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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

Monday, October 6, 2014

Theater of War Heals Through Greek Tragedy at Brooklyn Academy of Music

NEW YORK – “Theater of War’ is the creation of a theater company called Outside the Wire. It was first funded by the Pentagon in 2009 as an “innovative public health project that presents powerful dramatic readings a catalyst for town hall discussion in military communities about combat and deployment related stress,” according to the […] The post Theater of War Heals Through Greek Tragedy at Brooklyn Academy of Music appeared first on The National Herald.


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A giant bean, a spectacular stew

Combine 1 pound dried Greek gigantes (giant beans) with water to cover by 2 inches, and soak overnight. Drain. Transfer the beans to a large, heavy ...


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Greece man missing after leaving Unity

Greece, N.Y. - Greece Police are asking for help finding a man who went missing Sunday. Officers said Michael Carey, 28, left Unity Hospital on foot ...


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Greece cops search for patient who left Unity Hospital

Greece police are searching for a patient who walked away from Unity Hospital in Greece Sunday night, just before he was set to be discharged.


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Canandaigua National Bank events shred nearly 17 tons of documents

... weighed in pounds: Brighton bank office collected 11,420 pounds; the Lakeshore office, 10,020 pounds; and the Greece-Latta and Long Pond Bank ...


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Pope urges bishops to 'speak freely' at family synod

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis urged bishops to be frank and not afraid to "speak freely" as a synod on the thorny subject of Catholic teachings on the family opened in Rome on Monday.The pope has made himself the "guarantor" of the smooth running of the extraordinary meeting, which will tackle the delicate issues of unmarried couples, single mothers and the remarriage of divorced people.The roughly 250 bishops taking part in the debates, which will go on until October 19, must "talk clearly" and welcome the "contributions of others with humility... to progress the Gospel of the family," Francis said."No one should say that we cannot say this or that because we are going to think like this... We must say everything, and be free to say everything that we feel," using the Greek word "parrhesia", meaning to speak candidly.The synod opened in a relaxed atmosphere despite sharp exchanges in print and in interviews beforehand between cardinals on the controversial question of whether remarried divorced Catholics should be allowed to receive communion. - Vast consultations - The synod's secretary general, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, talked of the "long road" the pope had wanted the discussions to take, with a consistory meeting held in March, two synods (the second will be held next October) and vast consultations of the Church's dioceses.The final document from this month's synod will be put to a vote and sent to all dioceses, possibly with a "questionnaire" to help clarify issues, the cardinal said. The synod itself was put together from a questionnaire sent to dioceses last winter, with 84 percent getting back to Rome with their responses.The results of the consultation after this synod will be used to put together the work document for next year's gathering.The synod's relator general, the Hungarian cardinal Peter Erdo, stressed the importance of the Church's doctrine, notably on marriage: "Mercy does not annul the engagements born from the bond of marriage, they continue even when human love has weakened or ceased."On homosexuality Erdo said there was a "large consensus" among bishops about not discriminating against gays, but "clarity" also "that one cannot expect that these relations can be put on an equal standing with the marriage of a man and a woman".Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris and one of the synod's vice-presidents, said the synod was not "a parliamentary debate" but was about reaching a consensus. "We are here to build the common will of the Church."He said the synod will give "universal directions" on issues, but then it was up to each local church to adapt them and "take concrete decisions".He added that despite the pontiff's popularity, "the pope is not the bishop of my diocese and not the curate of the world".Join the conversation about this story »


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Property incentive finds takers

The total value of residential properties acquired in Greece by non-European Union citizens over the last few years in the context of an incentive which provides a five-year residence permit to those who buy real estate totaling at least 250,000 euros is ... ...


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Italy’s Edison to enter bidding for Greek hydrocarbons

Investor interest in Greek hydrocarbons is growing with the approach of the launch of the tender for the 20 blocks in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete. After France’s Total, which was the first company to obtain the seismic data package, and British Petr... ...


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Major rebound for Thessaloniki tourism

Tourism in Thessaloniki has made a major recovery this year, thanks to the rise in both Greek and foreign visitors. Thessaloniki Hoteliers Association data for the year to end-August showed that the number of overnight stays in the city soared by 17.9 per... ...


