Migrants and refugees are piling up at muddy camp near the closed Greece-Macedonia border as European officials say a well-trodden route through the Balkans is no longer available
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com |
How the world sees Greece
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Migrants Stuck at Closed Borders, Others Seeking New Routes
Five NATO ships in Aegean migrant mission
[NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) is welcomed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker prior to a meeting on NATO's mission in Aegean Sea, at the European Commission in Brussels on March 10, 2016]NATO now has five ships taking part in an unprecedented naval mission in the Aegean Sea to tackle people smugglers taking migrants from Turkey to Greece, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Despite closing of Balkans migrant route, many still arrive in Greece
"This decision maybe will be fair for the EU, but not fair for us, not for the people who came here" The controversial closing of the Balkans route for migrants heading to Europe is not putting off thousands still arriving in Greece. Macedonian officials ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com |
EU Says Member States 'Must Take 6,000 Refugees a Month from Greece, Italy'
The European Union on Thursday urged member states to dramatically up their game and admit 6,000 refugees a month from overstretched Greece and Italy in order to revive flagging efforts to solve the migration crisis. The EU adopted a scheme in September to ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.naharnet.com |
Migrant numbers in Greece abruptly rise – government official
The number of migrants in Greece has abruptly risen in the last 48 hours, a government official said on Thursday (March 10) as shiploads continue to arrive from Turkey. In the last 24 hours more than 2,300 migrants and refugees crossed to Greece by sea ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT citizentv.co.ke |
Migrant crisis: Ai Weiwei hits out at European human rights abuse in Greek border camps
Artist and activist Ai Weiwei visited the Greek border camp of Idomeni on 9 March. Ai walked around the makeshift camp speaking with the migrants, seeing for himself the appalling conditions they have to brave as they wait to cross over to Macedonia and continue their trek northwards to wealthier European states. Some 14,000 people are stranded there after new border restrictions were imposed along the Balkan migration route.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Migrant crisis: Misery builds in GREEK transit camp after migrant route sealed
(CNN) -- As many as 14,000 migrants are stranded in dire conditions in a muddy transit camp on the GREEK border after Macedonia finally closed its ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.kpax.com |
EU to ease Greece migrant buildup, wrestles Turkey deal
[Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shakes hands with European Council President Donald Tusk after a news conference at the end of a EU-Turkey summit in Brussels]By Gabriela Baczynska and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union aims to rehouse thousands of asylum-seekers from Greece in the coming months, officials said on Thursday as EU ministers wrestled with concerns about the legality of a new plan to force migrants back to Turkey. Dimitris Avramopoulos, the member of the executive European Commission who handles migration, told reporters at a meeting of national interior ministers that at least 6,000 people a month should be relocated to other member states under a scheme which has moved only about 900 hundred people so far. Some 35,000 people have been stranded in Greece since Austria and states on the route to Germany began closing borders, barring access to migrants hoping to follow more than a million who reached northern Europe last year.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Children fall ill in Greece's disease-stricken migrant camp where 14k are stranded
Heavy rain at the Idomeni migrant camp in Greece close to the border with Macedonia has turned the ground into a quagmire with infections, as well as fever and diarrhoea rife among children.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk |
Migrants in Macedonia are CUTTING HOLES in fence on Greece border to get into Europe
Determined migrants are cutting holes in the fence on the Greece-Macedonia border and sneaking through in groups of 10, a border guard has revealed, speaking to MailOnline.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk |
German And Greek Leaders Blast Balkans Nations For Closing Migrant Route
(AFP) – The German and Greek leaders blasted Balkan countries for shutting their borders to migrants ahead of an EU ministers meeting Thursday, with Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras warning that the EU “has no future if it goes on like that”. Germany’s ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.breitbart.com |
EU aims to ease Greece migrant buildup
The European Union aims to rehouse thousands of asylum seekers from Greece in the coming months, officials have said as EU ministers wrestled with concerns about the legality of a new plan to force migrants back to Turkey. Dimitris Avramopoulos, the member ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sbs.com.au |
Greece battles to win back tourists amid migrant crisis
Kos, a sun-drenched tourist destination in the South Aegean, saw the arrival of over 23,000 migrants last year and images of violent clashes with the police spread around the world, with the island's mayor warning of bloodshed and Britain's Daily Mail ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
Macedonia eyes joining NATO in wake of migrant crisis
[People warm themselves around a bonfire among tents at a migrant and refugee makeshift camp near the village of Tabanovce at the Macedonian-Serbian border, on March 9, 2016]Macedonia Defence Minister Zoran Jolevski on Thursday said he hoped his country's "responsible" attitude to the migrant crisis would help accelerate its entry into NATO, something Greece has blocked until now.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Deputy FM Mardas meets with Tomas Boček, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of ...
