Young students from Pedia Greek School in Clayton South, Victoria have been busy getting creative in the lead up to Greek Orthodox Easter.
The students have designed their own beautiful lambathes and Easter treat bags, filled with red eggs, koulourakia and chocolate eggs.
They have also held classes on specific Greek Easter traditions and have learnt about what is celebrated on every day of Holy Week.
The ATP has warned players in an internal note on Monday that tennis officials will dish out stricter punishments for on-court misconduct, ABC News reports.
ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, said in a note seen by Reuters: “Effective immediately and as we head into the clay court swing, the ATP officiating team has been directed to take a stricter stance in judging violations of the Code of Conduct.”
“Additionally, we are also undertaking a review of the Code, as well as the disciplinary processes, to ensure that it provides appropriate and up-to-date penalties for serious violations and repeat offenders,” Mr Gaudenzi added.
This warning comes as the men’s governing body reviews its guidelines in an attempt to clamp down on repeat offenders such as Nick Kyrgios and Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Just last month, Kyrgios was fined $80,000 for a series of angry outbursts at the Indian Wells and Miami Open events.
The ATP came under fire for what many pundits and fans perceived to be soft punishments from the governing body.
READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios confirms he will feature in upcoming Netflix documentary series.
Source: ABC News.
Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has had a significant victory in a long-running internal Liberal stoush over NSW pre-selections, after a court challenge against the legitimacy of his hand-picked candidates was dismissed.
The NSW Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed a claim that pre-selections of 12 Liberal candidates by the Prime Minister, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former president of the federal Liberal Party, Christine McDiven, were invalid.
ABC News reports that the case centred on a decision made late last month by the Liberal Party’s federal executive to appoint Mr Morrison, Mr Perrottet and Ms McDiven to pick candidates.
Initially, the three-person committee endorsed only sitting MPs Sussan Ley, Alex Hawke and Trent Zimmerman in the seats of Farrer, Mitchell and North Sydney respectively.
READ MORE: Liberals try to force Alex Hawke MP to end impasse over election candidates.
However, on Saturday, nine other candidates were pre-selected hours before the committee’s term was due to expire.
On Tuesday, the court ruled this process was valid and Mr Morrison later defended his decision to intervene in the NSW pre-selections.
In an interview with ABC 7.30, Mr Morrison said he made the controversial decision to intervene because he is “very serious about having great women” in his ranks.
READ MORE: NSW Liberals to take Alex Hawke MP to the Supreme Court.
Mr Morrison said he was concerned the futures of Environment Minister Sussan Ley and the member for Reid, Fiona Martin, were under threat from “factions.”
“I’m asked all the time, ‘Why wouldn’t the Prime Minister do more about getting good women in Parliament and stand up for the women in Parliament?'” he said.
“So, I stood up for the women in my team… That was what the principal reason was and people know that.”
Mr Morrison is expected to fire the starting gun for the election campaign in the coming days and Australians will go to the polls in mid-May.
Source: ABC News.
Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, received Greece’s highest civilian honour on Tuesday for his efforts in developing a COVID-19 vaccine that has saved millions of lives in Greece and internationally.
Bourla was awarded the medal of the Golden Cross of the Order of the Redeemer by Greek President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, at a ceremony at the presidential mansion in Athens.
The Order of the Redeemer is the most important Greek Order and is awarded to Greek citizens who have distinguished themselves in defending the interests of their country or have provided exceptional social services in Greece or abroad.
READ MORE: Pfizer’s Greek CEO, Albert Bourla, wins $1 million Genesis Prize for vaccine development.
As she handed Bourla his honour, Sakellaropoulou hailed his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and said he “gave humanity the space to face the pandemic.”
“His path is the chronicle of the victory of science in the field of health, for the benefit of the common good,” Sakellaropoulou said in her address about the Thessaloniki-born CEO.
“Hailing from a family of Holocaust survivors, he was able to realise his vision and apply scientific innovations that led to the discovery of the [COVID-19] vaccine, allowing the whole world to believe that the impossible was possible.”
READ MORE: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla discusses journey to deliver COVID vaccine and investing in Greek youth.
