The remains of six Greek soldiers killed in Cyprus during the 1974 Turkish invasion will be handed over to their families on Thursday during a ceremony in Nicosia to be taken back home after 45 years.
Two of the soldiers had been missing since then while the other four had been buried in Lakatamia.
The remains of lieutenant Georgios Papalambrides, posthumously promoted to lieutenant general, were found in the Alonagra area of Pentadaktylos as part of the work of the committee on missing persons.
As were the remains of sergeant Pavlos Poulides, which were found in Kioneli. Poulides was later promoted to warrant officer.
Warrant officer Constantinos Kourlios, posthumously promoted to colonel, had been buried in a military cemetery in Lakatamia along with private Vasilios Panayiotou. He was later promoted to warrant officer.
The other two, warrant officers Constantinos Kateros and Constantinos Elia, had been part of a commando unit airlifted to Cyprus in July 1974 to reinforce the National Guard. They were killed after their plane was shot down by friendly fire over the Nicosia airport.
“It is certainly a moving moment. We express our admiration for the relatives for the patience and strength they showed all these years and hope to ease their pain with this act,” presidential commissioner Photis Photiou said.
Family members will arrive from Greece on Wednesday and they will be briefed by the authorities.
The remains will be flown to Greece in a Greek air force C-130 transport plane.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held a 90-minute meeting where the parallel countries addressed all their mutual tensions ranging from exclusive economic zones (EEZ), bilateral relations, confidence-building measures and the migrant crisis that has heavily affected both countries.
Earlier on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “all the issues” that have recently increased tensions between the two countries during a meeting on the sidelines of NATO’s 70th birthday gathering in London, according to Ekathimerini.
“I presented all the issues arising from the latest Turkish actions. The disagreements from both sides were noted. The two sides, however, agreed to continue discussions on the confidence-building measures of the ministry of defence,” he told journalists after the meeting.
“I would like to assure the Greek people that difficulties in our relationship with Turkey have always existed, still exist, and will exist. But I believe that as long as both sides show goodwill, these difficulties can be overcome,” Mitsotakis said.
EEZ
According to sources quoted by the Athens-Macedonia News Agency (AMNA), the Greek premier clarified that the Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding on maritime zones in the East Mediterranean is legally invalid and complicates things in a volatile region.
Ankara agreement
The EU, Russia, and the US all denounced Ankara’s agreement as a destabilising factor for the entire region, according to To Vima.
It should be noted that for decades Athens rejected a no-holds barred bilateral dialogue on Turkish claims, which was always a top objective for Ankara, and which Athens still believes Turkey could provoke with a military incident.
The Ankara agreement addresses the relations between Turkey and the European Union.
Migration crisis
The meeting at NATO was not as much a negotiation as it was confirmation of the positions of the two sides on certain issues.
Mitsotakis took the opportunity to underline that Turkey had violated the agreements of the EU-Turkey statement, which was an agreement made between the EU and Turkey in 2016 which aimed to limit the number of migrants entering Turkey.
After the meeting Mitsotakis said he had an “open discussion” with Erdogan and before the meeting he had said he would attend the talks “with open cards”.
Confidence-building measures
One agreement the two sides did come to was to continue talks on increasing confidence-building measures, which are actions and agreements from both sides to reduce the fear of military or physical attacks between two politically tense countries.
In a peculiar incident, the state-run Athens News Agency reported – citing defence ministry sources – that the government has decided to freeze the talks on CBMs in response to Turkish aggressiveness and its stance on the migration issue and that the withdrawal would be implemented by Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos.
Hours later the PM’s office denied there was such a decision – even though state-run media reported it – and that it was a leak from the defence ministry, according to To Vima.
It is unclear what had transpired in the interim or if there was any intervention.
“I placed on the table all the issues arising from Turkey’s latest actions. The differences on both sides were registered. However, the two sides agreed to continue talks on CBMs being carried out by the defence ministry,” Mitsotakis said.
Bank of Sydney CEO, Mr Miltos Michaelas, spoke exclusively to The Greek Herald about:
Moving for the job,
Transforming an organisation,
Maintaining a family culture in large organisations,
The future of Australian youth and young Greek-Australians
“You always have to remember that these are people… it’s about people.”
