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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Animated WebP graphics support no shoo-in for Chrome

Source: www.greekherald.com - Saturday, July 06, 2013
Google WebP engineers are encountering resistance from Google Chrome engineers about whether it's worth supporting the animated version of the image ...
All Related

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Internet giants planning to wipe out child abuse images

Source: www.greekherald.com - Saturday, July 06, 2013
The plan would be the first collaborative effort across the industry to block paedophiles from sharing images online, and would involve a single database of the worst child abuse images. At the moment, each company has its own process for removing abusive photos but does not share details of the images for legal and technical reasons. According to The Times, ...
All Related

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Naousa Art-Ville Until July 14

"There is no need for the people to stay at home. They can go out see different things and take action to combat their stress and depression." That was the philosophy behind the decision by artists and actors from Naousa, a city in the Imathia regional unit of Macedonia, Greece, who decided to organize themselves, mobilizing a large number of volunteers from the city and the whole ...

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Five Earthquakes in One Night in Patras

Five low-intensity earth tremors occurred midnight to 4 a.m. on July 6in the region of Patras, Greece’s third-largest city, located in the western part of the country, about 215 kilometers, some 134 miles from Athens. The first earth tremor occurred at 00:10 and had a shallow magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake’s epicenter was located at 7 kilometers west-south-west ...

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Dulce Pontes Comes to Greece

The internationally known Portuguese songwriter and singer Dulce Pontes will give three concerts in Greece, in Patras, Thessaloniki and in Athens. All three concerts will be a attributed to the Italian composer Ennio Morricone who the Greeks' favorite Portuguese singer admires and loves. She will sing well-known songs of his, including many from film soundtracks. Dulce Pontes became widely ...

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Greece?s Troika Deal Fire Crossing Guards Janitors

Greece and its international lenders have reportedly struck a last-minute deal to keep loans coming in return for the firing of public workers, mostly those in lower pay grades, such as school crossing guards, janitors, teachers, and municipal police officers, while Parliament workers and managers were exempted for now. The compromise on July 6 came a day after a deadline set by the Troika of ...

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Two Cops Lawyer Charged With Trafficking

Two policemen and a lawyer were arrested on charges of participating in a human trafficking network in Greece, among 10 people apprehended, police said. The operation took place in nightclubs in Larissa, the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece, and other towns in the regional unit of Larissa. The arrests were made by the Security Subdivision. According to ...

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Chiefs loan defender to Greece


SuperSport

Chiefs loan defender to Greece
SuperSport
Kaizer Chiefs have loaned their Zimbabwe international defender Lincoln Zvasiya to Greek club OFI Crete, the club announced at the weekend. Zvasiya, who joined AmaKhosi in 2011 and has two years left in his contract, will be at OFI for the 2013-14 ...

and more »

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Mother 32 Hangs Herself in Xanthi

The local community of Chrysa, the western quarter of Xanthi, in northern Greece, is devastated after learning the tragic news that a 32-year-old mother of two underage children committed suicide by hanging herself from a beam. The woman was found dead early in the morning of July 6. According to latest information, the woman faced psychological problems. She was mother of two minors, one of 4 ...

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Venizelos Shares Samaras? Vision

PASOK Socialist leader and Greek Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos is the country’s number two man now PASOK Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, who was named Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras’ government after reversing his opposition to the closing of the national broadcaster ERT, said he agrees with his ...

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Athens agrees on mobility scheme with lenders waits for Eurogroup to clear loan

Municipality police officers, from various municipalities of Attica perfecture, demonstrate - some of them on their vehicles - in central Athens, on Saturday. Greece and its international lenders appeared to reach a compromise on Saturday over public sector reforms, which would permit the troika to complete its review of the adjustment program and allow eurozone finance ministers to decide on ...

