Search
Home Blog Page 1404

Volunteers at Saint Nectarios Burwood receive Federal funding for IT upgrade

The Greek Herald
-
0
Volunteers at Saint Nectarios Burwood receive Federal funding for IT upgrade

Dr Fiona Martin MP, Member for Reid, has announced that volunteers from the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Saint Nectarios Burwood have received $3,200 through the Morrison Government’s Volunteer Grants.

The federal funding will be used to purchase computers and IT equipment to support the work of volunteers when serving the parish and broader community. Parish volunteers provide vital services, events and activities for the community’s seniors, youth, children, families and those in need of support.

Dr Martin said that Saint Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church has a strong culture of volunteering and giving back that spans across generations.

“The Saint Nectarios community is special because I have met families at the parish that have three generations volunteering together,” Dr Martin stated.

Dr Martin with Ms Penelopy Kioussis at the church’s re-opening following restoration works last year.

“In a time where people are isolated due to social distancing, our church communities are relying on technology to continue their social outreach and volunteering. I know that this grant will be well utilised by the parish volunteers.”  

The Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Burwood and District was established in 1970 to serve the spiritual, cultural, educational and social needs of the local and broader Greek community.

The Morrison Government’s Volunteer Grant funding has coincided with Saint Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church’s 50th anniversary since it was first established.

President of the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Burwood and District, Ms Penelopy Kioussis, said that the IT upgrade will help volunteers stay connected to the community.  

 “Our volunteers have been operating without the provision of any computer resources, so we’re extremely grateful to have secured this Volunteer Grant for $3,200.”

“The purchase of a laptop and software will support all our volunteers in their work and in the delivery of projects and services. It will support minute taking, drafting correspondence, the creation of communications materials, as well as website and social media maintenance,” Ms Kioussis said.

The new IT equipment will also support the live broadcast of Church services, which has become essential during COVID-19 where social distancing has limited members of the community attending services in person.

“It is a crucial way for our Parishioners to stay connected to their faith during these challenging times,” Ms Kioussis said.

“What a wonderful 50th anniversary gift to our Parish and Community! We sincerely thank the Member for Reid for her support.”

Melbourne’s Greek community condemns racism against Indigenous Australians

Andriana Simos
-
0
Melbourne’s Greek community condemns racism against Indigenous Australians

The Greek Community of Melbourne has condemned racism against Indigenous Australians and all ethnic communities in a statement released today.

In the statement, the Community stressed that it is against the “inherent corrosive effects” of racism on all ethnic and Indigenous communities in Australia, and adds that the current plight of the First Nations people “needs urgent redress.”

Here is the full statement:

“Australians of Greek background, who historically can be considered as recent arrivals to this great country have prospered from opportunities afforded to them.

Given this, the current plight of the First Nations people stands out all the more as a situation needing urgent redress. 

As highlighted in recent media reports, our indigenous community has suffered discrimination which continues to have adverse effects on their well-being in terms of education, physical and mental health as well as economic endeavour.

The Greek Community of Melbourne condemns racism and its inherent corrosive effects on all our ethnic communities but in particular our indigenous community.”

Fire destroys historic Byzantine monastery in Central Greece

Andriana Simos
-
0
Fire destroys historic Byzantine monastery in Central Greece

A fire has destroyed a section of the Byzantine Monastery of Panagia Varnakova in Fokida, central Greece, after breaking out after 11pm on Sunday.

According to the local fire service, the fire began on the roof of the monastery and quickly spread to its church, destroying an ancient icon of the Panagia and some precious relics.

A fire has destroyed a section of the Byzantine Monastery of Panagia Varnakova in Fokida, central Greece. Source: Orthodoxia.info.

Firefighters evacuated the building and no injuries have been reported so far. The section of the monastery that was burned by the fire dates back to the 11th century.

The Metropolitan Bishop of Fokida, Theoktistos, has praised the excellent work of the firefighters.

”We are grateful to firefighters for they came immediately and deterred the worse situations which could have taken place,” Bishop Theoktistos said.

Mayor of Dorida, Giorgos Kapetsonis, also added that the swift intervention of the firefighters stopped the fire before it spread to the surrounding forest.

