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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

Friday, November 15, 2013

UN warns over refugees turned away in Greece, Bulgaria

The UN's refugee agency Friday called on Greece and Bulgaria to stop turning back Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged homeland, as Bulgaria confirmed a clampdown. "Push-backs and prevention of entry can put asylum-seekers at further risk and expose them to ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com

Greek importers see foreign mistrust easing

KathimeriniGreek importers see foreign mistrust easingKathimeriniGreek importers of commodities ranging from cars to electrical appliances and baby food are starting to report a warming in relations with their foreign suppliers or multinational parent companies thanks to the restoration of the country's image abroad ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Live Text Commentary

Live Text CommentaryBBC SportGoal! Goal! Greece 2, Romania 1. Dimitrios Salpingidis (Greece) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Vasilis Torosidis. 18:33 Goal scored. Goal! Goal! Greece 1, Romania 1. Bogdan Stancu (Romania) header from ...Greece vs Romania LIVE CommentaryGoal.com AmericaGreece vs. RomaniaSports Moleall 3 news articles »

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12 migrants dead after boat capsizes in Greek waters, 15 rescued

ATHENS, Greece - Twelve migrants, believed to be Syrians, were found dead in western Greece on Friday after a plastic boat still tied to rocks capsized in calm weather, authorities said.


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Greece put five past ten-man Sweden

Greece 5-1 Sweden There were five separate scorers as Kostas Tsanas's side got the better of their ten-man visitors to secure a third Group 7 win.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.uefa.com

Greece's recession easing

Greece's recession has eased in the third quarter while the unemployment rate stood at 27.3 per cent.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT wap.thenews.bigpond.com

Greece under fire as creditors lose patience

Greece under fire as creditors lose patienceEUobserver.comBut momentum has stalled in the latest review of Greece's programme by Troika officials representing the country's creditors - the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. The current inspection, which focuses on ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT euobserver.com

Ballots and institutions

Clearly there are those who fantasize about the possibility of a repetition of the landmark events that led to the student uprising against the Greek military dictatorship in Athens back in 1973. These people are currently urging students and university s... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

The choice of Icarus

Nothing stings more than when we learn that no one cares about us as much as we think they do – especially when this applies to those whose influence is decisive on our lives. Perhaps that is why the Greek government and public opinion were so annoyed by ... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Stournaras: Fresh austerity measures would be 'unnecessary' and 'dangerous'

Debt-hit Greece will resist pressure from its lenders for more austerity measures, the country's finance minister has said while downplaying a discrepancy in projections about the country's fiscal gap. “No austerity measures are needed. They are dangerous... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Tatsopoulos threatens to quit SYRIZA in case of Independent Greeks alliance

Reacting to revived speculation about a possible cooperation between SYRIZA and Independent Greeks, MP Petros Tatsopoulos on Friday said he would leave the leftist opposition party if that were to occur. “We are not automatons blindly following the party ... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Samaras, Merkel to meet in Berlin Nov 22

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on November 22, it was announced on Friday. According to a statement from Merkel's office, the Greek premier has been invited to a working lunch in the German ca... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

National Bank of Greece reaches deal for property subsidiary sale

National Bank of Greece, the country’s largest lender, reached an agreement to sell most of its real estate unit in a transaction that values the company at more than 1 billion euros, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The sale of a m... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Immigrant Boat Capsizes Off Greece, 12 Dead

ATHENS (AP) ? Twelve migrants were found dead on Nov. 15 and a further 15 were rescued after a boat capsized in western Greece, authorities said. The Merchant Marine Ministry said the victims included four children. The accident occurred early in the morning, off the coast of Lefkada, an island in the Ionian Sea. The migrants were presumed to have been headed to nearby Italy from the western Greek mainland. Ministry officials said the migrants were aboard a plastic boat that was 7-8 meters (23-26 feet) in length. The survivors were being taken to hospitals for observation. Lefkada mayor Costas Aravanis said coast guard boats and divers had searched the search in the Palairos area, between Lefkada and the mainland, before the effort was eventually called off about four hours after the sinking was first reported.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Stournaras Repeats: No More Austerity

