540000+ migrants arrived in GREEK islands Jan-Oct, Frontex

BRUSSELS - Over 540,000 migrants arrived on GREEK islands in the first ten months of the year, Frontex data show. This figure is 13 times higher than ...

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GREEK finance minister says debt deal should include long grace periods

LONDONGREEK Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Tuesday that any agreement on GREEK debt relief should include grace periods of 15-20 ...

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Anti-Austerity MPs Oust Portuguese Government

A Socialist-led alliance forces the ruling party to resign - with some economists fearful it could lead to a Greek-style bailout.

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Homelessness and Jock Straps: Australia's Got Neither

The other day I was leaving Woolies (sic?). That's the usual Australian diminutive for Woolworth's Supermarket* in Prahran about 4 blocks from our townhouse in South Yarra, Melbourne. At this moment if I were using footnotes in my Letters I would have the asterisk direct you to the bottom of the page and make optional your reading this minor digression to the main theme of this opening. However, I'm sure that many Americans who have never been to Australia would be surprised and intrigued to read the Woolworth's name surviving and thriving Down Under. Is this the same Woolworth's chain that was a center-piece of so many American cities' downtowns: the low end retail variety/department store/luncheonette counter otherwise known as Woolworth's Five and Dime that thrived especially in mid-20th century America, but died a corporate bankruptcy death in 1997? Well, the short answer is no. Woolworth's of Australia began in 1924. The name, Woolworth's, was not trademarked so the retailers used the name for their original variety store in Sydney. It is now one of the largest companies (I believe the largest retailer) of Australia, owning or partly owning such familiar brands as Dick Smith (home electronics), Safeway (now gone), Big W (homewares), Caltex (gasoline/petrol), Dan Murphys (biggest liquor retailer), Masters (failing big box hardware store), gambling (poker machines) and credit cards (with HSBC). But now returning to the main narrative: as I was leaving Woolies mid-week afternoon, I was approached by a 20's something woman who asked, "Do you have any spare change?" She was not unkempt, nor looked especially to be suffering from a substance abuse problem. Notwithstanding, I only had a $5 Aussie note as my lowest denomination, so I said, "No." and went off to my car in the parking lot across the street from the market. I most likely would not have given her any change at that moment, if I had some anyway. In general I do not give change to panhandlers who ask, though I am not 100% on that non-practice. But as I got into my car I was struck by the sudden realization of a continuing non-event that was only brought to my consciousness by this woman's request. I've been living in Melbourne for four months and this was the first time I was actively (very mildly aggressively) asked for money (e.g. panhandled or bluntly begged) by anyone. What a contrast to my American experiences in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, New Orleans - where not in the States? My wife, Denise, and I had reflected on the relative dearth of street people we've seen (or not) in Melbourne's downtown CBD. Indeed, the city may have a policy of sweeping these people off the street and moving them to another section of town, but I don't think so. I know that on Chapel Street, in front of Cole's Supermarket (the other major competing chain to Woolworths), a regular beggar or two sit quietly with a sign. These two guys do look like alkies but they do not call out or say anything when they sit. But that's it for Melbourne's down and out. Maybe if I think hard, I've seen one or two other guys sleeping or lying around (Yeah, there was one in a doorway/alleyway off Flinders Street near Federation Square) but again I really have to concentrate and think because it's so rare. I am determined in my overarching goal of my Letters from Melbourne series to compare and contrast the two countries, Australia and the United States, in their attitudes and mores. But in this case, I was daunted by the idea of considering homelessness in the two countries, only because so much has been written about the terrible developments in America. I would be confronted with the sheer volume of data and theories. So I will not attempt to write anything definitive on this subject. I will offer some opinions and then take you to a surprising and very informative website I discovered along the way. I'm old enough to remember state hospitals for the mentally ill in America. Many of them were travesties and were the subject of critical reviews in newspapers, books and movies (Titticut Follies, the 1967 Frederick Wiseman documentary, comes to mind). A genuine humanistic movement to empty the state hospitals and replace them with community based mental health centers in the 1970s never really happened. Psychotropic drugs like Thorazine and Haldol allowed the state to discharge patients but there was never really a replacement for the support and structure these people needed to avoid the streets. Combine this exodus of the mentally ill with the increasing gap between rich and poor in America beginning in the 1980s, and I believe you have the general formula for one more seemingly intractable American problem. I never saw a real homeless person (and granted I've lived a fairly protected life) until 1981. I remember clearly Denise and I were heading to some public tennis courts in Santa Monica and two pretty down and out denizens were rolling up their sleeping bags