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Cypriot president outlines more steps to combat match-fixing

The Greek Herald
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Cypriot president outlines more steps to combat match-fixing

Cyprus is looking to step up the fight against match-fixing with the introduction of a string of additional measures, including a change in existing laws that would permit authorities to monitor suspicious betting activity on matches, the country’s president said Friday.

President Nicos Anastasiades said other measures include a ban on any unauthorised individuals from accessing stadium sidelines or locker rooms, as well as the creation of an independent judicial authority that will only adjudicate sports-related criminal cases, including match-fixing.

Another measure is the establishment of a deputy ministry of sports that will be tasked with implementing all laws, rules and guidelines that several other bodies are responsible for enforcing.

All second-division matches will be recorded and archived to help police in any investigation that may crop up amid match-fixing suspicions.

Anastasiades outlined seven new measures the government is looking to adopt during a wide-ranging meeting on combating match-fixing that brought together the Cypriot soccer federation, the referees association and other groups.

“We’re ready to adopt any further measure that’s deemed necessary so we can effectively counter incidents of corruption or decay within soccer,” Anastasiades said.

The meeting comes in the wake of recent allegations of match-fixing after UEFA provided information to the Cypriot soccer federation of suspicious betting activity on four second-division matches and a pair of cup games.

Anastasiades said such allegations aren’t new and again appealed to anyone with information about match-fixing to step forward, pledging that the anonymity of whistleblowers will be protected.

“Unsubstantiated allegations made in public without hard facts to back them up aren’t enough to allow investigators to launch criminal proceedings,” Anastasiades said.

Last month, the head of Omonia Nicosia claimed that he has been approached with offers to “buy off” a match, referees, and players and that he was even quoted the “going rate” or the price tag for a championship or a cup.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister George Savvides hailed Friday’s approval of amendments to phone-tapping legislation that make it easier for police to secure a warrant from a judge.

Savvides said the amendments unties the hands of law enforcement authorities to tackle serious crimes, but offer enough protections so that the law isn’t abused.

Sourced by: Ekatherimi

Greece sees 300% price increase for protective masks as a result of coronavirus scares

The Greek Herald
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Greece sees 300% price increase for protective masks as a result of coronavirus scares

In a similar situation to Australia, Greek hospitals and pharmacies have seen a significant lack of protective masks in the market. This has resulted in speculated corporate profiteering at the expense of hospitals and citizens taking precautions over concern about possible outbreaks of coronavirus and flu. 

According to a statement by the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN), citizens’ concern over EODY and Ministry of Health reports, to which they consider coronavirus cases highly probable, has caused a stir among the Greek community. 

Hospitals and health centres, due to influenza and preparation for the occurrence of the coronavirus, have an increased need for mask supplies. 

The result is that the price for the purchase of simple surgical and high protection masks has increased by 300% in recent days. 

“We are talking about Hospitals that buy masks out of contract or Hospitals that have no contracts at all and there are many. Hospitals need to have large quantities of masks at this time so they will be forced to buy them on the ‘black market.’ To justify profiteering, there are shortcomings,” POEDIN says. 

“Disgust for which the government needs to intervene because the hospitals’ low budgets will not withstand and what will happen we will run out of masks. In addition, masks are necessary for citizens if not for the coronavirus disease but also for seasonal influenza. No one can speculate on them nor on the Health Units,” POEDIN says. 

Seven arrested by Greek police for suspected attacks on migrants

The Greek Herald
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Seven arrested by Greek police for suspected attacks on migrants

Greek police arrested seven people and were searching for another two on suspicion of planning or carrying out attacks on migrants on the island of Lesvos, authorities said Friday.

Police said five Greeks and two foreigners between the ages of 17 and 24 were arrested Thursday night outside the Moria migrant camp, the largest camp for asylum-seekers in the Greek islands.

Authorities confiscated several homemade wooden bats, a metal rod and a full-face hood. Two minors, one Greek and one foreigner, were being sought as additional suspected participants.

More than 19,400 asylum-seekers live in and around Moria, a camp designed to hold just over 2,800 people. The massive overcrowding and dire conditions have led to increasing tension on the island, both among locals and the camp’s residents.

