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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

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Greece is Europe’s reform champ

For a second consecutive year, Greece is the champion of Europe in terms of reforms, according to a report by the Lisbon Council think tank presented on Tuesday in Brussels in the presence of European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn.

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Greek Ship Owner Victor Restis Out of Jail

Greek ship owner, Victor Restis, was just released from jail by the investigating judge. He had previously been accused of being involved in the case of unsecured loans allegedly granted to companies by FB Bank. Mr. Restis owned a large part of ...

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Greek state repaying arrears but creating new debts

KathimeriniGreek state repaying arrears but creating new debtsKathimeriniThe official figure for the arrears the Greek state has repaid this year up to the end of November is 5.5 billion euros, even though the State General Accounting Office has approved demands amounting to 6.4 billion euros, according to data presented on ...Staikouras: Greek economic data revised upwardsCapital.gr (press release)all 2 news articles »

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Syrian patriarch urges release of abducted nuns

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Opposition fighters abducted 12 nuns from a Christian village overrun by rebels, Syria's Greek Orthodox patriarch and the head of a convent said Tuesday, adding to fears that hard-line Muslim rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad were increasingly targeting Christians.

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Greek Lessons in Cyprus for January 2014

Analytically our Greek Language Courses for January 2014: Beginner's Greek Course A1/AM - 9.00 - 10.30 - 13th January 2014 Beginner's Greek Course A1/AM - 10.30 - 12.00 - 13th January 2014 Beginner's Greek Course A1/PM - 18.00 - 19.30 - 13th January 2014 ...

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Greek town creates 7,936-pound lollipop

TRIKALA, Greece, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Greek town broke a Guinness World Record with the creation of a 7,936-pound lollipop, which took a team two days to make.

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Greek Fire coming to Firebird for 'evening with' concert

Greek Fire coming to Firebird for 'evening with' concertSTLtoday.comAn Evening with Greek Fire is at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 27 at the Firebird. Tickets are $15, available through ticketfly.com. There's also a private VIP performance, meet-and-greet and early entry available. Get more information at firebirdstl.com. Kevin C ...and more »

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10982920: More Americans on Disability Than People in Greece

10982920: More Americans on Disability Than People in GreeceCNSNews.comThe 10,982,920 Americans taking disability benefits in November outnumbered the total population of Greece, which is 10,772,967, according to the Central Intelligence Agency. The record 10,982,920 total disability beneficiaries in November, included a ...

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Seven Charged With Keeping Slave Labor

In yet another sordid story of immigrants being exploited, five Greeks and two Romanians have been arrested on charges of forcing 60 Romanians brought to Greece on the promise of a job to work like slaves on a mushroom farm in western Greece. Authorities were alerted after two of the workers escaped and went to […]

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Bad Weather in Greece Causes Blackouts

Many areas in Athens, Greece are without electricity today, due to the abrupt weather change and the strong winds that started Monday evening. In Piraeus, Rafina, and Lavrio in Attica, as well as in the Rio-Antirio crossing in Western Greece, ferry boats have been forbidden from leaving the port for several hours. The routes to […]

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Poll Shows Greek Pessimism Grows

Greeks buried under 3 1/2 years of austerity measures said they’ve essentially given up on any hope life will get better and are growing more pessimistic about the economy, according to a nationwide poll by GPO for Mega TV and radio’s  Overthrow. Some 63 percent expect their lot will become worse over the next two […]

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Mother Faces Deportation after Losing her Child

A mother from Serbia, who lost her 13 year-old daughter a few days ago had to not only face the tragic death of her child but also a 30-days notice deportation order. After an intervention from the Greek Minister of Public Order, Nikos Dendias, the mother was allowed to extend her stay in Greece for […]

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Untold Story: Italian Regime Spied on Residents of Dodecanese

Bureaucratic certificates, such as permits and authorizations, as well as confidential reports, records of personal habits, political views and much more: the Fascist regime held 90,000 files on the inhabitants of the Italian Dodecanese, Greece a group of Aegean islands governed by Italy from 1912 to 1947, where at the time there were a total […]

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Greece Places Last in World Giving Index

Greece placed last in the fourth annual publication of the World Giving Index. The index records the donations to charities and aid organizations, volunteering time and offering to help strangers in 135 countries. Greece ranked 135th with just 13 points out of a maximum score of 100. In the individual categories, Greece was in 126th […]