The Deputy Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations, Dimitris Mardas, met at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, 9 March, with Tomas Boček, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on refugee and migration issues.The discussion, which took place in an excellent atmosphere, focused on the refugee/migration crisis and the potential for cooperation between Greece and the Council of Europe on matters of infrastructure and exchange of know-how.Mr. Mardas referred to the huge effort being made by the Greek authorities to deal with the refugee/migration crisis, highlighting the role of civil society and specialized international organizations....
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.mfa.gr |
OECD Report For Greece Points to Increasing Poverty and Inequality Levels But Sees Signs of Recovery
Spearheading economic growth and promoting investments to create jobs, improving the stability of public finances and providing an effective social safety net are crucial to help Greece recover from its six-year old economic crisis, underscores the latest report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which was presented to the Greek Prime Minister
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
GREEK MEP thrown out of EU parliament over racist Turkey remarks
Synadinos in GREEK described Turks as "spiritual barbarians, impious, cheaters and dirty," Schulz said. Synadinos went on with his racist remarks and ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailysabah.com |
Migrants scramble for food, firewood at Greek tent city
[Migrants try to get products from a truck at a makeshift camp on the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni]No one has crossed into Macedonia this week, Greek authorities say, and at least 12,000 people are stranded in squalid conditions in the camp - nearly eight times its capacity. "My daughter and my wife are crying all the time for two days," said 42-year-old Magir Asfour, who fled fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Report: Creditors Demand Wholesale Reforms, Cuts to Greek Pension System
Greece’s institutional creditors want wholesale changes leading to an overall decrease in the money the Greek state forks out on a yearly basis for pensions and social security benefits, the Athens financial daily “Naftemporiki” reported on Thursday, as representatives of the so-called “quartet” returned to the country in a bid to conclude a long-delayed first […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
New $125K One57 rental has ties to Greek shipping family
Billionaires’ Row has a pricey new rental, courtesy of a Greek shipping family. The 4,483-square-foot pad hit the market at 157 West 57th Street Wednesday with an asking rent of $120,000 a month, making it the third most expensive non-hotel rental ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT therealdeal.com |
Greece says it has deported 81 economic migrants from Pakistan and north Africa back to Turkey
BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the continuing issues of mass migration to Europe (all times local). 6:30 p.m. Greece says it has deported 81 economic migrants from Pakistan and north Africa back to Turkey. A Greek police statement released Thursday reports ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.usnews.com |
The Latest: Greece deports 81 economic migrants to Turkey
BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the continuing issues of mass migration to Europe (all times local). 6:30 p.m. Greece says it has deported 81 economic migrants from Pakistan and north Africa back to Turkey. A Greek police statement released Thursday reports ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT newsok.com |
Greek banks On the front line
… , such as National Bank of Greece’s Turkish subsidiary, Finansbank. Governance … withhold the next instalment of Greece’s bail-out, leaving the government … Governance Innovation, a research institute. Greek banks have around €202 billion …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
Greek agriculture minister: EU must change stance on trade agreements
… Greece’s editor-in-chief Sarantis Michalopoulos. What is the position of the Greek … level, the development of bilateral Greece – Russia relations can contribute towards … Mr. Kassimis [Secretary General of Greece’s Ministry of Agriculture] with …
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First Look at Jody Adams’ Saloniki Greek
If you’ve been eating more tzatziki around Boston these days, you’re not alone. Mediterranean cuisine is having a moment, with Committee, Doretta Taverna, Tahaza Hummus Kitchen, Pelekasis, and other herbaceous concepts joining the likes of Sarma and ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bostonmagazine.com |
Taking Action Against Austerity, Greek Activists Block Home Foreclosures
Once again, Greece is in the throes of domestic unrest. Despite the fact that global solidarity movements and the mainstream media have seemingly forgotten about Greece following last July's referendum, in recent weeks, Greeks have been taking action.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.truth-out.org |
The necessity of culture
