Government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Friday evening rejected a report claiming Greek soldiers shot and killed a Pakistani national on the Evros border.
The report by German magazine Der Spiegel claimed the man was shot dead by Greek soldiers while attempting to cross from Turkey into Greece two months ago.
“No evidence was ever provided in early March proving that the actions of Greek security forces resulted in loss of life. In fact, these allegations were immediately denied by the Greek authorities,” Petsas said in a statement.
Greek police use tear gas against migrants waiting at the border crossing at Kastanies and Pazarkule to cross to the European Union territories on Feb. 28, 2020. (IHA Photo)
The incident came as Turkey said it would no longer stop migrants from crossing into Europe, resulting in thousands gathering on the Turkish side of the border, in the border region of Evros.
Mr. Petsas points out that orders have been given to use non-lethal means in the Greek security forces and the possibility of their violation should have already been investigated.
The Greek Government also claimed that Turkish authorities are consistently using migrants and refugees as, “pawns in a propaganda program ‘made for television’ against Greece.”
The report was originally published in March but on Friday the magazine published it in English.
Greek Australian footballer Terry Antonis faced a red card in Suwon Bluewing’s Friday night loss on the opening match day of Korea’s K League.
The match was held with coronavirus restrictions in place, with the 42,000-capacity Jeonju World Cup Stadium left baron of supporters. The only people in attendance included South Korea manager Paulo Bento, members of the media and ground staff, who all wore masks.
The match featured Australian pair Terry Antonis and Adam Taggart, last season’s top scorer in the K League, in the line up for the visiting Suwon side.
Terry Antonis gets to grips with Cho Gue-sung. Photo: Courier Mail
The former Sydney Olympic playmaker Antonis was sent off with 15 minutes remaining after a reckless studs-up tackle while the match was goalless.
Just minutes later, 41-year-old Japanese icon Lee Dong-gook rose to head home a corner from the near post, securing a 1-0 victory for Jeonbuk Motors.
Fans were refused entry for the match, although the club attempted to mitigate their absence by placing enormous banners reading “C_U_SOON” and “STAY STRONG” across the empty seats. Recordings of fan noise were played in the broadcast – with drums, chants, cheers and clapping all part of the mix.
Terry Antonis was raised in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, born of Greek decent. The former Sydney Olympic and Sydney FC player holds both an Australian and Greek passport.
The European border protection agency Frontex expects a new wave of migrants seeking to cross the Turkish border will arrive once Ankara lifts coronavirus restrictions, German newspaper Die Welt reports.
The German newspaper cited an internal report of the EU border agency, revealing that the easing of restrictions in the provinces of Canakkale, Istanbul and Izmir is expected to trigger large clusters of migrants to move towards the Evros border.
The fresh wave of migrants is feared to cause a repeat of the migrant standoff that took place a few months ago, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the floodgates for migrants to the Evros border.
Since February, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have attempted to enter Greece from Turkey. Source: AFP.
An additional 262 police officers from around Greece have been sent to Evros to increase security at the border, Die Welt quotes from the Frontex report.
“The planned deployment of another 400 newly trained police officers to the Evros area – as announced by the Greek authorities in early 2020 – has been postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis,” the report also warns.
Migrants constructing bridges in an attempt to cross the Greek-Turkish border. Photo @NicAthens Twitter
The migrant crisis in Greece has caused heightened tensions between the two countries that share the Mediterranean waters. At the end of April, Greek authorities accused Turkey of trying to illegally escort migrants by boat into Greek waters off the island of Lesbos.
Tens of thousands of migrants were already in Greece before the crisis, mostly arriving from Turkey. Nearly 40,000 are still stuck in squalid, overcrowded camps on Lesbos and other Greek islands.
Greece’s former health minister, cardiologist and university professor Dimitris Kremastinos, has died of the new coronavirus, Greek officials said Friday. He was 78.