Moving for the job
Michaelas first came to Australia in 2001, which he
identified as a major career opportunity.
“I was 32 years old. But I had ties here, as a family. All
of my mother’s brothers are here. I grew up writing my mother’s letters to her
brothers. The family was very attached to Australia so when I was offered the
opportunity to come to Australia, I took the job.”
He points out that from a professional point of view, it was
a very good proposition and an opportunity to see relatives in Australia, along
with the excitement of the adventure.
In 2001, he was asked to set up the Laiki Bank in Australia where he completed his first stint in Australia before returning back to Cyprus..
10 years later, Michaelas returned to Australia following
the major banking crisis in 2013 in Cyprus, where numerous banks were called to
dismiss a large number of employees and he was offered the opportunity to
return to Australia.
He was put forward to come to Australia and build something, which excited him and he took on the challenge. “It was an opportunity to take on something I left behind and move on to a much deeper market. To take the Bank of Sydney from where it was and make it something much bigger, a bank that had the staff, the name, the investors, was a big challenge for me. All that needed to change was the way it was steered. I thought it was an opportunity to do something that Greeks could be proud of.”
Transforming an organisation
Miltos notes that his biggest challenge was responding to
the fast pace changes in society, and adapting new knowledge to effectively
achieve these responses.
“You need a plan, a goal…and some time to adjust to the
world. We needed 3 years to make the transition,” says Miltos.
One of the steps in his plan and adjustments was “marrying”
the people that already existed in the business, with new employees in a
cohesive manner. Miltos says he is extremely pleased with how Bank of Sydney
has adapted to the “new world” and “achieved this adjustment and our goals,
because they have all been done smoothly without distractions.”
Ultimately, one of Miltos’ more personal and profound
“goals” was devising a plan that would make Bank of Sydney “a bank that Greeks
would be proud of”.
He believes Bank of Sydney has done this by keeping what the
bank was and slowly entering the wider market, so the community could
understand the market was “not purely Greeks”.
Though, serving the Greek community is something Mr Michaelas
has always held close to his heart.
“That is why the aim remains to build a name on the national
market today, and our success to be a factor of pride for all generations of
Greeks in Australia. What we know from community banking can also be
incorporated into our proposal for national banking.”
“Our goal was to inspire the new generation, to give us the opportunity to work together. Because if this generation doesn’t see us as something comparable to other banks, as something that gives them pride, they won’t trust us.”
Bank of Sydney building.
Maintaining a family culture in large organisations
Miltos also notes a key part of the success of the Bank of
Sydney due to the work of his employees and the family dynamic of the bank.
“When you work as a family, you try to help even your
weakest children. You don’t give up…We also needed new skills, and we provided
them with new hires,” explains Miltos.
He believes the Bank of Sydney was able to keep this “family
culture”, even in the large corporation that it is, by keeping staff who have
been around since the beginning, and integrating new staff who have brought the
new skills required to respond to the new era.
Mr Michaelas believes banking is more than finance, which is
why he was able to make the decision to uproot his whole life for it, as he sees
it as an important avenue to help others.
“Someone has an idea, to build their own home, to run a
business, and he tells the idea to the bank. He [the banker] listens to it, he
sees the idea being implemented and helps with the result. The right bank
enjoys the success of its customers and regrets when a customer fails,” says
Miltos.
“We know all of our customers and rejoice when they succeed,
and we grieve when they fail.”
Miltos notes his biggest risk, to this day, in the course of
his career, concerned his family.
“When someone makes a business choice, the family is tied to
it and the risks are then bigger…we all try to do the best for the family, but
we may not always succeed. In the end it went well, but we also had difficult
times. The children had to undergo an adaptation process twice. Today, they
have overcome it, they have friends, their lives run smoothly. But there were
also difficult times,” he admits.
When asked to offer some advice to a family contemplating
going through a similar transition process, he stresses that they need very
good preparation, especially with regard to children.
“If there is a way, it would be good to do it slowly,” says
Miltos. He believes if it is possible for families to visit the place they are
moving to beforehand, or have more time to settle in, this would greatly help
with the transition process.
