Eight ancient Greek tombs of various types were discovered during recent excavation works by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia in southern Greece on a privately owned plot of land.
The Greek Culture Ministry said the tombs date from the end of the 4th to the 2nd century BC.
In one of the tombs, a bronze urn with a floral decoration on the handles was found.
They are part of the western necropolis of the ancient city of Elis, from which more than 200 tombs dating to the late Classical and Hellenistic period have been excavated to date.
Of particular importance are the findings in one of the tombs, which has a bronze urn with a floral decoration on the handles and lion heads where the handles meet the rim, and a bronze folded mirror.
Greek-American political advisor and communications expert, Jen Psaki, has been named press secretary in US President-elect Joe Biden’s new all-female White House communications team.
Psaki was the White House communications director under President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017 and had previously been spokesperson for the US Department of State, among other roles.
She is replacing Kayleigh McEnany, who has been the latest person to work in the role during Donald Trump’s administration.
Jen Psaki has been named press secretary in US President-elect Joe Biden’s new all-female White House communications team.
Psaki will also be joined in the White House communications team by:
Kate Bedingfield as White House communications director.
Symone Sanders will be vice-president-elect Kamala Harris’ chief spokeswoman.
Elizabeth Alexander will be first lady Jill Biden’s communications director.
Karine Jean Pierre as deputy White House press secretary.
Ashley Etienne as communications director for the vice-president, and
Pili Tobar will serve as deputy communications director.
On Twitter, Psaki paid tribute to the incoming team, saying they were “some of the most talented, battle-tested communicators out there.”
President-elect Joe Biden also commented on his decision to choose an all-female White House communications team for the first time in US history, saying he was “proud” of his decision.
“These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a President, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House.”
Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara.
NATO members Turkey and Greece have conflicting claims to continental shelves and rights to potential energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Tensions flared in August when Ankara sent Oruc Reis to map out energy drilling prospects in waters also claimed by Greece.
Turkey withdrew Oruc Reis from contested waters ahead of a previous EU summit in October to “allow for diplomacy,” but later sent it back after what it called unsatisfactory outcomes from the summit. Earlier this month, Turkey said Oruc Reis would operate in the region until November 29.
Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday
The Turkish Energy Ministry said on Monday the vessel had completed a mission which started on August 10.
“Our ship, which has collected 10,995 km of 2D seismic data, has returned to the Antalya port,” it said in a tweet.
Refinitiv ship tracking data confirmed Oruc Reis was back in port in Antalya on Monday morning. The data also showed drill ship Yavuz in waters near Turkey’s southern coast, while seismic survey vessel Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa was still out at sea south of Cyprus.
After weeks of tension, Ankara and Athens agreed to resume talks over their contested maritime claims in September, ending a 4-year hiatus. But Greece has since said it would not begin talks as long as Turkish vessels were in contested waters.
Last week, the EU’s Parliament called for sanctions against Ankara over President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Northern Cyprus and Turkish operations in the eastern Mediterranean, which it called illegal. Turkey said it fully rejected this.
EU leaders will meet on December 11-12 to discuss the sanctions, with France leading a push in the bloc to sanction Turkey. Paris has yet to draw up sanctions, but diplomats say any measures would likely target areas of Turkey’s economy linked to hydrocarbon exploration.
Lawyers Weekly, in partnership with Momentum Intelligence, have revealed the top 25 law firms deemed most attractive by legal professionals across Australia.
This year, Moray and Agnew Lawyers ranked number 25 on the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking list and Melbourne Managing Partner, Bill Papastergiadis, couldn’t be prouder.
“With almost 19,000 law firms in Australia, I am thrilled by the announcement that Moray & Agnew is ranked as one of the top 25 attractive firms to work in Australia,” Mr Papastergiadis, who is also President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, tells The Greek Herald.
“Our wonderful staff and inclusive firm culture make Moray & Agnew a great place to work.”
Moray and Agnew Lawyers ranked number 25 on the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking.
This year’s ‘attraction survey’ was conducted between 1 July and 10 August 2020, recording the views of over 900 legal professionals across Australia.
It is considered an important resource to help understand how the law profession has responded to a year that was like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Papastergiadis says the most important thing for Moray and Agnew was to ensure their lawyers “are respected and inspired.”
