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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

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Migration dominates World Press Photo awards

Europe’s migration crisis featured heavily among the winners of this year’s World Press Photo awards, the largest and most prestigious competition honoring photojournalism, announced Thursday. The World Press Photo of the Year — the jury’s top prize — was awarded to the Australian photographer Warren Richardson, for a haunting image (above) of refugees crossing the border from Serbia to Hungary. Lit only by the moon, a man passes a child through barbed wire. Judges were taken aback by the stark simplicity of the frame. Jury member Vaughn Wallace, deputy photo editor at Al Jazeera America, said: “His image really caught my eye. It causes you to stop and consider the man’s face, consider the child. You see the sharpness of the barbed wire and the hands reaching out from the darkness. This isn’t the end of a journey, but the completion of one stage of a very long future.” Here’s our selection of some of the most striking migration-related images that made the winners’ list. Russian photographer Sergey Ponomarev of the the New York Times was awarded first prize in the general news category: Migrants and refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesvos in November 2015. Migrants walk atop a dike as Slovenian riot police escort them to a registration camp outside Dobova. Migrants struggle to climb onto a train headed to Zagreb, the Croatian capital. A Slovenian police officer on horseback escorts migrants after they crossed from Croatia.   The Italian photographer Francesco Zizola, of Noor Images, was awarded second prize in the contemporary issues category for his work on the migration crisis: An overcrowded rubber dinghy sailing from the Libyan coast is approached by the Doctors Without Borders search and rescue ship Bourbon Argos in the Mediterranean Sea in August. The migrants on board the dinghy in distress have issued an emergency call and are waiting to be rescued. On the horizon, an offshore oil platform just off the Libyan coast. Some of the 95 migrants on board a sinking rubber dinghy frantically climb on board a rigid-hulled inflatable boat launched to rescue them by Doctors Without Borders. Eritrean migrants — the vast majority rescued the day before off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea — gather on the deck of the Doctors Without Borders search and rescue ship Bourbon Argos to attend a service by one of the three priests on board the ship. After spending two days and nights sailing on the Mediterranean Sea, migrants — still wrapped in their emergency blankets — catch sight of the Italian coast for the first time.   The Slovenian photographer Matic Zorman was awarded first prize in the people category for his touching portrait of a child: A child wearing a raincoat waits in line to register at a refugee camp in Preševo, Serbia in October.   The Italian photographer Dario Mitidieri was awarded third prize in the same category: A Syrian refugee family poses for a portrait at a camp in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, in December. The empty chair in the photograph represents a family member who has either died in the war or whose whereabouts are unknown.   The Turkish photographer Bulent Kilic was awarded third prize for his multi-photo story in the spot news category: Syrians fleeing the war wait to enter Turkey near the border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province in June. Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally near the border crossing at Akçakale in Sanliurfa province in June. A Syrian child fleeing the war is lifted over border fences to enter Turkish territory near the crossing at Akçakale in June. Islamic State members ask people to return to the city center at the Turkish Akçakale crossing gate in Sanliurfa province in June.


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Eurogroup President Asks Greece to Accept Deeper Pension Cuts and Create a New Privatization Fund

Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem told European Parliament that Greece needs sharper cuts in pension benefits and a new privatization fund to secure the loans provided to the country by its European partners. Regarding pensions, Dijsselbloem adopted the IMF stance which calls for much deeper cuts in the nation’s pension system than the


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Failed summit on refugees would help hardliners

Two main solutions to clear the refugee crisis will be examined during the EU summit: close more internal borders and isolate Greece or protect external borders with the help of Turkey. The EU Commission’s relocation scheme could be dropped. Europe stays deeply divided on how to handle the refugee crisis. One day before the meeting […]


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GREEKS Shocked, Saddened by Tragic Death of Singer Pantelis Pantelidis

GREEKS woke up to shocking news today that one of their beloved young music stars was killed in a tragic car accident. Pantelis Pantelidis, a singing ...


