Greek Australian student activist Drew Pavlou is facing a two year suspension from the University of Queensland after public criticism of Queensland’s links to Chinese Government organisations.
A closed disciplinary hearing considered whether Drew Pavlou breached the university’s code of conduct, mainly stemming from his activism on campus against the Chinese Communist Party.
On Friday evening, Mr Pavlou tweeted he had been “expelled for two years” and had been given “no reasoning” and was threatened with consequences if he breached the confidentiality of [UQ’s] decision.
I’ve been expelled from The University of Queensland for two years as a reprisal for my activism criticizing the Chinese government. Will launch immediate appeal
Mr Pavlou has long been critical of the university’s ties to Chinese Government organisations, including the Confucius Institute.
6 months away from graduation, Drew claims that his suspensions shows “how deep the Chinese Government influence goes in Australia and in other countries of the world.”
In a statement, UQ’s Chancellor Peter Varghese said he was advised of the outcome of the disciplinary action on Friday.
“There are aspects of the findings and the severity of the penalty which personally concern me,” he said.
“In consultation with the Vice-Chancellor, who has played no role in this disciplinary process, I have decided to convene an out-of-session meeting of UQ’s senate next week to discuss the matter.”
UQ has maintained the disciplinary hearing was not in relation to Mr Pavlou’s criticism of the university’s relationship with China.
The University of Queensland has expelled me, an Australian student, for attacking the Chinese government’s human rights record. Twenty per cent of their revenue comes from China, so my pro-Hong Kong activism threatened their business model. pic.twitter.com/N2KUEveUgT
The Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck was arrested on murder charges Friday and accused in court papers of ignoring another officer’s concerns about the handcuffed black man who died after pleading that he could not breathe.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the case, which sparked protests across the United States and fires and looting in Minneapolis.
Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Epidophoros described the incident as an “unjust slaying” that “cannot be where America stands.”
“Violence only breeds violence, but when such violence is perpetrated by those in authority, we must all stand up and say:’Not on our watch!’ We must stand against racism and stand for equality for all,” he tweeted on Friday.
A protester carries a U.S. flag upside down, a sign of distress, next to a burning building Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Police were trying to put Floyd in a squad car on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill when he stiffened up and fell to the ground, saying he was claustrophobic. Chauvin and officer Tou Thoa arrived to help and tried several times to get Floyd into the car, but he struggled, the complaint said.
At one point, Chauvin pulled Floyd out of the passenger side of the car, and Floyd, who was handcuffed, went to the ground face down. Officer J.K. Kueng held Floyd’s back and officer Thomas Lane held his legs, while Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s head and neck area, the complaint said.
Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning fast food restaurant, Friday, May 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Lane asked, “Should we roll him on his side?” Chauvin said, “No, staying put is where we got him.” Lane said he was “worried about excited delirium or whatever,” and Chauvin said, “That’s why we have him on his stomach,” according to the complaint.
After Floyd apparently stopped breathing, Lane again said that he wanted to roll Chauvin onto his side. Kueng checked for a wrist pulse and said he could not find one, the complaint said.
In all, Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, including nearly three minutes after Floyd stopped moving and talking, according to the complaint.
Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
All four officers who were at the scene of Floyd’s death on Monday were fired the next day.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state has taken over the response to the violence and that it’s time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.
“Minneapolis and St. Paul are on fire. The fire is still smoldering in our streets. The ashes are symbolic of decades and generations of pain, of anguish unheard,” Walz said, adding. “Now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world — and the world is watching.”
The Greek government has condemned Turkey’s “fiestas”, organised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, outside of Hagia Sophia on Friday on the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople.
The fiesta took place in Istanbul last night outside the former church and patriarchal cathedral of Greek Orthodoxy, the Hagia Sophia, a museum since 1932.
Government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, expressed the country’s disapproval of the planned events on Friday.
“The fiesta that Ankara is preparing in Hagia Sophia is disturbing and is a matter of denouncement because, among other things, it has been designated a museum of world cultural heritage and is currently being used to promote other purposes,” Petsas said on Friday, speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI.
Petsas pointed out that this was not the first time that something along these lines was happening at the historic church.
“We are monitoring any provocation but we always promote good neighbourly relations, in accordance with international law,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday that mosques will re-open for worshipers on Friday and a big collective prayer would be held outside the Hagia Sofia.
Last year, Erdogan announced his intention to covert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The Turkish President has so far refrained from doing so, being warned by UNESCO of the consequences for the Turkish cultural and scientific community.
