Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, has instructed the Greek Embassy in Ankara to issue a protest demarche over illegal fishing by Turkish fishing boats inside Greece’s territorial waters, the ministry said on Monday.
“Regrettably, Turkey persists with its illegal behavior,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Committed to defending its rights under international law, Greece will leave no challenge unanswered.”
Ι also underlined the reprehensible practice by vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard to accompany the Turkish fishing boats and harass the Greek fishing boats. (2/3)
The news follows a formal diplomatic note on Sunday against the harassment by Turkish warships of the Maltese-flagged Nautical Geo research ship of French interests.
The vessel was conducting research in an area east of the island of Crete in the context of mapping the possible course of the EastMed pipeline.
Greek authorities have begun moving asylum-seekers living in a squalid camp on the island of Samos into a new facility on the island, where access will be more strictly controlled.
About 200 people were to be moved to the new camp in the hills of Samos on Monday, with around 200 more scheduled to be transferred on Tuesday.
Authorities have stressed the new camp, dubbed a “closed controlled access center” and built to house 3,000 people, will have far better facilities than the old, dilapidated camp on the edge of the island’s main town.
Migrants wait outside the new closed monitored facility in Zervou village. Photo: AP Photo/Michael Svarnias.
But rights groups have raised concerns about the controlled nature of the camp, with some describing it as prison-like.
Entry to the European Union-funded, 43-million-euro ($50 million) facility will be strictly supervised, with the entrance open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and access controlled by entry cards and fingerprints.
The new facility is relatively remote, and authorities have said a bus will run to and from the main town four times a day.
Security personnel check migrants upon their arrival at the new closed monitored facility in Zervou village, on the eastern Aegean island of Samos, Greece, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Michael Svarnias.
The old camp on the edge of Vathy, the main town of Samos, will be shut down. Originally constructed to house just over 600 people at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, it quickly became Greece’s most overcrowded camp, with around 7,000 people living in the facility and a shantytown that developed around it.
On Sunday night, a small blaze broke out in the old camp, with authorities saying the flames were limited to abandoned structures in one section of the camp. No injuries were reported.
Strahinja Trazivuk from St Euphemia College in Bankstown, Sydney, has been recognised with a 2021 Minister’s Award for Excellence in Student Achievement in the study of the Serbian language.
The Year 6 student tells The Greek Herald he is ‘extremely excited’ about receiving the award and it has motivated him ‘to achieve greater things in the future.’
“This award is extremely sentimental to my family and my community as it shows that I have successfully kept the beauty of the Serbian language alive despite living in a different country,” Strahinja says.
“My family is extremely proud, and I hope that my award has influenced other families to uphold their Serbian heritage.”
Strahinja has been studying Serbian at the Serbian Sunday school of Vuk Karadzic in Cabramatta for six years now and says the language is important to him as it connects him to his heritage and ancestors.
“As a Serbian living in Australia I feel that it is important for me to uphold my traditions and language as they are a part of my identity,” he says.
“My favourite tradition of Serbian culture is the ‘slava’ which is similar to a Greek name day, but instead it is a familial celebration of the patron saint of the family. My family’s slava is St John the Baptist and it is my favourite time of the year.”
When Strahinja isn’t celebrating his Serbian culture and language, he is also smashing other academic goals at St Euphemia College, where he enrolled in kindergarten in 2015.
He represents the school in the sporting arena in basketball and soccer, and has achieved outstanding academic results throughout his schooling.
Strahinja has also received several other awards for excellence, including the 2020 State Parliament Merit Achievement Award for Year 5, which was presented by Member for Bankstown, Tania Mihailuk, and the School Gold Commendation Medal for Year 5.
Once the gates of Belmore Sports Ground opened at 9am on Friday, September 17, a steady stream of cars passed through as hundreds of people arrived to receive their Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines at Sydney’s first drive through vaccination clinic.
The clinic is in the heart of one of Sydney’s 12 hotspot Local Government Areas (LGA) and is at the spiritual home of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. It will be running every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the next six weeks.
