A 45-year-old man who allegedly killed a three-year-old boy in a unit at Riverwood in Sydney’s south on Wednesday has been identified as Nathan Vikatos, according to The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).
NSW Police found the child’s body about 4pm on Wednesday after responding to a “concern for welfare” call.
Vikatos was seriously injured with what police suspect were self-inflicted knife wounds in the unit on Washington Avenue.
He remained under police guard in hospital on Thursday in a stable condition after surgery.
NSW Superintendent Sheridan Waldau said the apartment complex had now been declared a crime scene.
According to the SMH, police had been called to find Vikatos earlier on Wednesday over alleged domestic violence.
Police expect to charge him over the stabbing in the coming days.
Tennis legend, Rafael Nadal, visited the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center in Halkidiki, northern Greece on Wednesday. The tennis star opened the centre in 2019.
During his visit, Nadal toured the academy facilities and interacted with young fans who trained there.
Tennis fans and the parents of children who met him at the center shared their enthusiasm on social media.
The Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre, which is located at the Sani Resort in Halkidiki, includes eight clay courts and tennis instruction is available to players of all ages and skill levels.
Tennis coaching programs have been created using a unique training system developed by Nadal and his team over 15 years of professional touring.
Nadal’s visit comes during a golden period for Greek tennis with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari shining on the world stage.
On Wednesday, May 31 the Greek Australians who will be attending the Greek Community of Melbourne’s (GCM) 2023 Greek Summer Camp program gathered at the Greek Centre in Melbourne, Victoria for a final briefing.
The program will run from July 1 to July 11, 2023, starting in Thessaloniki and including multiple visits to neighbouring towns such as Serres, Kavala and Xanthi.
With a large number of applicants from across Australia, the available positions were highly sought after. The successful applicants were selected from a diverse pool and were welcomed to The Greek Centre by GCM Board Member, Dean Kotsianis.
Dean spoke to the Campers from the perspective of attending the 2022 Camp and said: “The experience was superb not only because I had the opportunity to network with like-minded young adults, but also to get to know my homeland, practice the Greek language and see places which I would never normally visit.”
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“My advice is to seize this opportunity to explore Greece and connect with the locals. This experience will give you a better understanding of our culture,” Dean added.
The group was then led through an induction by GCM camp coordinator, Meg Smith, who provided detailed information about this year’s program itinerary and answered participants’ questions regarding their expectations.
When surveying the crowd, most of the 2023 campers expressed their excitement to “learn the history of Greece and establish a deeper connection with their heritage and culture.”
Others noted that this trip was about making “connections” with their Greek Australian peers and finding a foothold in the Greek Australian community.
Greek Centre Director, Jorge Menidis, stated: “We are immensely proud of this initiative we started last year, and due to its success, our primary goal was to continue working to sustain this wonderful project.”
“We chose to cooperate again with The Thessaloniki YMCA given their significant experience. They run over 90 camps every year and tailor the experience specifically for this group. We look forward to hearing about their experiences, their stories seeing their photos, and videos upon their return,” Mr Menidis said.
The 2023 Summer Camp program will run for 10 days and is heavily subsidised by the GCM and the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the cost to each participant being AUD500. This one-off fee includes all ground transfers, accommodation, meals, and entry to the attractions to be visited.
The summer program will start in Thessaloniki, with two overnight stays in Kavala.
The itinerary will include various activities such as a visit to Ancient Vergina and the Ancient Museum of Pella, a tour of the famous Edessa waterfalls, cooking demonstrations, wine tours, and a visit to The Cave of Alistrati near the town of Serres, considered one of the largest and most beautiful caves not only in Greece, but in Europe.
An Australian variety of garlic could reduce COVID-19 and flu-related infections, according to a new study by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (the Doherty Institute) and Australian Garlic Producers.
According to ABC News, the study tested 20 varieties of garlic in different forms. Only one as-yet-to-be-named garlic was effective in preventing viral cells from spreading SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 virus) and influenza A in the digestive system.
