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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

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Tsipras vows battle to improve bailout after GREEK election

He said he would seek to win some form of debt relief and press GREEK demands to restore collective bargaining powers for workers, a move the ...


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Holy Trinity GREEK Orthodox Church dedicates its community center

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Kimberly Malaspina's eyes welled as she stood amid more than 200 family members and friends gathered at Holy Trinity ...


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Tsipras warns Greeks against return to 'dark period of ...

ATHENS, Greece – Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the upcoming national election is a battle between his "honorable" government of the ...


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Chaos on Lesbos, Firebombs Thrown at Refugees, Battles With Riot Police, Troops Called In to Help

Greece’s interim government sent the Army to Lesbos to help deal with growing trouble on the island after Molotov Cocktails were thrown at refugees and riot police had to beat back immigrants trying to swarm a ferry to Athens. The post Chaos on Lesbos, Firebombs Thrown at Refugees, Battles With Riot Police, Troops Called In to Help appeared first on The National Herald.


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Tsipras warns Greeks against return to 'corrupt' past

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the upcoming national election is a battle between his "honorable" government of the past ...


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Syriza's popularity wanes as key poll approaches

Antigoni Kanelli says she voted for GREECE's leftwing Syriza party in January because she believed Alexis Tsipras's promise to increase state pensions ...


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GREECE sends troops to overwhelmed island

GREECE has sent troops and police reinforcements to Lesbos after renewed clashes between police and migrants, the public broadcaster says, while ...


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Romania vs GREECE Preview

Romanіa lost out to GREECE a play-off for a 2014 FіFA World Cup fіnals place, but can complete a Group F double over vіsіtors whose qualіfyіng hopes ...


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Greek centre-right neck and neck with Syriza as snap election nears

Gamble by Alexis Tsipras backfires as New Democracy draws level with ruling leftists, raising fears of more political uncertainty The stage is set for one of the most exciting elections in recent Greek history after polls showed the former ruling leftwing party Syriza running neck and neck with the centre-right New Democracy party barely two weeks before the snap ballot. Alexis Tsipras’s surprise move to tighten his grip on power, with what he had hoped would be a fresh mandate to implement spending cuts and reforms, is showing all the signs of having backfired. Diehard leftists, appalled by the anti-austerity movement’s spectacular U-turn, appear to be leaving Syriza in droves. Related: Alexis Tsipras is down but far from out Continue reading...


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It's GREEK to me. Or maybe Martian.

Once upon a time, college campuses were packed with wise men and women dedicated to sharing their knowledge of everything from GREEK ...


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Selfies on the shore: Refugees in lifejackets celebrate on the beach after reaching GREEK island ...

They are among thousands who have flocked to Lesbos, one of two GREEK ports bearing the brunt of the mass exodus of refugees and migrants from ...


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'We just want to leave this island': Refugees and migrants on Lesbos desperate to go to Athens

GREECE sent soldiers and extra police to Lesbos on Sunday, as the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) called for “exceptional measures” to ...


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

Syrian Refugees Vow To March To GREECE And Demand Entry

Syrian refugees in Turkey are vigorously calling for a march to GREECE, threatening to make a northern stretch of the GREECE-Turkey border another ...


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Centre-right level with Syriza in Greek polls

Snap poll gamble by Tsipras backfires as New Democracy draws level with ruling leftists and spectre of fractured result raising fears of more political uncertainty The stage is being set for one of the most exciting elections in recent Greek history with polls showing the former ruling leftwing party, Syriza, running neck and neck with the centre-right New Democracy party barely two weeks before the snap ballot. Alexis Tsipras’s surprise move to tighten his grip on power, with what he had hoped would be a fresh mandate to implement spending cuts and reforms, is now showing all the signs of having backfired. Diehard leftists, appalled by the anti-austerity movement’s spectacular U-turn, appear to be leaving Syriza in droves. Continue reading...