BRUSSELS - Even as international lenders keep pressing Greece to implement more reforms and have raised the likelihood of more austerity measures if a budget gap of as much as 2.9 billion euros ($3.89 billion) can?t be filled, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said that?s a red line that won?t be crossed. 'No austerity measures are needed. They are dangerous; we should let the automatic stabilizers work. We are willing to take structural measures with a fiscal impact, but not austerity measures,' Stournaras told CNBC. 'Greece has achieved tremendous progress up to now, people have made huge sacrifices, so we have to be very careful now what kind of measures we implement to close the fiscal gap, if any,' he added.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Troika Keeps The Heat On Greece

?It is the bad-news season,? says an adviser to Antonis Samaras? struggling coalition government. He means the onset of winter, when cash-strapped Greeks start worrying about the price of heating fuel. A new property tax in next year?s budget, due to be presented to Parliament on November 21st, is another headache. Farmers are being asked to pay tax on their landholdings for the first time. Squeezed by five years of austerity, one-third of property owners claim they will be unable to pay up, according to a survey by the Athens Chamber of Commerce.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Migrants Find Greece Can Be Cruel

ATHENS - It was one of his usual journeys. Late every Thursday, Shehzad Luqman would bicycle through the streets of Athens to the house of a farmhand, a friend who would often give him fresh produce. On Jan. 17, Shehzad set out on his bike, met his friend, but never made it back. Residents along a portion of Shehzad?s regular route say they heard the sound of a crash, cries for help, and a motorbike speeding away. The 27-year-old Pakistani immigrant was dead; he had been stabbed in the chest by two neo-Nazis in their 20s dressed in black, according to eyewitness accounts. The next day, protestors laid siege to the city center. With Shehzad?s body in a wooden coffin in the middle of the throng, immigrants and Greeks protested side by side against the rising tide of xenophobia that has engulfed their country.

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FOTOGRAFIA: Cry for Cyprus

These are tough times for Cyprus, with the government seizing nearly half the money in bank accounts of more than 100,000 euros ($137,000) to pay for mistakes the banks made that pushed the economy toward ruination. Many blame Cyprus joining the Eurozone for the problem and switching to the euro ? as did many Greeks when their country hit the financial skids too. Now both need big international bailouts that have come with crippling austerity measures as people in both countries blame their governments for gross mismanagement even as they keep electing them. Here a spray-painted tear appears on the cheek of a boy holding on to an antique Cypriot coin as passers-by walk past the poster advertising an exhibition of Cyprus? currency history in Nicosia, Cyprus earlier this fall. Cyprus' finance minister says the budget deficit next year is forecast to beat the target outlined in the terms of the country's bailout but capital controls remain in place and people are crying in their beer ? if they can afford to buy one.

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TAXIDI: Ten Reasons To Visit Greece In 2014

It's always a popular destination for British sun-seekers, and now there are ten more reasons to visit Greece. The Greek tourism industry has come up with this list of what's hot in Greece in the next 12 months... 1- The National Museum of Contemporary Art opens in Athens in the spring. After 13 years of development, it opens its doors to the public. It's built on the former site of the legendary Athenian brewery Fix, so if the art gets a bit much, you can always find a cold beer to celebrate the site's other cultural legacy 2- British Airways launches its first flights ever to the Greek islands. From May, they'll start serving the islands of Mykonos and Santorini with direct flights from Heathrow. 3- Zorba the Greek, one of the most recognizable symbols of Greece, turns 50. Recreate his famous dance!

