Neo-Nazi slogans were spray-painted on the walls of a Jewish cemetery in Athens, Greece, on Sunday, prompting a swift response from authorities and a solidarity visit by Greek parliamentarians.
The German words “Juden Raus,” or “Jews out,” were quickly erased by municipal workers acting under the instructions of Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, gaining expressions of gratitude from the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS).
KIS responded to the desecration with a statement saying, “Nazism has no place in our democracy, mainly because it promotes its destruction along with the prevalence of the total violation of human rights.”
“We express the certainty that the Greek State will take all necessary measures so that the perpetrators will be arrested and face justice,” the statement added.
“We will not be intimidated. Zero tolerance for Nazism,” it declared.
The incident prompted a visit to the cemetery by a group of Greek MPs, who held a moment of silence at the site’s monuments to Holocaust victims and Greek-Jewish soldiers who were killed in World War II.
The U.S. Embassy condemns the repugnant vandal attack and anti-Semitic graffiti found at the Jewish Cemetery of Athens. We stand together against voices of hate & intolerance. As @SecPompeo said in Thessaloniki, wherever we find anti-Semitism we have an obligation to respond.
Daniel Benardout, general treasurer and member of the KIS Presidium, told the MPs, “In the first hours after the hate attack launched against the Jewish cemetery of Athens, I express the Greek Jewry’s gratitude towards the representatives of the Greek Parliament whose presence here today has made their condemnation and sorrow explicitly clear.”
The United States Embassy in Athens denounced the desecration of the cemetery, tweeting, “The US Embassy condemns the repugnant vandal attack and anti-Semitic graffiti found at the Jewish Cemetery of Athens. We stand together against voices of hate & intolerance.”
Greece’s prime minister reiterated on Tuesday that his country is prepared to hold talks with fellow NATO member Turkey about a dispute over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.
Speaking after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the dispute, which saw Greek and Turkish warships facing off in the eastern Mediterranean, was a threat to NATO’s cohesion.
However, he said he reiterated that Greece “is always ready for dialogue, according to the rules of international law, good neighborly relations and the principle of solidarity, which is at the core of the framework of the North Atlantic alliance.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomes NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before their meeting in Athens on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Stoltenberg was visiting Athens a day after he held meetings in Ankara with Turkish government officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusloglu. He voiced hope that the two sides would be able to hold diplomatic negotiations to settle their differences — a hope he reiterated in Athens on Tuesday.
When Turkey “disputes the sovereign rights of one, it opens wide the road to dispute the rights of others too,” Mitsotakis said.
Tension between neighbors Greece and Turkey flared this summer over energy prospecting rights in an area between Turkey’s southern coast, several Greek islands and the war-divided island of Cyprus after Turkey sent a research vessel, escorted by warships, into areas where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights.
The hostility has eased in recent days, and NATO has helped set up a deconfliction mechanism, including a hotline between the two countries’ militaries, to avoid the possibility of a military accident leading to open conflict.
The hotline, Stoltenberg said, is “available 24 hours a day to facilitate deconfliction at sea and in the air. … We stand ready to develop it further.”
The deconfliction mechanism, he added, “can help to create the space for diplomatic efforts.”
“It is my firm hope that the underlying disputes between the two allies can now be addressed purely through negotiations in the spirit of allied solidarity and international law,” the NATO chief said.
Mitsotakis welcomed recent Turkish moves to reduce tension, but said “it remains to be seen if this is an honest move or a temporary maneuver.”
The Federal Budget 2020 put forward by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has promised that Australia’s economy will not crumble under the might of the coronavirus, despite a projected $213 billion deficit.
The Greek Herald has compiled the ‘Winners and Losers’ of the proposed federal budget, calculated with reference to funds funnelled in to Australia’s economic industries.
Winners
Young workers
The big winners in the Federal Budget 2020 are young workers, with the Treasurer promising dedicated support to businesses to help keep employment up and the economy rolling.
Businesses will be able to apply for cash grants, encouraging them to create new jobs and hire young workers through a “JobMaker Hiring Credit” scheme. Businesses that hire people who have been on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or the Parenting Payment for at least one of the previous three months will get $200 a week for 12 months if their new staff member is 16-29 years old and $100 if they are between 30 and 35.
20-year-old Nathan Stichling is an apprentice at Master Cabinets in Wangara. Photo: Kelsey Reid | The West Australian
It was reported in the weeks leading up to the Federal Budget that up to 100,000 apprentices will receive additional support. Josh Frydenberg announced that the government will spend $1.2 billion to subsidise up to 50 per cent of an apprentice’s wages for eligible businesses up to a cap of $7000 a quarter until September 30 next year.
