The Greek-Turkish Joint Economic Committee met in Athens on Monday for the first time in 11 years, Ekathimerini reports.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a Protocol by Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Kostas Fragogiannis, and Turkish Deputy Minister of Trade, Mustafa Tuzcu.
According to a joint announcement, the heads of the two delegations expressed satisfaction with the re-activation of the committee, whose last session was held in Ankara in October 2010.
Τhe 5th Session of the 🇬🇷-🇹🇷 Joint Economic Committee was held today in Athens and concluded with the signing of a Protocol b/w DFM @CFragoyiannis and #Turkey Deputy Minister of Trade @mustuzcu
The two sides also expressed their commitment to continue working to achieve progress in issues included in the “positive agenda,” with emphasis on promoting economic cooperation and trade transactions between the two countries.
Other issues discussed include tourism between both countries, increasing cooperation in the energy sector, and the resumption of bilateral cooperation in research and technology.
Heavy snowfall from the Elpida storm disrupted air and road traffic in the Greek capital of Athens and on the Greek islands on Monday.
The snow came down thick and fast throughout the day in central Athens, settling on the marble columns of the ancient Acropolis. Greek authorities sent out emergency alerts to cell phones in the wider Athens area warning of severe snowfall.
Mesogeion Avenue, Athens. Photos: The Greek Herald / Panagiotis Dalatariof.
Authorities also warned the public to limit outdoor movements to only essential ones on Monday and Tuesday, while schools in many areas were closed.
Snow chains were mandatory for cars on many roads, while trucks were banned from the main highway heading north from Athens.
Nevertheless, the icy conditions and lack of snow chains on some vehicles left traffic snarled for hours on many of the Greek capital’s roads, including a highway ring road and one of the main avenues in Athens. Several drivers reported being stuck in their cars for hours.
Pagrati, Athens. Photos: The Greek Herald / Panagiotis Dalatariof.
Climate Change and Civil Protection Minister, Christos Stylianides, apologised for the problems on the ring road, and said its private operators would be called to provide explanations. He added that efforts were being made to keep all major highways open.
Mr Stylianides also said only minor power supply problems had occurred, mostly on the island of Evia, and were expected to be resolved by later Monday.
Pagrati, Athens. Photos: The Greek Herald / Panagiotis Dalatariof.
Several domestic and international flights to Athens airport were cancelled, while subway service to the airport was partially suspended as some of it runs above ground.
The health ministry announced that COVID-19 vaccination centers in the wider Athens region and Evia would close early Monday and remain closed Tuesday.
Authorities expect the snowfall will persist on Tuesday and according to Ekathimerini, a public holiday is set to be declared for the country.
Evangelismos, Athens. Photos: The Greek Herald / Panagiotis Dalatariof.
Snow is common in the Greek mountains and in northern Greece but is less frequent in central Athens and on Aegean islands.
Last year, the Greek capital was hit by a major snowstorm that caused severe problems, knocking out power for days in certain neighbourhoods and making all streets impassable without snow chains. Thousands of trees collapsed from the weight of the snow and ice.
Greek fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, survived a gruelling fourth-round battle with American, Taylor Fritz, on Monday, twice coming from a set behind to win 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals.
At just past midnight on Rod Laver Arena, the Greek ended Fritz’s resistance to set up a clash with Italian Jannik Sinner. He will be seeking to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the third time in his career.
Tsitsipas looked edgy at times but his greater experience on the big stage eventually showed as he got the decisive break in the fifth set before claiming victory.
Fritz, playing in his first Grand Slam fourth round, converted only two of his 15 break points and will rue a missed opportunity to become the first American male to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for two years.
Radio has been deposed by social media giant, TikTok, as the platform to launch unknown artists into the pop culture stratosphere, The Daily Telegraph reports.
One of these artists is global rap sensation Masked Wolf, whose followers and trending moments converted to millions of streams in the last 18 months.
The Greek Australian rapper, who’s real name is Harry Michael, released Astronaut In The Ocean in June 2019, but it didn’t lift off until late 2020.
Why? Because TikTok creators began using its dramatic 30 second opening to soundtrack videos about welding, four-wheel drives and feats of superhuman athleticism.