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For Democrats, Obamacare Unfolding Like a Greek Tragedy

MediaiteFor Democrats, Obamacare Unfolding Like a Greek TragedyMediaiteA great tragedy is unfolding within Democratic ranks. The party and their leader, President Barack Obama, are scrambling to mitigate the damage the Affordable Care Act is doing to the Democratic brand. In their rush, they are striking glancing blows ...Obama, changing course, will allow sale of canceled health care plans -- but ...WPECall 2,972 news articles »

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Greece, Troika Back To The Table

The on-again, off-again talks between Greece and its international lenders to reach an agreement over implementing more reforms and filling a budget hole of as much as 2.9 billion euros ($3.87 billion) are now set to resume again on Nov. 17 ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Church Interferes with School Book Contexts

Greek ReporterGreek Church Interferes with School Book ContextsGreek Reporterschoolbooks_ The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church decided to interfere with school book contexts, and the Ministry of Education requested an appointment between a Church representative, and the Editorial Committee of the Pedagogical Institute.and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

St. Demerios' Greek food fest set for Nov. 21-22

St. Demerios' Greek food fest set for Nov. 21-22Buffalo Grove CountrysideFor a couple of dozen women from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, these past few weeks have been a camaraderie of sisterhood in the church's cafeteria as they prepare numerous treats for the Philoptochos Fall Food Festival next week. On Tuesday ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT mundelein.suntimes.com

The rise of the far right: a European problem requiring European solutions

As Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders unite to wreck the EU, the left must fight for its alternative to economic stagnation at a European level

In the years since the global banking crisis in 2007, commentators across the political spectrum have confidently predicted not only the imminent collapse of the euro – but sooner or later an unavoidable implosion of the European Union itself. None of this has come to pass. But the "European Project", launched after the devastation of the second world war, now faces the most serious threat in its history. That threat was chillingly prefigured this week in the launch of a pan-European alliance of far-right parties, led by the French National Front and the Dutch Party of Liberty headed by Geert Wilders, and vowing to slay "the monster in Brussels"..

Of course, the growth in support for far-right populist, anti-European, anti-immigrant parties has been force-fed by the worst world recession since at least the 1930s and possibly since before 1914. Mass unemployment and falling living standards in the euro-area and the wider EU made worse by the crazy and self-defeating austerity obsession of European leaders has opened the door to the revival of the far right.

Parties that skulked in the shadows for decades after 1945, playing down their sympathies with fascism and Nazism are now re-emerging having given themselves a PR facelift. Marine Le Pen, leader of the French NF, plays down the antisemitic record of her party..

The Dutch far-right leader has ploughed a slightly different furrow – mobilising fear and hostility not against Jews but rather Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands. Like Marine Le Pen, Wilders obsessively focuses on the alleged cosmopolitan threat to national identity from the European Union. It is a chorus echoed in other European countries by the Danish People's party, the Finns party and the Flemish Vlaams Belang among others.

For now, the French and Dutch populists are carefully keeping their distance from openly neo-Nazi parties such as Golden Dawn – whose paramilitary Sturmabteilung – have terrorised refugees and immigrants in Greece, and the swaggering Hungarian Jobbik, who terrorise the Roma minority. For now, our own Ukip is tactically keeping its distance from the new European far-right alliance while whispering a similar story about "east European immigrants".

Ridiculous comparisons have been drawn by some commentators between the rise of the populist far right and the growth of the radical left – notably the Syriza party in Greece, which has pushed for a reverse of austerity crisis policies, both in Greece and throughout Europe. In fact, Syriza represents the main challenge to Golden Dawn's offensive. Moreover, while the Italian Northern League may be drawn to the far-right alliance, the bulk of the semi-anarchist followers of the comedian Beppe Grillo in the Italian parliament are anti-fascist and unlikely to take the same path.

According to some pollsters – the far right might win as many as a third of all the seats in the European parliament after the European elections next May. That would still leave the centre parties – Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Liberals – with many more members. But for the European parliament to form a credible majority all of these parties might well be forced much closer together than is good for them or good for European democracy. It could threaten eventual paralysis of the European parliament itself.

Such a situation would be unsettlingly reminiscent of 1936, when the centre and the left – notably in France – temporarily halted the swing to fascism but formed an unprincipled and ineffective coalition. Its collapse on the eve of the second world war accelerated the advent of Phillippe Petain's Nazi collaborating regime. History does not normally repeat itself in an automatic fashion. But it would be foolish to take the risk.