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New year-low in Greek bourse as investors show caution

The main index of the Greek bourse dropped to a new year-low on Monday. Once again the benchmark started the session in the green only to end up in the red. The switch of the settlement date from three days after each security transaction (T+3) to two day... ...


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Budget denotes IMF departure

The departure of the International Monetary Fund from the Greek funding program was revealed by the absence of its loans from the 2015 draft budget tabled on Monday in Parliament by the Finance Ministry. Although there is no explicit reference to the end ... ...


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New Attica regional governor cancels four major landfill tenders

The newly elected Attica regional governor on Monday canceled the tenders for four major waste disposal projects in the broader area of the Greek capital in a bid to seek alternative methods, though the decision will mean more delays in Athens’s enduring ... ...


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Pipinos, first submarine to be built in Greece, launched

Pipinos, the first submarine to be constructed in Greece, which was launched on Monday in Skaramangas, west of Athens. The launch was attended by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Defense Minister Dimitris Avram... ...


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“The Greek Monsters” are at the National Hellenic Museum

This is just one of the many monsters of Greek mythology, redesigned by Greek design company, Beetroot, on display in The Greek Monsters exhibit at ...


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What It's Like to Be a Mom in “a Paradise for Sex Stereotypes”

I'm afraid Greece is a paradise for sex stereotypes. Mothers are expected to deal with child rearing and fathers to be the breadwinners. Occasionally ...


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If The Word ‘How’ Is Trademarked, Does This Headline Need A ™ ?

Who owns How? No, that’s not a line from a Dr. Seuss book or an Abbott and Costello routine. It’s the question at the center of a bitter legal battle pitting a best-selling author and management guru against America’s largest Greek yogurt manufacturer.


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Greek yields climb as gov't announces plans for new bonds

Greek bonds saw their yields climb as the government announced it plans to improve its yield curve with sales of seven- and 10-year government debt, according to the 2015 draft budget presented on Monday by Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras. ... ...


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Greek prosecutors charge former official with mismanagement of post-Olympic venues

by  Associated Press Former official charged over Greek Olympic venues Associated Press - 6 October 2014 12:49-04:00 ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek prosecutors have brought criminal mismanagement charges against a former official responsible for the post-Olympic use of costly venues that languished for years after the 2004 Athens Games. Constantinos Matalas, who headed the now-defunct state-run Olympic Properties SA in 2008, faces a jail term of 5 to 10 years, if convicted. Prosecutors Sotiris Boygioukos and Eleni Siskou also asked Parliament to lift the immunity of Matalas' successor, Dionysis Stamenitis, who is now a lawmaker with the governing conservative New Democracy party, to allow his prosecution on the same charges. Greece hosted the 2004 Games after a mad, last-minute rush to complete the venues in time. But for years thereafter most of the purpose-built installations languished unused and poorly maintained. The charges were brought Monday. News Topics: General news, Summer Olympic games, Olympic games, Events, Sports People, Places and Companies: Greece, Athens, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Former official charged over Greek Olympic venues

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek prosecutors have brought criminal mismanagement charges against a former official responsible for the post-Olympic use of costly venues that languished for years after the 2004 Athens Games.


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Greece to get GDP boost in 2015 says government

Two cheers were raised in Greece on Monday with government news it expects GDP growth to continue in 2015, and that it will nave a primary budget ...


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Greece Says 2015 Brings Tax Cuts, Economic Growth

Greece's Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras presents the government's draft 2015 budget to journalists, at the finance ministry in Athens on ...


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Greece unveils optimistic budget

Government expects economy to grow by 2.9 per cent in 2015


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FYROM court sentences 18 for spying on behalf of Greece, Hungary

A court on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Monday sentenced 18 people, including former intelligence employees, to jail for up to 15 years for spying for foreign countries. Judge Gojko Ristov said evidence presented during the trial, ... ...


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Greek Film Festival Opens in New York

This year’s New York City Greek Film Festival will be held from Saturday, October 18, until Wednesday, October 22, at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY, before moving to Bow Tie Cinema in Manhasset, NY, on October 20-21. The New York City ...