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GREEK Tourism: Air arrivals + 1,9% in January, +5.1% for Athens

Air arrivals in Greece were off to a good start in 2016, according to GREEK Tourism Confederation's (SETE) January data. An increase of 1.9% was ...


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GREEK port to be chosen in next few days for delivery of pipes and equipment for TAP project

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Consortium TAP AG is to choose in the next few days a GREEK port for delivery and storage of pipes and materials required for ...


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Famous GREEK singer Pandelis Pandelidis dies in car accident

GREEK singer Pandelis Pandelidis died and two female passengers were seriously injured in a car crash early on Thursday morning. Initial reports ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT hellenicnews.com

'It's heart breaking': Greenhithe mum joins beach rescue team on GREEK island where Syrian child ...

A Greenhithe woman has told of how the heart breaking plight of a nine-year-old boy who fled Syria alone after watching his brother's execution ...


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

Wary on Turkey, EU prepares for refugee crisis in Greece

By Alastair Macdonald and Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union hopes Turkey will prevent as many migrants reaching Greece as last year but is readying "contingency" plans to shelter large numbers who may arrive but can no longer trek north toward Germany. Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told Reuters on Thursday that it was unclear how far Turkey could reduce numbers once the weather improves and, with efforts under way to prevent a repeat of last summer's chaotic treks through the Balkans, the EU was working with Athens to shelter refugees in Greece. "As long as our cooperation agreement we made with Turkey doesn't start giving results, the situation will not be easy at all.


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A nervous Saudi Arabia just launched a massive military exercise

[Saudi Arabia military parade] Saudi Arabia just launched what it describes as the largest war game in the country's history. On February 14th, the "Northern Thunder" military exercise began, involving troops from 20 countries. Saudi Arabia's state news describes Northern Thunder as "the largest military exercise of its kind in terms of the number of participating countries and qualitative military equipment."  David Weinberg, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider that Riyadh's claims shouldn't be taken at face value — and that the exercise might not have a specific political objective either.  "Even year in recent years the Saudis announce some sort of 'biggest' military exercise, and people always try to find a message," Weinberg says, noting that Northern Thunder includes participants like Egypt, Pakistan and Oman "which have balked at recent Saudi military requests." Still, the exercise comes at a time when Riyadh is badly in need of effective hard power projection. Saudi Arabia is in an ambiguous geopolitical position, losing on a number of important fronts while gaining in military power and regional importance. In Syria, Russian and Iranian support has enabled crucial battlefield gains for the the regime of Bashar al-Assad — advances that have come at the expense of Saudi-supported rebel groups. The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, which is fighting to restore the country's internationally recognized government after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels deposed it in early 2015, has made little progress in recent months and is widely thought of as a strategic misstep. [Saudi troops walk at their base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser ] The recent agreement between Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela to cap oil production could lead to an OPEC production level freeze that would hurt Iran, restraining the Saudi rival's output just as international sanctions against the country are lifted. At the same time, Saudi Arabia's primary regional opponent still plans on spending a reported $8 billion on Russian arms and is seeing its global standing improve after the January implementation of its nuclear deal with a US-led group of world powers. [Screen Shot 2016 02 18 at 10.18.22 AM]Saudi Arabia is facing internal pressures as well. Low oil prices are forcing Riyadh to cut social services and impose unprecedented taxation measures, while the government plans on raising money through privatizing some of Saudi Aramco, the country's multi-trillion-dollar state oil concern. Despite these challenges, Saudi Arabia is arguably the most powerful of the Arab states, thanks in part to its low break-even price for oil production and the effect of ongoing conflict and dysfunction on traditional regional leaders like Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. Despite cuts in its defense budget, Saudi was the world's third-largest military spender in 2015 and its largest arms importer in 2014.  Riyadh has also carried out increasing military exercises in order to display the country's firepower, Weinberg explained to Business Insider. "The increasing tempo of major Saudi military exercises reflects the kingdom’s broader investment in military spending and operational capacity, which is first and foremost driven by the perceived conventional and unconventional threats posed by Iran." An exercise like Northern Thunder sends the message that Saudi Arabia intends to keep up an assertive regional policy despite its recent setbacks. SEE ALSO: INDIA'S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD BE A GAME-CHANGER Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: An AT&T spokesperson and former refugee is now helping Syrian refugees in Greece


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Reporter brutally attacked during public rally in Greece

This statement was originally published on ifj.org on 8 February 2016. A radio journalist was brutally injured on 4 February by unknown assailants while covering a massive rally in the capital, Athens. The International and the European Federations of ...


