After a meeting with his North Macedonia counterpart Bujar Osmani in Athens, Dendias said: “Greece and Egypt have a continuous and strong coordination on issues related to stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
I would like to welcome the announcement of President El-Sisi’s Decree which delimits the western maritime borders of 🇪🇬. 🇬🇷 has built strong relationships & continues to establish synergies with a series of other like-minded countries (statement following mtg with 🇲🇰 MFA). pic.twitter.com/7yxEupH9PY
The Greek Foreign Minister also described Greece’s August 2020 deal with Egypt on both countries’ exclusive economic zones as “an exemplary agreement concluded in the framework of the international law and the Law of the Sea.”
It “contributes to stability and security in our region … contrary to the null and void memoranda of understanding that have been signed between the Tripoli administration and Turkey,” he added.
Turning to North Macedonia, Dendias said “Greece is your closest partner and ally in the region, without any hidden agendas.”
Υποδέχτηκα σήμερα @GreeceMFA τον ΥΠΕΞ της Βόρειας Μακεδονίας B.Osmani. Στην ατζέντα: ανάληψη Προεδρίας ΟΑΣΕ από τη Βόρεια Μακεδονία, πορεία Δυτικών Βαλκανίων, οι διμερείς σχέσεις μετά και τη Συμφωνία των Πρεσπών, περιφερειακές & διεθνείς εξελίξεις. pic.twitter.com/sHVmKdCHpF
The former home of Greek opera singer Maria Callas in Athens, Greece, will be renovated to house the Academy of Lyrical Art Maria Callas, a non-profit organisation.
Located on Patision Avenue, the 1500-square-metre apartment building is considered one of Athens’ historic treasures.
Maria spent some of her youth in the apartment from 1937 following her parents’ divorce. A plaque at the building’s entrance reads “The house where Maria Callas lived.”
According to Keep Talking Greece, it is estimated that the project will be completed within the next two years, with a total budget of 6,869,600 euros.
The financing of the renovation has already been secured by European funds.
Renovation plans include restoration of the facades of the building and roof, as well as the interior.
Once completed, it will be immediately handed over to the Academy which will provide university-level musical education in lyrical art, both in Greece and abroad.
Polites Property Group plans to add to the growing collection of luxury residential towers in the booming Gold Coast suburb of Broadbeach, Queensland following the acquisition of a prime 620 sqm site at 152 Surf Parade.
Located in the heart of Broadbeach opposite Nikiforides Family Park and close by Broadbeach Bowls Club and Broadbeach Surf Life Saving Club, the site, which is currently occupied by a multi-level walk up, was secured in an off-market acquisition.
With sweeping protected views overlooking the green expanses of the park extending to the ocean, Polites Property Group’s joint managing director, Marcus Polites, said the site has been purchased with the intention of building a boutique project featuring an exclusive number of full-floor residences.
“With an idyllic location opposite one of Broadbeach’s most iconic parks, this site offers a unique aspect in a coveted, central location,” Mr Polites said.
“Our intention is to create a development that provides a boutique offering comprising 22 full floor residences including two sub penthouses and a penthouse boasting exceptional park, ocean, and coastline views. The residences will be accompanied by an array of premium, exclusive and private luxurious amenities and four levels of basement parking.”
Polites Property Group plans $89 million luxury apartment project in Queensland.
Mr Polites and his twin brother Alex are the grandsons of late property tycoon and BRW rich-lister Con Polites, who amassed a portfolio of more than 50 Adelaide CBD buildings before his death in 2001, which the Polites family still own, manage and develop.
Reaping the benefits of three generations of property experience and a flawless track record working with the best in the business, the brothers are the developers behind several prominent Gold Coast sites including the sell-out success Cabana at Palm Beach, Belvue Broadwater at Runaway Bay, and La Mer at Main Beach.