on the hillside next to the courts. Both of us were mystified. What the heck was going on? Any of you remember Moon Dog who used to frequent the 42nd Street area of New York in the 1970s. But he was of a different cloth (literally?) than these two down and outers. Moon Dog actually received a New York Times obituary when he passed. He was considered a New York phenomenon during his time. More and more non-mentally ill people, who had lost their homes or apartments, were also on the street starting in the 1980s. The American safety net had also failed them. An extreme example today, is the area just east of old downtown Los Angeles. The downtown is gentrifying rapidly but if you drive on 3rd or 4th street to the Art or Warehouse districts you cannot avoid street after street ("How long does this sad, tragic horror go on for?" you ask yourself when you drive by -probably with your windows rolled up) of people living on the street, in tents, in poorly made shacks or just with sleeping bags. It's a goddamn barrio or favela in the heart of Los Angeles. This is America? Can you note some outrage and shame here? Well there's nothing remotely close to this in Melbourne or in any of the Australian cities I've traveled to in previous visits here. I tried to look up on Google some explanations for Australian social policy on homelessness vis-à-vis America's. I'm sure there's some good stuff out there but I couldn't find anything specific enough. But then I happened upon the OECD Better Life Index for Australia. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was formed in 1961 and is based in Paris. It is really a continuation of the OEEC, an organization started in 1948 to assist in the reconstruction of devastated Europe after WW II. Its mission is to assist in national policy formulation by comparing certain living conditions in its different member countries ("to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well being of people around the world"). There are 34 member countries. Each country contributes to the OECD budget based upon its relative GDP. At this time the U.S. contributes 21% of the OECD funding. Japan is second. All the countries of Western Europe and many other European and 1st and 2nd world countries are members. Neither the Russian Federation nor China is part of the OECD but statistics are maintained for the former (as we shall see). So in my interest to do some research on the causes and prevention of homelessness in the U.S. and Australia I discovered this treasure trove of comparison data on a whole host of living conditions. I think in reviewing this data in general, we may reach some specific conclusions on the causes for states of homelessness in the two countries. Here we go (all this is from the OECD's Better Life Index 2015): (The numbers in bold represents rank from 1 to 34. Numbers following countries are often relative though for each category. Check the website on how the computations were made.) Housing: your housing conditions and spending 1 US 8.1 4 AUS 7.4 34 Turkey 2.1 Income: household income and financial wealth 1 US 10.0 10 AUS 4.9 34 Brazil 0.1 Jobs: earnings, job security, unemployment 1 Iceland 9.5 4 AUS 8.3 9 US 8.1 34 Greece 1.5 Community: quality of your social support network 1 Ireland 10.0 9 AUS 8.2 15 US 7.4 34 Korea 0.0 Education: your education and what you get out of it 1 Finland 9.1 3 AUS 8.1 19 US 7.0 34 Mexico 0.5 Environment: quality of your environment 1 Sweden 7 AUS 8.6 17 US 7.3 34 Chile 2.0 Civic Engagement: your involvement in democracy 1 AUS 9.5 14 US 34 Chile 0.0 Health: how healthy you are 1 NewZealand 9.3 3 AUS 9.2 11 US 8.1 34 Russian Federation 0.6 Life Satisfaction: how happy you are 1 Denmark 10.0 9 AUS 9.2 11 US 8.7 34 Greece 0.0 Safety: murder and assault rates 1 Japan 10.0 4 AUS 9.6 15 US 8.9 34 Mexico 0.4 Work-Life Balance: how much you work, how much you play 1 Denmark 9.8 25 US 5.3 26 AUS 5.2 34 Turkey 0.0 Social Inequality: top 20% compared to the bottom 20% 1 Mexico13.67 5 US 8.19 16 AUS 5.42 34 Iceland 3.58 Here are some categories that really stand out to me when comparing Australia to the U.S.: income (US makes more) but in everything else Australian life seems better; jobs, community, education, civic engagement, health and safety. I'm curious given all these apparent advantages that Australians rate their life satisfaction only slightly higher than Americans. I think they may be spoiled. Actually most recognize they have a good thing going here and increasingly view developments in America with much alarm, even given the major cultural/marketing influence the States have on Australian society. How do these societal/economic/cultural differences add up to addressing homelessness in the two countries? You figure it out. I might mention both countries have the same access to psychiatric drugs (they are less expensive in Oz). I don't know too much about Australia's involuntary treatment laws. They appear to vary state by state. Some require that the person be a danger to themselves or others which is typical for the U.S. But some states (like Victoria where Melbourne is located) only require a psychiatrist at a psychiatric facility designate the patient as suffering from a specific mental illness that requires in-patient treatment. This would appear to be less restrictive than the laws in America. I wonder again whether or not my oft-stated notion that American fervor in support of individual rights makes involuntary hospitalization and treatment more difficult than in Australia. On a much lighter note [SENSITIVITY ALERT! YOU MAY FIND THE FOLLOWING TMI OR GROSS -- SO PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK] do you know you cannot buy an athletic supporter (aka a "jock strap") in Australia? In my recovery I have found this type of