One by one, the children and adults line up for the centuries-old ritual of Holy Communion, trying to keep a proper social distance.
Contrary to science, the Greek Orthodox Church insists it is impossible for any disease — including the coronavirus — to be transmitted through Holy Communion.
“In the holy chalice, it isn’t bread and wine. It is the body and blood of Christ,” said the Rev. Georgios Milkas, a theologian in the northern city of Thessaloniki. “And there is not a shred of suspicion of transmitting this virus, this disease, as in the holy chalice there is the Son and the Word of God.”
This is proven, he said, through “the experience of centuries.”
In this Sunday, May 24, 2020, photo, a Greek Orthodox priest uses a shared spoon to distribute Holy Communion during Sunday Mass in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Scientists warn that shared utensils can spread the coronavirus, and they also point to outbreaks linked to religious services around the world.
A communal spoon presents “fairly significant dangers,” said Dr. Nathalie MacDermott, an academic clinical lecturer for Britain’s National Institute for Health Research at King’s College London.
“The danger of transmitting any kind of respiratory viral pathogen or even bacterial infections is quite high with the sharing of utensils,” she said. “And for it to be passed among what is probably a relatively large group of people means that all it would take is one person to have coronavirus at the back of their throat, which potentially is in their saliva as well.”
In this Sunday, May 24, 2020, photo, Sunday Mass is held outside a Greek Orthodox church in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
The Holy Synod, the church’s governing body, says any suggestion that illness or disease could be transmitted by Holy Communion is blasphemy, a stance echoed by the Church of Cyprus.
“Regarding the issue that is unjustifiably raised from time to time about the supposed dangers, which in these blasphemous views are said to lurk in the life-giving Mystery of Holy Communion, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece expresses its bitterness, deep sorrow and diametrical opposition,” it said in a May 13 circular on social distancing measures in churches.
The Synod “underlines one more time to all those who, either due to ignorance or conscious faithlessness, brutally insult all that is holy and sacred, the dogmas and the sacred rules of our faith, that Holy Communion is ‘the medicine of immortality, antidote to not dying, but to living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ forever.’”
In this Sunday, May 24, 2020, photo, a woman kisses an icon as she attends Sunday Mass outside a Greek Orthodox church in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Whether Holy Communion should be changed or suspended for health reasons has become a hot button issue across much of the Christian Orthodox world, with churches generally refusing to bow to pressure from governments and scientists.
Greece imposed a lockdown early on, a move credited with curbing infections. The country has reported 175 deaths and 2,900 confirmed cases.
With the coronavirus running through Easter, the most important religious holiday for Christians, the inability to attend services weighed heavily on many.
When it was lifted May 17, thousands flocked to church.
In this Sunday, May 24, 2020, photo, faithfuls attend the Sunday mass at a Greek Orthodox church, in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
“The issue of Holy Communion in particular is the only red line of the church and of the faithful in our souls,” said 19-year-old Michalis Gkolemis, attending services in Thessaloniki. “We don’t say that Holy Communion is the cure for all diseases, from the flu, for example, but we say that you cannot get sick by receiving Communion. You can’t catch a virus, something which isn’t proven scientifically but exists through experience.”
After ordering churches closed, the government has been more circumspect and has avoided the sensitive issue of Holy Communion.
“This is a matter of public health concern,” said Dr. Gkikas Magiorkinis, assistant professor of hygiene and epidemiology at the University of Athens. “As an epidemiologist, I would like to be able to reduce the risk of transmission.”
Sourced By: Associated Press. Read Full Story HERE
Greece on Friday listed 29 countries from where it will accept visitors as of June 15 as the Greek government looks to mitigate some of the financial damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Greek Tourism Ministry said travellers from the permitted countries will be able to enter Greece on direct flights to Athens and to the northern city of Thessaloniki. The list will be expanded on July 1 to include other countries, the ministry said.
“Our aim is to be able to welcome every tourist who has overcome their fear and has the ability to travel to our country,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said on Antenna television.
The 29 announced Friday are: Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.
Visitors arriving from those countries could be subject to sample coronavirus testing, the ministry said.
Greece imposed a lockdown early in its coronavirus outbreak, a move credited with limiting infections. The country so far has a total of 175 deaths and just over 2,900 confirmed cases. No cases have been detected on the vast majority of the Greek islands, which are popular vacation spots.
“We are opening up, but at the same time we are closely monitoring the situation. Strict health protocols will protect both staff and tourists,” Theoharis said before the list was announced.
