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Friday, April 8, 2016

Greece to Discuss Migration Crisis with Neighbours at Two April Meetings

Greece will hold two meetings on migration with several of its neighbours in the next two weeks, the country’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has said. The meetings, planned for April 14 and April 21-22, will take place in Thessaloniki, Greek news agency ANA-MPA quoted Kotzias as saying at a press briefing on Friday. The  April 14 meeting will bring together police officials from Albania,Greece and Italy. The foreign and interior ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia will meet on April 21-22. At the meeting of foreign ministers, Greece will propose to hold a wider meeting with other countries in the region such as Croatia, Serbia and Slovakia as well as Austria to discuss trans-border cooperation and security and the refugee issue, Kotzias has said, according to ANA-MPA. The wider meeding could take place in May or early June.  


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Second boat takes 79 migrants to Turkey from Greece

"The conditions forcing these people to move, including onwards to Europe, are still present and many people are falling through the cracks", said Boris Cheshirkov, a UNHCR spokesman on the Greek island of Lesbos. It will be the second time in modern ...


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Weather Cancels Boston Parade but Greek Independence is Still Feted

      BOSTON, MA – The 22nd annual Greek Independence Parade of Boston, scheduled for April 3, was canceled due to inclement weather, including snow, cold, and wind. Unseasonably cold temperatures, coupled with snow and high winds forced the organizers of the Federation of the Hellenic American Societies of New England, in consultation with […]


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World Press View: Refugees, Migrants Stuck in Greece’s No Man’s Land Now

With a European Union swap deal with Turkey stuck in neutral, refugees and migrants have piled up in Greece not knowing their fate,


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Tripoli: The First Stop On The Refugee Trail To Greece

