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Maria Alexiadis OAM: Part-time scientist, part-time Kumite sensei

John Voutos
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Maria Alexiadis OAM: Part-time scientist, part-time Kumite sensei

Only one of eight Australian karatekas – one for each division – get the chance to qualify for next month’s Tokyo Olympic Games, but that wasn’t going to stop karate heavyweight Maria Alexiadis OAM from taking her chance. 

“This is the first and likely the last time we will get to show off our sport on an Olympic stage,” she tells the Greek Herald off the back of her Olympic qualifier event in Paris.

“I feel extremely grateful and privileged to be in the position I am in and to be representing my country on the biggest stage for our sport,” she says.

Maria Alexiadis OAM is a Karate Victoria (KV) administrator, coach, and athlete, who says her work in the field of the ancient martial art is inspired by her journey in a male-dominated sport.

“[The Olympic qualifier is] a tall ask for Australian athletes in an amateur sport that is not funded in Australia, but we love what we do and dare to dream,” she says.

“…I feel like I can genuinely make a positive difference to the sport and lives of others.” 

Maria Alexiadis (far right) wins gold at the World Karate Federation’s (WKF) World Senior Championships in 2019 (Source: Supplied)

Maria Alexiadis was recently recognised on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her 33-year strong run in competitive karate. 

“I honestly kept checking to see if the letter sent by the Governor General’s office was sent to the wrong person,” she recalls.

“To think that people took the time to nominate me for such an award is an altruistic act and an honour,” she says. 

Alexiadis flew to Paris for the Olympic qualifiers just days before receiving an OAM (Instagram @mariaalexi)

Alexiadis is a highly accomplished athlete, awarded for her services to karate on a state, national, and international level, but says it is her Greek heritage which has helped shape her to be the person she is today. 

“I hope that the Greek Australian community are as proud and inspired by my recognition as I am of my Greek heritage,” she says. 

“Greek Australians have done and continue to do a lot of good for this amazing country of ours.”

“May this award continue to inspire and encourage people to work hard, persevere, aspire, and dream.” 

The best of both worlds 

Alexiadis says when she’s not kicking butt on the dojo, she’s researching a rare ovarian cancer at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne’s south-east. 

Maria Alexiadis (far right) is a medical research scientist with a particular research interest in granulose cell tumours (GCT) of the ovaries (Source: Hudson Institute of Medical Research)

Granulosa cell tumours (GCT) of the ovaries are malignant, endocrine tumours – meaning they make and respond to hormones – which slowly develop over time. 

Hormones Australia says around 60 women in Australia will be diagnosed with GCT this year. 

Alexiadis’ work aims to identify the genetic factors which lead to this potentially fatal cancer and says sport and science “both help build stronger, healthier and happier communities”. 

“It isn’t easy balancing it all but I enjoy the different challenges each area brings, the problem solving and helping make a positive impact and difference to people’s lives,” she says. 

She says she hopes she will be remembered for being “kind, brave, compassionate, driven, and ambitious” in 10 years. 

“I hope I’m best remembered as… the person who really believed that impossible is nothing, who ‘walked the talk’, ignored the naysayers, and made a positive impact on the lives of others,” she says. 

Three-year-old Manoli’s family fight to get him vital treatment for rare neuroblastoma

Andriana Simos
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Three-year-old Manoli’s family fight to get him vital treatment for rare neuroblastoma

An inspiring Greek Australian family is fighting to save their three-year-old son, Manoli, after he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form of aggressive cancer that only affects one in 1000 Australian children.

Manoli, who is better known as Oli, was a lifeline for his parents, Joel and Leni Plueckhahn (nee Karageorgiou), after the death of Leni’s dad from another rare form of cancer known as multiple myeloma.

“[My dad] spent the last two and a half weeks of his life basically holding Oli in his palliative care room,” Leni tells The Project.

But that’s why when Joel and Leni noticed in December 2020 that Oli was limping, and later not able to walk at all, they were heartbroken. He was first diagnosed with osteomyelitis, which is a bone infection, but eventually doctors said Oli had agressive and high-risk neuroblastoma.

“I was in hospital with Oli at the time and they said it was cancer and that just hit me like a tonne of bricks. Just hearing those words is something you never wish on anyone,” Joel says.

Three-year-old Manoli has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that affects immature or developing cells and spreads quickly. There’s no known reason for the disease and it’s not genetic. Only around 40 children in Australia are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year.

“You blame yourself and you wonder what you could’ve done differently… but there’s no prevention. It’s just purely bad luck,” Leni tells The Project.