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Why Bonds Are Set To Bounce Back

Asset returns were all over the map in the first half of 2013. Stocks outperformed bonds. But within equities, developed markets pummelled emerging markets, with the U.S. and Japan leading the way. A similar trend happened in bonds, where investors who'd poured money into emerging markets promptly fled in May and June of this year. Of course, commodities were the biggest loser, and among these, precious metals trailed the pack on worries over QE tapering and Indian demand. What then can we look for the second half of the year? Broadly, I expect deflationary concerns to take centre stage again as the U.S. economy stagnates, Japan intensifies currency wars and thereby exports deflation while Chinese GDP dips below 7% by the fourth quarter. This will take any talk of significant QE tapering in the U.S. off the table while Europe and Japan continue to provide ample liquidity amid weakening economies. China will be the only country tightening policy as it resists calls to reflate its credit bubble. If this is right, bonds will be the big winners in the second half. Emerging market bonds may see more volatility with outflows intensifying in July before picking up as global stimulus ramps up. Stocks should have a sharper correction, possibly from September, as the U.S. economy stalls and China worsens. The "Bernanke put" will limit the correction though. Meanwhile, commodities should dip before bouncing hard as stimulus picks up again, with gold and agriculture significantly outperforming industrial metals. That's a broad, tentative roadmap, but let's break it down a bit further: 1. The U.S. - The Fed will take fright at rising bond yields. It knows higher interest rates would stifle any housing recovery and lead to much higher interest costs on government debt, something the U.S. can ill afford. Not to mention that rising yields in the U.S. puts upward pressure on rates around the world. With much of the developed world economies near or at recessionary levels, increased yields are the last thing that they need. This will limit any QE tapering, if it happens this year at all. Meantime, the U.S. economy will stagnate as European economies fail to recovery, Japan depreciates the yen more aggressively and exporting deflation while China's credit bubble pops. Yes, the U.S. will be better off than the rest of the developed world, but increasing talk of "recovery" will be put to bed. Given the above, and the extraordinary performance of the S&P 500, I expect a more significant pullback in the stock market in the second half. Globally, equities should struggle but Europe may well outperform the U.S. given much cheaper valuations and lower expectations. 2. Europe - Crudely, you should expect more of the same. That is, weak economies burdened by the Euro and extraordinary debt loads. Partially offset by the European Central Bank and Bank Of England wearing out the world's money printing machines by providing more and more stimulus. France will become the big concern as investors realise that it is the next Greece, but this is probably a 2014 issue. A significant, compounding debt burden, extravagant social welfare system, stifling regulations limiting the private sector, worsening tax revenues and a clueless Socialist President make France the next domino to fall in Europe. 3. Japan - After this month's elections for the upper house, Shinzo Abe should have a stronger mandate to pursue reform, the so-called third arrow of his strategy to defeat deflation. He may provide broader reform, perhaps including badly need changes to the labor market and the agricultural sector. But any reform will be limited by the influence of powerful lobby groups. Given the low expectations for reform, there may be another temporary leg up for the Japanese stock market. If the reforms do positively surprise, bond yields will spike, raising concerns again about the impact on interest costs of the government's unprecedented debt levels. This will bring further government buying of bonds, crowding out private players, thereby leading to increased volatility. The stock market should again sell off when this happens. The long-term picture remains that Japan is a train wreck waiting to happen. Given government debt of 245% of GDP or 20x government revenues, Japan has only two bad choices left: 1) Cut back on government services to such an extent that would cause an immediate depression or 2) Print truckloads of money to inflate the debt away. The government's chosen no. 2, which will lead to significant yen depreciation and a blow-up in the bond market at some point. It's a matter of when, not if this happens. 2014, perhaps? 4. China - It's become clear that the China's credit bubble is bursting. And the new government doesn't want to risk reflating the bubble, preferring to deal with the mess now rather than later. This is a political choice, but a wise one. This way, blame for the economic downturn can be sheeted home to the previous government. The choice though means that there'll be a significant slowdown in economic growth, probably below a 7% GDP rate by the fourth quarter. At the same time, however, the government may significantly surprise markets by announcing deep structural reforms to restructure the economy. The changes may include the widespread privatisation of state assets, extensive financial de-regulation, broad-based tax reform and increased incentives for foreign investment. In the opinion of this author, Xi Jinping is both a pragmatist and a likely reformer. He's thinking about the next 10 years, not the next three months. That means he's willing to take short-term pain to reap the benefits later on. How will China's stock market react to all this? It'll probably focus on the economic pain rather than structural reform, at least initially. 