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GREECE native paces Cox in the pool

Moditsis, a 16-year-old GREECE native, is even more advanced in the classroom than in the pool, skipping what would have been his junior year to ...


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Migrants: 'Italy and GREECE need support', Italian FM

(by Luca Mirone) (ANSAmed) - ATHENS, FEBRUARY 18 - Italy and GREECE cannot be left alone to share the ''burden'' of migratory influxes as ...


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An actual Grexit

Closing in Athens, opening in Sofia, Tirana and Nicosia WHEN Panagiotis Korfoksyliotis set up a business in Athens in 2011, ferrying tourists around by car, he hoped to do his bit to help Greece emerge from its deep recession. He says he paid his staff a decent wage and declared all his earnings. Unfortunately, the taxman did not repay the kindness. Sharp increases in business taxes have prompted Mr Korfoksyliotis to pack his bags and move his company and his life to Bulgaria. Now he employs drivers to take foreign visitors around that country’s tourist spots instead. He is part of a growing trend. In recent years Greek governments desperate for cash have sought to squeeze it from companies, despite evidence that this is driving them away to places like Bulgaria, Cyprus and Albania. The combination of a deep recession and rising taxation has meant that by some estimates more than 200,000 businesses have closed or in some cases left Greece since then. Between 2009 and 2014 the taxable profits declared by the country’s businesses fell by more than €5 billion ($5.6 billion) to €10 billion. Precise figures are...


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New migrant control system on Greek-Macedonian border

(ANSAmed) - ZAGREB, FEBRUARY 18 - The heads of police forces on the 'Balkan route' used by migrants to the EU on Thursday reached an agreement in the Croatian capital for a new system to check, select and register migrants. The system will be used once ...


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Instagram-like app available for GREEK students

Instagram-like app available for GREEK students ... It was cool to see other social events that other GREEK organizations are putting on as well.”


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Clifton Woman Aids Refugees During Impromptu Trip to GREECE

Kathy Hertz (left) of Clifton sits with a refugee mother and children as they get warm after arriving on the Greek shore by dinghy. Photo courtesy of ...


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Greek minister: NATO will deal a blow to refugee traffickers

… a blow to refugee traffickers, Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister for … (18 February). EurActiv Greece reports. Germany, Turkey and Greece recently agreed to … take place at sea, the Greek official said that operations should …


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Russia's Future Lies With Europe and the West