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Adonis Georgiadis Demands End of Strike

In an interview early this morning, the Greek Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis warned EOPYY doctors to end their strike or risk facing severe measures later in the week. He said that he is ready to discuss doctor’s objections, but he has to take measures so that patients can continue to receive treatment. One of […]

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Housing violations in Greek houses typically go unaddressed

Housing violations in Greek houses typically go unaddressedDaily IlliniOn a campus with more than 60 certified fraternity and sorority houses, the University of Illinois boasts one of the largest Greek system in the country. So, in a Greek system as large as ours, one that involves nearly 25 percent of the undergraduate ...

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Greece defies EU as it begins parliamentary debate on 2014 budget

Evangelos Venizelos, deputy premier and leader of the anti-troika faction in the governing coalition, went on the offensive on Monday, telling a conference in Athens organised by the American-Hellenic chamber of commerce: ”We want a real, not just a ...

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Greek opposition leader looks to EU elections for mandate

Greek opposition leader looks to EU elections for mandateFinancial TimesAlexis Tsipras, Greece's far-left opposition leader, said the Greek government will no longer have a mandate to run the country if his Syriza party finishes first in May's European parliament election. He predicted that national elections would be held ...

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Russia proposes simplifying procedure of Russian military ships' calls at ...

Russia proposes simplifying procedure of Russian military ships' calls at ...The Voice of RussiaSergei Shoigu and Greek National Defense Minister Dimitrios Avramopoulos discussed the development of Russian-Greek military cooperation, including between the two countries' Navies. "The Russian defense minister proposed to his counterpart ...and more »

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Poor marks in literacy for Greek teens

When it comes to literacy in maths, science and reading, 15 year olds in Greek schools rank betwe...

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Greece tackling graft better than Spain

"That's one of the most interesting issues for us, the difference between Spain and Greece," Finn Heinrich, lead researcher of the group's 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, told AFP. "You see two quite different responses to corruption in the context of ...

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Bonhams’ Greek Art Sale Earns 2.4 Million Euro

The British auction house Bonhams seems to be withstanding the pressure and holding onto its market share, despite the crisis. The first Greek sale in the managed to find buyers for 71 percent of the lots. Turnover came to 2.4 million euros, up ...

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Greek shipowner released pending trial on embezzlement charges

Greek shipowner Victor Restis has been conditionally released after spending four months in jail pending trial on money laundering and embezzlement charges, court officials said on Tuesday, . Restis, one of only a few prominent businessmen to be jailed since Greece sank into crisis, is being investigated over bad loans at FBBank, a troubled lender that was wound down this year. The businessman ...

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Greece Keeps Most Corrupt Crown

Repeated vows to crack down on graft in Greece have done nothing to slow bribery and payoffs with the country keeping the dubious dishonor of being the most corrupt in the European Union and rated on a par with China. That was the finding by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International (TI) 2013 list released on […]

The post Greece Keeps Most Corrupt Crown appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Immigrants Worked Like Slaves on Farm

Alerted by two who escaped, Greek police found scores of illegal Romanian immigrants being forced to toil like slaves on a mushroom farm in western Greece and arrested five Greeks and two Romanians on charges of human trafficking. Authorities said the workers were brought to Greece on the promise of a job with a decent […]

The post Immigrants Worked Like Slaves on Farm appeared first on The National Herald.


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Seven arrested at mushroom farm keeping laborers in slave-like conditions

Five Greeks and two Romanian nationals were arrested on Monday after two farm workers from the eastern European country escaped slave-like conditions in western Greece and sought help at the Romanian Embassy in Athens, which in turn alerted the police. Th... ...

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Strong winds keep ferries at port as cold front expected to spread

Gale-force winds that swept Greece overnight and early on Tuesday kept ferry boats tied up at the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio in Attica, as well as the Rio-Antirro crossing in western Greece for several hours. The routes cancelled were those to Ae... ...

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Parents of disabled gather in central Athens on International Day of People with Disability

Several dozen parents and guardians of people with disabilities gathered on Tuesday morning at Korai Square in central Athens to demand a stop to cost-cutting measures that have hit people with disabilities all over Greece and to mark the International Da... ...

