More than 130 members and friends of the Cyprus Community of SA Ladies Auxiliary got together last Sunday, May 23rd, to enjoy an informative lecture over a cuppa at the Community’s cultural centre in Welland, Adelaide.
The attendees had the opportunity to learn more Greek-Cypriot settlers, migrants and refugees in South Australia between 1945 and 1980 by Flinders University alumni, Dr. Maria Shialis and were entertained with songs about the expat life as performed by Paraskevi Kontoleon and Asimina Karanicolas.
With a heart-warming speech President of Cyprus Community of SA, Professor Andreas Evdokiou, congratulated Dr. Shialis and the musicians as well as the Ladies’ Auxiliary members for the enjoyable and informative afternoon.
The association’s President extended her gratitude to the attendees and the committee members who are the heart and soul of these community events.
“It’s because of the efforts of our committee that we are able to continue to promote our culture and to support our Cypriot Community. In the 46 years of our association’s existence, they have always been here to support our greater cause,” Ladies Auxiliary President, Thekla Petrou, tells The Greek Herald.
Asked why it’s important for events like this to stay alive, Mrs Petrou gives an affirmative answer.
“I believe the new generation has a duty to continue our traditions and pass them on to their own children. This way we can ensure that all the effort put all these years will not go astray. It’s important to know our roots,” Ms. Petrou concludes.
The Honourable Irene Pnevmatikos MLC called on the South Australian government on Wednesday to formally recognise May 19 as a Day of Remembrance for the genocide of Armenians, Hellenes, Assyrians and other minorities in Asia Minor by the Ottoman state between 1915-1923.
The SA Labor MP said she condemns the genocide “as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural intolerance,” and called on the Turkish Republic to accept responsibility and to “finally apologise” for its actions.
“Although the Turkish government ostensibly denies having committed genocide, there can be no doubt that between 1915 and 1923, on the grounds of ethnic cleansing, [it] killed millions of innocent lives,” Ms Pnevmatikos’ motion reads.
“The targeted campaign of genocide on these groups was nothing short of inhumane and devastating.”
Irene Pnevmatikos MP has moved a motion for the recognition of Greek Genocide Remembrance Day in South Australia.
The same afternoon, Ms Pnevmatikos also met with community group leaders to discuss the motion. Among them were President of the Armenian Cultural Association of SA, Elena Gasparyan, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of SA, Bill Gonis, President of the Cyprus Community of SA, Professor Andreas Evdokiou and Pontian Brotherhood of SA Treasurer, Sofie Varvaris.
For his part, Federal Member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas, attended a commemorative event held in the city on May 23, and he also called on the Morrison government to follow the example of US President, Joe Biden, and formally recognise the genocide of the Armenians, Pontian Greeks and Assyrian Christians in Asia Minor.
Mr Georganas also announced that he has submitted a suggestion for the issue and that he expects it to be discussed in the Australian Parliament by mid-June.
Australian Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos AO, has today discussed the Biden administration’s first 100 days in office, during a special digital conference hosted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Mr Sinodinos began the talk by saying that although he never imagined he’d be in the United States in the middle of a pandemic, the race riots and a derisive election, he still believed President Biden has “hit the ground running” with his economic, public health and environmental policies.
“The priority of the Biden administration from day one was to get COVID under control because they know that if COVID is not under control, they couldn’t consolidate the economic recovery and be able to realise all their other plans,” Mr Sinodinos said during the conference, before discussing the current fiscal and monetary policies in the US.
Climate change:
From there, Mr Sinodinos discussed the Biden administration’s environmental policies, stressing how they have announced a “climate infrastructure package” which sets ambitious climate change targets.
Over 100 people attended the digital conference.
“Climate change is a whole of government priority in the US. The US government across the board is very joined up on this and what that means is they’re committed to ambitious targets,” the Ambassador said.
“They announced at the Climate Summit, 50-55% reduction in emissions by 2030. They’re committed to net zero by 2050, they want to decarbonise the power sector by 2035. They’ve got a big package to promote electric vehicles. So they’re really going to go hard.”