More worrying than the growth of the far right are the temporising gestures to the racists and anti-immigrants now coming from mainstream Tory and even Liberal Democrat politicians and from some of the new "Blue Labour" ideologues. The warning from the likes of David Blunkett that hostility to Roma immigrants might lead to a popular "explosion" is worryingly reminiscent of Enoch Powell style rhetoric.

An effective antidote to the growth of far-right populism requires that the European left is capable of articulating and following through on a comprehensive alternative to economic stagnation, an ever-widening income and wealth gap, the degradation of our social standards, civil liberties and democratic rights and the mindless drift to a global arming catastrophe. But to succeed that alternative has to be fought for at European as well as national and local levels, and to be delivered will require more, not less, European integration.

Time is running out not only for the European Social Democrats to show they understand this but also for the wider socialist left and the greens throughout Europe to show that they can create a counterbalance to the rightward drift of the centre. Without that the new far-right alliance may only have to hold together and wait for their hour to strike.

The far rightEuropean UnionEuropeGolden Dawn partyFranceGeert WildersJohn Palmertheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

The rise of the far right: a European problem requiring European solutions

As Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders unite to wreck the EU, the left must fight for its alternative to economic stagnation at a European level

In the years since the global banking crisis in 2007, commentators across the political spectrum have confidently predicted not only the imminent collapse of the euro – but sooner or later an unavoidable implosion of the European Union itself. None of this has come to pass. But the "European Project", launched after the devastation of the second world war, now faces the most serious threat in its history. That threat was chillingly prefigured this week in the launch of a pan-European alliance of far-right parties, led by the French National Front and the Dutch Party of Liberty headed by Geert Wilders, and vowing to slay "the monster in Brussels"..

Of course, the growth in support for far-right populist, anti-European, anti-immigrant parties has been force-fed by the worst world recession since at least the 1930s and possibly since before 1914. Mass unemployment and falling living standards in the euro-area and the wider EU made worse by the crazy and self-defeating austerity obsession of European leaders has opened the door to the revival of the far right.

Parties that skulked in the shadows for decades after 1945, playing down their sympathies with fascism and Nazism are now re-emerging having given themselves a PR facelift. Marine Le Pen, leader of the French NF, plays down the antisemitic record of her party..

The Dutch far-right leader has ploughed a slightly different furrow – mobilising fear and hostility not against Jews but rather Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands. Like Marine Le Pen, Wilders obsessively focuses on the alleged cosmopolitan threat to national identity from the European Union. It is a chorus echoed in other European countries by the Danish People's party, the Finns party and the Flemish Vlaams Belang among others.

For now, the French and Dutch populists are carefully keeping their distance from openly neo-Nazi parties such as Golden Dawn – whose paramilitary Sturmabteilung – have terrorised refugees and immigrants in Greece, and the swaggering Hungarian Jobbik, who terrorise the Roma minority. For now, our own Ukip is tactically keeping its distance from the new European far-right alliance while whispering a similar story about "east European immigrants".

Ridiculous comparisons have been drawn by some commentators between the rise of the populist far right and the growth of the radical left – notably the Syriza party in Greece, which has pushed for a reverse of austerity crisis policies, both in Greece and throughout Europe. In fact, Syriza represents the main challenge to Golden Dawn's offensive. Moreover, while the Italian Northern League may be drawn to the far-right alliance, the bulk of the semi-anarchist followers of the comedian Beppe Grillo in the Italian parliament are anti-fascist and unlikely to take the same path.

According to some pollsters – the far right might win as many as a third of all the seats in the European parliament after the European elections next May. That would still leave the centre parties – Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Liberals – with many more members. But for the European parliament to form a credible majority all of these parties might well be forced much closer together than is good for them or good for European democracy. It could threaten eventual paralysis of the European parliament itself.

Such a situation would be unsettlingly reminiscent of 1936, when the centre and the left – notably in France – temporarily halted the swing to fascism but formed an unprincipled and ineffective coalition. Its collapse on the eve of the second world war accelerated the advent of Phillippe Petain's Nazi collaborating regime. History does not normally repeat itself in an automatic fashion. But it would be foolish to take the risk.