garment that I have worn since adolescence for tennis, quite useful in keeping certain pads I've need post-operatively in place. I had brought four supporters with me from America anticipating playing tennis up to four times a week, which I had been doing in California. But I thought it would be a good idea to purchase a couple more for my recovery period (like wear one every day). So I walked over to Rebel, the large chain sports department store on Chapel Street near my house and looked for a section that might have them on display. After about five minutes a lovely experienced saleswoman asked me if she could help. I asked, "Do you carry athletic supporters. They're also called jock straps," I said in my clear American accent. "What are they?" she countered. She had never heard of them. When I described them, she said the store didn't carry them. But as I described their purpose, (not for wearing protective pads but in active sports), she suddenly put her finger to her head and said, "I think I know what might work." We walked over to the cricket section of the store and she pulled out wicket keepers' briefs. I've learned a bit about cricket (barely but enough to follow and stick around for about an hour of a six or seven hour match) and knew that the wicket keeper crouches behind the wickets and receives the ball from the bowler who is attempting to get this pretty hard ball past the batsman who is standing in front of the wickets. Anyway, the wicket keeper is the only guy on the field with a mask, a chest protector, a glove (to catch the ball) and apparently some protection over the sensitive area around his groin, hence the wicket keepers' briefs for which one can also purchase a protective plastic cup (I didn't need that). I was skeptical but without any other choices, I bought two pair (large) and took them home. I also went on line and searched for "athletic supporters/Australia" on Google and came up with nothing. You could buy them but only from American or British companies, pay a significant mailing charge and have to wait two weeks or so for them to arrive. I cannot remember exactly, but I think I then substituted jock strap for athletic supporter and suddenly found an Australian website that featured "jock straps." I was terribly excited because the company's warehouse was located in Kensington about a 20 minutes drive away but as I looked more closely I was annoyed that the cheapest jock strap was $34! Then I started to recognize the provocative nature of the photos of the men's groins and realized I was onto a homoerotic website called The Undie Guys. I actually called the telephone number and spoke to Bowdie who said "Come on over." I don't think he meant it as a come-on line, but I was ready to go over, nevertheless. However, by the time I could get into the car no one was answering the phone so I passed. Later at the tennis club I asked a guy my age who had also had a prostatectomy, if he knew how useful an athletic supporter could be. He said, "What's an athletic supporter?" I took him aside and showed him the one I was wearing (very discreetly). He said, "I never seen one before and I don't think we have them in Australia." I called up my son (age 28), Martin, and asked him if guys still wore athletic supporters. He said they didn't and used briefs instead. I then called my buddy, Tom Revelli, the owner of Montclair Sports in Oakland. The store has been around since 1957. Tom started as an employee in 1968 and became the owner in 1977. I asked him about jock straps. I knew he still sold them because I bought two last year from him. "Sales are almost gone, Larry," he said. He was tickled I was calling him all the way from Melbourne about jock straps, actually, for any reason. I told him calling internationally with Skype was pennies. "We still sell a bunch to boys playing Little League or Pop Warner where it is still a rule to have that protection. They absolutely have been part of the culture but it's dying out. We sell them for about $10 an item." I thought I had paid less but he probably knows better. He's the owner and sells them. I considered giving him my credit card number and having him mail me three or four American jock strap (my favorites are Dukes). But I had already tried on the wicket keepers brief and they actually work great. They are my favorites for when I'm leaving the home because I feel so secure. I bought two more. I told my urologist about it and he was surprised and pleased for me (I think he gives me a lot of leeway because I'm American, meaning "overseas/self-paying/non Medicare"). Of course, I'm hoping in the next weeks to no longer need these accoutrements. AND I'm not going to try to figure out why America has jock-straps and Australia doesn't! Finally, more Australian words that are not in the American lexicon: motza (or motser) - lots of money, especially a sum won in gambling probably of Polish derivation; pranged - to have collided or bumped into, as in hitting or denting a car (wonderfully onomatopoetic!) likely British slang; silvertail - a person of affluence or influence - Australian derivation 1895-1900; and finally, spruiking - to make or give a speech, especially extensively or elaborately (1915-20 origin unknown). By the way many Australians don't know these words either, but I read all of them in the Age. Also an infringement is a parking ticket. I learned that by getting two of them in three days by not very closely reading the four parking signs involved each in the two spots I chose! Well that's enough on Oz and us (U.S.) today. G'day mates (I hear very few people here using that expression!). -- 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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Vodafone Greece slides back to negative revenue growth in Q2

