Arthur Bozikas has beta-thalassemia major, a rare genetic disorder that reduces the body’s ability to produce enough healthy red blood cells.
Although the 60-year-old was told he wouldn’t live to experience adulthood, medical discoveries and over 700 blood transfusions since birth have seen him live a fulfilling life.
But as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Australia, the number of blood donations continues to drop, jeopardising the lives of people like Mr Bozikas.
“Car accidents are not going to stop, cancer is not going to stop, patients like myself are going to continue needing blood,” Mr Bozikas told ABC News.
According to the national broadcaster, only half the people making appointments end up giving blood and more than 4,500 appointments are not being filled every day.
In response, the Australian Red Cross are changing the rules to allow blood donations sooner after having COVID-19.
Until now, people who’ve had the virus had to wait until they were fully recovered plus another 28 days before giving blood.
But from Sunday, once you’re better you’ll just need to wait seven days before booking an appointment.
Iain Gosbell, who is the Director of Donor and Blood Safety at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, said this decision was a ‘safe’ one and he’s hoping more people will now consider helping others.
First announced in Federal Parliament as part of its 2019-20 Budget, the Greek Community of Melbourne’s Hellenic Chair in Diasporic Studies at the University of Melbourne has taken the next important step in its establishment by announcing that it is now on a global search for a leading academic to be appointed Chair in the Studies of the Hellenic Global Diaspora.
Importantly, the Chair will also bear the name of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM). This is an important step in the continued development of the GCM’s educational programs, which now range from pre-Prep through to Tertiary.
The $2.5 million grant that was secured by the GCM has been directly paid to the University of Melbourne and the University has in turn placed the moneys into a Trust Fund. The University is also contributing a substantial amount to fund the ongoing cost of running and administrating the Chair.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison (sixth from left) with members of the GCM Board.
“We thank the Morrison Government for all of its support and efforts in helping realise the Chair,” the GCM said in a statement.
“We would like to also thank the University of Melbourne for its willingness to support and co-fund the Chair.
“It is also important to acknowledge the efforts of the GCM staff and Board members who contributed to the long run up. In particular, we acknowledge and thank GCM Board members, Costas Markos, Bill Papastergiadis OAM and Dr Nick Dallas and Professor Nikos Papastergiadis whose tireless efforts, enthusiasm and hard work were crucial in the establishment of the Chair.”
Dr Nick Dallas sits on the Committee for the Chair at Melbourne University.
The University of Melbourne.
The Melbourne University Chair complements the work the Greek Community of Melbourne has done with many others, including the Archdiocese, in saving and advancing Greek Studies at La Trobe University. Bill Papastergiadis and Spiros Papadopoulos continue to sit on the La Trobe University Greek Studies Board along with many other community persons.
In the statement, the GCM also added that the settlement has taken place with the new building at 272 Russell Street. The Russell Street building will extend the work of the Greek Centre housing a cultural Hub that will look to attract young and old alike.
The purchase was funded primarily by the Federal and State Government to help establish the Hub in the city near the Greek Centre.
Over 54,840 students in New South Wales received their Higher School Certificate (HSC) results at 6am this morning, signifying the end of their high school journey.
This year, 48 students got the highest possible ATAR of 99.95. One of them was Billy Bourdaniotis from St Spyridon College in Maroubra.
Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald this morning, Billy said he didn’t expect a rank of 99.95 until he put his marks into an online ATAR calculator.
“I kept refreshing the UAC page to make sure it was real, to see if it would magically go down or something,” he said, adding that he called his parents as soon as he got his results and “they were ecstatic.”
Billy said this is the first time St Spyridon College has ever received a 99.95 ATAR. His first preference is to do a degree in actuarial studies at university.
“I’m just in shock, to be honest, I didn’t expect this at all,” he said.
And Billy isn’t alone. Picnic Point High student, Victoria Sakis, also received a 99.00 ATAR when HSC results were released this morning.
“My friend Henry and I were both hoping to get over 85, so I freaked out when I got my ATAR and my bands,” Victoria told the newspaper.
