Ambulance Victoria paramedic Steven Gelagotis has been bearing the brunt of Melbourne’s Delta wave.
He says the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on new challenges for paramedics.
“It’s definitely changed the way we use our personal protective equipment (PPE),” he tells ABC’s News Breakfast, saying it adds to the “physically exhausting” and “draining” work of 14-hour shifts.
“I always say to my friends, ‘If you came out here and saw the devastating effects [COVID-19] has had on people in their lives, you would totally understand’.”
Steven Gelagotis appeared on the ABC’s News Breakfast program on Friday (Photo: @BreakfastNews on Twitter)
Gelagotis contracted COVID-19 in August last year and implores people to get vaccinated if they hope to avoid that battle themselves.
“It took me 8 months to get better and I didn’t have the choice to get the vaccine then,” he says.
“If it’s not for you, do it for your loved ones… I wouldn’t want to weigh up those odds.”
Victoria has recorded 510 new cases and one death.
Gelagotis says his greyhound Lucy has been his “saving grace” through it all.
“I come home and you know what dogs are like; regardless of what you do, they are always there for you and they greet you with a smile,” he says.
“I think my neighbours probably think I’ve lost it because I talk to her all the time.”
Cyprus’ Orthodox Church have had stolen 18th-century church doors repatriated from an art college in Japan.
The two ornately decorated doors were displayed to the public at the Archbishopric in Nicosia on Thursday following a lengthy legal battle.
(AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
Cypriot communications and works minister Yiannis Karousos says the doors were discovered at the Kanazawa Art College over 20 years ago and their return followed “long and intensive efforts”.
He says the doors’ repatriation sends the message to antiquities smugglers and “the international ring of crooks that however many years go by, (Cyprus) will hunt them down, because cultural genocide cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world.”
Cyprus’ communications and culture minister Yiannis Karousos (yiannikarousos.com)
The artifacts – painted with religious scenes – originally stood in the central gateway the iconostasis of the 18th century Saint Anastasios church in Peristeronopigi.
They were among hundreds of artifacts stolen in the country’s north after Cyprus’ ethnic split in 1974, but no information has been provided on how the Japanese college acquired them.
The French government has hit out at Australia’s decision to ditch its submarine contract in favour of nuclear-powered submarines.
France’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has responded furiously to the cancellation of the contract.
“It’s a stab in the back. We had established a trusting relationship with Australia, and this trust was betrayed,” he told French radio network France Info.
He added he was “angry and very bitter about this breakup,” adding that he had spoken to his Australian counterpart Marise Payne days ago and received no serious indication of the move.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has slammed the move (Photo: AFP/Stephanie De Sakutin)
In 2016, the Turnbull government announced French company Naval Group (then known as DCNS) had been selected for Australia’s largest-ever defense contract at a cost of $90 billion.
Naval Group were to construct up to 12 new conventional submarines in Adelaide in a bid to replace the existing Collins-class subs which make up the Australian navy’s defence fleet.
“The Australians need to tell us how they’re getting out of it. We’re going to need explanation,” Le Drian says.
“We have an intergovernmental deal that we signed with great fanfare in 2019, with precise commitments, with clauses, how are they getting out of it?
“This is not over.”
Australia announced plans to join the US and the UK for a historic, trilateral national security pact dubbed the ‘AUKUS’ on Wednesday.
The US and the UK are partners in the Australian navy’s new nuclear-powered submarine fleet project, providing the technology required for Australia to operate its own nuclear submarines in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the pact will make the region safer.
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo met with prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Thursday.
The Milwaukee Bucks star attended a ceremony at Mitsotakis’ official residence which bestowed citizenship on his mother Veronica and younger brother Alex.
“We always felt Greek, but now we have an official stamp and we are happy,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the ceremony.
“Alex and my mom are Greek citizens now.”
Antetokounmpo, 26, is an Athenian-born Greek-Nigerian who grew up in Sepolia.
He was born to parents who migrated from Nigeria and was granted Greek citizenship in 2013.
The citizenship allowed him to travel to the US and join the Bucks later that year.
“The face of the whole Antetokounmpo family reflects the Greece that struggles, overcomes the difficulties, and keeps its family united,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis later wrote on Twitter.
Η Βερόνικα Αντετοκούνμπο και ο Εμέκα – Άλεξ Αντετοκούνμπο πολιτογραφήθηκαν σήμερα τιμητικά Έλληνες πολίτες. Στο πρόσωπο όλης της οικογένειας Αντετοκούνμπο αντικατοπτρίζεται η Ελλάδα που αγωνίζεται, ξεπερνά τις δυσκολίες και κρατά ενωμένη την οικογένειά της. Θερμά συγχαρητήρια. pic.twitter.com/3OyQjnoOln
CoreLogic figures released earlier this month show the median house price in Australia increased by 18.4 per cent since September last year, the fastest pace of growth since 1989.