Tourism and related industries make up around 20% of the Greek economy, and the government has been anxious to ensure the tourist season is not lost this year.
The return of grassroots football will finally allow young children to experience the cold winter mornings that players have been longing for over the past 2 months.
As the return of football approaches, NSW Football Associations prepare for the various health guidelines and precautions that will be put in place to allow the season to run smoothly.
The Greek Herald spoke with representatives of the St George and Eastern Suburbs Football Association’s to uncover how the bodies of NSW Football are making the return of football as enjoyable and safe as possible.
Abiding to Government health restrictions
Government health guidelines are an essential step for the continuation of community sport. Most importantly, allowing children to play all sports safely and with the same level of enjoyment.
The St George Football Association (SGFA), under the chairmanship of Tony Karahalias, is in constant contact with Football NSW and other Associations, working out effective ways in dealing with this crisis.
“SGFA are working very closely with our local clubs ensuring they are informed and up to date on the latest developments,” the St George Football Association chair says to The Greek Herald.
“We meet fortnightly with all club delegates and have also formed a COVID-19 sub-committee which comprises of 3 club presidents, our Board and CEO.”
🙌The temporary suspension of football has been lifted and clubs can return to training under level 1 regulations 👉…
The Eastern Suburbs Football Association (ESFA) is also in close contact with Football NSW, along with six local councils. General Manager Bill Kostandas says ESFA is working on ways for clubs to meet the government health guidelines.
“We meet our clubs and give them updates and give them an opportunity to provide us with feedback,” Bill Kostandas said to The Greek Herald.
“The vast majority of people have been very understandable, our clubs have been as well.”
Mr Kostandas also addressed the association’s effective use of their social media platforms to communicate information with their clubs and players.
Good news (with some caveats)!Training may commence from 12:00am Friday 22nd May 2020! However, as tempting as the…
An adjustment period for sport never seen prior to this year, associations are given this unique opportunity to observe their own methods of improvement.
Bill Kostandas points out that this situation has given the association the ability to listen to the needs of their clubs, allowing them to streamline the improvement process.
“At the Eastern Suburbs Football Association we’ve been looking at our various competitions and how we can improve those,” Mr Kostandas stressed.
“We are always looking to give our customers a good experience and we are always looking to improve that.”
Eastern Suburbs Football Association (ESFA). Photo: ESFA Linkedin
While COVID-19 caused a season delay, Football Associations have also been using this ‘in-house’ time to update their club management strategies and upgrade their fields.
“SGFA is using this time to develop a new strategic plan for the Association, having implemented a review of policies and procedures and developed an online training platform via our NPL Club, St George City,” SGFA said.
“A number of important facility upgrades have also now been completed over the last few months including amenity buildings, synthetic fields and re-surfacing of pitches.”
Football return a critical objective
The loss of community sport as a result of COVID-19, tears a line down the page of community engagement.
The SGFA stressed that it is extremely important that for clubs to resume football in 2020, with local sport providing needed critical health benefits.
“Local football clubs will play an important role in re-engaging and connecting as a community and the health and social benefits.”
SGFA’s Craig Kiely, Georges River Council’s Luke Coleman and Mayor Kevin Greene, Angelo Bonura and Tony Karahalias. Photo: Chris Lane / The Leader
Mr Kostandas recognises that football remains many children’s passion in life. Sport provides not only benefits our mental and physical wellbeing, but helps us “get back to normality”.
“People have been locked up for the last 2 or 3 months and they just want to get out and do something,” Mr Kostandas said.
“From a standpoint as well of just getting back to normality, and sport will help create that. It’s a mental wellbeing as well as a physical”.
Recently, after a 2-month period of quarantine, the Acropolis was opened again to the public. The Acropolis Museum remains closed for the moment but as the 11th anniversary of its opening to the public approaches, Greece looks forward to a post pandemic re-opening.
On Monday, Founder and Chairman of the International Organising Committee Australia, Emmanuel J Comino AM, said that this period allows the Committee to restate why the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece.
“While we wait for the opening of the Acropolis Museum, we are taking the opportunity to restate the reasons why we have been calling for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, or as we prefer to call them the Parthenon Marbles,” Emmanuel J Comino AM said.
“The Acropolis Museum in Athens is the rightful home for all of the remaining sculptures from the Parthenon. Sitting below the Acropolis is a world’s best practice museum, where the remaining sculptures are (to be) displayed in an authentic manner.”
