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PAOK fan allegedly forces immigrant man to make sign of the cross [VIDEO]

The Greek Herald
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PAOK fan allegedly forces immigrant man to make sign of the cross [VIDEO]

A man is under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office of Thessaloniki for allegedly forcing an immigrant man to make the sign of the cross.

The video, which was released on April 18 to Youtube, shows the PAOK fan correcting the immigrant on his positioning and forcibly guiding his hand to follow the sign of the cross.

According to reports, a preliminary examination was ordered by the head of the Prosecutor’s Office, Stefanos Zarkantzias. The department for dealing with racist violence of the Thessaloniki Security Directorate is to be called upon to carry out further investigations.

As part of the investigation, the immigrant will be sought in order to testify, as well as the full content of the video to be thoroughly examined. Any offences arising from the investigation are subject to the anti-racism law.

The video of this alleged racial offence comes shortly after PAOK fans were charged after clashing with police, following the breaking of lockdown rules.

Read More: PAOK fans clash with police after breaking lockdown rules for anniversary celebrations

More than 200 PAOK fans reportedly broke the Greek government ban on public gatherings outside the PAOK’s Toumba Stadium.

Local media reported that at least one supporter was arrested and a number of others were fined following the clashes on Monday.

PAOK fans are known in European football for their use of flares and passionate displays of emotion. Photo: Tripadvisor

PAOK fans clash with police after breaking lockdown rules for anniversary celebrations

The Greek Herald
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PAOK fans clash with police after breaking lockdown rules for anniversary celebrations

Riot police used tear gas to disperse PAOK Thessaloniki supporters who had gathered to celebrate the club’s 94th birthday despite the coronavirus lockdown.

More than 200 PAOK fans broke a government ban on public gatherings outside the club’s Toumba Stadium due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Local media reported that at least one supporter was arrested and a number of others were fined following the clashes on Monday.

Read More: Greek PM threatens suspension of Greek Super League amid clash between Olympiacos and PAOK

Government officials announced on Tuesday that 2,401 cases of the coronavirus have been detected so far in Greece with 121 deaths, and a ban on sporting activities is in force until at least April 27.

Earlier on Monday Greek deputy minister of sports Lefteris Avgenakis said that he believed the country’s professional football clubs would begin training again next month.

“We will wait for the advice of the experts and based on their instructions we will start to gradually to open sports facilities,” Avgenakis told Mega television.

Sourced By: AFP News

Close to 150 migrants test positive for coronavirus at quarantined hotel in Kranidi

The Greek Herald
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Close to 150 migrants test positive for coronavirus at quarantined hotel in Kranidi

Greek authorities said Tuesday that 150 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a quarantined seaside hotel housing 470 asylum-seekers from Africa, including many children, but none of those infected displayed symptoms of COVID-19.

The rented hotel just outside Kranidi, some 170 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Athens, has been quarantined since April 16 after an employee tested positive. A asylum-seeker also tested positive during a hospital visit for pregnancy complications on Sunday.

Authorities imposed a night-time curfew starting Tuesday for the entire Kranidi area of some 4,000 residents and also tightened movement restrictions to only allow essential shopping and visits to doctors or pharmacies.

Migrant boys play with a ball outside a hotel in Kranidi town about 170 kilometers (106 miles) southwest of Athens, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

The chief of Greece’s coronavirus task force, Sotiris Tsiodras, said all 497 asylum-seekers and staff members at the hotel were tested for the virus and the results were positive for 148 residents and two workers.

“No patients with symptoms of the disease have been found,” Tsiodras said. “Residents in such closed centers are among the most vulnerable people for the spread of the disease. The sooner these cases can be registered and handled, the better.”

Greek Civil Protection Agency chief Nikos Hardalias said during a visit to Kranidi there was no cause for panic.

“Everything is under control right now, but we have to take some preventive measures,” he said while announcing the 8 p.m. – 8 a.m. curfew and movement restrictions that will apply for two weeks.

Migrants wave from the their balconies at a hotel in Kranidi town about 170 kilometers (106 miles) southwest of Athens, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The International Organisation for Migration said that since October 2019 the hotel has housed mostly families from Congo and Cameroon who were transferred to mainland Greece from congested refugee camps on the eastern Aegean Sea islands, where they first arrived on smuggling boats from nearby Turkey.

The United Nations agency runs the facility. An IOM spokeswoman said the hotel is fully equipped with protective clothing, masks and gloves, and has been disinfected. She said IOM staff there include psychologists, interpreters, a legal adviser and a social worker.

No cases of COVID-19 have so far been confirmed at the island camps holding some 40,000 people. Two asylum-seeker facilities north of Athens were quarantined after minor outbreaks..

Greece imposed an early lockdown to combat the pandemic, and by Tuesday evening had registered a total of 2,401 virus cases and 121 deaths.

Thessaloniki man, 35, becomes youngest coronavirus victim in Greece

The Greek Herald
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Thessaloniki man, 35, becomes youngest coronavirus victim in Greece

A 35-year-old Thessaloniki man has become one of the latest victims of the coronavirus in Greece, with the father of a young child being the youngest recorded coronavirus death in Greece.