Business owners
Tax cuts were a big incentive made by the government as part of the proposed budget, and no industry will benefit more than businesses, particularly business owners.
Any company with turnover up to $5 billion a year will be allowed to write off the full cost of any depreciable asset they buy before June 30, 2022. At the same time, an estimated one million companies that record a loss up to the 2021-22 financial year will be able to offset it against their previous profits made after 2018-19 to generate a refund from the tax office.
Photo: Keap
Combined, the measures are estimated to give business more than $30 billion over the forward estimates.
Mental Health
The recognition of mental health illness in Australia, particularly during COVID-19 isolation, was a powerful topic during the Treasurers budget announcement last night. The government announced that Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions that patients can access in a year has been doubled to 20 for all Australians.
Farmers were promised a special regional package of $550 million to help them recover from the financial effects of COVID-19, along with the devastating droughts and bushfires earlier this year.
Part of this will include $250 million aimed at increasing regional tourism and $30.3 million to improve mobile and broadband services in rural areas.
Losers
Childcare
Assistance for childcare providers was left unmentioned in the Federal Budget. With parents returning to work, many expected there would be some announcement to ease the burden of placing children in childcare while their parents added to the economy.
The government had provided support earlier in the year when nationwide restrictions were introduced, providing a $1.9 billion lifeline to the childcare sector.
Superannuation
People will be hoping their super funds are performing up to standard after the Budget announced $17.9 billion will be spent over 10 years to hold funds to account for underperformance.
The trustees that oversee funds would also have to comply with a tighter requirement to act only in their members’ best financial interests, which could make it harder for super funds to raise broader social concerns.
Migrants
For the first time in years, Australia’s migration numbers are expected to drop, with the Government forecasting net overseas migration will fall from around 154,000 in 2019-20 to -72,000 by the end of 2020-21.
It is expected to gradually increase to around 201,000 in 2023-24.
The Government is, however, increasing the family stream of immigration “on a one-off basis” and prioritising partner visitors for people living in regional Australia.
Women
Women over 45 were the most likely to be on JobSeeker before the advent of COVID-19 and the budget does not offer them the same support to get back to work as younger workers whose employers are eligible for JobMaker credits.
The new Women’s Economic Security Statement in the budget did announce $240 million of funding measures for the next four years, focusing on increasing jobs for women in male-dominated industries like construction, more co-funded grants for women-founded start-ups, and a focus on encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in STEM.
Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has delivered the budget speech on the floor of the House of Representatives tonight, revealing Australia is $213.7 billion in deficit.
Follow our live blog here.
Aged care:
The Budget will provide support to older Australians who wish to stay at home for longer by providing $1.6 billion for an additional 23,000 home care packages across all package levels.
The number of home care packages will have increased three-fold from around 60,300 in 2013 to around 185,500 in 2021.
A further $11.3 million will be provided for training and support for aged care providers and carers of people experiencing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Pensioners:
The Budget includes two additional $250 payments, the first to be provided from December 2020 and the second from early 2021.
The Government will spend $93.8 billion on health in 2020-21.
This Budget also includes $376 million for new and amended listings on the PBS, including lifesaving medicines to treat leukaemia, melanoma and Parkinson’s disease.
The Government is also contributing $50 million to the establishment of the Victorian Melanoma and Clinical Trials Centre at the Alfred Hospital, helping researchers to better understand melanoma.
Disability:
The Government is providing a further $3.9 billion to the NDIS.
Education:
An additional $146 million will be provided to improve the educational outcomes of school leavers and disadvantaged students.
$18 billion in funding is also guaranteed for all higher education institutions in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guarantee is extended until 2023.
Veterans:
$94.3 million to improve mental health outcomes and ensure high-quality care for older veterans and their families.
Eligible veteran income support recipients and concession card holders will also receive two additional $250 Economic Support Payments from December 2020 and from early 2021.
Supporting communities:
The Government is providing $220 million to support the delivery of critical front line services for families.
This includes $133 million towards family and child support programs and $87.3 million towards Family Law and Family Relationship Services.
Family and Federal Circuit Courts with be provided an additional $10.2 million to manage the impacts of COVID-19.
JobMaker Hiring Credit:
The $4 billion JobMaker Hiring Credit will be payable for up to 12 months for each new job and is available from tomorrow to employers who hire eligible employees aged 16-35.
The Hiring Credit will be paid quarterly in arrears at the rate of $200 per week for those aged between 16-29, and $100 per week for those aged between 30-35. Eligible employees are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week.
