KSA, Greece to promote tourism

eTurboNewsKSA, Greece to promote tourismArab NewsSpeaking about the salient features of the agreement, Kefalogianni told Arab News that Greece being the cradle of Western civilization and Saudi Arabia being the cradle of Arab civilization and a very important country in this region, it was decided to ...Saudi Arabia to sign major tourism agreement with GreeceeTurboNewsSaudi Arabia, Greece to boost tourismSaudi GazetteTourism: Saudi Arabia to sign major agreement with GreeceANSAmedall 6 news articles »

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Fisherman nets centuries-old statue of Greek god Apollo in Gaza Strip

The IndependentFisherman nets centuries-old statue of Greek god Apollo in Gaza StripThe IndependentLost for centuries, a rare bronze statue of the Greek god Apollo has mysteriously appeared in the Gaza Strip, only to be seized by police and vanish almost immediately from view. A local fisherman says he scooped the 500kg, life-sized bronze from the ...'Priceless' bronze statue of Greek god Apollo found in Gaza StripThe GuardianMysterious Greek god Apollo held in Gaza Strip detentionReuters Blogs (blog)Greek god statue found in Gaza StripThe Canberra TimesGreek Reporterall 28 news articles »

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Mark Harper's cleaner is the latest victim in this immigration obsession

An immigration bill passing through parliament almost unopposed, Athens pondering electing its first fascist mayor – these are dangerous times to look foreign

As the shockwaves from Mark Harper giving up his ministerial position to spend more time with his ironing ripple through Westminster, I imagine a number of MPs are reviewing their domestic arrangements. Maintenance of decorative duck islands will be suspended until further notice. Moats will be left to overflow, half-dredged. Flowering clematises will be abandoned to the elements. The Harper affair may be funny, but it also reveals the absurdity at the centre of this government's immigration policies.

For seven years, Harper employed a Colombian woman named Isabella Acevedo to clean for him. He claimed £22 for four hours per week on his expenses, although reportedly he may have paid her a bit more. He did nothing illegal, claimed the home secretary, Theresa May, because Acevedo was self-employed. Harper clings to the mantle of innocence and dignity while the woman who scrubbed his toilet for seven years, for the minimum wage, faces arrest and deportation.

The immigration bill is meandering its way through the legislative process, essentially unopposed. It doubles fines for those who employ undocumented workers and requires landlords and doctors to perform immigration checks. But if the minister for immigration can be fooled for seven years, what hope have they? Few people, when presented with an official-looking document, have time to telephone the Home Office and investigate its veracity. A proposed "response line", promising a turnaround within 48 hours, is manifestly ludicrous.

Millions of new leases are agreed every year. Millions of new employment contracts are signed. Six hundred thousand new patient registrations take place annually within the auspices of the NHS. Funding a department that could cope with such demand is not realistic; the cost to benefit ratio is prohibitive. The net result will be pure discrimination. Landlords, hospital receptionists and employers are essentially being asked to racially profile; to decide whether one looks "indigenous" enough, in their subjective judgment.

My good friend, let's call her Mona, is from Basildon. She has lived in Greece for almost 20 years – most of her adult life – and never paid tax in the UK. She has been registered with the GP practice close to her parents' home since before she left. She combines a yearly visit to her folks with general check-ups, scans and, on three occasions, giving birth to her lovely children. She enjoys this on top of being entitled (quite rightly) to health services back in Greece. Do you think Mona will ever be challenged over her eligibility? No. She doesn't have olive skin and an accent, like I do.

This is what is at the heart of this immigration policy. People who look or sound foreign will be picked on. They will be shunted on to self-employed status to protect their employer. Ministers will commission vans telling them to "go home", while enjoying their cheap labour. Brown tenants will lose out over white ones. Black markets will spring up for the documented to rent properties and then sublet them at a premium to the undocumented. Medical treatment will be refused. "What we've seen are many more migrants being turned away from doctor's surgeries and GPs", says Leigh Daynes, director of Doctors of the World UK, "even though the law hasn't yet changed."

Meanwhile, the EU commissioner for employment accuses David Cameron of posturing based on "myth", the Swiss have voted for plans to introduce immigration quotas and Greece has approved legislation to strip the right to vote from both migrants legally in Greece and Greeks who live abroad, rendering people like me stateless, while Athens ponders the possibility of its first fascist mayor. It is a dangerous time to look foreign, it seems, anywhere in Europe. The immigration debate is turning increasingly poisonous, for political gain. Acevedo is merely the latest victim.