The monastery has been impacted by fire before in January 2017, when flames destroyed several rooms, including the library.

The monastery was built in 1077 and is situated on Mount Vardoussia some 25km northeast of Nafpaktos.

Milton Orkopoulos to face court on 15 new child sex abuse offences

Andriana Simos
-
0
Milton Orkopoulos to face court on 15 new child sex abuse offences

Former NSW Labor minister and convicted sex offender, Milton Orkopoulos, will face court today after being charged with 15 new child sex abuse offences.

Police allege Orkopoulos sexually and indecently assaulted two juvenile boys known to him on separate occasions in the 1990s at locations in Lake Macquarie and on the NSW mid-north coast.

The 62-year-old has been charged with 15 offences including aggravated indecent assault with person under 16 years of age, committing an act of indecency with person under 16 years, aggravated sexual assault and three counts of causing a child aged under 14 to participate in child prostitution.

Lake Macquarie Police District commander, Superintendent Danny Sullivan, said it takes tremendous courage for victims of sexual crimes to come forward to police.

Milton Orkopoulos will face court today via video link.

“As you would expect, coming forward in relation to being a victim of a sexual offence is a very traumatic experience,” said Superintendent Sullivan. “We are very thankful for the courage shown.”

He also said he could not elaborate on the charges of causing a child to participate in child prostitution.

“They’re very difficult matters and they arise directly from the investigation, and they’ll be put before the court as that person has now been charged.”

Orkopoulos was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court via audio-visual link on Tuesday.

The convicted paedophile spent 11-and-a-half years in jail after he was convicted of 30 child sex, drug and child porn offences.

He was granted parole in December 2019, but was then re-arrested in January for allegedly setting up an Instagram account and not telling police within the required seven days.

He had his parole revoked in February after Corrective Services NSW officers told police he used the mobile phone of a fellow resident at the Malabar halfway house where he lives.

Orkopoulos served in Parliament from 1999 to 2006 and was a Lake Macquarie councillor for four years.

THE LATEST:

Orkopoulos has been refused bail after appeared briefly in Newcastle Local Court today via audio-visual link from Sydney’s Long Bay prison.

Magistrate John Chicken adjourned the case to August 20 when the police brief of evidence against Orkopoulos was expected to be complete.

Mr Chicken ordered authorities to assess Orkopoulos for mental health issues.

First tourists arrive in Greece as Athens and Thessaloniki airports open

Andriana Simos
-
0
First tourists arrive in Greece as Athens and Thessaloniki airports open

Greece reopened its main airports to more international flights on Monday, hoping to kick-start its vital tourism sector after three months in lockdown.

The first flight to the Alexander the Great airport in Thessaloniki on Monday, arrived to great fanfare after departing from Munich, Germany.

First flight carrying tourists for Summer 2020 arrives to fanfare at Thessaloniki’s Alexander the Great Airport on Monday. Source: AMNA.

The passengers were welcomed by political officials from Thessaloniki and Greece’s Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Chardalias, and the flight was also celebrated with a water arch.

“I’m happy to be back in Greece to see my loved ones,” Elias Tsigas, one of the passengers among the flight’s 164 travelers, told local website thestival.gr.

US tourist, Chris Saye, added: “Well it’s great, it’s like freedom,” as he landed at Athens’ main airport after arriving from Paris with his wife.

Tourists arriving at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens. Source: Reuters.

Passengers arriving from airports deemed high-risk by the European Union’s aviation safety agency, including airports in the Paris region, are tested for the coronavirus on arrival and quarantined for up to 14 days, depending on the result.

Arrivals from other airports are randomly tested. People are still barred from flying in from Britain and Turkey.

READ MORE: Greek PM: My message to you is very simple. Come to Greece.

Kilometer-long queues at Greek-Bulgarian border crossing:

According to local media, visitors to Greece weren’t just arriving by air.

Long queues of cars and lorries formed at Makaza and Kulata checkpoints at Bulgaria’s border with Greece on Monday, as visitors hoped to cross.

Kilometer-long queues formed at the Greek-Bulgarian border crossing. Source: BNT News.