THE Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome is a sad place: fenced off and closed to visitors. In most other countries this huge tomb in the city centre would be a treasured national monument. Yet for years the only use Romans made of it was to take their dogs to relieve themselves in the encircling weeds. The latest plans to restore it were approved in 2007. But it was only last month that some of the funding was set aside. With a new mayor due to be elected soon, the money might yet be diverted elsewhere. The plight of the final resting place of Rome’s first emperor illustrates an irony. The European states with the greatest ancient cultural heritage, Italy and Greece, are those whose governments spend least on the preservation of that heritage and promotion of the arts. In 2013 spending on culture accounted for 0.2% of public expenditure in Greece, the lowest share of any EU country, and a measly 0.6% in Italy, the second-lowest, jointly with Portugal and Britain. Culture’s most avid patrons were the Renaissance men and women of the government of Latvia, who gave it 3.2% of their budget. The parsimony of Italy and Greece is partly connected...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.economist.com |
Preserving South Carolina’s Greek Revival Ruins with 3D Modeling
Sheldon Church would be at home in a Caspar David Friedrich painting, its Greek Temple–style ruins crumbling in the shadows of moss-laden oaks like an apparition of Romanticism. But it’s not on some forlorn hill in Europe; it’s nestled in South ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT hyperallergic.com |
Four migrants, baby drown on way to Greece
Zeid used Thursday's broad-ranging speech to chronicle concerns on issues including some 300 reported police killings of African-Americans in the United States past year; "signals" that Russian Federation wants to close the U.N. human rights office there ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT thevillagessuntimes.com |
A hacker's typo foiled a billion dollar bank heist
[New York Federal Reserve Bank]REUTERS/Brendan McDermid A spelling mistake in an online bank transfer instruction helped prevent a nearly $1 billion heist last month involving the Bangladesh central bank and the New York Fed, banking officials said. Unknown hackers still managed to get away with about $80 million, one of the largest known bank thefts in history. The hackers breached Bangladesh Bank's systems and stole its credentials for payment transfers, two senior officials at the bank said. They then bombarded the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with nearly three dozen requests to move money from the Bangladesh Bank's account there to entities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the officials said. Four requests to transfer a total of about $81 million to the Philippines went through, but a fifth, for $20 million, to a Sri Lankan non-profit organisation was held up because the hackers misspelled the name of the NGO, Shalika Foundation. Hackers misspelled "foundation" in the NGO's name as "fandation", prompting a routing bank, Deutsche Bank, to seek clarification from the Bangladesh central bank, which stopped the transaction, one of the officials said. There is no NGO under the name of Shalika Foundation in the list of registered Sri Lankan non-profits. Reuters could not immediately find contact information for the organization. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. [Deutsche Bank]REUTERS/Brendan McDermidAt the same time, the unusually high number of payment instructions and the transfer requests to private entities - as opposed to other banks - raised suspicions at the Fed, which also alerted the Bangladeshis, the officials said. The details of how the hacking came to light and was stopped before it did more damage have not been previously reported. Bangladesh Bank has billions of dollars in a current account with the Fed, which it uses for international settlements. The transactions that were stopped totalled $850-$870 million, one of the officials said. Last year, Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab said a multinational gang of cyber criminals had stolen as much as $1 billion from as many as 100 financial institutions around the world in about two years. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's son Qusay took $1 billion from Iraq's central bank on the orders of his father on the day before coalition forces began bombing the country in 2003, American and Iraqi officials have said. In 2007, guards at the Dar Es Salaam bank in Baghdad made off with $282 million. MONEY RECOVERED [bangladesh]REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Bangladesh Bank has said it has recovered some of the money that was stolen, and is working with anti-money laundering authorities in the Philippines to try to recover the rest. A bank spokesman could not be reached for comment late on Thursday. The recovered funds refer to the Sri Lanka transfer, which was stopped, one of the officials said. Initially, the Sri Lankan transaction reached Pan Asia Banking Corp, which went back to Deutsche Bank for more verification because of the unusually large size of the payment, a Pan Asia official said. "The transaction was too large for a country like us," the official said. "Then (Deutsche) came back and said it was a suspect transaction." A Pan Asia spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. The dizzying, global reach of the heist underscores the growing threat of cyber crime and how hackers can find weak links in even the most secure computer networks. More than a month after the attack, Bangladeshi officials are scrambling to trace the money, shore up security and identify weaknesses in their systems. They said there is little hope of ever catching the hackers, and it could take months before the money is recovered, if at all. Security experts said the perpetrators had deep knowledge of the Bangladeshi institution's internal workings, likely gained by spying on bank workers. The Bangladesh government, meanwhile, is blaming the Fed for not stopping the transactions earlier. