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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, March 24, 2015

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NOT much has gone right for Greece since the Syriza-led government of Alexis Tsipras took power earlier this year. Mr Tsipras's promise to press ...


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Euro zone bailout fund to analyze 1.2 billion euro refund to Greece

Greece believes it should get the 1.2 billion euros back because it says it paid this amount from a cash reserve of its own bank stabilization fund, the ...


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Greece is a close friend of Kingdom

Greece has always been known to the Saudi people: It is in their history books, in the curriculum of classical studies and in their summer holiday plans.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.arabnews.com

Why Greece should follow Germany's walk, not its talk

Tsipras met Merkel on Monday evening, his first official visit, to discuss Greece's bailout and reform. Photo by REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski.


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Pericles, Pals Chilling in Kiffisia

Greeks, in times of crisis and prosperity alike, like to gather around a table to eat, drink, and talk, in cozy indoor spaces in the winter or outdoors for long hours during the balmy summer nights. One could argue that this ritual is their national sport. The ritual has long roots in Greek history. The […]


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Athens raids public health coffers

Greek government ‘a minute from midnight’, says analyst


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com

ECB tells Greek banks not to raise exposure to government's debt-source

The European Central Bank (ECB) has asked Greek banks not to increase their holdings of Greek government debt, including Treasury bills, a banking source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Greece depends on aid from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the ECB. "As supervisors, the ECB and the Bank of Greece are instructing the banks not to increase their ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com

Greek road deaths down 37 pct since 2010

Greece saw the European Union’s biggest decline in the number of road deaths per 1 million inhabitants between 2010 and 2014, according to data made public on Tuesday by the European Commission.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greek bonds buck trend among peripheral yields

Greece’s yields declined on Tuesday as European officials prepared to assess the country’s third set of economic policy proposals.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greece faces EU fine over hazardous waste

The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to fine Greece for its failure to manage hazardous waste.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Ex-finance minister guilty of doctoring Lagarde list, gets suspended term

A special court set up to try former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou handed the former PASOK official a one-year suspended jail sentence on Tuesday despite finding him guilty of tampering with the Lagarde list of Greeks with deposits at the Geneva branch of HSBC.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Stocks rise as cash crunch fears subside

A second day of significant gains for local stocks on Tuesday suggested that investors are fostering fresh hopes that Greece’s creditors have softened their stance and the country will see its cash crunch ease in the coming days, averting a feared default. Turnover dropped below 100 million euros again.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Plans afoot to re-establish Greece's army engineering corps

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos (photo) said on Tuesday on Mega TV that the government plans to allow some army conscripts to stay on with the armed forces for another two years after the end of their mandatory military service and be paid for their work.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Tsipras Berlin trip ends with Greek-German relations on better footing

The feeling that there has been a thaw in the frosty relations between Greece and Germany was strengthened on Tuesday when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rounded off his trip to Berlin by holding meetings with Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and the leaders of two opposition parties.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Banks set aside unprecedented provisions to tackle bad loans

Greece’s main banks have set aside huge provisions in recent years – totaling 50 billion euros – to tackle the problem of nonperforming loans (NPLs). The bulk concern Greece and cover some 60 percent of the loans that are definitively in default.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

FT: ECB wants to ban T-bill purchases by Greek banks

The ECB report, which according to sources has already been sent, coincides with concerns that Athens will run out of cash in mid April


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr

Clarification: Germany-Greece-Nazi Debt Story

In a story March 22, The Associated Press reported that the Nazis deported Greek Jews in 1943 "to death camps in Poland." The story should have ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com

George Soros: Greece “Lose-Lose” As Debt Concessions A Must

As Greece moves to propose reforms European bankers can believes in, hedge fund manager George Soros thinks the situation is “lose-lose” and ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.valuewalk.com

Doing business in Greece

In 2012, the economy of Greece ranked 42nd largest in the world, according to World Bank statistics. As of 2013, Greece is the 13th largest economy ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.arabnews.com