The queues at the checkpoints at the Bulgarian border began forming in the early morning, with travellers not knowing that the Greek border opening was scheduled for 12am. The border opening was brought forward to 11am.

Data from the traffic police shows that between 12 and 15,000 people crossed the border through Kulata checkpoint.

Melbourne real estate agent Kristiana Karakostas avoids jail over cocaine trafficking on Craigslist

Andriana Simos
-
0
Melbourne real estate agent Kristiana Karakostas avoids jail over cocaine trafficking on Craigslist

Melbourne real estate agent Kristiana Karakostas, who organised drug deals online, has been spared jail because of her efforts to turn her life around.

Karakostas, 27, used coded messages to advertise drugs on Craigslist and then organised deals to sell cocaine and N-Ethylpentylone in February and March 2017, and one day sold $350 of cocaine to an undercover police officer.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and one of dealing with the proceeds of crime, and was on Friday put on a three-year community correction order.

Kristiana Karakostas had her real estate membership stripped by Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

She must complete 150 hours of unpaid work as part of the community order.

County Court judge Irene Lawson said Karakostas’ crimes would normally warrant a jail term, but her “extraordinary” effort at overcoming a cocaine addiction through drug treatment meant a stint in prison would be counter productive.

“You are a person who has made major life changes, you have re-assessed your values and you’re now committed to a more law-abiding lifestyle,” she said.

Judge Lawson did, however, grant police permission to seize Karakostas’ $20,000 BMW, as prosecutors argued the car was tainted property because it was connected to the drug trafficking.

Karakostas’ employer, Woodards, is standing by her but the Real Estate Institute of Victoria has stripped her membership and will take from her an award she won last year for novice auctioneers.

Karakostas can still work as an agent despite having her REIV membership cancelled.

READ MORE: Kristiana Karakostas dumped by Real Estate Institute after pleading guilty to peddling cocaine on Craigslist.

The National Archaeological Museum celebrates the Greek War of Independence bicentennial

Andriana Simos
-
0
The National Archaeological Museum celebrates the Greek War of Independence bicentennial

After three months of COVID-19 lockdown, museums in Greece are scheduled to reopen to the public on June 15, 2020.

One of the shows worth (re)visiting is the temporary exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) in Athens titled “For these we fought for… Antiquities and the Greek War of Independence,” which was opened as part of the Museum’s celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.

The exhibition aims to elucidate the various aspects of the multidimensional relationship of the Greek people with antiquities, and is inspired by a phrase attributed to a legendary figure of the Greek Revolution, General Yiannis Makrygiannis, who advised Greek fighters not to sell or give away any of Greece’s antiquities.

Twenty-six selected antiquities (22 marble sculptures and reliefs, 2 clay vases, 2 bronze figurines) from the collections of the National Archaeological Museum are being showcased in an eclectic dialogue with twenty-six recent works of the 18th and 19th century, most of them by European artists: 8 paintings (oil and water color ones), 11 austere engravings, 4 illustrated editions and 3 artifacts of decorative art.

It is worth noting that the exhibition reaches its completion with the winged goddess Nike (the personification of victory) as an emblematic symbol of the Greek people’s successful struggle.

The special focus placed on the divine figure of Nike is also no coincidence as it is the connecting link with the Museum’s upcoming exhibition that shall be inaugurated on September 29 to mark the 2,500 years since the Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis.

As the Museum’s director, Maria Lagogianni, explains: “The concept of Nike will function as the connecting link between the different narratives of the exhibitions. The winged goddess of the Greeks will bridge the anniversary exhibitions, offering timeless symbols of those things that move and inspire people.”

READ MORE: The Battle of Thermopylae 2500 Year Anniversary Competition.

The exhibition “For these we fought for… Antiquities and the Greek War of Independence” has been scheduled to run until July 5, 2020. After it closes, it will be presented throughout 2021 as a digital exhibition on the Museum’s website.

Tsitsipas crushes Paire to close out day one of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown

Andriana Simos
-
0
Tsitsipas crushes Paire to close out day one of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown

Greek world no.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first match at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), beating French opponent Benoit Paire three sets to one.