_Embarking in Tripoli, Lebanon, where desperate Syrian refugees have sought shelter in embattled neighborhoods reminiscent of the war at home, journalist Eric Reidy traverses one of several refugee trails that ends in Idomeni, Greece. Tripoli is the first stop in our series “Route Mediterranean.”_ TRIPOLI, Lebanon – The only ferry from Tripoli, Lebanon to the southern Turkish city of Mersin slipped out of port laden with tractor-trailers. There were no passengers on this Saturday night. Tripoli’s wharf was sparsely populated with about a dozen fishermen spread out along its length, untangling their nets as the sun dipped toward the horizon. The odd family strolled along munching on cooked corn or boiled fava beans hawked from a handful of colorful pushcarts. Tripoli’s port has been unusually quiet. From midsummer last year till the beginning of January, the sleepy pace of life in this Levantine city was interrupted by the thousands of Syrians who crowded the port that had become their only point of escape from civil war at home and dire living conditions in Lebanon. “To get to my work I pass the port everyday,” Khouloud al-Ali, a Tripoli resident, told me. “If you passed through here at night or during the day or in the afternoon … I don’t know how to even give a number of the Syrian families who were trying to get to Turkey and Europe.” In August last year, the number of Syrians transiting through Lebanon to Turkey surged. “There were between 3,000 and 5,000 leaving every week,” Lisa Abou Khaled, a UNHCR spokesperson, said. Some of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon and a number of Lebanese formed this exodus. Deteriorating conditions in Lebanon and no realistic hopes of returning home after five years of war spurred their departure. The ultimate destination for most of these people was Europe – via dangerous journeys across the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands, where 850,000 asylum seekers landed last year. With 3,771 recorded deaths, 2015 was the deadliest year for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the IOM. Tripoli’s port and Beirut’s airport were early stepping stones along this treacherous trail. But on January 8, Turkey, home to nearly 3 million Syrian refugees, implemented new regulations requiring Syrians transiting through a third country to have a visa. Before, they could enter the country from anywhere with just a passport. The move that stemmed the flow of people through Lebanon was followed by the closing of the Greek–Macedonian border in early March and the brokering of the E.U. and Turkey deal that is returning refugees who reached Greece after March 20 back to Turkey. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern over these recent developments, saying they make it even more difficult for people fleeing armed conflict to reach safety. In Lebanon, the increasing restrictions on movement have left Syrians in dismal conditions with little hope of escape. Bab al-Tabaneh, one of Lebanon’s most infamous, conflict-riddled neighborhoods, a mere 15-minute car ride from Tripoli’s port, has become home to desperate refugees with meager means and few options. I met Sihem Nadaf, a tall, 40-year-old Syrian woman in an oddly shaped cinderblock courtyard in Tabaneh. Her calm face and demeanor were betrayed by the shakiness of her hands. Behind her, a faded wooden door concealed the dark, musty room that she shares with her husband and her sister-in-law and her family. Her brother is dead. Nadaf fled her home in Homs three years ago after being shot in the leg. The area she lived in was under siege. Desperate for food, she tried to travel to an area under the control of the Syrian regime to buy bread. As she approached a checkpoint, regime troops opened fire and she was wounded in the leg. “I left Syria to escape the war, but ended up in a place where there is also fighting,” says Nadaf. For Nadaf, there is no safety in Lebanon. The recent history of Tabaneh, where she lives, has been punctuated by periods of high tension and periodic clashes with the neighboring quarter of Jabal Mohsen. Separated by a thoroughfare called Syria Street, the neighborhoods are also deeply divided by their respective loyalties to parties involved in the Syrian conflict. In predominantly Sunni Tabaneh, gunmen with sympathies for Islamist militias fighting against the regime in Syria, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, hold sway. On the other side of the divide, militias in the majority Alawite community of Jabal Mohsen support the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, a member of the same sect. In October 2014, a string of clashes and bombings escalated into all-out fighting, the most intense spillover of violence from Syria into Lebanon to date. For three days, the Lebanese army battled Islamist-affiliated gunmen for control of Bab al-Tabaneh, leaving much of the neighborhood in ruins before the gunmen were defeated. In areas where the fighting was most intense, the freshly painted facades of reconstructed apartment blocks stick out against a backdrop of skeletal, bullet-riddled flats. Tripoli, a mere 50 miles (80km) from its sibling city Homs in Syria and 30 miles (50km) from Tartus by water, is too close for comfort for these refugees. Narrow, intertwining alleys that make up the old souk at the heart of Bab al-Tabaneh lead to Nadaf’s house. When gun battles raged on the other side of the wall, fighters would use entrances on both sides of the courtyard to move without being detected by the army. “This house is not safe … the gunmen will come through the house again,” Nadaf says. “The people always say that there will be more fighting.” Security is just one of several difficulties that Nadaf is facing. Rent is high. It has been difficult to find work. She is afraid to move around Tripoli without the right papers. Lebanon’s expensive and complicated residency system requires Syrians to have a Lebanese sponsor. “The situation is very bad … It’s hard to live,” she says. In another part of Tabaneh, 32-year-old Manahel Awaj from Idlib sits on a threadbare carpet on the cement floor of a converted storefront that currently serves as her home. Four of her 11 children are gathered around her, and others flit in and out doing chores and playing in the street. Her youngest son, five and a half months old, is asleep wrapped in a blanket, in a baby carrier behind her. UNHCR provides aid for five of the children. She receives nothing for the others. Only two of the children are in school, and her oldest girls, aged 13 and 14, work 16-hour days cleaning old shoes to be resold in the market. “They have pain in their hands and legs. They’re all thin and malnourished,” she says gesturing toward the kids, who are visibly gaunt. Her husband tries to work as a day laborer. Jobs are hard to find, unsteady and underpaid. To make matters even worse, her youngest son was born with medical conditions that required multiple hospital trips. To afford the medical care her husband took out a loan about $1,300. The family cannot afford to pay it back. “We are living in very bad conditions here,” Awaj says. “These are not just our conditions. These are the conditions of all Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” Nadaf said. While Tabaneh might be a particularly precarious setting, Nadaf’s statement rings true for a majority of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. More than 70 percent are now living below the national poverty line, according to Leila Abou Khaled, UNHCR’s spokesperson in Lebanon. In 2014, the number was 50 percent. Like Awaj’s family, 90 percent are now in debt. Khouloud al-Ali, the Tripoli resident I met at the port, is the director of a youth center in Tabaneh operated by a Lebanese NGO called the Rene Moawad Foundation. Many of the children in the center’s programs are Syrians who fled conflict. Through her work, al-Ali has regularly witnessed the economic and social hardships that the refugees living in the neighborhood and other parts of Lebanon face. “We’ve seen more kids working on the streets. We’ve seen women begging. We’ve seen children out of schools,” she says. Syrian children selling packets of tissues, gum or cheap flowers, and mothers cradling infants with outstretched hands have become ubiquitous features on urban streets throughout Lebanon. Multiple Syrian families live in small apartments or converted spaces across the country, but especially in Tabaneh. Those who cannot afford rent live in abandoned buildings, often in extremely unhygienic conditions that lead to health issues and contagious diseases. With little separation between the cohabiting spaces of adults and children, boys and girls, strangers and family members, sexual harassment and assault have become prevalent, says al-Ali. It’s also difficult for Syrian refugees to access medical care, she adds, because of the costs. She recalls visiting a woman who was seven months pregnant and had not seen a doctor. The woman didn’t know where and how she would give birth. The difficulties of basic sustenance in Lebanon were the driving reason for people leaving for Europe from Tripoli last year. But, the majority of Syrian refugees, like Awaj and Nadaf, are too poor to make the journey. “Most of the families who were transiting were middle-income families,” people with passports and money or assets such as houses that they sold to afford the cost of travel, said Abou Khaled. Now, with the new visa restrictions, leaving the country is nearly impossible for anyone. They must either wait for the war to end or hope for resettlement through a UNHCR program. Resettlement is a slow process, and there aren’t enough spots available in receiving countries to keep up with the need. With only 6,285 people resettled from Lebanon in 2014, reaching a third country legally seems like a distant possibility for Lebanon’s Syrian refugees. “I don’t know a single family that has been resettled,” al-Ali says. Without enough money and the closing borders, people like Nadaf, Awaj and their families are stuck in a cruel and indefinite limbo. _Route Mediterranean is our series that follows one of several refugee routes that form the Mediterranean Crossings._ _This article originally appeared on Refugees Deeply. For weekly updates and analysis about refugee issues, you can sign up to the Refugees Deeply email list._ -- 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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Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Pride Of Greece