Vodafone Greece fell back to negative organic …

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NN Hellas finds opportunities in GREECE, despite economic difficulties

Economic growth in GREECE has remained weak in 2015. In addition to this, the recent capital controls imposed by the Greek Government have not ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.worldfinance.com

Archaeologists Unearth “Greek Pompeii” in Sicily

Much like at Pompeii, archaeologists uncovering the ancient Greek city of Selinunte have found a once-thriving metropolis frozen in time.

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What Europe Owes to Greece

What Europe Owes to Greece Despite its errors, Athens needs solidarity on the economy and migration.

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Best GREEK Pizza, Pizza Palace, Old Saybrook

Besides pizza, they make many GREEK and Italian dishes and are known for their fried whole clams, which are really popular, she says. The seafood is ...

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GREECE'S Piraeus bank optimistic book-build can raise 1.6 bln euros

ATHENSGREECE'S second-largest lender Piraeus bank will close its book-building on its share offering by Friday at the latest and is optimistic it will ...

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Psoma's journey from GREECE paying dividends for SDSU volleyball

This 16-hour flight goes from GREECE to San Diego State, where she has chosen to attend college. A vast array of emotions flows through her as she ...

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#TheJourney: ITV News follows the constant flow of refugees to the GREECE-Macedonia border

Martin Geissler writes from Gevgelija on the GREECE-Macedonia border, a crossing point where more than 10,000 refugees have passed in just 24 ...

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GREECE bailout payment hits a snag

GREECE is not as desperate for money as it was last summer when the bailout package was negotiated and it received an initial allotment of €13 billion.

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Portuguese Politics Takes The Lightening Rod From Greece ...

Portugal's minority center-right government has collapsed. It was less than two months old. Its downfall was made possible by the willingness of the Socialists, the ...

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Greece moves to pip Australia in race for Giannnou

The joint top scorer in the Greek Super League with seven goals from nine starts for high-flying Asteras Tripolis, Giannou, sparked a clamour for his inclusion in the ...

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Frontex Reveals Numbers of Migrant and Refugee Arrivals in ...