5. India - A depressed investment cycle needs to restart if India is to turn around. There are tentative signs that this may be starting to happen. Combined with a bounce in the rupee as the current account deficit stabilises from lower commodity prices, and India's stock market could be one of the best performers in Asia in the second half. The risk is around general elections next year and the pork barrelling which will occur before that. The positive thing about the large current account deficit is that it keeps pork barrelling in check to a certain extent. At least investors should hope this is the case. 6. South-East Asia - Foreigners have poured into this market since 2009 as it's one of the few regions with genuine growth prospects. At the first recent hint of trouble though, this money headed for the exits. With more QE tapering talk over the next month or two, there's more downside for South-East Asia. However, when this talk dies down, the region should once again attract foreign money. That money is likely to head to Thailand and the Philippines. Indonesia will underperform as commodities suffer, its current account deficit deteriorates and attention turns to who will govern the country, with general elections set for next year. Meantime, Malaysia may attract investors with reasonable market valuations and a potential bounce in commodities later this year. 7. Commodities - I am among a significant minority of investors who believe that the commodities super-cycle isn't over. To be specific, the best days of industrial commodities are behind it. But for precious metals and agriculture, they're likely ahead. Precious metals remain an attractive hedge against central bank profligacy and currency debasement. While agriculture's supply and demand situation is extremely tight, meaning any future supply disruptions should drive prices higher. For the second half, you're likely to have the continuing headwind of softening demand out of China. On the other hand, quietening taper talk will prove a nice tailwind. Many commodities are now seriously oversold and when it becomes clear that the U.S. will continue stimulus for several years to come, many of them will bounce hard. Pencil in the fourth quarter? 8. Currencies - I did a piece that attracted a fair amount of interest earlier this year called "Who will win the currency wars?" In it, I looked at potential currency winners and losers in the long term (3-5 years).  I suggested commodity currencies would be significant losers, highlighted the Aussie dollar as being particularly at risk. My preferences were the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit due to the strong balance sheets and relatively attractive growth profiles. The call on commodity currencies has been correct, while my favoured currencies have performed ok on a global basis, less so versus the U.S. dollar. I still see significant risks to commodity currencies, with the Aussie dollar heading towards 80 cents to the U.S. dollar this year, on its way to 60 cents in a few years. As China slumps, Australia should enter recession by the end of the year, as mining investment cutbacks deepen and the housing market stalls or declines as unemployment rises. I still like the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit. However, the U.S. dollar could well strengthen in the next 8 weeks before re-commencing its steady decline. That means my preferences should once again catch bids towards the fourth quarter. Having some money in U.S. dollars may make some sense, bearing in mind that it's heading for trouble in the long-term given the country's continued commitment to currency depreciation via money printing. The Chinese yuan is a tricky one. I've been dead wrong calling for a yuan decline earlier this year. It's been a great performer. But as China's credit bubble unwinds and the Japanese yen weakens further, I can't help but think that the government will want a weaker currency, and soon. Lastly, the Japanese yen remains probably the world's biggest short (yes, more than the Aussie dollar). Japan needs a significantly weaker yen to deflate its debt in yen terms. 9. Bonds - U.S. long-term government bond yields should head higher in the very short-term before heading down towards 2% by year end. That's if my view of a renewed commitment to QE proves correct. Emerging market bonds may experience more pain over the next couple of months given continued QE tapering talk, accentuated by heightened political risk in some countries (Turkey & Egypt). But they should see some money flowing back in by the fourth quarter. Understand that all predictions are fraught with danger and the ones above are no exception. What I call a tentative roadmap, others may just see as wishful thinking. Either way, it's meant to be the starting point for a discussion. Please feel free to agree or disagree with any or all of it. This post was originally published at Asia Confidential: http://asiaconf.com/2013/07/06/bonds-to-bounce-back/