In the toughest of times for Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s journey has been a source of great pride to his fellow countrymen around the world. Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from George Kondoleon. George (or @georgeythegreek) is a ...


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GREEK bailout talks progress presented at EWG before IMF's Spring Meeting

GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) speaks with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (L) during a parliament session in Athens, Greece, ...


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St. George GREEK Orthodox Church celebrates anniversary year

PISCATAWAY - The Community of St. George GREEK Orthodox Church, 1101 River Road, is celebrating its 100th anniversary throughout 2016, and is ...


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New Greek Party ‘National Unity’ Founded by Giorgos Karatzaferis

“National Unity” is the name of the new party that was presented by Giorgos Karatzaferis and Takis Baltakos. The leader of the new party will be Karatzaferis, while Baltakos will be its secretary. “National Unity’s” logo will be a torch. Both Karatzaferis and Baltakos highlight that it is going to be a “pure blood” right


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Deputy Athletics Min: If People Being Prosecuted Resign, Maybe then We’ll Talk About the Greek Cup

Deputy Athletics Minister, Stavros Kontonis said that for the Greek Cup to commence again, all the people who are being prosecuted must resign. “We are waiting for EPO, who has the case in its hands, to work towards the benefit of Greek football,” Kontonis said. “As time goes by and EPO does not take the


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FM Kotzias Announces April Meetings on Migration With Balkan Countries

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Friday two important meetings on the refugee issue have been planned for April 14 and April 21-22 in Thessaloniki, with the participation of neighboring countries. Speaking during a briefing of the press, Kotzias said the April 14 meeting concerns a trilateral conference between the police authorities of Greece,


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Greece deports 100 as asylum claims go down

… AFP More by this Author Greece deported a second batch of … . A police source on the Greek island of Lesbos said 45 … Balkans halted the influx from Greece. “In December, it was 120 … Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece in flimsy boats, by presenting …


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Ministries Unveil Online Database Issuing Official Certificates to Greek Expats

A new project that will allow Greeks living abroad to request and receive official certificates online from the country’s consular offices around the world was unveiled by Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Interior Minister Panos Kouroumblis on Friday.


