Europe faces more than a Greek tragedy

Debt crises have distracted from the structural flaws and political challenges that imperil the euro

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Russian PM Medvedev: ‘Greece Is an Important Partner’

“Russia sees Greece as a very important partner with potential,” said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as he welcomed his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras at the government’s Reception Hall in Moscow on Thursday. Speaking to Tsipras, Medvedev expressed optimism that “apart from the political parameter of your visit, I hope there will be other [practical] results” and called on him to present the open bilateral issues of economic cooperation between the two countries, which were discussed between the delegations. On his part, Tsipras called his meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as “very significant,” saying that the base has been set for restarting the relations between the two countries. He also noted those relations “have very deep roots of course” as the feelings of friendship and brotherhood between the two peoples are a given. “However, it was necessary to give a new push to those relations by discussing a number of sectors, like energy, trade, tourism and culture,” the Greek Premier said, noting that “we are certain and happy because this effort will be successful and that on 2016 we will organize an excellent Greek-Russian year that will benefit both countries and people, especially in deepening our relations.” Tsipras also added that improved relations between Greece and Russia will also create the conditions for deeper and more stable relations in the region. (Source: ANA-MPA)

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Holy Friday Traditions Across Greece

In Good Friday, millions of Orthodox Christians commemorate the events leading up to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. For the Greek Orthodox Church, Good Friday is a day of mourning. The drama of Jesus Christ’s death is followed with great devoutness. The icon of Jesus is taken off the cross, wrapped in linen and put it in the Epitaph, symbolizing his tomb. Late at night, the Epitaph is carried across every Greek town, village or neighborhood, followed by a procession of faithful. In some occasions, a band or choir follows the procession and plays or sings solemn music to express people’s sorrow. The Epitaph is followed by cantors, clergy members, women bearing myrrh and altar boys carrying the liturgical fans. Throughout the procession, people scatter flowers and perfume on the Epitaph, while holding lit candles in their hands. In Athens, women used to clean the streets just before the Epitaph procession passed by and as soon as the procession arrived, they would stand at their doors holding a roof tile containing a small piece of charcoal and incense. Meanwhile, on the evening of Good Friday, in Nafpaktos, western Greece, the crowd, both locals and visitors, follows the Epitaph procession, passing through the port where locals light torches and place them across the castle wall. Torches are also placed in the middle of the port, forming a large cross and offering a unique and spectacular spectacle to the people following the procession. Meanwhile, several people in Greece drink vinegar on Good Friday, while in Crete locals boil snails and drink their juice, which is very bitter. In Koroni, Peloponnese, people do not eat anything during the whole day. Also, in many Greek villages, the men refrain from doing any manual work and especially using nails because it resembles the way Jesus died. In Naxos, people do not kiss on Good Friday, because Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. The women gather to clean the churches and decorate the Epitaph before following the procession. In Syros, Easter is celebrated with great amity. Both religious communities, the Orthodox and the Catholic, commemorate the death of Christ together. The Cyclades is perhaps the only region across the world where Catholics celebrate Easter together with the Orthodox. Two religious worlds meet at the island’s main square to celebrate Good Friday with devoutness and mutual respect.

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Erdoğan speaks with Greek counterpart over the phone

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked to Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on the phone.

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Students who come out as LGBTQIA within Greek system face additional challenges

When Samantha Jones came out as a lesbian, she found comfort in her close friends but a letdown in a Greek system that was less than welcoming.