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Refugees sleep on railway tracks on journey to to Germany and Austria

Hundreds of migrants slept on the railway tracks on the border of Greece and Macedonia last night as they continued their desperate bid to flee their war-torn homes and make it to Europe.


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Speaking GREEK: A Guide To Understanding GREEK Life

Women got into GREEK life nearly 80 years after men in 1851 with Alpha Delta Pi originally named Adelphean Society at Wesleyan College in Macon, ...


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Refugee crisis: On the GREEK island of Symi, I see the real 'big society' in action

I am writing now on Symi, a small GREEK island six miles from Turkey, where last month British expats and concerned locals set up their own reception ...


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Greece's Tsipras releases campaign manifesto

Stephen Feller THESSALONIKI, Greece, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to announce new policy proposals in a speech Sunday night as he runs for reelection to office.


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UN demands evacuation of thousands of refugees from Lesbos

The United Nations refugee agency has called for the emergency evacuation 17,000 refugees crammed on the Greek island of Lesbos. ==#UnitedNations…


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Tsipras Visits TIF and Expresses Hope He Will be Greece’s PM for the Next Eight Years

The Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) in northern Greece has been traditionally inaugurated by the Greek Prime Minister. The September 20 snap elections meant that the President of the Hellenic Republic took on this responsibility on September 4. Former Greek Prime Minister and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras visited the TIF on Sunday, two days after the inauguration, and made his


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

The New Face Of EU Immigration Is Young, Fit And Overwhelmingly Male

Source: www.breitbart.com - Sunday, September 06, 2015 BUDAPEST,Hungary (Sep. 6) – Meet the self-styled ‘Aleppo Boys’. Pictured above, they are the collective face of mass immigration entering Europe from the Middle East. Their story is indicative of so many you can hear right now at Budapest Keleti railway station. They are young. They are fit. They clearly know what they want. They have no intention of staying and fighting in Syria. Instead they have travelled overland through Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and into Hungary. They say their last stop is Germany. None of them wants to stay in Hungary or any of they countries they have transited. As one they see Germany as a future because Chancellor Angela Merkel told them so. Besides, Hungary police want to fingerprint them, check any travel documents and stop their progress as specified by EU regulations. The Aleppo Boys want none of it. They understand why some of their compatriots broke All Related


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GREECE: Skirmishes between police, illegal migrants continue

GREECE: (Dunya News) – Skirmishes between the police and the illegal migrants on Sunday continued in the Greek island, Lesbos, on the second ...


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Two 17 Year-Olds Attack Refugees on GREEK Island of Lesvos

The tension on the East Aegean GREEK island of Lesvos continues to grow as the high number of migrants and refugees is overwhelming the island as ...


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Giannis Antetokounmpo Helps GREECE To Opening Eurobasket Win

Antetokounmpo's GREECE have been matched up with Croatia, Netherlands, Georgia, Slovenia and, of course, their opponent from yesterday ...


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Greece 'sends troops, police' to Lesbos after migrant ...

Athens (AFP) - Greece sent troops and police reinforcements Sunday to Lesbos after renewed clashes between police and migrants, the public broadcaster said, while ...


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Officials, USU GREEK community talk rape culture

The rape culture that is, to some, rampant in GREEK communities nationwide has a presence at Utah State University, and while officials say that culture ...


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GREEK debt crisis: Tspiras tries to calm fears over Syriza defeat

Former GREEK prime minister Alexis Tsipras has tried to temper mounting fears about the outcome of a snap election on September 20. Syriza's main ...


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Police Clash with Frustrated Asylum Seekers on GREEK Island

Thousands of asylum seekers are forced to stay on the overcrowded GREEK island, until authorities process them and allow them to travel to the ...


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On the migrant trail: Volunteers in Vienna rush to help arrivals

From eastern Greece to the northern tip of France, thousands of migrants fleeing war and persecution tread the Balkan route each day heading for northern Europe. Follow their hazardous journey with FRANCE 24's team of reporters.