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5 things you could afford if you didn't buy that new car

[Greece tourist selfie]REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton America's love affair with cars has reached critical mass. According to Experian's quarterly "State of the Automotive Finance Market," the average car payment for a new vehicle is an astounding $482 per month — stretched out for 67 months, or more than five years. That amount of money is hard to fathom on a national level, but it's even crazier when you consider something else: The average American household is saving just 5% of their disposable income for retirement, which isn't enough for most people to ever retire — let alone retire comfortably. Almost worse than that is the fact that almost half of American families — including ones with ginormous car payments — couldn't even come up with $400 to cover an emergency or financial crisis. _Yes, you read that right._ A recent poll by the Federal Reserve showed that 47% of families don't have the cash reserves to cover emergency car repairs, unexpected medical bills, or any other minor life crisis that pops up. But at least we'll all look and feel awesome driving our new cars… _right? _ WHAT YOU'RE GIVING UP FOR THAT NEW RIDE Well, on second thought, maybe not. Although we recently argued that 84-month car loans might be the worst idea ever, I'm going to up the ante and say that ALL CAR PAYMENTS SUCK.  There are exceptions, of course. If you have the cash to pay for a car but opt for a 0% APR loan so you can invest instead, that's super cool. Or let's say you have other high-interest debts — borrowing money at a lower interest rate so you can completely annihilate your other loans is yet another smart use of your funds. However, most car shopping isn't quite so strategic. Most of the time, we head to the dealership, fall in love with something shiny, and sign our lives away without thinking twice. We've been programmed to think that "everyone has a car payment," and that it's an inevitable fact of life. Even worse, we're convinced that a new car is the ultimate sign of affluence — that upgrading is our "right" as we earn promotions at work, secure bigger and better paychecks, and take our position as the head of our households. _Related: Keeping Lifestyle Inflation at Bay_ [ford car dealership salesman] Sadly, all of that is bull$#!t, and complete propaganda perpetuated by the car dealerships and automakers who profit from our hard-earned dollars. That's why they pay people like Matthew McConaughey big bucks to pretend he won a huge poker game with his friends then drive away smoothly in a Lincoln MKX. When you really think about it, it's so, so, so,_ so sad_ that we actually fall for this crap. In an age when cars are better built and more reliable than ever, there's no need to trade up every five years and live in a state of perpetual new-car debt. The average age of cars on the road in the U.S. was a record-high 11.5 years in 2015. That's just the average — meaning for every brand-new car sold, there's another one out there that's 20 years old — and an owner who might have been living sans car payments for 15 years by now. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone (or at least most of us) saved that new-car cash and drove an old beater-mobile. Imagine if we said, "To heck with the Joneses," and drove that smart Honda Civic to the ground instead of buying a new one every few years. What could we buy then? And what could we save? What dreams could we achieve with that money? It could be anything, but let's start here: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 1. A COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR YOUR CHILD While no one knows exactly how much a college education could cost five years from now, it's fairly safe to say it will cost a pretty penny. College Board estimates show that the average cost of tuition at a public, four-year school ranges anywhere from $4,891 in Wyoming all the way to $15,160 in New Hampshire — and that doesn't include room, board, and living expenses. Even tuition at public, two-year schools ranges from around $2,000 per year all the way up to $6,500, depending on the state. Obviously, a lot of what you'll pay depends on where you live, but it also depends on what type of school your child attends, and for how long. But let's just say your goal is to pay for most of your child's college education — maybe not all, but as much as you can. If you funded an investment account for your child at the moment of birth with just $500 and added $482 per month for a full 18 years, your child would leave high school with $163,921.02 for college — and that's if your investments earned just a conservative 5% per year! While we're on the subject, that $482 per month could also bankroll your own online masters degree. Flickr / Kristine Paulus 2. AN INCOME-PRODUCING RENTAL PROPERTY While landlord horror stories may have dampened your dream of owning rental property, plenty of people still hope to get in the game one day — and it is a time-tested way to grow your wealth if you can handle the headaches. However, the biggest barrier is usually coming up with a down payment. To buy most rental properties, you need a down payment of at least 20%, plus excellent credit. Imagine you started socking away that $482 right now, and kept doing so for four years. You might get seriously sick of your beat-up minivan by then, but you would ultimately wind up with $23,136 stashed away. Depending on where you live, that might be enough for a down payment on a small rental to get you started. Over time, you could let your renters "pay off your property" while building equity in an investment that will hopefully increase in value over time. This plan is totally feasible, but you'll want to prepare yourself for the realities of rental property before you get started. _Related: What I Wish I Had Known Before Buying Rental Property_ REUTERS/Charles Platiau 3. AN ANNUAL VACATION TO EUROPE (OR SOMEWHERE ELSE REALLY COOL) Let's say you have all your financial ducks in a row — you're saving like crazy for your children's college education, socking away 20% of your pay in your work-sponsored retirement accounts, and sitting on an emergency fund big enough to handle nearly anything that pops up. That's all fine and dandy, but are you taking the time to smell the roses? If you were able to sacrifice that monthly car payment, you would have plenty of cash to live — and travel — nearly any way you wanted. These days, you can easily score a sale fare to Europe for $800 or less round-trip, depending on where you live. By saving that $482 per month — or $5,784 per year — you could afford to fly your family of four to Ireland, France, Italy, Portugal, or Spain every year, for example, plus pay for a standard bed-and-breakfast and most of your activities. Or choose a cheap, all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, and you could take your family twice per year easily. With average round-trip airfare to most places in the Caribbean at around $400, a family of four could fly for around $1,600 and still have money to select a nice property and have a boatload of fun. _Related: Why I'll Never Feel Bad About My Vacation Spending_ SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER