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A Bestselling Author Claims To Own The Word 'How' And He's Launched A Lawsuit Over It

A best-selling author is suing Greek yogurt company Chobani for using the word "how."  Dov Seidman, who wrote a business management book called "How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything," says that Chobani's new marketing campaign infringes on his trademark of the word, writes Jonathan Mahler at The New York Times.  Seidman is suing Chobani and advertising firm Droga5 and wants them to stop its new marketing campaign, "How Matters."  The campaign highlights how Chobani yogurt is made.  The yogurt company has responded aggressively to Seidman's lawsuit, denying they had heard of Seidman and asking the court to cancel his trademark for the word "how," according to Mahler. They also filed their own trademark application for "how matters."  Seidman tells the Times that his rights were violated.  "They’re using 'how' to convey and connote that they are an ethical company," he said. "They are using 'How' exactly the way I use it. They’ve appropriated the foundation of my entire philosophy." Mahler says the legal case is notable because "how" is such a common word.  Chobani is working to regain the share of the Greek yogurt market it has lost to other brands like Dannon and Yoplait.   Here's Chobani's Super Bowl commercial, which features the tagline "How Matters."  SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons Burger King's Business Is On Fire Follow Us: On Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »


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Two suspects in deadly Egnatia Highway pileup face magistrate

Two men accused of having played a part in a deadly traffic pileup in northern Greece on Sunday, which led to five people losing their lives and dozens being injured, were given more time to prepare their depositions on Monday. A 39-year-old Romanian truc... ...


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Greece deports 629 undocumented migrants

The Aliens Directorate deported 629 undocumented migrants in September with the cooperation of the local branch of the International Organization for Migration, the Greek police announced on Monday. The majority of the migrants were flown back to Albania ... ...


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Greek police arrest man over 24.2 mln euros in debts to state

Police in Thessaloniki on Monday arrested a 56-year-old business executive over debts to the state in excess of 24 million euros. The company, a manufacturer of plastic irrigation and sewerage equipment, ran up a total of 24,197,159 euros in the period fr... ...


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Greece primps for big China state deals

When Xi Jinping, the president of China, made an unofficial one-night stopover in August on the island of Rhodes, on his way to Brazil for a summit of leading emerging markets, Greece’s president and premier flew from Athens to make sure his stay went ...


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Injured Holebas out for Greece qualifiers

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece defender Jose Holebas has been ruled out of European Championship qualifiers against Finland and Northern Ireland after picking up a groin injury in a weekend Serie A match.


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9 Highly Successful People Share What They Wish They'd Known In College