Immigration and asylumDavid CameronSwitzerlandEuropeGreeceAlex Andreoutheguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Frustration in Greek Local Community

A group of 500 Greek anti-government demonstrators has set fire to a tollbooth on an Athens motorway, near the region of Malakasa, to protest against a hike in tolls. On Monday morning, the Greek police arrested nine suspects from a city near Athens, called Oropos. This reaction from the Greek authorities has caused frustration to the local community of Oropos as the residents of the city believe that these arrests are totally unjustified. Among those arrested are the Mayor of the city, Giannis Oikonomakos and the Deputy Mayor, Evangelos Lempousis. The officials identified the nine suspects with the help of the security system camera, which put them in real trouble as they seem to have participated in Sunday’s incident. The police arrested the nine suspects after the Public Prosecutor’s Office of District Court Judges gave the order. The mayor of Oropos, Giannis Oikonomakos, several hours after he was arrested, gave an interview to a Greek TV channel. He said that “I, along with another eight persons who are under custody, expect the Greek authorities to understand that we do not approve such actions and we condemn those who torched the tollbooth. The building of Oropos’ Municipality remained closed today as an act of protest. this is the way in which the municipality’s employees showed their solidarity to the nine people who were arrested early Monday morning.

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Greek MPs Audited for Sending Money Abroad

Three Greek MPs, Vassilis Kikilias, from New Democracy, Vassilis Kapernaros from Independent Greeks and Maria Repousi from Democratic Left (DIMAR) are being audited for overseas remittances. Their names were released by the Greek Ministry of Finance. Kapernaros’ wife and the wife of former Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine Nikos Sifounaki, are also being audited for sending money abroad during the 2009-2012 period. These five names emerged after the first inspection of the  list of 24,710 similar cases that are also under investigation. It was reported earlier by the newspaper To Vima that the three lawmakers in question were all from the ruling New Democracy Conservatives of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and were for more than a million euros each but ministry officials said the names were released in order to dispel that. According to a Ministry of Finance announcement, there is no evidence that any other MPs were part of the list. Meanwhile, the Greek General Secretariat of Public Revenue is investigating whether the amounts that were sent abroad are covered by the MPs tax returns, while there is no evidence of where the money originated. According to the Ministry’s announcement, Kikilias handed in all the necessary documents last April. The audits will be completed as soon as possible, officials said and cautioned that there’s no indication of wrongdoing yet, or if there was any attempt at tax evasion. Of 44 cases that were recently investigated, 12 (27%) were found to have violations.  

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TT Bank’s Filippidis Freed On Bail

Former Hellenic Postbank chairman Angelos Filippidis, charged in connection with an alleged bad loan scheme at the failed state-owned institution, was released on two million euros bail on Feb. 10 after telling an interrogator at an Athens court he had done nothing wrong and that the loans had been guaranteed. Filippidis last week returned from Turkey where he had been arrested after Greek authorities tracked him on his cell phone while he was calling TV stations to defend himself. He had been set free there before he could be extradited and then return. He was arrested after he came back to Athens, Greece. He reportedly gave the prosecutor detailed financial reports and analysis and said he would fight the charges.   As he was entering the interrogator’s office he said there were no improprieties at the bank where prosecutors alleged some 500 million euros in loans were given out without collateral and weren’t being repaid. In a lengthy defense, he disputed it and said, “If I lose, the prosecutors will approve the loans.”

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Greek Minister of Culture Responds to George Clooney

The Greek Minister of Culture, Panos Panagiotopoulos, addressed a thank you letter to American actor George Clooney, after his recent statement regarding the Parthenon Marbles‘ return to Greece, during the Berlin Film Festival. “… As you mentioned, it is ‘fair and a good idea’ to return the looted Greek antiquities back to where they belong, at the Parthenon. It is fair not only because they belong to Greek culture and history but also because through our history they brighten the world’s culture,” said the Minister in his letter. “Hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world admire the Parthenon each year as one of the greatest human achievements. However, at the same time they are witnesses to a historical desecration. There is only one decision that can right this injustice: the decision to return the Parthenon Marbles to their rightful place, from where they were illegally and forcibly taken. This request is supported by many leading historians and archeologists, citizen committees across Europe, the US, Australia and as a matter of fact it is supported by a large number of British nationals.” The Greek Minister of culture extended an invitation to the popular actor, to visit Greece, noting: “I hope you accept our invitation to spend some time in Greece, where you can explore all the Greek antiquities that have been kept intact. Furthermore, you can visit the Acropolis Museum which is located opposite the sacred rock, where the empty spaces are awaiting the return of the Parthenon Marbles.”

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