Helen Vlachos left a lasting legacy not only as the publisher of Greek news outlet Kathimerini, but as an anti-junta activist and advocate for press freedom.
Helen was born in Athens in 1911 to her father, Georgios Vlachos, who founded the Kathimerini newspaper. Brought into journalism by her father, Helen started working for Kathimerini from a young age.
After a brief shut-down period during World War II, Helen resumed working in her father’s newspaper as a columnist. Her column gained high attention due to her repeated criticism of the government.
Helen took control of the newspaper after her father, Georgios, died in 1951.
Greek journalist and activist Helen Vlachos (1911 – 1995), London, UK, 5th May 1968. (Photo by Len Trievnor/Daily Express/Getty Images)
While Helen was a vocal supporter of Greek right-wing parties, she was a passionate anti-junta activist. So much so that she closed down her newspapers as a sign of protest, not willing to submit to the censorship demanded by the junta. This action was among the first overt signs of resistance against the junta.
During a later interview titled Eleni Vlachou: A journalist remembers, with ERT, she said that by not responding to the junta pressure her “silence was her loudest voice”. She also dismissed the junta demands by declaring: “They cannot tell me how to run my newspapers any more than I can tell them how to run their tanks”.
Helen was given a house arrest order after she called some of the junta leaders “clowns”. This house arrest is what prompted the publisher to flee Greece, going to London with the help of her friend Leslie Finer, an author who worked at the Greek Embassy in Washington.
In England she formed an alliance with anti-junta activists Melina Merkouri and Amalia Fleming, also writing a book in 1970 detailing her escape from Greece, entitled House Arrest. During her time in London she also became editor of the Hellenic Review, a journal for the Greek expatriates in Britain.
In 1974 with the fall of the junta, she returned to Greece and restarted the publication of her newspapers. She died on 14 October 1995 in Athens, aged 84
She is recognised as one of the World Press Freedom Heroes, an award sponsored by the International Press Institute. She received the award posthumously in 2000.
Shadow Minister for Better Public Services Sophie Cotsis is demanding the Government explain how cyber criminals were able to steal 3.8 million documents from Service NSW.
It comes after Ms Cotsis, who has been holding the Government to account over the breach, discovered she is among the 186,000 people whose information was stolen.
NSW Labor will use an upcoming Parliamentary Inquiry into cyber security this month to explore the extent of the problem and the lack of assistance available to those impacted.
“I have been calling for months for the NSW Government to harden its digital systems against cyber attacks,” Ms Cotsis said.
Service NSW, Miranda.
“I was upset and shocked to find I was one of the victims of this cyber crime, however I am even more upset for the other 186,000 innocent people whose data was stolen.
“While the Government claims to be helping victims of this attack, my conversations with people’s experience was that their support services are difficult to navigate”.
The Government have said this attack occurred because Service NSW did not use multi-factor authentication for staff log-ins, which means the NSW Government has not been following guidance from the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
A report published by the Auditor-General last year indicates at least 26 NSW Government agencies may be vulnerable to this type of attack.
“The Government is responsible for safeguarding sensitive information including people’s health records, legal information and finances,” Ms Cotsis said.
“This data breach was foreseeable and preventable, but so far no one has been held accountable for failing to keep our people’s private information secure.
The first hearing into cyber security will begin on 29 October.
A highly anticipated semi-final between Sydney Olympic FC and Rockdale City Suns is predicted to sell-out with people being advised to purchase their tickets ahead of the game this Saturday.
Played at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre, the match will operate with a reduced stadium capacity of 1,500 people due to COVID-restrictions. Sydney Olympic CEO John Boulous says there will be limited grandstand capacity and social distancing requirements will be enforced.
“This match will sell out, we advise all patrons wishing to attend to either purchase tickets on the Friday night or get there early on Saturday,” John Boulous says.
“Tickets will be available for purchase from the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre (468 West Botany St) after 7pm on Friday night or at the gate on match day. Adults – $15, Concession – $10, kids u16 – Free. All entrants will need a ticket, including kids.”
Sydney Olympic faced the City Suns at Lambert Park over one month ago, drawing 0-0 at their temporary home.
Fans during the match witnessed Fabio Ferreira, Tom Whiteside and Nicholas Sorras all produce strokes of brilliance during the match, yet wasn’t enough to secure three points for the Belmore side.
Sydney Olympic FC will face Rockdale City Suns on 7pm, Saturday at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
A Greek court on Tuesday sentenced a man to life in jail for raping and killing an American scientist on the island of Crete in 2019.
Suzanne Eaton, 60, a molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, was found dead in a disused military bunker in July of last year, around a week after she went missing after going out for a jog.