He admits he made this mistake with his family the first time they moved to Australia. He says due to the distance, the family was not entirely prepared for the move, and the day after they landed they launched straight into their new daily routine, which was a big shock for the family. Though, he notes it was not as difficult a move as it would have been for the first generation of immigrants who came to Australia to live. He also thinks that age plays a role, as it is easier for children to adjust when they are younger rather than older.
The future of Australia and young Greek-Australians
Miltos views the new generation of Australians and
Greek-Australians in an extremely positive light. He believes the emerging
generation is a product of the migrant motivation for success.
“In the past the first generation faced difficulties. They
came to a difficult country, they did not know the language and they were trying
to survive. The younger generations, however, are not faced with as many
difficulties, but they have the opportunity to learn from their parents,” says
Miltos.
Miltos heavily engages with young Australians, through the
Bank of Sydney apprenticeship program and beyond, and has a direct
understanding of their work ethic, initiative and motivation to succeed.
When asked specifically about Greek-Australians, Miltos
believes the only difference between other Australians their age is that they
have the opportunity to learn and understand the difficulties the previous
generations of Greek migrants went through, and how they overcame them. Miltos
views this as a differentiating source of inspiration for young
Greek-Australians. He sees this work ethic stems from the question they asked
themselves; “my parents did it in such difficult conditions, why not me?”
When asked what he would like people to remember him for, his
answer is laconic and simple:
“I want to be remembered as a good kid. That’s enough for
me. A good kid.”
A woman who once worked for businessman Alkiviades “Alki” David won her sexual harassment suit against the Greek billionaire, with jurors ordering David to pay $58 million (€52 million) in damages, her lawyer said on Monday.
According to Attorney Gloria Allred and her associates, David would regularly grab the claimant, Mahim Khan, by the neck and simulate oral sex. This would allegedly happen twice or three times a week.
The LA panel also heard that David repeatedly groped Khan and exposed her breasts on one occasion. A jury eventually found him liable for battery, sexual battery, and sexual harassment.
Allred said it was one the biggest sums to ever be awarded in a case like this. She noted that “women like Ms Khan are no longer willing to suffer in silence.”
‘System is broken’
Khan worked as production assistant in David’s LA based-firms. The Greek national is an heir to the Coca-Cola Hellenic shipping and bottling company and also heads several media firms, including hologram and online streaming businesses. His net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion.
David started the trial representing himself but was stripped of this right after repeated profanity-laced outbursts against Khan and her lawyers. He denied her claims and accused the judge of blocking witnesses who would speak in his favor.
“This trial proves that not only is the system broken,” he said in a statement on Monday. “It’s in a state of emergency. It’s an emergency for employment law, for business and innovation in the state of California.”
The businessman is set to appeal the decision.
The latest verdict comes after David was ordered to pay a total of over $14 million to two different women earlier this year in similar cases.
Athens’ Acropolis took first place in the ‘Top 5 most “Immersive Experiences” in the world at the Family Traveller Excellence Awards 2019.
The event hosted by UK magazine voted the renowned Greek attraction one of the best experiences for kids.
The “Immersive Experiences” category, is reserved for the top five tours, treks and programs that extend beyond tourism and allow families to fully immerse themselves in the destination. This category is decided by children’s votes.
This year, the children placed the Acropolis at the top due to its “rich history and creative experiences”.
The list also included Crans-Montana in Switzerland, Cite de l’espace in Toulouse, Jamaica, and Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Italy.
Employees from “Open Fiber” who were lying fibre optic cables in the southern part of Sicily were surprised to discover two ancient burial sites underground, which are believed to be connected to an ancient Greek city. One of the urns was discovered with the remains of a newborn baby inside.
The 2500-year-old remains have started an archaeological investigation, which officials say will continue to expand the theory of an ancient burial ground dating back to the first Greek inhabitants of Italy, said The Local Italy.
Among the artefacts found was a hydria, an ancient vase, with a fine continuous-wave decoration along its rim. Hydria were traditionally used to carry water but have also been known to serve as a cinerary urn. In this case, the vase was used to accommodate the small bones of a newborn baby.
Just two weeks prior, a sarcophagus with an intact skeleton was discovered just a short distance away, reports the Italian government. Large slaughtered animals were also reportedly found at the site in what may have been part of a funerary ritual.