On the first day of the clinic, cars filled with families and couples travelled in one direction towards a tent where they had an ‘encounter’ with a registered nurse who checked their vaccination appointment. Each person in the car was then administered the appropriate vaccine before they drove to an observation area where they were monitored for 15 minutes.
There was one way in and out of the clinic. All photos in this article by: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Dr Jamal Rifi, who runs the clinic, told The Greek Herald that anyone who was anxious about having the vaccine would also receive a special consultation.
“Someone who is anxious or someone who wants a longer consultation, we have another bay where they will come in and I will talk to them and address their concern,” Dr Rifi said.
“If they’re happy to proceed, we do have Pfizer, we do have AstraZeneca, so we will give them the injection depending on whatever they need.”
Dr Jamal Rifi runs the drive through vaccination clinic.
‘This is perfect’:
From what The Greek Herald could see on the opening day of the drive through vaccination clinic at Belmore Sports Ground, everyone who was waiting in the car queue had smiles on their faces and were excited to be there.
Mary and Nicholas, a Greek mother and son from Lakemba, were one of the hundreds waiting in the line. Mary said while she was nervous to be vaccinated, she was also ‘relieved I can finally get it over and done with.’
Dr Rifi administering a vaccine.
Mary and Nicholas.
“My son convinced me [to come down]. I kept putting it off and I thought, ‘I’m going to wait until the end of the line…’ and then we heard about this and he said to me, ‘mum they’re going to be doing a drive through’ and I said, ‘why not?’,” Mary told The Greek Herald.
“I think it’s a great idea. You don’t actually have to get out of the car, you don’t have to stand and wait for hours on end, so this is perfect.”
Mr Sweetman, another clinic visitor who gave a thumbs up after receiving his vaccine from Dr Rifi, said he also thought it was a ‘fantastic’ idea because ‘I waited only five minutes.’
Mr Sweetman.
Volunteers at the clinic.
‘Gives people a bit of hope’:
Of course, a successful drive through clinic such as this takes time to organise and the Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and for the Arts, Tony Burke MP, told The Greek Herald it had been in the works for a couple of weeks but once everything aligned, things ‘moved really quickly.’
“There’s been a really deep frustration throughout the local area and to have something like this gives people a bit of hope when they need it,” Mr Burke, who is also the Member for Watson and Patron of the Bulldogs, said.
“I’ve just walked past the queue and it’s the happiest queue in Belmore. You’ve got family groups in cars together. It just means they can all come down and [get vaccinated] together.”
Member for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis, agreed with Mr Burke and encouraged anyone who wants to get vaccinated to visit the drive through.
“I think once people hear about it and they see they can just make a booking and drive through… they’ll tell their neighbours, their family, their friends and that’s critical,” Ms Cotsis said.
“The way out of this is vaccination and increasing our rates, particularly in our community where there are hotspots. So it’s vitally important that as many people who haven’t yet been vaccinated bring their family, hop in the car and drive through.”
If you want to book an appointment at the Belmore Sports Ground, you can make one at https://bit.ly/39hANLx.
Alex Savidis and his young family moved from Sydney to the US in August 2020 to open new cafe, In Common NYC, in the city’s Hudson Yards and what happened next was unexpected.
Alex’s cafe project was not only delayed a full year due to the pandemic, but he and his partner, Dana, also both caught COVID in January, suffering a bad flu and fatigue.
Their two-year-old son didn’t get it, and Dana, who was eight-months pregnant at the time, gave birth to a healthy baby six weeks later, having a planned home birth to avoid COVID-filled hospitals.
“This summer everyone has moved back to the city, apartments are hard to find again and there’s a buzz about the city with people eager to get out and make up for lost time,” Alex said.
Alex says everyone has moved back to the city.
“The real change came entering summer 2021, when the city opened back up completely and it took some time after that before indoor dining was allowed at max capacity. Before that was only 10 per cent capacity.”