A 28-year-old man from Crete, identified as Ioannis Paraskakis, initially told Greek police he had killed Eaton. He later said his confession was made under duress and that his involvement in her disappearance was an accident.
Julie Broaddus Eaton, center, sister of the American scientist Suzanne Eaton, who was raped and killed in Crete last year, stands outside the court room on the first day of the trial in Rethymno, on the Greek island of Crete, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
A court in the town of Chania sentenced Paraskakis to life imprisonment for manslaughter, 13 years for rape and four months for the possession of firearms, the semi-official Athens News Agency reported.
Eaton had been in Crete for a science conference.
The accused was charged with knocking her down with his car, then dragging her to another area where he raped her.
AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis
Eaton’s colleagues raised the alarm on the day of her disappearance, triggering a massive search. It is believed she died on the day of her disappearance, on July 2, 2019.
Her body was found by cavers in a bunker, a system of man-made caves used by the Nazis during the occupation of Crete in World War Two.
Greece will not engage in exploratory talks with Turkey as long as Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis remains in its continental shelf waters, the government’s spokesman said on Tuesday.
“As long as the Oruc Reis is in the area we will not hold exploratory contacts with Turkey,” Stelios Petsas told Skai Radio.
On Monday, Greece said Ankara’s decision to send the vessel close to Kastellorizo, a Greek island near the Turkish coast, was a “major escalation” and a “direct threat to peace in the region”.
Turkey had withdrawn the vessel from contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean last month to “allow diplomacy” before an EU summit at which sanctions against Turkey were discussed.
In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, Turkey’s research vessel, Oruc Reis, center, is surrounded by Turkish navy vessels as it was heading in the west of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey. Photo: IHA via AP.
At the time, Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, played down the significance of the move, saying the ship had returned to shore as part of scheduled plans and insisted it did not mean Ankara was “giving up our rights there.”
“There will be planned movements backwards and forwards,” Akar told state news agency Anadolu in Antalya, southern Turkey, in September.
At the summit, the EU said that if Turkey continued operations in the region, sanctions could be imposed as soon as December.
The Golden Dawn trial has commenced in Athens today and the Greek prosecutor has presented her proposals for the sentencing.
13 years for party leadership.
7 years for other former MPs.
Life imprisonment for man convicted of murdering Pavlos Fyssas and 6-8 years for his accomplices.
The court will now hear the case of the defense lawyers, before it issues its final ruling, probably on Thursday.
The court which ruled last Wednesday that the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is a criminal organisation, also ruled on Monday that its leadership is not eligible for leniency.
Singer and actor, Zoy Frangos, has performed at theatres across Australia and in front of acting royalty such as Hugh Jackman and Naomi Watts in New York. But despite his globetrotting ways, he’s never forgotten his roots.
Zoy grew up in the small Victorian city of Ballarat and is the son of a Greek migrant father and Indigenous Australian mother. His father migrated to Australia in 1952 from Mytikas in western Greece and ended up owning a fish shop in Ballarat, where he met Zoy’s mother who is also part Scottish.
Growing up with such a unique cultural background would be confusing for many people. But Zoy tells The Greek Herald exclusively that when he was younger, he actually didn’t even know much about his Indigenous heritage.
Zoy (centre) with his mum and dad at his cousin Bill’s wedding in the 80s. Photo supplied.
“I’d never really known much about my Indigenous heritage because growing up, my grandma had to sort of deny it and hide it. She wasn’t allowed to speak the language either. It was in that stolen generation era,” Zoy says.
“So I’d grown up in such a Greek family and at school, I was the Greek kid because I didn’t even appear Indigenous at all. I look Mediterranean. People would also always make fun of my family because we owned the “typical Greek” fish shop.”
Zoy says he didn’t let these stereotypes bother him.
In fact, he rose above them and worked hard at being a high achiever in athletics, competing internationally and winning 10 events on the Victorian Athletic League circuit. His heart was set on running at the Olympics for Australia but an injury forced him to take a new path of the musical kind.
Zoy Frangos in the Stawell Gift in 2003. Photo supplied.Zoy (right) and his late brother Alexandros (left) in Ballarat on Australia Day, late 80s. Photo supplied.
“I was a really good sprinter and I started training really hard to make the Olympics. But then I injured my hip and all that training meant nothing because I lost one second in my running straight away. Once you lose that amount of time, it’s sort of game over,” Zoy says.