The potentially flu-busting garlic is from a commercial crop grown in Merbein, near Mildura, in north-western Victoria.
Nick Diamantopoulos. Photo: Simon Schluter.
Australian Garlic Producers chief executive, Nick Diamantopoulos, said that as a result of the discovery, his company would be developing dietary supplements. He stressed that some garlic varieties don’t have health benefits.
“Garlic is certainly healthy for you, but not all garlic is the same,” Mr Diamantopolous said. “There are some varieties that are good for flavour, but they don’t necessarily all have health benefits.”
Mr Diamantopolous said the product must be ingested raw.
“You have to have it fresh like in a salad, or uncooked form, the minute you cook it you’ll destroy all the health benefits,” he said.
After the Albanese government announced an increase in the minimum salary for sponsoring a temporary migrant from July 1, aged care providers across Australia have been pleading for their sector not to be included in the change.
According to The Australian Financial Review (AFR), the migrant reform will see the minimum salary for sponsoring a temporary skilled migrant increase to $70,000 from $53,900, where it had been frozen for a decade.
The Chief Executive Officer of aged care provider Whiddon, Chris Mamarelis, told the AFR that the increase to $70,000 would make obsolete their company-specific labour agreements (CSLAs) with the Department of Home Affairs.
This would mean losing access to potential candidates they had been trying to recruit and rendering the tens of thousands of dollars spent on formulating the agreements wasted.
Whiddon CEO Chris Mamarelis on impact of migrant reforms to aged care.
“It just seems a little illogical…” Mr Mamarelis said.
“Anyone in our pipeline right now… we have a month to try and get those people over the line. And that’s just not going to happen with the time it takes to get things processed by the department and all the other logistical issues that go with it.”
According to the AFR, the changes will push aged care providers on to Labor’s new Industry Labour Agreement, which has a minimum salary of $51,222.
This reform comes at a challenging time for the aged care sector, which is facing an acute shortage of workers and mounting financial difficulties.
In response to criticism, Federal Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said that the Industry Labour Agreement is about cleaning up the former government’s mess.
Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena with 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2, to reach the third round of the French Open.
Tsitsipas overpowered the World No. 57 in the first and third sets, and recovered from dropping serve twice in the second set, winning a tight tie-break.
“I like the bounces and the way the ball [moves] when it is sunny like this,” Tsitsipas said after the match.
The 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to the third round 💪#RolandGarros
Former Greek politician, Theodoros Pangalos, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84. His death was announced by his family on social media.
According to amna.gr, Pangalos was a historic member of the PASOK party and a former minister and deputy premier under PASOK governments.
He was born in 1938 to a family of Armed Forces officers and in 1978, he ran for Elefsina unsuccessfully after having joined PASOK and Andreas Papandreou since the party’s creation in 1974.
Theodoros Pangalos. Photo: economico.gr
He first won a seat in Parliament for Attica in 1981 and never lost an election after that. In Papandreou’s first cabinet, he was appointed Minister of Trade and later transferred to the Foreign Ministry as Deputy Minister responsible for European affairs.
After PASOK winning the elections of October 2009, under Andreas Papandreou’s son George, Pangalos was appointed Deputy Premier and Alternate Prime Minister of Greece. He kept this position in both cabinet reshuffles and remained Deputy Premier under the interim government of Lucas Papademos.
He retired from active politics shortly before the elections of May 2012.
Ο αγαπημένος μας Θόδωρος Πάγκαλος έφυγε σήμερα από κοντά μας, ήσυχα στο σπίτι του, έχοντας δίπλα του την οικογένειά του και τους στενούς του συνεργάτες. Καλό ταξίδι λατρεμένε μας. Θα σε θυμόμαστε πάντα με αγάπη.
Politicians and officials pay tribute to Pangalos:
Greece’s caretaker Prime Minister, Ioannis Sarmas, paid tribute to Pangalos and said he was “a leading actor in Greece’s political life,” memorable “for his sharp mind and in-depth thinking.”