It is a worrying time to survey European geopolitics from across the Atlantic. Like many high officials, the Polish foreign minister is now calling for NATO troops to deploy to the border with Russia. Russia is now suing Ukraine over unpaid debt, and small nations like Serbia and Armenia are trying to navigate between Russia and the West over European Union and customs union memberships. Russia feels disrespected, and the West cannot comprehend the annexation of Crimea. It all has a deeply unsettled feeling, with the split between Russia and the U.S. at the center of it. At the recently completed Munich Security Conference, hundreds of high-level delegates spent a long weekend together debating the many serious issues facing the world community. Dozens of heads of state and government, along with their ministers of defense and foreign affairs, met with representatives from big global defense firms, senior military officers and leaders of humanitarian non-governmental organizations to discuss international security concerns. At the top of virtually everyone's list of worries was Europe. The confluence of the Syrian state collapse and the rise of the so-called Islamic State generated more than a million refugees headed to Europe last year, with perhaps another million right behind them in 2016. It is a deeply concerning situation for the nations of Europe, which historically have had a great deal of difficulty integrating Muslim and African immigrants into their societies. > The likelihood of a long-term, serious Russian alliance with the > Chinese is remote -- the nations, cultures, languages and > geopolitical positions are simply too far apart. The recent assaults against German women in Cologne and in other cities have increased pressure on the best leader in Europe, Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Greek crisis is bubbling away and will reassert itself soon. Powerful centrifugal forces are pulling at the European Union, and a British exit ("the Brexit") is an even proposition according to most polls. But overlaying these challenges is a larger strategic conflict that looms: increasing tension between Russia and the West, with both sides blaming the other for a new Cold War. Russian Prime Minister and former President Dimitri Medvedev, in a widely publicized speech at the Munich Conference, said that not only did he feel the Cold War was back due to the bad behavior of the West, but that the year 2016 felt to him more like 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The U.S. quadrupling its military spending in Europe to reassure nervous NATO allies does not sit well with Russia, which sees the move as confrontational and provocative. On the other side, U.S. Senator John McCain, who led the U.S. Congressional delegation and serves as Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, fired back just a day later in a dramatic and powerful speech. He spoke forcefully about Russian violations of the sovereignty of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, along with backing the Assad regime in Syria, which is widely accused of war crimes and other violations of international law. He placed blame squarely on Russia and criticized U.S. leadership for not acting more vigorously. Leaders and spokesmen from both sides of the ideological divide decried the ignorance, obstructionism and intransigence of the other side. No one seems to champion an approach of working together for solutions to all of these problems. Indeed, as Europe suffers from profound economic, political, security and cultural challenges, both Russia and the West are fiddling while Rome burns (Rome being a metaphor for Europe). What should we be doing? From a U.S. and NATO standpoint, we need to take a distinctly transactional approach with Russia. We are clearly and thankfully not back in the Cold War, no matter what Medvedev says. We do not have millions of troops facing each other across Central Europe, huge battle fleets at sea and a pair of nuclear arsenals ready to launch on warning. There is a reasonable level of dialogue, albeit quite strained at times. What we have is not ideal, but at least it includes the ability for our leaders to exchange ideas, occasionally cooperate and -- if they are willing to do so -- actually try to tackle the problems in the world. Exhibit A of this mildly hopeful syndrome would be the agreement to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon for a decade; for all its flaws (and I am personally skeptical of ultimate success), it does serve as evidence that we can work together when our interests align. > The closest partners of Russia are places like Syria, Iran, > Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and North Korea. Is this really where > Russia wants to base its future? The key for the West is to confront Russia where we must (Syria, Ukraine and Georgia for example) but cooperate where we can. And there are multiple zones of potential cooperation. Some of them include counter-terrorism (exchanging information and intelligence); counter-piracy (Russian ships have been alongside U.S., EU, NATO and other allies on this mission off East Africa for years); Afghanistan (where it is in both of our interests to resolve the insurgency and reduce the flow of opium out of the country); and possibly strategic arms limitations. On the other hand, if you step back and look at the situation from a Russian perspective, it is a very different calculus. Russia craves respect as a civilization, as a nation and as leaders (especially Russian President Vladimir Putin). Their view is that the U.S. and NATO violated agreements at the end of the Cold War to keep the Warsaw Pact countries out of NATO and to allow Russia to avoid a world in which strong NATO forces were stationed in their "near abroad," the geographic zone immediately outside their borders. They deeply and sincerely believe this narrative. This has led to a series of questionable choices: invading Georgia, destabilizing Moldova and most controversially invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. A Russian would say that Ukraine and especially Crimea have been part of Russia for centuries and that any accurate plebiscite of the population in Ukraine would have been overwhelmingly in favor of union with Russia. The cry of "Novorussisyk," or "New Russia," has diminished over the past year, but was on the lips of many Russian nationalists. The impositions of sanctions and the coincident fall in the price of oil have exacted a serious economic burden on the people of Russia. Yet they don't seem near to a breaking point. If you want to understand the fortitude of the Russian people, throw away the CIA reports and go back to reading Russian literature. For example, _One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_, a classic of redemption through suffering in a Gulag, will provide a fairly clear picture of Russian defiance in the face of adversity. > Over time, it seems more likely than not that Russia and the West > will build better relations, given the geography, culture and > history -- but it is far from inevitable. Russia should realize that, in the end, its future lies with Europe and the West. The likelihood of a long-term, serious alliance with the Chinese is remote -- the nations, cultures, languages and geopolitical positions are simply too far apart. To the south are few options for alliance and integration beyond the former republics of the old Soviet Union, many of which have drifted away from the Russian orbit. Further afield, the closest partners of Russia are places like Syria, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and North Korea. Is this really where Russia wants to base its future? Over time, it seems more likely than not that Russia and the West will build better relations, given the geography, culture and history -- but it is far from inevitable, especially given the current angst. The best Russian strategy would be to continue to build partnerships with Europe, especially in the economic zone. Trying to find zones of cooperation with the U.S. in countering terrorism, piracy, narcotics, Afghanistan, arms control, trade and creating stability in the Levant would make sense. To do this, some behavioral modifications would be helpful, notably fully implementing the Minsk agreements in Ukraine and diminishing support to the Assad regime. Both sides need to stop fiddling while Europe figuratively comes closer and closer to truly burning. The U.S., Europe and Russia could be partners but it will require some compromises on all sides. In the midst of this very tense set of relationships, it will take creative diplomacy and a willingness to work together to put down our fiddles and pick up the tools of diplomacy. -- 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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Greece: Protesters storm the Finance Ministry over pension reforms