Nicknamed “The Greek God” by the tournament, Tsitsipas skillfully used his selected UTS cards, ‘-1 serve’ and ‘Steal serve,’ to gain the upper hand during the match and claim victory over an increasingly frustrated Paire.

Tsitsipas took out the first and second sets 24-4 and 21-6 respectively, but Paire got his first break of the match in the third set with a win of 13-14. However, Tsitsipas ultimately took out the fourth and final set 15-9.

When asked about his thoughts on the match, Paire said: “It was good until the fourth set. I think he’s (Tsitsipas) ready to win the US Open already and not me.”

Tsitsipas is now preparing to play against Frenchman Gasquet in the second round of the UTS.

Organised by Greek-French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the UTS brings real competitive matches between ten of the world’s best tennis professionals straight to people’s homes through live streams.

Vandals destroy marble columns at ancient Greek city in Albania

Andriana Simos
-
0
Vandals destroy marble columns at ancient Greek city in Albania

Unknown vandals in Albania have caused “irreparable” damage to a monument in ancient Apollonia near the town of Fieri, Albanian authorities announced over the weekend.

The director of the archaeological site was quoted as saying that “the damage is irreparable,” as ancient marble columns at the nymphaion of the site were broken. The nymphaion, in ancient Greece, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.

The President of Albania, Ilir Meta, has condemned the act and called it barbaric.

According to Albanian authorities, the act of vandalism must have occurred during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic but it was only recently discovered.

The theatre at the ancient city of Apollonia.

Approval has been given by the Albanian Ministry of Culture to try and restore the Ancient Greek monument.

Apollonia was founded in 588 BC by Greek colonists from Corfu and Corinth on a site where native Illyrian tribes lived and was perhaps the most important of the several classical towns known as Apollonia.

It was a self-governing and independent city for many centuries until it was first incorporated into the Kingdom of Epirus and later, the Kingdom of Macedonia. It was a very well-governed city and flourished because of its rich agricultural hinterland and its role in the slave trade.

Apollonia flourished in the Roman period and was home to a renowned school of philosophy, but began to decline in the 3rd century AD when its harbor started silting up as a result of an earthquake. It was abandoned by the end of Late Antiquity.

Greek PM: My message to you is very simple. Come to Greece.

The Greek Herald
-
0
Greek PM: My message to you is very simple. Come to Greece.

The safety of tourists is a top priority for Greece as it opens its airports to foreign visitors, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday on a visit to the popular holiday island of Santorini.

International flights to and from the country’s main airports will resume on June 15, after a nearly three-month lockdown. Accounting for about 20 percent of Greece’s economic output, tourism is vital for the Mediterranean nation, which emerged from a decade-long debt crisis in 2018.

“It is a great pleasure to be here in Santorini… to send a message: Greece is ready to welcome tourists this summer by putting their safety and their health as a number one priority,” Mitsotakis said.

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, touring the archaeological site of Akrotiri in Santorini. Source: Reuters.

Famous for its sunsets and black sandy beaches, the volcanic island draws millions of tourists each year.

Greece has boosted numbers of medical staff on its popular islands. Mitsotakis, wearing a surgical mask, also visited health facilities and doctors on Santorini.

READ MORE: Greece to accept tourists from Australia and 28 other countries as of June 15.

The country will conduct coronavirus tests on all visitors arriving from airports deemed high-risk by the European Union’s aviation safety agency EASA from Monday. Visitors will be quarantined up to 14 days, depending on the test result.

Passengers arriving from all other airports will be randomly tested. 

About 33 million tourists visited Greece last year, generating revenues of 19 billion euros.

Restrictions on movement imposed in March helped Greece contain the spread of COVID-19 infections to just above 3,000 cases, a relatively low number compared with elsewhere in the European Union. But it brought its business and tourism sector to a virtual standstill and the country now expects its economy to shrink by up to 13 percent this year.

Source: Reuters.

1...1,4031,4041,405...1,543Page 1,404 of 1,543

Stay connected:

Other

© 2024 The Greek Herald. All rights reserved.