Getting access to a clinical trial:

Since Oli’s diagnosis, he has had a 12 hour operation to remove the primary tumour in his stomach, six cycles of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. But that’s just the beginning.

“He’s already lost his hearing. He’s not eating now. He hasn’t had anything to eat since really Christmas. Obviously, he’s got the hair loss, he’s got to be fed by the nasal feeds,” Joel explains.

Oli also has to undergo radiotherapy and immunotherapy. There’s also a 50% chance he will relapse.

“We have been told basically that if your child relapses, it’s basically impossible to cure after that,” Leni explains to the Australian TV show.

Manoli’s family are fighting to get him vital treatment in the US.

In Australia, there’s limited options to prevent relapse and that’s why Oli’s best chance of survival is a DFMO clinical drug trial which is currently underway in the United States. Whilst the government does cover some costs for medical treatment overseas, as a general rule it doesn’t for clinical trials.

Leni’s sister, Alithea Karageorgiou, has been helping with fundraising by setting up a Go Fund Me page for Oli. So far they’ve raised over $400,000.

“If you’re told there’s something you can do to save your child’s life, you’re going to do it. We have to do it. We already had a huge loss, we lost dad, we can’t lose our little boy,” Alithea tells The Project.

Leni agrees and says she’s willing to do anything to get her son the treatment he deserves.

“There’s about a dozen parents that have been over there and they have seen good results so far and if there’s a 1 percent chance that this is going to prevent relapse then we will do it,” she says.

There’s a long battle ahead for a determined little boy and his loving family.

Archie Tsirimokos cements himself as one of Canberra’s leading commercial lawyers

Andriana Simos
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Archie Tsirimokos cements himself as one of Canberra’s leading commercial lawyers

The bright lights of Sydney briefly attracted young lawyer, Archie Tsirimokos, until he decided to make Canberra his home and is now one of the region’s leading commercial lawyers.

After graduating from the Australian National University, Archie quickly climbed the legal ladder, starting out as a clerk with Vandenberg Reid, before making his way up to partner and eventually driving the merger with Meyer Clapham in 2005.

Now, he’s currently the Chair of Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers, where he specialises in commercial law, property development and building and construction law and has been involved in the delivery of many complex commercial projects throughout Canberra.

His work has seen Meyer Vandenberg gain a place on Doyles’ list of leading Canberra Property & Real Estate Law Firms for 2021.

Archie Tsirimokos has cemented himself as one of Canberra’s leading commercial lawyers.

Doyles has also ranked Archie as a leading Property & Real Estate Lawyer in the ACT for the past six years, a gong he says comes down to working with a great team.

“I’m very proud to get the recognition, but you don’t get the accolades without having a good team around you,” Archie told Riot Act.

“I work with some great people and this is a reflection of that.”

Passion for mental health and the arts:

When Archie isn’t kicking goals in the legal profession, he is also a Director of Lifeline Canberra. He says he is proud to support this organisation by contributing his legal skills and using his extensive business networks to increase awareness.

Archie Tsirimokos is the chair of Kulture Break, a creative arts and support group for young people. Photo: Kulture Break.

“It’s great to be able to help those people in our community, like most communities, who are going through a difficult time,” Archie told Riot Act.

He is also the Chair of Kulture Break, a not-for-profit creative arts and support group that provides early intervention programs to enhance youth empowerment, belonging, inclusion, identity, confidence and self-expression.

“Kulture Break helps get kids back on track. It gives them purpose, somewhere to go and something to do. It’s much more than just a dance group,” he says.

Archie adds he is “very passionate” about both charity groups and the tireless work carried out by their respective volunteers.

“I look at the people involved with these organisations and I’m just amazed by what they do. They are making a difference to people’s lives,” he concludes.

Source: Riot Act.

On This Day in 1912: Konstantinos Tsiklitiras wins gold at the Olympics

John Voutos
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On This Day in 1912: Konstantinos Tsiklitiras wins gold at the Olympics

By Ilektra Takuridu

Konstantinos Tsiklitiras was a well-known Greek athlete who rose to prominence after winning a gold medal in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, in the event standing long jump.

Konstantinos was born in Pylos on the 30th October 1888 and moved to Athens early in his adult life to study.

Standing at 1.89m tall, Konstantinos was exceptionally tall and athletic. He participated in many sports, including playing football for Panathinaikos, water polo and standing long jump and standing high jump.  He was most known as a track and field athlete who belonged to the Panhellenic Gymnastic Society. He won the Greek championship 19 times.

During his Olympic career, Konstantinos earned one gold medal, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. In the 1908 London Olympics he competed in the standing long jump and standing high jump, winning silver medals in both events. 