Public health service workers stormed the Finance Ministry in Athens during a protest against social security reform and pension cuts on Thursday, after they were informed that they would not be granted a meeting with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos.


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More than one refugee route through the Balkans

The Visegrád Group wants Macedonia to assist Greece in closing their border. Alternative routes through the Balkans would thus grow in their relevancy. But which paths do the refugees favor?


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GREECE Athena High School to present 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'

GREECE Athena High School, 1139 Maiden Lane, will present “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at 7:30 p.m. March 4-5 and 11-12 and at 2 p.m. March 6.


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Smell of Default in the Air Says Deutsche Bank

A troubling note is that oil rich Venezuela's credit default spreads are now at the same level of GREECE'S before they defaulted. Deutsche Bank thinks ...


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European police chiefs announce joint refugee register

[Refugees and migrants cross the border between Greece and Macedonia]The police chiefs of five countries on the migrant route through southeast Europe announced a new agreement Thursday for a coordinated registration point for refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border.


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GREEK-Speaking Cop, Two Others, Honored

Though he was just a regular patrol officer, his native language was GREEK, so he was thrust into the role of lead negotiator. For four and a half hours, ...


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GREEK Police Transfers Cyber Crime Unit Chief, Then Repeals Decision… For Now

Since 1995, Sfakianakis was the Batman of GREEK cyberspace. In 1996 he dismantled a four-member gang that had ravaged Athens copying credit ...


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People can’t live there’: Sinking Greek ghost town ignored by government (PHOTOS)

New photos of a Greek village sinking since a massive landslide struck in 2012 show the devastating impact the natural disaster and lack of official response has had on the once-thriving community. Ropoto, in central Greece, is now abandoned after ...


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Greece Approves Cosco’s Latest Offer for Piraeus

China’s port operator Cosco Group (Hong Kong) Limited has been unanimously declared as the preferred buyer of the 67% stake in Piraeus, one of the largest Greek ports. Cosco’s initial offer for the Greek port was initially rejected as the Hellenic ...


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IMF Maintains Tough Stance Over Greece’s New Bailout Program

Just a few days after the posting of his controversial article on the IMF’s blog, Poul Thomsen, Director of the Fund’s European Department, presented yesterday the state of the Greek bailout program to the organization’s Executive Board, saying that ...


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Closing Borders to the Balkans Would Trigger a ‘Major Humanitarian Crisis’ in Greece, Says Minister Mouzalas

Greece’s Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said that if the plan of the Visegrad states — the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — goes through and Balkan countries seal off their borders, his country would end up facing “a major ...