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told reporters on Tuesday that the country may resort to suing the Fed to recover the money. "The Fed must take responsibility," he said. The New York Fed has said its systems were not breached, and it has been working with the Bangladesh central bank since the incident occurred. The hacking of Bangladesh Bank happened sometime between Feb. 4-5, over the Bangladeshi weekend, which falls on a Friday, the officials said. The bank's offices were shut. Initially, the central bank was not sure if its system had been breached, but cyber security experts brought in to investigate found hacker "footprints" that suggested the system had been compromised, the officials said. These experts could also tell that the attack originated from outside Bangladesh, they said, adding the bank is looking into how they got into the system and an internal investigation is ongoing. The bank suspects money sent to the Philippines was further diverted to casinos there, the officials said. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, which oversees the gaming industry, said it has launched an investigation. The country's anti-money laundering authority is also working on the case. _(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in BOSTON, Jonathan Spicer in NEW YORK, Farah Master in HONG KONG and Shihar Aneez in COLOMBO; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Raju Gopalakrishnan)_ NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster
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Best Greek Pizza, Pizza Palace, Old Saybrook
Tucked away in a little building off Route 1 in Old Saybrook is a family business that has been making pizza in their own special way since 1977, which has not gone unnoticed. The Pizza Palace received the most votes for the best Greek pizza on the Shoreline.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.shorelinetimes.com |
Turkey will not take back refugees already on GREEK islands, says Turkish minister
Turkey will not readmit refugees and migrants who are already on GREEK islands, Turkish EU minister Volkan Bozkir said on Thursday, the country's ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Greek PM and OECD Secretary-General Expect Debt Relief Will Ensue Following Completion of Bailout Review
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated one more time that this is the year when Greece will leave the crisis behind in a joint press conference with Secretary-General of Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, following their meeting at the Maximos mansion. The facts support this claim, said the prime minister, referring
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Spiegel: Evacuation of Idomeni Camp a Matter of Time
The Greek government has decided on the evacuation of the refugee camp of Idomeni and the transfer of people stranded there to migrant accommodation centers once more become available, according to Spiegel Online. There are some 13,000 refugees and migrants camped in Idomeni right now, stuck in horrendous conditions, after the “Balkan route” was shut
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
PAOK Owner Savvidis Disparaged by Rival Olympiacos as ‘Guest’ in Greece
The latest furor to rock Greece’s beleaguered first division football (soccer) league came on Wednesday from “out of left field” in fact, after the Olympiacos Piraeus side called PAOK Thessaloniki owner Ivan Savvidis a “guest” in the country during a particularly acrimonious meeting of league owners earlier in the week. The south Russia-based businessman is […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Greek Flag-raising in Philadelphia; Independence Day Parade With Evzones
A Greek flag-raising ceremony will be held in Philadelphia’s historic City Hall on April 15, an initiative spearheaded by the Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of Philadelphia & Greater Delaware in cooperation with the philhellene mayor of the city of “Brotherly Love”, Jim Kenney. The flag-raising ceremony comes ahead of a weekend of events in Philadelphia […]
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Nicholls’ Greek community looks forward to Greek Week 2016
For one week of the year, sororities and fraternities at Nicholls State University come together and celebrate the spirit of being a Greek member and demonstrate their passion for scholarship, service, leadership and brotherhood/sisterhood. Senior Ian ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT thenichollsworth.com |
The Latest: US official visits crowded Greek refugee camp
BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the continuing issues of mass migration to Europe (all times local). 4:35 p.m. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has toured the overcrowded refugee camp at the Idomeni crossing on Greece's northern border with ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT townhall.com |
Greece to Seek Break in Debt Repayments to Creditors
