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Sydney FC’s, Teresa Polias, opens up about her break from football and future plans

The Greek Herald
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Sydney FC’s, Teresa Polias, opens up about her break from football and future plans

Teresa Polias has many titles – W-League games record-holder, Sydney FC captain and school teacher at McCallums Hill Public School.

This W-League season will be notable by her absence however, as she recently announced she is taking an indefinite break from football as she is pregnant with her first child.

READ MORE: TGH Exclusive: Teresa Polias continues to bring joy to her football fans and school children.

As she stressed to The Guardian, the break is not retirement but rather a pause to reflect and reassess once she and her partner, Foti, have got their heads around parenthood.

“When I close that door, I want to close it for good. I still love the game and I was still able to perform well, so I’ll just see how I bounce back from the pregnancy and if I can physically do it,” she tells The Guardian.

READ MORE: Sydney Football Club captain Teresa Polias announces break from football.

“That’s the sort of a challenge of love. I’ve always wondered if I could do that … I’m curious, so just thought I’d leave that open.”

The 31-year-old adds that for now she is taking some amazing memories away with her. That is, not only her trophies but also being able to celebrate her victories with family.

“I don’t like putting so much praise on titles and owing all your success to titles,” she told the online media outlet.

“There’s been hundreds of moments, like sharing it with your family. The pride and joy I see in my dad every weekend when he comes to the games is just, you can’t really explain what it means to me.

“The same with my partner, they’re like best mates and they love enjoying the game together. My family have been there for the big moments as well. They’ve shared it with me.”

READ MORE: ‘We can go a step further’: Teresa Polias hopes to lead Sydney Olympic FC to NPL-W title.

Source: The Guardian.

Maria Skyllas-Kazacos’ invention paves way for planned manufacturing base in Queensland

John Voutos
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Maria Skyllas-Kazacos’ invention paves way for planned manufacturing base in Queensland

Facebook caption: Maria Skyllas-Kazacos’ work on vanadium batteries could pave the way for a mine which would create about 200 jobs in north-west Queensland. 

Greek Australian Maria Skyllas-Kazacos’s invention is about to reach unparalleled heights following Horizon Minerals and Richmond Vanadium Technology’s planned vanadium venture in Queensland. 

The Richmond-Julia Creek in Townsville could be a base for the manufacturing of batteries using vanadium resources. 

The $242 million mine would produce 790,000 tonnes of concentrate a year and create about 200 jobs. 

The technology using vanadium in batteries was developed by Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos at the University of NSW in the 1980s. 

In 1999, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to science and technology, particularly in the development of the vanadium redox battery as an alternative power source”.

The federal government has since funded $3.9m for the manufacturing of large-scale vanadium redox flow battery systems, as well as $1.2m for the development of a vanadium processing pilot plant. 

Source: Herald Sun, Greek Herald 

Coach, Peter Tsekenis, features in Football NSW’s COVID video campaign

The Greek Herald
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Coach, Peter Tsekenis, features in Football NSW’s COVID video campaign

Football NSW is set to roll out a campaign by various football representatives urging the community to vaccinate via a special video message.

Head coach of the Marconi Stallions FC, Peter Tsekenis, features in the campaign and can be heard encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 so we can “do the things we love” sooner.

Joining Tsekenis in the video campaign are a number of other prominent football identities as well including, former NSW Premier and now Football NSW director, Morris Iemma, Mayor of Bankstown City Khal Asfour, former Socceroos coach, Les Schienflug, football presenter, Mariana Rudan, and Football NSW director, Stephanie Brantz.

They all urge people “to give COVID-19 the boot.”

This campaign comes after news emerged that a number of club facilities across the state have been offered as mass and pop-up vaccination hubs to assist with tackling COVID-19 head on in the state.

Sydney lockdown extended for one month, new rules for LGAs of concern

The Greek Herald
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Sydney lockdown extended for one month, new rules for LGAs of concern

NSW has recorded 642 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday.

There were four COVID-19 deaths in the reporting period.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the lockdown for Greater Sydney will be extended by an additional month.

However, this will not apply Shellharbour and the Central Coast, which will be classified as regional areas.

In one of the 12 local government areas (LGAs) under enhanced lockdown ordes, a curfew will be imposed for those residents for between 9:00pm and 5:00am.

The LGAs affected by the curfew are Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Strathfield.

From midnight Monday, August 30, NSW will also introduce a state-wide mandatory mask mandate for any person traveling outdoors unless the person is exercising.

NSW Police have also been granted additional powers to enforce the new curfew restrictions, including being able to designate a person to self-isolate for two weeks.

“If [police] find anyone outside and LGA of concern without a reasonable excuse, they will be given an infringement but in order to return home as well,” NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

“If someone enters an LGA of concern without excuse, not only will they be fined, they will be sent home and they will have to self isolate for 14 days.”

More to come.

Renovation work begins on Syntagma Square makeover after 17 years

The Greek Herald
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Renovation work begins on Syntagma Square makeover after 17 years

Work on the long-anticipated renovation of the lower part of Syntagma Square has finally begun, 17 years since the original plan.