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Pantelis Pantelidis, GREECE'S Popular Singer killed in Car Crash

Pantelis Pantelidis, GREECE'S Popular Singer killed in Car Crash ... Pantelis Pantelidis, one of GREECE'S most popular young singers, was killed in a car ...


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20 Mouthwatering Recipes Featuring Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is so much more than a breakfast food – it’s a secret weapon! It can be used as a base for dips, smoothies, soups, and even salad dressings. Yogurt imparts a thick, creamy texture and a tangy taste that you don’t get from other condiments.


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Greek bonds are surging

Greek bond yields are collapsing after the Bank of Greece said the European Central Bank reduced the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA)-ceiling for the country's banks by €0.1 billion to €71.4 billion. According to the central bank, the reduction ...


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Greece and Italy Share Same Views on the Refugee Issue, President Pavlopoulos Says

Greece and Italy share the same views on the refugee issue, President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Thursday in a meeting with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni. “Europe finally understands that the main focus of the ...


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EU patrol rescues 900 migrants at sea: Frontex

[Migrants on an inflatable boat reach Mytilene on Lesbos on February 17, 2016]The EU border agency Frontex said one of its maritime patrols rescued around 900 migrants on Thursday near the Greek island of Lesbos as weather conditions have made the sea crossing more dangerous.


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Italy urges EU to avert collapse of passport-free travel zone

Italy's foreign minister urged European leaders on Thursday to tackle the continent's migration crisis and avert a potential collapse of the free-travel Schengen zone, hours before they meet on the issue in Brussels. "We anticipate that, albeit belatedly, Europe will multiply its commitments" to resolve the migration crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni during a visit to Athens. "Unilateral actions that will lead to the collapse of the Schengen treaty must be avoided," he said in comments translated into Greek, urging countries to avoid actions that could have an "irreversible impact" on the European Union and Schengen.


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Tsipras in EU Summit: Greece seeks allies for Refugee Crisis and Bailout Review

The powerful explosion triggered by terrorists in the heart of Ankara on Wednesday evening forced Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to cancel his trip to Brussels. Davutoglu was supposed to participate in the EU Summit and talk about solutions in the Refugee Crisis. Consequently, the three-party meeting between Greece, Germany […]


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State-Owned Myκonos Hotel Up for Sale

Privatization fund TAIPED has seen major interest in the sale of a Mykonos hotel controlled by the Greek state, a Kathimerini daily report says. The sale of the Leto Hotel in Mykonos appears to have attracted the interest of at least 50 bidders from Greece and abroad, which have requested details on the unit’s auction.


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Forensics Lab to Be Created on Lesvos to Deal with Rise in Autopsies

In a grim reminder of the challenges faced on the Greek island of Lesvos, the Justice ministry announced on Wednesday that it will set up a forensics service on the island to respond to the increasing needs that emerged due to the jump in refugee and migrant flows in the past year. According to a ministry


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New Democracy 3.7% Ahead of SYRIZA in New Opinion Poll

A new opinion poll shows conservative New Democracy leading over leftist SYRIZA on intention to vote by 3.7%. In the survey conducted by MRB, the main opposition party stands at 26.9% with SYRIZA following at 23.2%. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) comes third at 6.6%, with Golden Dawn close behind at 6.5%. The Democratic Coalition


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European Court Procecutor Slams Greece for Failing to Protect Kyparissia Gulf

Twenty years after the Greece’s first referral to the European Court of Justice for failing to adopt protection status for caretta-caretta sea turtles, the general prosecutor of the European court suggested on Thursday, February 18 that Greece be condemned for failing to introduce measures to protect the Gulf of Kyparissia in Peloponnese. The gulf is


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Cameron 'won't take an EU deal that does not meet British needs' – live updates