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Afghan refugees trapped in limbo in GREECE with nowhere to go

IDOMENI, GREECE — A family of 50 Afghan refugees has set up camp along with hundreds of others in an abandoned train station here. They don't ...


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In Odyssey for Chinese, GREECE Sells its Fabled Port of Piraeus

But the port's privatization was put on hold for a year because GREECE'S left-wing leadership bitterly opposed earlier plans to do so by the previous ...


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GREEK Anti-Fascists March in Solidarity with Refugees

Activists hold placards as they protest against the return of migrants to Turkey, at the port of Mytilene on the GREEK island of Lesbos, April 4, 2016.


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GREEK deflation rate grew in February

Greece's annual headline consumer price index fell 1.5 percent year-on-year, with the annual pace of deflation picking up from -0.5 percent in ...


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Greek Royalty represents Greek community

Daniel Guerrero, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity member, and Talia Persico, Alpha Phi sorority member, both were shocked when inducted into Greek royalty last Saturday as 2016 Endless Summer Greek Week King and Queen. Just simply being nominated by his house ...


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ABC Family's 'Greek' coming back as a TV reunion movie

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's more exciting than a Kappa Tau Gamma party: the television show "Greek" is coming back. The series, which ran on ABC Family from 2007-11, will return as a television movie on Freeform (ABC Family's new name) at an undetermined date ...


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Rebuilding GREECE And Europe

GREECE'S crisis is fiscal, monetary, and structural, exacerbated by political and social volatility, stresses on European unity, and now, a large influx of ...


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The First Migrants Deported Back to Turkey Under an E.U. Deal Face an Uncertain Future

Dozens of Pakistani migrants are sent back from Greece, thanks to a controversial deal between the E.U. and Turkey


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Greece sells controlling stake in Piraeus port

Protests greet purchase by Cosco of China


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EU's Dijsselbloem says there's no deadline for GREEK review

You couldn't make it up. No deadline? Of course not because they'll keep kicking this can down the road. Forget previous expectations/deadlines of ...