Over 540,000 migrants and refugees entered Europe through the Greek islands between January 1, 2015 and October 1, 2015, according to a latest report published

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Chef Michael Schlow talks Greek-style seafood

Boston fine-dining veteran Michael Schlow closed his Italian restaurant Via Matta in the spring and reopened it in late September as a Greek restaurant ...

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Top GREEK court to rule on Siemens settlement

A group called “GREEK Taxpayers” had appealed against the deal and the case was due to be heard by the fourth section of Greece's top ...

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Portuguese MPs force minority government to quit over austerity

Alliance of socialists and communists brings down centre-right coalition weeks after general election A surprise alliance of leftwing parties with a mission to “turn the page” on austerity has ousted Portugal’s centre-right government barely 11 days after it took power. The moderate centre-left Socialist party forged an unprecedented alliance with the smaller Communist party and the radical Left Bloc, linked to Greece’s anti-austerity Syriza party, and used a parliamentary vote on policy to force the government to resign on Tuesday. Continue reading...

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Frontex Reports 1.2 Million Illegal Border Crossings into EU in January-October

Frontex has reported a total of 1.2 million illegal border crossings at the EU's external borders in the first ten months of this year, which is four times the 282 000 recorded for the whole of 2014. More than 540 000 migrants have arrived on the Greek islands between January and October, which was 13 times more than in the same period last year. Syrian citizens continue to be the largest share of arrivals, with the number of Afghans having significantly increased in recent weeks. Despite the worsening weather conditions in October, more than 150 000 people crossed from Turkey into Greece, compared to less than 8500 in the same month last year. As a direct knock-on effect, 500 000 illegal border crossings were detected in the first ten months at the external borders in the Western Balkans, mainly on the Hungarian and Croatian borders with Serbia. Previously, migrants had arrived on one of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea and then left to the EU to travel through Macedonia and Serbia. With the construction of a fence at the Hungarian border with Serbia and tightened border controls, the migrants have started to cross the Croatian border with Serbia in record numbers since September. As part of its efforts to aid Greece and the Western Balkans to deal with the unprecedented migratory pressure, Frontex has strengthened Operation Poseidon Sea and deployed 114 officers on Lesbos and other Greek islands to support the local authorities in identifying, registering and taking fingerprints of the new arrivals. Frontex has also proposed to increase its presence at the Greek land borders with Macedonia and Albania as well as at Croatia's border with Serbia. At the same time, migratory pressure on the Central Mediterranean Sea route has decreased with the number of people crossing from Libya into Italy having dropped by a half in October. This was largely due to the shortage of boats available to smugglers, which has brought the number for the first ten months of this year down to 140 000 people, while the corresponding figure in the same period in 2014 was 155 000.

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Germany reinstates Dublin rules for Syrian refugees

Berlin plans to send more Syrian refugees back to the first EU country they entered while traveling towards Germany, officials say. The decision would not apply to Greece, one of the main entry points for the bloc.

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Alternate FM Xydakis meets with Albanian Ambassador Dashnor Dervishi (Foreign Ministry, 10 ...

The Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Nikos Xydakis, met at the Foreign Ministry today with the Albanian Ambassador to Athens, Dashnor Dervishi.A review was carried out of the whole range of bilateral relations, and ways were sought to improve Greek-Albanian cooperation both bilaterally and in the context of Albania’s European perspective.

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Has Lithuania's economy caught up with those of GREECE and Portugal?

Mr. Lazutka has said on the radio Žinių Radijas that while Lithuania has indeed caught up with GREECE and Portugal economically, it happened not ...

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Eurozone bailout chief: No haircut for Greece

Klaus Regling, who runs the eurozone's bailout fund, ruled out a nominal haircut.

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First Greece, Then Refugees, Now Turkey Represents EU Uncertainty

… bloc earlier this year.  The Greek debt crisis over the summer … floated the idea of expelling Greece from the Eurozone and led … to cross Greece's border with Macedonia near the Greek village …

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GREEK ex-police minister claims Syriza terrorism link

(Vatican Radio) A GREEK former police minister says members of the ruling leftwing Syriza party maintain ties to convicted terrorists, and have ...