The critical and emerging technologies sector:
Mr Sinodinos then went on to talk about the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which is an informal strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India. Within this dialogue, there are a number of current working groups on vaccines, climate change and critical and emerging technologies.
Mr Sinodinos was asked many insightful questions.
The Ambassador focused on the ‘critical and emerging technologies’ sector in particular and described how Australia can play an important role in the area in the US.
“This sector covers areas like critical minerals, which are becoming very important in electric vehicles, in providing batteries and magnets for renewable energies… that’s an area where Australia can play a major role with the US because we have alot of the rarest minerals which are necessary for that purpose,” Mr Sinodinos said.
“The challenge for the West, for countries like Australia, is to work together and invest in those areas and to set the rules and standards. Because he or she who sets the rules and standards in these industries of tomorrow is likely to dominate those sectors.”
This strong opinion sparked debate between the over 100 people who attended the digital conference, with many asking questions after Mr Sinodinos’ keynote speech. In the end, it was an insightful event enjoyed by all.
Xanthi FC is one step closer to Greek Super League promotion after coming out victorious, 2-1, against Panetolikos on Wednesday night in Pigadia, Greece.
Panetolikos was just ahead in the 6th minute with the help of Vergos, but Xanthi made a stunning comeback with the goals of Ebert (52′) and Mikeltandze (71′) in the second half.
This means thee final decision on Xanthi’s promotion will be judged in a second match which will take place on Sunday, May 30 at 7.30pm in Agrinio. The game can be viewed on Monday, May 31 at 2.30am in Australia.
Xanthi FC’s victory:
Panetolikos managed to take the lead in just the 6th minute with a shot by Vergos, after a transfer from Duarte who stole the ball from Petrovic. The second good phase of the match was when in the 16th minute, Vergos again had a chance to score but failed to control the ball properly in the area and missed the shot.
Xanthi then improved its performance, took possession of the ball, while the team of Agrinio retreated in order to “close” the weaknesses in its defense and make good counterattacks, pushing in the midfield.
Xanthi’s first good opportunity was in the 29th minute, when a shot by Thymianis through the area went over the crossbar. The answer of Della’s team came in the next minute (30′), when Dias sent the ball out with a shot from a good position.
Xanthi still had two good chances in the first half to score. First in the 43′, when Dina shot from a side position in the large area he was blocked by Knet, and then with Jurman in the 1st minute of the delays, who from a good position in the area did not find the ball as he would have liked, lost a large opportunity for a draw.
With the start of the second half, Vergos lost a great opportunity to double his goals, when due to a mistake of the defense of Xanthi and a transfer from Mendoza, he shot alone from the height of the small out area.
Thus, the hosts found the opportunity to reach a draw, with Ebert scoring at 52′ from a pass by Siatravanis and a little through the big area correctly placed Knet. Two minutes later (54′), Panetolikos threatened again with the active Vergos, but the shot he made went out again. In the 67th minute, Dias caught the shot from a side position, after a corner kick by Barbosa, but the ball went just out.
In the 71st minute, Xanthi managed to take the lead with a shot by Mikeltandze, from a transfer by Schroener. It should be noted that the former had entered the race change at 35′ and the latter at 70′. In the 78th minute, a good header from Verker was blocked by Kenneth. In the delays (90 + 3΄) Xanthi “reached” 3-1 when Kapnidis’s header went out.
After the win, Xanthi FC coast, Babis Tennes, said: “I can not complain about the players. They managed to turn around a game against a senior team. Congratulations for the effort they made.”
Chanel Contos’ ePetition has garnered the requisite 20,000 signatories to trigger parliamentary debate over the sex education curriculum in NSW.
NSW Parliament will now debate whether slut shaming, toxic masculinity and rape culture should be taught in the state’s sex education curriculum.
Contos’ petition calls for earlier sex education in schools, including on consent, victim blaming and queer sex, and includes testimonies from thousands of past and present high school students about their experience of sexual harassment and assault in high school.