(Left: Olympedia.org) (Right: iEllada.gr)

Konstantinos wins gold at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics

On July 8, 1912, Konstantinos made history when he won the gold medal in the long jump at the Stockholm Olympics, he jumped 3.37 meters to secure first place and win gold for Greece. In the same Olympic games, Konstantinos won the bronze medal in the high jump by clearing 1.55 meters.

The Stockholm Olympics was Konstantinos greatest sporting achievement and was made more special as he was the official flag bearer for the Greek nation. It was also the last Olympics where the standing long jump was performed, making Konstantinos the last ever gold medal winner of this particular event.

When he returned to Athens, he was greeted by hundreds of people, and the Panhellenic Gymnastics Association awarded him with a gold watch bearing the date of his win. 

Following his triumphs in Stockholm, he decided to volunteer to participate in the Balkan Wars. He was offered a position in the Athens Guard, but he declined, wanting to be on the front lines of the war so he wouldn’t be accused of favouritism. Even a family friend, Benakis, had urged that he work in his Egyptian company to keep him out of the conflict.

Despite being able to avoid conscription during the war, he persisted in fighting for his country. When he decided to fight in the First Balkan War in 1913, his athletic career ended. During the war, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Greek Army, serving as a sergeant on the front lines of Epirus.

Death:

Konstantinos Tsiklitiras rests in Patras A Cemetery (Source: Tony Esopi via Wikipedia)

Konstantinos suffered meningitis during First Balkan War and tragically died at the age of 24 on February 10, 1913. 

In honour of Tsiklitiras’ life and Olympic achievements, the Panhellenic Gymnastics Association launched the annual track and field competitions at the Panathenaic Stadium. The event was named the Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria, in memory of Konstantinos and was first organized in 1963, 50 years after his death.

Bill Brakoulias’ project awarded $650,000 to help young mum’s mental health in western Sydney

The Greek Herald
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Bill Brakoulias’ project awarded $650,000 to help young mum’s mental health in western Sydney

A new research project focused on the mental health of young mothers in western Sydney has been awarded $650,000 by the Federal Government.

Led by Professor Bill Brakoulias, Dr Ashwini Padhi, Sumithira Joseph and Rowena Saheb, the project is aimed at improving young mothers’ mental health literacy, and is part of a partnership initiative between Western Sydney Local Health District’s (WSLHD) Perinatal Child Youth Mental Health Service and Western Sydney University.

The project will lead to the creation of a new and innovative national digital resource for mothers aged 24 and under, which will help them better understand their own mental health, normalise seeking help and help put them and their children on track for a healthy life.

Professor Bill Brakoulias, who is the Mental Health Executive Director of WSLHD, says this means young mums will recognise the warning signs and know how to get help.

Professor Bill Brakoulias is one of four researchers leading the mental health project.

“Young mothers at higher risk of mental health issues will be able to increase their understanding of wellbeing and the services available to support their mental health at a vulnerable time. This will improve outcomes for them and their families,” Professor Brakoulias said in a media release.

“The opportunity for our Perinatal Child Youth Mental Health Service clinicians to use their expertise to build capacity nationally will further enhance our status as a leading provider of high quality and specialised mental health services for mothers across the state.”

Once complete, the innovative resource will be freely available for young parents to access in their own time across Australia.

It is a priority of the project team to actively engage mothers from diverse and at-risk populations including migrant, refugee and Indigenous mothers, to ensure the resource is culturally appropriate and accessible.

The project is part of a $16.6 million investment into perinatal mental health services announced by the Australian Government this month.

Source: The Pulse.

NSW records 11 new local COVID-19 cases as Greater Sydney restrictions come into effect

Andriana Simos
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NSW records 11 new local COVID-19 cases as Greater Sydney restrictions come into effect

The Bondi COVID-19 cluster has risen to 36 cases after NSW recorded 11 new locally acquired infections since the state government’s update yesterday.

There have been 49 locally acquired COVID-19 infections since a limousine driver in Sydney’s eastern suburbs tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.

One of the new infections announced on Thursday morning was a man in his 40s who was not linked to a known case or cluster.

Another unlinked infection was revealed yesterday — a Western Sydney hairdresser who worked in Double Bay, in Sydney’s east.

NSW Health said three of the hairdresser’s close contacts had now tested positive and were all in isolation whilst infectious.

Contact tracers are urgently investigating the source of both cases.

Another case has been linked to the West Hoxton birthday party in Sydney’s south-west, which was described by Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant yesterday as a “super spreader” event.