Mr Polites said the proposed development is expected to assist with addressing the significant dwelling supply shortfall in the city and will add a new level of sophistication and luxury to the residential apartment offering in the thriving suburb of Broadbeach.
“Broadbeach is peaking in popularity as the suburb redefines itself as the Gold Coast’s celebrated epicentre,” Mr Polites said.
“As a result, a broad demographic of residents are seeking out the suburb to experience everything the iconic Gold Coast lifestyle has to offer, with easy access to premium lifestyle amenities in a stunning yet central beachside location.
“This suburb has long been renowned for its high level of walkability, and with easy access to more than 50 quality cafes and restaurants, high-end retail at Pacific Fair, the casino, the convention centre and surf clubs plus the beach and parklands – it is no surprise that Broadbeach continues its reign as one of the Gold Coast’s most desired destinations.
“There is strong demand for large format, full floor apartments along the coastal strip and in Broadbeach, this is hard to come by. Alex and I are excited and look forward to bringing this signature project to life.”
Chairman of the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC), Nick Galatas, has discussed how the National Second Division is shaping up ahead of the organisation’s 2024 deadline.
“FA [Football Australia] met with the various clubs and sought feedback from the clubs on a state-based format,” Mr Galatas told Soccerscene.
“After attending those meetings, we thought it would be helpful to convene all the interested clubs from around Australia – after they’d had time to consider what the FA put to them and the issues about which FA sought their feedback.”
Nick Galatas.
The AAFC represents the collective of National Premier League clubs looking to initiate the National Second Division.
According to Mr Galatas, it will be beneficial to have a National Second Division, however, it must take into account the clubs’ potential in order to guarantee its success.
“What we’re aiming for with the National Second Division is enabling more strong clubs to develop within it,” he said. “Ultimately, I think the second division is very important.”
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, met with newly elected Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Brussels on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting.
During the meeting, the two leaders expressed their will to enhance bilateral relations between Italy and Greece, and expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest within the EU, such as energy and economic governance.
Με την Πρωθυπουργό της Ιταλίας @GiorgiaMeloni συζητήσαμε για την ενίσχυση των διμερών μας σχέσεων, για τη διεύρυνση της συνεργασίας μας σε τομείς αμοιβαίου ενδιαφέροντος, για περιφερειακά και διεθνή ζητήματα, αλλά και για τις συνέπειες της ρωσικής εισβολής στην Ουκρανία. pic.twitter.com/8gbRuHbXzh
Mitsotakis and Meloni discussed regional and international issues, as well as the social and economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Greece’s Prime Minister also confirmed in a tweet that he informed his Italian counterpart “about the latest developments in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean” and the recent “aggressive rhetoric” by Turkey.
From Christmas carols to poem recitals, the end-of-year concert by the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW’s (GOCNSW) Afternoon and Saturday Greek Schools at Clemton Park and Connells Point in Sydney saw students get into the festive spirit.
The concert began with a small speech by the President of the Afternoon and Saturday Greek Schools of GOCNSW, Artemis Theodoris.
Students performed plays. All photos copyright: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Ms Theodoris read out the traditional Welcome to Country before detailing initiatives held by GOCNSW this year for the youth to get involved with Greek culture and language, such as the Greek Student Short Film Festival. She also confirmed that the Greek Independence Day march would return to the Sydney Opera House in 2023 after a three year hiatus.
More skits by the students.Young children were drawn to the Christmas tree.
Ms Theodoris also thanked students, teachers, parents, grandparents and special guests for attending. Special guests included the Chair of the Greek Festival of Sydney, Nia Karteris; and Jayden Tran representing the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure MP.
(L-R) Artemis Theodorou, Jayden Tran and Nia Karteris.
After these official proceedings and the singing of the National Anthems in Greek and English, students from Clemton Park and Connells Point schools performed a number of theatrical sketches, plays and recited poems.
The night concluded with traditional Christmas carols and award presentations for all students.