“We request that consent is taught earlier to reduce the extent of sexual assault experiences amongst youth in New South Wales,” the petition states.
Chanel Contos. Source: The Queensland Times / Hollie Adams.
“We, the undersigned petitioners request that holistic consent sex education be included in the curriculum, that acknowledges toxic masculinity, rape culture, slut shaming, victim blaming, sexual coercion, and enthusiastic consent, as well queer sex education.”
The announcement of parliamentary debate comes after the state government vowed to overhaul sexual assault laws and introduce an “affirmative consent model” on Tuesday.
Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, says curriculum and teaching resources will be updated to reflect a recent announcement to overhaul sexual assault laws.
Today, Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to fund a $500,000 COVID-19 Communications Grant for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities so these communities can better use their networks to effectively communicate vital information.
Labor has been raising concerns about COVID-19 communications with CALD communities since March and it is clear that the Morrison Government could and should have been doing more to engage with Australia’s modern multicultural society.
We must ensure no one is left behind during this ongoing pandemic – a virus does not check someone’s cultural background before it infects them.
Labor wants every communication barrier to be broken so the right information reaches all communities which is why we are calling for a $500,000 COVID-19 Communications Grant for CALD Communities.
The Morrison Government needs to better support CALD communities and engage with community leaders who represent emerging communities during this public health emergency.
The grants would provide up to $5000 to eligible providers and community leaders to:
Break communication barriers within existing official health information.
Provide translation of messages through appropriate publications where they are currently lacking.
Build resilience and improved engagement with emerging CALD communities (with emphasis on smaller, grassroots organisations).
This means more resources to translate and print COVID-19 newsletters, publications, signage, websites, advertisements, brochures, video, radio and public service announcements from existing official information services.
The grants could be used to fund successful applicants to participate in any official COVID-19 training offered by local, state and federal governments.
This is a difficult time for all Australians and it’s essential everyone know how to look after themselves and those around them.
Labor is putting forward this constructive suggestion to help bring Australians together, keep Australians safe, and ensure no Australians are left behind.
The Victorian government has announced a seven-day lockdown today in a bid to curb the state’s growing coronavirus outbreak.
The state’s outbreak has now reached 26 cases, with 11 new cases recorded overnight.
One of the cases is now in intensive care in hospital and on a ventilator.
Mr Merlino said contact tracers had identified 10,000 primary and secondary contacts linked to the outbreak.
Reported yesterday: 12 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas. – 12,677 vaccine doses were administered – 40,411 test results were received
The circuit-breaker lockdown will be in place until 11:59pm on June 3. Mr Merlino said there would be only five reasons people would be allowed to leave their homes:
Food and supplies
Authorised work
Care and caregiving
Exercise for up to 2 hours with one other person
Getting vaccinated
Schools will close for the duration of the lockdown, but childcare and kinder will be open. Cafes and restaurants can offer take-away only, and public and private gatherings will not be allowed. The vaccination program will also expand in Victoria to include anyone aged 40 years and over.
Victoria’s Acting Premier, James Merlino.
There are more than 70 exposure sites, including the MCG and Docklands stadium. Exposure sites added last night included cafes and businesses across Melbourne’s south-east and the Mornington Peninsula.
Exposure sites had previously been largely spread across the city’s north and west.
Testing capacity is being ramped up across the state as the growing exposure sites affect tens of thousands of people.There were 40,411 test results received in the 24 hours to midnight.
That marks among the highest days of testing in Victoria since the pandemic began, with more than 41,000 test results reported on August 9 last year and more than 42,000 on July 26.
Concerns for unvaccinated aged care residents in Victoria:
Concerns have been raised about the safety of aged care residents in Victoria amid the current outbreak, given more than 25 facilities are still waiting to receive their first vaccine doses.
It was revealed yesterday that of the 598 facilities in Victoria, 569 had received a first dose, leaving 29 facilities completely unvaccinated.
The government said 361 facilities had had two doses. It said four more would receive a first dose yesterday, but did not confirm that had happened.