“At the same time, my friend had started singing lessons and I was like, ‘If you can sing, I can.’ So I jumped on SingStar and when I heard my voice in the playback I thought, ‘that sounds in tune.’ I went to see my friend’s singing teacher after that and she says, ‘yeah, you’re a tenor’.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
‘Greek and Indigenous cultures are founded on storytelling’:
After performing in some local theatre productions, Zoy moved to Melbourne to pursue a career in performance, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Zoy performed in New York in 2019 at the Australian American Awards in front of Hugh Jackman, Noami Watts and Simon Baker, to name a few.
Whilst studying, Zoy made his professional opera debut as Jimmy in Pecan Summer, the world’s first Indigenous opera composed by Indigenous Australian soprano singer, Deborah Cheetham. This is something Zoy says helped him embrace his Indigenous heritage more than ever.
“I started getting gigs and celebrating who I was and celebrating me. It allowed me to learn more about that Indigenous side of my culture and I’m really indebted to her for that,” Zoy explains.
From there, Zoy played Feuilly/Enjolras in Les Misérables and understudied Jean Valjean, he was Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, and performed alongside Tina Arena in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, EVITA. More recently, he sang in Greek for Taxithi 2: The Immigrants and performed in the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Big Night In.
Zoy played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar
In all these performances, Zoy says he loves to get in touch with his Greek and Indigenous heritage, especially the idea that both cultures are founded on “storytelling, song and dance, community and family.”
“The thing I love about Greek culture is that you dance on tables and have a lot of passion. It’s not caring what other people think. It’s just about living in that moment and giving your all without being like, ‘look at me, look at me’,” Zoy says with a laugh.
“That’s what I’ve always strived for in theatre and when I feel like I’ve lost my way is when I’ve gone away from that kind of idea.”
Time to rethink and find comfort in cooking:
Speaking of losing one’s way, many would think Zoy would be in that exact predicament right now, especially as theatres around the world closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Luckily, that’s not the case. Although Zoy and his Italian wife, Elisa, did have to put their dream of performing on the West End in London on hold, they’ve decided to launch food blog, ‘An Italian and a Greek,’ instead.
“Performing is one of the biggest sources of joy we have but… we looked at what else we can create together. We love cooking so we decided to launch ‘An Italian and a Greek’ and share Greek and Italian cuisine with people. It’s been really good and quite motivating,” Zoy says.
Motivating enough to give Zoy a chance to finally sit back and get his creative juices going again. Something he says he hasn’t always been able to do before due to his usual hectic theatre schedule.
“I think when you’re in something like music theatre, it can be all-encompassing and… then when it’s all sort of taken away, you have that time to reflect and go, ‘What do I really want to do? What impact do I want to have? and What’s my legacy going to be’?”
“So I’ve just been re-calibrating and this food blog has given me something else to focus on. I’ve now got this new sort of drive and passion.”
A passion we can’t wait to see on stage when Zoy is able to perform once again.
In a special event, which took place on Sunday, October 11, in the hall of the Cyprus Community of South Australia in Welland, Cypriot expatriates celebrated the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus.
A number of dignitaries and community leaders were present, including the High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia, Martha Mavrommatis, the Consul General of Greece in Adelaide, George Psiachas, the State Minister for Innovation and Skills, David Pisoni, the expatriate Senator and Federal MP of the Labor Party, Steve Georganas, the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (EOKNA), Bill Gonis, and the youth committee of the Cyprus Community, as well as representatives of other local and expatriate organisations.
Thank you to the Cyprus community of SA for inviting me to speak and attend the 60th Celebration of the the independence…
“I am happy to be here to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Cyprus, but at the same time I am saddened that Turkey continues to violate the EEZ. What [the Turks] are doing is unacceptable. We want a solution to the Cyprus issue. We want a Cyprus, for all Cypriots,” said the High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia, who, addressing Consul General Psiachas, thanked Greece for standing by Cyprus.
Mavrommatis also thanked the Australian government, which recently expressed its concern over the crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and called on Turkey to negotiate under international law.
Steve Georganas MP (left) and High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia, Martha Mavrommatis (second from right), were in attendance. Photo: Cyprus Community Youth of South Australia.
“The struggle continues until we have a free and united Cyprus,” Ms Mavrommati concluded.
During the event, which was followed by a lunch, the President of the Cypriot Community of South Australia, Andreas Evdokiou and the High Commissioner, awarded members of the Community for their contribution and their social work.
Pavlos Melas was a Greek army officer and one of the most important defenders of Macedonia’s struggle for freedom. We take a look back at his short but impactful life.
Early Life:
Pavlos Melas was born on March 29, 1870 in Marseilles. He was the son of Michael Melas, an elected MP for Attica and mayor of Athens.
In 1886, Melas decided to go to Athens to study and later joined the Hellenic Army, graduating from the Hellenic Army Academy as an artillery lieutenant at the age of 21.
