President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding such activities in the region.
NATO members Turkey and Greece have long been at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources and tensions flared up last month, prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to hold talks with the country’s leaders to ease tensions.
“We have started drilling work again,” Erdogan told reporters after participating in Friday prayers at the Hagia Sophia mosque. “There’s no need for discussion with those who have no rights, especially in maritime zones,”
Erdogan speaking in front of the press before the conversion of Hagia Sophia.
He said Turkey’s Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa, a seismic survey vessel, had been sent to the region to carry out its duties. The ship moved into waters off Cyprus in late July and remains in that region.
Erdogan made the comments when asked about an accord signed by Egypt and Greece on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone between the two nations in the east Mediterranean.
Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea off the island of Cyprus, Aug. 6, 2019.
Diplomats in Greece said their agreement nullified an accord reached last year between Turkey and the internationally recognised government of Libya.
However, Erdogan said the Egypt-Greece accord was of no value and that Turkey would sustain its agreement with Libya “decisively”. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has said the Egypt-Greece zone falls in the area of Turkey’s continental shelf.
After pleading bail over “mental health issues” only a few days ago, George Alex will walk free from prison after being slapped with a $2 million bail charge.
The controversial building industry figure was arrested last month over a $17 million tax fraud syndicate. Alex was arrested in Queensland and extradited to Sydney on conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth and dealing with proceeds of crime charges.
The 49-year-old smiled as he was granted $2 million bail at Central Local Court on Friday and his solicitor said Alex would leave jail “in the coming days”.
“After spending more than two weeks in custody, Mr Alex is looking forward to his release and looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name,” Abbas Soukie told The Daily Telegraph.
“He is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
Solicitor Abbas Soukie leaving Sydney Central Local Court on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles
Magistrate Margaret Quinn imposed a raft of strict bail conditions on Alex including effective house arrest, which she said would mitigate any flight risk he posed.
Prosecutor Raelene Sharp said Alex may interfere with witnesses if released, noting that in 2015 he was convicted of sending death threats to his former lover Anna Lee. But Alex’s lawyer stressed that he had obeyed those court orders, and also fronted court when summoned to appear before the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption that same year.
“He was never charged with anything as a result of that royal commission,” Ms Quinn said.
Mr Alex was alleged to be the leader of the syndicate that used labour hire and payroll companies to defraud the ATO. Millions of dollars were then allegedly transferred to Australian accounts controlled by other accused syndicate members.
George Alex allegedly ran a multimillion-dollar money laundering operation. Picture: John Grainger
Defence barrister Craig Smith SC said in court earlier this week that Alex suffers from physical and mental health conditions and at one point wasn’t getting his medication behind bars.
“He still hasn’t seen a psychiatrist,” Mr Smith said.
Ms Quinn ordered Alex to report twice daily to Marrickville police station and otherwise not leave his aunt’s Earlwood home, while also banning him from leaving NSW.
“And his mother says she’s prepared to supervise him,” the magistrate said.
“If he is foolish enough to talk to (his co-accused) he should be aware that his bail will be revoked.”
The Greek island of Poros entered a full lockdown on Friday after 13 people were diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Running through to August 17 at least, the restrictions are a precautionary measure to protect many elderly residents who live on the island.
“The last few days have been worrying, as we have seen a significant relaxation and a rise of cases. But our safety depends on our individual conscience,” said Attica Regional Governor Giorgos Patoulis, who is also the president of the Athens Medical Association.
Until August 17, all businesses will be shut from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day, along with the suspension of farmers’ markets, villages festivals and other such public gatherings.
There is also a ban in place on public and private gatherings of any kind involving more than nine people, as well as a cap of four (or six if they belong to the same household) on the number of people allowed to sit at the same cafe or restaurant table. Masks have also been made mandatory in all public spaces, indoor and out.
On Friday, members of the National Transparency Authority (EAD) and a 10-member special unit of the Hellenic Police (EL.AS) arrived on the island to patrol and make sure citizens are complying with the measures.
Local reports say that the sudden spike in the number of infections may be attributed to a large pool party in which a number of local young people were in attendance. There are concerns the young people may unintentionally spread it to older relatives.
Happiness comes in waves, or in this case, it came underwater after a proposal took place in the biggest Natural Sea Park off Alonissos: Underwater.
Wearing diving gear, Vangelis and Aphrodite dived 3 meters towards the new underwater museum, accompanied by the chairwoman of the Tourism Committee of Alonnisos, Maria Agallou.