Researchers Uncover Ancient Mask Of Pagan God Pan In Northern Israel

Archaeologists in northern Israel have uncovered what they believe to be a 2,000-year-old bronze mask representing Pan, the ancient Greek god of flocks and shepherds known for his love of music and sexuality. A team of researchers from the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology discovered the mask during a one-day dig at the Hippos-Sussita excavation site, just over a mile east of northern Israel’s Sea of Galilee and near what was once the ancient city of Paneas. “The first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘Why here, beyond the city limits?’ After all, the mask is so heavy it could not have just rolled away,” Michael Eisenberg, the excavation director, said in a statement. A researcher with the Hippos-Sussita excavation holds the bronze mask. The mask is unusually large as compared to other such bronze Pan masks from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, according to a press release. It is, Eisenberg told HuffPost, "the only one of its kind" and measures a foot in height and width and weighs more than 10 pounds. The figure has long, pointed ears, horns, strands of a beard and other characteristics associated with the half-man, half-goat god. The mask may have been used as part of an altar for Pan or as the head of a fountain and dates back to between the first and second centuries, Eisenberg said. It was found in one of the rooms of a large basalt tower, which may have served as part of the city's outer defense. Although Pan hails from Greco-Roman pagan traditions, ancient worship of the god -- called Faunus in Roman tradition -- has been documented in Israel. Paneas, also called Banias, is now a nature reserve and archaeological site near the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi in the Golan Heights. The city was located within the region known as the "Panion,” named after the deity, and housed shrines and temples in his honor. “A Pan altar on the main road to the city, beyond its limits, is quite likely,” Eisenberg said in his statement. “After all, Pan was worshipped not only in the city temples but also in caves and in nature.” Paneas was home to a well-established cave temple to Pan, the researcher said, which may explain why the mask was uncovered just outside of city limits. “Because they included drinking, sacrificing and ecstatic worship that sometimes included nudity and sex, rituals for rustic gods were often held outside of the city,” Eisenberg continued. Excavations of the Hippos site will continue this summer with the goal of clarifying how and why this unusual mask came to be, Eisenberg told HuffPost.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com

Programming Our Computer-like Brains With Greek Philosophy and Mathematics Leads to Virtue

I know John Hatzopoulos through a global forum of Greek professors. His questions and responses to a variety of political and academic issues are ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com

Armenia Recognizes Assyrian and Greek Genocides

YEREVAN (A.W.)—Armenia's National Assembly passed a resolution on March 24, recognizing the Assyrian and Greek genocides committed by the ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT armenianweekly.com

ECB Said to Limit Greek Lenders' Treasury-Bill Holdings

(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank banned Greek banks from increasing holdings of short-term government debt, as concerns over the state's ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com

Greek PM Raises WW II Reparations during Otherwise Cordial Berlin Visit

Leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, during a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, raised the issue of Greece receiving war ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.breitbart.com

George Soros: Greece is a Problem Mishandled from the Beginning, Grexit 50-50 Now

Greece was mishandled from the beginning and now the chances of leaving the Eurozone are 50-50, said billionaire investor George Soros. In an interview to Bloomberg Television due to be aired on Tuesday, Soros said that after recent developments, the Greek issue is a “lose-lose game.” In 2012, before Greece’s second bailout, he had said that the odds were that the country would leave the Eurozone. The 84-year-old investor has often commented on the Greek debt. “Greece is a long-festering problem that was mishandled from the beginning by all parties.” Recently, negotiations between Tsipras’ SYRIZA-led government and the institutions helping finance the Greek economy — the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — have stalled. Greece has to implement required reforms before it gets further financial aid from creditors. Furthermore, the country is in danger of running out of cash by the end of April. Soros is not optimistic about the new deal Greece is seeking. Monday’s meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel created an air of optimism for Greece. Tsipras pledged that in the next few days Greece will come forth with a list of reforms that will be implemented. In addition, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said on Tuesday that he expects Greece to reach a new financing agreement with its creditors within a week. “You can keep on pushing it back indefinitely,” making interest payments without writing down debt, Soros said. “But in the meantime, there will be no primary surplus because Greece is going down the drain.”


