Lachlan Scully, the Second Secretary of the Australian High Commission in New Delhi, visited the Greek island of Lemnos on February 6 and 7 to review progress on the ANZAC Remembrance Trail.
He was accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Ioannis Skouras, and Military Director of the Office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Ioannis A. Kefalogiannis.
On February 6, Mr Scully held a meeting at the Myrina Officers’ Club hosted by the Commander of the 88th HAA, Lieutenant Colonel Ioannis Korres. Mr Scully was in attendance along with the Prefect of Lemnos, Apostolos Koutsogiannis; the Mayor of Lemnos, Eleonora Georga; the Deputy Mayor of Lemnos, Dimitris Boulotis; and engineer Ms Harou, who is responsible for the contractor company’s technical part of the project.
Lachlan Scully in Lemnos.
During the meeting, the seventeen intervention points of the project and the role of the involved entities were thoroughly examined.
At the end of the meeting, the participants acknowledged the excellent cooperation and expressed optimism about the project’s rapid progress.
On Wednesday, February 9, Mr Boulotis accompanied Mr Scully and Lieutenant Colonel Skouras to all intervention points, in the presence of Ms Harou.
Photo: Lemnos. FM.
Afterwards, the delegation, accompanied by the Commander of the 88th HAA, met with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Lemnos. During the meeting, Metropolitan Hierotheos confirmed the willingness of the Metropolis of Lemnos and Saint Eustratios to cooperate in areas under their jurisdiction.
As they departed Lemnos, Mr Scully expressed his satisfaction with the results of his visit to the Remembrance Trail and the spirit of cooperation among all involved.
The Lemnos Remembrance Trail received millions of dollars in funding by the Australian government, and will allow travellers to visit key sites of significance on the island, and a website will be developed to tell the Australian story on Lemnos for those unable to visit in person.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington as part of the USA-Greece Strategic Dialogue, reaffirming the historic high level of Greek-US relations.
Following the meeting, Gerapetritis emphasised the United States’ appreciation for Greece’s principled foreign policy approach, particularly in upholding international law and fostering peace and prosperity.
Discussions encompassed key regional issues, including the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East, with a focus on promoting an end to hostilities for a lasting resolution.
🌌FM G.Gerapetritis signed Greece's accession to the “Artemis” Space Coop.Accords in the presence of Secretary of State A.Blinken @SecBlinken, @NASA Admin. B.Nelson @SenBillNelson &President of Hellenic Space Center I.Daglis
Notably, Gerapetritis also highlighted the new opportunities arising for the Cyprus issue, citing the recent appointment of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar.
This presents a pivotal moment to reinvigorate efforts towards a sustainable solution in alignment with UN Security Council Resolutions.
The meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Greece and the United States at the State Department concluded on Friday with a significant signing ceremony. Gerapetritis signed Greece’s accession act to the “Artemis” space cooperation agreements, marking a pivotal moment in the framework of the 5th Strategic Dialogue between the two countries.
The head of the State Department emphasised, among other things, that US relations are stronger than ever. Meanwhile, Gerapetritis expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the five crew members of the military helicopter who lost their lives on Thursday in a tragic accident.
Following the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers declared the beginning of the 5th Strategic Dialogue between Greece and the US, in which Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandra Papadopoulou and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion, Kostas Fragogiannis, participated.
I met with Greek Foreign Minister Gerapetritis at today’s fifth U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue. Our bilateral relationship with our NATO Ally continues to expand as we welcome Greece to the Artemis Accords, which promotes peaceful and responsible space exploration. pic.twitter.com/85D2MX1hUr
Blinken said that the US are so grateful for the partnership between US and Greece.
“The partnership between our countries is in my judgment the strongest it’s ever been. This was reinforced when I had a chance to visit Athens a year ago for our last strategic dialogue and also reinforced by my recent visit just a few weeks ago when I met the Prime Minister in Crete,” Blinken said.
“Our countries are working together to promote peace and stability, standing with Ukraine, defending freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, confronting terrorists, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to people who need it, responding to natural disasters.”
Gerapetritis added, “We actively support the EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans and Ukraine.”
He also mentioned the Cyprus issue, while for the Middle East, he emphasised that Greece – thanks to its relations with both Israel and the Arab countries – can work constructively to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and work for sustainable peace.
On Sunday, February 7, more than 1,500 protestors came together in central Athens to express their opposition to a proposed law to legalise same-sex marriage in Greece.
The bill is set to have a parliamentary vote within the next few days.
AP News reported that Greece’s conservative government is backing the legislation, however passing the bill will require many votes from centre and left opposition parties to be approved. Additionally, some of the lawmakers have even gone on record opposing the bill.
Religious groups who attended Sunday’s protest revealed how they thought the bill was a threat to the traditional family. Many of them chanted “hands off our children” during the protest.
The protest took place in Athens on Sunday. Photo: AP Photo / Yorgos Karahalis.
“Unfortunately, the woke agenda has also reached Greece and that agenda includes the marriage of homosexuals,” Dimitris Natsios, leader of the far-right and strongly religious Niki party, said.
“Greece is a Christian Orthodox country and our tradition does not allow this… We know and respect one type of marriage: The Orthodox Christian wedding.
“Our Constitution also does not provide for this, so this bill is unconstitutional and runs counter to our faith in Christ.”
If the bill is approved, Greece will be the first majority Orthodox country to legalise same-sex marriage.
The Certificate of Attainment in Greek serves as a valuable tool which offers an expert and objective evaluation of an individual’s Greek language proficiency. It is endorsed by the Greek government and it offers students the opportunity to learn and improve their Greek writing skills, speaking and listening skills.