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Eurogroup President: Next Greek Govt Must Regain Trust

On August 19, Greece and its creditors agreed to a third cash-for-reforms bailout deal. Despite the agreement, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told CNBC during the G20 convention in Ankara, Turkey, on Saturday, that the new Greek government emerging from the September 20 elections will have to work to regain trust. “In the past half year with the SYRIZA government, trust has


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Eurobasket 2015: Greece Wins First Game Against FYROM

The Greek Men’s Basketball Team got their 2015 FIBA Eurobasket bid off to a perfect start on Saturday evening with a 85-65 victory over Group C rivals FYROM in Zagreb. The game was close by the end of the third quarter with the Greeks leading 59-50. The team rallied in the fourth quarter and scored 26 points while


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Cyprus Rescues More Than 100 Migrants on Boat Travelling From Syria to Greece

Cypriot authorities rescued 114 people aboard a boat that had left from Syria and was stranded in the Mediterranean sea, south of Cyprus, the AFP reported. According to the report, the boat’s engine stopped working and caused the captain to send a distress signal. Cypriot Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos noted that the passengers were initially heading to Greece and then potentially somewhere


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Thousands Of Migrants And Refugees Finally Make It To Germany

BUDAPEST/MUNICH, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of migrants and refugees streamed into Germany on Sunday, many traveling through Austria from Hungary where they had been stranded against their will for days, while European Union governments argue over how to respond. A convoy of around 140 cars and vans filled with food and water left Vienna to collect exhausted refugees, many from Syria, who had set out to walk the 170 km (110-mile) stretch through the rain from Hungary's capital Budapest to the Austrian border, from where many would continue onto Germany. Onlookers clapped and chanted, "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here," as volunteers loaded their vehicles with food, water and soft toys. However, the EU is deeply divided over how to cope with the influx of people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, testing the principle of solidarity, making the 28-nation bloc look ineffective and heartless, pitting member states against each other, fueling political populism and anti-Muslim sentiment. A total of 6,800 migrants entered Germany on Saturday with another 5,000 expected on Sunday, Bavarian state officials said. Germany has said it expects 800,000 refugees and migrants this year and urged other EU members to open their doors. But others say the focus should be on tackling the violence in the Middle East that has caused them to flee their homes. The numbers in Europe are small compared to several million refugees in Syria's neighbors Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan and Pope Francis called on Sunday for every European parish and religious community to take in one migrant family each. But a poll in France's Aujourd 'hui en France newspaper showed 55 percent of French people are opposed to softening rules for migrants to access refugee status. A dozen or so well-wishers offering chocolate and bananas greeted between 600 and 700 people, mostly from Syria, arriving on two trains arriving in the southern German city of Munich, early in the morning with between 600 and 700 people. A third was expected with about 450 people, an regional administration spokeswoman said. Most were bussed to reception centers after given medical checks, food and clean clothing. Many said they were from Syria, while others were from Afghanistan or Iraq. OFF TO GERMANY In Hungary, migrants freely boarded trains at Keleti station in Budapest, following handwritten signs in Arabic directing people to trains to Hegyeshalom on the border with Austria. Volunteers handed out food and clothing to hundreds of migrants filling the station. Around 4,000 crossed into Austria from Hungary on Sunday, the Austrian police said. More than 10,000 have left Hungary since the border was thrown open on Saturday after thousands spent days camping outside the station. Many are happy to have left Hungary after several days of confrontations with police and chaotic handling by authorities. Hungary deployed more than 100 buses overnight on Saturday to take to Austria thousands of migrants who had streamed into the country after northward journeys through the Balkans from Greece. Austria said it had agreed with Germany to allow the migrants access, waiving asylum rules that require migrants to register in the first EU country they reach. Wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags, long lines of people, many carrying sleeping children, got off buses on the Hungarian side of the border and walked through the rain into Austria. "We're happy. We'll go to Germany," said a Syrian man who gave his name as Mohammed; Europe's biggest and most affluent economy was the favored destination of most. Hungary, the main entry point into Europe's borderless Schengen zone for migrants, has taken a hard line, vowing to seal its southern frontier with a new, high fence by Sept. 15. Hungarian officials have portrayed the crisis as a defense of Europe's prosperity, identity and "Christian values" against an influx of mainly Muslim migrants. SHIPS TO ATHENS German Interior Ministry spokesman Harald Neymanns said Berlin's decision to open its borders to Syrians was an exceptional case for humanitarian reasons. He said Europe's so-called Dublin rules, which require people to apply for asylum in the first EU country they enter, had not been suspended. At an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Saturday, the usual diplomatic conviviality unraveled as they failed to agree on any practical steps out of the crisis. Ministers are especially at odds over proposals for country-by-country quotas to take in asylum seekers. The flow of people risking the dangerous journey on flimsy boats across the Mediterranean, and baton-wielding police on Balkan borders, shows no sign of abating, as they flee a four-year-old civil war in Syria that has killed about 250,000 civilians and wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and in Africa. On the Greek Island of Lesbos, about 500 Afghans protesting at lengthy identification procedures scuffled with Greek police in the main port. A Greek ferry took 1,744 migrants and refugees to Athens from Lesbos on Sunday and another one with 2,500 migrants was expected later in the day, the coastguard said. A record 50,000 people hit Greek shores in July alone, and were ferried from islands unable to cope to the mainland by a government in financial crisis and keen to dispatch them into Macedonia, from where they enter Serbia and then Hungary. More than 2,000 have died at sea so far this year. The Cypriot coastguard picked up 114 Syrian refugees from a fishing boat on Sunday. The conflict the refugees left behind shows no signs of stopping either. British Prime Minister David Cameron wants to hold a vote in parliament in early October to pave the way for air strikes on Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, London's Sunday Times said, and Le Monde reported that France was considering air strikes against the ultra-radical jihadists, joining a U.S.-led coalition. The Australian government is due to make a decision within the week on whether to join the coalition. It has been part of the anti-ISIS operation in Iraq since last year. _ALSO ON HUFFPOST:_ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