“Culture defines strategy. Without a workforce which is engaged and interested in servicing our national and international clients, we would not have continued our extraordinary growth,” Mr Papastergiadis says.
“For many years, the Melbourne division of Moray & Agnew was arguably the fastest growing firm in Victoria. Ensuring our lawyers are respected and inspired means that collectively we can continue to grow our workforce and clients.
“As arguably one of the leading Government, Insurance and commercial law firms in Australia, I am proud to be a part of Moray & Agnew.”
In an interview with the Chris Smith & Friends Podcast on Sky News Australia, Lord Mayor of Perth, Basil Zempilas, proudly discussed his Greek heritage and how it has been “character building” for him.
Host of the podcast, Chris Smith, opened up the conversation by referencing Zempilas’ name, saying “you’ve got to have a very rich Greek heritage.”
Zempilas agreed with a laugh and began describing what it was like being a Greek Australian at school.
“Look it’s quite character building actually. When you’re born in Australia and you go to school and your name’s Basil Zempilas and you look like this, you work out pretty quickly… if you’re going to be able to deal with the cards that you’ve been dealt,” Zempilas says.
The proud Kastellorizian, who is a father-of-three, then goes on to add that people born in Australia who have a non-Australian background are “different.”
“You know you’re different. And of course we assimilate, and of course we are one country, but it is something to be proud of,” Zempilas says.
Basil Zempilas is a proud Kastellorizian. He’s pictured here with his wife Amy and their children Ava 9, Anthony 2, and Chloe 6. Picture: Jackson Flindell /The West Australian.
“And one of the things that I try and do wherever I go is I always speak of my Greek heritage and particularly to other young Greek Australians. I always speak to them and say ‘be very proud of your heritage.’
“It’s important and of course it’s important to be Australian. We’re Australian’s first. That’s a very strong principle of mine.”
Zempilas concluded by saying that people need to be “conscious” of where they’ve come from and “what story that brings you” because it can “define you” as a person.
Labor is urging the Government to implement the one person per two square metre rule across all NSW venues to support the hospitality industry during its busiest trading period of the year.
Industry peak bodies and venue operators are demanding a more consistent, clear pathway out of COVID-19, after dealing with confusing, last minute announcements from the Government.
Shadow Minister for Health, Ryan Park, said the industry needs certainty around rule changes to bring some normality back to the year and enable safe health practices.
NSW Premier, Galdys Berejiklian, announced an easing of COVID-19 restrictions on November 25, 2020. Photo: 9News.
“Businesses are more than willing to comply with health regulations. We have seen that since March when COVID-19 first began to impact the industry,” Mr Park said.
“But this Government needs to ensure they are providing clear rule changes with the best interest of keeping the community safe while ensuring businesses are supported during the peak season.
“The Premier needs to stop protecting her own self-image by announcing good news and eased restrictions when she’s facing heat in the public eye.”
Shadow Minister for Better Public Service, Sophie Cotsis, says the Government needs to consider allowing all businesses to implement the one person per two square metre rule as soon as possible.
“The move will help support thousands of jobs to return to the industry which is an important step for economic recovery,” Ms Cotsis said.
“This an opportunity for Government to provide certainty, confidence and boost NSW’s great hospitality sector.”
On December 13, 2020 at 2pm, Greek and Turkish musicians will enchant audience members with the magical music of Asia Minor during a special concert at the Sydney Opera House.
The concert, titled ‘Songs Without Borders,’ will be performed in both Greek and Turkish in order to showcase the intermingled and diverse melodies and rhythms of Asia Minor culture.
Six musicians in total will be performing.
Turkish soprano, Ayșe Göknur Shanal, and Greek Australian, Georgette Giatis, will be on vocals, while Michael Platyrrahos will play the lyra and lute, Kurdish musician, Deniz Şimşek, will play the bağlama, Panayioti Kalandranis will perform on the guitar and Kurdish musician, Adem Yılmaz, will play percussion.
The concert will be held in the Utzon room at the Sydney Opera House.
The bond between the musicians is strong, with Georgette Giatis telling The Greek Herald that her and Ayșe Göknur Shanal have been good friends for many years.