Former Greek Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis, said that Pangalos’ contribution to Greece will always be remembered as he was “a strict critic of political developments, aiming at achieving a comprehensive and accurate picture of them.”
Evangelos Venizelos said Pangalos was “steeped in history from a very young age. He entered the post-junta landscape having already collected knowledge, academic titles, and political experiences mostly from the communist Left. He matched PASOK’s whirlpool activity.”
Venizelos described him as “multifaceted and charming,” and a man who “stood on the right side of history” during very challenging times for the country.
Kokkinakis got off to a sluggish start, losing the first set before hitting back in the second to level the match, which then see-sawed until the final deciding set.
In the dramatic final game at 5-3, Wawrinka saved four match points after fighting back from 40/0 down on return, but he was powerless to stop the fifth as Kokkinakis dug deep to claim victory.
“What a match. I know Stan is getting older but in the first set he was playing the best. I was nowhere, just hanging in,” Kokkinakis said after the match. “I feel better now that I’ve won.”
“I can’t remember not having South Melbourne FC in my life,” Nicholas Maikousis, the President of the historic football club in Victoria, tells The Greek Herald.
His family – from his father to his grandfather, his uncles and today, his children – have all been connected for decades to football in Australia.
“It is pretty special,” he says.
Even when Nicholas was working in Adelaide, South Australia around 1990, he remembers jumping in the car on a Saturday night with his wife to drive all the way to Melbourne in order to attend the 1991 grand final between South Melbourne FC and Melbourne FC.
As Nicholas would later tell me, on the way to Middle Park on Sundays he would also bond with his father Dimitris.
This story starts with him.
Maikousis family photo. Supplied.
‘Wouldn’t miss a game’:
Nicholas’ father arrived in Australia in 1953 at 20 years of age. He left behind his two brothers, sister and his parents.
Within two years he started following Yarra Park, one of the three football clubs alongside Hellenic and South Melbourne United, which merged in order to form South Melbourne Hellas in 1959.
The Greek element of that merger was the supporters.
South Melbourne FC fans.
“Remember that World War II was not long before my father’s arrival. The history of South Melbourne United [an Anglo supported club] goes back to the 1890s, but they didn’t have a lot of support. Because of the first and the second World War, all players and supporters went back and forth for the mother country. What Greeks had? Supporters!” Nicholas says.
Within a couple of years, his father brought the rest of his family to Australia.
“The whole family then got heavily involved,” Nicholas, whose uncle also played for South Melbourne, says.
Maikousis family. Photo supplied.
His dad first brought him to a South Melbourne game at the age of two.
“We wouldn’t miss a game,” he says. “On Sundays it was always South Melbourne.”
Nicholas got more involved with the club when he came back from Adelaide. When he started, the team’s name had just changed to “Lakers.” In the 1980s, it became “South Melbourne Gunners” before changing to “South Melbourne Hellas” and finally, “South Melbourne” – the name that still stands today.
“My view was that we didn’t need to have the Hellas part. We are a football club, that’s what we are. Yes, our heritage is Greek and we will always get the Greek support. That was my view at the time. I have changed a little bit since then,” Nicholas explains.
South Melbourne FC squad in 1961.
A bond between father and son:
The South Melbourne President openly shares personal memories marked in his mind, especially related to his father and their bond built through a connection to the club.
In one memory at the stadium when Nicholas was a 30-year-old club Vice President, Nicholas remembers how an Australian marketing professional pointed at him and said to his father: “You are responsible for him.”
“My father said for the first time ‘I am really proud of him.’ I had never heard it before because my dad was a tough guy. We got very close later in our lives as I became an adult. That had a huge impact,” Nicholas says.
Nicholas Maikousis (left) with a South Melbourne FC player today.
When his father passed away, then-President George Vassilopoulos put a South Melbourne scarf over the coffin.
On the day of his ‘trisagio,’ South Melbourne was playing in a semi-final and Nicholas walked alone to the stadium before leaving on half-time to go to his father’s ‘trisagio.’ It was like they were together, going to one more game, as they always used to on Sundays.