The Year 12 graduate now hopes to study Law at the University of New South Wales this year and is looking forward to getting the full university experience after two years of online learning.
Meanwhile, Isander Mesimeris from Sydney Grammar School also received a 99.95 ATAR this morning and he said it has given him a lot of options for deciding what he wants to do this year.
“I think I am going to go to Sydney University and study Arts and Law, or maybe a medicine degree… I am interested in a medicine degree even though I didn’t take any sciences,” Mesimeris said.
Isander Mesimeris.
Mesimeris, who also came first in the state in Classical Greek Continuers and Classical Greek Extension, said his other top priority moving into 2022 was to travel.
“I want the first ticket to France … I have spent so long learning the language and I have never been,” he said.
Alexander Watson from Newington College also achieved a high ATAR of 97.10, the Vice Captain of St Euphemia College, Phoebe Divanis, achieved an ATAR of 98.75, Sarah Anastasiou from St Catherine’s School Waverley received 99.45 ATAR, and Alix Anastasiadis from Kambala received an ATAR of 98.8.
These fantastic results come after The Greek Herald reported on Wednesday that seven Greek Australian students also came first in the state for their HSC subjects this year.
Other Distinguished Achievers:
St Spyridon College:
Alannah Vezos
Anna-Simone Mina
Anneta Maroulis
Athena Demetriou
Billy Bourdaniotis
Chanele Bteddini
Christo-Odysseus Keramitzis
Demi Micos
Elena Kaldis
Elise Georgiou
Elleni Mouskos
Franklin Pyliotis
George Nicholos
James Bletsas
Lexine Turner
Maria Angela Patsalis
Mary Diamond
Mihalis Dovellos
Stephen Koutoulogenis
Taylor Marinos
Teoni Antonopoulos
Valentina Spyridopoulos
Vicki Synesios
All Saints Grammar:
Abbigayle Botonakis-Borg
Alexandros Bardas
Deena Tzimoulas
Elizabeth Parzakonis
Gina Zhang
Macrina Stivaktas
Petroula Boulougouris
Samantha Gianoudis
Victoria Hatziergatis
Zoey Sampsonis
St Euphemia College:
Andjela Trazivuk
Christopher Thomas
Chrysovalantou Gabriella Giamas
Dimitra Galanopoulos
Dimitrios Vourtsanis
Eleftheria Papoutsaki
Grammatiki Moysiadou
Konstantinos Zisopoulos
Phoebe Divanis
Rafaella Kladis
Styliani Koliris
Vasos Kartambis
Zoe Anastasia Janes
*Please Note: The above students are those The Greek Herald could identify by their Greek name. If you believe you should be on this list, please send an email to info@foreignlanguage.com.au.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating supply chain interference for rapid antigen tests (RAT) to businesses in South Australia.
This comes after The Advertiserexclusively revealed that millions of dollars of RAT tests bound for SA had gone missing, with interstate governments accused of requisitioning them at Sydney and Melbourne airports for their own staff.
According to the President of the Pharmacy Guild SA, Nick Panayiaris, orders have also failed to arrive at chemists, with the industry scrambling to catch up with public demand.
A rapid antigen test.
“It has become so bad outlets are having to take their phones off the hook to provide basic services like dispensing medicines,” Mr Panayiaris told the newspaper.
“One outlet had a $480,000 RATs confirmed order put off today… one supplier I talked to today has lost three flights entirely full of RAT tests.
“We are on the case every single day and being told there are none, and government is announcing every day around the country that they have millions.”
South Australian Premier, Steven Marshall, has called for an independent investigation into these claims.
The ACCC investigation comes after SA Premier, Steven Marshall, called for an independent investigation into the claims of interference on Wednesday.
Mr Marshall told FIVEaa that “any interference with our supply of rapid antigen tests to South Australia is completely and utterly unacceptable.”
“We’ve got to be doing everything we can to make sure that we’ve got the right access here in South Australia…” he said.
No government has yet admitted to using their emergency powers to requisition SA tests, and Mr Marshall said Victoria and NSW denied the claims.