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Tsipras Wants Fast EU Deal

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his ministers he wants a deal done with international lenders this week to get critical aid released. The post Tsipras Wants Fast EU Deal appeared first on The National Herald.

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Portugal left ousts centre-right government, eyes end of austerity

By Axel Bugge and Andrei Khalip LISBON (Reuters) - Left-wing parties ousted Portugal's ruling centre-right on Tuesday, in the first such move against an elected government since the end of dictatorship in 1974, paving the way for a Socialist-led administration to end years of austerity. The minority government warned that a retreat on austerity could put Portugal on a similar path to Greece while the left celebrated the chance to raise incomes that were cut during the financial crisis, cut taxes and protect social benefits. The prospect of a government backed by the far-left Communists and Left Bloc has rattled investors and prompted fears that a fragile economic recovery could be derailed in a country that exited an international bailout only last year.

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EU’s 1m refugees ‘to take a year to process’

European Asylum Support Office says 6,000 arrivals each day in Greece alone are flooding system

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Turks Gather in Thessaloniki to Commemorate Kemal Ataturk’s Death

Thousands of people have traveled from Turkey to the city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk‘s death, in his childhood home. Kemal Ataturk, who is considered the father of the modern Turkish nation, grew up in Thessaloniki after being born there in 1881 as Mustafa Kemal. Kemal died

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Home Cyprus DNA Tests Reveal that Turkish Citizen is Not GREEK Cypriot as He...

all A Turkish citizen who was transferred to Turkey following the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island, claiming that he might be a GREEK Cypriot, has ...

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GREEK Cabinet Told to Make Deal With Lenders to Receive Aid

In the first major standoff with lenders since their being re-elected to office in September, GREEK officials were told by euro zone finance ministers on ...

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150000 migrants crossed from Turkey to GREECE in Oct

More than 150,000 people made the journey from Turkey to GREECE in October, bringing the total arriving on Greek islands in the January-October ...

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Government puts plans to relax Sunday trading laws on hold – Politics live

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments at they happen, including David Cameron’s speech setting out his EU negotiation demands, his letter to Donald Tusk with his proposals and the Commons statement about them * Cameron’s EU renegotiation speech - Snap verdict * Cameron’s speech and letter to Tusk - Summary * Commons statement on renegotiation - Summary * Government puts plans to relax Sunday trading laws on hold 4.39pm GMT Here’s ANGUS ROBERTSON, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, on the government’s decision to shelve the plans to liberalise the Sunday trading laws. (See 4.08pm.) I’m delighted; this is a U-turn by the government to a proposal which may well have been detrimental to workers both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. This is yet another example of the SNP operating as the effective opposition at Westminster; we’re very pleased that they’ve pulled their plans. I think it is possible to reach safeguards and guarantees to make sure that shop workers are not worse off. We are supporters of Sunday trading, we think Sunday trading is a good thing. But it shouldn’t happen on the back of often lower paid shop staff in Scotland and throughout the rest of the UK. 4.36pm GMT Here are four blogs on David Cameron’s speech worth reading. Having committed himself to a phoney renegotiation, [Cameron] played out the charade with brio, characterising Britain as a country of cool heads and controlled passions—“natural debunkers” as he only somewhat oddly put it—and himself as its epitome: a rational, moderate type with neither the federal zeal of Europe’s integrationist intellectuals nor the spittle-flecking fury of Britain’s most isolationist Europhobes. He tacitly conceded that he would back membership, come what may; setting out a list of demands variously symbolic and uncontentious and producing a fairly gutsy case for an In vote. Mr Cameron’s most troublesome ask, the four-year benefit freeze, he downgraded from a firm request to an indication of the sort of arrangement he would like to reach. The six-page letter to Mr Tusk, published shortly after the speech, added few details but for a list of bullet points concerning Britain’s role as a non euro-zone country in an EU dominated by that currency. These were essentially reactive, responding to recent continental attempts (all unsuccessful) to secure British contributions to the Greek bailout, force European clearing houses out of London and leave Britain vulnerable to strong-arming by the euro-zone on matters of financial regulation. We heard again today from David Cameron the argument that voting to stay in Europe is all about national security. One old Europe hand said: “They’re hoping Putin will win this for them.” George Osborne deployed the argument heavily in Berlin last week. And it sounds like the government has decided to layer another message on as well. When I was Europe Minister (2002-2005) the UK removed the reference to ‘ever closer union’ (ECU) as part of the negotiations over the then draft constitutional Treaty which was voted down by the French and Dutch. No-one noticed the change of language on ECU and no Tory MP thanked me at the time. The phrase which is in the preamble and has no legal effect has not been a cause of concern between 1957 until a year or two ago. It will easy to draft a declaration that in any future Treaty, the UK can have a protocol added to the treaty saying ECU does not apply. Continue reading...