Of the 30 people who attended the party, 11 have now tested positive.

There were 48,402 tests reported to 8:00pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 44,640.

Premier warns NSW of ‘the scariest period’ in this pandemic:

NSW Agriculture Minister, Adam Marshall, tested tested positive for the virus after attending a dinner with colleagues in Paddington on Monday night.

Parliament House on Macquarie Street today shut its doors and several MPs — including Health Minister Brad Hazzard — and their staff are now isolating.

Gladys Berejiklian.

NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, confirmed to reporters this morning that as a result og news surrounding Mr Marshall, she has been tested and isolated. She has returned a negative result. 

“I took a test and was negative before I was even interviewed by [NSW] Health and made sure I took all those necessary precautions, and I will continue to monitor the health advice,” she said.

Ms Berejiklian went on to say that she and Dr Chant believe this in the most serious moment for the state since this pandemic began. 

“Since the pandemic has started this is perhaps the scariest period that New South Wales is going through, and Dr Chant and I are of equal view on that,” she said.  

“It is a very contagious variant but at the same time we are at this stage comfortable that the settings that are in place are the appropriate settings, but that is so long as everybody does the right thing.”

 

Community TV stations Channel 31 and Channel 44 given three-year lifeline

The Greek Herald
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Community TV stations Channel 31 and Channel 44 given three-year lifeline

A three-year reprieve has been granted to Australia’s only remaining community television (CTV) stations in a surprise vote that will allow them to stay on air and lock in key partnerships until 2024.

Channel 44 (Adelaide) and Channel 31 (Melbourne) had previously been told they had to stop broadcasting after June 30 and switch to an online-only model, but a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday saw the federal government give them until 2024.

It was preceded by a majority vote in the Senate on Tuesday night.

“The C31 board would like to acknowledge the efforts of our wonderful staff, producers and program makers over the last few months,” C31 Melbourne Chair, Mike Zafiropoulos AM, said in a media release.

“We have also been overwhelmed by the showing of public support and are heartened by the collective resolve to fight for a positive outcome for Community Television in Victoria. Thank you.”

The stations have endured annual uncertainty since 2014, when former Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, ordered community stations across the country to shift to an online-only model to free up their spectrum for testing new technologies.

But Channel 31 General Manager, Shane Dunlop, said it was a common sense decision to allow the stations to keep broadcasting and to lock it in for three years.

“We’ve had a decade of getting used to whatever last minute reprieves we get,” he said.

“They’ve just been kicking the can down the road a little further, but this length of time really gives us a chance to make the most of whatever the future will hold for community TV, so we can appropriately plan and roll with punches a lot better.”

Source: ABC News.

Tony Papagiannopoulos was scammed out of $200,000 after googling his investment options

The Greek Herald
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Tony Papagiannopoulos was scammed out of $200,000 after googling his investment options

Tony Papagiannopoulos moved to Australia from Greece with his mother at the age of 15 and from a very young age, it was always drummed into him to be careful with money.

Although Mr Papagiannopoulos, now 52, spoke no English when he first arrived, he eventually worked his way through an IT degree and saved scrupulously throughout his 25-year career in the private and public sectors in preparation for his retirement.

But according to an exclusive report by ABC News, in March this year, Mr Papagiannopoulos started looking to move $200,000 of his retirement savings from an investment that wasn’t doing very well.

He was recommended by a couple of accountants to either “go to shares” if he wanted to take a bigger risk, or “go to bonds, which is somewhere in the middle.”

Mr Papagiannopoulos decided to have a look at bonds on Google and clicked on the first few that came up.

Mr Papagiannopoulos decided to have a look at bonds on Google. Photo: Brendan Esposito.

“They looked secure — the website came up professionally,” he told Amy Bainbridge and Loretta Florence from ABC News.

What happened next will shock many.

The elaborate scam:

ABC News reports that Mr Papagiannopoulos asked to get a call from someone to talk about the investment. The day after he put in his contact details, Mr Papagiannopoulos got a call from a woman called Jane Weaver from JP Morgan. She put him through to a man claiming to be her senior colleague and financial adviser, Andrew Duncan.

“[He was] very well spoken, he certainly knew his stuff,” Mr Papagiannopoulos told the media outlet.

“Me being a little bit further behind on the knowledge, I was learning a lot more as I was trying to understand exactly what he meant. I asked him to provide me with details of his proposal in writing, which he did very quickly on the same day.”

He received a prospectus via email from info@jpmorganbonds.com. The email, which had a JP Morgan email signature, included the estimated fixed rate of return.

Mr Papagiannopoulos received an email with a JP Morgan email signature.