More worrying than the growth of the far right are the temporising gestures to the racists and anti-immigrants now coming from mainstream Tory and even Liberal Democrat politicians and from some of the new "Blue Labour" ideologues. The warning from the likes of David Blunkett that hostility to Roma immigrants might lead to a popular "explosion" is worryingly reminiscent of Enoch Powell style rhetoric.

An effective antidote to the growth of far-right populism requires that the European left is capable of articulating and following through on a comprehensive alternative to economic stagnation, an ever-widening income and wealth gap, the degradation of our social standards, civil liberties and democratic rights and the mindless drift to a global arming catastrophe. But to succeed that alternative has to be fought for at European as well as national and local levels, and to be delivered will require more, not less, European integration.

Time is running out not only for the European Social Democrats to show they understand this but also for the wider socialist left and the greens throughout Europe to show that they can create a counterbalance to the rightward drift of the centre. Without that the new far-right alliance may only have to hold together and wait for their hour to strike.

The far rightEuropean UnionEuropeGolden Dawn partyFranceGeert WildersJohn Palmertheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

Greece's bail-out

KathimeriniGreece's bail-outThe EconomistThe motion was proposed by Alexis Tsipras, boss of Syriza, a hard-left opposition party, in an attempt to bring a fractious far-left faction of his party on board after he pledged in a speech during a trip to America that, if elected, he would not take ...SYRIZA Would Block EU FundingGreek Reporterall 9 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.economist.com

Cairo's Tahrir Square To Get A New Neighbor: A Mini Silicon Valley

CAIRO -- A new project planned for downtown Cairo has techies and entrepreneurs buzzing. On Nov. 14, the American University in Cairo (AUC) and Sawari Ventures, a Cairo- and Washington-based venture capital firm that invests in Middle East and North Africa entrepreneurship, launched a sort of mini Silicon Valley in the heart of Cairo. The university will lease its Greek Campus for 10 years to Sawari Ventures for Tahrir Alley Technology Park (TATP), the first of its kind in Egypt. The area, made up of five buildings and 250,000 square feet of space, was part of AUC's downtown campus. It was abandoned in 2008 when the university moved its main campus to New Cairo, a satellite city roughly 20 miles away. "I want to create a place where tech companies, start-up companies, funding sources and support people like lawyers and accountants are all in the same place," California native Ahmed Alfi, cofounder and CEO of Sawari Ventures, said in an interview with The Huffington Post. The planned tech park ideally would attract large companies like Microsoft, Google and Vodafone, Alfi said, but he also wants to have 100 start-ups. Since the 2011 revolution, Sawari Ventures and its incubator Flat6Labs have funded 46 companies -- the majority of which were headed by business-minded youths who went through Egypt's public school system, said Alfi. Post-revolution Egypt, though riddled with economic and political turbulence, witnessed a surge in entrepreneurial ventures, including a commuter service specially tailored to Cairo's stifling traffic mess and a video-centric educational platform catering to K-12 students. But the planned development of the Greek Campus has some Cairenes worried that elaborate revolutionary graffiti will be removed from the campus wall shared with Mohamed Mahmoud Street where some of Cairo's bloodiest and most infamous clashes have taken place. While Alfi hasn't yet decided what will happen to the graffiti, he said there will be a creative space at the technology park where approved artists can express themselves legally. On Nov. 5, a new law that criminalizes graffiti was introduced in Egypt. According to the Arab-language Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, anyone convicted of the crime could face up to four years in prison and a steep fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds -- roughly $14,500. Today -- like many Fridays over the past few months -- the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi planned protests (though such protests seem to be trickling out as more sympathizers are arrested). Tahrir Square and several other key protest locations around the city are blocked off by Egyptian security forces. The recurring closing of the square could pose serious problems for any large-scale project close by. But Alfi said the location is exactly why they chose the Greek Campus: It's close to Sadat Metro, where the main metro lines intersect, as well as Ramses Railway Station. And the CEO doesn't see a reason to hold back on the project, even with some international investors steering clear of the country in turmoil. For Alfi, the planned technology park -- and what it could create -- is essential to push Egypt forward. "It transcends the politics of Egypt today," he said.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com

