Newcastle Olympic completed an historic double with a 3-2 win over Warners Bay in the Herald Women’s Premier League grand final on Sunday.
The win put the icing on the cake for the women from Darling Street, who secured both the premiership and championship in their inaugural season in the competition.
The decider’s opening goal came six minutes into the match as Olympic’s Jemma House found the final touch on a pinpoint cross from Georgia Amess. The delicate volley from House gave the premiers a one-goal advantage.
Warners Bay wasted no time in finding an equaliser. A bolting run from Sophia Laurie played Warner Bay’s Jen Hoy into space, with the former W-League player too good for the Olympic defence as she weaved her way past goalkeeper Nat Wiseman.
Olympic captain Sophie O’Brien savours the moment. Photo: Jonathan Carroll.
Olympic returned serve on the scoreboard as the half neared completion. House was on the end of a near perfect cross from Georgia Little, making the half-time score 2-1 to Olympic.
Warners Bay appeared certain to level the score in the second half. Hoy and Annika D’Amico peppered the opposing goal mouth as Hoy found the posts, while D’Amico sprayed a long-range effort over the bar.
And just as Warners Bay looked destined to score, Olympic found themselves deep in Panthers territory. Panthers keeper Ally Boertje unable to clear the ball as Laura Hall tapped in to extend the margin for Olympic.
Panthers’ captain Elodie Dagg gave the Panthers hope of a comeback as she switched a midfield turnover into a genuine chance. The following strike enough to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Newcastle Olympic take championship glory. Photo: Jonathan Carroll.
The closing stages were spectacular as Warners Bay pressed deep into the opposing half. Dagg looked certain to score as her strike forced a diving save from Wiseman, before Olympic’s Brooke Summers made a scrambling save to avoid the game going into extra-time.
A last-minute long-range effort from Hoy was not enough to square the score as Olympic recorded a memorable 3-2 win.
“It was an excellent game,” Newcastle Olympic coach, Harmonie Attwill, said post-match. “Warners Bay played excellent. They were dangerous all over the park and very structured. It was hard to break them down but luckily we did.
“You can’t expect 10 opportunities in a grand final – they’re going to be few and far between. So it was more a matter of taking the opportunities when they came. Or if we felt like they weren’t happening, we really had to create.
“And credit to Jemma. I’ve said that about her before – if something’s not going her way she finds a way to make it. And I do think she was the difference for us today.”
Warners Bay coach, Craig Atkins, was disappointed to lose but full of praise for a team he rebuilt this season after the departures of a host of talent.
“It was a fantastic effort from our girls and they showed why they deserved to be here,” Atkins said.
“They never gave up. They were fighting to the death and that’s the culture we’ve created this year. We’re looking forward to next year.”
A hardliner, who favours even closer ties with Turkey and a tougher stance with Greek Cypriots in peace talks, has defeated the leftist incumbent in the Turkish Cypriot leadership runoff on Sunday.
Turkish Cypriot broadcaster BRT says with 100% of the votes counted, Ersin Tatar secured 51.74% of the vote compared to 48.26% for Mustafa Akinci.
Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region’s patron.
Ersin Tatar secured 51.74% of the vote compared to 48.26% for Mustafa Akinci.
Tatar appears to have benefited from a higher turnout in the runoff, managing to rally supporters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate who may not have voted in the first round.
Akinci conceded defeat to Tatar in a speech to supporters at his campaign headquarters, congratulating his opponent on his victory.
“We went through an election contest that wasn’t normal … These results mark the end of my 45-year political career,” Akinci said. “I wish good luck to our people.”
Tatar declared victory in a speech to his supporters.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to his official Twitter account to congratulate Tatar for his election victory.
“Turkey will continue to make all necessary efforts to defend the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people,” Erdogan said.
Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı seçilen Sayın Ersin Tatar'ı şahsım ve Türk Milleti adına tebrik ediyorum.
Türkiye, Kıbrıs Türk halkının hak ve hukukunun korunması için gereken her türlü çabayı göstermeyi sürdürecektir.
A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ “guarantors” — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.
Nearly five decades of UN facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed.
Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.
Year 12 students across Australia start their final examinations this week, marking the end of their formal school education and the beginning of a new journey.
The Greek Herald would like to wish all Year 12 students good luck in their upcoming exams and congratulate them on their resilience and determination through this unprecedented year.
Below is the following message from the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison:
“Starting this week, Year 12 students across Australia will begin their final examinations.
Like every Year 12 student before you, this marks the end of your formal school education.
After this, you may decide to study a university degree, learn a trade, study a vocational qualification, upskill with a microcredential, start a business or get a job.
There is no single pathway to success in life and you may find that life takes you down many different paths. That’s OK.
