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Greece to build “floating barrier system” to prevent migrants entering by sea

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Greece to build “floating barrier system” to prevent migrants entering by sea

The Greek government wants to use a floating barrier to help stop migrants from reaching the Greek islands from the nearby coast of Turkey.

The Defence Ministry has invited private contractors to bid on supplying a 2.7-kilometer-long (1.7 miles) floating fence within three months, according to information available on a government procurement website Wednesday. No details were given on when the barrier might be installed.

A resurgence in the number of migrants and refugees arriving by sea to Lesvos and other eastern Greek islands has caused severe overcrowding at refugee camps.

The netted barrier would rise 50 centimetres (20 inches) above water and be designed to hold flashing lights, the submission said. The Defence Ministry estimates the project will cost 500,000 euros ($550,000), which includes four years of maintenance.

The government’s description says the “floating barrier system” needs to be built “with non-military specifications” and “specific features for carrying out the mission of (maritime agencies) in managing the refugee crisis.”

“This contract process will be executed by the Defence Ministry but is for civilian use — a process similar to that used for the supply of other equipment for (camps) housing refugees and migrants,” a government official told The Associated Press.

The official asked not to be identified pending official announcements by the government.

Greece’s six-month old centre-right government has promised to take a tougher line on the migration crisis and plans to set up detention facilities for migrants denied asylum and to speed up deportations back to Turkey.

Under a 2016 migration agreement between the European Union and Turkey, the Turkish government was promised up to 6 billion euros to help stop the mass movement of migrants to Europe.

Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees made the crossing to the islands last year, nearly double the number recorded in 2018, according to data from the United Nations’ refugee agency.

Sourced by: AP News

Fundraising continues for bushfire victims with Byzantine Music benefit

The Greek Herald
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Fundraising continues for bushfire victims with Byzantine Music benefit

The Australian Byzantine Choir with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, will be performing a concert in aid of the Australian bushfire appeal.

On Sunday, February 2nd at 7pm, St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Marrickville will be filled with harmonious, traditional hymns to raise money for the Archdiocese Bushfire Relief Fund.

The initiative aligns with Archbishop Makarios’ announcement of an investment into the future continuation of Byzantine Music.

This comes after the Archdiocese’s establishment of The School of Byzantine Music of the Archdiocese in September 2019, which will work closely with St Andrews Theological School in Sydney.

The aim of the School of Byzantine Music is to carry on the Byzantine musical tradition, which is at risk of being lost.

Greek bishop charged for public homophobic rant appeals conviction

The Greek Herald
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Greek bishop charged for public homophobic rant appeals conviction

In 2015, Bishop Amvrosios of Kalavryta posted a homophobic rant online, as Greece was debating a civil partnership bill that eventually passed on December 22 that year. 

“Spit on them! Deprecate them! Vote against them! They are not human! They are freaks of nature! Mentally and spiritually sick! They are mentally insane! Don’t hesitate, then! Wherever you see them, spit on them! Don’t leave them in peace! They are dangerous!” he said.

He then went on to  to describe homosexuals as “dregs of society” and “monstrosities of nature”.

The conservative bishop, who has a record of supporting anti-LGBT+ positions as well as the far-right party Golden Dawn, claimed he wasn’t actually referring to LGBT+ people but to politicians who supported the civil partnership bills.

The Economist reported that during that hearing he said: “Spitting on them is the least of it, if I had a gun and I was permitted by the law, I would use it and we would finish things off.”

In 2018 the Greek bishop was cleared of the charges of public incitement to violence and abuse of ecclesiastical duties. Two appeals were filed after his acquittal and his case was brought to trial once again.

In 2019 an appeals court in the Peloponnesian town of Aigio found him guilty of inciting homophobic hatred and abusing ecclesiastical office, and he was handed a seven-month suspended jail sentence plus a fine of 10,000 euros.

He is now appealing to the Supreme Court for a more lenient charge under the country’s new criminal code, arguing that he did not abuse his position by making the statement.

However, the deputy prosecutor maintained that the court should uphold the bishop’s hate crime conviction.

Sourced via Pink News.

Gold Coast restaurant ‘Loki’ shuts down after struggling to replace much-loved ‘Hellenika’ restaurant

The Greek Herald
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Gold Coast restaurant ‘Loki’ shuts down after struggling to replace much-loved ‘Hellenika’ restaurant

During late-November last year the landmark ‘Hellenika’ restaurant on the Gold Coast’s Nobby Beach announced it was closing its doors.

Hellenika was credited as “changing the Gold Coast dining scene” and “reviving Nobby Beach”, with restaurant owner Simon Gloftis serving trendy but traditional Greek dishes for over 10-years.

Gloftis decided to sell the Nobby Beach business and focus on his other two restaurants in Brisbane.

Though, regulars had not lost hope as the team behind popular pizza restaurant ‘Justin Lane’ reinvented ‘Hellenika’ as ‘Loki’.

The opening of Loki came with high expectations, with “pop culture version of the Mediterranean” being the brief and promising “drinking, dining and dancing”.