According to a report by NewsIt.gr, the man was reportedly in excellent physical condition and did not suffer from any underlying disease.

“The only thing I can confirm at the moment is the death of the 35-year-old, which has really shocked me. From there and beyond, I will leave most of the announcements and the details of the death for the official body of the Ministry of Health”, says ICU director of the ‘Agios Dimitrios’ hospital, Glykeria Vlachogianni.

“The result had nothing to do with fitness. In the end, all this is very wild, which happens from one moment to the next. We gave our fight, but unfortunately when you lose a man at this age, you can’t accept it, it hurts twice. The 35-year-old entered the intensive care unit in the early hours of Saturday and was intubated”, he adds.

According to additional information provided by newsit.gr, the man was hospitalised with pneumonia, at Agios Dimitrios hospital. The first test for a coronary artery, in which he underwent a test, came out negative. However, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he was intubated and admitted to the intensive care unit.

The 35-year-old man lived in Thessaloniki as a carpenter, was married and was the father of one child.

According to official data released on Monday evening, there were only 10 new confirmed cases from Sunday to Monday, raising the total number of infections in the country to 2,245. The death toll now stands at a total of 119 victims.

April 21, 1967: The military coup in Greece

The Greek Herald
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April 21, 1967: The military coup in Greece

On the morning of April 21st, 1967, Greeks woke up to a nightmare: the ominous rumble of tanks, occasional rifle shots and military hymns playing on the radio. Then came the sinister announcement on the radio: “The Hellenic Armed Forces undertake the governance of the country.”

What followed was seven years of dictatorship under Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos.

Seven years of oppression:

After the coup, more than 10,000 politicians, intellectuals and ordinary citizens, who belonged to Greece’s Left, were arrested in a methodical manner. They were sent to prison or to the Yaros island concentration camp.

Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos (right) was the instigator of the coup in 1967.

Freedom of speech ceased to exist, with strict censorship rules instituted for radio, newspapers and, later, television.

At the same time, many Greeks became informants to the police, spying on their neighbors. Anyone could get arrested if someone told the police that the “culprit” had spoken badly about the colonels and the regime.

The uprising:

In 1973, Colonel Papadopoulos decided to call elections. Many Greek people believed they would be democratic elections but once it became clear that they would not be, the uprising of the Polytechneio occurred.

A few hundred students, fed up with the repression of the regime, occupied the building of the National Technical University of Athens and called for the colonels to leave power. Several people died when the premises of the university were brutally cleared out by the military.

The uprising of the Polytechneio left many young students dead.

But the turmoil did give Colonel Dimitrios Ioannidis a chance to topple Papadopoulos on November 25, with yet another coup. His ambitious plan to overthrow the President of Cyprus, so that Greece and Cyprus could unite, caused the Turkish invasion of the island on July 20, 1974.

Only three days later, Ioannidis resigned, finally opening the way for Constantine Karamanlis to return to Greece and form a democratic government.

The nightmarish seven-year long dictatorship of the colonels had finally ended for Greece, but the plight of Cyprus had only begun as the northern part of the island is still occupied by Turkey to this day.

The reconstruction of fire-ravaged Mati has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak

Andriana Simos
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The reconstruction of fire-ravaged Mati has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak

The reconstruction of the seaside town of Mati, which was destroyed by fire in July 2018, has been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Local residents have told ‘Ta Nea‘ that no work is currently being done as everyone socially isolates themselves.

“This summer we said we would progress a little bit, but now things have become difficult again because of the coronavirus,” a Mati resident said.

  • Some homes in the Greek village of Mati remain destroyed. Source: ABC.
  • All form of reconstruction has been stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak. Source: EPA.

Tools and paint lie absently on streets as people have sadly neglected their dream of rebuilding their home for now.

“It kills me. It kills me. I want to go now to sort out some documents or even go to the pharmacy, and I can’t,” an elderly man said.

With the death of 102 people during the Mati fires still fresh in their minds, the only current relief for locals is a good conversation and a greeting, always from a distance.

Pandemic gives Arthur Sinodinos ‘baptism of fire’ as US ambassador

Andriana Simos
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Pandemic gives Arthur Sinodinos ‘baptism of fire’ as US ambassador

Australia’s Ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, said in an interview on Monday that “the pandemic has thrown up a whole series of issues” very different to the ones he had imagined his role would involve.

Speaking to Matthew Knott from The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Sinodinos described how when he first arrived in the US at the start of February, Australians were still consumed by the bushfires that had ravaged the country throughout summer.

His first official duty as ambassador was to visit Dulles Airport in Virginia to meet a widow who had returned with the coffin of one of the three American firefighters who had died fighting the blazes.

“Our focus then was how to get tourism back and to tell Americans that Australia was open for business again,” Mr Sinodinos said.

Mr Arthur Sinodinos said Australians in need of help should reach out. Source: AAP.