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Greek gov't confident for imminent progress on bailout actions

… euros for the recapitalization of Greece's banking sector respectively … smoothly and the recapitalization of Greek banks will have been concluded … in their attempt to reach Greece in boats provided by smugglers …

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A treasure trove of 'ancient' archaeology tucked away in Gaza

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Nafez Abed's cramped workroom is filled with sculptures and mosaics with patterns from the Byzantine, Greek and Roman periods. It is an emporium of Middle Eastern antiquity tucked away in Gaza. Abed, 55, is a self-taught archaeologist, preserver and restorer who crafts reproductions of ancient pieces he finds or has seen in museums.

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Paisley couple step in to help refugees on tiny GREEK island

Former teachers Angela McEwan and Dimitri Dunbar spent two weeks on the tiny GREEK island of Leros helping Syrian refugees landing off boats from ...

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Greece: €2 Billion Bailout Payment Delayed, Will GREEK Bank Stocks Disappear?

European creditors have delayed a €2 billion ($2.14 billion) payment due to Greece as part the new €86 billion bailout as the indebted nation and its ...

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GREEK PM: Agreements on Reforms to be Made During the Week

tsipras GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras claimed that the GREEK government will legislate all the necessary prior actions that will greenlight the ...

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Syriza government in GREECE backs EU attack on refugees

However, the Syriza government fears that the EU would impose even harsher sanctions on GREECE for opening the border and leave the country to ...

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Eurozone could make payment to GREECE next week – Schaeuble

FXStreet (Mumbai) - German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, while speaking at the finance ministers meeting, said the Eurozone is aiming to ...

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Yanis Varoufakis is back: the former GREEK finance minister on his aim is to cause mischief in Europe

After speeding away from the GREEK crisis on the back of a motorbike this summer, Yanis Varoufakis is back. He tells Anne McElvoy about being a ...

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345 Migreants Found on Luxury Yacht Off GREEK Island of Lesbos

Hundreds of migrants were found aboard a luxury yacht after paying up to $2,500 each for the voyage to Europe. The 100-foot vessel — which had a ...

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The Latest: 27 police hurt in clashes at Calais migrant camp