Greece will seek a break in bailout debt payments as part of negotiations with creditors expected in the spring
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com |
Greece considers Trans Adriatic Pipeline important for its energy security
… security Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Greece considers Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP … ’s meeting with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, who expressed Greece’s commitment to its obligations on TAP. Greek media reports …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
Greece to Donald Tusk: ‘Don’t thank the Balkans’
Border closings still a sore subject for several EU countries.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.politico.eu |
Up to 15000 refugees on GREEK-Macedonia border urgently need support, says Catholic charity
Between 13,000 and 15,000 refugees stuck at the GREEK-Macedonian border are living in dire conditions, Catholic charity CAFOD has warned.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thetablet.co.uk |
Greece guest of honor at Riyadh book fair
(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 10 - The International Book Fair of Riyadh opened on Thursday in the Saudi capital. Inaugurating the event - which until March 19 will be hosting about 500 Saudi and foreign publishers - was Culture Minister Adel Al-Toraifi.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ansamed.info |
An American at Davis Cup in Oz 2016 Part II
[2016-03-07-1457344947-5080374-IsnerforPresident1.jpg] In Part I of An American at Davis Cup in Oz 2016, I reviewed the history of the Davis Cup, the structure of the team matches and the outcome of this first round tie in the international division between the U.S. and Australia at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne. The Americans won 3-1. But now for some personal stuff at this Cup from yours truly: Kooyong was a wonderful choice because much tennis history took place at Kooyong. Like Forest Hills which preceded Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens for 70 years, Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club hosted the Australian nationals for a similar period before Rod Laver Stadium was built. The Kooyong stadium holds only about 8,500 spectators. Kooyong allowed for a much more intimate spectator environment to watch the drama close up compared to either good Laver or terrible Arthur Ashe stadium. A Davis Cup is drama -- at least for tennis. Unlike tournament matches where tennis etiquette restricts the amount of cheering or partisanship, virtually anything can be yelled or acted out between points at Davis Cup. The nationalistic aspects of the matches bring out the best and sometimes worst in the crowd. The visiting team often has to endure screams and shouts against them -- for example the crowd cheering the visiting players' double faults. This would be considered very, very bad form in a regular amateur or professional tennis match -- but is okay at Davis Cup. At Kooyong, an organized cheering section of about 30 people all dressed in yellow (the Australian color) tee shirts shouted out coordinated cheers and songs between and just before points would begin. They also had a trumpet, trombone and snare drum accompany the cheers as well. They sounded like a down and out U.S. college marching band. But they were very funny and the crowd loved them. I'm not as certain if the American players felt the same. Besides the opportunity to really let go at a tennis match, I felt it my patriotic duty as an American living in Melbourne, to go out and support the boys playing the Australians on their home turf (literally). Little did I know that I would be one of ten visually or vocally visible Americans rooting for the U.S.A. in a crowd of eight thousand five hundred very excited, partisan Aussies. I, of course, thought of bringing an American flag. I have an American flag that I keep for July 4th at my Piedmont home but didn't think to bring it with me to Oz. I thought perhaps I might be able to buy a flag at Kooyong (actually they were giving away Australian flags for free but there were no American flags). But then I got a better idea. I would make a sign. Again signs and banners are permitted, even encouraged with Davis Cup play. But what would the sign say? "Go USA!"? I thought I could do better. I don't know when it hit me but probably all the primary stuff going on in the States had something to do with my state of mind when I came up with "Isner for President" Of course I knew Isner was only in his mid-twenties and too young to be the President, but I thought it would be funny, topical and show support for him. I decided, the other side of the sign would say "Sock for President" so I could hold either side depending on which match was going on. I was able to print out 500 point colored letters from my printer and stick them appropriately on a thicker sheet of flexible poster board using scotch tape. I thought the sign looked pretty good. But I had no clue as to the reaction the sign would generate at Kooyong. I thought there'd be other signs. Mine turned out to be the only one. Many people (all Australian) spontaneously came up to me primarily to comment about their unhappiness and disgust about the Trump phenomenon. They asked me was it possible he could win the presidency. What were Hillary's chances? I got a few comments regarding a general disappointment about the Obama years. The Australians had hoped for more. So did