In some exciting news for Victoria’s Greek community, the Fairfield Amphitheatre will be placed on the Victorian Heritage Register after the Heritage Council determined the site had state-level cultural heritage significance.
This decision comes after months of hard work from local advocates, politicians, supporters and the wider Greek community, who petitioned the Heritage Council to stop Yarra City Council’s plan to redevelop the 480-seat, ancient Greek-style amphitheatre.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Council planned to pull apart some of the amphitheatre’s adjoining pavilion to accommodate a bigger storage shed for the Ivanhoe and Northcote Canoe Club Yarra Paddlers.
But Victorians came out fighting and amongst those pushing for the heritage listing were Helen Madden from the Stork Theatre, who originally set up the amphitheatre, Kat Theophanous MP, Lee Tarlamis MP, Ged Kearney MP, the Greek Community of Melbourne and NUGAS, as well as many others.
In a Facebook post, Ms Theophanous said she’s so happy everyone pushed for the amphitheatre “to be recognised and preserved both for its history and multicultural significance, but also what it means for our creative industries to have this space to work and perform.”
“I’m so happy this spectacular cultural asset and celebration of our diverse and creative community in the inner north is being recognised, preserved and protected – may it thrive for generations to come,” she said.
The Fairfield Amphitheatre was built in 1985 on the banks of the Yarra River, after Ms Madden and the local Greek community worked with the then-Northcote Council to secure funding to design and construct it. The seats also use original bluestone from the streets of Northcote.
Since then, the amphitheatre has hosted hundreds of outdoor performances, including Greek-language plays and the first professional bilingual theatre event series in Australia. It also has the support of the Greek Ministry of Culture in Athens.
Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne was action packed with a number of Greek fan-favourites fighting for their place in the next round of the tournament.
Among those playing were Greek tennis sensation, Maria Sakkari, and Australian doubles team, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Elsewhere, at the Traralgon Junior International, Greek-Belgian Sofia Kostoula also won the singles title.
Here is The Greek Herald’s wrap up of their matches.
Maria Sakkari through to round three of the Australian Open:
Greek fifth seed, Maria Sakkari, defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the Australia Open, despite a late scare at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday night.
Zheng started an eventful first game with an ace. Of the 16 points, she hit three winners, forced five errors but also committed four unforced errors.
After Sakkari held from 30-all for 1-1, she took control. Two love holds sandwiched around a more complicated game gave Sakkari the set.
Zheng took a medical timeout at the end of the first.
Sakkari needed to maintain her intensity and did so at 4-2, 15-30, ripping a backhand crosscourt. Up against it, Zheng stepped it up even more, her lasers giving her a break point at 3-5 — and converting — after saving three match points.
Back on serve and with a game point, Sakkari responded by taking the last three points.
“It felt much better than last match,” Sakkari said in a post-match interview, before thanking Greek fans for their support.
“It’s actually my home tournament… I know it sounds weird saying that, but I don’t have a tournament back home. It feels like I’m at home back here.
“We all know that Melbourne has a very large Greek community and I’m very pleased and grateful to have them behind me.”
Sakkari will now face 28th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the third round.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios off to a winning start in Australian Open doubles:
Excited fans lined up to see Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in men’s doubles action at the Australian Open on Wednesday and the Aussie duo did not disappoint.
A capacity Court 3 crowd at Melbourne Park were treated to an entertaining first-round clash, as Kokkinakis and Kyrgios defeated fellow Australians Alex Bolt and James McCabe 6-4 6-2.
The Special Ks, as they are affectionately known, served 11 aces and conceded only six points across their nine service games.
Of course, in typical Kyrgios style, there were also plenty of laughs during the 71-minute encounter. For example, before the coin toss, chair umpire Alison Hughes was pressed on the four compatriots’ bicep benchmarks at the gym.
“Do you have any questions gentlemen?” Hughes asked.
“Who do you reckon does the biggest curls out of us here?” Kyrgios replied.
“Oh I’m not going into that,” Hughes laughed.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios first teamed up at an Australian Open nine years ago in both the boys’ doubles and main draw doubles.