Asylum-seekers have staged demonstrations to demand transfers to mainland Greece. Island residents have held protests and a strike to press the same demand for the removal of migrants.

Under a 2016 deal between the European Union and Turkey, refugees and migrants who arrive on Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast are held there, pending deportation back to Turkey unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece.

Long delays in the asylum application process has led to major overcrowding in the camps. Greece’s 7-month-old government has vowed to speed up the handling of asylum requests and to increase the number of deportations to reduce the number of people living in the camps.

Sourced by: AP News

Shane Warne: Marcus Stoinis deserves a place in the Australia squad

The Greek Herald
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Shane Warne: Marcus Stoinis deserves a place in the Australia squad

Marcus Stoinis continued to break records during the BBL match against Sydney Thunder, passing D’Arcy Short’s record for the most runs scored in a single tournament.

The Melbourne Stars opener now has racked up an impressive 695 runs from 16 innings, dominating the BBL this tournament.

However, Marcus Stoinis missed out on the opportunity to play for Australia after not being selected in Australia’s squad for their ODI and T20I tour of South Africa.

Cricket legend Shane Warne was vocal about the poor decision by the Australian team selectors on Fox Cricket.

“We talk about the Mitch Marshes and the Glenn Maxwells of the world, and the power Australia have got,” Warne explained on Fox Cricket.

“Finch and Warner opening the batting. But this guy has got as much power as anyone playing the game in Australia and at the top of the order he is so dangerous. Bowlers would fear bowling to Marcus Stoinis.

“I like him at the top of the order. He is never going to replace Finch or Warner but I think in the ODIs and the T20s there is a big spot for Marcus Stoinis at No. 3 and I would have liked to see him have an experiment at No. 3 in the Australian side.”

Stoinis was named the Big Bash League’s player of the tournament on Monday, picking up 26 votes, beating the Sydney Sixers’ Tom Curran by two and the Thunder’s Alex Hales by 23 votes.

Warne suggested the Australian selectors might regret their squad decisions and called for him to be given an opportunity to take his time at the top of the order.

“Everyone knows he needs balls to get in, everyone knows he is probably one of the most powerful players in Australia, so why not give him the time when he is going to produce this sort of stuff for you?” Warne said.

“With so much going on with the T20 World Cup in October this year with only so many games (before it) they have got to get the team and stick with it. They might have missed the trick with Stoinis.

“They’re very spoilt for choice, the Aussies and Aaron Finch, there is a lot of quality players there. Finch and Warner are two of the best in the world at the top of the order, so you understand that with Stoinis.”

Melbourne Stars will face the Sydney Sixers Tomorrow at 7:15pm at the SCG. Marcus Stoinis will feature in the game, hoping to bring his team to a BBL title victory.

EU willing to discuss easing of Greek budget targets

The Greek Herald
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EU willing to discuss easing of Greek budget targets

The European Union’s new economy commissioner says Greece’s bailout lenders are willing to discuss a request by Athens to ease strict budget targets that would help speed up the country’s recovery.

While visiting Athens Thursday, Paolo Gentiloni said discussions could begin as soon as next month to ease the targets that were imposed to ensure Greece continues with its cost-cutting reforms and repays rescue loans provided between 2010 and 2018 by other eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund.

Gentiloni, who assumed office on Dec. 1, said the Commission was waiting for the results of an inspection into Greece’s public finances carried out last month in conjunction with the European Central Bank, a eurozone bailout fund, and the IMF.

“I think that there are all the (right) conditions to have a good report, and a good report could pave the way to decisions, and also to open the discussion about the possibility to change our targets on surplus,” Gentiloni, a former Italian prime minister, told reporters in Athens.

As part of its commitments to bailout lenders, Greece has pledged to maintain a high primary budget surplus — the annual state balance before debt servicing costs — worth 3.5% of annual GDP through 2022.

But the Greek centre-right government wants to lower that target, starting next year, arguing that the country can now tap bond markets at historically-low interest rates as its credit rating approaches investment grade.