Mr Comino went on to make 10 observations about the situation, bearing that they are to be repeated due to the “disinformation frequently distributed by the British Museum”.
Reasons for the Parthenon Marbles return
1. The sculptures from the Parthenon, the Parthenon Marbles,
otherwise known as the Elgin Marbles, are an integral part of the Parthenon.
This beautiful Doric temple is the architectural wonder of the world. No other
building has ever equalled its beauty, symmetry, and symbolism.
2. When we speak of the Parthenon we are not speaking of a
single column or a single statue we speak of an integrated architectural,
artistic, cultural, and spiritual expression, a unique symbol of Greece.
3. The Parthenon as an integrated whole has also become a
symbol of Western civilization, and a global icon. Such a symbol is not
divisible.
The hall, Room 18, where the Parthenon Marbles are kept.
4. Lord Elgin was given permission to make architectural drawings and plaster casts from the Parthenon to improve the fine arts in Great Britain. He was also permitted to expose the ancient foundations and to remove fragments thrown to ground by the 1687 explosion. He was never granted permission to remove anything from any buildings on the Acropolis.
5. Greece had no say in the matter. Elgin took the Marbles
from Greece while the country was under Turkish occupation. This was during a time
when larger powers were pillaging antiquities from smaller countries, notably
Greece and Egypt. Also, Britain was the dominant power in the eastern
Mediterranean at the time.
6. The British Museum has not protected the sculptures. In the period 1936-1939, the sculptures were irreparably damaged when they were scrubbed back to make them white, destroying their patina of ancient colours. Today the sculptures in the Athens museum are in far better condition than those in the British Museum, they are also being cleaned with the latest laser technology to retain their ancient patina.
4 Meticulous laser cleaning of the Parthenon Frieze.
7. The British Museum does not display the sculptures in a manner that is meaningful to the world at large. They are presented as mere specimens, as curiosities, facing inwards not outwards to the world. They are kept in a room with poor lighting, inadequate climatic controls, and a skylight that sometimes leaks. Out of context in this poorly conceived space, it is impossible to gain a full understanding of their meaning.
8. In recent years the British Museum has divided the collection lending a sculpture to Russia and then moving others for specific exhibitions within the Museum. This further obscured their meaning.
9. For years opinion polls and surveys in the United Kingdom have shown strong support for the return of the Marbles. Anyone visiting the Acropolis and the British Museum can see at firsthand the injustice of the British Museum and Government’s refusal to return them. Britain has an opportunity to show leadership in addressing cultural property disputes by returning the Marbles.
10. The Acropolis Museum has dedicated a special place for the Marbles. Here those remaining in Greece are displayed in the correct orientation, within clear view of the Parthenon, where they are bathed in natural light in the very context that gave rise to them and. It is time to correct a long-standing wrong and reunify these outstanding works.
Cypriot Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos is expecting a tourism boom as a result of the restriction relaxations, with the minister predicting the arrival of 600,000 passengers in August.
Speaking from Larnaca Aiport, Karousos said “we are initiating efforts to restore our country’s connectivity in the best possible way,” noting that a deal has been reached with Hungarian low-cost airline WIZZ AIR to form a base at the airport.
“Initially, there will be two aircrafts, with the number to increase at a later stage, while 11 more flights toward 11 airports and seven countries will boost current routes,” Karousos said.
Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos with Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios at Larnaca airport press conference. Photo: Facebook.
“The benefits for Cyprus are very important, in terms of both tourism and the economy, as jobs will be created,” Karousos said, adding that the company said its intentions are not to take away clients of its competitors but to create additional passenger flows.
The airline’s base in Laranaca Airport will serve to boost connectivity with countries and destinations that Cyprus did not enjoy in the past, Karousos said.
Karousos noted that discussions are also being held with other major airlines, in view of creating additional flights and routes.
“There is a gradual lifting of measures,” Karousos said, noting that “we are kicking off on June 9, and by June 20 passengers from a number of countries won’t need to present a certificate [for coronavirus].”
The aim is for other countries to be steadily upgraded to the category of countries from which incoming passengers won’t need to present a certificate proving they have tested negative for the virus.
“According to our estimations and based on the facts we have so far, by August we should have around 600,000 passengers arriving in Cyprus.”
Commenting on the deal reached with the Hungarian airline, Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios said it is a “great success for Cyprus, particularly in the conditions in which we are living, as no one can know which airlines will manage to survive and how many flights they will be able to maintain globally.”
Perdios added that several teleconferences are expected to follow next week to evaluate the responses of their letter sent out to foreign governments.