To be eligible, employers will need to demonstrate an increase in overall employee headcount and payroll for each additional new position created.
Treasury estimates that this will support around 450,000 jobs for young people.
Skills and training:
The JobMaker Plan includes the establishment of the $1 billion JobTrainer Fund to create up to 340,000 free or low cost training places for school leavers and job seekers.
The Federal Government is committing an additional $1.2 billion to create 100,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships, with a 50 per cent wage subsidy for businesses who employ them.
To help more Australians get a job, funding will also be provided for 50,000 new higher education short courses and 12,000 new Commonwealth supported places for higher education in 2021.
Tax relief:
An additional $17.8 billion in personal income tax relief will be provided for more than 11 million hard-working Australians to support the economic recovery, including an additional $12.5 billion over the next 12 months.
Over 99 percent of businesses employing 11.5 million Australians will be allowed to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets of any value in the year they are installed. Small, medium and larger businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion will be eligible.
Companies with turnover up to $5 billion will also be allowed to offset losses against previous profits on which tax has been paid to generate a refund.
Building Australia’s capability:
1.5 billion will be invested in Australia’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy. There will also be:
An additional $2 billion through the Research and Development Tax Incentive.
$1 billion for new research funding for our universities.
$1.9 billion in new funding to support low emissions and renewable technologies.
Infrastructure:
The Budget will fund major projects across each state:
The Singleton Bypass and Bolivia Hill Upgrade in New South Wales.
The upgrade of the Shepparton and Warrnambool Rail Lines in Victoria.
The Coomera Connector in Queensland.
The Wheatbelt Secondary Freight Network in Western Australia.
The Main South Road Duplication in South Australia.
The Tasman Bridge Upgrade in Tasmania.
The Carpentaria Highway Upgrades in the Northern Territory.
The Molonglo River Bridge in the Australian Capital Territory.
The Budget also includes a $2 billion investment in road safety upgrades to save lives.
15-year-old Greek Australian, Eleni Efthimiou, has made history after placing second against all odds in a swimming race across the Corinth Canal in Greece on September 24. The Sydney girl also came in first place in the Marathon bay competition.
For many, these achievements come as no surprise as Eleni has been a shining star in the Australian swimming arena for many years.
Eleni has been swimming since she was three years old and is a member of the Carlile Swim Club, as well as the pre-national team. She has participated in the NSW State Championship in the 400m freestyle and in the Open Water Championships (5km).
15-year-old Greek Australian, Eleni Efthimiou, has made history after placing second against all odds in a race across the Corinth Canal in Greece.
For the last two years, she has participated in the Australian Open Water Championship (5 km in the ocean). She was also a member of the 4 x 1.25 kilometre team (under 14 years old), which won a silver medal at the Australian Open Water Championships.
But still, nothing compares to Eleni’s participation in the Corinth Canal race. She was one of 600 participants who were invited to swim a total of 6.5 kilometres across the Canal.
Always by her side during the competition were members of her family, including her mother Suzie Efthimiou, her father Bill, her grandmother and her grandmother’s first cousin and well-known wrestler, George Zorbas.
Always by her side during the competition were members of her family, including her mother Suzie Efthimiou, her father Bill and her grandmother.
Eleni’s mother encouraged her to enter the race in the first place and she tells The Greek Herald that she went through moments of great anxiety as she watched some of the competitors drop out of the race, only to find her own daughter “disappear” in the currents.
“Imagine feeling like I was losing sight of my daughter, climbing up and down the bridge and thinking that if something happened to her I would be the reason I did everything she could to get involved,” Suzie tells The Greek Herald.
She later recalled the moment she saw her daughter reach a short distance from the finish line and compete with another swimmer who was trying to overtake her, managing to finish before him.
An impressive achievement winning her the admiration and praise of many!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. To help do our part, The Greek Herald has compiled a list of important facts about breast cancer, with a special focus on the importance of early detection.
What is breast cancer:
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
In Australia, it is the second largest cause of death in women after lung cancer. Approximately 17,000 women are also diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Although no one knows the exact cause of breast cancer, the National Breast Cancer Foundation states that there are risk factors (some avoidable, others not), which make women more susceptible to the disease. These are:
Alcohol intake.
Obesity.
Smoking.
Gender (while some men do get breast cancer [estimated at 1 in 675], women make up 99 percent of cases).
Age (the older women get, the higher their risk of developing breast cancer).
Family history / Genetics.
Source: The National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Early Detection:
Early detection of breast cancer provides the best chance of survival. The earlier an abnormality is discovered, the greater the number of effective treatment options available.
There are many ways breast cancer can be detected. These include: Clinical examination, mammograms, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound and biopsy.