In Adelaide, the increase for the year was 17.9 per cent to a median value of $522,000.
How has the pandemic impacted South Australia’s real estate market and what does the significant surge in housing demand mean at a time when overseas migration has stalled?
These are some of the topics discussed on Wednesday, September 15, at the second Business Breakfast panel discussion hosted by St George College, as part of the school’s efforts to raise funds for the refurbishment of its Senior Campus.
The event was opened by St George College Principal Peter Karamoshos with Senior Reporter, Andrea Nicolas leading the conversation that followed.
The panel was comprised of the Mayor of the City of West Torrens Michael Coxon, Director of Xsell Property Andrew Kyriacou and lawyer Elias Farah.
A one in a generation peak
“We are amazed by how many people want to buy a house at the moment…It’s the classic undersupply and increase in demand that’s been going on since November last year,” said Kyriacou responding to a question about his workload during the last year.
“We’ve been the busiest we’ve been in eleven years and this cycle is a one in a generation boom,” Partner, Commercial and Legal, Elias Farah, said.
The surge in demand has created a shift in the demographic of home buyers with nearly two-thirds of Australians thinking home ownership won’t be an option for young people as property prices rise.
That’s particularly the case in cities where house prices are booming but wages aren’t as strong.
“Let’s not forget about the first home buyers and how they will enter the market. We are seeing a change in the demographic of people that are more attuned to living in residential denser environments,” Mayor Coxon said.
The panel also discussed the build-to-rent model as a potential solution to relieve the pressure from first home buyers and what are the difficulties in adopting it in South Australia.
The school’s Year 10 and Year 11 students who study Hospitality prepared and served the attendees with a scrumptious breakfast and the morning concluded with St George College Principal, Peter Karamoshos thanking all and renewing the invitation for next year.
As Europe tries to stop the boats, lifeguards from the calm beaches of Barcelona are stepping in to save lives on the open sea.
The ABC’s Foreign Correspondent program spent 10 days sailing the Mediterranean with the Spanish rescue group Open Arms, an NGO founded by lifeguards who once patrolled the calm beaches of Barcelona.
It proudly claims to have rescued 62,000 refugees and migrants on the open sea since it was founded six years ago.
Italy and Malta, where most migrants boats head, claim the group enables people-smuggling and attempt to stop the boat from taking distressed migrants to shore.
The Open Arms boat. Photo: Twitter.
Take for example one night out on the open seas when the rescue group spotted a small wooden boat with more than 50 people crammed inside — anxious mothers, crying babies, old men, young men and frightened children.
There’s no navigator, no safety gear and just an outboard motor sputtering like it is running on fumes in the vastness of the Mediterranean.
The rescue team, led by Gerard Canals, secures the wooden boat with an inflatable orange buoy, checks for injuries, hands out water and reassures the distraught passengers that help is coming soon.
But back on the Open Arms yacht, the Greek captain, Savvas Kourepinis, has been pleading over the radio for an hour for the Maltese or Italian coastguards to come.
Savvas Kourepinis pleads with Italian and Maltese authorities to assist in the rescue. Photo: Foreign Correspondent / Santi Palacios
Both are refusing. An Italian coast guard base is just 13 nautical miles away on the island of Lampedusa but the operators are now insisting he contact the Maltese authorities.
“I am in the sea trying to keep the people alive,” Savvas shouts during the TV program, barely able to control his anger. “And you say me to call Malta! Serious?”
The Maltese rescue service doesn’t pick up the phone so eventually the Italian coastguard agrees to connect Savvas to the Maltese radio room.
“Can you kindly send an email?” comes the crackly reply of the Maltese operator. Savvas again bites down his rage.
An hour earlier, Gerard Canals sent Malta an email giving full details of “the target,” the international rescue parlance for a possible boat in distress. There was no reply.
It is 20 years #11S, of endless conflict, destruction and death in #Afganistan and the Middle East. 20 years and millions of people forced to flee the "war on terror" risking their lives, always the most vulnerable and the most invisible ones. #EveryLifeCountspic.twitter.com/F2dyJPu73Q
At dawn, after hours of badgering, the Italians finally relent and send out a coastguard vessel to collect the migrants. The Maltese rescue authority, part of the Maltese Armed Forces, never even replied.
Soon, more migrant boats appear on the horizon and the exhausted crew begin another sleepless day and night of rescues.
On its 83rd mission, the Open Arms team went to the aid of 398 migrants, keeping every one of them safe as it cajoled, begged, pressured and embarrassed the Italian coastguard to come.
Oscar Camps, who is the founder and director of Open Arms, tells Foreign Correspondent the team will keep going back as long as there are lives to be saved.
“Nothing is more important than protecting life at sea. Saving lives in international waters is not a crime. It is a duty,” Camps said.