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Tsipras Plays Down Fears Of A Fractured Greece After Election

ATHENS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras played down fears on Sunday that a snap election in two weeks would produce a fractured result, saying there were enough undecided voters to produce a clear winner on the day. Tsipras resigned last month to make way for the election, hoping to secure a new mandate for a tough austerity program he agreed in exchange for an 86 billion euro bailout with the cash-starved country's creditors. But having started out as the clear frontrunner, his leftist Syriza party's poll lead has collapsed in the past days, making for an unexpectedly close contest against his main rival, the conservative New Democracy party. The prospect of a fractured result after the Sept. 20 vote has stoked fears of yet more political instability in a country hit by years of instability and recession, and raised the prospect of Greece having to go to the polls again.   "There is 15-20 percent of undecided voters right now. In simple maths, this means that the party that will come first, if it doesn't secure an outright majority at the parliament, will be very close to it," Tsipras said in an interview with Skai television that was broadcast on Sunday. "So a government will be formed." Tsipras stormed to power in January promising voters an end to austerity and that he would redefine the relationship Athens has with its international lenders - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. But with the economy on the brink of collapse, its banks shut and the chance of a euro exit looming ever closer, Tsipras eventually capitulated to the creditors' demands. On Sunday, he again defended that decision, saying the country would have been worse off without the bailout, and also ruled out forming a national unity government with New Democracy if the election proved inconclusive. "There is no room for cooperation in government because the differences in our policy programs are very big and because we know very well that we don't share the same target," he said. Although he was forced to back down in negotiations with the creditors, Tsipras has at least secured the prospect of some form of relief for the country's ballooning debt, although its largest creditor, Germany, has ruled out any form of "haircut." Tsipras, who never wears a tie and whose government became known for its informal style, said he would don a tie if he secured debt relief. Asked when this will happen, he said: "We will have this very important development over the debt by the end of the year. We will have a difficult year but I am optimistic." Tsipras will make a major campaign speech, which could include new policy announcements, in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Sunday evening. _ALSO ON HUFFPOST:_ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


