tribune Online
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- French President Francois Hollande is heading to Athens Thursday for a two-day visit, as Greece seeks help from European rescue lenders for ...
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Plague spread 3,000 years earlier than 1st thought: 2,800 BC
LONDON (AP) — The plague was spreading nearly 3,000 years before previously thought, scientists say after finding traces of the disease in the teeth of ancient people — a discovery that could provide clues to how dangerous diseases evolve. To find evidence of the prehistoric infection, researchers drilled into the teeth of 101 individuals who lived in Central Asia and Europe some 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. [...] to later strains, including the one estimated to have wiped out about half of Europe, the Bronze Age plague revealed by the new study could not be spread by fleas because it lacked a crucial gene. [...] Rasmussen said knowing that plague existed thousands of years earlier than had been believed might explain some unsolved historical mysteries, including the "Plague of Athens," a horrifying unknown epidemic that struck the Greek capital in 430 B.C. It killed up to 100,000 people during the Peloponnesian War.
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Nemean Games’ Revival To Become Modern-Day Tradition (Trailer)
The Nemean Games, Panhellenic festivals that were celebrated by the ancient Greeks as part of the cycle of games at Delphi, Isthmia, and Olympia, will be revived for the sixth time from June 10 through June 12, 2016. The site of the revival will be at the archaeological grounds of Nemea, in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese. The modern-day
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GREEK smoking ban suffers a relapse
Greece's smoking ban for indoor public spaces, first introduced in September 2010, has all but gone up in smoke. Despite government pledges of ...
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Tspiras fires his tax chief
Amid allegations of high-handedness, the Greek PM topples a top official.
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François Hollande, Tsipras’ cheerleader
French president hopes Greek trip will boost his popularity and his influence.
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Deputy FM Mardas meets with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Greece (Foreign Ministry, 22 October 2015)
The Deputy Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations, Dimitris Mardas, met at the Foreign Minister today with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Greece, Rahman Mustafayev.The meeting, which took place in an excellent climate, focused on issues of common interest, with emphasis on further expansion and strengthening of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
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Deputy FM Mardas chairs meeting of manufacturing sector agencies (Foreign Ministry, 22 October 2015)
The Foreign Ministry’s potential to assist the presence of Greek manufacturing enterprises abroad and the support of the Foreign Ministry’s Secretariat General for International Economic Relations for the internationalization of Greek enterprises was discussed today by the Deputy Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations, Dimitris Mardas, in a meeting held at the Foreign Ministry with representatives of all of the manufacturing sector agencies.Among the matters discussed was the need to designate target markets for Greek manufacturers, the potential for Greek manufacturers to become active in Africa, and the setting down of companies’ needs in the countries where they are already...
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The Latest: Worried police open Slovene-Austria border
DOBOVA, Slovenia (AP) — The latest news as asylum-seekers make their way across Europe by the tens of thousands, fleeing war or seeking a better life. All times local: 7:10 p.m. Slovenia says several EU nations have offered to help to the tiny Alpine nation as it struggles to cope with the influx of thousands of migrants crossing its territory in hopes of reaching Western Europe. European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday in the capital, Ljubljana, that Slovenia also can count on EU's financial aid, but didn't specify the amount. Slovenia Interior Minister Vesna Gyorkos Znidar said Austria, Germany, Italy, as well as the so-called Visegrad Group — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — have offered help, including staff. Earlier on Thursday, Slovenia sent a formal request for EU aid to the European Commission. The country has said its capacities are stretched to the limit with around 38,000 migrants entering since Saturday. ___ 5:55 p.m. Hungary's prime minister says if the European Union is incapable of stopping the waves of people arriving at its "eastern gate" of Greece, they must be stopped at its "western gate" of Hungary and Slovenia. Speaking Thursday at a meeting of the European People's Party in Madrid, Prime Minister Viktor Orban described those escaping poverty and war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa as a "people's migration made up of economic immigrants, refugees and armed foreigners." Orban is adamantly opposed to taking in the migrants. Orban said there was a "moral responsibility to give these people back their