Like countless college students before them, the class of 2014 has little idea what to expect when they enter the working world. "Whether you know exactly where you're heading or feel a bit lost," writes Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in "Lean In For Graduates," the latest edition of her popular book, "everyone has this in common: you're all in for big surprises."  College graduates will leave the safe, structured world of higher education and enter a fiercely competitive job market, instantly going from the top of the food chain to the bottom. When they land a job, they enter a strange new world of office politics, power jockeying, and hidden agendas.   To give young people a head start, Business Insider polled some of the world's most successful people to find out what they wish they had known before they graduated.   A few common themes: Take risks, stay focused, don't underestimate the power of relationships, and expect the unexpected.   Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group and author of "Thrive": "In college, just before I embarked on a career as a writer, I wish I had known that there would be no trade-off between living a well-rounded life and my ability to do good work.   "I wish I could go back and tell myself, in my thick Greek accent: 'Arianna, your performance will actually improve if you can commit to not only working hard, but also unplugging, recharging, and renewing yourself.' That would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress, burnout, and exhaustion."  Scott Adams, creator of syndicated comic Dilbert and author of "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big":  "I would tell my young self to keep open as many options as possible because the future is wildly unpredictable. The best way to improve your options is to continually learn as much as you can in fields that are complementary to your main interests. It also helps your odds if you stay networked with as many influential people as you can." Kay Krill, president and CEO of ANN Inc.: "The advice I would have given to my college self and any young person entering the workforce today would be to always be authentic and true to yourself and your beliefs. Do not get sidetracked with advice from others that your gut tells you is wrong. By doing this, you will have the clarity of mind to always do the right thing for the business and for yourself." Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur and investor: "I wish that I had known it was just a job and not a mission to make my employer money. I thought I could truly impact the profits of the company — that my ideas were as good on my first day as the most senior executive. I should have been patient and tried to fit in and develop a possible career.  "But I didn't. I was a horrible employee. As it turns out, being bored and deciding to leave after nine months wasn't a bad decision. So I guess the real response is that I'm glad I didn't know it even though I should have. If I had known that, I might still be there…" Denise Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company: "If I could give my younger self career advice, it would be this: Don't wait for doors to open. Open them yourself by being persistent and thinking strategically about your career. Plan your career destination, develop a personal mission statement, and build relationships with sponsors and mentors.  "And above all, network, because networking is working. Your ability will only take you so far. Your relationships will take you the rest of the way." Tim Ferriss, host of "The Tim Ferriss Experiment" and author of "The 4-Hour Workweek": "I wish I'd read Warren Buffett's early annual letters. There are so many gems that apply broadly to business and life. I'll paraphrase my favorites: Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. To be successful, you can get a lot of things wrong, as long as you get a few critical things right.  Invest [your time and money] as though you have a single card with only five to 10 hole punches allowed. Whether you're playing on Wall Street or Main Street, I think his wisdom is an incredible asset."  Teresa Taylor, former COO of Qwest Communications and author of "The Balance Myth": "When I was in college, I wish I would have known that you need to be more flexible with work life. You will have situations, bosses, and decisions that you cannot predict, and nothing turns out the way you thought it would. That's OK! Let things happen, and open yourself to new opportunities." Dan Schawbel, managing partner of Millennial Branding and author of "Promote Yourself": "As a college student, I never knew that entrepreneurship was a career solution to employment, nor did I consider an entrepreneurial approach to career management. Like most students, I thought that the ideal career path was to work your way up at a big company and then retire, and boy was I wrong.  "Through the years, I realized that the only way you can truly get ahead is by being accountable, networking constantly, and putting yourself out there. I realized that you need to think of a career as a collection of experiences along a journey and leverage everything you can to propel yourself forward." Kat Cole, president of Cinnabon: "What I wish I would have known is that everything will change and eventually work out in your career when you follow your purpose and passion. Don't get too caught up in the 'plan' that you have.  "As a mentor once shared with me, especially when you are young, each career move and choice you make won't be your last, and you can always course correct, so don't waste too much time overanalyzing the next few steps. Take a risk, be the best at the job that you can be, help others along the way, and the next right thing will present itself."SEE ALSO: The 50 Best Employers In America Join the conversation about this story »


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Greek austerity 'beginning to show results', +2.9% in 2015

According to the Greek draft budget presented on Monday morning in Parliament by Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, there will be a ...


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Greece Eyes Budget Surplus for 2015

Greece is aiming to achieve a budget surplus of 2.9% next year, which is just short of the 3% target set in the bailout deal, said its deputy finance ...


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Freerunning Santorini : The Greek winner Dimitris Kyrsanidis

Local hero Dimitris Kyrsanidis (GRE) seized victory at Red Bull Art of Motion 2014 by beating 17 of the world's best freerunning athletes on Santorini's ...


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Germany: Best Manager of The Year Is Greek

“Manager of the Year.” Born “Giovanoudi” in the northern Greek city of Didymoteicho, the Greek manager was awarded by the international ...


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Turkey monitoring Greek Cypriot oil and gas exploration

File photo of a deep sea oil drilling platform Turkey is closely monitoring the exploration of oil and gas fields being carried out by the Greek Cypriot ...


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Vote of Confidence Buys Valuable Time for Shaky Government