Con Kalamaras has many titles – he is a Melbourne-based Rebetiko musician, events producer and the co-founder and director of Greek Fringe. This would keep anyone on their toes but not Kalamaras. During the recent Melbourne lockdown, he made time to record a new album as well titled Lokridos Project.
To celebrate the release of this new Rebetiko album, we spoke with Kalamaras about the inspiration between his music and what his future plans are.
1. Tell us a little bit about your new album, ‘Lokridos Project.’
The album was inspired by composers who arrived in Athens in the 1920’s. It is a collection of obscurities that aren’t the usual pallet of songs for Greeks in the diaspora. The album grew out of Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns and as I was living in a rural area during winter, the warmth of Greek songs kept me going on dark misty winter nights.
Con Kalamaras (left) loves performing. Photo supplied.
The title came from the street name where my father was born, Lokridos in Gyzi. The album is an unofficial dedication to him as he sadly passed away last year during lockdown. The album was a project to simply get me through one of the worst years of my life. The songs were intentionally recorded with that simple sound to capture the emotion of the year.
2. Is the album a combination of original songs and covers? Do you have a favourite?
There are a few original works on this album, my attempt to respectfully compose music in the way the traditional songs were written. By default, there is an Australian influence which is unavoidable but overall, the style of the album and song choices are intentionally simple and reminiscent of true gramophone recordings.
My favourite track is the first track, Kimata, [which means] ‘waves.’ The sound effects were my recordings from the beaches of Greece accompanied by a rustic antique guitar. A delight!
Kalamaras. Photo supplied.
3. What was the most challenging aspect of making this album?
Maintaining a constant motivation was the hardest part, living in isolation and continuing to push myself in this process, that was the hardest part. There were times when the road to the end seemed too far, too hard and I was emotionally spent. As I mentioned, my father’s health was deteriorating and this only compounded the emotional impact of the songs and the overall sound. It does have its dark moments but ends with optimism.
4. What did you hope to accomplish with this album?
I wanted the album to be a snapshot of the year, raw and for it to sound human. It does have flaws, it isn’t perfect. It’s important for this to come across, people aren’t perfect. Sometimes when recording, this human element can be lost. It was important for me to capture the human element.
View from Kalamaras’ studio. Photo supplied.
5. What has it been like being a musician in Melbourne in the COVID-19 era?
There’s no denying the pandemic has decimated many people’s lives. Musicians and the whole music industry have had minimal support from Government, and we’ve lost many talented people who have left the industry and dare I say, some might not come back to it. To be honest, there were moments where I contemplated walking away from it.
6. What’s next for you?
I’ve already started recording the next album. Lockdown continues in Melbourne so I’ve been focusing on Greek Fringe (with Christina Bacchiella) and we’re forging ahead with our singing workshops that bring people together. [I’m also] planning on forging ahead with events including the Rebetiko Jam (with Wayne Simmons) once things open up. I’ve also started writing songs with a local Greek musician, Stavroula Thomopoulos, under the banner of Erinaki.
The recently announced sponsorship agreement between A-League side Sydney FC and Bank of Sydney was met with great enthusiasm on both ends. Although for the financial firm it certainly won’t be the first major sports investment, it’s certainly the biggest they’ve made in the football industry.
Speaking to The Greek Herald, Bank of Sydney CEO Miltos Michaelas points out that through the series of negotiations with the club’s stakeholders, they were able to see that the two parties had quite a few things in common, a fact that simplified the agreement: “I must admit in the end it was an easy decision. Our interaction with Sydney FC began over two years ago. And in that time, it became clear that we have things in common, starting from our values.
“They’re a community club, they worry about their audience, the way they’ve acted on certain issues, we found all of that to be in alignment with our own values. Additionally, the communities we tend to support follow soccer as much as possible. So, we liked the people, their values and their messaging. But furthermore, the audience they have is good for us as well.
“We’re talking about the best (football) club in Australia, they’ve been highly successful. I think Sydney is proud of this team and there is a lot of common ground to be found even when considering our audiences.”
Bank of Sydney and Sydney FC have announced a major partnership. Photo supplied.
“Also, this was not an imposed relationship. They took their time, they talked about it, which is what we do with our customers as well. We never oversell anything in our bank, and we didn’t see that happening in this case either. So, if they had the patience to sit and talk with us and come to an agreement, then that’s definitely someone we want to be in business with.”
“We do things with a long-term vision in mind, and I think we may have surprised them when we said near the end of our negotiations that we wanted to sign on for at least three years. But that’s just how we like to operate. This wasn’t something which was enforced on us, we saw an opportunity there and decided to take it.”
Michaelas: ‘We believe in sport’
When asked if the A-League is the right place to be making investments, the executive officer responded confidently, pointing towards the recent success of the men’s national team but also the continuously rising participation numbers: “One thing you should know about this bank is that we support somewhere close to 20,000 kids who are related to soccer. We believe in sport because it comes with the territory.”