homes and countries. But it can't be our goal to provide a new European life for them." ___ 5:30 p.m. Slovenia has formally requested European Union aid in managing the influx of thousands of migrants crossing through on their way toward wealthy countries in Western Europe. Interior Ministry official Bostjan Sefic said Thursday the request has been sent to the European Commission. He spoke hours ahead of a visit by European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos. Officials say more than 5,000 people arrived in Slovenia by noon on Thursday alone and more than 38,000 have come since Saturday, when Hungary closed its border with Croatia. The tiny European nation of 2 million says it has been overwhelmed by the migrant influx and has called on the army to help police with border duties. ___ 5:20 p.m. Officials from Hungary and Serbia have reopened a border checkpoint where Hungarian police had earlier used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons against hundreds of refugees trying to enter the country. Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said Thursday the reopening of the smaller of two crossings at Roszke in Hungary (Horgos in Serbia) meant all official checkpoints between the two countries were back in operation. Dozens of police and migrants were injured in the clashes on Sept. 16, a day after Hungary closed its border with Serbia to the free flow of refugees. On Saturday, Hungary also closed its border with Croatia, forcing migrants to detour toward Slovenia in their efforts to reach Germany and other EU destinations. Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has asked richer EU nations to help with the massive migrant influx, saying it was impossible for the transit countries to bear most of the burden. ___ 4:15 p.m. Slovenian police say one person has been detained after a scuffle between migrants left one person with stab wounds. Police official Alenka Drenike said Thursday that the injured migrant suffered minor injuries in the clash on the Rigonci border area with Croatia. The incident earlier on Thursday reflects tensions among the migrants as they wait in long lines and cold weather to move on toward western Europe. The migrant flow has slowed since Hungary closed its border with Croatia, diverting their route toward much smaller Slovenia. Most migrants want to reach Germany or other rich European nations as they flee war and poverty in Syria and other countries of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. ___ 4:05 p.m. A Cyprus foreign ministry official says 114 people aboard two boats that came ashore at a British air base on the east Mediterranean island on Wednesday are the responsibility of British authorities. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the matter, said a 2003 agreement Cyprus signed with the British Bases does not obligate Cyprus to take accept asylum seekers, whether or not their applications are accepted. He said Thursday that the agreement stipulates that Cyprus must help British authorities screen and house asylum seekers until their bids are examined. It's unclear what will happen to those who don't apply for asylum or don't meet application criteria. British Bases authorities said Wednesday that the agreement holds the Cyprus government responsible for such arrivals. ___ 3:50 p.m. Croatia's interior minister says neighboring Slovenia should speed up migrant acceptance so the newcomers can swiftly move on toward western Europe. Ranko Ostojic said Thursday that Croatia has offered to transport migrants in trains directly to a Slovenian border crossing with Austria. "I don't know what else we can do so these people don't freeze," he said. Slovenia has accused Croatia of dumping large numbers of migrants at its doorstep without coordination. Ostojic said that "if 10,000 come to Croatia, half of them have to go through." He added that migrants have already been registered in Croatia before they reach Slovenia, so "stalling them is not necessary." Ostojic said a meeting with Serbian officials on Friday will aim to resolve problems at the Serbia-Croatia border, where migrants have been spending long hours in the open in freezing temperatures ___ 3:15 p.m. Police in Slovenia say one man has been stabbed in a scuffle among refugees crossing from Croatia to Slovenia. Police said the incident took place near Rigonci earlier Thursday. They say the wounded man has received medical treatment. Anxiety and impatience have been growing among thousands of people moving toward Western Europe as they wait to move on in long lines in cold weather. The migrant flow has slowed after Hungary closed its border with Croatia forcing their route toward much smaller Slovenia. Most migrants want to reach Germany or other rich European nations as they flee war and poverty in Syria and other countries of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. ___ 2:45 p.m. The Czech Republic's president and the Interior Minister have rejected the criticism by the U.N. human rights chief of their country's policy of detaining migrants and refugees and their treatment. Speaking through his spokesman Jiri Ovcacek, President Milos Zeman dismissed the criticism as a campaign against the Czech Republic. Ovcacek says Zeman is not ready to change his critical views of Islam and the refugees. Zeman previously said that asylum-seekers might bring terrorism and infectious diseases, and called for the deployment of the armed