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The man with Greece's toughest job


Telegraph.co.uk

The man with Greece's toughest job - taxman
Telegraph.co.uk
Getting them to cough up is one of the conditions that Greece's international creditors have lain down for continuing Athens' €240 billion bail-out programme. But in a country where tax-dodging has long been likened to a national pastime, that makes Mr ...


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Christos Zois launches new center-right political party

Former New Democracy and Independent Greeks MP Christos Zois was elected the head of a new center-right party, Nea Mera (New Day), on Saturday.Zois was first elected as a lawmaker with New Democracy in 2000 before switching over to Panos ...

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Greek police believe fugitives wanted to help killer Alket Rizai escape

Police believe that some of the Albanian fugitives who have been on the run since they broke out from Trikala Prison in March were attempting to help convicted killer Alket Rizai escape from jail as well.Sources told Kathimerini that they found 5.5 kilos of explosives and hundreds of bullets for Kalashnikov assault rifles in one of the cars the fugitives abandoned in central Greece.However, ...

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Greece ponders new HIV guidelines


Kathimerini

Greece ponders new HIV guidelines
Kathimerini
Compliance with new guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) that recommend earlier treatment with AIDS drugs could save more lives in Greece but is expected to increase costs for hospital pharmacies in the austerity-hit country already ...


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Greece's woes forgotten for festival


Greece's woes forgotten for festival
London Free Press
Allison Eagles, left, and Sarah MacDonald share a moment Friday at Preveza, Greece, while their London choirmates check out the Amabile banner — which is touring Greece with the Amabile Young Women's Ensemble. (JAMES REANEY, The London Free ...


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Kenya Airways flight makes emergency landing in Greece


Kenya Airways flight makes emergency landing in Greece
The Star
Kenya Airways flight KQ117 from Amsterdam to Nairobi has made an emergency stop at Greece capital Athens, a press statement from the airline communications office has said. "Kenya Airways wishes to inform its passengers and the general public of the ...
Kenya Airways flight with 301 passengers makes emergency landing in GreeceBusiness Daily

all 2 news articles »

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Greece Misses Troika Deadline Talks Go On

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris Protesting municipal workers argue with riot police at the Greek Administrative Reform ministry during a meeting between debt inspectors of the European Union and International Monetary Fund with officials to discuss loans and stalled reforms. ATHENS - The Greek government failed to reach an agreement with international lenders by the end of a July 5 deadline to ...

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For Greek Stock Chief Lazaridis Mums The Word

(Fox Business Network) Socrates Lazaridis, the Chairman of the Athens Stock Exchange, gave a series of interviews while he was in New York City in June for the second annual Greek investment forum. He didn't have much to say and was careful how he said it. NEW YORK - Socrates Lazaridis took a long drag from his cigarette. It was not his first smoke break of the day. The Chairman of the ...

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One size does not fit all

By Nikos Xydakis Berlin hopes to see Greece remain steady and wise, faithful to the path of fiscal adaptation and structural reform. The mantra has been repeated again and again over the past few days by ...

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Citizens must do their duty

Tax evasion remains a major plague on this country.Besides the kind of efforts that are currently being carried out by the Greek state, we all have to take into account our own responsibility in order for this damaging phenomenon to be curbed.No more tolerance can be shown toward entrepreneurs who do not issue receipts and end up keeping the value-added tax that we pay in the first place.It is up ...