Currently in the US, people are not required to sign in when entering establishments, though the current guidelines are that masks are required for unvaccinated people and optional for the vaccinated.
“In the supermarkets you’ll see a mix of people with and without masks and nobody is getting hassled for their personal decision,” Alex said.
People wearing masks in NYC.
“Restaurants, bars and gyms all now require to ask for ID and proof of vaccination if anyone wants to go in and use the facility, otherwise outdoor dining is the option for unvaccinated people.”
And what about travel?
“People can move around within the country freely – international travel requires a vaccine or negative COVID test before flying,” Alex said.
“Many of my friends have had trips locally and internationally with no issues. Europe, South and Central America and the Caribbean have all been popular destinations.
“People are just living! You can quarantine when you come back or get a negative COVID test.”
AFL legend, Anthony Koutoufides, and actress, Olympia Valance, will be hitting the dance floor this year as they join the new season of ‘Dancing With The Stars: All Stars.’
Koutoufides won the dancing show in 2006 and decided it was time to return after 15 years.
“This will certainly test the old body but looking forward to the challenge again. Bring it on!” Koutoufides wrote on Instagram.
Koutoufides and Valance will be joined by 10 other series winners including TV host, Grant Denyer (2006), actor, Bridie Carter (2007), and former AFL player, David Rodan (2014).
Newcomers, Deni Hines, Sam McMillan, Kris Smith and Cameron Daddo, will also try their hand at dancing for the first time as wildcard entrants.
Australia, #DancingAU All Stars is BACK! ✨ Featuring 14 former champions, fan favourites and wildcards who are ready to tear up the dance floor! 💃🕺
“My two young girls are absolutely obsessed with dancers and ballerinas and I thought if they could see me with real live professional dancers, I’d become a cool dad,” Kris Smith, who shares two daughters with Sarah Boulazeris, told The Daily Telegraph.
“And also, if the last few months have taught me one thing, it’s to take every opportunity and enjoy it.”
Production is currently underway on the latest ‘All Stars’ season that will again be hosted by Sonia Kruger and Daryl Somerson Channel 7.
Greece has opened a new migrant camp on the island of Samos that replaces an obsolete and once overcrowded facility.
The new facility cost about 43 million euros. It will house up to 3,000 people, about a third of them in 240 small houses and the rest in large halls, Greek Migration and Asylum Minister, Notis Mitarakis, said on Saturday.
“Η δημιουργία σύγχρονης και ασφαλούς δομής στη Σάμο & η κατάργηση του #ΚΥΤ στο #Βαθύ,σηματοδοτεί μία νέα περίοδο στο μεταναστευτικό. Κάνουμε πράξη ό,τι δεσμευτήκαμε στις νησιωτικές κοινωνίες” Δήλωση μου μετά τα εγκαίνια της νέας #ΚΕΔhttps://t.co/qW9BNAD8rmpic.twitter.com/5tCVQA7RFb
“Today Samos is finding tranquility and leaves behind the shameful scenes at Vathy,” Mitarakis said.
“The new closed, monitored facility offers much better living conditions, is outside city limits, and has much enhanced security measures to protect the beneficiaries, personnel but also local communities.”
The new migrant facility.
The remaining 550 migrants in the old Vathy facility will now be transferred to the new one beginning on Monday.
Greece is bracing for a new wave of migrants after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, although Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has vowed to halt the influx long before it reaches Greece’s border. Samos lies close to the Turkish coast.
The Morrison Government will expand Australia’s tax treaty network to support the economic recovery and ensure Australian businesses are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that will emerge in the coming years, the Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has announced.
The Morrison Government’s plan will allow Australia to enter into 10 new and updated tax treaties by 2023, building on our existing network of 45 bilateral tax treaties.
The plan will ensure Australia’s tax treaty network will cover 80 per cent of foreign investment in Australia and about $6.3 trillion of Australia’s two-way trade and investment.