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Celebs & Entertainment

When GREEK went off the air back in 2011 (when ABC Family was still ABC Family and not Freeform), it was a bittersweet goodbye. Even though you ...


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Cosco to operate GREEK port

GREECE signed an agreement yesterday to sell a 67 percent stake in operating its biggest port to China's Cosco group, a significant step in the ...


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GREEK consulates around the world to issue official documents

The ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs on Friday launched an initiative that will allow GREEKS living abroad to apply for official certificates and ...


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Nothing Has Happened

No, you did not miss my last article; I have not written since January 24, 2016. And no, nothing has happened in Greece since then ... no pension reform, no sales of NPLs, nothing. And, nothing is likely to happen for the foreseeable future. Life in Greece is the opposite of the weather in Kansas. In Kansas if you do not like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change. In Greece if you do not like it, come back in five years and nothing will have changed. The biggest "crisis" last month was the Greece's Migration Policy Minister referring to FYROM (The Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) as Macedonia. The headline in Business Insider read "Greece's migration minister has reported resigned for calling Macedonia 'Macedonia.'" The Defense Minister demanded the Migration Policy Minister resign and threated to do so himself if Tsipras did not accept the Policy Minister's resignation. I realize this is a touchy issue and I do not want to minimize it in any way, but with everything going to hell, is this really the most important issue? Maybe Greece needs a wall? The postscript is that two weeks later the Defense Minister made peace with the Prime Minister and pledged his allegiance forever. The Institutions (formerly the Troika) returned to Greece on April 4th to give their progress report. The report will likely be ... "Greece is trying, they need to do more, blah, blah, blah." The next "big" event is the €3.7 billion payment due from Greece to the EU in July. If it is paid, it will be done with smoke and mirrors, or the EU will simply give Greece the €3.7 billion so Greece can give it back to them. The facts surrounding the refugee crisis are as confusing in Greece as they are to the outside world. As of today, there are an estimated 52,000 refugees in Greece. The EU has decided Greece is going to send refugees back to Turkey. 200 people were returned the first day of the program and then the process was halted as refugees began demanding political asylum. Certain islands have a serious problem and the Port of Piraeus is teeming with refugees, but so far there is no significant unrest in Athens. It does not appear the crisis is having a detrimental impact on tourism for the summer. Well now, for the banks ... we have analyzed the year-end 2015 financials for the four systemic banks, which reflect the €14.4 billion capital increase in the fourth quarter. The banks took €10 billion of the €14.4 billion and applied it against reserves. The average of the four systemic bank stocks is down 28.7 percent year-to-date. The reason for the pessimism is simple ... the banks need more capital. The official position of the banks is the following: There are €234 billion in loans on the books of the four systemic banks. Of this €234 billion, €113 billion are non-performing (48 percent). The banks have taken €58 billion of reserves against the NPLs. The banks claim that if loans are sold for 80 percent of the collateral value (39 cents on the Euro for each NPL), there is no need for any capital. Rather than editorialize about the collateral value, let us look at several data points. For starters, the Cypriot banks, which are much farther along in the NPL process than their Greek counterparts, estimate that NPLs make up 62 percent of total loans. This is a more realistic number for the Greek banks, since we have personally seen a number of "performing" loans that will require 60-plus percent write-offs. The Hellenic Stability Fund has estimated that of the NPLs, 60 percent of them are "unmanageable," which is code for "they are worthless." So the question then becomes, what will the recovery be for NPLs that can be managed? For our purposes, let us assume the number is 39 percent (the banks current assumption for all NPLs). So if the NPLs are 62 percent (€145 billion) and the recovery is 39 percent on the 40 percent of NPLs that can be managed, the total recovery will be 15.6 percent. Therefore, the additional recap needed for the banks is €38 billion. The current market value of the banks is €9 billion. The current holders of the banks will be diluted to 20 percent, best case. Here are three incremental stories. The alarming thing about the three loans, is that they are all "performing." Company A had €14 million of loans against a business doing €45 million in sales. The company was running short of cash and their base business was suffering along with the worldwide economy. Company A was able to convince the bank to loan them another €14 million unsecured, which they proceeded to invest in quasi-related businesses. Company A lost their entire investment and at the same time saw sales drop from €45 to €25 million and EBITDA dropped to -€1 million. Equity is now -€15 million. Without an immediate solution, Company A will go from a performing loan to closing the operation and be liquidated. Assuming the property, plant and equipment is sold for 50 percent of stated value, the bank will recover €3 million on a €28 million exposure. Remember, this is a "performing" loan. Company B has €20 million of loans (non-performing) and €1 million of EBITDA. The banks can either lend €3 million more to Company B and convert the €20 million loan to a €23 million (€20 + €3) loan, with a reduced coupon for ten years or convert 75 percent of the loan to equity and reduce the loan to €5 million, which can be serviced and paid in five years. Company C has €5 million of a sale and lease back on its headquarter building. The lease payments are over three times current market rent. Should Company C default on the payment? Should the bank renegotiate the lease to reflect current market? These are three real world examples. There are literally thousands more. The NPL situation in Greece is reaching (if it has not already) a "death spiral." The amount of equity being raised by the banks cannot keep pace with the potential growth of NPLs. The only solution is for the banks to begin to sell NPLs now. Prices will initially be low, but as NPLs are sold and new capital comes into the system the self-fulfilling nature of new capital will lead to higher prices for the NPLs. If NPLs are not sold, the banking system will collapse and the cost of a bailout will be added to Greece's €347 billion of debt (nationaldebtclocks.org). A postscript is the WikiLeaks report that the IMF was considering a Greek default? This is news? Greece is "in" default. We can all pretend that it is not, but who in their right mind thinks Greece can recover given the current structure of sovereign debt and the banks? Other than some rhetoric, including the leader of New Democracy calling for snap elections, it is unlikely Greece will face elections in 2016. While Syriza is happy to stall any reform, New Democracy is not in position to assume power and if they did, they would only inherit the responsibility to pass and implement unfavorable reforms. New Democracy has been unable to articulate a platform that resonates with the Greek people and until they do, they will not come to power. I continue to vacillate on my opinion of Syriza. However, it is hard to argue with their success. If their job is to squeeze more money out of the IMF and the EU and refuse to cut pensions or allow the foreclosure on loans, then they get an A+. -- 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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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cancels Olympic visit: Greek officials