Shadow Health Minister, Mark Butler, said given how quickly the virus spread and how deadly its effect was in aged care homes during Melbourne’s second wave last year, the statistics were unacceptable.
“The idea that 29 facilities in Victoria, given all that happened last year, haven’t even had a single dose, is a scandal,” he said.
The government has announced extra support to vaccinate aged care residents in Victoria.
“As well, there’s several hundred aged care facilities in Victoria that have only had one dose. These people are not yet protected as Scott Morrison promised they would be.”
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said aged care homes still waiting to receive first doses of the vaccine should be covered in the next couple of weeks, but that he was “very comfortable” with the rollout so far.
He said given the outbreak in Victoria, aged care homes there were being prioritised.
“It’s not an overnight exercise, it needs to be done safely and progressively which is exactly what we’ve done,” Senator Colbeck said.
“We will have all of those providers done very quickly and as I’ve said a number of times we’ve prioritised those remaining ones in Victoria.
“We should have all of the providers around the country done within the next week or so.”
Federal Labor MPs, Maria Vamvakinou and Steve Georganas, have launched a public appeal to the Greek Australian community and all Greeks in Australia to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
This is what they had to say:
“We have both been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and we would like to send a strong message that what matters is the vaccination, not the vaccine,” Ms Vamvakinou and Mr Georganas said in a joint statement.
Maria Vamvakinou MP (left) and Steve Georganas MP (right).
“The minimal side effects observed should not be an obstacle to the mass vaccination which will create prospects for the fight against coronavirus and will give us the opportunity to open our borders, to be able to travel to Greece and Cyprus, to open our economy, to regains our freedoms, so that we can live a healthy normal life again.
“That is why we appeal to all Greeks in Australia: do not be influenced by what is written or what is said. All the scientific and medical evidence proves that vaccination saves lives and protects us from the coronavirus. More than 38 million have been vaccinated in the UK so far, and there have been very few side effects.
“Therefore, we call on all Greeks in Australia who have remained unvaccinated: get vaccinated. We stress that only with the vaccination will we take back our lives.”
The European Commission has approved the geographical indication (GI) for ouzo and tsipouro, making the famous alcoholic beverages officially Greek for the first time ever.
A GI is a logo used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
The decision by the Commission opens the door for ouzo and tsipouro to be included in the international register of the Geneva Act of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
According to an announcement by the Association of Greek Producers of Spirits and Alcoholic Beverages (SEAOP), the approval was achieved after coordinated efforts by SEAOP, ENAPAPE and the services of the General State Chemistry.
The association says the recognition of GI by the Commission “will make ouzo and tsipouro even stronger in international markets.”
“They will be able to enjoy protection according to the Lisbon International Agreement, just as they are protected in the EU. They gain a significant bargaining chip in EU talks with third countries for bilateral recognition of GIs,” Nikos Kalogiannis, president of SEAOP, said in a statement.
The anise-flavored drink, ouzo, is deeply connected with the nation of Greece, with many locations, such as Tivarnos, Kalamara and Plomari, having long traditions of distilling ouzo.
Tsipouro, like ouzo, is a strong Greek spirit made up of 40-45% alcohol. Born out of the poverty and ingenuity of rural Greeks, tsipouro is made from pomace — the stems, seeds and skins of grapes that are left over from the wine making process.
Thousands of stargazers looked to the sky as Wednesday night’s full moon passed through its closest point to Earth while also coinciding with a lunar eclipse.
Many had cameras ready to capture the rare orange-red moon dubbed “super blood moon.” The eclipse means the moon was bathed in a deep reddish glow for at least a few hours.
The event itself was best viewed in parts of South America, Australia and south-east Asia, but European countries such as Greece were also lucky enough to get a look at it.
Here are some of the best pictures from Australia and Greece:
— George Mastropavlos (@g_mastropavlos) May 26, 2021
The supermoon rises behind Palamidi castle in Nafplio, Greece. Photograph: Bougiotis Evagelos/EPA.
Australia:
The Super Moon appears behind the Sydney Opera House. Photo: Reuters/Loren Elliott.The full moon rises near Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch.