forces to protect the country's borders against them. The reaction comes after Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UNHCR chief, suggested the Czech Republic systemically violates the human rights of migrants. Zeid singled out the Bela-Jezova center where refugees are detained with their children. The Czech Republic's ombudsman condemned conditions in the detention facility last week, saying they violate the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. ___ 2:40 p.m. An official of Slovenia's ruling party official says declaring a state of emergency over the migrant crisis remains a possibility although the government hopes to avoid that by granting some police powers to the army. Simona Kustec Lipicer, a senior official of Prime Minister Miro Cerar's Modern Center Party, said Thursday the state of emergency could be declared in case of "drastic deterioration in the situation." Slovenia's Constitution envisages the state of emergency can be declared when there is clear and present danger to the country. It is formally imposed by the parliament upon a proposal from the government. ___ 1:20 p.m. The U.N. human rights chief is criticizing the Czech Republic for its policy of detaining migrants and refugees for up to 90 days. Zeid Raad al-Hussein says credible reports indicate "the violations of the human rights of migrants are neither isolated nor coincidental, but systematic" in the country. He said the Czech measures appear to be designed to deter arrivals. His office took aim in particular Thursday at detention facilities such as Bila-Jezova north of Prague, saying that even Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan has called it "worse than a prison." It cited an internal Czech report on Oct. 13 saying 100 children were inside when the rapporteur visited. Zeid's office cited other reports that authorities had strip-searched some migrants to confiscate money to pay for their involuntary detention. ___ 11:30 a.m. Austria's state rail company has suspended traffic near the main border crossing point with Slovenia so as not to endanger migrants near the tracks. The move comes after Austrian police removed barriers Thursday at the migrant collection point at the Spielfeld crossing, saying they needed to relieve growing pressure due to overcrowding that could lead to violence. Police say more than 3,000 migrants remain grouped near the collection point. But hundreds are scattered, with many walking northward from the border on a main road toward the southern city of Graz. ___ 11:00 a.m. A U.N. refugee agency field officer says a large number of families with small children have been among the thousands of migrants crossing along a muddy border passage between Serbia and Croatia. Niklas Stoerup Agerup, field protection officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said Thursday that some 1,000 people have passed through the border area overnight. Stoerup Agerup says that around 60 percent of the people passing through are in families, and "maybe 45 percent of them have been children under the age of 5." He adds that "it is a tendency that we have been seeing over the last couple of weeks." Croatian police say some 1,300 migrants have crossed the border since midnight Wednesday. ___ 10 a.m. Slovenian police say more than 12,000 people crossing from Croatia on Wednesday, raising the total to more than 34,000 since Saturday. Slovenia became a new link in the migrant trail after Hungary closed its border. Asylum seekers who had reached Croatia then turned to Slovenia as the alternative. Some 12,616 migrants entered the country on Wednesday, higher than the usual number of up to 10,000 people reported by countries along the so-called Balkan corridor. Slovenia has said it can handle no more than 2,500 entries per day, and has accused Croatia of sending too many migrants through. ___ 9:30 a.m. More than 1,000 asylum seekers have streamed out of a crowded Austrian collection point on the border with Slovenia after Austrian police removed barriers to prevent possible violence. Police said some followed instructions and regrouped outside the barriers Thursday but many continued walking northward away from the Spielfeld border crossing. More than a thousand migrants fleeing war and hardship already broke through barriers at the Austrian center on Wednesday, but most were collected by police. This time, police said they removed barriers to relieve pent-up pressure that could have triggered violence among those waiting for transport to shelters. Several thousand more migrants are waiting on the Slovene side of the border for entry into Austria. Join the conversation about this story »
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pnj.com
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- French President Francois Hollande is heading to Athens Thursday for a two-day visit, as Greece seeks help from European rescue lenders for ...
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ATHEX: Eurobank leap buoys GREEK stock market
The growth of bank stocks continued unabated on Thursday – with Eurobank soaring 17.24 percent – taking the gains of their sectoral index to 40 ...
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GREEK Political Opposition Leader Calls for Creation of EU Coast Guard
More than 500,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece this year, with boats smuggling people from the Turkish shores to the GREEK islands ...
