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Greek and US defence officials meet in Washington

The Greek Herald
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Greek and US defence officials meet in Washington

Greece’s Minister of Defence, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, met with the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd J. Austin III, on Monday at the Pentagon in Washington.

According to a press release issued by the US Department of Defense, the pair discussed the growing defence partnership between Washington and Athens and the close cooperation between the two NATO allies on basing, defence modernisation and collective defence.

Austin specifically thanked Panagiotopoulos for Greece’s “substantial support to Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion.”

The leaders also discussed the need to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue.

The US Secretary said he would be speaking by phone with Turkish Minister of Defence, Hulusi Akar, in the coming days and urged that both Greece and Turkey need to “explore pragmatic solutions to long-standing disputes.”

Tensions have recently flared between the NATO allies over sovereignty claims concerning Greece’s Aegean islands and the circulation of a Turkish map depicting certain Greek islands, including Crete, as Turkish.

On Tuesday, Minister Akar also attacked Greece and the Greek American lobby in the United States for seeking to halt the sale of 40 F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

“With various initiatives, Greece is trying to influence as much as possible the military negotiations between Turkey and the US on the acquisition and modernization of F-16s,” Akar told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

“A lawmaker and a group is coming out and stirring things up through certain manipulations and disinformation. We expect the United States not to fall for this game.”

Last week, the House Rules Committee voted to include an amendment by US Congressman and Democrat, Chris Pappas, in the National Defense Authorization Act which would prohibit the sale of F-16s or modernisation kits to Turkey unless certain conditions are met.

Akar expressed his irritation over the setback, stressing that the process of acquiring the jets from the US will continue.

“Turkey is a strong state. There shouldn’t be a conditional issue like ‘I’ll give you this, but you won’t do this’. Our wish is for common sense to prevail,” he said.

READ MORE: Greek and Turkish defence ministers meet amid rising tension

Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage near Athens

The Greek Herald
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Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage near Athens


Hundreds of residents have been evacuated overnight from the mountainside suburbs of Drafi, Anthousa, Dioni and Dasamari, due to a large wildfire that had broken out on the slopes of Mount Penteli, just 25 kilometres northeast of Athens.

Fifteen planes and nine helicopters were involved in the firefighting effort, the Greek Fire Department said, with firefighters being unable to contain the blaze due to strong gale-force winds.

Police officers and firefighters carried elderly residents out of their homes to safety as the flames approached, AP News reported.

Elderly resident of Penteli being evacuated on July 19, 2022. Photos: AP News / Thanassis Stavrakis

A spokesman for the Fire Department said that more than 400 firefighters had been deployed with officials adding that some 300 police officers are on duty to restrict traffic movements and patrol evacuated areas to prevent looting.

According to local reports, there are no cases of injuries or stranded people.

‘Putting our Greek heritage on display’: The Grill Sisters dish on their cooking journey

Chris Spyrou
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‘Putting our Greek heritage on display’: The Grill Sisters dish on their cooking journey

As a child, I knew every time I stepped into the kitchen I would not only create culinary greatness but would earn the nervous amusement of my mother. 

“Wow, what have we got here?” she would ask through a shaken smile, knowing very well that the dish before her was over boiled pasta coated in a mix of salt and parmesan cheese. 

This, of course, is a foreign experience for the Grill Sisters, Desi Longinidis and Irene Sharp, whose bold childhood creations would be bursting with flavour and ingenuity. 

Speaking with The Greek Herald, the Melbourne-based sisters explain how they first found themselves in the kitchen. 

“Our mum was a single mum and she worked three jobs, so Desi and I had to cook for ourselves and our two younger sisters,” Irene tells TGH. 

Desi and Irene with their mum Virginia. Photo: Supplied to TGH

“We lived near Footscray markets and we would go there and buy crabs and whatever we could afford and create different meals.

“Mum raised us four girls by herself and struggled a lot. But because of that, we got the chance to become independent and create all these amazing recipes using minimal ingredients.”

Irene’s older sister Desi shares the same appreciation.

“It was really fun because it meant we could feed our love for entertaining,” Desi says. 

“We learnt from young that cooking brings people together, so when mum would get home from work we would get her to invite over all the aunts, uncles and cousins to come over and eat.”

The cooking-duo attribute this generosity to their mother, Virginia. 

“Mum has always been very giving, giving whatever she could and when it comes to food she makes sure that people take enough leftovers for the next day and the day after that,” Desi says with a smile. 

Irene and Desi with sisters Melpomeni and Crystal and mum Virginia. Photo: Supplied to TGH

“She’s a big influence in our lives. We watched her work so hard for us and that’s where we get our strong work ethic from,” Irene adds.