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's Olympic committee says … 's flame-lighting ceremony in Greece for the Olympics in Rio … of the Olympics in southern Greece where the flame is lighted …


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Crete treats from farm to fork

… that taste of the sea ... Greece’s largest island and one … world’s oldest cookbook, the Greek classic Deipnosophistae, written in the … excellent aid for digestion. Details: Crete Kathryn Liston flew to Heraklion …


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Greece Returns 140 Refugees to Turkey

Greece Returns 140 Refugees to Turkey ATHENS - Greece on Friday deported … to footage broadcast by the Greek public television ERT, the activists … boat and returned to port. Greece on Monday had returned 202 …


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Greece suspended from RLEF

… the motion. Officials concluded that Greece's governing body, the … . "We have briefed the Greek ministry of culture and will … has been monitoring events in Greece since last March, stemming from …


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‘We love you’ but you’ve got to go, Greece tells migrants

… season, officials said today. (AP) Greece plans to tell thousands of … . The leaflet in Arabic, Farsi, Greek and English urges migrants not … 52,000 people trapped in Greece after Balkan states further north …


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Migrant Deportations Between Greece and Turkey Resume

… — In the face of protests, Greece has resumed deporting migrants to … from seeking to illegally enter Greece from Turkey, by way of … Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Bartholomew, as …


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Greece hit by suspension

The decision to impose an indefinite suspension followed a year-long investigation which included a fact-finding mission to Athens by Rugby League International Federation chief executive David Collier in February and culminated in an extraordinary general ...