Later that year, the pair teamed up to win the boys’ doubles at Wimbledon and since rejoined forces for the 2015 and 2021 Australian Opens, the latter at which they won their first Grand Slam main draw match together.
“Playing with him is always an experience,” Kokkinakis said ahead of their first-round match on Wednesday.
The duo’s win set a second-round clash against top-seeded Croatians Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic.
Sofia Kostoula wins Traralgon Junior International singles tournament:
Sofia Kostoula.
Young Greek Bulgarian, Sofia Kostoula, won the singles title at the Traralgon Junior International tournament on Wednesday. The tournament is held in preparation for the Australian Open Junior competition.
In the final match, the 16-year-old prevailed over Canada’s Kalya Cross 6-4, 6-2.
Earlier in the week, Kostoula also eliminated Russia’s Diana Schnaider in the quarterfinals, No. 3 in the world ranking of juniors, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. It also took three sets in the semi-finals to beat Australian Taylah Preston 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
This win was Kostoula’s first ITF J1 title and the most important so far in her career.
The Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, has been awarded the prestigious Genesis Prize 2022 for his efforts in leading the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The $1 million Genesis Prize is awarded by The Genesis Foundation each year to a person for their professional achievements, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish values.
In a statement, the Foundation’s selection committee said Bourla received the highest number of votes in a recent online campaign which saw over 200,000 people from 71 countries participate.
The committee commended Bourla “for his leadership, determination and especially for his willingness to assume great risks.”
“Unlike CEOs of most other major companies working on developing COVID-19 vaccines, Dr Bourla declined billions of dollars in US federal subsidies in order to avoid government bureaucracy and expedite development and production of the vaccine,” the statement said.
“As a result, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was ready in record time: months instead of years.”
Bourla, who is the Greek-born son of Holocaust survivors, has asked that the money go toward preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, “with a particular emphasis on the tragedy suffered by the Greek Jewish community.”
“I did not set out to live a public life, and I never could have imagined that I might one day receive the profound honour of the Genesis Prize and stand alongside my extraordinary fellow nominees,” Bourla said after the announcement.
Deeply grateful to receive @TheGenesisPrize. Thank you to the Genesis Foundation for donating the prize funds to the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki—in memory of my parents, the values of life and community that they passed on to me and in remembrance of the Holocaust in Greece. pic.twitter.com/LSYuLdazLa
“I accept it humbly and on behalf of all my Pfizer colleagues who answered the urgent call of history these past two years and together bent the arc of our common destiny.”
Bourla joins a list of business leaders, artists and entertainers to win the prize. Last year’s winner was Hollywood mogul Steven Spielberg.
The newly appointed Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, met with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on Wednesday in Athens.
In statements after the meeting, Kasoulides said he and Dendias had the opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of issues, including bilateral relations, the Cyprus issue, addressing Turkish challenges, and the deepening of multilateral cooperation formations.
With regards to bilateral relations between Cyprus and Greece, Kasoulides said they were clear and unambiguous.
“Cyprus and Greece maintain an automatic coordination and consultation mechanism. Both on national issues and on issues on our European and regional agenda,” he said.
The pair also reviewed the prevailing situation in the turbulent geographical basin of the Eastern Mediterranean, “where Cyprus and Greece remain stable pillars of security and stability.”
The newly appointed Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides (right), met with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on Wednesday in Athens.
“Our cooperation with other states in the region, starting with Egypt and Israel, has expanded and now extends to a very wide geographic spectrum,” the Greek Foreign Minister said about the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that the 3+1 framework (Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the United States) is a milestone of multilateralism.
Dendias also assured Kasoulides of Greece’s support for the reunification of the island as a bizonal, bicommunal federation, calling it a “fair and sustainable solution.”
After this meeting between the two Foreign Ministers, Kasoulides also met with Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Greek President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Mitsotakis congratulated Kasoulides on the assumption of his duties “after two previous, long and, by all accounts, successful terms.”
Kasoulides reprised his role as Cyprus’ foreign minister after Nikos Christodoulides resigned on January 11. Greece was his first official stop since taking office.