Bourla responded that this distinction was “the most important” he has ever received as “it comes from the homeland and the Greek State.”
“I am very lucky to find myself in this position and be able to help,” he said.
Bourla has always shown a keen interest in Greece having already opened, among other things, two Pfizer research centres in Thessaloniki.
READ MORE: Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, says fourth COVID-19 vaccine will be needed.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has hailed Greece’s early repayment of the last instalment of its bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a Tweet on Tuesday, Mitsotakis said the repayment was the “end of an era… that Greeks should not and will never live again.”
“The government… closes a bleak chapter that opened in March 2010,” Mitsotakis added, referring to the date of the Greek debt restructuring and the start of a string of bailout loans from the eurozone and the IMF, totalling 280 billion euros.
Mitsotakis’ post on Twitter came after Greek Finance Minister, Christos Staikouras, announced on Monday that Greece “concluded the repayment of its debts to the IMF.”
Staikouras hailed the early payment as “a very positive development” that would mean significant savings in debt servicing costs totalling 230 million euros.
READ MORE: Greece completes early repayment of bailout loans to IMF.
Between 2010 and 2018, three successive bailouts totalling some 260 billion euros prevented Greece from going bankrupt and exiting the shared euro currency.
Despite exiting the bailout program in 2018, Greece remains under an enhanced surveillance program created by European lenders to monitor spending, an arrangement due to end later this year.
READ MORE: European Union approves early repayment plan of Greek bailout loans to IMF.
Source: Ekathimerini.
The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel reiterated on Tuesday their commitment to a ‘strategic alliance’ of the three nations, pledging to expand energy cooperation in an otherwise turbulent region.
The trilateral summit in Athens was hosted by Greece’s FM, Nikos Dendias, and was attended by his Cypriot and Israeli counterparts, Ioannis Kasoulides and Yair Lapid.
Dendias held separate talks with Kasoulides and Lapid, after which the three had a joint meeting.
READ MORE: Energy security, Turkey main focus of Israeli President’s visit to Cyprus.
At a joint news conference following the talks, Dendias spoke of the “unbreakable nature” of the trilateral cooperation, and stressed the three nation’s desire to enhance energy cooperation amid the current Ukraine crisis.
“Our three countries can and should be part of the solution of Europe’s quest for diversified, secure and cleaner energy supply from the Levantine corridor,” the Cypriot Foreign Minister added.
Cyprus, Greece and Israel have agreed to build the world’s longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed and link their electricity grids. The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, is expected to be completed by 2024.
Kasoulides said Cyprus, Greece and Israel are “proceeding” with this project, as well as the EastMed Pipeline, after receiving “significant support from the EU and the US.”
READ MORE: Israel, Cyprus, Greece secure $736 million in EU funding for power cable link.
“We are confident that when materialised they will have an added practical and geostrategic value for the Eastern Mediterranean and the European Union,” Kasoulides said.
During the press conference, all three foreign ministers also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Dendias in particular said war crimes were being perpetrated in the city of Mariupol, where a large number of ethnic Greeks reside.
Source: Cyprus Mail.
By Chris Spyrou.
Unified lightweight world champion, George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr., will battle WBC lightweight title-holder Devin Haney for the undisputed championship on Sunday, June 5.
It was announced on Friday, April 1 that Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium would host the world title fight, being dubbed a “sensational spectacle” and “one of the biggest fights in years” by Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella.
“The Spartan warrior is going to get an opportunity to perform in front of both his Australian countrymen and his people of Greek ancestry,” DiBella said at the press conference.
The Greek Australian entered Marvel Stadium on Friday heralded by Robert Tepper’s ‘No Easy Way Out’ from the Rocky IV soundtrack, sporting a tailored black suit and Gucci sunglasses.
READ MORE: George Kambosos Jr. to defend lightweight title against Devin Haney in Australia.
Flanked by his father Jim Kambosos, the fighter laid out his five belts before reassuring: “These belts aren’t going anywhere, they’re staying here.”
“These belts are not only mine, they’re ours as a country, Greece as well”, he added.