A month later, the coronavirus was sweeping rapidly across the US and Mr Sinodinos said instead of navigating big picture geopolitics, he has now been focused on the nitty gritty of consular support.

“It has been a bit of a baptism of fire. When I was preparing to take on the job, I was thinking about how to promote trade and economic links, how Australia fits into the US-China debate,” he said.

“Then the virus erupts and we’re thrown into the deep end of helping Australians who want to get home, giving advice to people who are staying in the US, dealing with Australians who are caught on cruise ships and can’t get off.”

Fortunately, when the outbreak is under control, Mr Sinodinos is looking forward to slowing the pace a little and travelling outside the Washington beltway, including to manufacturing hubs in the US Midwest.

“One of the pieces of advice I got before coming here was to see the rest of the country and understand the political dynamics across the country. When the opportunity arises again, I’m very keen to do that,” he explained.

Arthur Sinodinos presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump in early February. Source: Twitter.

For now though, having overcome non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year, the 63-year-old knows it is especially important for him to practise physical distancing.

“Because I’ve had chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, my immunity has been affected. It does weigh on your mind,” he said.

Mr Sinodinos has been forced to hunker down in his residence, using phone calls and video-conferencing sessions to build connections with the Trump administration.

READ MORE: Sinodinos: Australia’s economy can do better and we need more migrants to do so.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald.

102-year-old Greek-American woman recovers from coronavirus

Andriana Simos
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102-year-old Greek-American woman recovers from coronavirus

At 102, Sophie Avouris of Queens has seen alot – two world wars, the Great Depression, 9/11. But there was more to come.

As Mrs Avouris was recovering from a hip surgery last month in her New York nursing home, a test for the coronavirus came back positive.

Her daughter, Effie Strouthides, said she began to fear the worst.

“We were stunned. We were thinking, at 102, it’s a very lethal virus, and that she wouldn’t make it,” Mrs Strouthides told Spectrum News.

Mrs Avouris has recovered from the coronavirus at age 102. Source: Spectrum News.

Miraculously, Mrs Avouris managed to recover from the coronavirus last week and was returned to her normal room, despite the entire facility remaining in lockdown.

“She really pulled through. We’ve always known that she had a very strong constitution. She made it up to 102!” her daughter said in delight.

Mrs Avouris raised her entire family in America after immigrating there. Source: Spectrum News.

Mrs Avouris was born in 1918 in a war-torn Greece, the year when the Spanish flu pandemic also began sweeping across the globe.

She immigrated to the United States and managed to raise a large, happy family during the early years of the twentieth century.

Virgin Australia forced into voluntary administration after government refuses to buy stake in airline

Andriana Simos
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Virgin Australia forced into voluntary administration after government refuses to buy stake in airline

Virgin Australia has confirmed it has gone into voluntary administration, handing the airline over to insolvency experts at Deloitte to restructure the business and find new owners to keep it flying.

In a statement to the ASX, the airline said the move would help “recapitalise the business” and ensure it emerged “in a stronger financial position on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.”

The decision comes after the Federal Government refused to step in with a $1.4 billion loan, despite repeated pleas from company management.

Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, said the government wants to see Virgin and Qantas remain in Australia but believes administration can find a sustainable private-sector solution to the company’s future.

Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, thinks shareholders should bail out Virgin Australia. Source: AAP.

“The first responsibility to bail-out a business is always for its owners, its shareholders,” Mr Cormann told Sunrise on Tuesday.

“Virgin has very substantial owners like Singapore Airlines and Etihad both owning 20 percent of the shares, another 40 percent are with substantial Chinese investors.

“And whilst we do want to see competition in the aviation sector on the other side of this crisis, from here on in we want to see a private sector, market-led solution to this and we believe there is an opportunity for it.”

Administrators will now look at ways to save the business including restructuring debt as private equity firms circle, sparking hopes of a sale.

Virgin Australia has entered voluntary administration. Source: 7 News.

Virgin Australia saw its cash flow collapse because of tough coronavirus travel restrictions and is saddled with around $5 billion debt.

It has already stood down 80 per cent of its direct workforce and announced 1,000 redundancies in the past few weeks.

The airline will continue to operate its scheduled international and domestic flights.

Pregnant Somali asylum seeker tests positive for coronavirus in Greek facility

Andriana Simos
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Pregnant Somali asylum seeker tests positive for coronavirus in Greek facility

A 28-year-old pregnant asylum seeker from Somalia has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Migration and Asylum Ministry announced on Monday.

The woman, who is six months pregnant, lives at a reception facility in Kranidi in the Peloponnese. She tested positive for the coronavirus at Nafplio hospital on Sunday.

According to the Ministry, the woman is reportedly asymptomatic and has now been placed under quarantine at the facility, a hotel rented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The hotel houses a total of 470 asylum seekers who come from sub-Saharan Africa.

Health authorities are now tracing all the people who potentially had been exposed to the virus.

A 39-year-old woman from Sudan, who was being housed in the same facility, passed away on Saturday, but the Ministry clarified that according to the woman’s medical history, she was not infected with the coronavirus.

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