The project foresees the widening of the sidewalks near the start of the pedestrian Ermou Street and the creation of a new public space that will serve as an entrance point to the capital’s commercial and historical core. Approximately 1,000 square meters of space will be freed up for pedestrians.

The plan also stipulates the planting of 28 tall trees, visible pedestrian crossings, pergolas for shade as well as modern lighting systems. Interventions facilitating the disabled will also be included.

The 1.3 million euro project is funded by the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF, or ESPA in Greek) for 2021-27. The makeover is based on a plan adopted in light of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

A pilot project last year reduced the car lanes between the square and Ermou from six to four.

Source: Ekathimerini.

Alleged Operation Ironside drug trafficker, Apostle Broikos, has valuables worth thousands seized

The Greek Herald
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Luxury watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were found in the bedroom of Apostle Broikos, the youngest South Australian arrested during Operation Ironside, court documents allege.

According to The Advertiser, Broikos is also alleged to have been in possession of 20 mobile phones with the AN0M app, which he was able to delete remotely as a failsafe in case of arrest.

Mr Broikos was one of 40 people arrested on June 7 – Operation Ironside resolution day – driving a Mercedes Benz sedan. Police seized $2335 cash in a bumbag on the passenger seat.

Police searched Mr Broikos’ parents’ Burnside home and allegedly found 15 watches in his bedroom, including multiple gold and silver Rolex Oyster Perpetual models, which are worth tens of thousands of dollars, The Advertiser reports.

Among the watches were several Rolex Submariners, also with price tags of about $50,000, as well as Breitling Bentley, Audemars Piguet and Tissot.

Police also seized $30,910 allegedly found in a small safe hidden in the bottom of his closet.

Court documents also reveal SA Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions moved to freeze more than $64,000 in two different bank accounts.

Mr Broikos is accused of playing the role of facilitator in two large drug operations. He will next appear in court in December.

Source: The Advertiser.

Greece requests international help as wildfires blaze on

John Voutos
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Greece requests international help as wildfires blaze on

The Greek government has sought assistance from abroad three weeks into taming wildfires which broke out on August 3. 

A major wildfire near Vilia is on the wane but not yet under control after four days, Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said Thursday. 

Chrisochoidis said Greece had accepted a further offer of help from Romania, which would be sending firefighters and vehicles. 

The fire has burnt homes and led to evacuations of nearby villages northwest of Athens.  

Hundreds of Greek and Polish firefighters and more than two dozen helicopters and planes have been deployed. 

PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis publicly thanks Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki for the country’s assistance

Reinforcements were sent, with 22 helicopters, including two from Russia and one from United Arab Emirates, and 11 planes providing air support to 451 firefighters and 166 vehicles. 

Nikolaos Loanas says he lost his home to the fire in the nearby village of Thea. 

“I’ve had [my house] for about 40 to 45 years and it was built through hardship, with a lot of effort, sweat and stress,” he said. 

“It was 45 years’ worth of memories. …. My wife and I moved here when we were young, my two children grew up here, played here, had fun here, my three granddaughters liked it here.”

A map shows the extent of the wildfire burning around Vilia

Firefighters have worked around the clock to exhaust fires in Evia, around Athens, and the Peloponnese. 

The government has appealed for help through the European Union emergency response team. 

About 24 European and Middle Eastern countries have responded to the request. Most have since returned home. 

The wildfires come in the wake of the country’s worst heatwave in about three decades and has parched shrubland and forests.  

While the cause of the fires has not been officially established, more than 12 people have been arrested on suspicion of arson. 

Scientists say there is little doubt that climate change from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas is driving more extreme events. 

Source: Ekathimerini, AP 

Greece border force ‘on alert’ amidst Afghanistan crisis

John Voutos
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Greece border force ‘on alert’ amidst Afghanistan crisis

Greece’s border forces are on alert amidst the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan. 

Greek government spokesperson Yannis Economou says border forces are hoping to avoid a repeat of the European migrant crisis which saw nearly one million people fleeing conflicts arrive five years ago. 

“All forces are on alert at the borders, we will not allow a reliving of the scenes of 2015,” he told a news conference.

Government spokesperson Yannis Economou (Copyright: EUROKINISSI / ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΠΑΝΑΓΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ)

The Taliban’s takeover has stoked the fear of an exodus of Afghans. 

Thousands have already fled or are desperately trying to board flights from the capital Kabul. 

European Union (EU) member states have sought a coordinated response as they watch the country’s crisis unfold. 

Around 500 Afghan asylum seekers and local activists protested in Lesbos – where there are about 2,500 Afghans – on Monday. 

They worry about friends and family back home and demonstrated with banners that read: “We say no to Taliban.” 

Afghan migrants demonstrate against the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, August 16, 2021 (REUTERS/Elias Marcou)

The EU has urged member states to ramp up admission quotas for Afghans in need of protection.

Economou says Greece’s foreign ministry is planning to repatriate eight Afghan nationals who worked with Greek forces. 

“We will not stop until we bring them back to our country,” Economou says.