Bailout lenders had previously been reluctant to discuss Athens’ request, fearing it could undermine the country’s reform commitment and ability to repay bailout loans as Greece struggles with a massive national debt of around 180% of GDP.

Christos Staikouras, the Greek finance minister, said the commissioner’s remarks were a vote of confidence in the seven-month old pro-reform government.

“We are regaining confidence at home and abroad … the economy is improving and stabilising,” Staikouras said. “Greece is returning to normal.”

Sourced by: AP News

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Launches Assemble 2020 – A one-day event for youth and young adults in Sydney

The Greek Herald
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The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Launches Assemble 2020 – A one-day event for youth and young adults in Sydney

“I want to give youth the opportunity to speak… I want to hear the youth.”

Archbishop Makarios, January 19, 2020

On 29th June 2019, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia welcomed a new Primate and Father in His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios, and with him, a new focus on Australia’s youth and young adult community.
“In collaboration with our blessed priests,” he shared at his enthronement, “we shall give greater emphasis to the younger generations. Young people constitute a priority for the Holy Archdiocese of Australia. They are not simply the future; they are also the present of the church”.

Now in February 2020, just eight months later, an Archdiocese-led, Australia-wide series of youth and young adult conferences are being held and drawing crowds, with Sydney’s, Assemble 2020, due to take place on 29 February 2020.

Organised in close collaboration with the youth, Sydney’s Assemble 2020 is a one-day event curated for those aged 15-40, bringing everyday people, respected clergy and academics together under the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios. In essence, Assemble 2020 seeks to provide an all-new experience, bridging the gap between the youth and the Church, dissolving myths and revealing the Truth in an open forum enabling registrants to speak freely and share with likeminded people. Testament to this is the event’s panel discussion, manned by a combination of hierarchy, clergy and respected laity.

“There is no better education than to search “as one body, and with one heart” for spiritual goals that will assist not only in this life, but also in the next,” shared Dr Dimitri Kepreotes, an Assemble 2020 session presenter. “It is not a blind search, as Orthodoxy has accumulated much wisdom throughout 2000 years. This conference combines youthful searching with God’s wisdom, which is the ‘salt and light’ of the world. For this reason, I am sure we will all look back on this event in years to come as a unique opportunity for growth in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,”.

Assemble 2020 is being hosted by St Euphemia Greek Orthodox School in Bankstown. Registration is free and essential.

For more on the event and to secure your place, head to: www.cycnsw.org.au/assembleconference

Anna Korakaki to make history as first female athlete to launch Olympic torch relay

The Greek Herald
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Anna Korakaki to make history as first female athlete to launch Olympic torch relay

Greece’s Olympic committee said Thursday it has picked Rio de Janeiro shooting gold medalist Anna Korakaki as the first torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, following the flame-lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia on March 12.

This will be the first time a woman has been chosen to launch the torch relay for the Olympic Games at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in Greece.

The carefully-choreographed ceremony is led by an actress posing as an ancient Greek priestess who lights the flame using a a bowl-shaped mirror to focus the heat of the sun’s rays on her torch. She will then pass it on to Korakaki.

The torch relay will course through Greece for a week before the flame is handed over to Tokyo organising officials at a ceremony in Athens. The last torchbearer will also be a woman — Greece’s Katerina Stefanidi who won the pole vault gold medal at Rio.

Greece’s national Olympic committee president Spyros Capralos said Korakaki’s selection was a “historic” moment.

Sourced by: AP News

European Commission expresses disappointment as Turkey continue with plans to drill in Greek EEZ

The Greek Herald
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European Commission expresses disappointment as Turkey continue with plans to drill in Greek EEZ

Ankara has provoked Greece and the international community announcing seismic research and drilling in the East Mediterranean Sea and thus in the maritime area between the Greek island of Kastelorizo and Libya.

The spokesman of President Tayyip Erdogan, Ibrahim Kalin, said on Thursday that Ankara will proceed with seismic research and drilling in the maritime area, included in the memorandum signed with Libya.

“Due to our agreement with the official Libyan government we will continue our seismic research and drilling in the eastern Mediterranean but also in the areas we have agreed with Libya. On this issue I have to stress that we are determined, ” Kalin said.