However you choose to pursue success in life, good luck.
COVID-19 has presented additional challenges and it has taken a lot from your final year of schooling.
Know that it won’t take your hard work or diminish the quality of your years in school. Your results will be as valuable this year as any previous year.
It may not feel like it now, but the challenges of 2020 have made you more resilient, stronger, self-motivated and adaptable. These will be useful qualities for the rest of your life.
So to the Class of 2020, good luck with your final exams and beyond.”
Turkey claimed jurisdiction for search and rescue operations in almost half of the Aegean Sea on Sunday.
In a post on Twitter, Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Adil Karaismailoglu, announced that Turkey has expanded its search and rescue area of responsibility to cover the “Blue Homeland,” a doctrine which aspires to give Turkey control over the waters of the eastern Aegean and the northern Mediterranean.
The announcement was supported by a map of the areas Turkey says it will assume responsibility of.
Fatih’e, Yavuz’a, Kanuni’ye selam olsun.✋#MaviVatanımızda arama ve kurtarma sorumluluk sahamızı, Doğu Akdeniz'de faaliyet gösteren milli gemilerimizin arama sahalarını kapsayacak şekilde genişlettik.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece said that the new Turkish law that defines the area of responsibility is “illegal insofar as it covers areas of Greek sovereignty and jurisdiction.”
The Ministry added that international treaties have clearly defined that Greece is responsible for such operations through the Greek Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) located in Piraeus.
“Greece coordinates all search and rescue operations in its area of responsibility, providing services in this case to all those at risk, whether they are on ships or on and planes,” the statement reads.
“The latest Turkish move has purely political motives that could endanger human lives.”
South Melbourne Football Club, which plays in the top division of Victoria’s National Premier League competition, is targeting talented young African-Australians in a new recruitment program.
The club’s youth director, Peter Kokotis, and junior coach, Emanuel Saakai, are lobbying for financial backing to create bursaries for African players.
“We have a GoFundMe page, which we are getting out there to people. Every little bit helps to try and get some kids, give them the opportunity to change their lives,” Mr Kokotis said.
Such is the hardship faced by many young men that the club last year chose six African boys during a trial process and none of them could afford to play.
Melbourne school student Bol Tong is an aspiring footballer who dreams of playing in Europe.(Photo: Bol Tong/ABC News)
“I realised these boys are not able to take the opportunity because of the fees involved at the club registration,” he said.
Mr Kokotis said football had become a middle-class sport in Australia, which excluded many on lower incomes.
Tanzania-born Mr Saakai is working with African communities to find the right talent for the club.
“South Melbourne is a great place where African aspiring footballers can call home, a place where they can feel respected, valued and given full attention for their talents to be developed and nurtured,” Mr Saakai said.
“Every day I’m realising that we are very familiar and similar when it comes to our cultures, whether Tanzanian, African, and the Greek culture. It is all about family, community, being expressive, giving your all, competing and being one.”
Mr Tong, who is at high school, is hoping to showcase his football skills and impress the coaches when trials begin next month.
“It will be great to play for South Melbourne if I make it,” Mr Tong said.
“I will do everything in my life to play football professionally. I will listen to my coaches and learn what they will teach.
“This is me. This is how I grew up, fighting for everything, and at the end of the day when you fight, you win, and when you win, it is a reward.”
Basil Zempilas is the new Lord Mayor of the City of Perth.
The high-profile media personality edged out former ABC journalist Di Bain in a neck-and-neck count at Council House on Saturday night.
After trailing Ms Bain for most of the count, there was a last minute surge in votes for Zempilas, who has vowed to “reboot” the capital.
Zempilas finished with 1855 votes ahead of Ms Bain’s 1571, a margin of 284 votes.
Spacecubed founder Brodie McCulloch finished a distant third (786 votes), followed by Mark Gibson (716), Sandy Anghie (603), Bruce Reynolds (398) and Tim Schwass (371).
The three-hour count quickly became a two-horse race between the pair, who were streets ahead of the other five candidates.
In his victory speech, Zempilas declared Perth the world’s best city and said a line had been drawn in the sand after years of scandal at the council.
“Perth has given my family wonderful opportunity and it has given me wonderful opportunity and it’s the same opportunity that Perth can provide for all of its citizens,” Zempilas said.
With wife Amy at his side, Mr Zempilas said the new council would be a “united” force, lessons had been learned from the past and the capital now had the leadership which had been missing for three years.
“Now the job for us is to get busy and to do our very, very best for ratepayers, for residents, for visitors and for those who choose to spend time in the City of Perth,” he said.
“It is the best city in the world. We are wonderfully blessed to be its custodians for a short time, so let’s not waste that opportunity, let’s make the most of that opportunity.”