While he couldn’t exactly get on one knee, Vangelis upheld tradition by opening a small box with the ring, proposing to his bride-to-be. To get the message across even more clearly, Vangelis held up a sign assumed to read ‘Will you marry me?’.
Being underwater, Aphrodite was clearly left speechless and simply responded with an ‘a-okay’ simple, which people can only assume to be a yes.
The underwater marriage proposal was made with the consent of the mayor of the island and the event was organised in cooperation with Triton Diving Centre.
The underwater museum, a trove of fifth-century BC amphorae labelled the “Parthenon of shipwrecks”, is located off the coast of Alonissos island in the western Aegean. The site recently opened to tours by certified amateur divers this week, running until October 2.
For some Greeks, learning the language of their heritage can be a difficult task. Whether, as a child, their parents never encouraged them to learn Greek, or some adults may simply struggle to learn a second language.
Recognising this as a massive issue facing Greek society, OMILO teachers Konstantinos Oikonomou and Terpsi Gavalas wrote a short story titled ‘Lydia: A summer in Greece!’, aimed at helping build on people’s Greek vocabulary skills “gradually” and in a “natural way”.
“Before we started writing the story, we actually thought of the vocabulary and grammar points that a beginner student should be familiar with so that they deal effectively with various everyday life situations when being in Greece,” Konstantinos said to The Greek Herald.
“Then we put all this into context and created our story. We all know that context is a crucial component of successful language acquisition. This is what our reader will benefit from as they will have the chance to revise or learn new things in a pleasant and natural way.”
The story features a Greek-American woman, Lydia, who lives in New York and works as a journalist for a Greek newspaper. During a trip to Greece, Lydia meets a man, Orestis, on the plane. He volunteers to help her with an article she is writing about Athens’ neighbourhoods. After spending some time together in the Greek capital, Orestis asks Lydia to join him on a business trip to the island of Syros, in the Cyclades. The beautiful island of the Aegean Sea becomes the setting for a series of unexpected events.
“To be honest, we didn’t have to think much of the setting of the story: after having spent so many summers teaching Greek on the beautiful island of Syros, we knew before even writing the first phrase that part of the story would definitely take place there. Syros has always been a great source of inspiration to all of us,” Konstantinos said.
The two teachers have been working for many years for OMILO – a school offering classes of Greek language and culture in Athens, Nafplion (Peloponnese) and the islands of Syros and Lefkada. They hope the short story will greatly improve people’s Greek reading and listening skills.
Konstantinos and Terpsi have released Lydia’s story as an e-book and easy-reader, also giving readers a free audiobook to accompany the story, recorded by native speakers.
The pair have also recently announced the release of the Companion Workbook to the easy reader this week, coming with “lots of exercises for all those who wish to get the most out of it, going beyond a simple reading of the story!”
St Basil’s Aged Care Home in Fawkner will reportedly be facing a class action lawsuit, with claims that there will be a legal push from devastated families against St Basil’s and Epping Gardens.
Melbourne businessman Jack Karikas confirmed to The Age he would be part of an anticipated class action against St Basil’s, where his 85-year-old mother-in-law had become infected.
Mr Karikas said he and several other families had engaged lawyers to pursue St Basil’s, which is also now part of an investigation by the Victorian Coroner and police into whether some deaths could have been avoided.
“Let’s be very clear – the litigation is not about getting compensation. It’s about finding out how we got from one case on July 9 to where we are now – more than 130 cases – and why it took six days for the federal government to act,” Mr Karikas said. The number of cases connected to St Basil’s is 160.
Ambulance workers push a stretcher into the St Basil’s aged care facility in Fawkner on Monday. Photo: Getty Images
“And what happened to the tests? We were told they were tested every second day, but now we’re finding out the tests were never sent off. They had residents mixed up and they didn’t know who was positive and who was negative.”
The legal actions would allege that the facilities breached the duty of care they owed their residents. Mr Karikas said civil action against St Basil’s, which is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, was the only way of establishing what went wrong.
“We have bits and pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but there’s still a lot of pieces missing,” he said.
St Basil’s staff took back control of the embattled facility on Thursday but told The Age it would again withdraw its employees because of concerns about poor record keeping.
The chairman of St Basil’s, Konstantin Kontis, said files were allegedly missing and that an initial examination of others indicated the care of residents wasn’t properly documented during the fortnight the federal government’s contracted agencies managed the centre.
Mr Kontis said he had reported missing drugs of addiction, including opiates, to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
“The books are incomplete and we think there are drugs missing,” Mr Kontis said. “We feel the records are inadequate and do not indicate that these people received proper treatment between July 22 and when they were sent to hospital.”