* Leak of draft deal reveals failure to agree reform of Lisbon treaty * ‘War room of lawyers’ gathering in Brussels * Jucker: ‘we have to sort out a certain number of questions’ * EU president Donald Tusk says ‘no guarantee’ of deal 2.00pm GMT “Cameron’s pettiness demeans and embarrasses Britain,” writes Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee. Cameron enters the “in” campaign having spent his entire decade as party leader undermining support for it. He deserves to lose, but we have to hope to God he doesn’t. Under him, Britain has had next to nothing constructive to contribute to the EU’s troubles, riven and immobilised over the migration crisis, and by the euro’s weakness to which austerity was the wrong answer ... Cameron has even undermined the great reasons for the EU’s existence. Securing democratic freedom was its founding postwar purpose, which explains the hasty eastward enlargement when the Berlin Wall fell. Former communist countries, and Greece, Spain and Portugal, were all embraced, regardless of economic cost. Because the EU is a beacon of decency, the world’s oppressed travel here to this most stable, well-governed zone. But in begging for tiny concessions on benefits, Cameron has grovelled to authoritarian governments in Poland and Hungary who already test the margins of human rights acceptability. His promise of a British bill of human rights would let Hungarians and Poles claim the right to pick and choose their own too. 1.47pm GMT Gianni Pittella, the president of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second largest political group in the European Parliament, says his bloc will support Britain remaining in the EU but not at the cost of sacrificing its values. Al via il prevertice socialista: sosterremo la permanenza del Regno Unito in UE ma senza sacrificare i nostri valori pic.twitter.com/4WMDWqqUEp Continue reading...


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Low and Slow Is the Way to Go With This Greek Chicken Dinner

This toothsome chicken dish makes its way into the world via a slow cooker, a kitchen device I've grown to love. There are several reasons to like slow cookers, even beyond the wonderfulness of being able to toss ingredients into it, head to work and ...


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Israel, Greece, Cyprus: A new geopolitical bloc in the eastern Mediterranean

The past month has been characterized by an unprecedented and noteworthy flurry of diplomatic activity between Jerusalem, Athens and Nicosia that suggests the emergence of a new geopolitical bloc in the region. In late January, the Israeli Minister of ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.timesofisrael.com

EU tells Austria daily cap on asylum applicants against law

European Union Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos wrote to the Austrian government on Thursday to warn Vienna that its plan for a daily cap on the number of asylum seekers it would let across its border would break EU law. "What the Austrians have decided is not according to European laws," Avramopoulos told Reuters. The Austrians are obliged to accept asylum applications without putting a cap." Austria, on the migrant route from Turkey via Greece and the Balkans to Germany, said late on Wednesday that it would let in no more than 3,200 people a day from Friday.


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Good chance Hungary will have to build fence on Romanian border

Hungary is ready to build a fence on its border with Romania to keep out migrants and there is a good chance that this cannot be avoided, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday. "We are ready to erect a technical barrier on the Romanian border as well ... today there is significant chance that this cannot be avoided," Janos Lazar told a news conference. Lazar also said Hungary and the Visegrad group of Central European countries respected a proposal that the flow of migrants should be primarily tackled on the borders of Greece.


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The Latest: Eurotunnel seeks compensation for migrant woes

[A coast guard officer keeps notes as a man sits at a registration and hospitality center for refugees and migrants, known as a hotspot, on the eastern Greek island of Chios, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said that military teams have set up most of the long-delayed migrant reception facilities the country has promised its European Union partners to build. But he said the installations may not have to be fully used. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)]COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Latest on the influx of refugees to Europe (all times local):


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Greece: farmers' protest, crossing with Macedonia closed

(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 18 - The border crossing of Bogorodica-Evzoni between Macedonia and Greece on Thursday was closed to traffic due to the continuation of a protest by Greek farmers. For the same reason, according to local media, the other ...


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Minister: Greece faces aid crisis if Balkan borders close to migrants

Russia's Foreign Ministry condemns the terrorist bombing in Ankara as a "barbaric crime" that "cannot be justified," and says its "organizers must be held accountable." Cologne police investigate sexual harassment against female refugees German police are ...


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Bulgaria to File Claims for Financial Losses Arising from Greek Blockade

Bulgaria will file claims before the European Union for losses arising from the continuing blockades staged by Greek farmers at checkpoints along the Bulgarian-Greek border. This was stated by Bulgarian Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski in Plovdiv on ...


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