It is nothing but ironic that the once-mighty conservative New Democracy party celebrated its 40th anniversary amidst a whirlwind of public disaffection, internal arguments, a second-place running in the polls and an electorate spiraling to less than 20% of all Greeks. Meanwhile, as the ruling party, New Democracy ushered in its fourth decade by pleading for a vote of confidence from the Greek Parliament. Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras recently spoke before all prominent members of the party, old and new, sending messages of unity, speaking like he still retains the support of New Democracy’s millions of former supporters, promising brighter days ahead for Greece and the party. And, naturally, he attacked opposition party SYRIZA, accusing them of recklessness and serving up false promises to the Greek people. That last gesture was a strategic move for Samaras, who will ask the Greek Parliament for a vote of confidence on Wednesday. There are a number of independent MPs who will cast key votes this week, among them a number of conservatives who will probably give their vote of confidence to the present government in order to stall SYRIZA’s call for premature elections. The presence of Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Kostas Karamanlis and Theodoros Roussopoulos – all ND stalwarts who have never concealed their disdain for Samaras’ leadership in the past – is an indication that the PM has succeeded in his goal of unifying the party. It is certain that even the few New Democracy MPs who openly disagree with some of the austerity measures will follow the party line and vote in favor of the government. At this point, asking for a vote of confidence has proved a clever move for the coalition government. By doing so, they prevented SYRIZA from submitting a motion of censure. In their war with SYRIZA, the New Democracy and PASOK leaders have decided to fight within the walls of the Greek Parliament. Here they have the upper hand: 154 votes from ND and PASOK MPs, plus a few tentative votes from independents. This is a counter-attack after the lost battle in the polls. It is all-too-obvious that Greek society as a whole would not be giving its vote of confidence to the present government. By asking the 300 MPs for their vote of confidence, the coalition government wants to show that it has parliamentary approval to continue with the measures and reforms the international creditors demand. It is the simple logic that, if the people’s representatives trust that the government is capable of doing its job, the people trust them, too. Even with a thin majority in the house of representatives, Samaras and Evangelos Venizelos will show the government’s strength and determination to do all that is necessary to exit the economic crisis, despite internal and external pressures. Much remains to be done before the end of the year: The parliament has to vote on the 2015 budget, on tax reliefs, on layoffs in the public sector, on pension reforms, on union laws and so on. All these are prerequisites the troika has strapped to the ongoing negotiations regarding the sovereign debt. SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras accuses Samaras and Venizelos of being incapable and unwilling to negotiate with the lenders. He insists that, by continuing the troika’s policies, Greece sinks deeper into an economic and social abyss. He demands elections now, claiming that “only the people can give a vote of confidence to a government.” This political cliche doesn’t amount to much, but the truth is that no government ever asked for a vote of confidence from the parliament in order to pass legislations in favor of the people. Another battle the coalition government has to fight is the election of the president of the republic in February. The vote of confidence is a useful weapon for that battle, too. SYRIZA is pushing for elections now because Tsipras knows that it is impossible for the Samaras-Venizelos government to get the 180 votes they need to elect a president from the present parliament. By securing the vote of confidence, the present government can postpone the presidential election until February and win valuable time. The political cost of such a move may also prove deadly for a government. If the parliament gives a vote of confidence to the government and the government passes legislations against the interests of the people, then the parliament gets discredited and, in the eyes of the electorate, MPs are seen as a cast of individuals who only care about their political careers and salaries. History shows that it is the last line of defense for an unpopular government. Let’s not forget that in November 4, 2011, then Prime Minister George Papandreou went to the parliament and asked for a vote of confidence. He got 153 votes in favor and 145 against. Two days later, he was forced to resign. And out of the 160 PASOK MPs in 2009, only 41 remained six months after his resignation.


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Bloomberg Restates that Greece Should Follow A Bailout Program

Greece’s lenders are insisting that the country remain subject to an economic bailout program, according to the financial newspaper Bloomberg, which has cited two anonymous officials. European financial support of Greece is set to expire at the end of 2014, although the IMF is scheduled to continue to disburse loan tranches in 2015. Mr. Samaras has suggested that the country may forgo these additional loans. That may help his coalition government stave off early elections in February, which will be triggered if Mr. Samaras cannot find at least 180 MPs to support the election of a new president of the republic. His government’s narrow majority currently stands at 154 in the 300 seat chamber. If early elections are held, the opposition party SYRIZA is projected to win, consistently polling at least 4 percentage points above New Democracy. However, according to the Bloomberg report, the troika remains unconvinced that the country can survive without outside support following today’s tabling of the 2015 draft budget in parliament. According to the budget, Greece will raise money on international debt markets through the issue of 7- and 10-year bonds and treasury bills. Greece returned to the markets in April with a successful bond issue after four years of being under economic surveillance due to its fiscal crisis. But according to Bloomberg, the troika continues to see the country’s condition as fragile. “Greece’s creditors would prefer to keep some form of credible backstop in case market conditions worsen,” the newspaper writes.