JLo also gave the hit an extra bump when she posted a video of her dancing poolside to its infectious beat.
Masked Wolf.
This in turn sent Masked Wolf’s fans to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music to play the whole song.
TikTok’s Director of Music, Ollie Wards, said the song’s explosion into the music ecosystem was “mind-blowing.”
“It was completely mind-blowing to watch this rapper from Maroubra in Sydney go from being completely unknown to having a song in the top 10 of the US Billboard chart and a billion streams purely because of TikTok trends, and now he’s a bona fide touring and recording artist,” Wards said.
The Cretan Association of the Northern Territory has been re-established after five years, according to a press release by the Cretan Federation of Australia & New Zealand.
The re-establishment comes after several passionate Cretans in Northern Australia requested assistance from the Federation to re-elect a new committee following the resignation of Honorary President Kostas Hnaris.
Mr Tsourdalakis (left) with President of the Greek Community of North Australia, Nick Poniris (right).
The President of the Cretan Federation of Australia & New Zealand, Tony Tsourdalakis, spent over five days in Darwin meeting with local authorities, seeking their support and hosting the Annual General Meeting of Cretans.
The AGM led to the election of a new committee which consists of:
The Lord Mayor of Darwin Cr. Kon Vatskalis (left)
The new President of the Cretan Association of the Northern Territory, George Mamounis (right).
• President: George Mamounis from Prefect of Iraklio. • Vice President: Manolis Kourmoulis from Prefect of Rethymno. • Secretary: Alexandros Larentzos from the Prefect of Rethymno. • Assistant Secretary: Christos Makrynakis from the Prefect of Lasithi. • Treasurer: Eleftheria Petrakakakis from the Prefect of Rethymno. • Public Relations: Konstantinos Tererakis from the Prefect of Jannis. • Media & Marketing: Thomas Kallonas from the Prefect of Lasithi. • Committee Members: Peter Paroulakis from the Prefect of Hania, Yianna Paterakis from the Prefect of Iraklio, Sofia Lendaris from the Prefect of Rethymno and Katerina Tererakis from the Prefect of Hania. • Cretan Youth Representatives: George Kourmoulis, Nikos Makrynakis, Maria Kourmoulis
“We welcome them all with open arms to the big Federation Family and offer our undivided support,” the Federation said in the press release.
The Hon. Consul General of Greece in Darwin John Anoictomatis (left).
“We pay our respects for their years of service and contribution to the Hnaris Family, Paterakis Family, Christakis Family and Tererakis Family.
“The Cretan Federation of Australia & New Zealand extends its warmest thanks to: The Hon. Consul General of Greece in Darwin John Anoictomatis, The Lord Mayor of Darwin Cr. Kon Vatskalis and the President of the Greek Community Nicholas Poniris for their current and future support of the Cretan Association of Northern Territory, as well as a warm thanks to the Mamounis Family for their warm Cretan Hospitality.”
Federal Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke, has warned councils against refusing to hold Australia Day celebrations, The Australian reports.
Minister Hawke said the national day should not be defined by “past mistakes” and councils should not be using the day to launch protests.
“It is… very sad to see some councils continue to politicise Australia Day this year, in a range of increasingly ridiculous ways, totally out of step with an overwhelming majority of people and the Australian community generally,” Minister Hawke told the newspaper.
“Councils should stick to their own role and not waste ratepayers’ time or money entertaining extreme views.”
Australians are rightly proud and grateful to have one of the most prosperous, safe and free societies in the world. It is important that we reflect on aspects of our history including the good and bad. However, Australia is not defined by the bad, nor past mistakes.🇦🇺 🏆 👍 https://t.co/qPdu7UcQ6R
A number of Councils across Australia have cancelled or modified their Australia Day events this year.
Melbourne’s Australia Day parade was cancelled for the second consecutive year, whilst other events, such as one held in Byron Bay, have become online events due to COVID-19.
In response, Mr Hawke said the federal government rejected “disingenuous and ahistorical views from fringe councillors designed to undermine what is in reality the luckiest country on earth.”