Greek PV market shrivels to just 6 MW per month

Greece's solar market is vanishing The Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic ... the domestic solar PV market is vanishing and thousands of jobs are being lost. With Italian energy company ENEL recently purchasing licenses to develop 102.5 MW of solar ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.pv-magazine.com

Sydney forum takes up fight to return relics to Greece

Sydney forum takes up fight to return relics to GreeceABC OnlineAn international conference in Sydney this weekend is continuing the fight to have the ancient Elgin Marbles returned to Greece. The collection of ancient Greek marble statutes, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, were removed from Athens and taken to ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.abc.net.au

Greek property prices continue slide in Q3, economic slump hurts demand

ATHENS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Greek property prices continued to fall sharply in the third quarter even as economic recession eased slightly, central bank data showed on Friday, with squeezed household incomes, record high unemployment and tax ...

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What's the difference between Greek and regular yogurt?

What's the difference between Greek and regular yogurt?Florida TodaySo what exactly is the difference between regular and Greek yogurt? The traditional method of making Greek yogurt involves straining regular yogurt, removing much of the liquid (whey). The remaining solid is thick and concentrated, and contains ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.floridatoday.com

Youth Unemployment Could Tear Europe Apart Warns World Economic Forum

Crime rates will soar, economies will stagnate and Europe's social fabric will deteriorate if policymakers do not act to address youth unemployment, World Economic Forum report warns

A lost generation of jobless youth in the eurozone could tear the single currency apart if nothing is done to address chronic levels of unemployment, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned.

“There is a growing consensus on the fact that unless we address chronic joblessness we will see an escalation in social unrest,” said S. D. Shibulal , chief executive oof Infosys, who contributed to the WEF's Global Agenda Report.

“People, particularly the youth, need to be productively employed, or we will witness rising crime rates, stagnating economies and the deterioration of our social fabric,” he added.

John Lipsky, who served as acting managing director of the International Monetary Fund during the height of the Greek crisis in 2011, said the problem was likely to get worse before it got better.

He told the Telegraph: "Right now it’s hard to see any decisive move back the other way at a time in which everyone feels their circumstances are under threat and are worried about their economic future."

Mr Lipsky, who contributed to the WEF report, said rigid labour laws meant existing workers were offered more attractive employment rights than their younger counterparts.

“We all know it's true that if it's easier to dismiss a worker when things don’t work out, that makes you more willing to take a chance on hiring somebody," he said.

"I myself have had the experience of finding that restrictive practices make you very reluctant to take on the burden of an employee unless you’re absolutely sure that you can sustain them.”

He said that while it was viewed as "cruel and heartless" to make it easier for employers to dismiss unproductive workers, relaxing labour laws and fostering greater labour mobility was essential if young workers were to get a "toehold in the economy".

He said the rigidity of current laws meant many younger workers were hired on temporary contracts, without the same privileges and job security as permanent employees.

The WEF report, which examined ten key issues that would shape the world in 2014, called on governments to work together to tackle the crisis and resist moving towards a protectionist agenda.

Mr Shibulal called on governments to equip young people with the skills and training needed to cope with evolving labour market demands.

The financial crisis has seen unemployment soar to record highs in some parts of Europe. The jobless rate is currently 26.6pc in Spain, while in Greece, the rate is 27.6pc. However, the youth unemployment rate is as high as 75pc in some parts of Greece.

“A generation that starts its career in complete hopelessness will be more prone to populist politics and will lack the fundamental skills that one develops early on in their career," the report said.

"This can undermine the future of European integration as the countries with the highest youth unemployment rate are on the periphery.”

Meanwhile, the WEF report also warned of a rising lack of confidence in economic policies, caused by the impact of the financial crisis.

A survey by the Pew Research Center found that 99pc of Greek respondents to its attitudes survey felt the situation in their country was bad.

This compares to 83pc of UK respondents and just 10pc in China. Meanwhile, 95pc of Greeks said the economics system in their country favoured the wealthy, compared with 60pc of Americans and 44pc of Australians.