“We’re optimistic that countries abroad are talking about Cyprus, as foreign news outlets have since yesterday [Wednesday] been talking about the island, and particularly about what it has achieved and how it will deal with any potential difficult situations that may arise.”
On this day in 1453, the siege of Constantinople ended with the fall of the Byzantine Empire into the hands of the Ottoman Turks, consequently remembered in history as one of the biggest disasters for the Greek people.
Today we honour those who fell during the siege and at the fall, we read the laments and the legends, we are moved, and taught.
The capital of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world, the city was defended by, at most, 10,000 men. The Turks had between 100,000 and 150,000 men on their side. The siege lasted for fifty days, ending with the fall of Constantinople.
After using heavy artillery to form a breach in the wall, the fist attack was launched upon Constantinople on a May morning at 1:00 a.m. This first attack was led by the Bashi-bazouks. Knowing they were outnumbered and out skilled, the Greeks still fought with passion for two hours until they were called to retreat.
The second attack was brought on by the Anatolian Turks from Ishak’s army. More organised than the first, they used their cannons to blast through the walls of the city. They were the first army to enter the city., yet the Christians were ready for them as they entered. They were able to massacre much of the army from this attack, forcing the Ottomans to retreat at dawn.
Before the Christian army was able to gain strength and order, another attack feel upon them. Mehmet’s favourite set of troops called the Janissaries begun their attack. They launched arrows, missiles, bullets, stones and javelins at the enemy. This battle, at the stockade, was a long tiring battle for the troops, with the soldiers fighting in hand-to-hand combat.
The Christian army was unfortunately the ones to give in, with the Turks storming the gate left unopened by the Christians for flank attacks.
While battles were being fought on land, the Turks were also trying to take control of the sea. Many of the soldiers came from these ships to aid the army on land. Once the signal was sent, troops flooded off of these ships to take down the harbuor walls and start looting the city.
The City was now completely taken over by the Turks, marking a turning point in Eastern Europe. Mehmed renamed the city Istanbul, building mosques, palaces, monuments and a system of aqueducts. The city was now officially claimed for Islam.
Forced into rule under the Ottoman empire, the Greeks formed small communities within the empire called milets.
A U.S. Navy drone submersible launched in the the Ionian sea has located the wreckage and human remains of the Canadian military helicopter that crashed on April 29.
The Department of National Defence issued a statement yesterday saying the recovery ship EDL Hercules arrived at the crash site and the remotely-operated REMORA III quickly located the sunken CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, about 220 nautical miles east of Catania, Italy.
The recovery and salvage drone located large pieces of the fuselage in 3,143 metres of water.
A U.S. Navy submersible, the Remora, is seen in this file photo. The remotely operated vehicle has located wreckage and human remains from the crash of a Canadian Forces helicopter in the Ionian Sea. Photo: Canadian Department of National Defence/CBS
Human remains were also found “in the vicinity,” said the statement, but DND was unable to say whether they’re the missing crew.
Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian military operations, said, “This is encouraging news,” with the military confirming that it will stay on the scene as long as possible to collect as much as it can.
“We do not leave our fallen behind, and recovering Stalker 22’s crew is of the utmost importance to all of us in the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence.”
In this image made from CTV video, Rear-Admiral Craig Baines, Commander of Maritime Command Component, speaks in a news conference in Halifax, Canada, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (CTV via AP)
Retrieving the helicopter wreckage itself will also go a long way toward helping crash investigators find out what happened, he added.
The relatively new Cyclone helicopter inexplicably went down on April 29 as it was approaching HMCS Fredericton, the Canadian patrol frigate it was attached to during NATO operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Greek Prime Minister expressed his grief over the crash to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I express my grief over the crash of the Canadian helicopter in the Ionian Sea last night,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in parliament.
The accident killed six members of the military — four aircrew and two sailors.
One person is dead and five are missing after a military helicopter operating off a Canadian frigate during a NATO exercise crashed into the sea between Greece and Italy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, April 30, 2020. (Shane Cowbrough via AP)
The body of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough was recovered almost immediately after the crash, with a GoFundMe page established to support her family. The partial remains of one of the Cyclone’s pilots, Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald, also was retrieved from the crash scene.
The remaining members on board the flight — Capt. Kevin Hagen, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke and Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins — are missing and presumed dead.
“While early search efforts have been met with a degree of success, the operation is complex and may continue for some time before we are able to determine that all critical requirements have been met to cease recovery efforts,” he said in the statement.