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The Suez Crisis -- And A Different Side of Nasser
_Note: Our accounts contain the personal recollections and opinions of the individual interviewed. The views expressed should not be considered official statements of the U.S. government or the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. ADST conducts oral history interviews with retired U.S. diplomats, and uses their accounts to form narratives around specific events or concepts, in order to further the study of American diplomatic history and provide the historical perspective of those directly involved._ Gamal Abdel Nasser was one of the most influential modern-day leaders in the Middle East. He took a hard-line approach towards Western domination of Egypt and the rest of the Arab world. On July 26, 1956 he announced he was nationalizing the Suez Canal Company. This came on the heels of strengthened ties with the Soviet Union and recognition of the People's Republic of China. Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company prompted an attack by the Israeli, British, and French military forces of Sinai and the bombing of Cairo with the objective of reestablishing Western control of the Suez Canal as well as removing Nasser from office. The United Nations, supported by the United States, condemned the attack and pressured Britain and France to withdraw their forces. A UN peacekeeping contingency, the first of its kind, was dispatched to the Suez Canal to ensure and oversee the withdrawal of foreign troops. Nasser's victory increased his popularity, which helped him create both the Non-Aligned Movement and promote pan-Arab unity. This account was compiled from interviews done by ADST with Raymond A. Hare (beginning in 1987), who served as ambassador throughout the Middle East, and James O'Brien Howard (1993), a regional Agricultural Attache in charge of Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and Lebanon. Read the entire account on ADST.org. HARE: The canal itself was NOT nationalized - the canal was always Egyptian. It was the Suez Canal Company that was nationalized, not the canal. Nasser had been attending one of those non-aligned meetings in Yugoslavia when the announcement was made that we were pulling out of our offer to help finance the Aswan Dam. It was obviously a blow to him and, when he got back, his counter was to nationalize the Suez Canal Company, something he had in mind for some time. United States Secretary of State John F. Dulles intervened actively and in time came up with the idea of a Suez Canal Users Association (SCUA). I don't know to what extent he thought it would work, but he was trying to avoid a conflict over the situation, a major problem. This was and remained our policy, and this is what got us into difficulty with the French and British as the situation developed.... As I recall it, the Egyptians had made several very affirmative suggestions for the solution of the canal problem, but they were quickly rejected by [British Foreign Secretary] Selwyn Lloyd. As you know, they, the British, had decided with the Israelis and the French on the attack on Egypt, and they didn't want any peaceful solution. What they wanted was a crack at Nasser. This was also a dearly held ambition of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden... I was sitting on the roof of the Embassy Residence one Sunday when a U.S. Marine guard came over with a "very important" message. The telegram was to the effect that something was going on in Israel, it wasn't clear what it was....So I called our staff together and worked through the night trying to puzzle it out. But we couldn't figure out any reason why the Israelis at that particular time should be attacking Egypt. I don't think my friend [British Ambassador] Humphrey Trevelyan knew either in the beginning. However, soon after, in the evening, he came over and said "It's Egypt!" I heard it first from him. This caused us immediately to implement our evacuation plan, which actually took place in stages because the Israelis apparently jumped the gun a bit and had gone as far as really intended before the British and the French had gotten into their ships and lumbered around and gotten into the thing. When it became clear just how serious the situation was, we began evacuation to Alexandria with the help of the Egyptian officials. One of our problems was that while we had this very carefully planned evacuation, the French, who had none, tried to scramble into our evacuation, which was a bit difficult. By this time the British were really moving in, and their planes were flying around, making us rather nervous. I didn't want them dropping any bombs on our convoy, so I sent several urgent telegrams off to London, which I understand got to the desk of Eden who got very annoyed with one Raymond Hare for bothering him about this. HOWARD: There was considerable concern about security. On this particular day, I was somewhere around town and I decided to stop by the Embassy and get briefed on what the latest news was. When we got to the Embassy the gates were closed. You may recall that the Brits were bringing out their dependents and the French were bringing out their dependents. We were not. We were saying that we were going to work with Nasser and saw nothing to worry about and left our dependents there. This was a source of some anxiety for all of us in the Embassy. My home was out in Maadi, which is on the desert in a suburban area some distance from downtown Cairo. In this desert area lived a number of Americans. We had a network of communications. It was my job to contact six families and give the word, whatever the word might be. We wouldn't depend on the telephone for fairly obvious reasons. When the British decided to bring out their dependents, there was a big debate in the Embassy. The Ambassador brought in the DCM [Deputy Chief of Mission], the Administrative Officer, etc. and they debated until well into the evening what word they were going to pass out through this network. By the time it got to