Irene is the founder of Come Grill With Me and Desi is the founder of Healthy Cook 4 Champions, which they both started so their children could have access to a bank of their recipes when they grow up.

Desi with husband George, daughter Susannah and son Isaac
Irene with husband Jamie and son Jackson

With 243,000 followers across both their Instagram pages, Irene shares her recipes, tips and tricks on cooking outdoors, whilst Desi shares her recipes to inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Together, the sisters co-founded the Grill Sisters and since launching in 2019, they have appeared on national television, become Barbeques Galore ambassadors and the hosts of the 2022 World Food Championships. 

Irene and Desi Dippers Backyard BBQ Wars, 2021. Photo: Supplied to TGH
Irene and Desi hosting the World Food Championships Australia, 2022. Photo: Supplied to TGH

In April 2023, the sisters will also be releasing their first-ever cookbook titled Grill Sisters’ Guide to Legendary BBQ.

Available worldwide, the book promises to guide aspiring barbeque kings and queens on how to fire up a juicy, tender, competition-worthy barbeque in their own backyards. 

For Desi, this latest venture allows the sisters to continue showcasing their ethnicity to the world. 

“When we cook, we put our Greek heritage on display and we love sharing that with people. So with the book, expect a lot of oregano, olive oil, garlic and lemon,” she says excitedly. 

For those of you with a sweet tooth, don’t be alarmed as Desi also promises the book will feature her signature galaktoboureko “with a twist.”

“We’ve discovered there are so many things you can cook on the barbeque that we never thought possible,” Irene adds.

“We’ve done so many different fruits, gemista, roast lamb, bread and baklava. There’s a whole variety that sometimes really surprises us.” 

The Grill Sisters’ Guide to Legendary BBQ book cover.

Above all, both Desi and Irene say the Grill Sisters’ Guide to Legendary BBQ is a book that, just like barbequing, is for all. 

“Usually in the Greek family dynamic, the men are outside on the barbeque and the women are inside making salad. With this, we’re trying to show that you can go outside and barbeque too, you don’t have to be stuck in the kitchen making salads,” Desi says. 

“We love encouraging all the females to learn how to barbeque. Barbequing is for everyone and everyone should be out there enjoying it!” Irene concludes. 

The Grill Sisters’ Guide to Legendary BBQ is now available for preorder here.

Dr Patricia Koromvokis receives honorary plaque from International Summer University of Ioannina

The Greek Herald
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Dr Patricia Koromvokis receives honorary plaque from International Summer University of Ioannina

Dr Patricia Koromvokis, Lecturer and Head of the Modern Greek Studies Program at Macquarie University, was awarded on July 14 with an honorary plaque from International Summer University during the 8th International Summer University in Kastellorizo.

Dr Patricia Koromvokis virtually “received” the honorary plaque from the Founder and Academic Director of the International Summer University, Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Ioannina, Nikoletta Tsitsanoudi-Mallidis.

“With this symbolic distinction, we express our gratitude to Dr Patricia Koromvokis, with whom we have been collaborating with unique consistency over the last two years in the co-organisation of the 7th International Summer University in Hydra and the 8th International Summer University in Kastellorizo,” Associate Professor Tsitsanoudi-Mallidis said when presenting the award virtually.

“Dr Koromvokis is the ‘soul’ of this international collaboration between the two universities. She was unable to be here with us physically today, however we really hope that she will be present at the 9th International Summer University next year.

The honorary plaque.

“I would like to express the University’s and the Laboratory’s willingness to continue this successful collaboration not only with the Modern Greek Studies Program of Macquarie University, but also with the Macquarie Greek Studies Foundation. We greatly thank Dr Koromvokis.”

In response, Dr Koromvokis warmly thanked the Associate Professor and the University of Ioannina “for this special honour.”

“This distinction firmly seals our very successful collaboration which has been marked by honesty, integrity and ethos. The huge distance between Australia and Greece could not prevent us from co-organising not one but two International Summer Universities, in Hydra in 2021 and in Kastellorizo ​​in 2022,” Dr Koromvokis added.

“I believe that it is rather symbolic that I am in Australia during this very honorary moment as the outermost Greece in Kastellorizo ​​and the Greek diaspora in Australia are parts of Hellenism that represent the concept of patriotism in its highest expression.”

The volume of the minutes of the 7th International Summer University Greek Language, Culture and Media in Hydra was published in Sydney, Australia this year.

The University of Ioannina, School of Education, Department of Early Childhood Education, and the Department’s Social Issues, Mass Media, and Education Studies Laboratory, in cooperation with the Modern Greek Studies Program of the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, and the support of the Macquarie Greek Studies Foundation, in Sydney, Australia, with the participation of The Circle of Hellenic Academics in Boston, and the Boston University Philhellenes in Boston, organised the 8th International Summer University in Kastellorizo on July 10 – 15, 2022, at the Hall for Cultural Events of the island.