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Greece seen as most corrupt country in EU, Transparency International finds

Greece scored 40 out of 100 points on the perception of corruption scale published by Berlin-based NGO Transparency International on Tuesday, putting the crisis-hit nation on a par with China, but showing that it has made some progress from last year when... ...

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Parliament to begin debating 2014 budget

Greek lawmakers are scheduled to begin debating the draft budget for 2014 on Tuesday afternoon, with the final vote scheduled for midnight on Saturday following an address by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in which he is expected to defend several controv... ...

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Panathinaikos sells Figueroa to Malaysians

Argentine striker Luciano Figueroa has been sold to Malaysian Super League club Johor Darul Takzim, Panathinaikos announced late on Monday. The Athens-based Greek Super League team said the transfer fee was worth $1 million (750,000 euros). Figueroa, 32, ... ...

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Alpha Bank absorbs over 1,000 employees from former Emporiki

Alpha Bank SA, Greece's third-largest lender, on Tuesday proceeded with the absorption of 1,010 former employees of Emporiki, a Credit Agricole SA subsidiary that was taken over by Alpha in February. The bank's human resources department said that the 1,0... ...

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Mountains of Peloponnese get first dusting of snow

The mountains of the Peloponnese got their first dusting of snow on Tuesday as temperatures nosedived across Greece. Mount Mainalo, a popular skiing destination southwest of Tripoli, had about 20 centimeters of snow by Tuesday afternoon, while several rem... ...

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Greeks Still Grim About Future

Greeks aren’t buying Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ self-proclaimed “success story,” that the economy is going to get better and that their lives will one of these years too. Buried under 3 1/2 years of austerity measures, nearly two in three said they’ve essentially given up on any hope life will get better and are growing […]

The post Greeks Still Grim About Future appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greece Fails to Break University Strikes

With a strike at eight Greek universities in a 13th week and the semester ready to be wiped out for students who haven’t had classes even start at some of them, Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos has broken off fruitless talks with the staffs and referred University of Athens Rector Theodosis Pelegrinis to a disciplinary council […]

The post Greece Fails to Break University Strikes appeared first on The National Herald.


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Anthropologist Examines Effects of Crisis on Greek Sense of Self in U. of Illinois Talk

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN – The Modern Greek Studies Program of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will host Dr. Neni Panourgia of Columbia University and New School of Social Research who give a public lecture titled “There is no End to Mourning Here: Giving an Account of the Precarious Self in Greece of the Crises,” in the Lincoln Hall, Room […]

The post Anthropologist Examines Effects of Crisis on Greek Sense of Self in U. of Illinois Talk appeared first on The National Herald.


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Turkey: No Mosque, No Halki Opening

A dispute over the closed Halki Seminary School has hit another obstacle as Turkey has said it will stay shut unless Greece reopens the Fetihye Mosque in Athens. Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Metin Kulunk said: “Have no doubt, Turkey has not taken a step to re-open Halki Seminary and it will not take a step […]

The post Turkey: No Mosque, No Halki Opening appeared first on The National Herald.


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S. Korea, Greece agree to deepen economic cooperation

Korea TimesS. Korea, Greece agree to deepen economic cooperationGlobalPostGreece is the No. 1 buyer of South Korean-built ships, with the orders from the European nation accounting for about a quarter of the total in the last four years. Ship exports represented 81 percent, or US$1.5 billion, of South Korea's total exports ...S.Korea asks Greece to deepen cooperation in shipping, shipbuildingGlobal TimesPresident Park holds bilateral talks with Greek presidentArirang Newsall 8 news articles »

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What Greek Wisdom Can Teach The Rest Of The World About Living Well

Here are 11 Greek secrets to living well. They eat a healthy Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is heavy on vegetables, olives, healthy fats and oils, fish, whole grains and red wine (in moderation), and is thought to have extensive ...

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Why Democracy Is Still in Danger in Greece

Why did the ND-PASOK government do this? Did it want to present itself as the sole agent of democratic stability and security in the country, pre-empting the radical left of Syriza from taking more disaffected votes from the middle classes? (ND-PASOK have ...