Kremastinos, a widely respected doctor who became a household name in Greece as the personal physician of late prime minister Andreas Papandreou in the mid-1990s, was admitted to Athens’ Evangelismos hospital on March 26. He died Friday morning after being in the intensive care unit for COVID-19.
Health Minsiter Vassilis Kikilias tweeted that the former minister “served the health sector with dignity and a sense of responsibility.”
Ο Δημήτρης Κρεμαστινός, Καθηγητής Ιατρικής και τ. Υπουργός Υγείας, υπηρέτησε το χώρο της Υγείας με αξιοπρέπεια και αίσθημα ευθύνης. Θερμά συλλυπητήρια στους οικείους του και στο ΚΙΝΑΛ.
Tributes for Kremastinos, who was currently serving as parliament vice-president and was a member of the center-left KINAL party, poured in.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute, saying “the world of science and politics today lost a leading member.” The prime minister tweeted that the professor had “left a special imprint of dignity, responsibility and effectiveness.”
Born on May 1, 1942, Kremastinos grew up on the eastern Aegean island of Rhodes before studying medicine in the University of Athens and the University of London. Returning to his homeland, he set up a specialized cardiac intensive care unit in one of the Greek capital’s main public hospitals, and ran the cardiac department of the Athens General State Hospital and the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center.
Kremastinos served as Greece’s health minister in 1993-1996.
There is a new addition at a bar on Santorini. The beach lounge chairs are surrounded by plexiglass screens, a precaution against coronavirus once the island starts getting visitors again.
Beach bar owner Charlie Chahine says he does not like it, but if that is the way it has to be for tourists to return, then that is what he is doing.
“We hope these constructions you see are not going to be the future for beaches. We don’t want this, but if this is necessary, and if this is what people’s safety depends on, such a construction or any such construction – we (just) want to work, we want to get going,” said Chahine.
Businesses on Greece’s most popular holiday island are adopting all kinds of hygiene measures, anxious for the season to start.
They are aware they will have already missed months of business if the country opens to tourists in July, as the government has forecast as the country eases lockdown measures that began on March 23.
Impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak on the island of Santorini. Photo: Reuters
Santorini is a popular destination for tourists globally. Each summer its cobblestone streets are crammed. In 2018 2 million people came to this volcanic island. It is also a popular destination for weddings and honeymoons. Now the streets and rooftop terraces are empty.
Vice President of the Santorini Hotel Association Andreas Patiniotis said bookings in June last year were at 70%, while at the moment it hovers at 30% at most. He acknowledges things will not be easy.
“I believe we have to start somewhere, so that there is work for our suppliers, for our employees. There are so many people that depend on hotels.”
Hotel owner Panagiotis Loutos has been carrying out repairs on his property. Looking at his empty pool, he says it is not just the fears of financial loss. His heart breaks to see his hotel sitting empty.
“We are going to be ready in 10 days, that is the only thing that is sure. We see the (preparations) and we are happy, but it hurts, (because) the absence of people – it’s something you can’t even talk about,” he said.
Modern Family star Ariel Winter took an unplanned trip to the hospital yesterday after slicing the tip of her thumb off while making Greek food during lockdown.
The Greek-American actress went to chop a peeled tomato and unfortunately missed, slicing an artery in her thumb and forcing her to go to the hospital from excessive bleeding.
‘I was trying to make Greek food, ’cause I’m Greek and so I was like: “All right, I’m gonna try all these new things. I wanna try and make this. I wanna try and make this dish I love,” Ariel said in a virtual appearance on Access.
Ariel Winter took an unplanned trip to the hospital yesterday after slicing the tip of her thumb off. Photo: Access
Winter’s day of unfortunate accidents didn’t stop there however, as the actress accidentally threw the piece of severed thumb in the trash, not knowing it was a piece of her own flesh.
“He actually brought the tip of my finger to the hospital,” Ariel added, explaining that the nurse who was attending to her gave the thumb piece back without explaining what it was.