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Stocks Roundup- Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE), National Bank of Greece (ADR ...

National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG) moved up +0.35% to settle at $2.86. Its total traded volume during last trading session was 3.41 million ...


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Former Cabinet Secretary Takis Baltakos To Form New Right-Wing Party

Takis Baltakos, former cabinet secretary and righthand man of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, is planning to create a new rightwing political force that could include “serious” figures from Golden Dawn, a Sunday newspaper has reported. Baltakos was forced to resign in April after a video surfaced showing him engaged in what appeared to be friendly conversation with Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris. According to “Ethnos,” Baltakos hopes to have the new party established by February at the latest. The newspaper also claims that Kasidiaris, currently pending trial with other Golden Dawn members on charges of running a criminal organization, is involved in this venture. Excluded from the party would be Golden Dawn’s leader, Nikos Michaoliakos, who, along with other Golden Dawn figures, is viewed by those planning the new entity as a liability. Since his resignation as the most powerful official in the government, Baltakos has made no secret of his political plans. Asked in August if he had plans to form a new party, he said that “when the time comes, everything will have been done.” In a frank interview with To Vima in August, Baltakos, who described the Orthodox church and Greek armed forces as “pillars of the nation,” said that it was imperative for New Democracy to swing to the right to win over the 16.5% of the electorate that lies to its extreme. “It’s the only way. If New Democracy does not turn to the right to absorb the majority of rightwing voters, this gap will be filled. The fairytale of the left must end. It’s time to exonerate the right [of its] unjustified guilt,” he said. He envisaged a Greek version of a Gaullist party, to be led by a military man. “He should be a strong personality, between de Gaulle and Papagos”. In 1949, Field Marshall Alexandros Papagos led the nationalist forces to victory against communist insurgents in the Greek civil war. He was also prime minister from 1952 to 1955, serving as leader of the Greek Rally party. Konstantinos Karamanlis, who would form New Democracy in 1974, was a former Greek Rally MP. In his To Vima interview, Baltakos confirmed that he had met with former Greek army general staff chief Frangoulis Frangos, who is known for his strong views on national issues, but gave no details about the content of their talks. Along with other military leaders, Frangos retired from his position in November 2011, shortly before Prime Minister George Papandreou was forced to resign as prime minister. To Vima later linked the replacement of the country’s top military brass with a coup “that didn’t happen.” Last month, a daily newspaper revealed that Baltakos maintained direct lines of communication with Golden Dawn, even to the point of instructing the neo-Nazi party on how to vote in parliament and congratulating its MPs for their rowdy behaviour.


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Greek government to face confidence vote on Friday

Athens (dpa) - Greece's coalition government will face a crucial confidence vote on Friday, amid growing calls from the main opposition far-left SYRIZA ...


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Seven injured in Egnatia Highway crash discharged from hospital

Nine of the people injured in a major pile-up on the Egnatia Highway in northern Greece on Sunday were discharged from the hospital on Monday, while another 17 remain under treatment. A 76-year-old man is still in critical conditions after breaking severa... ...


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Greek Involved in International Organs Trafficking Circuit

The community of San Jose in Costa Rica is shocked after the arrest of a Greek immigrant, a local pizzeria owner, who stands accused of involvement in an organ trafficking circuit. The Greek man owns the pizzeria Akropolis, situated opposite Calderon ...


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Ex-Thessaloniki Mayor Seeks Leniency

Ex-Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos wants Greece's highest court to further reduce his once life sentence for embezzlement. The post Ex-Thessaloniki Mayor Seeks Leniency appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greek Involved in International Organs Trafficking Circuit

The community of San Jose in Costa Rica is shocked after the arrest of a Greek immigrant, a local pizzeria owner, who stands accused of involvement in an organ trafficking circuit. The Greek man owns the pizzeria Akropolis, situated opposite Calderon ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.greekreporter.com

Greece forecasts end to six years of recession

Athens - Greece should climb strongly away next year from a six-year recession which axed a quarter of its economy, turning in growth of 2.9 percent, ...