The program this year held the special title “Outermost places, language and culture” and was held under the auspices and the support of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the auspices of the Municipality of Megisti.

READ MORE: Volume of minutes from 7th International Summer University in Hydra published in Sydney.

Nick Politis acquires more shares in Australia’s largest car dealership group

The Greek Herald
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Nick Politis acquires more shares in Australia’s largest car dealership group

Sydney Roosters Chairman and Rich Lister, Nick Politis, has acquired more shares in Australia’s largest car dealership group Eagers Automotive, The Australian Financial Review has reported.

Politis acquired an extra 10,000 shares in the car dealership group at $11.3359 on July 15.

Politis now owns a total of 70.26 million shares in Eagers Automotive or a stake of 27.3 percent, making him the largest shareholder in the ASX-listed company.

Nick Politis has acquired more shares in Australia’s largest car dealership group Eagers Automotive.

The move came on the same day as shareholders gave the green light to the acquisition of Politis’ privately owned dealerships in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for $193 million.

Eagers Automotive runs 200 showrooms around Australia and signed a five-year agreement in February to be the exclusive retailer in Australia for fast-growing electric vehicle maker BYD.

This comes as the ACT government on Monday proposed to ban the sale of new petrol cars by 2035.

Steve Dimopoulos MP slams Victorian Coalition’s ambitious emissions pledge

The Greek Herald
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Steve Dimopoulos MP slams Victorian Coalition’s ambitious emissions pledge

Victorian Tourism Minister, Steve Dimopoulos MP, has slammed the Coalition’s election pledge to legislate an interim emissions reduction target.

Victorian Liberals leader, Matthew Guy, announced on Sunday that if his government is victorious at the state election in November, they will legislate a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.

The proposal is in line with the Andrews government’s target to cut emissions by 2030, but goes a step further by making it law.

The Coalition would also fund a $1 billion strategy to support clean hydrogen, if elected.

“The Liberals and Nationals have a sensible plan and real solutions to build the energy system of the future – meaning more reliable, cheaper and clean power for all Victorians,” Mr Guy said at a press conference following the announcement.

In response, Mr Dimopoulos said there was no way Victorians could take the Coalition seriously on climate change.

“I’ve got to say, there is no way the Victorian community will believe that the Liberal opposition in Victoria is in any way serious about climate change and clean energy. They have spent the last eight years fighting against every measure,” Mr Dimopoulos said, according to The Age.

Steve Dimopoulos MP speaks to the media about the announcement. Photo: Luis Enrique Ascui.

“Five minutes to midnight, they want to make a promise about investment.”

Meanwhile, the federal Labor government is seeking to legislate its newly unveiled 43 percent emissions cut by 2030, when parliament returns at the end of this month.

Net-zero reduction by 2050 has already been legislated in Victoria.

READ MORE: Steve Dimopoulos MP says new Qatar Airways partnership is a win for Greek Australians.

Source: The Age.

Business Sydney’s Paul Nicolaou unveils five-point plan to help the homeless

The Greek Herald
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Business Sydney’s Paul Nicolaou unveils five-point plan to help the homeless

Executive director of Business Sydney, Paul Nicolaou, has unveiled the organisation’s five-point plan to get homeless people off the streets and into a warm bed, The Daily Telegraph reports.

According to Mission Australia, there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Australia. In the Sydney CBD alone, there are more than 230 rough sleepers and over 70,000 people using homelessness services in NSW.

Mr Nicolaou’s five-point plan hopes to alleviate some of this pressure by:

(1) Creating a homelessness commissioner,

(2) Identifying existing state government or City of Sydney under-utilised assets that can be converted into temporary accommodation,

Business Sydney’s Paul Nicolaou has unveiled a five-point plan to help the homeless.

(3) Offering incentives to landlords to provide affordable accommodation for single parents with children,

(4) Allocating a floor of the Domain Car Park to temporary accommodation for those in need with mattresses, toilets and security, and

(5) Bringing a large number of community, business and political leaders together.

“Nobody chooses to be homeless but it could happen to anyone,” Mr Nicolaou said in a letter detailing his plan to NSW Communities Minister, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, this week.

The plan has already received support from the new Homelessness NSW chief executive, Trina Jones, who has backed the homelessness commissioner idea.

READ MORE: Greek Australian CEOs sleep rough and raise funds to combat homelessness.

Source: The Daily Telegraph.

Greece’s Holy Synod protests baptism of gay couple’s children by Archbishop Elpidophoros

The Greek Herald
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Greece’s Holy Synod protests baptism of gay couple’s children by Archbishop Elpidophoros

The Holy Synod of Greece’s Orthodox Church has agreed to send a letter of protest to Archbishop Elpidophoros of America after he baptised the twin children of a same-sex couple in the Athens suburb of Glyfada last week.