“One night I was performing at Koutouki, the Sydney restaurant my husband Panayioti (the musician) and I own, and there was a group of Turkish people eating. So I decided to sing in Turkish for them,” Georgette says.
“Ayșe was part of the group and she got up and started singing with me. We’ve been friends ever since.”
This mutual respect and love for each other’s culture led to the idea for the ‘Songs Without Borders’ concert and although it was initially called off earlier this year due to COVID-19, the Sydney Opera House still wanted the concert to go ahead.
“We received a call from the Sydney Opera House and they said, ‘we’re choosing a few events to go ahead and you’re one of them’,” Georgette tells The Greek Herald.
“So we’ve only had about six weeks to get all the musicians together and rehearse. It’s been exhausting but the rehearsals are going well and we’re thrilled to see how the event goes.”
‘Songs Without Borders,’ which will be held in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House, is a ticketed event of $70. You can book your tickets here.
Residents of Samos, who were severely impacted by a destructive 6.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the Greek island in late October, have been provided free cleaning products by the Australian Embassy in Greece.
In a Facebook post, the Embassy announced that a pallet of Dettol Greece cleaning products was on its way to the Municipality of Western Samos over the weekend.
“With this contribution, the Australian Embassy wishes to assist the Municipality’s continued efforts to provide shelter to the people left homeless by the devastating earthquake that hit the island in late October,” the post reads.
In response, the Municipality and local Samian community sent their thanks to the entire team at the Australian Embassy, including Australian Ambassador to Athens, Mr Arthur Spyrou.
“We warmly thank you… for taking the initiative to stand by us and offer supplies of cleaning and disinfection supplies,” the Municipality says on Facebook.
“Your contribution makes us very happy and fills us with courage and strength in our difficult work.”
The 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook half of Greece and the Aegean coast of Turkey, killing at least 71 people and injuring more than 900.
Many people on Samos were left homeless and two local teenagers, 17-year-old Aris and 15-year-old Claire, were killed.
A decision is yet to be made on whether or not the Modern Greek language program at La Trobe University will be discontinued, almost a week after the negotiation process between the university and members of the Greek community closed.
With this in mind, the Greek community continues to fight for its survival by holding a meeting on Friday, November 27 with the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of La Trobe. This will be followed by another meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 1.
During the Friday meeting, Bill Papastergiadis, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, and four Victorian MP’s of Greek heritage were present. They were: Kat Theophanous, Member for Northcote, Steve Dimopoulous, Member for Oakleigh, Lee Tarlamis, Member for South Eastern Metropolitan, and Nick Staikos, Member for Bentleigh.
The Greek community continues to fight for the survival of the Modern Greek language program at La Trobe university.
Representing La Trobe at the meeting were Chancellor John Brumby, who convened the meeting, Vice Chancellor Professor John Dewar, College Provost Professor Simon Evans, and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor Nick Bisley.
According to a statement from La Trobe, the meeting to discuss the future of La Trobe’s Modern Greek language program was “productive.”
“The meeting was conducted in a spirit of goodwill on all sides and a number of possibilities for partnership and collaboration were discussed,” the statement reads.
“(The university) is also very keenly listening to the views of the wider community. A large number of submissions from members of the community were received during the consultation with staff.”
La Trobe concludes the statement by saying that they are “reviewing the feedback from a consultation with staff about the Modern Greek language program, in the context of a wider proposal for changes to courses and subjects in its School of Humanities and Social Sciences.”
A 102-year-old woman has become the oldest person in Greece to recover from COVID-19 after she was hospitalised with the virus.
According to Greece’s state broadcaster ERT, the woman was living in a care home in the city of Ioannina when she was diagnosed with COVID-19.
She was transferred to a hospital on the island of Corfu where “she had a high fever for several days, as well as other symptoms of the disease,” the general manager of the hospital, Leonidas Roubatis, said.
“She did not need intubation,” Mr Roubatis added in an interview with state-run news agency, AMNA.
After 20 days, the woman recovered and was discharged from the hospital. She later returned to her care home in Ioannina.
“We are proud of everyone who is discharged and wins the battle against the coronavirus,” Mr Roubatis said.