“She actually just gave it to me in a plastic bag and didn’t tell me it was the tip of my thumb too, so I accidentally threw it away and we had to go get it.”
The Mr. Peabody And Sherman actress assured fans that she was perfectly fine.
‘It was more like, you know: “Get a tetanus shot. Make sure you don’t get an infection.”‘
Ariel Winter is the daughter of Chrisoula and Glenn Workman, with her mother being of Greek descent and her of German descent.
Scott Morrison and the chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, have laid out a three-step plan to reopen Australia after the coronavirus crisis.
Each state and territory will move at their own pace throughout the stages, yet the Prime Minister hopes that this will hopefully be completed by July.
An important re-introduction for members of the Australian community, the Prime Minister announced that funerals will now be permitted to hold up to 20 people indoors, and 30 outdoors.
Step 1 restriction relaxations will also allow religious gatherings, including wedding services in the Greek Orthodox Church, to now hold up to 10 guests.
National Cabinet has outlined its three-step plan to ease coronavirus restrictions over the next few months.(ABC News: Luke Stephenson)
National Cabinet will review the progress of each step every three weeks, to see what impact the changes have on coronavirus infection numbers
“Basically, we’ll go round the grounds of the premiers and chief ministers and see how it’s going,” Mr Morrison said.
“They’re not formal reviews, I’d describe it more as stock takes … and how we’re going towards our ultimate aspiration of being there in July.”
Below is a precise layout of the three step framework, provided by the Australian Government, along with details of the restriction relaxation in the words of the Australian Prime Minister.
Step One
Step one will enable greater connection with friends and family, allowing gatherings up to 10 people, and five guests in your own home. Working from home, if it works for you, and your employer. It will see children back in classrooms and in playgrounds in their communities. Golfers back on the green. Lap swimmers back in the pool. Boot camps back in the parks. Retail and small cafes and restaurants reopening. Interstate recreational travel, starting again. It will see easing of restrictions for funerals with up to 30 attendees, outdoors, and 10 at weddings.
Step two
Step two will allow larger size gatherings up to 20 people, including for venues such as cinemas and galleries, more retail openings on sector-based COVID safe plans, organised community sport, and beauty parlours, and you’ll be pleased to know, barre classes open once again.
Step three
Step three, allowing gatherings up to 100 people. This will become clearer as we move through the first two steps. So there will be more work to do on step 3. But most workers, by then, will be back in the workplace. Interstate travel will likely resume. Pubs and clubs with some restrictions will be open. And also possibly gaming venues. As I said, steps three, step three, but also step two, will get greater definition as we move through the success of step one.
The Hellenic Initiative Australia have approved a AU$30,000 grant to be used to upgrade paediatric facilities in the regional towns of Argos and Galatas.
The grant, given to Pediatric Trauma Care (Pedtrauma), will allow more than 8000 children to benefit from specialised equipment at the General Hospital of Argos and the Paediatric Clinic at the Health Centre of Galatas.
The Hellenic Initiative Australia President, Nicholas Pappas AM, said THI Australia was proud to be supporting
five regional public hospitals through its partnership with Pedtrauma.
“These under-resourced hospitals provide critical care to children living in regional areas, including many
remote and inaccessible villages,” Mr Pappas said.
“There is an urgent need for improved local health care infrastructure and services to handle accidents and
emergency cases involving children.”
The Hellenic Initiative Australia’s support for Argos and Galatas follows an AU$60,000 grant for a major upgrade of paediatric facilities on the island of Kythira in 2019 and the northern towns of Ioannina and Kastoria in 2018.
Pedtrauma works through a growing waitlist of urgent requests from hospitals in dire need of medical equipment for treating children, including specialist trauma care. Since 2010, Pedtrauma has upgraded and equipped 66 paediatric departments at 57 hospitals and health centres throughout Greece, benefitting more than 1 million children.