A spokesman for Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said he had ordered an investigation into St Basil’s concerns.
Premier Daniel Andrews says he accepts ultimate responsibility for any failures in the hotel quarantine program, but refused be drawn on details.(AAP: James Ross)
“The minister has not received any such reports and has asked the department and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner to investigate this as a matter of urgency and to refer on to the relevant authorities,” the spokesman said.
Victoria records 450 new cases and 11 deaths
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Friday that Victoria recorded 450 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths.
“One female in her 50s, two males in their 70s, three males and three females in their 80s and two females in their 90s,” Mr Andrews said.
Seven of the 11 deaths are linked to aged care. There are now 7637 active cases, 1548 of those connected to aged care.
Police have issued 196 fines in the last 24 hours for breaching Covid restrictions – 51 of those were for not wearing a mask and 43 people were fined for breaching curfew.
Chess is one one of the most strategic board games in the world, requiring great mental power and the ability to think three steps ahead of your opponent. Generally as a sport, it is an exciting way to test the mental strength of players, who play on equal bases, by applying the rules of the game accurately and skilfully.
The Greek Herald recently spoke with the ‘General’ of Chess in Sydney, James Zaverdinos. A champion in both the school championship and the New South Wales championship.
TGH: How and when did you start chess?
James Zaverdinos: I started playing chess at the age of eight. While I was playing football, rugby and basketball, chess won me over by watching big games on TV and reading books, and of course my champion teacher Vladimir… encouraged me to take up this exciting sport. I participated in elementary and high school games at Scots College, as well as in chess games at the St George Club.
TGH: When you started at the age of 8, was there something characteristic that you remember and excited you?
Yes, at the age of 12 to make some money, I had set up a small table outside my grandmother’s store on Marrickville Road with the caption “Invitation to win a $12 trophy game.” There, of course, I beat them all, young and old. Only one gentleman, because he lost in a few minutes, did not admit his defeat. This of course made me more mature and calm in my reactions both as a player and as a person.
Photo: Suplied
TGH:How many matches have you played so far?
I have given a lot of fights, with many victories and of course defeats, which gave me the experience to move forward better.
TGH: What else do you do in your free time?
I like fishing. I am a lover of the sea and of course fishing with a rod. As you can see, one of the photos is of me fishing from the shore.
TGH: Are you studying at university now?
Yes I am studying a Bachelor of Property Economics at the University of Technology in Sydney and will finish in about a year.
Photo: Supplied
TGH:Will you play chess internationally as well?
Yes, my goal is to be in international chess games where I will compete with internationally recognised players.
TGH:Which of the great players have influenced you the most?
Robert James “Bobby” Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was a world chess champion, and the only American to win the FIDE World Championship. Gary Kimovich Kasparov (April 13, 1963) is a Russian former world chess champion and is considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time.
TGH: What would you advise children to who love this sport?
First they have to watch some games in an event, watch TV and read books that will help them cultivate their knowledge. Of course, there is a proposal to make a Greek Chess Championship under the auspices of “Atlas”, suggested by Dimitris Koutroumanis. This will help a lot in attracting many children with Greek heritage. I will be happy to contribute to this initiative and to develop the Greek element in this sport.
TGH:Is it difficult to win a computer?
The computer can now predict a chess move, even if its developer has not done so. Therefore, it is possible to interpret the movements and add your own little stone. If it is taken into account that computers are not affected by any external factor (fatigue, stress, “bad day”, etc.), then it is easy to understand the inequality of battle.
The Greek Herald is impressed by James with the kindness that he welcomed us, and with the way that he developed his talent so humbly, with this personality trait largely due to his parents Chrysanthi and Panagiotis Zaverdinos.
Of course, it is not accidental that his talent is genetic from his grandfather, the great football player Christos Paxinos, known for his brilliant career in Australia and Greece. With certainty, I can say that the stars do not only shine in the sky, they also shine near us, like James Zaverdinos.
A competitive dirt bike rider was left shocked after he was pulled over for doing a burnout in his Subaru, directly in front of a marked police car.
Ryan Findanis, 22, was charged with reckless driving after alarmed pedestrians saw him blazing through a 10km/h shared zone on Eton St, Sutherland in his Subaru BRZ, the St George Shire Standard reports.
The police, who were passing through a busy suburban shopping strip, were “directly behind” the accused as he did a burnout.
“Police asked the accused why (he thought) he was stopped and asked a number of questions,” police facts stated.
“The accused replied ‘you’re going to arrest me for a burnout?’”
Photo: Instagram
Court documents state it was raining on January 18 when Findanis started driving erratically through the main street beside the Sutherland Shire Council chambers.