“Ever since I became 18, my father and I, it doesn’t matter what we were doing, we always went together to South Melbourne. Sunday, 3 o’ clock. And that’s when he started to break down a little bit, opened up and start talking. We bonded with each other while driving to the stadium,” Nicholas explains.
A South Melbourne FC game at Middle Park in 1966.
More than just a club:
Nicholas is happy that his kids are, as he says, both crazy South Melbourne people. His son has played for the team. They even managed to see the final years of South Melbourne at the highest level in football – the National Soccer League (NSL).
Photo supplied.
The club was chosen by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the Oceania Club of the Century for the 20th century. As Nicholas says, South Melbourne was the powerhouse of Australian football.
“You can go now to any part of Australia and South Melbourne is still a brand that is respected and not only within the Greek community, also within the broader football community,” he says.
“We are treated, when we go particularly interstate, like royalty. It’s extraordinary because those people know that South Melbourne was Australia’s most successful club up until the A-league was created.”
The club, out of which more than 50 players have worn the Socceroos shirt, won the NSL back-to-back before representing Australia in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, where it competed against Manchester United, Vasco Da Gama and Necaxa. South Melbourne was the only team to have represented Australia in the competition.
30 May 1999: The South Melbourne team celebrate with coaches and team officials after the win in the NSL Grand Final Match between South Melbourne and Sydney United, played at Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia. Photo Credit: Stuart Milligan/ALLSPORT.
“When we went to Rio, we didn’t go there with Greek flags, we represented Australia, we were Australian champions,” Nicholas says.
From coaches at an international level such as Ange Postecoglou to club administrators, South Melbourne has contributed a lot to Australian football.
But in 2004, the club went from competing at the highest level of Australian football, to playing in the local championship – the Victorian Premier League.
South Melbourne FC now play in the Victorian Premier’s League. Photo: Tony Feder/Getty Images.
Based on what the club has contributed to football in Australia, how things have ended up is for Nicholas an “absolute disgrace.”
Despite having applied twice for a license to participate in the A-league, their efforts have not been successful.
“We won’t be applying again,” Nicholas says. “We are happy with the B-league (National Second Division) right now, the new competition which is going to start next year.”
Once the competition starts, Nicholas will consider handing his chair to someone else.
“I called the last 20 years the dark ages,” he says looking back. “I call what is happening now and next year with the B-league, the renaissance.”
Nicholas Maikousis (left) with Bill Papastergiadis.
The renowned Greek singer, Natasa Theodoridou, paid a surprise visit to the Greek Centre in Melbourne, Victoria on Wednesday, May 31.
Ms Theodoridou, alongside young artist George Kakosaios, was welcomed by the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) President, Bill Papastergiadis OAM, and GCM Board member, Leonidas Vlahakis, as well as GCM staff members Jorge Menidis and Antonia Tsamis.
Natasa Theodoridou talks to Bill Papastergiadis (left). Photo: The Greek Herald / Bill Roumeliotis.
During her visit, Ms Theodoridou was taken on a tour of the building, where Mr Vlahakis informed her about the GCM’s education and cultural programs. They specifically discussed the upcoming Summer Camp program organised in Thessaloniki.
Speaking at a press conference for the Greek media, Ms Theodoridou told The Greek Herald her love of music keeps her on top of her game.
The Greek Herald’s sport journalist, Bill Roumeliotis, with Natasa Theodoridou.Photos: The Greek Herald / Bill Roumeliotis.
“The world is constantly changing and quickly, and I try to see what those changes are and that’s why I collaborate with young artists like George. They are our present and when I work with them I pick up their vibes,” Ms Theodoridou said.
She also stressed that she’s looking forward to performing in Melbourne and Sydney over the weekend.
After the visit, Mr Vlahakis said: “It was terrific to have the incredibly talented Natasa Theodoridou at the Greek Centre. She is indeed a great artist, leaving an indelible mark in the world of music.”
The famous singer was very impressed with the variety of events and programs and congratulated them on their efforts to keep the Greek spirit alive.