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Human Rights Watch calls on Greek MPs to strengthen anti-racism bill

KathimeriniHuman Rights Watch calls on Greek MPs to strengthen anti-racism billKathimeriniHuman Rights Watch, a leading international nongovernmental advocacy group, on Tuesday called for Greek lawmakers to strengthen legislation meant to combat racism and xenophobia. “Greece has failed countless victims of racist and xenophobic attacks ...Greece: Strengthen Anti-Racism BillHuman Rights Watchall 2 news articles »

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Istanbul seminary 'stays shut' until Athens mosque is opened

Hürriyet Daily News The Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary in Istanbul will not be re-opened until the Fethiye Mosque in Athens is opened for prayers, a senior figure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said. Standard

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Greek shipowner Restis released from preventive custody

by  NEOnline

Sometimes dubbed “the Greek Khodorkovsky” because of his unusual imprisonment by the Greek Justice, Greek shipowner Vicotor Restis was released a few hours ago from custody after 4 months in prison, pending his trial in the notoriously slow Greek judicial system.

Restis, one of the top shipowners internationally, was arrested last July when dozens of armed police stormed his house in an Athens suburb. He was accused of signing an improperly secured loan to a former business associate in his capacity as president of the FBB Bank. Even though the loan was serviced, Restis was remanded into custody for “money laundering”.

The excessive force used during his arrest and his subsequent unusually harsh treatment by the Greek authorities led to speculation about the real motivation behind his persecution, with political motives or business interests having been mentioned. Right from the start it became obvious that evidence against Restis was very slim. Sources in Athens express confidence that all preventive measures placed against Restis will soon be dropped.

Sources in Athens have repeatedly expressed surprise that his arrest came at a time when Greece is struggling to prevent economic collapse, to safeguard jobs and to lure investment by Greek shipowners.

Restis is one of the few major Greek shipowners that remains based in Greece, while his companies provide jobs for thousands of Greeks, in a country where unemployment runs at almost 28%.

According to his lawyers, after his release from prison, the shipowner will “fight to the end to prove his innocence and, at the same time, he will continue his business activities in Greece and abroad”, obviously signaling that he does not intend to remove his base from Greece.

New Europe, which has been following the Restis case since the initial stages will follow the issue closely in an attempt to provide an explanation how a “Khodorkovsky” situation can be created in a EU member state that is not Russia.


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The Poor, Tortured, Bombed, Painted Truman Statue in Athens

ATHENS—Along a bustling street in the Greek capital, a few blocks away from where the first modern Olympic games were held, stands a 12-foot bronze statue of President Harry S. Truman. For visitors to Athens, it's a prominent sight on the drive into the central part of the ancient city that takes you past the Acropolis and Temple of Olympian Zeus, among other wonders. It was donated by the ...

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Greek Parliament ratifies Host Government Agreement with TAP

This includes processes related to land easement and acquisition, the implementation of technical ... percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (16 percent), Total (10 percent), E.ON (9 percent) and Axpo (5 percent). The construction of TAP is planned ...

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Greece: Strengthen Anti-Racism Bill

Article 1 would make it a crime to incite hatred ... Members of parliament should carefully review these measures for compatibility with relevant human rights standards. Any measures that would interfere with the rights to freedom of association ...

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Greek Organization in US Helping Children with Cancer

Greek ReporterGreek Organization in US Helping Children with CancerGreek ReporterFor the past thirty years, a Greek organization by the name of The Greek Children's Fund, has been Helping Greek and Cypriot children suffering from cancer and seeking treatment in Hospitals and Medical centers in the U.S. The Greek Children's Fund was ...

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Securing The Cloud: How To Avoid A Greek Tragedy

That’s a recipe for disaster. Oracle’s solution is a comprehensive database security suite with preventive, detective and administrative solutions to secure your most valuable assets. According to a recent Gartner forecast, encryption can ...

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Macedonia calls for pressure on Greece in name dispute

Prospects for a settlement of the Greek-Macedonian dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic are the worst in 18 months, and a breakthrough may require the intervention of the US and Europe’s leading powers, according to Nikola Gruevski, the ...

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On Resiliency of Greek People

On Resiliency of Greek PeopleGreek ReporterA Greek medical student from the University of Ottawa explores the role of human resilience as a resolution for the current Greek crisis. By Maria Psihogios – In times of crisis, one inevitably finds themselves gravitating toward sources of strength ...

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