CALAIS, France (AP) — The latest news as tens of thousands of people fleeing war or poverty make their way across Europe. All times local. 3:57 p.m. Austria's chancellor says establishing controls on the borders of Italy and Greece must be a priority to stem the influx of migrants into the EU. Werner Faymann says border controls inside the EU are less effective because refugee flows can "only be shifted" once the refugees have traveled thousands of kilometers (miles) in hopes of a safe haven. Faymann on Tuesday also urged quick completion of an agreement with Turkey offering Ankara billions of euros in aid for incentives to migrants to remain in Turkey instead of leaving for the EU. He said making sure that people fleeing war and hardship from regions in Asia and the Mideast can survive in Turkey is the "only sensible way." 3:10 p.m. Greek authorities say more than 10,000 refugees and economic migrants have crossed from Greece into Macedonia since Monday morning, on their long trek toward wealthier western and northern European countries. Macedonian border police were letting groups of 50 across at regular intervals Tuesday. But large bottlenecks formed due to increased flows toward the border crossing at Idomeni after migrants were stranded on the Greek islands for days by a ferry strike. On Monday, about 2,000 people who were fed up with waiting up to 11 hours for their turn forced their way into Macedonia, but no injuries were reported. Nearly all the migrants at Idomeni reached the Greek islands in frail boats from Turkey, paying large sums to smuggling gangs. On Monday, port authorities on the eastern island of Lesbos, where most migrants arrive, rescued 345 people who had been crammed into a luxury cruiser that ran aground just offshore. ___ 2:50 p.m. Slovenia's prime minister says that "in the next few days" the country will start building razor-wire fences on the border with Croatia to stem the flow of migrants, but not to stop it entirely. Prime Minister Miro Cerar said Tuesday that "at this moment about 30,000 immigrants are on their way toward Slovenia." Slovenian officials have said a fence could be used to direct the refugee flow, not close the 670-kilometer (400 mile) border as was the case in Hungary. Cerar has said previously that his small Alpine nation was being overwhelmed by the flow of refugees. Nearly 170,000 migrants crossed Slovenia since mid-October when Hungary closed its border with Croatia and the flow was redirected to Slovenia. ___ 2:35 p.m. European Union border control agency Frontex says more than 540,000 migrants arrived on the Greek islands in the first 10 months of the year, 13 times more than in the same period of 2014. The Warsaw-based agency said Tuesday that more than 150,000 people made the journey from Turkey to Greece in October alone despite worsening weather conditions. That compares to 8,500 in October 2014. Meanwhile, the numbers of people trying to reach Europe from Libya has been falling due to a shortage of boats available to smugglers. That number was 8,500 in October, half of the number that made the trip in October of the previous year. The total for the year so far is 140,000 compared to 155,000 for all of 2014. ___ 11:55 a.m. Riot police and migrants camped near the French port of Calais have clashed in overnight violence that aid workers say reflects the growing frustration of refugees' inability to smuggle themselves aboard trucks and trains bound for Britain. Calais police say officers monitoring the 6,000-resident camp east of the port city were pelted with rocks after midnight Monday and again Tuesday as migrants tried to block a neighboring highway that leads to the main ferry terminal. They say 27 officers have suffered minor injuries — mainly bruises — including 11 early Tuesday. Aid workers said police fired tear gas canisters at rock-throwing crowds on the highway and in the camp. Migrants said sparks and heat from some canisters caused scorch damage to tents, but no serious injuries were reported. Join the conversation about this story »

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ESM Managing Director on GREECE: "There is no need for a nominal haircut"

On 10 November Managing Director Klaus Regling comes to the Parliament to discuss the new financial assistance programme for GREECE with the ...

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Syrian Sisters Swim from Turkey to Greece and Now Train in Germany

In August, Syrian sisters Sarah and Ysra Mardini swam for three hours between a coast of Turkey to the Greek island of Lesvos seeking asylum. Today, they practice swimming at a Berlin swimming pool that was built for the city’s 1936 Olympics. According to an AP report, the Mardini sisters were swimming stars in their

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Greece and Creditors at Loggerheads Again; Troika Wants ...

Greece and its lenders are again at odds over the latest "bailout" funds, which is €2 billion that was scheduled to be approved for release by the famed Eurobgroup ...

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Helen GREEK Food and Wine Presents Wonderful Food Both Traditional and Not

It's a rare delight when a restaurant under-promises and over-delivers on its food. At Helen GREEK Food and Wine, what arrives on the plate often ...

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Schaeuble says wants 10 bln eur for GREEK banks paid by next week

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday he wants the eurozone to pay out 10 billion euros ($10.73 billion) to Greece for the ...

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Can social enterprise help fix the Greek crisis?

Despite youth unemployment at 53%, Greece’s young entrepreneurs face state obstacles and hostility Myrto Papadogeorgou and her business partner Nikos Konstantinou chose not to join the exodus of 200,000 people from Greece over the past five years. Instead they’ve stayed, hoping to help drag their country out of crisis. For them, and many other young Greeks, starting a social enterprise has become a way to capitalise on their frustrations in the face of 52% youth unemployment. But Papadogeorgou and Konstantinou have hit a dead end. After four years unsuccessfully applying for funding from organisations at home and abroad for City of Errors, an interactive platform they’ve developed that encourages users to fix their city’s problems, the defeated pair have stopped trying. Now they talk about leaving Greece. Continue reading...

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