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Greek budget aimed at weaning aid does not impress creditors

Greece's Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras addresses reporters during a presentation of the government's draft 2015 budget in Athens ...


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“Mediterranea” Leaves Athens After Month-long Stay

An Italian scientific and cultural expedition, the ”Mediterranea Project,” has just left Athens after spending a month docked at Piraeus docks. Participants in the expedition spent their days in Greece at meetings onboard the Mediterranea vessel, at cafes in Athens and at the Italian Institute of Culture. Many members of the Greek cultural community were interviewed by Simone Perotti, who created the initiative. Over the next five years, Perotti plans to send the “Mediterranea Project” to 29 countries in the Mediterranean, Black and Red Sea areas. He aims to meet with regional writers, artists and intellectuals in search of ideas and solutions to confront the crisis of this era. ”We leave Athens after a very intense month,” he told reporters. ”Meetings, dialogue, writing, research. We bring information, impressions, feelings knowledge, but most of all words. The words we are looking for – we weren’t aware we were looking for them, but they are necessary in such a noisy and twisted era. The Mediterranean of ideas in this first, emblematic stopover, revealed its deep richness. This is confirmation that the Mediterranean is the ark of words and ideas, and it has deep meaning that still needs to be brought forward. ”Thanks to the staff of IIC in Athens and director Silvana Vassilli, a splendid woman of culture and organization, who supported and helped us always”. While in Athens, Perotti and the Mediterranea crew were able to meet: Denys Zacharopoulos, artistic director of the ”Alex Mylona” Museum in Athens; Maurizio De Rosa, philologist and translator of leading Greek contemporary novelists; Greek poet and intellectual Nanos Valaortis; Christos Hadziiosif, director of the department of modern and contemporary history at the University of Crete; writer Petros Markaris; poet Kostas Koutsourelis; Corriere della Sera editorialist for the Middle East Antonio Ferrari; activist architect and environmentalist Maria Peteniaki; writer Ersi Sotiropoulos; Ambassador Panayiotis Makris; musician Mario Strofalis; writer Fabrizio Manili; Paris Sigalas, producer of the great white wine of Santorini; Radio En Lefko 87.7 editor Katerina Kafentzi; Theodossios Tassios, professor emeritus at the Polytechnic in Athens; Nikos Moschonas, historian; theater actress Marilli Mastrantoni; artist and activist of ”Piazza Syntagma” Costis Ksyme Triandaphyllou; and the great writer Vassilli Vassilikos. ”From the port of Piraeus we will travel east-south east for Cape Sounion and north along the Eubea canal until the Sporades,” says Perotti. “Then Thessaloniki and the three long fingers of the Chalkidiki peninsula, Macedonia, Thassos, further down the Dardanelles inside the sea of Marmara for the Prince islands until Constantinople, Istanbul, the pearl of the Bosphorus. We expect to be there mid-December”. The expedition takes place under the Greek Navy’s patronage. The venture is also sponsored by the president of the Republic, the foreign ministry, as well as other departments and international bodies.


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Effort to simplify 39,000 pages of social security laws gets underway

The Labor Ministry announced on Monday the launch of an effort to simplify Greece’s social security laws, which stretch to almost 39,000 pages and some of which date back to 1940. “We said that the country’s social security system is labyrinthine - a mosa... ...


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BC-AP--AP European News Digest at 1100 GMT, AP