But owner Brodie Millwood said the new direction came with a grilling from the community.

“The first week was pretty insane, to be honest,” he told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“We just really tried to do our best to honour as many of the Hellenika bookings as we could.

“(But) in that first week, we were having people come to the door and tell me how terrible it was, what I was doing. They were blaming me, people were abusing me on the phone.”

“The following of Hellenika is very loyal, and they’re coming in still expecting it to be Hellenika.

“There was pros and cons to it. It was good for us to get people through the door, and we wanted a certain amount of crossover with the old Hellenika clientele.”

During the first five weeks, Millwood said he was “feeling positive” about Loki’s future.

Though, this week, Loki unexpectedly announced its shock closure. The owners plan to cease trade as of this Sunday, just two months after opening.

“Despite making this decision to close while we get ready (to) relaunch, we are very happy that we were able to employ a large number of staff four weeks before Christmas, keeping them employed through the Christmas and New Years period,” Mr Millwood said to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Although we know that in the short term this is a difficult situation, the relaunch of this venue with a new concept will see us grow in stature as a local employer, allowing us to employ even more workers into the future than we employ now.”

Greek-Australian singer VASSY will perform at bushfire charity in Los Angeles

The Greek Herald
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Greek-Australian singer VASSY will perform at bushfire charity in Los Angeles

Greek-Australian singer Vassy Karagiorgos, known as VASSY, will perform with other Australian artists in Hollywood at a benefit to raise money for victims of the Australian bushfires.

The Greek-Australian “Trouble” singer, who was born in Darwin, will headline alongside musical acts like Hook N Sling, Nina Las Vegas, and Yolanda Be Cool at the ‘Make It Rain’ benefit.

The event will be held on Wednesday, January 29, from 9 PM to 3 AM at the Academy Nightclub on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

So far, more than 20,000,000 acres of land have been destroyed by the fires in Australia, over 27 people and 1 billion animals have been killed, and 2,000 buildings have been burned down. It’s the most devastating environmental destruction to take place in Australia’s recent history.

“Right now we need to do everything to save whatever wildlife we have left, to prevent extinction and help communities get back on their feet, try to slow down the fires and try to nourish the land that’s been burned so that there can be new vegetation for the remaining wildlife. As a Greek-Australian, being born and raised in Australia, it hits home for me and being so far I feel helpless,” said VASSY to Tornos News.

100% of proceeds from the event will go to Australian charities including the Red Cross, GivIt and NSW Wildfire Council.

Purchase tickets for the event HERE.

Ambassador of China to Greece works with Health Minister cease coronavirus spread to Greece

The Greek Herald
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Ambassador of China to Greece works with Health Minister cease coronavirus spread to Greece

Greek Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias recently held an emergency meeting with the Ambassador of China to Greece, Zhang Qiyue, and with infectious disease specialists to discuss additional measures in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier today, Hong Kong announced that it had banned outbound travel from China in efforts to address the epidemic which has gone from nine fatalities last week to 106 people dead and at least 4,547 infected on Tuesday.

China’s ambassador to Athens confirmed that the government had banned all organised trips in and out of China in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.

In Greece meanwhile, Kikilias announced on Tuesday, the hospitals across the country that will be handling possible cases of the 2019-nCoV, which Chinese disease experts said is contagious from a two-meter distance.

According to the health ministry, hospitals in Greece equipped to deal with coronavirus incidents are:

  • Attica: Sotiria, Evangelismos, Attiko University Hospital, Thriassio,
  • Northern Greece: Thessaloniki AHEPA University Hospital, Alexandroupolis University Hospital, Bodosakio General Hospital,
  • Central Greece: Larissa University Hospital, Lamia General Hospital,
  • Western Greece: the university hospitals of Patra and Ioannina,
  • Crete: Heraklion University Hospital.

On Monday, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said he was in regular contact with Kikilias and National Public Health Organization (EODY) officials on the issue, noting that an estimated 200,000 visitors from China traveled to Greece in 2019, up from some 180,000 the year before.

“The first priority and for tourism purposes is to ensure that there are no problems in the country itself. We are monitoring the issue,” said Theoharis during a tourism ministry 2020 strategy presentation on Monday.

Meanwhile, country officials worldwide are taking precautionary measures with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming more than 50 cases outside China, in France, Thailand, Japan, the US, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, Nepal, Canada, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Germany.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the US State Department on Monday expanded their travel advisories. Japan and South Korea decided earlier today to send charter flights to the Chinese city of Wuhan to evacuate their citizens, while more than half a million South Koreans signed a petition calling for a total ban on travel from China into the country.

Sourced via GTP.

EASO strengthens presence in Greece after signing agreement with Greek government

The Greek Herald
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EASO strengthens presence in Greece after signing agreement with Greek government

Greek Alternate Minister of Migration and Asylum Giorgos Koumoutsakos and Executive Director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) Nina Gregori signed on Tuesday in Athens a seat agreement for the hosting of the EASO operational office in Greece, according to an EASO press release.