me, it was 9:00 in the evening. The word was that the Ambassador said the Embassy was watching things very carefully. I got to Port Sudan and just as I arrived the hotel clerk said that my wife had called. This is in the middle of Africa and you know your wife is not going to call to say howdy. I didn't want to show too much concern for obvious diplomatic reasons. I tried to call her but there wasn't any chance of getting through to Cairo. After asking, I was told that the next plane flew in the next morning. None of this news had reached Port Sudan. So when the plane arrived there was Jim Howard out on the tarmac.... Thank heavens it was a British captain. As he stepped out of the plane I said, "Captain, what's happening around the world?" He says, "Well, do you want to start with Hungary or with Cairo?" The Hungarian revolution was taking place. I said, "Well, Cairo was closer." And he told me what had happened. Later my wife got through a message saying that the Ambassador said I was not to come back but to go to Rome and join them there. Now think about that. I have a wife and two small children, an office and I am told not to come back. Well, I got back to Khartoum, Sudan pretty quickly and here was Ambassador Pinkerton [from Lebanon] and a couple of assistants, that was all the staff he had, and Jim Howard sitting around this big radio with ears glued to BBC, listening to the news. Eventually I flew out from there via Libya to Rome. Meanwhile, the decision had been immediate to evacuate the dependents. But how do you get them out? At first we were going to send in American planes to take them out. Winifred, my wife, was teaching math in the Cairo-American College, a high school, because they couldn't get teachers due to the crisis. All the American dependents went out and all but a small nucleus of the Embassy staff left too. Somehow our house became a source of information for that area out there in the desert. She said people were there until 10:00 that evening. She finally got the two small children asleep and the phone rang and she was told a plane was coming at 1:00 or 2:00 to take out dependents. She said, "My children have just gotten to sleep. Can't I come on a later plane?" They finally agreed that she could. Well, the plane got there and Nasser wouldn't let it land and it had to go back to Greece. finally -- several days later -- were allowed to go by car convey to Alexandria. You may recall that by that time Dulles had rattled the sword a bit and said that Nasser was going to allow an American ship to get in there and get those dependents or there would be trouble. So she drove across the desert with these two small children and an Egyptian and got to Alexandria. There was antiaircraft fire and bombs were falling, but they were not hurt. They sat there in the harbor for hours because Nasser wouldn't pull up the mines. They had to keep the kids out on the deck with life jackets in case they were bombed.... Finally Nasser did pull up the mines. The Egyptian ships were right under the edge of our ship, shooting, antiaircraft fire, using our ship for protection, which didn't make them feel any happier. But, anyway, when they did bring up the nets, every ship in the harbor started out and one cut across in front of ours. By this time Winifred was privy to the captain's discussions with the key people. He said, "Don't worry, let him go first. If there are mines out there, they will harvest them." HARE: During this period when the British and the French movement was in full swing, I used to see Nasser fairly often at his request. It was rarely at the same place; we used to move around for our meetings. One time he asked to see me at the Army headquarters on the way to Heliopolis airport. On this particular day [Anwar] Sadat [close confidant and later President] was sitting on a chair outside Nasser's office. Nasser said to me that there was a request that he wanted to make. He wanted to request American assistance against the British and the French. As we refined this a bit it turned out that what he meant was that he wanted American military assistance. In effect, he asked for intervention of the Sixth Fleet against the British and the French. I responded, "Mr. President, you have asked me a very serious question, as serious a question as one country can ask another - to intervene militarily against people who are our friends. Now do you mind if I ask you a question?" He said, "No." "Are you asking my government for active military assistance against the British and the French or are you asking me, expecting that the reply will be negative, and that then you will be free to say, 'Well, I've asked the Americans,' and then you would be free to turn to the Soviets?" This was the only time I saw Nasser really angry. I said, "Wait a minute now. You asked me a hard question, and I asked you a hard question." "No" he said. "I really meant it." I said, "All right, thank you very much." So I reported this conversation to Washington and got back a reply saying in effect "We would do everything we could in the United Nations." That was the reply. When I gave Nasser Washington's reply, I, of course, got a rather cold response. Nevertheless we did, in the United Nations, take a very strong line against the British and the French, much to their anger. Sometime later Nasser remarked to me, "You remember the time when I asked you that question about helping us?" I said "Yes." Nasser sort of chuckled. We got over a tough one that time.... Sometimes, toward the end of our conversations, we would go over the fact that really our relations ought to be better. Our discussions would go something like this: One of us would say, "Our relations ought to be better," and we would agree to that. Then I would say, "The problem is, what do we do about it? We talk about having better relations, but what can we do to symbolize what we really mean?" He didn't ever want to suggest anything that would be refused, he didn't like that. So he would say, "Oh, we should turn over a new page." One day when he said that I