South Australian property developer, Theo Maras, has publicly declared his support for SA Labor Party leader, Peter Malinauskas.
After sharing a post by Mr Malinauskas on LinkedIn, Mr Maras wrote: “Leadership that looks to the future generation and a team that will work together for the benefit of all South Australians.”
This news comes as a surprise to many as Mr Maras has consistently been a strong Liberal Party donor.
But Mr Maras said he had lost confidence in Liberal SA Premier, Steven Marshall, after he decided to reopen the state’s borders when the Omicron variant posed a serious threat to the state’s economy.
“We needed a plan before we opened the gates, we needed contingencies in case of the worst case scenario,” he told The Advertiser.
“We needed strength, leadership and conviction. That did not happen from our Premier or our government.”
The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas hosted her first-ever Radio National (RN) Breakfast show on Monday with the confidence and enthusiasm of a well-trained professional.
Karvelas took over hosting duties of the much-loved program when long-time host, Fran Kelly, stepped down after 17 years last year.
She told The Guardian today that she accepts there’ll be a ‘period of grief’ for the loss of Kelly, but she’s determined to show listeners “that the show’s spirit will continue.”
“That’s my first project: to sort of steady the ship. When you lose a host there is a period of grief and adjustment that I’m very prepared for,” Karvelas said in the interview.
Once that job’s been done, Karvelas’ next focus will be on ensuring the radio program has a national focus, even though it is being produced from her hometown of Melbourne rather than Sydney.
“This country is big and vast and the experiences we have in it are just so diverse and different,” she said.
Patricia Karvelas (right) took over hosting duties of the much-loved program when long-time host, Fran Kelly (left), stepped down after 17 years last year.
“What I am interested in is the truth and sometimes if you pursue the truth and facts they can take you to places unexpected.”
In a back-to-school plan announced by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet over the weekend, every student and teacher will be asked to take a rapid antigen test twice a week to attend school, but masks will be restricted to high school.
More than six million tests will be distributed to 3000 public, Catholic and independent schools across the state before the start of the term to ensure enough supply for the first two weeks of term.
Students will also be allowed to take part in choirs, music ensembles and overnight camps again, subject to Department of Education guidelines to reduce the risk of virus infection.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced his back-to-school plan over the weekend.
Premier Perrottet acknowledged that whilst there would be some “disruption” along the way, it was important for children to return to school on the first day of term.
“It’s best for educational outcomes, it’s best for mental health, and it’s best for social outcomes as well,” he said.
In response, the NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelo Gavrielatos, said his members were concerned for the health and safety of students and staff.
"We believe the government should have gone further, making mask wearing a requirement for all in our schools in indoor settings." @AGavrielatoshttps://t.co/Iw8bOHESqP
He said masks should be mandatory for primary school children as well.
“You can’t be vigilant enough with these settings. No other industry requests you to be on a work site with hundreds and up to 2000 other people in sometimes poorly ventilated sites, which are classrooms with up to 30 students,” he said.
“We remain very concerned and we are bracing ourselves for a disruptive start to the school year.”
US academics have used ground-penetrating radar to seek burial sites on Cyprus of people missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion and earlier interethnic strife, AP News reports.
Team leader Harry M. Jol told the Associated Press on Friday that they scanned several pre-selected sites between December 28 and January 6, using a system that creates subsurface images without the need to dig.
Traces of ground disturbance from human activity were found among the half-dozen sites searched, but confirmation of burials would require excavation.
An anthropologist works on the remains of a missing person at the anthropologist laboratory of Cyprus Missing Persons (CMP) inside the U.N buffer zone in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, May 31, 2017. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File.
Jol said he passed on to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) — an expert group that has since 2006 been seeking more than 2,000 missing Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots — information on where soil disturbance was found.
The data continues to be processed and interpreted in collaboration with CMP staff, while Jol said there are plans for his team to return to the east Mediterranean island nation in the near future.
CMP experts have so far exhumed the remains of 1,114 people and identified 1,023. However, 778 Greek Cypriots and 201 Turkish Cypriots still remain missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion, which split the island along ethnic lines, and intercommunal fighting in the decade before.