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Greece may get aid in instalments


Kathimerini

Greece may get aid in instalments
Gulf Daily News
ATHENS: Greece could get its next tranche of international aid in instalments, the EU's top economic official said yesterday, keeping the country in a hand-to-mouth existence that threatens to stifle its economy. Athens had hoped that euro zone finance ...
Greece seeing 'silver lining' in debt turmoil, says German Foreign MinisterKathimerini
Greece Races to Wrap Up Aid TalksWall Street Journal- India
Greece near deal for EU-IMF paymentSydney Morning Herald
Forbes -Reuters -Reuters UK
all 189 news articles »

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Traffic wardens take up protests, as Greece scrambles to meet austerity targets


Traffic wardens take up protests, as Greece scrambles to meet austerity targets
Washington Post
ATHENS, Greece — Municipal police officers on Friday blocked streets in central Athens, briefly scuffled with regular police, and heckled Greek government officials attending a meeting with international debt inspectors. The protest occurred as the ...


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Elgin church to host annual Greek Fest


Elgin church to host annual Greek Fest
Northwest Herald
In addition to authentic Greek cuisine such as gyros, Grecian chicken, souvlaki, moussaka and pastitsio, there will be saganaki, Greek fries, fried calamari and Greek salad. American fare also will be available. After dinner, attendees can unwind at ...


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Two Greek Pools In World Top 10

You can’t find a municipal swimming pool in Athens, where the heat beats down ferociously in the summer, but people who can afford luxury hotels have their choice of plenty of beautiful swimming pools, and two of them have been rated among the top 10 in the world. Either facing the blue waters of the Aegean Sea, or the snowy peaks of Switzerland, these hotels have one thing in common: a ...

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Greece On The Installment Plan

With no agreement between the Greek government and international lenders over lagging reforms, it now appears that continued aid to the country could be given out in smaller doses. Greece was hoping for release of an 8.1 billion euro ($10.6 billion) installment but envoys from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) said they are ...

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Trikala Prison Fugitives Still at Large

The police have erected roadblocks from Acherontas to the Greek Albanian borders in Thesprotia, Epirus, while fully armed policemen are sweeping the region to detect and arrest the criminal escapees. The sea area from the village Ammoudia in Preveza to the village Sagiada in Thesprotia is being patrolled by the Igoumenitsa port police to prevent a possible escape by sea to Albania. According to ...

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Royal baby will have surprising family tree

Even before the birth of the new royal baby to Prince William and his wife Kate, genealogists are looking into its family tree, and are coming up with many surprises.

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In Greece, Justice Really is Blind


In Greece, Justice Really is Blind
Greek Reporter
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras must awake each morning and say it really is good to be king. The King, after all, not only is above the law, he sets the law, and in the plutocratic oligarchy that is Greece, he can allow institutions such as ...


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Irish-Greek model Georgia Salpa is making us green with envy


The Sun

Irish-Greek model Georgia Salpa is making us green with envy
The Sun
GEORGIA Salpa must bi-kini to get a good tan — showing off her body as she relaxes on the beach. The Irish-Greek model is currently on holiday — thought to be in Malaga, Spain — and has been teasing fans with snaps of her soaking up the sun.


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Diner owners death shakes Greek community

Photo credit: Jim Staubitser; handout | Athanasios Cheliotis, right, was co-owner of the Concord Diner in Valley Stream and was killed in an head-on collision in Bellmore on July 4, 2013, Nassau County police ...

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Two consortiums win oil gas concessions in Greece

(MENAFN) Two consortiums led by Energean Oil and Hellenic Petroleum have won awards from the Greek government to search for oil and gas in two blocks in the western part of the part, Reuters reported.The cash strapped country seeks to develop potential hydrocarbon reserves in order to save money on energy imports. Athens spends about USD13 billion to USD15.5 billion annually on oil imports.The ...

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Got $32M? Jackie O's boat for sale

The stately superyacht Christina O isn't just a gorgeous 99-meter vessel. It's the palatial setting where Greek business magnate Aristotle Onassis married Jackie Kennedy. Now the luxury liner has gone on sale for $32 million.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT edition.cnn.com