"People put too much belief in policymakers’ ability to heal the crisis," said Mr Lipsky, who currently works at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “The weakness of the recovery suggested that policymakers were either feckless or powerless."

The report also said tensions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) would be high on the global agenda next year. Cyber threats and Asia’s growing middle class were also cited among the ten trends, as was widening income disparities.

Join the conversation about this story »

    

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Twelve migrants die off Greek coast

Greek officials say 12 migrants, including four children, have drowned off the Greek coast in the latest accident at sea.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk

Seton Hill offers update of Greek classic

Seton Hill offers update of Greek classicTribune-ReviewThe contemporary work by Charles Mee (the “something new”) is a poetic adaptation of ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus' “The Suppliants” (the “something old”). The premise of both plays is that 50 brides flee to a manor in Italy to avoid pre-arranged ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT triblive.com

Greece must step up efforts, Spain to exit bank aid programme

Telegraph.co.ukGreece must step up efforts, Spain to exit bank aid programmeCyprus MailEuro zone finance ministers pressed Greece on Thursday to speed up structural reforms and continue fiscal consolidation and privatisation to unblock more of the international loans that keep it afloat. “A lot of progress has been made, also at social ...Pressure on Greece over 2014 budget deficit as Spain signals bailout exitIrish IndependentEurozone ministers hail Spanish and Irish bailout exitsEuropean VoiceSpain, Ireland To Exit BailoutRTT NewsGlobalPost -Wall Street Journal -euronewsall 156 news articles »

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Greece rejects pressure for more austerity measures

European Commission and European Central Bank) on its fiscal gap. "No austerity measures are needed," he told CNBC in an interview late Thursday. "They are dangerous; we should let the automatic stabilizers work. We are willing to take structural measures ...

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Greece urges Turkey to withdraw forces from Cyprus

Trend.azGreece urges Turkey to withdraw forces from CyprusKathimeriniGreece has urged Turkey to comply with international law and to withdraw its occupying forces from Cyprus. In a statement released on Friday, which marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the breakaway regime in the occupied part of the ...Nuland says Turkey, US agree on larger strategy but may differ in tacticsTrend.azall 6 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Migrants dead as boat sinks near Greece

The GuardianMigrants dead as boat sinks near GreeceAljazeera.comGreece is one of the main ports of entry into the European Union for migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Refugee traffic has risen over the past year, because of the ...Greece: 12 migrants dead after boat capsizesUSA TODAYMigrants found dead after boat capsizes off GreeceThe GuardianGreece: 12 migrants found dead after boat capsizesMiamiHerald.comKAKEall 37 news articles »

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Twelve drown as migrant boat capsizes off Greek island

AFPTwelve drown as migrant boat capsizes off Greek islandIrish TimesTwelve illegal immigrants, including at least four children, drowned after their boat capsized just off the Greek island of Lefkada (A on map) in the Ionian Sea today. Image: Google Maps. Topics: News · World · European Union · Africa · Europe · Greece · Italy ...12 immigrants dead after boat capsizes in western GreeceFox News12 Immigrants Dead after Boat Capsizes off GreeceNovinite.comGreece: 12 migrants found dead after boat capsizesCt Postall 36 news articles »

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Stournaras Says Troika Will Pay Up

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the country’s international lenders are on the verge of giving up demands for more austerity measures in return for continued aid and will come through with the money anyway, including a pending one billion euro ($1.37 billion) installment that had been held up while the two sides negotiated how […]

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“I Am Not The Cancer” Project for the First Time in Greece

The innovative audiovisual project with the title “I am not the Cancer,” will be presented for the first time in Greece in November 28, 2013. The revolutionary and ground-breaking work of two very prominent British artists, John Wynne and Tim Wainwright, reveals the real life experiences of women with advanced breast cancer and their untold […]

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Let's just stay as friends, Turkish Cypriots to Greeks

Trend.azLet's just stay as friends, Turkish Cypriots to GreeksHurriyet Daily NewsCreating a single Cypriot nation composed of Turks and Greeks is impossible, and if the two sides cannot agree on a peaceful solution, it would be better for them to remain “friends” while enjoying sovereignty in their respective territories, the ...Nuland says Turkey, US agree on larger strategy but may differ in tacticsTrend.azall 5 news articles »

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Greece: 12 migrants dead after boat capsizes

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Twelve migrants were found dead Friday and 15 were rescued after a boat capsized in western Greece, authorities said, while a coast guard search continued for more possible victims and survivors.