The Australian government offers a national screening program, BreastScreen Australia, which invites women aged 50 to 74 to undergo free mammograms every two years.
Similarly, it is also important to be ‘breast aware’ so that you can identify any unusual changes. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, symptoms of breast cancer include:
A lump or thickening in the breast, especially if it is only in one breast.
Changes to the shape or size of the breast.
Changes to the shape of the nipple, such as crusting, sores or ulcers, redness or inversion (a nipple that turns in when it used to point out).
Changes to the skin of the breast, such as dimpling (sometimes looking like an orange peel), a rash, scaly appearance, unusual redness or other colour changes.
Fluid leaking or discharge from the nipple that occurs without squeezing.
Persistent, unusual pain that doesn’t go away.
Swelling or discomfort in the armpit.
BreastScreen Australia invites women aged 50 to 74 to undergo free mammograms every two years.
Please note that most breast changes are not caused by cancer, and the symptoms listed can be caused by other medical conditions.
However, if you have noticed any symptoms or changes in your breasts, it is important that you see your doctor without delay so that the changes can be checked.
Diagnosis – Stages and Types
Breast cancer staging describes how far the cancer has spread within the breast and other parts of the body. It is an important factor in making treatment decisions. Stages of breast cancer are numbered from 0 to 4.
Stage 0 refers to ‘pre-invasive’ breast cancers.
Stage 1 and 2 are referred to as early breast cancer.
Stage 1 and 2 breast cancer is invasive breast cancer that is contained within the breast. It may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes in the breast or armpit. Some cancer cells may have spread outside the breast and armpit area but cannot be detected.
An overview of breast cancer stages. Source: advancedbreastcancer.net.
Stage 3 is referred to as locally advanced breast cancer.
It is invasive breast cancer that has one or more of the following features: may be large (typically bigger than 5cm), may have spread to lymph nodes in the underarm area or other areas near the breast, and may have spread to other tissues around the breast such as skin, muscles or ribs.
Stage 4 is called advanced or metastatic breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Common places of breast cancer spread include the bones, liver, lung, and brain. However, breast cancer may also spread to other organs.
Treatment:
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, there are a number of treatment options. Some are described below but these descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive or replace professional medical advice.
Please consult with your doctor or cancer care team if you are concerned about the risks and side effects of any recommended treatment.
Surgery:
Surgical treatment is an operation where the doctor removes the tumour. This is one of the common treatment options for women with breast cancer. The two main types of surgery are:
Breast-conserving surgery where the surgeon removes the tumour and some surrounding tissue, leaving as much breast tissue as possible.
A mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast. Some women may choose to have a double mastectomy, where both breasts are removed. A woman may opt to have breast reconstruction surgery at the same time as her mastectomy, but it may also occur later as a separate operation.
Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy is the administration of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy can be given intravenously (injected into your vein) or orally. The drugs used will depend on the type and stage of breast cancer. There are often side-effects associated with chemotherapy, including nausea, fatigue, hair loss, mouth ulcers and constipation.
Radiotherapy:
Radiotherapy is the use of targeted radiation, such as x-rays, to destroy cancer cells or keep them from growing. It may be given externally or internally.
If you would like to find out more information about breast cancer, please visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation‘s website. It has provided a basis for this article.
The Federal Government has today struck a deal with South Australian minor party, Centre Alliance, to back its contentious changes to university course funding.
The government will now be able to pass the bill in time for the 2021 academic year, with the support of One Nation and Centre Alliance overcoming opposition from Labor, the Greens, and independent senators Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick.
The shake-up of the tertiary sector is one of the most significant in a generation and will result in sweeping changes to the way certain courses are funded.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan announced changes to how university courses were funded in June. Photo: ABC News / Matt Roberts.
The bill increases fees for some courses, including humanities and law, to fund fee cuts for other courses, such as sciences. This means that future university students in disciplines such as law and humanities will pay up to 113 percent more than current students.
The bill also proposes that university students who failed more than half of their subjects would lose access to government loans and subsidies.
In a Facebook post, Federal Member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas, criticised these proposed changes, calling them “draconian.”
“I am opposed to the Government’s changes to university fees. Now is not the time to be making it harder and more expensive to go to university. We should be supporting people to undertake further study and training,” Mr Georganas wrote.
University Fee Increases!Today, together with Tanya Plibersek and SA Labor colleagues, we articulated to the media in…
This opposition was backed by members of the Greek Australian community as well late this afternoon.
President of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia, Bill Gonis, tells The Greek Herald, that his community, along with the Greek communities of Victoria and NSW, are also “strongly opposed” to the changes.