Mr Papagiannopoulos spent a few days mulling over the offer. He also did his due diligence and decided to look up JP Morgan’s phone number online to make sure the firm really did have a retail investment division. Whilst there was a bit of confusion with numbers, he eventually got through to Mr Duncan and decided to invest.

″I was very sure I was speaking to JP Morgan at the time, simple. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone any further,” he told ABC News.

On March 25, a week after receiving the prospectus, he transferred the first instalment of $100,000 to a Westpac account. Five days later, he sent through another $100,000. 

Hours later, the elaborate scam came undone when Mr Papagiannopoulos’ wife received a call with a ‘scam warning’ and the person on the other end of the line introduced herself as “Jane Weaver from JP Morgan,” ABC News reports.

After googling the number, Mr Papagiannopoulos found complaints stemming back to 2016 identifying the number as one used by scammers.

Mr Papagiannopoulos. Photo: Brendan Esposito.

Recovering his money:

In a statement to ABC News, JP Morgan said Mr Papagiannopoulos had been targeted by a “sophisticated scam” and encouraged investors to remain vigilant, conduct due diligence and to seek independent financial advice before investing.

Meanwhile, Mr Papagiannopoulos had immediately set about getting his money back. In April, Citi bank managed to recover $114,000 of the $200,000, and returned it to Mr Papagiannopoulos two weeks after the scam. 

After speaking to the ABC and lodging his case with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), Westpac got in touch with Mr Papagiannopoulos at the beginning of June. Westpac told him it had recovered another $84,000 on May 27. 

“I should have known better,” Mr Papagiannopoulos said. “I let my family down. That’s where I’m punishing myself daily.”

Zoran Zaev says tweet omitting the word ‘North’ from North Macedonia was a ‘mistake’

The Greek Herald
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Zoran Zaev says tweet omitting the word ‘North’ from North Macedonia was a ‘mistake’

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia has indicated that it was a “mistake” on his part to recently refer to his country’s national football team, which is participating in the European Championship 2020, as “Macedonia,” omitting the qualifier “North.” 

“Sometimes, it’s normal to make mistakes, precisely in the Prespa Agreement. But I’m 46 years old. It’s normal in 47 years to mention it in one sentence and to repeat it sometimes,” Zoran Zaev told a press conference Skopje, speaking in English.

“I believe in the Prespa Agreement… I’m the first to follow the Prespa Agreement.”

Former Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras and North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev meet to sign the Prespa Agreement in 2018. Source: Meta.Mk.

READ MORE: Greeks angered by North Macedonia’s national soccer jersey in Euro 2020.

He said the national team comprised “Macedonian players, Albanian players, Bosniaks etc… They are Macedonians… and the representation of the Republic of North Macedonia.”

Attending Monday’s game between North Macedonia and the Netherlands, Zaev tweeted: “Today, from the stadium in Amsterdam, I offer my strong support to the Macedonian national football team.”

The tweet caused a storm in Athens, with the government reportedly postponing a cooperation memorandum with North Macedonia in protest.

READ MORE: Greek Government issues caution to North Macedonian PM over name dispute.

Zaev said the tweet was not a reason to hold up the Prespa Agreement and associated memorandums in the Greek parliament.

“We waited two years for these agreements. And we can wait three more months…” he said, adding that the citizens in both countries wanted the memorandums to proceed.

Source: Ekathimerini.

Seven Greek bishops treated for burns after acid attack by priest

The Greek Herald
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Seven Greek bishops treated for burns after acid attack by priest

Seven Greek Orthodox bishops were hospitalised on Wednesday after allegedly being attacked with a caustic liquid by a priest facing a disciplinary hearing in Athens, authorities said.

The incident occurred at a meeting of senior Church of Greece officials. The 37-year-old priest, who was facing the hearing for alleged drug-related offences, was arrested.

A police officer who helped restrain the suspect was also injured, as were two lawyers present. They were transferred to hospital for treatment.

Police said it was not immediately clear what liquid was used, but added that the victims were being treated for burns.

Seven Greek Orthodox bishops were hospitalised on Wednesday after allegedly being attacked with a caustic liquid.

“It is an unprecedented event, a tragic event,” Health Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, said after a visit to the Athens hospital where the bishops were initially treated.

He said four of the bishops were more lightly injured and were receiving first aid, while one was transferred to the plastic surgery unit of another hospital and the other two might also be transferred to other hospitals with specialised units, including one with a specialist eye clinic.

Kikilias said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had asked for constant updates on the case.

The exact motives for the attack were not immediately clear.

Source: AP News.

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