said, "Fine. What should we write on the new page?" Then you would get a reply something like this. "You must understand Arab psychology better" or something of that kind. We always seemed to end up this way.... One day I went around to visit the Lebanese Minister to Cairo, Ghaleb Turk, whom I had known previously in Saudi Arabia. He asked me, "How are things going?" I said: "All right." And I told him much the same as I have just described. I told him that we'd had these conversations and we had agreed that we should have better relations, but I could never get Nasser to say anything specific about what they really would like us to do. He said, "Do you mind? I have some good relations at the top of the government in the Presidency. Do you mind if I say a word about this?" I said I didn't mind.... Shortly after that, Hassanein Heikal, an important journalist and confidante of Nasser, came to see me. Well, he bounced in and said "I hear you were talking to Ghaleb Turk." I said that indeed I had. Heikal then asked, "Do you know what we want?" "That is what I am asking all the time. Can you tell me?" He replied, "Yes. We would like PL 480 wheat!" This was something that we could easily do, as we had wheat practically running out of the bins. Mainly we were selling this PL 480 [Public Law 480, which established the Food for Peace program run by the U.S. Agency for International Development] for what we could call "wooden nickels" - that is, you got local currency in payment for it. This PL 480 idea was to me an ideal answer. I felt strongly that in a situation in which the Russians were being aggressive in the area, we should not try to do them one better of the same kind. If we wanted to do something we should make it an American move, and preferably an American move that would have some broad appeal. Well, here was an American move that would have some broad appeal. I telegraphed this back to Washington and got clearance to discuss the matter. Heikal came in to see me, and when I told him we were willing to discuss it he nearly fell out of his chair, he didn't think we would do it. My successor in Cairo once said that it gave rise to a sort of honeymoon period. Before this our relations with Egypt had been difficult.... Now, one last observation about Nasser. There were always lots of visitors who came to Cairo and most of them wanted to meet Nasser. A fair number of those who came were what I called the "belligerent." They saw in Nasser a dictator type and wanted to give him a piece of their mind. Over a period of time Nasser developed a marvelous technique of speaking to such visitors. And it was rather amusing, because these people who had gone in with eyes flashing used to come out with stars in their eyes.... -- 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.
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Greek Banks Seek Investors
Under a mountain of bad loans, Greece's four big banks want help from private investors to plug holes in their portfolios as they get recapitalization. The post Greek Banks Seek Investors appeared first on The National Herald.
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Latest AP News
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- French President Francois Hollande called Thursday for talks relieving Greece's crushing debt load and spurring investment, measures that could ...
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The Latest: Hungarian leader Orban: Stop migrants at EU borders, either GREECE or Hungary
Migrants and refugees walk in the rain and cold towards the transit camp for refugees, just after crossing the border from GREECE near the southern ...
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billingsgazette.com : The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- French President Francois Hollande called Thursday for talks relieving Greece's crushing debt load and spurring investment, measures that could ...
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Assailants Attack Migrant Boats Near Greece
… their way from Turkey to Greece, have been reported by Human … response from the Greek authorities" to the incidents. Greece has become … in 2015 to arrive in Greece is 15 times higher than …
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The Geek vs. the Greek: NFL Picks, Week 7
The Greek was busy lamenting his Ravens’ loss, but celebrating his Week 6 victory on Monday thanks to the ugliest MNF game in years. Mike Raptis had a ...
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Top Greek Tax Official Is Dismissed
ATHENS — The Greek government on Thursday dismissed the country’s top tax official, saying she was not fulfilling her duty to aggressively collect ...
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Bulgarian officials inaugurate new stretch of motorway to Greece
Sofia, October 22, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Clive Leviev-Sawyer of The Sofia Globe A number of Bulgarian officials, including President Rossen Plevneliev and Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski attended on October 22 the official ceremony inaugurating a new stretch of the motorway linking Bulgarian capital Sofia to Koulata on the Greek-Bulgarian border. The 37km section […]
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UPDATE 1-Greece urges quicker reforms as lender talks hit ...
ATHENS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged his cabinet to speedily conclude reforms needed for fresh bailout money after ...
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GREEK securities watchdog fines firms for short-selling NBG stock
ATHENS Oct 22 Greece's securities market regulator said on Thursday it slapped a total fine of 1.02 million euros ($1.14 million) on three investment ...
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GREEK Cypriots ease citizenship requirements in bid to increase population
The GREEK Cypriot administration has eased the requirements for foreigners to obtain citizenship in the GREEK part of the island in a move to increase ...