Source: Reuters

Helen Faros and the Olympia Cafe still at the heart of Bigga’s community after 95 years

Andriana Simos
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Helen Faros and the Olympia Cafe still at the heart of Bigga’s community after 95 years

Walking into Olympia Cafe in the rural New South Wales town of Bigga is like going back in time to the good old days of Greek milkshake bars and fish and chip shops. There are still the pristine floorboards, marble-top tables, a soda fountain and even an old-fashioned milkshake maker.

Standing proudly amongst all these things is 84-year-old, Helen Faros, and she tells The Greek Herald exclusively that the cafe celebrates 95 years this year and she has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

“We’re still here since 1926. For the Faros family, in five years’ time it’ll be 100 years. I just got to live that long,” Helen says with a small laugh.

Growing up Greek in Bigga:

Helen’s uncle, George Faros, opened Olympia Cafe in 1926 and originally called it after his wife Gregoria.

George and Gregoria Faros inside the cafe, 1930s. Photo by In Their Own Image- Greek-Australians National Project Archives.

When the cafe was first established, Bigga was a growing township servicing a large sheep-farming region in the NSW Southern Tablelands. Helen says the Faros family were the only Greek people around.

“They accepted us, no trouble. There was always someone coming in to have a little chat,” Helen says.

“We used to do lamb on the spit, Greek style, down on the riverbank on a Sunday. What else could you ask for?”

At the time, Helen along with her parents, Harry and Irene Faros, sister Poppy and brother Peter, were all living together with George and Gregoria “happily” and helping with the cafe. But eventually, Helen moved to Sydney for a little bit.

Helen and Peter Faros in the Olympia Cafe in 2009. Peter passed away in 2011. Photo by Effy Alexakis / Republished with permission.

“Being the eldest of a Greek family, I went to school in Bigga, went to high school in Crookwell, then moved down to my yiayia in Francis Street, Sydney… and lived there for four years and went to East Sydney Technical College and did a dressmaking course,” Helen explains.

“Then my family wasn’t well and… I came home to look after them and I’m still here.”

The cafe at the heart of Bigga:

Olympia Cafe in 2009. Photo by Effy Alexakis / Republished with permission.

George and Gregoria passed away, leaving the cafe in the hands of Helen and her brother, Peter. In 2011, Peter also passed away, having suffered a heart attack.

But today, the doors of the cafe remain open for business as Helen stoically persists with the family’s enterprise. There have been some upgrades in refrigeration but otherwise, things have remained the same and customers are as loyal as ever.

“I have done four generations of the Picker family. The original old Sam Picker, and then Trevor Picker his son, and now Trevor’s sons, he had four sons, they’re all married now and their children,” Helen says happily.

Helen and Peter outside the cafe in 2009. Photo by Effy Alexakis / Republished with permission.

“We sort of gave little lollies you know, ‘if you’re good kids, here’s a lolly,’ and this is still going on.”

With such a heart-warming past tied to the cafe, we just had to ask Helen what she has planned for its future. While she hinted that eventually the cafe might need “to be sold or closed down,” she says she is still “quite healthy” and will continue to run it for now.

“Bigga is an ageing town, we’ve been here a long time, but we’ve got a great generation of young kids coming up which will keep Bigga alive again, so that’ll be great,” Helen says.

Words of comfort for a Greek community which wishes to see the cafe hit its well-deserved 100th anniversary.

Hellenic Club of Canberra get innovative during lockdown with takeaway Drive-Thru

Andriana Simos
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Hellenic Club of Canberra get innovative during lockdown with takeaway Drive-Thru

With the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recording 16 new local cases of COVID-19 today, it looks like dining-in at the Hellenic Club of Canberra is off the cards for a little while longer.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a traditional Greek dish from the Club in the meantime. In fact, if you’re after a delicious lunch or dinner, you can still pick up takeaway orders at the Club’s Drive-Thru at Woden.

This innovative idea was first introduced by the Club during the COVID-19 pandemic last year and it’s been reintroduced during the ACT’s current lockdown as a means of staying connected with the local community.

“While we’re sad we can’t welcome our members and guests through our doors during this time, we know if we all stick together and do the right thing we will be back together very soon,” the Club wrote on Facebook.

“And don’t forget you can still support our family-owned restaurants during lockdown by visiting our contactless takeaway drive-thru!”

The Hellenic Club was first opened in 1979 as a meeting place for the Greek community of Canberra and has since grown into Canberra’s largest entertainment venue.

The Woden Bistro, Fillos Taverna + Bar and Ginseng Chinese have all pitched in at the Drive-Thru by offering pared-back takeaway menus for lunch and dinner.

To ensure minimum contact and maintain safety, all orders are placed via call or text message, the restaurant advises of the pickup time and you call them from your car when you arrive.

They then bring the food to you. Really, what more could you ask for?

Take-away menus and drive-thru opening hours for The Hellenic Club of Canberra can be found here.

READ MORE: Ken Keamy: WWII veteran and one of The Hellenic Club of Canberra’s longest members since 1990.

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