French-built fighter jets roared over the Acropolis on Wednesday as Greece races to modernise its military and flaunts new security alliances aimed at keeping neighbouring Turkey in check.
Six advanced Rafale jets, purchased from the French air force, flew in low formation over Athens before their official handover to the Greek armed forces at Tanagra Air Base.
French-built fighter jets roared over the Acropolis.
“These new warplanes make our air force one of the strongest in Europe and the Mediterranean, and seal the Greek-French defense agreement,” Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said at the ceremony.
Mitsotakis, who also announced tax breaks for members of the defence forces, police, coast guard and firefighters, said the Rafale deal was even contributing to Europe’s strategy for autonomy.
Mitsotakis at the arrival ceremony. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.
The event was broadcast live on private and state-run television. Fire trucks greeted the aircraft with a water salute at the base, where the local Greek Orthodox bishop led a blessing ceremony. The message “Welcome home” was also beamed from the control tower.
The multirole combat aircraft with a distinctive triangle-shaped wing were the first major delivery to result from multi-billion euro defence deals the Greek and French governments sealed last year.
Η αμυντική πολιτική είναι μέλος της εθνικής πολιτικής, γιατί πεποίθηση αυτής της κυβέρνησης ήταν και είναι πως η οικονομική και κοινωνική ανάπτυξη της Ελλάδος πρέπει να πλαισιώνεται από τη θωράκιση της ασφάλειάς της και την ανάταση της εθνικής της αξιοπρέπειας. #Rafalepic.twitter.com/06N2MaV0aS
Greece has earmarked nearly 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) to buy 18 Rafale jets, 12 from the French air force and six newly built by Paris-based military contractor Dassault.
Greece also plans to acquire six more Rafale jets at a later date and to spend an additional 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to buy three new French-made frigates.
Μαζί με τον ομόλογό μου της Κύπρου @IKasoulides βλέπουμε από το μπαλκόνι του Υπουργείου Εξωτερικών τα #Rafale της Πολεμικής Αεροπορίας, συνοδευόμενα από Mirage 2000-5, να διασχίζουν τον αττικό ουρανό. pic.twitter.com/a3gVE0vpEp
The French-built jets were also welcomed by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who posted a photograph on Twitter of their flight over downtown Athens from his office balcony, where he was joined by his new Cypriot counterpart, Ioannis Kasoulides.
French Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, also sent a message of congratulations to Mitsotakis on Twitter writing: “Thank you, dear Kyriakos, for this confidence in France and its jewel in the aeronautics industry, in the defence of Europe that we are in the process of building.”
In a special feature by The Sydney Morning Herald, Con Theocharous and Alex Khlentzos both share how their lives were influenced many years ago when they received their Higher School Certificate (HSC) scores.
Mr Theocharous, a proud Cypriot Australian, graduated in 1981 from Sydney Grammar School with a top mark of 486. He finished in the top one percent of the state of New South Wales.
“It was a life-changing experience for us. We needed to work to make it, so it was elation,” Mr Theocharous tells SMH journalists, Natassia Chrysanthos and Monica Attia, about the moment he found out his results.
Con Theocharous and Alex Khlentzos topped the HSC years ago.
At the time, Mr Theocharous’ parents wanted him to become a teacher but he followed in his brother’s footsteps instead and studied a five-year medical course at the University of Sydney.
“I chose pathology as a career and I was very focused on that as well – internships, residences, five years of specialist training. And I’ve been in one job since then, at St George Hospital in Kogarah all along,” he said.
Twenty years later in 2001, Alex Khlentzos, a student from Armidale High School, came along and topped the state in two subjects – mathematics and biology.
Alex Khlentzos is now a GP in Dubbo.
Khlentzos remembers leafing through university guides to determine his next steps: he landed on a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland, majoring in drug design and development.
But after two years working at the university’s therapeutic research, he realised it wasn’t the right path and decided to study medicine at the University of Sydney instead.
These days he works as a GP in Dubbo and says it’s not a career but “a vocation or calling.”
“Having that chance to care for people who are incredibly valuable, I think that’s just wonderful,” Khlentzos concluded.