by  Associated Press BC-AP--AP European News Digest at 1100 GMT, AP Associated Press - 6 October 2014 07:30-04:00 TOP STORIES FOR MONEY, OCTOBER 6, 2014 NOBEL-MEDICINE STOCKHOLM — U.S.-British scientist John O'Keefe and married Norwegian researchers May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering the "inner GPS" that helps the brain navigate through the world. Their findings on rats — and research suggests human have the same system in their brains — represent a "paradigm shift" in our knowledge of how cells work together to perform cognitive functions and could help scientists understand the mechanisms behind Alzheimer's disease, the Nobel Assembly said. SENT: 550 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words by 1300 GMT. By Karl Ritter and Malin Rising. TURKEY-OIL SMUGGLING HACIPASA, Turkey — Sevda, a 22-year-old waitress in a brown apron, recounts how she made a small fortune running smuggled diesel from a village on Turkey's wild and dangerous border with Syria. But the days when she could earn 20 times her salary waiting tables came to an abrupt end several months ago when police arrested her and slapped her employers with a massive fine. The smuggled fuel came from oil wells in Iraq or Syria controlled by militants, including the Islamic State group, and was sold to middlemen who smuggled it across the Turkish-Syrian border. Western intelligence officials have alleged that Turkey is turning a blind eye to a flourishing trade that strengthens the Islamic State group, and Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Turkey to do more to stem the trade. Analysts estimate that the Islamic State group gets up to $3 million a day in revenue from oil fields seized in Iraq and Syria. SENT: 1,700 words, photos. By Desmond Butler. VATICAN-FAMILY VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged bishops to speak their minds about contentious issues like contraception, gays, marriage and divorce at the start Monday of a two-week meeting aimed at making the church's teaching on family matters relevant to today's Catholics. Francis told bishops they shouldn't even be afraid of showing him disrespect, saying he wants a frank and open debate that shouldn't be reined in by fears that some issues are too taboo to even be discussed. By Nicole Winfield. BRITAIN-MISSING GIRL LONDON — A woman who was accused of sending Internet abuse to the parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann has been found dead in a hotel room. Her death has revived debate about media responsibility and how best to respond to online "trolls." Television channel Sky News identified 63-year-old Brenda Leyland as a Twitter user who had attacked Kate and Gerry McCann under the name "sweepyface." Last week a Sky News reporter confronted Leyland on camera about the alleged abuse. SENT: 440 words. CORPORATE DEALS LONDON — In a year that's been awash with multi-billion dollar corporate deals, the number and value of mergers and acquisitions is set to grow further, reaching pre-crisis levels over the coming 12 months, consulting firm EY said Monday. In its biannual Global Capital confidence barometer, EY said global M&A is on course to return to 2006 levels in the next year thanks to improvements in market conditions. Companies started getting reluctant to do deals in 2007 when the credit crunch really started. The following year's global financial crisis and subsequent recession saw M&A activity come to a near standstill. SENT: 380 words. By Pan Pylas. EU-BULGARIA-ELECTION SOFIA, Bulgaria — Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is returning to power after his center-right GERB party won most seats in parliamentary elections, but fell short of a majority to govern alone. With 99 percent of the votes counted, the GERB party leads with 32.7 percent, with the Socialists second with 15.4 percent, the Central Election Commission announced on Monday. SENT: 130 words. EU-GREECE-BUDGET ATHENS, Greece — Greece's economy is on track to emerge from a six-year recession this year and grow by 2.9 percent in 2015, though unemployment in the bailed-out country is likely to remain high, the finance ministry said Monday. The government — facing the threat of an early general election — submitted a draft of the 2015 budget to parliament that sees tax cuts and a return to modest growth of 0.6 percent in 2014, ending the depression that erased roughly a quarter of national output. SENT: 380 words. By Derek Gatopoulos. CYPRUS-TURKEY-PEACE TALKS NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' foreign minister says Turkey's stated intention to search for oil and gas in waters where the ethnically-split island nation has licensed an Italian-South Korean consortium to drill could upset reunification talks. Ioanis Kasoulides says productive negotiations can't continue "under such conditions of provocation." He told reporters Monday that Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will decide soon on how to respond. SENT: 140 words. EU-POLAND-NATO WARSAW, Poland — NATO's new secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, is in Poland on his first foreign trip since starting the job last week, a visit meant to reassure a nervous ally on the alliance's eastern flank. Speaking in Warsaw alongside the Polish president, Stoltenberg on Monday stressed that NATO would protect and defend each of its allies. SENT: 130 words. News Topics: General news, International incidents, Christianity, Government budgets, Parliamentary elections, Government and politics, Missing persons, Recessions and depressions, Religion, Social affairs, Government finance, Government business and finance, Business, Elections, Economy People, Places and Companies: John Kerry, Pope Francis, Madeleine McCann, Boyko Borisov, Nicos Anastasiades, Jens Stoltenberg, Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Vatican City, Sofia, Syria, Warsaw, Middle East, Greece, Western Europe, Europe, Eastern Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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