Similar statements were recently made also by the Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez.

The European Commission spoke out about the plans raised by the Turkish spokesman. ‘It is imperative that the international law of the sea, the principle of good neighbourly relations and the sovereignty and sovereign rights over the maritime zones of all neighbouring coastal states, including those generated by their islands, need to be respected, ’Josep Borrell stated on behalf of the Commission.

Under the terms of the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention, the area clearly is clearly part of Greece’s EEZ as it is within 200 miles from the coast of the island of Crete.

In direct violation of the UN Convention, Ankara has steadfastly maintained that the islands have no EEZ, a position that was rejected by the US, France, and the entire EU among others.

Sourced by: Keep Talking Greece

Adelaide United’s Nathan Konstandopoulos faces year on the sidelines after ACL tear

The Greek Herald
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Adelaide United’s Nathan Konstandopoulos faces year on the sidelines after ACL tear

23-year-old Adelaide United player Nathan Konstandopoulos has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at training.

“This is a devastating blow … the entire club feels for him during this very challenging time,” Adelaide’s football director Bruce Djite said in a statement on Thursday.

“Nathan is a talented footballer and a strong individual with fantastic character, so I know for sure he will come through this challenge and be back better than ever … it will be a long and difficult road.”

Konstandopoulos will soon consult a surgeon with the prospect of a knee reconstruction operation.

The Adelaide-born central midfielder played nine A-League games this season, taking his career total to 53 since his debut in 2013/14.

Sourced by: AAP

NSW Dept of Health issues myth-busters on coronavirus

The Greek Herald
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NSW Dept of Health issues myth-busters on coronavirus

The NSW Health has released a statement asking the public to be wary of false and misleading rumours, posts on social media and inaccurate reports regarding the spread of novel coronavirus in NSW.

NSW Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant stated that there have been multiple incorrect and alarmist social media posts regarding the spread and severity of the disease, prompting NSW Health to remind all residents to fact check.

“I ask the public to be aware of the facts about the novel coronavirus and take a moment to investigate unverified claims before they share them with others,” Dr Chant said.

Dr Chant said NSW Health was particularly keen to dispel five common myths about the novel coronavirus.

1. You should avoid Chinatown/shopping centres/suburbs with high Chinese- Australian populations – FALSE.

While four cases have been diagnosed in NSW to date, patients have been isolated until no longer infectious and there is no evidence that community transmission is occurring in NSW.

2. You can get the novel coronavirus from an imported package of food – FALSE.

The novel coronavirus does not appear to last very long on surfaces. Therefore imported products do not pose a risk of transmission of this virus.

3. Garlic and sesame oil will stop me from contracting novel coronavirus – FALSE.

The best way to protect yourself is the same as you would against any respiratory infection. Practice good hygiene by:

  • Covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or a flexed elbow;
  • Making sure to clean your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub; and
  • Avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.

4. The virus has mutated into a more lethal strain – FALSE.

This was debunked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

5. Can I catch novel coronavirus from my pet? FALSE.

While the 2019-nCoV may have come from animals, domestic pets do not pose a risk of transmission in Australia.

Dr Chant said while there is still much to be learned about this strain, the illness appears less severe than SARS or MERS, and many people with the disease may have a mild illness.

All four confirmed cases in NSW were isolated after diagnosis and pose no ongoing threat of transmitting the infection.

“Further, anyone departing mainland China from 1 February 2020 is under 14 days home isolation, and NSW Health is screening arrivals from mainland China at Sydney International Airport,” Dr Chant said.

Since Sunday 2 February, a total of 7,397 people have been assessed at Sydney International Airport. A total of 39 were sent for testing.

This includes testing conducted yesterday (5 February) where 1,672 arrivals from mainland China were assessed at Sydney International Airport. 13 were sent for testing.

“Close contacts of the confirmed cases have been contacted by local Public Health Units and appropriate advice has been supplied.”

Health workers in NSW public hospitals and community-based GPs have been issued advice to help them identify any cases and apply careful infection control measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

You can find more facts regarding the virus by visiting NSW Health’s dedicated novel coronavirus page at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

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