In a one-on-one interview, the world champion told The Greek Herald, “I fight for the Greeks, not only here in Australia, in Melbourne, in Sydney, but worldwide.
“I take that flag with me everywhere. That flag still hasn’t been washed from the Lopez fight, it’s got blood all over it.
“That’s how much this means to me. I’ll bleed for our country.
“So to be here, to be fighting in Melbourne with such a massive Greek population that’s the largest outside of Athens, it’s incredible.
“This is going to be an army of blue and white flags, an army of Australian flags. It’s going to be amazing.”
WATCH: George Kambosos’ one-on-one interview with The Greek Herald
To unify the lightweight championship, Kambosos requires one more belt “and Devin has it”, Dibella said.
Kambosos had initially agreed to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko, however, the Ukrainian two-time Olympic gold medalist withdrew, electing to defend his home country against the Russian attack instead.
Kambosos will have the opportunity to unify the lightweight championship and become Australia’s first-ever undisputed champion in front of 50,000 spectators at Marvel Stadium in June. Millions will also be watching live on ESPN, Kayo and Foxtel.
We all know the main sites that attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to Greece every year, and don’t get us wrong they do take your breath away every time!
These 5 islands though will sweep you into parts of the Aegean, Icarian and every other sea that you didn’t know existed. And after you read our list, you’ll understand why.
One of Greece’s best kept secrets, the island of Anafi in the Cyclades. Although is it just a short 22km from Santorini, Anafi is still one of the least visited islands in Greece. According to Greek mythology, Anafi emerged from the bottom of the sea to shelter the Argonauts.
Located in the Sporades, this small island isn’t your typical tourist destination. Take a sailing boat around the island for the day and enjoy some of the most beautiful caves, bays and islets, or take a tour to some of the islands prehistoric sites, Skyros’ peaceful landscape will make you fall in love.
The butterfly shaped island lies between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese and although technically belongs to the latter, holds the true beauty of both. Local boat services offer small trips to the surrounding islands that will take your breath away.
A hidden little gem on the Corinthian Gulf accessible by ferry boat, Trizonia is the only inhabited island in the Corinthian Gulf and is also only 500m west of Athens. With its busy vibe you’d be surprised to find that cars, motorbikes, and trucks are strictly prohibited on the island – making it the perfect place to relax and unwind in the serenity of this tiny piece of paradise.
Named after the myth of Icarus, Ikaria is known for the longevity of its inhabitants. There is an air of relaxation, a mood that is set by the population that lives there that captures you, Ikaria is the place to let go of your stresses. Between hikes in the islands mountains and destressing at the thermal spa at Therma Village, Ikaria is one Greece’s best kept secrets.
A tribute concert to Greek singer, George Dalaras, at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre was a huge success on Sunday night with close to 800 people attending.
The concert, which was titled ‘The Last 40 Years: A Tribute to the Great George Dalaras,’ was part of this year’s Greek Festival of Sydney celebrations.
The Aegean Quartet came together with George Karantonis and Moda Blue on the night to perform some of Dalaras’ much loved songs from the last 40 years.
“The female singer on stage, Anna, was also amazing and it made a fantastic duet having her and George singing on stage,” Marinella Maglis, an audience member, told The Greek Herald after the event.
“I’m not Greek but I really, really enjoyed it. I had a blast.”
The Daily Telegraph has named the Australian fashion players it considers trendsetters for this year and among the list are Evangeline Titilas and her business partner, Sami Lorking-Tanner.
Titilas and Lorking-Tanner are the co-founders of ‘With Jean’ – a Queensland brand known for its mini-dresses, cropped cardigans and swimwear.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the business had a “huge increase” in sales after reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, wore a ‘With Jean’ metallic bikini two-piece.
The businesswomen were forced to restock the swim set, which included a $79 “Baby” bikini bra top and $69 pair of briefs from its “Baby Drip” collection, to keep up with unprecedented demand.
Today, Titilas and Lorking-Tanner are based between Australia and Los Angeles, where its campaigns are shot on “it” girls in the Hollywood Hills.
With Jean’s “Andy dress” – a long-sleeved button down in bright orange and purple – was one of the must-have pieces of 2021.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.