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Viktor Orban uses migrant crisis to shore up his sagging popularity

Europe was slow to consider measures to assist the front-line countries that received the first waves of immigrants — GREECE and Italy — but also ...


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Turkish policeman who found Aylan says: 'I thought of my own son'

Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish police officer who was pictured picking up the lifeless body of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi -- whose death pricked the world's conscience -- said he thought of his own son when he saw the toddler on the beach.  Speaking to Turkey's Dogan news agency, Mehmet Ciplak recounted how he prayed the little boy was still alive as he walked towards him and scooped him up from the water's edge.  "When I approached the baby, I said to myself, 'Dear God I hope he's alive.' But he showed no signs of life. I was crushed," he said.  "I have a six-year-old son. The moment I saw the baby, I thought about my own son and put myself into his father's place. Words cannot describe what a sad and tragic sight it was."  Ciplak added he didn't know the photo, which reverberated across the world, was being taken and said: "I was just doing my job."  Twelve refugees drowned on Wednesday when two boats sank on the short crossing to Greece, and images of Aylan's lifeless body washed ashore in Bodrum in southwest Turkey sparked international outrage over Europe's migrant crisis. Aylan was buried on Friday in the Syrian town of Kobane, itself now a symbol of resistance by Syrian Kurds against Islamic State (IS) extremists. Aylan's four-year-old brother, Ghaleb, and their mother Rihana also drowned when their boat sank. His father Abdullah was the only family member to survive and has returned to Kobane to be close to the graves of his wife and children. Join the conversation about this story »


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Greece, democracy and the labour of Hercules

Greece, the eurozone’s inveterately delinquent pupil, is top of the class when it comes to consulting the will of the people. The parliamentary election scheduled ...


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Italy’s Padoan: Greece, Italy on an upswing

#economy


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Qld emergency nurse heading to GREECE to help refugees

She spent two months in northern GREECE last year at a health clinic helping people who couldn't afford to go to the hospital due to the country's strict ...


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Refugee crisis: thousands arrive in Germany amid calls for renewed action in Syria

Full coverage of the worst refugee crisis to hit Europe since the second world war, as thousands of refugees arrive in Germany * Nicola Sturgeon and Yvette Cooper offer to house Syrian refugees * George Osborne to divert foreign aid to help Syrian refugees in UK * Refugee crisis: eight life stories from Budapest’s Keleti station 3.03pm BST The situation has become increasingly explosive on Lesvos, Greece, one of the islands on the frontline of the crisis, as running battles escalate between riot police and refugees desperate to board boats for Athens, our correspondent HELENA SMITH reports. Greece’s migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas has rushed to Lesvos after a second day of street fighting on the Aegean isle. Scenes of stone-pelting refugees engaged in hand-to-hand battle with local police has prompted the government to step up security with two extra units of riot police being dispatched to the island earlier today. Amid renewed violence local officials processing newcomers this morning locked themselves in a container as refugees, once again, vented their anger over delays in registration. On Saturday police resorted to using tear gas and stun grenades as around 500 Afghans attempted to seize and board a ferry heading to Athens. At least four were injured, one seriously. With an estimated 13,000 migrants and refugees on the island – and hundreds arriving every day – the local mayor, Spyros Galanos, described the situation as being “out of control.” “There is a danger that a spark could trigger a big fire,” he said in a television interview adding that “a state of emergency” should be called on the island. “I have tabled proposals, I even called on mayors in Turkey and Europe and tabled proposals, but no one is listening.” Racheting up the pressure, the mayor took the unprecedented step of urging islanders to boycott upcoming general elections on 20 September. He said local authorities would refuse to set up ballot boxes at polling stations “if measures aren’t taken immediately to defuse the situation.” The country, facing its worst economic crisis in modern times, has announced it needs more than 1 billion euros to deal with the refugee crisis. 2.57pm BST Germany is not asking how many people it can afford to shelter, but how it can make thousands of refugees feel safe at last, the mayor of Munich said as the town prepared to register thousands of new arrivals on Sunday, EMMA GRAHAM-HARRISON reports. The city expects to receive around 10,000 people over this one weekend alone. The new arrivals were greeted by cheering crowds handing out toys and chocolate as they filed off trains and into tents for basic medical checks. Baby born in Keleti was premature, arrived in Munich seriously ill and with umbilical cord still attached. Doing better in incubator here The city is expecting another 4,000 to arrive on Sunday. The first 1,200 came in the early hours of the morning, but their trains were diverted straight away to other German cities, including Frankfurt, to ease the pressure on Munich. Continue reading...