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Local church celebrates Central Georgia GREEK Festival
Local church celebrates Central Georgia GREEK Festival. Sean Franklin. 10/22/2015 12:01 PM. 10/22/2015 12:08 PM ...
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Report: Armed attackers disable migrant boats in Aegean Sea
Ed Adamczyk NEW YORK, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Armed men have boarded and attempted to disable boats carrying asylum seekers from Turkey to Greece, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said.
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The Latest: Hungary's Orban: Stop migrants from coming in
Hungary's prime minister says if the European Union is incapable of stopping the waves of people arriving at its "eastern gate" of Greece, they must be stopped at its "western gate" of Hungary and Slovenia. Speaking Thursday at a meeting of the European People's Party in Madrid, Prime Minister Viktor Orban described those escaping poverty and war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa as a "people's migration made up of economic immigrants, refugees and armed foreigners." The tiny European nation of 2 million says it has been overwhelmed by the migrant influx and has called on the army to help police with border duties. Officials from Hungary and Serbia have reopened a border checkpoint where Hungarian police had earlier used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons against hundreds of refugees trying to enter the country. Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has asked richer EU nations to help with the massive migrant influx, saying it was impossible for the transit countries to bear most of the burden. Police official Alenka Drenike said Thursday that the injured migrant suffered minor injuries in the clash on the Rigonci border area with Croatia. A Cyprus foreign ministry official says 114 people aboard two boats that came ashore at a British air base on the east Mediterranean island on Wednesday are the responsibility of British authorities. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the matter, said a 2003 agreement Cyprus signed with the British Bases does not obligate Cyprus to take accept asylum seekers, whether or not their applications are accepted. Croatia's interior minister says neighboring Slovenia should speed up migrant acceptance so the newcomers can swiftly move on toward western Europe. The Czech Republic's president and the Interior Minister have rejected the criticism by the U.N. human rights chief of their country's policy of detaining migrants and refugees and their treatment. Zeman previously said that asylum-seekers might bring terrorism and infectious diseases, and called for the deployment of the armed forces to protect the country's borders against them. The Czech Republic's ombudsman condemned conditions in the detention facility last week, saying they violate the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. An official of Slovenia's ruling party official says declaring a state of emergency over the migrant crisis remains a possibility although the government hopes to avoid that by granting some police powers to the army. Zeid Raad al-Hussein says credible reports indicate "the violations of the human rights of migrants are neither isolated nor coincidental, but systematic" in the country. The move comes after Austrian police removed barriers Thursday at the migrant collection point at the Spielfeld crossing, saying they needed to relieve growing pressure due to overcrowding that could lead to violence. A U.N. refugee agency field officer says a large number of families with small children have been among the thousands of migrants crossing along a muddy border passage between Serbia and Croatia.
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Pierre Moscovici: Greece Is on the Right Track to Receive Three Billion Euros
European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici appeared optimistic about Greece’s future, during an interview with French radio station Europe1. Moscovici noted the country is moving forward with the implementation of necessary reforms that will give it the anticipated 2 billion euros of bailout funds, and ultimately a total of 3 billion euros.
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Athens Jewish Cemetery Vandalized by Neo-Nazi Group
The main Jewish cemetery in Athens was vandalized by a Greek neo-Nazi group, known as C-18. The vandals sprayed vulgar words and swastikas on the walls, as well as the German word “Raus” which means get out. The C-18 group, Combat 18 Hellas is a small neo-Nazi group which operates in Greece who took responsibility
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Francois Hollande Arrives in Athens
French President Francois Hollande landed at the Athens International Airport on Thursday afternoon for a two-day state visit in the Greek capital. Hollande was greeted by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras upon his arrival and the two men embraced as the French President descended from his aircraft. The leader of the European Union’s third biggest economy had a
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ECB Lowers Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greece
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has decided to further lower the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) ceiling for Greece, the Bank of Greece said in an announcement, on Thursday. The new ELA ceiling now stands at 86.9 billion euros. “The reduction of €1.0 billion in the ceiling reflects an improvement of the liquidity situation of Greek banks,
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GREECE to fire top tax official
GREECE'S top tax collection official Ekaterini Savvaidou will be removed from her position the cabinet has decided, according to senior government ...
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HRW: Masked gunmen attacking migrant boats heading to GREECE
Human Rights Watch has documented masked, armed men disabling boats carrying migrants in the Aegean Sea and pushing them back to Turkish ...