“We also backed the Rabbitohs for three years, so this isn’t our first major sponsorship. But when it comes to soccer, the question is always “will it bloom?” And I believe the time has finally come, especially with Sydney FC, they have a successful history, they’re building a new ground and let’s not forget, the Socceroos have just won ten games in a row.
“And after a decade or so of this new league, I believe the clubs are beginning to mature in terms of understanding that they still have a lot of room to grow both in men and women’s soccer and to try to win the hearts of the sports loving Australian audiences. I think soccer is ready to bloom and we definitely want to be part of that!”
Miltos Michaelas, CEO of Bank of Sydney, pointed out that they’re seeking to maintain a long-term relationship with Sydney FC. Photo supplied
Responding to if this only a first step for the firm when it comes to major sponsorship agreements, Mr Michaelas didn’t seem to be much in favour of that way of thinking: “I would probably say no and that would be for a very simple reason. Based on who we are, we need to meet the community needs in two ways: we want to support a lot of grassroot organisations, mainly in soccer because of our history, but we have that going on for many clubs.
“Then, we have chosen Sydney FC to be our one major sponsorship and as I said, we’ve committed ourselves to that agreement for a few years. The issue with thinking about extending towards another major deal is a matter of resources and a matter of focus. And we don’t want to sacrifice the support we provide towards grassroots in order to give ourselves the room for a second opening. We would like to continue with this model for a while.”
Finally, when put in the position of a potential South Melbourne-Sydney FC FFA Cup meeting, the executive officer maintains a diplomatic approach: “If the two teams were to meet, I would look forward to a great game, one that provides inspiration to aspiring footballers everywhere. One thing is for sure though, after the end of the game I would go to the team that lost and congratulate them on their performance, then go to the side that won and celebrate their success!”
Sydney’s first drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs’ spiritual home, the Belmore Sports Ground, will launch this Friday.
The drive through clinic is in the heart of one of Sydney’s 12 hotspot Local Government Areas (LGA) and will offer Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the next six weeks.
The City of Canterbury Bankstown Council, Bulldogs League Club and SES have provided volunteering and financial support to cover costs of contractors and traffic controllers.
Leader of NSW Labor, Chris Minns, with Sophie Cotsis MP, and Dr Jamal Rifi.
One of the doctors who will be helping out at the clinic, Dr Jamal Rifi, told The Daily Telegraph he hopes to be able to deliver 1,000 jabs a day to people as they sit in their cars.
“We estimate from the time of arrival at the Belmore Sports Ground until they leave after the 15 minute observation period, will be no more than 30 minutes,” Dr Rifi said, while stressing that appointments will need to be made via “hotdoc.”
Mr Minns, Dr Jamal and Ms Cotsis.
The Director of the Bulldogs Football Club and Deputy Chairman of the Canterbury Leagues Club, Jim Koutsouklakis, said that the Club didn’t hesitate to offer their grounds for the clinic as they want to “assist in any way we can.”
“We’re not telling people to get vaccinated. All we’re saying is that if the medical advice is that you get vaccinated, we’re making our facility available for the benefit of the local community to be able to partake in a safe and comfortable environment,” Mr Koutsouklakis told The Greek Herald.
Member for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis MP, adds thatshe’s proud to see this drive through vaccination clinic up and running in Belmore, but its success will depend on how many vaccinations are available.
“This drive through vaccination hub will ensure that people continue to get access in their own backyard, but the effectiveness of this hub will be dependent on the number of vaccinations allocated by Federal and State Governments,” Ms Cotsis told The Greek Herald.
“Let’s make it a sprint to get as many people protected.”
In August this year, The Greek Herald reported that Maria Alexiadis OAM had become the first ever female President of Karate Victoria (KV), the peak representative body of Karate in Victoria.
Ms Alexiadis took over from outgoing President, John Frazzetto, after he withdrew his nomination from the organisation’s Annual General Meeting.
“I know I will be scrutinised and will probably have to work twice as hard as a male counterpart to prove myself, but I’ve never shied away from pressure or hard work and criticism only makes me stronger,” Ms Alexiadis said at the time.
In recent news, due to “ongoing governance issues the organisation has had since 2012,” Ms Alexiadis is no longer the President of KV and nor will she be on the board of Karate Victoria.
“I think I can claim the prize for being the President who has held the shortest term in position for Karate Victoria. It’s disappointing for Karate and sport in general but change takes time – there at least was a shake up in the organisation that may encourage change in the near future,” Ms Alexiadis told The Greek Herald.
The new President and Executive committee of Karate Victoria will be ratified in an upcoming special general meeting.
The Greek Herald has reached out to Karate Victoria and board members for comment.