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Greek government prepares for another storm

Press TVGreek government prepares for another stormCNBC.comGreek finance minister Yannis Stournaras is on a push to gain confidence at home and abroad. During a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels last night Stournaras tried to convince his European peers of the Greek government's sincere efforts to get a handle on ...Greek civil servants protest new job cutsPress TVGreek recession eases in Q3, unemployment stubbornKathimeriniGreek Recession Shows Signs of EasingNASDAQSeattle Post Intelligencer -Reuters -Wall St. Cheat Sheetall 42 news articles »

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12 immigrants dead after boat capsizes in western Greece

Authorities in Greece say 12 immigrants have been found dead and eight were rescued after a boat capsized in western Greece.

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Eight drown off Greek coast after boat capsizes

ATHENS (Reuters) - Eight illegal immigrants, including four children, drowned on Friday after their boat capsized just off the Greek island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, the coastguard said.

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Greek Pranks Show Lack of Respect

To be blunt, we’re fed up with recent behavior within the greek community. We’re embarrassed and disgusted, and we think it’s actually pathetic. We’re not going to sugar coat anything. What’s been happening with greek students is just plain wrong.

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Greek Wars: Greek Members Battle Over Stolen Goods

For generations, greeks have had the harmless tradition of stealing items from their fellow Panhellenic Council (PHC) and Interfraternity Council (IFC) members as a joke, only to later return the items.

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Greek-Americans Rush to Help Myrto Papadomichelakis

Greek ReporterGreek-Americans Rush to Help Myrto PapadomichelakisGreek ReporterThe Greek-American community has shown great interest to help the 16-year-old Myrto Papadomichelakis, who is hospitalized in Boston (Spaulding Hospital), recovering after a serious surgery. Myrto was brutally beaten by Pakistani Ahmed Vakas and ...

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More than 300 people arrested in Canadian child abuse investigation

Police say 386 children have been rescued, and those arrested around the world include teachers and doctors

More than 300 people, including teachers, coaches and doctors, have been arrested worldwide accused of keeping images of child abuse after a Canadian-led investigation.

Toronto police said on Thursday the arrests of 348 people, including 108 in Canada, 76 in the United States and 164 in other countries from Spain to Australia, came after a three-year investigation into a Toronto company that distributed child abuse images.

"Of concern to the investigators was the number of people [arrested] who have close contact with children. The arrests included 40 schoolteachers, nine doctors and nurses, 32 people who volunteered with children, six law enforcement personnel, nine pastors or priests, and three foster parents," Inspector Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, head of Toronto's sex crimes unit, told a news conference.

The investigation by some 30 police forces from Australia, Spain, Ireland, Greece, South Africa, Hong Kong, Mexico, Norway and the United States, among others, led to the rescue of 386 children, most of whom were prepubescent, she said.

Police began looking into the operations of a Toronto company called Azovfilms.com and its owner, Brian Way, in October 2010, and the US Postal Investigation Service helped comb through the company's database to track down both the producers and the consumers of the child abuse images, Beaven-Desjardins said.

Way's lawyer, Nyron Dwyer, declined to comment. The Azovfilms.com website has been shut down.

People making the images included a youth baseball coach in Washington state who made more than 500 films and a school employee in Georgia who put a camera in a student washroom to videotape images of students' genitals, the US Postal Inspection Service inspector Gerald O'Farrell said.

More than 350,000 images and more than 9,000 videos of child sexual abuse were found during the investigation, and arrests are continuing, Beaven-Desjardins said.

"It is still ongoing, there will be further arrests and I imagine there will be more children that will be saved because of it," she said.

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