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Uncertain Future: Weaknesses Emerge in EU-Turkey Refugee Deal

The EU is praising the first deportations this week from Greece to Turkey as a breakthrough for the recent refugee agreement with Ankara. But it was little more than a show. Many believe the deal will fail to survive the expected legal challenges.


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Ryanair and easyJet cancel Greek flights

Airlines are gearing up for general strike action in Greece (Thursday) when the country's airports will be closed to international and domestic flights. Ryanair has cancelled all of its 90 Greek flights due to the 24-hour strike, which includes air traffic ...


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GREEK dockers strike as Athens inks Piraeus sale to China's Cosco

The GREEK government today officially sold the country's largest port, Piraeus, to China's Cosco Group, prompting striking dockers to stage a protest ...


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Steer N Stein out, Jimmy the GREEK'S in in Biddeford

The financial fiasco on Main Street in Biddeford took a positive turn this week when the owner of Jimmy the GREEK'S in Old Orchard Beach announced ...


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Greece sells largest port Piraeus to Chinese company

Athens has signed a €368.5 million deal to sell the operator of Piraeus port to the Chinese shipping group COSCO, Reuters reported. This is the second major privatization for the country since last year. Greece for sale: Germans to run Greek regional ...


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US donates supplies for emergency needs of migrants, refugees in GREECE

“This latest donation demonstrates the US government's commitment to helping GREECE address the emergency needs of migrants and refugees, and ...


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Fates Diverging, Afghan and Syrian Migrants Clash in GREECE

CHIOS, GREECE — Hani Alkhalaf had just fallen asleep at an overcrowded detention camp for migrants on this Greek island when angry shouts jolted ...


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Migrants Are Scrambling To Apply For Asylum In Greece To Avoid Being Sent To Turkey

As the European Union deal with Turkey gets under-way and illegal migrants who have not yet applied for asylum in a EU nation are deported, thousands are rushing to get their paperwork processed in Greece, even if it isn’t their first choice nation.


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GREEK opposition tables proposal for diaspora vote

Conservative New Democracy has submitted a proposal to Parliament that would allow expatriate GREEKS to vote in general elections. “GREEKS abroad ...


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Barclays: Watch “Noise” From GREEK Debt Issues To Reappear As Summer Starts

GREEK debt issues are likely to heat up in June and July, and the GREEK stock market, down notably year to date, is already reflecting the concerns.


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Kiriakos Mitsotakis Speaks with TNH about Hellenes Abroad

ATHENS – Shortly before landing in New York to participate as a Grand Marshal in the Greek Independence Parade on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue on April 10, New Democracy (ND) Party leader Kiriakos Mitsotakis spoke to the National Herald about issues relevant to Greek expatriates and Greece. He said he promises to do everything in his power […]


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Brazil’s President Skips Greece Visit

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has nixed an appearance at this month's flame-lighting ceremony in Greece for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer.


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NY Mayor Hosts Greek Independence Fete

  NEW YORK – New York’s Bill de Blasio, accompanied by his wife Chirlane McCray welcomed the Greek-Americans who packed Gracie Mansion for the annual celebration of Greek Independence on April 7. “Kalosorisate,” pronounced flawlessly, “this is your house and you are always welcome here.” She then pointed to the Corinthian columns and said “there […]


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Greece has been forced to sell its most important port to China

Mike Bird, Business InsiderPiraeus, Greece's most important and biggest port. China's state owned shipping firm, the China Ocean Shipping Company is investing nearly €1 billion to buy the biggest port in Greece, one of the most crucial parts of the ...


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1500 Participants, 3000 Spectators Expected at Thessaloniki Dance Festival

Thessaloniki Dance Festival (TDF), the largest festival of competitive dancing in Greece, will be held for the second consecutive year in Thessaloniki, April 9-10. The event aims to raise awareness on dance as a sport and the development of dance. Six original dance competitions will take place during the two days of the festival: Latin/Standard, Salsa,


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