Diples – deep-fried pastries soaked in honey. This dessert is named after the Greek word “fold” as the pastry is folded together to secure the sweet honey syrup, cinnamon and crushed walnuts.
Just imagine a crunchy filo followed by a burst of sweetness!
The Greek festive season brings the best desserts to the table and diples is definitely one of them.
They are not only quite simple to make, but also represent the Greek tradition of celebrating Christmas and special occasions.
Yiayia Yota enjoying thiples. All photos: Pamela Rontziokos
Ingredients:
Dough:
4 cups of plain flour
5 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of ouzo
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Vegetable oil, for frying
Syrup:
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon, for garnish
½ cup ground walnuts
Method:
Dough:
The night before, sift the flour into a bowl.
Create a hole in the flour. Add sugar, ouzo, pinch of salt and olive oil followed by the eggs.
With a fork mix the wet mixture and flour mixture together until just combined.
Once the mixture starts to form, use your hands to knead the dough for about 5 to 8 minutes until firm and soft.
Knead into a thick, log shape and cut into fist size pieces.
Wrap the dough pieces with glad wrap and set aside in the fridge for a night.
The next day, take one dough piece and roll it out until it is long and very thin. The longer the piece th e bigger the thiple.
Heat the oil in a deep pot. The oil will need to be poured to about 3 inches in depth. Throw a piece of dough in the pot and if it rises up, the oil is ready. Make sure the oil is simmering and not smoking hot.
Regarding the shape, there are two you can make. The beginner bow shaped thiples and the advanced traditional rolled thiples. For beginners, tie the strips of dough into knots to form bows and place in oil. For more advanced, place the dough sheet into the pot and using 2 large cooking forks quickly and gently roll the pastry sheet over in the warm oil until it makes a fold.
With both shapes, hold the pastry in the oil until it is golden. It takes about 1-2 minutes total.
Set the fried dough onto a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Allow them to cool completely.
Syrup and Decorating:
Drizzle honey over and bows and rolled thiples. The honey will then give it an added colour and gloss.
Garnish with crushed walnuts and lots of ground cinnamon.
To keep the thiples crisp, do not add the syrup until just before you are ready to serve.
For the second year in a row, The Greek Herald has been on a mission to keep the Christmas spirit alive and to encourage the preservation of the Greek language and customs amongst the youth.
This mission was accomplished when The Greek Heraldasked children aged 5 to 15 to help design the front cover of our special Christmas print edition on Friday, December 16. The entries we received were filled with colour, and many were focused on the themes of love, family and friends.
We thank all the children for their entries! A special thank you as well must go to the parents, and grandparents who encouraged their children to take part.
My family Christmas:
The Greek Herald is excited to announce today that 15-year-old Angelique Karalis from Alphington Grammar School in Victoria is the winner of our Christmas print cover competition. Congratulations!
Angelique tells The Greek Herald she was ‘very excited’ to find out she had won the competition because her artwork depicts her family spending time together, laughing, talking and sharing a traditional Greek meal of lamb-on-the-spit at Christmas.
“This artwork means a lot to my family and I because it represents our Greek heritage, as well as our family values,” Angelique explains.
Angelique Karalis, 15, Alphington Grammar School, with her winning design.
“This artwork depicts our family Christmas celebrations where all my aunts, uncles and cousins gather at yiayia and pappou’s house. There is always lots of laughter, traditional Greek music, dancing, delicious Greek food and of course my pappou’s specialty, the lamb-on-the-spit.”
Angelique says she wanted her artwork to portray that Christmas “is a time to reflect on our values and to be grateful for what we have, such as our family and friends.”
“It’s a time to reflect on our actions and choose goodness and prosperity,” she concludes.