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Don't be fooled by Greece making that IMF payment — the country is still marching into chaos

There was some mild relief on Thursday when Greece made its latest payment to the International Monetary Fund, with bond yields sliding. (Yield measures risk, so when they decline it suggests there's less risk of a default.) That sort of reaction is a bit like having a celebratory drink because you've paid your electricity bill — it's probably not a good signal about your financial health. Greece is currently negotiating a short-term bailout extension that it doesn't really want, offered by European institutions which don't trust the Greek government and approved by other governments that are running out of patience. That's the bottom line. Athens currently has until about April 15 to present a completed reform list to its creditors. But even if Greece gets the bailout deal when European finance ministers meet on April 24 (which isn't assured), we'll be back in the same place in about two months. Then, the government isn't going to want another extension. It's going to want the major debt deal it promised to deliver when it won the election. If it does go back to the cycle of renewing bailouts, it's going to have problems with its own supporters and politicians. Here's Dr. James Nixon, chief European economist at Oxford Economics, talking about one of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras' most recent speeches:  In remarks that must clearly put Greece on a collision course with its international lenders, he said that Greece had no interest in a third bailout or receiving more loans. What Greece wants he said, is a new contract for growth not another memorandum laden with austerity and argued that Greece’s official creditors had committed to start debt relief talks in June... We see a small probability that a deal could be struck with the Europeans that might involve the ECB agreeing to rollover some of the bonds it currently holds. But in order to be time consistent, that surely implies that Greece give up all talk of debt relief – otherwise there is very little incentive for anyone to lend Greece more money. In short, unless a compromise can be found, the risks of a Greek exit become more likely, as more time slips away. One reason that a compromise is less likely than it was in the past is that politicians and financiers in Europe are far less scared of Greek contagion than they were three or four years ago. Back in the worst days of the euro crisis, it was feared that banking and sovereign default in Greece would spread to other southern European countries, causing a domino effect.  But these days, bonds in Portugal, Spain and Italy barely seem to react at all to bad news in Greece, so there seems to be much less of an existential threat to the bloc. And without that contagion, the rest of Europe might be able to shrug off a Greek exit. The chart to the right, also from Oxford Economics, suggests that it would barely dent growth for the eurozone. As far as we can tell, these are the three potential "good" scenarios.  Greece extends its current bailout again later this year. This would be the solution preferred the the Eurogroup, would almost certainly cause an internal Syriza revolt and potentially trigger new Greek elections, or even referendums on the bailout. Europe gives Greece a debt haircut. This would be a deal favouring Syriza, but it's not clear why most European finance ministries would agree to it — there's no indication that they'd put up with this. Some sort of halfway deal. This seems to be what many people are hoping will happen, but it could really be the worst of both worlds, prompting revolts among centre-right governing parties in the rest of Europe and Syriza's left. The chance of any of these scenarios coming to pass seems unlikely, but you can make your own judgement. The alternatives left are some version of government and bank default, capital controls and potentially a messy Grexit (Greek exit from the eurozone). Investment bank UBS now reckons that a Greek default is more likely than not. A big deal on debt is actually a good idea, even if Germany doesn't want it. Greece's far-left government is correct about the country's debt burden — it's completely unsustainable under the current plans. But taxpayers in the rest of the continent don't agree and aren't likely to put up with further attempts to restructure the debt. This is an immovable object meeting an irresistible force. In the absolute best case scenario, Greece is about to get some relief for a few months. After that, Athens, Frankfurt and Brussels go back to the brutal negotiations currently underway, but with more tension and even less to agree on.  So don't get your hopes up.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: What the Chinese saying 'The ugly wife is a treasure at home' actually means

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Deportivo La Coruna names former player Victor Sanchez del Amo as coach

by  Associated Press Deportivo names former player Victor Sanchez del Amo coach Associated Press - 9 April 2015 12:34-04:00 A CORUNA, Spain (AP) — Struggling Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna has hired former player Victor Sanchez del Amo as its new coach. Sanchez del Amo was named manager on Thursday, a day after predecessor Victor Fernandez was fired following a 1-1 draw at home with bottom-side Cordoba. As a player, Sanchez del Amo helped the club win the Spanish league title in 2000 and the Copa del Rey in 2002. This is his first head coaching job. He served as assistant to Michel Gonzalez at Getafe, Sevilla and Greek club Olympiakos. Deportivo is winless in eight rounds and in 17th place, one spot above the relegation zone. Deportivo's next match is at Real Sociedad on Sunday. News Topics: Sports, Soccer, Men's soccer, Men's sports, Professional soccer People, Places and Companies: Spain, Cordoba, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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