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Wall Street's brightest minds reveal the most important charts in the world (DIA, SPX, SPY, QQQ, TLT, IWM)
Here they are: the most important charts in the world. As many of the charts in our latest collection from some of Wall Street's top strategists show, questions right now center on what the future holds for the US economy, for emerging markets, and the Federal Reserve. The last time we ran this feature back in February, the world looked different. The S&P 500 was about 4% higher and hadn't yet seen a 10% correction, which eventually came in a few frantic days in late August. The Federal Reserve, of course, still hasn't raised rates. Another Greek crisis came and went. So as we head towards the final few months of 2015, oil prices remain about 60% below where they were a year ago, the dollar has continued to power higher, while the Dow and S&P 500 are still in the red for the year. Here's what folks are thinking about. SEE ALSO: 25 CITIES WHERE RENTAL MARKETS ARE ON FIRE JEFFREY GUNDLACH, DOUBLELINE CAPITAL RICH BERNSTEIN, RICHARD BERNSTEIN ADVISORS GUILLERMO RODITI DOMINGUEZ, NEW RIVER INVESTMENTS See the rest of the story at Business Insider NOW WATCH: Here's how many people die from terrorism compared to gun violence
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Greek shipowners continued secondhand dry bulk buying ...
Greek shipowners continued to invest heavily in secondhand dry bulk ships in September, purchasing 20 out of a total of 40 vessels that changed hands last month ...
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Two migrants killed, 16 missing in Aegean Sea for two days
Two migrants were killed and 16 others went missing in two separate accidents in the Aegean Sea when boats heading to Greece from Turkey capsized.
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19 of the most inspiring rags-to-riches stories in business
Some of the richest people in the world were born into their wealth. But many of them started with nothing, and through hard work, talent, grit, and a bit of luck, managed to rise to the very top. These 20 stories remind us that it's possible to overcome just about anything, from parents passing away, to extreme poverty, and more. _Max Nisen and Eric Goldschein wrote an earlier version of this story. _ SEE ALSO: THE INCREDIBLE RAGS-TO-RICHES STORY OF STARBUCKS BILLIONAIRE HOWARD SCHULTZ GEORGE SOROS SURVIVED THE NAZI OCCUPATION OF HUNGARY TO BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST SUCCESSFUL INVESTORS. George Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary after his father paid a government employee, whose Jewish wife he had helped hide in the countryside, to let him pose as his godson. In 1947, he escaped the country, which had come under communist rule after the war, to stay with relatives in London. Soros put himself through the London School of Economics by working as a waiter and railway porter. After graduating, Soros sold goods at a souvenir shop, writing countless letters to managing directors at merchant banks in London until he finally got a job. That was the beginning of a long and enormously successful career in finance, including his famous bet against the British pound in 1992, which earned him more than a billion dollars in profit in one swoop. LARRY ELLISON GREW UP IN A POOR CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE CO-FOUNDING ORACLE. Ellison was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. After he contracted pneumonia as a baby, his mother was unable to care for him, and instead sent him to live with her aunt and uncle on the South Side of Chicago. He has never met his birth father, and didn't even know he was adopted until much later in life. In 1977, he co-founded a database management company called Software Development Laboratories. They changed the name to Relational Software in 1979, and in 1982, it became Oracle. Today, Oracle has annual revenues of around $38 billion, and Ellison has an estimated net worth of $46.2 billion. He's amassed all of the toys you'd expect from a billionaire — planes, yachts, multiple mansions, and even an entire Hawaiian island. He stepped down from his CEO role in 2014. JOHN PAUL DEJORIA LIVED IN HIS CAR BEFORE JOHN PAUL MITCHELL SYSTEMS TOOK OFF. As a first-generation American, DeJoria had it rough from the beginning. His Greek and Italian parents divorced when he was two, and he sold Christmas cards and newspapers to help support his family before he turned 10. He was eventually sent to live in a foster home in Los Angeles. DeJoria spent some time with an L.A. gang before joining the military. After trying his hand as an employee for Redken Laboratories, he took a $700 dollar loan and created John Paul Mitchell Systems. He hawked the company's shampoo door-to-door, living out of his car while doing so. But the quality of the product could not be denied, and now JPM Systems has annual revenues of nearly $1 billion. He also created Patron Tequila and has a hand in a variety of industries, from diamonds to mobile phones. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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GREEK gov't dismisses top tax collection official
The prospect of her early departure at a new critical period for the GREEK program, where tax collection holds a key role, is said to have caused ...
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