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What to do: Blues Bash, GREEK Fest, Saanich Fair, Fringe, classic boats

GREEK Fest 2015 today and Monday at 4648 Elk Lake Dr., beside Commonwealth Place. Go to greekfest.ca. Final day of the Victoria Fringe Festival.


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Greece Hoops Belts FYROM, 85-65

Greece opened European basketball play with an 85-65 thumping of its northern neighbor, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The post Greece Hoops Belts FYROM, 85-65 appeared first on The National Herald.


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Polls show Greece's Syriza, rivals neck-and-neck 2 weeks ...

Greece's radical-left Syriza party is neck-and-neck with its conservative rivals two weeks ahead of snap elections, opinion polls showed today, with an absolute ...


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Naguib Sawiris: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

He's looking at islands off of GREECE or Italy, saying that there are dozens of deserted islands and plenty of space to give the 100,000 to 200,000 ...


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GREECE crisis: Cancer patients suffer as health system fails

Public health spending in GREECE is expected to shrink to 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2015, one of the worst levels in the EU.


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Pope Calls On Every European Parish To Take In One Migrant Family

VATICAN CITY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis called on Sunday on every European parish and religious community to take in one migrant family each in a gesture of solidarity he said would start in the tiny Vatican state where he lives. "I appeal to the parishes, the religious communities, the monasteries and sanctuaries of all Europe to ... take in one family of refugees," he said after his Sunday address in the Vatican. The pope's call goes out to tens of thousands of Catholic parishes in Europe as the number of refugees arriving over land through the Balkans and across the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece hits record levels. There are more than 25,000 parishes in Italy alone, and more than 12,000 in Germany, where many of the Syrians fleeing civil war and people trying to escape poverty and hardship in other countries say they want to end up. The crowd in St. Peter's Square applauded as the pontiff, himself the grandson of Italian emigrants to Argentina, said: "Every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family." The Vatican's two parishes will take in a family of refugees each in the coming days, said Francis, whose first trip after his election was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, where many migrants arrive by boat. The Italian coast guard said on Saturday it had coordinated the rescue of 329 migrants who made distress calls from their rubber boats. Francis said taking in migrant families was a "concrete gesture" to prepare for the extraordinary Holy Year on the theme of mercy which is due to begin on Dec. 8. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) _ALSO ON THE HUFFINGTON POST_ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


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DMCA highlights maritime muscle to Greek team

… business-centric regulations.” “Our seminar in Greece was a prime opportunity for … : “The challenges experienced by the Greek economy are currently putting extreme … high maritime stature, Dubai and Greece are ideal partners for identifying …


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Greece’s Tsipras Expected to Unveil Election Manifesto

Greece’s former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to unveil his election manifesto, as opinion polls show that his leftist Syriza party is running neck and neck ...