The finalists:
Ivy Nattrass, Year 7 – Unley High School.Eleni Protogeros, 8 years old – GOCNSW Afternoon and Saturday Schools.Rebecca Lugsden, 14 – Adelaide High School.John Aivaliotis, 13.Sofia Ryan, 8.Tiffany Balasis, 10.Jasmine Micallef, 12.Eva Shamaris, 13.Paul Makris, 12.Pearl Nindrajog, 14.
Young students from the Greek Community of Melbourne’s (GOCM) Language and Culture Schools recently held an end of year concert to mark the centenary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe this year.
Throughout the year, the students, with the help of their teachers, learnt the history, customs, traditions, tastes and aromas of the lost homelands of Asia Minor.
Through interactive presentations, young students were able to get an understanding of the impact of the Asia Minor Catastrophe on adults, children and families.
At the end of year concert, students performed on stage and filled the air with the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla from their props.
The end-of-year performance reminded Greek students that their roots stretched back almost 30 centuries.
The students were applauded by everyone and the festivities ended with a call to end the pain of refugeehood, uprooting and destruction.
About 65,000 students in New South Wales received their much-anticipated Higher School Certificate (HSC) results from 9am today, signifying the end of their high school journey.
James Ruse Agricultural High claimed the top spot for the 27th year in a row, as private schools took out more places in the HSC top 10 rankings than at any time in more than a decade.
This included Anargyros Efthymiou Kallos from the Secondary College of Language, Ashfield Boys Campus, who came first in the state for Modern Greek Continuers and Modern Greek Extension.
For Modern Greek Beginners, Anna-Maria Parissis from the NSW School of Languages came first in course, and Toby Maroulis from the Northern Sydney Institute – Meadowbank College came first in NSW for his Electrotechnology Examination.
Other distinguished achievers from the three Greek Orthodox schools in Sydney – All Saints Grammar, St Euphemia College and St Spyridon College – are listed below. Please note, this list contains honours for all-round achievement, best in course and all Band 6/E4 results.
(L-R) Anna-Maria Parissis and Anargyros Efthymiou Kallos.
All Saints Grammar:
Alexander Tzakos.
Anthony Atsalis.
Asimina Kotsi.
Demetria Koutavas.
Demi Papas.
Dimokritos Scoullis.
Dion Joannou.
George Gregory.
Giorgio Vasiliades.
Ioannis Pyrgakis.
Maria Varvaressos.
Nicholas Kvantaliani.
Nicholas Turk.
Olga-Liana Athanasatos.
William Sklibosios.
St Euphemia College:
Alexander Saroussidis.
Anastasia Lamprinos.
Christos Triantafyllou.
Chrystie Stathopoulos.
Dimitri Papadimitriou.
Eleni Janes.
Eleni Kalantzis.
Emilia Arcaba.
Grammatiki Moysiadou.
Iliana Uzelac.
Nikoletta Lafogiannis.
Panayiota Vrettos.
Rose Efrosyni Gounaropoulos.
Stefania Triantafyllou.
Styliani Koliris.
St Spyridon College:
Adriana Drakoulis.
Alex Stamoulis.
Alyshia Zografakis.
Angus Peter Chellos.
Athanasia Manos.
Benjamin Hickman.
Christina Pascalis.
Damaskinos-Damascus Economou.
Dimitri Tsallas.
Dyllon Polyzos.
Efstathios Gatsis.
Filip Radic.
George Grillakis.
Heleena Ginis.
Ilija Davidovic.
Isabella Giraldo Sanchez.
Jake Max Vassilis.
Jana Panagopoulos.
Leanna Papaleonidas.
Leo Askounis Parcsi.
Lucia Angel Zois.
Matija Gacevic.
Michael Christofides.
Natalie Mihail.
Nicole Frangoulis.
Orestis Lascaris.
Paul Giavis.
Samuel Jack Richardson.
Sophia Karatasos.
Stephen Koutoulogenis.
*Please Note: The above students are those The Greek Herald could identify by their Greek name. If you believe you should be on this list, please send an email to info@foreignlanguage.com.au.