In 1892, he married Natalia Dragoumi, the daughter of a famous politician from Macedonia’s city of Kastoria, Stephanos Dragoumis. They had two children.
Pavlos Melas married Natalia Dragoumi. They had two children.
Melas’ relationship with Dragoumis played a crucial role in his decision to start raising money for the financial support of Greece’s overt and secret efforts in the region of Macedonia.
The Greek Struggle for Macedonia:
At the beginning of the 20th century, Melas became concerned about the situation in Turkish-occupied Macedonia.
In February 1904, together with three other officers, Sergeants Alexandros Kontoulis and Anastasios Papoulas and Lieutenant Georgios Kolokotronis, Melas participated in a secret mission to Macedonia under the pseudonym Mikis Zezas.
The group of four officers, accompanied by Macedonian fighters, was active in western Macedonia, but its movements were noticed by the Turks, who asked the Greek government to withdraw them. So Melas, along with the three other officers, returned to Athens on March 29.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Melas became concerned about the situation in Turkish-occupied Macedonia.
In July, while serving at the Guards School, he asked for a 20-day leave and made a second trip to Macedonia.
As soon as he arrived in Kozani, he met with the local Greek community and decided to not only form an armed corps by recruiting men from the surrounding areas, but to also take immediate action in western Macedonia.
He returned to Athens on August 3 full of optimism for the outcome of the struggle. After 15 days, he asked for and received a four-month leave from the army to officially take over the leadership of the Macedonian Struggle in the area of Kastoria.
Death and Legacy:
Pavlos Melas’ statue in Thessaloniki.
On August 28, Captain Mikis Zezas (Melas) crossed the border, accompanied by several Macedonians, Laconians and Cretans.
On October 13, 1904, Melas and his men entered the town of Statista near Kastoria, to rest. Betrayed by the people he trusted, more than 150 Ottoman men surrounded Melas and killed him.
The exact conditions under which Melas died are still unknown.
What is sure is that his death sparked a wave of support throughout Greece for the Greeks in Macedonia who were fighting a dual fight, both against the Ottoman oppressors and the Bulgarian nationalists.
A national symbol of the Greek struggle for Macedonia, Melas is still a source of inspiration for many.
Former AFL boss, Andrew Demetriou, has been criticised at the NSW government’s Crown Resorts inquiry after he compromised his evidence by referring to secret notes during his testimony.
Demetriou has admitted that he had written notes in front of him when giving evidence on Monday, and reading from the notes when he gave an answer about potential money laundering at Crown.
However, he denied other evidence was based on notes.
The notes included a definition of “culture” which Mr Demetriou said he got “off the net” but insisted he did not read from while being asked about cultural failings at the casino giant.
Crown resorts director Andrew Demetriou had been accused of being dishonest while giving evidence at an inquiry into the casino after reading from notes. Photo: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.
“You wrote them down because you couldn’t remember them without being reminded,” counsel assisting the commission, Scott Aspinall, said to Demetriou on Tuesday.
“No, that’s not correct,” Demetriou responded.
“You weren’t acting with honesty and integrity, were you?” Aspinall said.
“Respectfully, I disagree, Mr Aspinall,” Demetriou said.
The inquiry then replayed the video recording of Mr Demetriou’s testimony from Monday, which showed him appearing to look downwards while delivering the near verbatim reproduction of his notes.
“You saw yourself look down there, did you not Mr Demetriou?,” Commissioner Bergin asked.
Mr Demetriou was also grilled about inaccuracies in the evidence he gave on his close relationship to James Packer (left).
“I did see myself look down, Madame Commissioner, but I suspect I would have looked down for a lot of the day.”
Commissioner Bergin responded that she was “not so sure about that.” Mr Demetriou insisted he only read from notes on Monday when he was explaining the role of independent directors at ASX-listed companies.
The inquiry then went on to re-examine Mr Demetriou’s evidence about Crown bank accounts that were repeatedly used for suspected money laundering, in which he said the company had identified about 100 suspicious transactions.
Mr Demetriou was also grilled about inaccuracies in the evidence he gave on his close relationship with Crown’s biggest shareholder, James Packer, including an email in which he told Packer he would look out for the company’s best interests but “most importantly” those of the casino magnate.
The NSW inquiry is considering whether Crown should keep the licence to its new Sydney casino and was launched in response to revelations by Nine Entertainment group about Crown’s dealings with “junket” tours operators linked to criminal syndicates and failures to prevent money laundering at its Melbourne and Sydney casinos.
The inquiry’s public hearing will continue on Tuesday afternoon with evidence from Crown director Antonia Korsanos.