The Department of Cultural Heritage believes that the cemetery may be a part of Borgo, a necropolis that was first excavated at the beginning of the 20th century. A large block between the two may have served as a boundary between the city and its burial ground, reports Italian publication La Sicilia.
Additionally, more than a dozen ceramic objects were discovered, each constructed in the style of Fikellura and likely produced in Rhodes more than 2,500 years ago.
“Once again, Gela confirms itself as one of the Sicilian places that can tell an important part of our ancient history,” said president of the Sicilian Region Nello Musumeci in a translated press release, adding that the discovery is confirmation of the high attention paid to the Gelese territory, which is considered to be a “precious treasure chest of archaeological evidence.”
Gela is believed to be one of the earliest settlements of immigrating Greeks from the nearby islands of Rhodes and Crete. The graves at this site are of particular importance because they belong to some of the first people to inhabit the new colony, bringing with them rich ceramics that are still coveted across much of Europe today, according to Britannica.
Musumeci says that he intends to continue the work of evaluating the area in light of the recent findings.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has stated that he
plans to meet with Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on the sidelines
of the NATO summit in London, amid tension between the two neighbours.
Erdogan reportedly stated that he will be briefing the Greek
Prime Minister on an “effective” maritime border’s agreement, which was signed
between Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognised government’s last week.
Speaking ahead of the North Atlantic summit, Erdogan also
said that Libya may withdraw their ambassador from Greece before Athens can
expel him, due to a response to the deal signed with Ankara by the
Tripoli-based government of Fayez al-Sarraj.
On Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement
disputing the existence of the continental shelf of Kastellorizo in the
southern Aegean.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has sent a letter of sympathy and support to Australian Archbishop Makarios, for the bushfires devastating the country.
The letter stated that “it is with profound sorrow that we have watched the suffering of many people due to the devastating fires which have arisen in recent days in your beloved Christ-loving province.”
Patriarch Bartholomew added, “we seek through this letter to express our wholehearted sympathy towards your beloved Sanctity and through it, to the charitable Clergy and the Christ-loving people of the wounded territories of our Holy Archdiocese of Australia. In as much as we testify for the Holy and Great Church of Christ, we also declare personally, our loving interest and positive support.”
The Patriarchal letter also stated, “having ourselves come from a history of spiritual ordeals and the suffering of our People, we express to all, as a sponsor of good cheer, the immeasurable concern and paternal affection towards our troubled people and our Patriarchal prayer and blessing for a speedy recovery to serenity and normality. We also extend our condolences to the relatives of the victims and to all those who have been tormented unjustly in this cruel and harsh ordeal.”
Patriarch Bartholomew is the current Archbishop of Constantinople, which is the highest position in the Eastern Orthodox Church around the globe.
In an interview, Stefanos Tsitsipas spoke about his future goals. The Greek player said: “My goal is to become the world No. 1 at some point. But for me, the most important thing is to feel comfortable when I am competing on the court.
The more I play, the better I feel. My father makes me feel better, he gives me confidence and I know that with his help I will be doing very well in the future. He is calm and he gives me good suggestions so that I can handle myself.
But lately, I have been feeling even better because I fell in love. It’s a magical situation, it makes you think. Love makes you feel much better every day.” In an interview, Tsitsipas’ fellow Greek player Maria Sakkari spoke about him winning the ATP Finals title in London.
She said: “It was a big title for Greek tennis. What he did was unreal. I am very happy for him because he really deserves it. I sent him a message and he answered. I think he will now go on holidays and then he will prepare ahead of the next year.”
On people saying they may be in a romantic relationship, Sakkari concluded: “At some point, they should stop because both of us said we are not dating each other. That’s true. Each one has own life. We are friends because we are athletes and we are the only Greeks playing abroad.”
On how being a famous athlete encourages men to try and date her, Sakkari concluded: “I definitely receive so many messages from men who would like to start dating me. But I cannot say they really flirt.”
The White House released a statement this morning, that Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will visit the White House on January 7, 2020.
According to the statement, “this visit will celebrate the strong economic, security and cultural ties between the United States and Greece, an important North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Ally”.
The statement suggests President Trump will use this visit to advance the USA’s interests throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
President Trump has emphasised three areas of focus with Greece’s Prime Minister; telecommunications and security in regards to 5G, countering malign influence in the region and promoting religious freedom worldwide.