I. But I tried to explain to them how the checks and balances in the U.S. government don't allow for much change unless a super majority of sixty senators are in agreement to end a filibuster. As mentioned, I thought there'd be many more Americans present in their supporting their countrymen (likely thousands of Americans live in Melbourne alone). Five were collected in a group that managed some reasonable counter cheers to those of the far more numerous Aussies. Needless to say, my sign stood out, as did my "C'mon John!" "One more, Jack. You can do it!" stentorian encouragements from the stands. On the second day, I eschewed the sign. I had considered "Twins for President" but felt challenged by the renewed labor and my printer had run out of colored ink. Instead I endeavored to find some American flags in Melbourne on a Saturday -- which wasn't easy. The closest flag stores were a 30-minute car ride into the suburbs and were closed on Saturday. I had contacted the U.S. Consulate which was close to my house. They were sympathetic but could not offer me any American flags to buy or borrow. They generally only had extra flags for the Fourth of July. In my cyber search for an American flag in Melbourne, I encountered an internet chat between someone looking for a Greek flag and a respondent who suggested a Greek food store. A light bulb went off in my head. I remembered hearing of an American food store in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin (only 20 minutes away). They were open on Saturday. I called up USA Food and indeed they had a couple of small to medium sized American flags for sale. I hurried down before the beginning of the Saturday doubles match and picked up two flags (and a package of Aunt Jemima Original Pancake Mix and a bottle of pure maple syrup -- items unobtainable elsewhere in Melbourne). My flags came in handy in my cheering during the most dramatic match, the critical and crucial doubles rubber which the Bryan twins won. They are identical except that Mike plays with a right-handed forehand and Bob is a lefty -- I had to look this up on Safari on my phone at the match because I couldn't shout out individual cheers without knowing who was who. I can't imagine what it's like playing doubles against two guys who are mirror images of each other. The biggest surprise for me was on Sunday, the day the tie was to be decided. I taped the two flags to my Isner for President/Sock for President sign. They were each going to be playing the reverse singles: Isner going first against Tomic. I also hand wrote in on both sides, "Trump can't serve." and "Trump double-faults." I must acknowledge, Denise, my wife, came up with the second tennis double-entendre. I was able to park close to the stadium. The minute I moved away from my car, someone wanted to photograph the sign (and me). I was stopped repeatedly on the short walk to the stadium with people who wanted a picture of the sign -- many to send to relatives living (and voting) in America. Virtually all the Aussies were anti-Trump. Only one relatively drunk 20-something bogan type (a true bogan wouldn't come to the Davis Cup) came up to me somewhat confrontationally and told me that he would vote for Trump if he ran in Australia. If you're a regular reader of the Letter you would know that a bogan is a certain type of white Australian -- an American red neck would come closest in meaning. I had probably between thirty and forty photos taken overall. A TV cameraman said they were glad to have my sign to shoot because there were so few visual elements of American resistance and support in the crowd. My good tennis playing Aussie buddy, Hayden, later confirmed that the sign was included in the sports highlights of the Cup coverage on Channel 7 Melbourne News. But my greatest thrill of the day was meeting Isner and Jim Courier as they were walking from the stadium court to the clubhouse. I happen to be talking to my friend, another American, Karen, when she pointed out to me they were walking by. Isner is very hard to miss because he's six foot six (198 centimeters). Anyway, I turned so they could see my sign. They signaled me to come over and I congratulated Isner for a great match. He thanked me and shook my hand. Courier, a former number one in the world and the current coach of the American team, smiled at my sign. Karen snapped the picture that documented this encounter I will never forget. [2016-03-07-1457345047-8969362-IsnerDiller1.jpg] But now, I want to get serious for a moment about the primary elections. I have mentioned that Denise and I feel so lucky that we've been 7000 miles away from the presidential marathon madness. Australian media generally filters our news from the U.S, though both of us read _The New York Times_ on line regularly. The Trump madness and even the Sanders success reflect the electorate's total disenchantment and anger. The two mainstream parties have failed to change virtually anything, as income and standard of living disparities between the rich and middle class have grown and grown. Trump's success is built on an exploitation of people's fears and greed -- a strategy that the Republican Party has successfully employed for thirty-five years. Like an out of control rich family in therapy (I have had some experience with those situations) ultimately things spin out of control with behavior that can no longer be accepted or hidden. I read that a columnist in the _Washington Post _could now better appreciate how