Negotiations with India, Luxembourg and Iceland are occurring this year as part of the first phase of the program. Negotiations with Greece, Portugal and Slovenia are scheduled to occur next year as part of the second phase.
Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, announced the tax treaty.
The Government welcomes views from the public to inform the negotiations and will be consulting with interested stakeholders.
Tax treaties improve tax system integrity through the establishment of a bilateral framework of cooperation on the prevention of tax evasion, the collection of tax debts and rules to address tax avoidance.
Businesses will be provided with greater tax certainty which will encourage increased economic integration through foreign investment and trade.
In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Budgets, the Government provided $11.6 million to Treasury and the Australian Tax Office to support this expansion of our tax treaty network.
The Australian Alumni Association of Cyprus is proud to present theCOVID-19 Australia-Cyprus Forum in association with the Australian High Commission in Cyprus and The University of Cyprus.
The last two years have been trying for all institutions and every individual across the globe. The pandemic seems to have caught our communities unprepared, ripped through them and forced everyone to spring to action, to adapt, to organise, to mobilise, to find the most effective means of combating this deadly virus.
All systems underwent a rigorous crash test: Healthcare institutions, political and economic systems, law enforcement agencies, information technologies, and communication channels. Nothing remained unaffected and especially human relations and behaviours.
Dr Constantinos Tsioutis.
Professor Allen Cheng.
So, what have we learned from all this in Australia and Cyprus? How can the accumulated scientific research, evidence, data and knowledge help us respond to the current challenges posed by the pandemic and in particular the Delta variant? How can we make effective use of evidence and good practices?
The Australian Alumni Association of Cyprus is bringing together esteem scientists, clinicians and researchers from both countries, who have been and continue being on the frontline, to reflect on the responses to the pandemic, the immunisation programs, the current situation, vaccines and vaccination rollouts. What was done well, what was done poorly, and what were the outcomes and lessons.
Dr Stefanos Herodotou.
Dr Nikolas Dietis.
You are invited to join the forum on Wednesday, 22nd of September, 2021, at 10:00 in Cyprus and 5:00pm AEST in Australia. The event will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube.
The Australian Alumni Association of Cyprus strongly believes that the cooperation and involvement of academics, practitioners, politicians, economists, media representatives, and the wider community in the two countries can help make use of scientific data, develop policies, and assist in crisis planning and management.
Talking at the event will be: Professor Allen Cheng, Dr Constantinos Tsioutis, Dr Nikolas Dietis and Dr Stefanos Herodotou.
For further details, please contact:
Sakis Fidogiannis, President Tel.: 99 476969 or Cleo Tziva, Secretary, Tel.: 99 329360.
Alleged fraudster, Bill Papas, has made his first appearance at the football club he owns in northern Greece, attending a friendly match at Xanthi FC, the Australian Financial Reviewreports.
This comes despite telling the Australian Federal Court in August he had sold shares in the company that reportedly owned the Greek Super League 2 side.
Mr Papas, who has been in Greece since June 21, attended the match between Xanthi and Olympiacos B on Saturday in Greece, with Xanthi chief executive Anastasios Giamouridis and club vice-president Fanis Ouzounidis.
Bill Papas is holed up in an apartment near the Thessaloniki seaside in northern Greece. Photo: The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Papas was spotted by several local Xanthi media outlets, including Thraki Sports and Sports Addict. He even made a statement on the football club’s website.
“I am very happy to be here today at Xanthi Arena, to watch AOX and be close with the fans and the whole team that works every day for the best result,” he said in the statement.
Bill Papas is at the centre of Westpac fraud allegations.
“After a particularly difficult year with the restrictions of the pandemic, the most important thing today is the return of our fans to the stadium. AOX has the right infrastructure and all the specifications for a really strong year. With zest, co-operation and consistency, all our goals will become achievable.”
In civil proceedings before the Federal Court, Mr Papas, the Xanthi club president, is alleged to have defrauded Westpac, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking of Japan and French bank Société Générale of nearly $400 million.