“Police were travelling directly behind the accused in a fully marked police car,” police facts stated.
“Police observed the accused’s vehicle to harshly accelerate – the accused’s vehicle immediately lost traction and aggressively fishtailed for approximately 20m.”
Officers say Findanis’ vehicle continued to swerve and fishtail from side to side for 20m, narrowly missing parked cars and pedestrians in the shared zone before they pulled him over.
Findanis pleaded guilty and was convicted, fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for 12 months at Sutherland Local Court on Thursday.
Motocross rider Ryan Findanis has been fined and disqualified from driving after doing a burnout in front of police in January 2020. Photo: Instagram
“Police are of the strong opinion that the accused’s driving behaviour was dangerous,” police facts stated.
“Police at the same time were flagged down by pedestrians so they could stop the dangerous behaviour of the accused.”
The court heard Findanis was on bail at the time on a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm related to an alleged incident involving another man in Helensburgh in December 2019. He remains before Wollongong Local Court on that charge.
Findanis is a competitive motocross rider who frequently competes in the East Coast MX Series, the MX Nationals and the Dirt Action Amcross series.
Tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios admitted that a return to tennis this year will be unlikely after revealing yesterday morning there is a “slim chance” he will compete in the 2020 French Open.
Speaking on Nine’s Today show, Kyrgios elaborated on his decision to withdraw from the US Open in New York in early September, and expressed doubt that he would play in Europe in 2020.
“It was an easy decision for me to pull out of the US Open with everything going on over in the States at the moment, with COVID,” Kyrgios said.
“But even with the [Black Lives Matter] movement and the whole protests and that type of stuff going on over there, I just don’t think at the moment it’s the correct time to go ahead with sport in my opinion.
“I’m continually training, but also just staying at home with my family and friends, making sure everyone’s safe.”
Photo: ABC
Speaking about Rafael Nadal’s decision to also skip this years US Open, Kyrgios admitted that the Spaniard will still be “eyeing up” the French Open. However, Kyrgios said there’s almost a “slim to none” chance that he would join Nadal, should the competition go ahead.
“It’s a very slim chance I’ll play in Europe. Almost slim to none to be honest,” he said.
“I’m going to use this [time] to stay home, train, be with my family, be with my friends and I’m just going to act responsibly, and wait till I think there’s better circumstances to play.”
Photo: AFP
Concerns over the tennis’ return don’t end in Europe, with the status of next year’s Australian Open also being doubted, especially following Melbourne’s second COVID-19 outbreak. Plans are still in place for the tournament to go ahead, even if it means doing so behind closed doors.
“With the pandemic in Melbourne, I heard on the radio today I think 700 new cases, we reached new heights in deaths,” he said.
Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the two countries, an area containing promising oil and gas reserves, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.
Shoukry made the announcement at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Cairo.
“This agreement allows both countries to move forward in maximizing the utilization of the resources available in the exclusive economic zone, especially promising oil and gas reserves,” Shoukry said.
In Greece, diplomats said the deal effectively nullified an accord between Turkey and the internationally recognised government of Libya.
Last year, those two parties agreed to maritime boundaries in a deal Egypt and Greece decried as illegal and a violation of international law. Greece maintains it infringed on its continental shelf and specifically that off the island of Crete.
“The agreement with Egypt is within the framework of international law,” Dendias said.
“It is the absolute opposite of the illegal, void and legally unfounded memorandum of understanding that was signed between Turkey and Tripoli. Following the signing of this agreement, the non existent Turkish-Libyan memorandum has ended up where it belonged from the beginning: in the trash can.”
His statement came hours after Greece said it is ready to start exploratory talks on the demarkation of maritime zones with Turkey as soon as this month.
Tensions were already high between Greece and Turkey over the exploration of energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean. The NATO members are also at odds over a range of issues from overflights in the Aegean Sea to maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically divided Cyprus.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the exclusive zone designated in the agreement falls in the area of Turkey’s continental shelf. It said Ankara considers the agreement null and void, adding that the deal also violates Libya’s maritime rights.
In June, Greece and Italy signed an agreement on maritime boundaries, establishing an exclusive economic zone between the two countries.
Earlier this month, Egypt said that part of a seismic survey planned by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean potentially encroached on waters where Cairo claims exclusive rights.
Egypt hopes to become a regional energy hub with the rapid growth in Egypt’s natural gas supplies. It formed with other countries the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which aims to develop the region’s gas market.
Turkey is not a member of the forum, which also includes Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Italy and Jordan.