Zempilas, who works for Seven West Media, publisher of The West Australians, plans to continue his 7NEWS duties as Lord Mayor but will finish his 6PR breakfast show hosting role.
The Dutch royal couple were back in the Netherlands Saturday after their vacation trip to Greece had to be abandoned because of an uproar back home, where people are urged to stay at home as much as possible.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said in a statement that they saw the reactions of people, “which are intense, and they touch us.” As a result they said they would cancel the rest of their vacation.
“Let there be no doubt: To beat the COVID-19 virus it is necessary to follow the rules. The discussion caused by our vacation does not contribute to that.”
Though the king’s vacation in Greece did not break any of the Netherlands’ lockdown rules, including new restrictions introduced this week amid one of Europe’s biggest coronavirus outbreaks, the government has discouraged unnecessary travel.
“This is unwise and incomprehensible,” the ANP news agency quoted lawmaker Joost Sneller of the D-66 party, one of the coalition partners in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s governing coalition, as saying of the King’s vacation.
Melina Mercouri is one of the greatest female figures in Greece from the 20th century. Known for her vibrant and vivid personality, Mercouri achieved many feats during her time in film, theatre and politics, gaining international fame from all the work she had completed.
Personal Life:
Maria-Amalia (Melina) Mercouri was born in Athens on October 18, 1920, to a prominent political family. She was the daughter of Eirlin Lappa, who came from a wealthy family, and the politician, Stamatis Mercouri (1895-1967).
Mercouri during her acting career career. Photo: greeknewsagenda.gr
After completing her secondary education, she attended the National Theatre’s Drama School of Greece, graduating in 1944.
In 1939, Mercouri married Panos Harokopos and got divorced in 1962. Then in 1966, she married Jules Dassin, and stayed with him until her death.
Acting career:
Her first major role, at the age of 20, was Lavina in Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra, but perhaps her most memorable parts were Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire and the good-hearted prostitute in film Never on Sunday (1960).
After her first major international success, Mercouri went on to star in Phaedra (1962), for which she was nominated again for the BAFTA Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama.
The recognition of her acting talent did not stop though, as her role in Topkapi (1964) granted for another nomination, this time for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture in Musical or Comedy.
Mercouri’s last performance on stage was in the opera Pylades at the Athens Concert Hall in 1992, portraying Clytemnestra.
Political career:
Mercouri’s political involvement began when she voiced against the Greek junta and started an international campaign, travelling around the world to inform the public and contribute to the isolation and fall of the colonels.
As a result, the dictatorial regime revoked her Greek citizenship and confiscated her property.
Mercouri during her political career. Photo: greeknewsagenda.gr
After the fall of Junta, she was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), a centre-left political party.
She was continuously elected Member of Parliament from 1977 until her death in 1994. She served as Minister of Culture and championed proudly for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
Having grown up both in Greece, on the island of Crete, as well as New Jersey in the US, Evangelia’s heart is split between two different countries and cultures.
However, her new single ‘Fotiá’ tells the tale of her Greek heritage, bringing together traditional Greek sounds and driving drums with modern pop melodies.
The Greek Herald spoke with Evangelia about her new song, how she got started as a hit singer and desires for her music career.
Tell me a little bit about your new song ‘Fotia.’ What was the inspiration behind the song?
At its core, Fotiá (Greek for fire) is about letting go and following your passion – whether it’s romantic love, or doing what you love. For me it’s both.
First it is my story with my creative partner and love of my life, Stolar. I went through a lot of back and forth between my mind, my heart, and my body, until I finally gave in to everything I was feeling. It felt so good to not hold back anymore and really fall completely in love.
Photo: Supplied/Sony Records
Second, the song is about truly following my passion to be an artist. We wrote the song the day after signing my record deal–it was a milestone for me, because a little over a year before that I was still a full time teacher, only dreaming of where I am now. I had to take a leap of faith, and now I’m actually doing it, living my dream unapologetically.
Both of these experiences were filled with intense tension and release. The song really captures that feeling, from the contrast of intense drums with quiet vocals, to waiting half way through the song to finally reveal the lyric “I’m gonna lose control.” The literal translation of Fotiá is fire, the way I interpret it in this song is as passion. I’ll never be the same as I was before I wrote this song, it’s a part of me now.
What is your creative process like?
My creative process is centered in being open and vulnerable about my truth and what I want to say. Most of the time before I even start writing words and melodies I like to have deep conversations about what I am most passionate about at that moment in my life. I love collaborating with people, but I have to feel very comfortable with them for the songs to end up feeling like me.
Something so special about Fotiá is the group of people I made it with: my main collaborator and partner Stolar, and a new collaborator, Alexis Troy. It took us only a few hours to put the track together and we knew we had captured a song that marked the start of a new era of my life.