Under the agreement the agency’s deployed personnel will double in size from approximately 500 to over 1,000 in 2020 in dozens of sites nationwide, Gregori told a press briefing in Athens, after the signing ceremony.

EASO has cooperated with Greek authorities since 2011, under an operating plan sealed between the two sides in Dec. 2019. EASO is already scaling up its operational presence and the new agreement will improve efficiency of this assistance through legal and administrative clarity on staff and assets, she said.

“Today’s agreement is a very important milestone. By giving a legal and administrative clarity the agreement will allow the agency to become even more efficient in its daily work,” Gregori said.

“We are here to assist the Greek asylum authorities and reception authorities with a common goal, as the minister said, to assure fast and efficient asylum procedures so that people in need of protection will get one as soon as possible,” she stressed.

Under the agreement, which must be ratified by the Greek parliament, as Greek national news agency AMNA reported, the EASO staff (case workers, field support staff, reception staff, research officers for the Appeals Authority, interpreters and administrative staff) will work to support the Greek Asylum Service and other relevant authorities.

Moreover, EASO will increase its budget for its operations in Greece this year to 36 million euros (39.6 million U.S dollars) up from 27.5 million euros in 2019, Gregori noted.

“States should not and cannot be left on their own faced with such an enormous challenge. European cooperation, solidarity and coordination is a must,” Koumoutsakos said on his part.

“As a front line country we are ready to assume our responsibility, but this should be counterbalanced by an effective and meaningful solidarity,” the Greek minister added during the press briefing.

Koumoutsakos also said that he plans to visit all Visegrad group countries in coming weeks to discuss where worries converge and where there are still diverging views on the management of the refugee, migrant into Europe.

In March there will be a negotiation process on EU’s new Migration and Asylum pact and the result should be a robust pact, the Greek official said.

More than one million refugees and migrants have reached Greece since 2015. Despite progress steps made, reception centers mainly on the Greek Aegean Sea islands are still overflowing.

Greek and other European officials and experts attribute the situation to the big numbers of new arrivals each year and delays in the assessment of asylum applications and relocation of refugees to other EU members. 

Sourced via Xinhua.

Greece sells 15-year debt for first time in more than decade

The Greek Herald
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Greece sells 15-year debt for first time in more than decade

Greece raised 2.5 billion euros ($2.77 billion) through a 15-year bond sale on Tuesday, according to a lead manager.

The bond priced for a yield of 1.911%, according to a source at the lead manager. The bond will pay a coupon of 1.875%.

Barclays, BNP Paribas, BofA, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JP Morgan managed the sale.

The latest sale was announced on Monday when yields on 10-year notes hit a record low following Fitch Rating’s decision to raise the country’s sovereign grade.

The last offering of this tenor was concluded less than a year before the nation received a bailout, closing Greece off from international markets. It raised 7 billion euros at the time at 5.39%.

“It makes sense for these Treasuries to fund now,” said Peter McCallum, a rates strategist at Mizuho International Plc in London. “Greece can add a longer maturity point to their curve after the 5-year and 10-year last year, which should be well sought after,” he added.

Sourced via Reuters and Bloomberg.

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes near Karpathos and Rhodes

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5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes near Karpathos and Rhodes

An undersea earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2 rocked the tourist hotspot of Rhodes today.

The quake occurred off the island of Karpathos in the Aegean Sea, Greek authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The University of Athens’ Geodynamic Institute said the quake struck at 5.38pm some 60 miles southeast of Karpathos, in an area close to the Greek resort islands of Rhodes and Crete.

The tremor was felt in Akhisar in the west of Turkey, sending people running for safety, according to local media reports.

Greece lies in one of the world’s most seismically active areas and earthquakes are common, but fatalities and major damage are rare.

Tuesday’s quake came about two hours after a magnitude 4.8 temblor shook parts of neighbouring Turkey near the western town of Kirkagac.

That is more than 300 miles north of the Karpathos quake’s epicenter.

No injuries or damage were reported from the Turkish quake, and it was unclear whether the two were connected.

On Friday, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit eastern Turkey, killing 41 people and injuring 1,600 as it damaged hundreds of buildings. 

Greek authorities said the fault that caused that killer earthquake does not affect Greece.

Sourced via Daily Mail.

Turkey, Greece need to ‘resolve disagreements’ in East Med, Trump tells Erdogan

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Turkey, Greece need to ‘resolve disagreements’ in East Med, Trump tells Erdogan

US President Donald Trump on Monday called Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to talk about developments in Libya and Syria, a spokesman for the White House said on Twitter, adding the Turkey’s differences with Greece were also discussed.

“Today, @realDonaldTrump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The two leaders discussed the need to eliminate foreign interference and maintain the ceasefire in Libya. The leaders agreed that the violence being carried out in Idlib, Syria must stop,” Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere tweeted.

“President Trump also highlighted the importance of Turkey and Greece resolving their disagreements in the eastern Mediterranean,” he added.

Sourced via Ekathimerini.

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