Pedtrauma also runs trauma prevention programs in schools and provides specialist paediatric trauma training for doctors.
Hundreds of people gathered in Adelaide on Friday morning to pay their last respects to Greek-Australian Police Officer Joanne Sanahan, who died in a car accident on April 25 in the suburb of Urrbrae.
SA Police Chief Commissioner Grant Stevens announced last Sunday that the public will have the opportunity to commemorate Shanahan as the hearse travelled from Joanne’s home address along a specified route.
Police flanked the streets of Adelaide’s inner south to say their last goodbyes to their own Joanne.
[Left] Commissioner Grant Stevens in attendance of Joanne Shanahan’s funeral. [Right] A mounted police horse escort. Photos: Argyro Vourdoumpa
“As with every other family who has lost a loved one during this COVID-19 response, the ability to celebrate Joanne’s life is severely restricted,” Commissioner Stevens said.
“The funeral service will be held in a way that enables as many people as possible who knew or cared about Joanne or her family to be involved, and the South Australia Police will be playing its part as well.”
Due to social distancing rules, the funeral service was streamed online. Footage was shown of a traditional Greek blessing that was conducted on Thursday.
Photo: Argyro Vourdoumpa
The cortege travelled up Greenhill Road from Unley Road, and along Fullarton Road, Kensington Road, Osmond Terrace and Magill Road to the Chapel of Berry’s Funeral Home.
Commissioner Stevens was in attendance at the funeral, accompanied by members of the SA Police Force and close friends and family of Ms Shanahan.
[Top Left] Joanne Shanahan’s mother and father attending the funeral of their daughter. [Top Right] Joanne’s coffin is placed into the van by a group of female police officers. [Bottom] Joanne’s coffin is placed with an Australian flag draped over the top. Photos By: Argyro Vourdoumpa
OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud agency, this week confirmed an unnamed Greek scientist defrauded the European Research Council (ERC) of roughly €190,000.
“A complex fraud involving a Greek scientist and her network of international researchers has been uncovered by investigators,” OLAF said.
The case involves a grant of €1.1 million from the ERC to an unnamed Greek university. The money was intended to finance a research project run by a young female scientist, whose father was employed at the university, and was said to involve a network of more than 40 researchers from around the world.
The fraud team became suspicious when it discovered how the international researchers involved in the research project were being paid.
“Cheques were issued in the name of individual researchers but were then deposited into bank accounts with multiple beneficiaries. Suspicions increased when it emerged that the cheques were personally deposited into the bank accounts by the lead scientist,” OLAF’s report says.
European Research Council office. Photo: TheScientist.com
An on-the-spot check at the university followed. Evidence was found to suggest that the lead scientist had set up bank accounts used to pay the international researchers, while making herself a co-beneficiary of the accounts in order to gain access to the money.
The EU fraud team followed the financial trail and was able to prove that large sums were either withdrawn in cash by the scientist or were transferred into her private account.
OLAF contacted a number of the researchers who were said to be involved in the research project. None of them were aware that their name was linked to the project or had any knowledge of the bank accounts opened in their names, or of any payments made into them.
The OLAF headquarters in Brussels, Belgium | EPA/Julien Warnand.
“The sheer size and scope of the network of researchers allegedly involved in this project posed a real challenge to OLAF’s investigators. Their ability to access and verify accounts set up to allegedly pay researchers from across the world was a vital element in getting to the bottom of this attempt to defraud the EU budget,” the office said.
Since 2010, the ERC has referred less than 100 cases of suspected fraud or irregularities to OLAF. This is the first case to be judged as fraud by OLAF, the ERC confirmed.
The ERC’s executive agency is now working to recover an amount of around €190,000. OLAF has also recommended that Greek authorities initiate judicial proceedings against the persons involved.
OLAF has refused to name the scientist, the university involved or the year the grant was issued.