Photo: Supplied/Sony Records
I was so excited to work with Alexis because, aside from the fact that he is brilliant, he is also half Greek! We clicked the second we met, and it felt really good to work with someone who spoke the language, understood my culture first hand and knew the traditional instruments that my music is inspired by.
I grew up with two cultures, so it is important to me that my art reflects that, both sonically and visually.
When did you first become interested in music and singing?
I recently found a notebook from 3rd grade where I wrote “When I grow up I want to be a singer” and drew a picture of myself on a stage with a spotlight. I have always loved music and dreamed of it becoming a career for as long as I can remember, but over time I convinced myself that it was just a hobby.
I wrote songs and performed at open mic nights, and even started hosting my own events–but I didn’t let myself see it as a viable career path.
I valued creativity and interacting with people in my work, so I got my Master’s in elementary and special education, and I became a teacher. While I enjoyed my job and found it fulfilling in many ways, I couldn’t help but still feel the artist inside me wanting more. I began to lead a double life as a teacher by day, and NYC musician by night. It was tiring, but I couldn’t see my life any other way.
Everything changed when there were massive budget cuts in my district that led to me getting laid off from my job. I chose to see it as a sign from the universe that I was given a way out from having to quit my safety net. I took a leap of faith and decided to follow my passion 100%.
I met Stolar soon after, and together we went on a journey of discovering my sound, and ultimately found that incorporating my culture into my music felt the most honest. That combination is what got me my record deal with Sony Music – and the rest is history.
You’re of Cretan background. How does that influence your music?
My father is from Crete, and my mother is Italian-American. My father was the Cultural Chairperson for the PanCretan Association of America, and later served as President of the organization for one year. As you can imagine, my life in America was also filled with a lot of Cretan culture, whether it was dancing in the folk group, or helping to entertain musicians and artists brought over for cultural events from Crete staying at my house.
I had the good fortune of being a Greek-American who spent her summers in Greece on her Yiayia’s farm–starting at the young age of one month old. I love the language, the culture, the customs, and the traditions. My time in Greece was always more than a vacation; it was another life.
My Yiayia taught me a lot, from the simple, daily agricultural work, to the most complex preparation of authentic Cretan cuisine. We would chat on the balcony admiring the beautiful landscape while talking about life, and often listened to Greek music and danced a “sirto” together.
As I got older I’d go into town for a “volta” with my friends, which consisted of a nice walk and a dessert or a drink, while other times the night was filled with dancing at the bars or at a local “panigiri” until the sunrise. I have fond memories of Greece that inspire me every day, and now I take them and incorporate them into my art.
I filmed the music video for my first single “Páme Páme” at my Yiayia’s farmhouse, and threw a party in my village and invited everyone. I wanted to show people where the Greek influence in my music comes from. The music video for Fotiá incorporates choreography that is inspired by tsifteteli, and when the bouzouki drop happens, I do zeimbekiko inspired movement. By fusing American pop culture with traditional Greek elements, I want to honour my heritage while also creating a legacy of my own.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I want to spread love and respect for Greece and Greek culture through my art. I am very proud of my roots and want to inspire others to be proud of where they come from, too.
A petition against the newly proposed Amalfi Beach Club in Bondi has reached 30,000 people as Waverley Council deliberates the idea of privatising part of Australia’s iconic landmark.
Debate was sparked over the privatisation of public land in Bondi, which would see the area sectioned off to accomodate “high net worth” individuals to enjoy cocktails and gourmet food in luxury cabanas.
Locals have slammed the plan as “unAustralian” and claimed it would mean hundreds fewer people would be able to visit the usually packed spot.
“On an ordinary pre-COVID day in summer, Bondi is packed to the hilt, with approximately 40,000 people visiting the beach,” the petition reads.
“So reserving even 2 per cent of the beach space displaces at least 800 from the beach in favour of a handful of the elite who can afford it.”
The beach club would rival those in Europe.
The beach club would cover around two per cent of the iconic beach, near Roscoe St for the summer. The area will be able to hold up to 100 guests at a time who can choose between the 10 cabanas, four booths or 20 sun lounges.
The Waverley Council told 7NEWS.com.au a second proposal for the beach club was still under assessment after the first was knocked back in May.
Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, says proper process will be followed with regard to a decision on the controversial plan.
Janek Gazecki has big plans for Bondi Beach. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett
“While there are various views on the proposal being aired, anyone has the right to submit a proposal,” Masselos said.
“While as a matter of principle, the regulatory and policy settings are geared towards beaches and open spaces being there to be enjoyed freely by everyone, this proposal needs to be properly assessed against those laws and policies so that the appropriate determinations can be made.”
A period of community consultation where residents can submit their views will be included as part of the council’s assessment process.