the German people elected Hitler. Trump raising his right arm as he asks others to do the same in a pledge of fealty to his campaign reminds me of similar fascistic salutes of the 1920's to 1940's. It's a good time to be in Oz. We are coming back in July so we will get to vote. It's a sad time for America. The whole world is watching. I sincerely hope our country can heal after this election is over. I almost forgot our fortnightly Australian language class. Here we go: * puggle: a baby echidna or platypus (this wasn't easy for me to confirm because most of the online entries were for a type of dog) but far down at the bottom of the page was small print that sent me to a page that confirmed puggle is a legitimate Australian word * wagging: slang for "cutting school" (I noticed a number of teenagers at the Davis Cup and asking them if they were "playing hookey" drew a blank look. One parent who had lived in America said, "Oh you mean wagging") -- confirmed online * tip: (covered before in another Letter) is a garbage dump or landfill * to nobble: (British) to disable a racehorse by drugging ("The grass courts...was never going to be so effective in nobbling the Bryans.") * sparkie: an electrician * journo: a journalist That's all for this Letter. Until next time. -- 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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Mario Draghi holds press conference after ECB cuts interest rates and boosts QE
Mario Draghi has thrown the kitchen sink at the eurozone, by slashing the headline interest rate to zero and increasing the bank’s money-printing programme * ECB slashes growth and inflation forecasts * ECB press conference underway <- highlights start here * ECB shocks markets with new stimulus <- how the news broke * Summary: ECB cuts rates and boosts QE 3.12pm GMT There is a “strong argument” that the ECB has fired its bazooka today, says CHRISTOPHER VECCHIO, currency analyst at DAILYFX. He adds that the new measures to boost bank lending should help the eurozone’s struggling periphery: Considering that only four Euro-Zone countries are on the wrong side of the net-borrowing/lending equation vis-à-vis the European Central Bank and National Central Banks (per Bank of Spain and Wall Street Journal), these new measures are most likely going to help reduce financial credit risk in Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal more than anywhere else.” 3.08pm GMT Bank shares are soaring following the news that the ECB will give them ultra-cheap loans: peripheral banks...greek, spanish, italian...still outperforming as @ecb expands bond buying&includes corporate debt pic.twitter.com/rNc9AVV9Zp Continue reading...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
Migrant crisis: Balkans route closed
Macedonia closed its border with Greece to migrants Wednesday, leaving more than 13,000 desperate people stranded on the other side of the frontier and sealing shut the main migration route to Western Europe.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT da.feedsportal.com |
Desperate times, desperate measures
A DEAL born of political desperation and fraught with practical, legal and ethical difficulties. That would seem to be a fair description of the agreement hammered out between Germany and Turkey to tackle the refugee crisis, which was endorsed by European Union leaders and Turkey’s beaming prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, on March 7th. Last year 1.2m people entered Europe from Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Without concerted action at least as many are expected to try to follow them this year. The idea behind the agreement is to smash the business model of the people-smugglers. Any migrants landing on a Greek island after making the short but perilous voyage across the Aegean Sea will automatically be sent back to Turkey, where they will be put at the back of the queue of those seeking asylum. To relieve the pressure on Turkey, which has taken in 2.7m refugees since Syria’s civil war began five years ago, for each Syrian returned another whose asylum application has been properly processed will be allowed to enter the EU under an official resettlement scheme. If all goes to plan, migrants may be more reluctant to hand over their life savings to...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.economist.com |
UN questions legality of EU-Turkey migrant deal
The United Nations' human rights chief voiced alarm Thursday over a draft deal between the EU and Ankara that could see "illegal" collective expulsions of migrants from Greece to Turkey.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.france24.com |
Chobani introducing Greek yogurt dips, drinks to expand segment growth potential
Chobani will launch a line of Greek yogurt-based savory dips followed by Greek yogurt-based drinks this summer. Greek yogurt has upturned the breakfast foods market, but as sales growth has slowed overall, Chobani is looking to eating occasions beyond ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.fooddive.com |
Refugee Conditions In Greece Are About To Get Much, Much Worse
PIRAEUS, Greece -- Piraeus, the port near Athens well known to tourists for its ferries to Greece’s picturesque islands in the Aegean Sea, has in the past month turned into one of the country’s largest makeshift shelters for different kinds of ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
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