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Defense Minister: We Will not Back Down on German War Reparations

The Greek government will not back down on the issue of German war reparations, underlined Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Tuesday while speaking to Greek TV. “We will not back down and we will set the issue with conditions that will correspond to reality,” he said, and estimated that German Chancellor Angela Merkel left a “window” open for the issue saying that Germany will consider it within the framework of the committee set up by the German parliament. He also noted that the issue [of war reparations] is primary moral but clarified that it is totally different for the occupation loan. Kammenos said he considers Prime Minister Tsipras’ intervention on the Siemens scandal issue very important because, as he said, “it takes two for corruption.” Kammenos pre-announced that the Greek Defense Ministry will bring a series of draft laws to the parliament in the coming period that will provide for a series of changes in the armed forces. (source: ana-mpa)


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

German Foreign Minister: I’m Pleased the German-Greek Relations Improved

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared pleased over the recently improved relations between Greece and Germany, while welcoming a softer tone in bilateral discussions after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ official visit to Berlin. Steinmeier met with the Greek Premier at his hotel in downtown Berlin earlier today, just hours after Tsipras had an in-depth five-hour-long discussion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which the two leaders called for an end to the war of words several officials from both countries were involved in recent weeks. While talking to reporters, the German Foreign Minister said “I am pleased that the tone in the German-Greek talks in recent days has clearly changed and clearly improved.” Steinmeier also told reporters that he had a meeting late Sunday with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias in Berlin. As he said, a warmer relation between Athens and Berlin might not be the debt crisis’ solution “but it is undoubtedly key for serious discussions with each other in the coming days,” adding that he told the Greek Premier that the fiscal policy problems must be addressed in the context of a conversation between Greece and Europe. “The impression should not be created in Greece that everything can be resolved in the context of the German-Greek relationship. That is not the case,” he explained. It should be noted that during a joint press conference held in Berlin yesterday afternoon, Tsipras and Merkel urged an end to the stereotypes, such as the one of lazy Greeks and the Germans being responsible for Greece’s crisis, which have threatened to rip the Eurozone apart. “But it would be wrong to simply blame foreigners. There are also internal reasons for Greece’s plight,” the Greek Premier noted, putting an end to weeks of acrimony between the two countries, stigmatized by biter public statements from both sides.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greece could default as early as April 9: Deutsche Bank

The Deutsche Bank economists also played down the possibility of Greece exiting the eurozone. Nonetheless, should Grexit occur, the contagion is ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.marketwatch.com

National Bank of Greece (NBG) Stock Lower Today on Reports Country to Run Out of Cash Next ...

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of National Bank of Greece (NBG - Get Report) are down by 2.11% to $1.39 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, ...


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Greece Shown Way on Shadow Economy With Romanian Crackdown

As nations such as Greece struggle to clamp down on tax evasion, Romania is making inroads to curb its more than $40 billion shadow economy, the ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com

Report: Greece to Run out of Cash by April 20 Without New Aid

Greece will run out of money by April 20 unless it receives fresh aid from creditors, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Athens is ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.foxbusiness.com

Reuters: Greece to run out of cash by April 20 without aid

Greece will run out of money by April 20 unless it receives fresh aid from creditors, a source familiar with the familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Athens is scrambling to send a list of ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.enikos.gr

Greek banks: political pawns

Politics will be part of any Greek play for the foreseeable future


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com

ECB Tells Greek Banks Not to Boost Exposure to Athens Government’s Debt

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank has instructed Greece’s biggest banks to refrain from increasing their exposure to Greek government debt, according to people familiar with the matter. The move raises pressure on the cash-strapped government in ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.wsj.com

Greece: ECB boss Mario Draghi gives guarded support and a stern warning

The head of the European Central Bank expressed cautious optimism on 23 March that Greece would be able to benefit from ECB money printing and ...


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

Greece will reportedly run out of cash by April 20 without fresh aid

greece parthenon eu grexit REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisA European Union flag flutters in front of the Parthenon temple in Athens February 19, 2015.


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Greece: ECB boss Mario Draghi gives guarded support and a stern warning

The head of the European Central Bank expressed cautious optimism on 23 March that Greece would be able to benefit from ECB money printing and ...


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

Greece has one week to reveal its new reform package

Greece will present its proposed package of reforms to its euro zone partners by next Monday in hopes they will release much needed cash, its ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

Ex-FinMin Papaconstantinou given suspended sentence for document tampering

Former Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou has been given a suspended 12-month sentence by Greece's special court for tampering with the contents of a stick containing the names of Greek depositors in a Swiss branch of HSBC Bank. The ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.enikos.gr

Light Sanction for Former Greek Official Charged With Crimes

ATHENS—Greek former finance minister George Papaconstantinou, the man who signed the country’s first bailout in 2010, was found guilty of a misdemeanor by a Greek court on Tuesday for tampering with a public document, but he was acquitted of criminal ...