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60-something socialist is Britain's unlikely political star

LONDON (AP) — Britain's surprising new political star is a rumpled 66-year-old with a set of socialist ideas many thought had faded with the Cold War. Jeremy Corbyn, the runaway favorite in a contest to lead the opposition Labour Party, opposes NATO and nuclear weapons, plans to apologize for the invasion of Iraq and wants to end austerity, heavily tax the rich and nationalize Britain's railways. Opponents say the longtime lawmaker is a relic of the past who will drive away moderate voters. But to supporters — many of them young, new to politics and brimming with enthusiasm — his old-fashioned ideas are the future. "It's a breath of fresh air," said 24-year-old Alex Anthony, holding an "I'm on team Jeremy Corbyn" sign outside a candidates' debate. "I'm sick and tired of the other candidates ignoring the fact that it wasn't ordinary people that created the financial crisis." If Corbyn tops the leadership ballot when results are announced Sept.12, it will mark an abrupt left turn for a Labour Party that has been moving toward the center for decades. Under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the party shed its commitment to nationalized industry, wooed big business, adopted modern PR methods — and spent 13 years in office. But since Labour lost power in 2010 — and was thumped again by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives in May — many in the party have yearned for a return to old-school values. Patrick Diamond, a former Labour policy adviser who lectures at Queen Mary University of London, said Corbyn's campaign has tapped into a feeling "that the last Labour government was putting power before principle." Asked at a recent public meeting what Labour stood for, Corbyn said it is "a party that should be proud of its socialist principles" and dedicated to the redistribution of wealth. Blair was a staunch ally of President George W. Bush — too staunch for many in the party, who have never forgiven him for committing British troops to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Corbyn has said he'll apologize "to the British people for taking them into the Iraq war on the basis of deception, and to the Iraqi people for the suffering we have helped cause." He also favors scrapping Britain's nuclear weapons, has called for Britain to leave the NATO military alliance, wants warmer relations with Russia and opposes air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. "If the party was looking for someone who is the antithesis of Tony Blair, they've found him," Diamond said. Corbyn started the contest to replace election-losing leader Ed Miliband as a 100-to-1 longshot, but is now bookmakers' strong favorite. Polls put him ahead of his three mainstream rivals, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall — though pollsters concede predicting an internal party race is tricky. Corbyn is backed by several big trade unions, and by social media-savvy youngsters who have emblazoned his name on T-shirts and hashtagged it across social media. His rallies have drawn 2,000-strong crowds and his supporters have dominated candidates' debates. Like Republican maverick Donald Trump and Democrat left-wing candidate Bernie Sanders in the United States, Corbyn reaches voters that other politicians can't. Like Trump, he appears to speak his mind without consulting spin doctors or focus groups first. Like Sanders, he proposes an alternative to belt-tightening economic policies that have made many people worse off. Corbyn's anti-austerity policies include more public spending higher taxes for the rich and a clampdown on tax evasion. And like young leftist parties Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain, "Corbynmania" is firing up many people previously disillusioned with mainstream politics. "He's making politics sexy again," said Corbyn-supporting doctor Natasha Chari, 50. "The age of the spin doctor is over." Corbyn, a bike-riding, bearded backbencher who has represented London's Islington North constituency since 1983 without ever holding a senior party post, often looks bemused by his rock-star status. His popularity has surprised and alarmed most Labour leaders and lawmakers, who consider his potential victory a disaster that could have been avoided. Corbyn has little support among Labour legislators, but several nominated him for the leadership ballot in the belief that he was a harmless fringe figure who would broaden the debate. Labour also allowed anyone who paid a 3 pound ($4.64) fee to register as a supporter and vote in the leadership election, leading to fears of infiltration by opponents. Party officials are checking individual details, aiming to weed out supporters of other parties among the 550,000 people registered to vote. Blair — who has generally stayed out of British politics since leaving office in 2007 — has repeatedly implored party members not to elect Corbyn, while acknowledging that his intervention "actually makes them more likely to support him." "Labour lost because it was considered anti-business and too left," Blair wrote in The Observer newspaper, arguing that those who think otherwise are living in a "parallel reality." "Jeremy Corbyn is not going to be prime minister of the U.K." ___ Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless Join the conversation about this story »