The church hierarchy also agreed to send a letter of protest to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, under whose canonical jurisdiction the Greek Orthodox Church of America lies.

The same-sex couple with their children and Archbishop Elpidophoros. Photo: Instagram.

The bishops unanimously voted on this move following a written complaint from the Bishop of Glyfada, Antonios.

In the complaint, the Bishop claimed Archbishop Elpidophoros did not inform him that the parents of the children were a gay couple when he requested to conduct the baptism.

Evanggelos Bousis and Peter Dundas, both of Greek descent and prominent men in Hollywood’s fashion industry, became the first gay couple to hold a Greek Orthodox baptism for their children in Greece on Saturday, July 9.

The baptism of fashion designers Evanggelos Bousis and Peter Dundas’ children took place at the Panagia Faneromeni Greek Orthodox Church in Greece. Image: Instagram.

The couple’s children, Alexios and Eleni, were baptised by Archbishop Elpidophoros at the Panagia Faneromeni Church.

The baptism has been the subject of controversy across the Orthodox world, with one bishop telling Kathimerini that it “sent a message that is completely opposite to the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church.”

Source: Ekathimerini.

Greece complains to Serbia, Ukraine over cargo plane crash

The Greek Herald
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Greece complains to Serbia, Ukraine over cargo plane crash

Greece filed an official complaint with Serbia and Ukraine after a cargo plane carrying mortar ammunition crashed while attempting an emergency landing in northern Greece on Saturday night, Ekathimerini reports.

According to Greek diplomatic sources, the complaint will protest the failure of Serbia and Ukraine to brief Athens about the dangerous cargo carried by the Antonov plane.

Themistoklis Demiris, secretary-general of Greece’s Foreign Ministry, made the complaint to Ukraine’s ambassador in Athens, Sergii Shutenko.

Debris of an Antonov cargo plane in Palaiochori village in northern Greece, Sunday, July 17, 2022, after it reportedly crashed Saturday near the city of Kavala. Photo: AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos.

Greece’s ambassador in Belgrade will deliver the demarche to Serbia, AP News reports.

Eight crew members on the An-12 cargo plane, operated by a Ukrainian company, were killed in the crash on Saturday outside the northern Greek city of Kavala. The crash was followed by at least two hours of explosions.

Serbian officials said the plane had been carrying 11.5 tons of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, and had been due to make a stopover in Amman, Jordan.

Army specialists in protective suits are deployed at the site of crashed Ukrainian cargo plane in Palaiochri village, near the northern city of Kavala, Greece, on Sunday, July 18, 2022. Photo: Greek Civil Protection Ministry via AP.

Fire Service spokesman, Yiannis Artopios, said no hazardous substances were detected following a crash site inspection by army specialists from a nuclear, chemical and biological defence division.

The ammunition was scattered over a 500-meter radius at the crash site and was expected to take several days to clear.

Source: AP News and Ekathimerini.

Sydney Olympic dominate while Melbourne Victory star scores big against Manchester United

Eleni Patsalides
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Sydney Olympic dominate while Melbourne Victory star scores big against Manchester United

Chris Ikonomidis showed major determination and drive over the weekend when Melbourne Victory went up against English Premier League legends, Manchester United.

Ikonomidis’ finish in the fifth minute stunned the crowd and showed everyone that he was not to be messed with on the field. If the clinical finish from near the penalty spot wasn’t his first touch of the game, it was one of them, one of the many sweeping and passing moves.

“It’s exactly what we’ve trained, week in, week out, so I think the coach and the coaching staff will be buzzing off that because we do this pattern play every day,” Ikonomidis said.

“Sometimes it seems mundane finishing (in training) against no opposition, but it came off against one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

The rush that swept through the Melbourne crown was felt all the way in Sydney this weekend at Lambert Park while Sydney Olympic earned some crucial points against APIA Leichhardt, winning with 1-0 victory.

A Roy O’Donovan header early in the second half was the difference between the two teams despite a 90-minute battle that proved to be a tight affair befitting the occasion of a grand clash between two historic giants.

If three points are the name of the game then Sydney Olympic certainly achieved that, but APIA Leichhardt will be disappointed not to have secured a point in the inner-west derby between two of the oldest and proudest clubs in Australia.

The chess-like game saw both teams work their best, going toe to toe for a goal at every given opportunity.

After the game, Sydney Olympic coach Ante Juric was very happy to have secured all three points at Lambert Park against a tough APIA Leichhardt side.

“It was obviously a big game because we are close on the ladder,” he said.

“In the last couple of weeks, we have been unlucky not to have secured better results, so that was also in us today as motivation.

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