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Reuters: Greek govt will run out of money by April 20

Citing source the news agency supports that “although it will be difficult Greece can make it without help until about the 20th of April by using the short-term borrowing from public entities”


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr

What Does Worship Look Like From A Priest's Point Of View? (PHOTOS)

This article was originally published on HuffPost Italy and was translated into English. Have you ever wondered what the priest standing at the altar sees during mass? It’s an unusual point of view, not one just anyone gets a chance to appreciate. But now, thanks to a remote-controlled camera set up behind church altars in Italy, everyone has a chance to see it with their own eyes. Italian photographers Giorgio Barrera and Niccolò Rastrelli documented this observation point without anyone ever the wiser, capturing solemn moments of sacred ritual in churches in Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Naples, Potenza, Avezzano, Taranto and Pescara. “Andate in pace” (Go in Peace) is a multifaceted portrait of the Catholic community and the numerous believers who “inhabit” Italian churches. Sometimes the churches are crowded, other times deserted, but they are always rife with symbols and rituals that remain unchanged over time. It is at once a socio-anthropological inquiry and narrative of modern-day Italy, exploring the complex relationship between Catholic church, religious community and even contemporary architecture. The exhibition makes an effort to focus on architectural works created by famous architects like Massimiliano Fuksas, Paolo Portoghesi, Giovanni Michelucci, Mario Botta and Gio Ponti, who have revolutionized the concept of sacred space. “The images in this photographic inquiry attempt to achieve a synthesis, to show viewers the church as an architectural, corporeal space. The human element is essential to our work: the word chiesa [church] derives from the Greek ekklesìa, and means community. Therefore the ecclesiastical edifice should be understood as a space built of people in flesh and blood, of 'living stone' as Saint Paul affirms,” explain the photographers. Barrera and Rastrelli have elected to immortalize the looks, gestures and postures without elaboration, leaving the camera free to act undisturbed. “The moment in which a priest turns to the faithful is the foundation of our act of taking a photograph. The camera is positioned and remains for a long time in front of the altar, central and symmetrical. It is aimed toward the church entrance, framing the faithful present for the religious ritual, and tends to personify the priest’s gaze. The people who come into the church don’t see the photographers, because the camera is operated by remote control,” say Barrera and Rastrelli. The final result of this work is the exhibition “Go in Peace,” made up of 23 photographs of different sizes and a video installation, curated by Daniele De Luigi and produced by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione (Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation) of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The exhibition will be on display through April 30th at the Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com

Greece pledges full list of reforms within the week

Promise comes as German foreign minister declares ties between Berlin and Athens have improvedGreece has pledged to pull together a comprehensive list of reforms by the start of next week, in an attempt to unlock fresh funds before Athens runs out of cash in April.Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis said on Tuesday that the programme demanded by Greece’s increasingly impatient creditors would be finished within days. “Greece is a long-festering problem that was mishandled from the beginning by all parties.”The improvement provides welcome news to a region awaiting signs that the ECB’s quantitative easing is stimulating the real economy. Continue reading...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

Greece wants 1.2 billion euros back from EU bailout fund: source

Cash-strapped Greece wants the European Union's rescue fund to return 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) unduly handed over by Athens, a source with knowledge of the issue said Tuesday. "Eurogroup President (Jeroen) Dijsselbloem has asked the EFSF to provide an analysis of the matter. Also, he has asked the Chairman of the Eurogroup Working Group to take the issue up at short notice," a ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.yahoo.com

Greek ex-minister guilty in tax case

Greek ex-Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou is found guilty of tampering with a list of potential tax evaders, receiving a suspended prison sentence.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.com

Choral concert at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Westfield

A choral offering of sacred music of the Lenten season, The Spirit of Lent, will be presented at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 250 Gallows Hill ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nj.com

Tax Credit Certificates Won't Be A Solution To The Greek Debt Problem

There's an interesting little paper out discussing the possibility of using so called “tax credit certificates” as a solution to the Greek debt problems.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.forbes.com

Shooting near UCF 'Greek Ghetto' possibly gang related

After an alleged shooting near UCF's "Greek Ghetto," one witness says he fears for his life. A heated argument among four men quickly turned violent, ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.centralfloridafuture.com

Kissing couples promote Greek-German reconciliation

“Love not war” was the message in Berlin ahead of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com

Draghi defends European Central Bank's role in Greek crisis

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has defended the ECB's role in the current Greek crisis, rebutting accusations that the bank had ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.irishtimes.com