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There's a new political risk looming in Europe (EUR, EURUSD, USD)

There's a new risk looming over Europe: right-wing nationalism.  In a note to clients on Friday, analysts at Berenberg took a look at the possibility of emerging right-wing nationalist parties running on platforms of locking down borders as a result of the huge number of refugees flowing into the European Union. Over the last few weeks, the flow of refugees into Europe, largely from Syria, has made international headlines and become a major issue for European leaders including German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has seen her popularity plummet as a result of her handling of the crisis. As Business Insider's Natasha Bertrand outlined this week, more than 3 million refugees have poured into Turkey and Lebanon, but with conditions deteriorating in refugee camps there, many have sought passage to the European Union to seek asylum.   But European leaders haven't been responding to this crisis uniformly, which Berenberg notes runs counter to the project of the European Union, which is to ensure, "political cooperation and the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour among its members." And while Berenberg notes that this is far from the first crisis Europe has faced, the risk of anti-immigration sentiment fracturing the EU is much greater than it is in the US, where immigration has also become a hot button issue ahead of the 2016 presidential election.  Here's Berenberg (emphasis added): In Europe, a populist backlash against immigration is potentially more dangerous than in the US. FOR EXAMPLE, IOWA WOULD NOT LEAVE THE US EVEN IF DONALD TRUMP WERE TO WIN THE STATE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES WITH DIATRIBES AGAINST IMMIGRANTS AND THE POLITICS OF WASHINGTON, DC. IN EUROPE, HOWEVER, A RIGHT-WING POPULIST BACKLASH AGAINST IMMIGRATION ALMOST INEVITABLY TAKES ON AN ANTI-EU TINGE. After all, migrants heading for one EU country often pass through other EU states first, or come from other EU members. This is part and parcel of the very openness of the EU that underpins its success. If a right-wing populist wins a national election in a major EU member with demands to "regain control over national borders" and to ignore European rules on human rights, he or she could theoretically take the country out of the union. Now, Berenberg stresses that it does not see this as likely. The rise of right-wing nationalism gripping elections across Europe, rather, is what economists call a "tail risk," or something that has a remote chance of happening but would have big consequences if it came to pass.  What's really notable here, then, are two things.  The first thing is that just a few months ago, the situation in Greece — when Greece voted against the latest bailout terms offered by its creditors — the fear was that left-wing, anti-austerity governments would gain popularity across Europe and create a second act of the euro crisis that peaked in 2011-12. Greece's government ultimately took a bailout despite the vote, and now the pendulum seems to have swung the other way. The second thing is that no matter how the refugee crisis plays politically in the next several months, the potential for a so-called "Brexit" referendum vote on whether Britain remains in the EU could become a "de facto vote over immigration rather than the commercial advantages of belonging to the biggest single market in the world," Berenberg writes.  And so then this would see the merits of EU membership hinging not on an economic but a more broadly political question.  But again, this is all a remote possibility. Here's Berenberg one last time: We do not expect this to happen at all. Front National's Marine Le Pen is far away from taking power in France, her new Italian copycat is unlikely to win a serious national election and Germany's Alternative für Deutschland is tearing itself apart. But this is what's looming.  SEE ALSO: THE HAUNTING PHOTO OF A DROWNED SYRIAN CHILD IS FINALLY FORCING THE WORLD TO TAKE NOTICE OF A YEARS-LONG CRISIS Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Suddenly all of Europe is dealing with a massive migrant crisis


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