“The Greek Orthodox Community of SA, together with the Greek communities of Victoria and NSW, are strongly opposed to the Federal Government’s proposed changes to university funding. It appears the Federal Government has struck a deal with South Australian minor party, Centre Alliance, to back its contentious changes to university course funding,” Mr Gonis says to The Greek Herald.
“The bill proposes a major restructuring of university funding by hiking fees for some courses, including by 113 per cent for humanities, to pay for cuts to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), nursing and teaching courses. This will not only impact and be catastrophic for Greek studies, it will also mean that only well-off students will take languages.
“We understand as many as 3500 South Australian school leavers would face paying $9000 or $23,000 more for their chosen university courses under Federal Government reforms. We too, believe that no Australian should miss out on the job they want, and the education they need to get it, because they can’t afford it.
“Today students are leaving university with massive debt and these proposed changes will leave students with more debt for longer. The Greek Community of South Australia strongly believes this bill will have a negative impact on South Australia’s young people, research capacity and job creation in our state.”
In the face of this criticism, Education Minister, Dan Tehan, defended the Federal Government’s proposed university funding changes, saying the legislation will actually “provide more university places for Australian students.”
“The … legislation will make it cheaper to study in areas of expected job growth and provide more funding and support to regional students and universities,” Mr Tehan said.
Only time will tell what the true impact of these changes will be.
The Archaeological Museum of Pella, in the northern Greek region of Macedonia, was recently awarded the coveted 2020 Traveler’s Choice Award by the international travel website Tripadvisor.
The award is given to businesses, attractions and monuments which consistently receive excellent reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10 percent of Tripadvisor’s listings.
“Especially this year, because of the pandemic, the distinction from Tripadvisor is great for all of us and comes to reward the tremendous effort made by all the staff,” the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Pella, Elisavet Tsigarida, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency after the award announcement.
Credit: Marcus Cyron / Wikimedia commons.
“Congratulations to all the employees, especially to the security guards and the cleaning. We wanted people to feel safe… (However), it is a very difficult year.”
Located in Macedonia, the homeland of Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, the Pella area and the historical museum in particular, has historical treasures second to none worldwide.
From pure gold masks and jewelry to helmets worn by Macedonian warriors, the Pella Museum’s collections are some of the most spectacular achievements of Greek art and history.
The marble bust of Alexander the Great, (325 BC- 300 BC), unearthed by accident at Giannitsa, is one of the most outstanding of all the museum’s offerings.
The institution itself is a destination for all those who appreciate the long history of ancient Greece.
Stelios Petsas, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesman, announced on Monday that the country’s traditional military and school parades on October 28th would not take place this year due to coronavirus concerns.
Although Greece’s virus numbers remain low compared to other European nations, Petsas stated that the risk of the further spread and transmission of COVID-19 is too high to allow for the parades.
“It is now clear that a second wave of the pandemic has already occurred in our country and throughout Europe, which is reflected in the number of cases, intubations and, unfortunately, deaths,” Petsas said during a health briefing on Monday.
“Vigilance is needed… because the picture can easily change dramatically.”
OXI Day commemorates the moment when Greek Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas, on October 28, 1940, rejected Benito Mussolini’s ultimatum to allow Axis forces to invade strategic locations in Greece during WWII.
After the war, OXI Day became a national holiday in Greece and Cyprus.
It is celebrated every year with military and school parades in both countries and around the world among the Greek Diaspora.
South Australian MP Sam Duluk has appeared in court charged with basic assault over inappropriate conduct at a parliamentary Christmas party last year.
Duluk came before Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday after being accused of making inappropriate comments to SA-BEST MP Connie Bonaros and allegedly slapping her on the buttocks at the party on December 13.
It was his first appearance since police issued a summons with the former Liberal represented by high-profile lawyer Marie Shaw QC.
Sam Duluk is accused of making inappropriate comments to an MP and slapping her buttocks at a party. Credit: AAP.
Ms Shaw asked the court to issue a subpoena for certain documents to be produced by the company appointed by former parliamentary speaker, Vincent Tarzia, to investigate the allegations.
She said the defence was also waiting for the prosecution to disclose other information.
“That disclosure, I understand, is in train but the prosecution do seek more time to respond and provide the relevant documents,” she told the court.
Ms Shaw asked for the case to be adjourned for six weeks, with magistrate Alf Grasso ordering it return to court on December 9.
Duluk was banished from the Liberal Parliamentary Party over his behaviour and had his wider Liberal Party membership suspended.
But the parliamentary inquiry into his conduct was put on hold while the police investigations were underway.