The Greek Herald decided to speak with the three adult students to uncover what it means to achieve the A1 Certificate and what inspired them to study the Greek language.
Nick Voukelatos:
Nick Voukelatos, a 36-year-old third generation Greek from Melbourne, was one of the first people in Melbourne to receive the A1 certificate.
The catalyst for Nick deciding to enrol into the GCM’s adult Greek language course was a combination of life events, ranging from starting his own family to the death of his grandparents.
“I decided to preserve and improve upon my basic language skills so as to not lose what little I already had, and also develop a capability to pass on the language and hence the culture for one more generation,” he said.
Nick has been studying Greek for more than 1.5 years, and shared two things that he loves about it.
“Firstly, I love the social aspect of getting to meet and befriend new people from different walks of life,” he said.
“Secondly, for the simple joy of learning and the sense of achievement it provides.”
He shared some of the highlights of undertaking the Greek course.
“Other than great teaching of course, I definitely enjoy the weekly jokes and banter to keep learning rather lively, and joint class events for various festive and cultural days,” Nick said.
“My all-time highlight was after my first child was born, my class wrote me a beautiful card, in Greek of course, and one of my classmates knitted the cutest little baby outfit.”
The adult Greek student said he encourages more people to learn Greek.
“Greek is an interesting and rewarding language to learn as there are many aspects to keep you mentally engaged and healthy,” Nick said.
“They include learning the more logical and algorithmic elements of grammar and vocabulary, memorisation, the rich historical and cultural context, and of course the social side achieving personal goals together.
“To those who have thought about learning Greek, or any other language or topic, but haven’t for whatever reason – ignore all the reasons, it’s as simple as a phone call or website form, then let momentum carry you through.”
Playing scrabble
Christelle Marie Sangeeleemootoo:
Christelle Marie Sangeeleemootoo also received her A1 Certificate. Born in Mauritius, Christelle came to Australia at 18 years old to study early childhood education. She said she always had a passion for learning languages.
“From a very young age, I have been fascinated by Greek mythology and the Greek language,” Christelle said.
“I remember reading the Iliad by Homer in French and being curious about the Greek Gods and the Greek heroes. Over the years I have made a few Greek friends, and I am blessed to count a handful of them as my dearest friends.”
The 32-year-old said after the COVID lockdown, she realised life was too short and unpredictable to not make the most out of it, so she decided to commence learning Greek.
“I looked around for Greek lessons in Melbourne, called a couple of places and then I saw the Greek Community of Melbourne page – I was referred to Mr Alexandros Giannadakis and I was charmed by the warmth and community vibe of this conversation, this was what I was looking for,” Christelle said.
“I wasn’t looking for just lessons, I was looking for somewhere where I can immerse myself in the language and culture.
“I started the classes in February 2022 from scratch and I remember how self-aware I was and so worried of making mistakes but then gradually as I continued the learning journey, I became more self-confident.”
Christelle then went on to watch cartoons and movies in Greek with English subtitles and listened to Greek music each day until she got accustomed to the phonics of different words.
She said she felt so proud of herself for pursuing the course and thanked her teacher Eleni Dimitriou for her ongoing support.
“She is so patient and so dedicated and always go the extra mile for her students. When I told her that I wanted to do the Certificate of Attainment for the Greek Language, she supported me and helped me by gathering a small group of students to prepare for the A1 level examination together,” Christelle said.
“This year my friends and I are preparing for the level A2, and I will also attempt the B1 level.”
She said she would encourage more adults that are of Greek origin to start the same journey and reconnect with their roots.
“I have fallen in love with the Greek language, the complexity in terms of grammar makes it even more interesting compared to my other languages, and listening to people expressing themselves with such a diverse vocabulary which doesn’t even exist in English gives me a deeper understanding of how people feel,” Christelle said.
“But what’s most important to me is the friendships and ties I have created within this warm community that is so supportive. I feel a sense of belonging here and this fuels my dream of further studies in the Greek language.”
Christelle and PeterPeter Defteros
Peter Defteros:
Peter Defteros, another recipient of the A1 Certificate, said he always wanted to study Greek.
“It’s been a long-standing goal of mine to learn Greek,” Peter said.
“My father was from Greece, and I thought it was a great way to stay connected to his culture and my family background.”
The 56-year-old said he commenced studying modern Greek with the GCM mid-2022. He said there were many things to love about studying Greek.
“My fellow students and teacher have a lot of fun in class,” Peter said. “I love that it’s a way of staying connected to my heritage.”
Peter said some of the highlights of studying for the Certificate of Attainment, included “developing my Greek language skills along with my fellow students.”
“I also enjoy playing games in Greek, when students share Greek food in class, and creating new friends who share your passion for the Greek language,” he said.
The Melbourne-born man who works in policy for the Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions said he encouraged more people to pursue studying Greek.
“It’s a great experience to learn any foreign language, because learning about a different culture expands your mind and opens up new ways of living and understanding,” Peter said.
“It can be very challenging at times, but also rewarding. I encourage more adults to learn Greek because it allows you to more fully experience the riches of Greek culture.”
He said receiving the A1 Certificate was a great reward for all his hard work and effort within the course.
“The A1 Certificate was given out to those who attained the first six levels of knowledge of Greek as a second language,” Peter said.
“The exam was certified by the Centre for Greek Language in Thessaloniki in Greece and authorised by the Greek government.
“Three of us from my class sat the exam. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were the first adult students from the Greek Community of Melbourne language school to sit the exam and achieved the certificate.
“It was such a good feeling to find that out later.”
The album ‘Yours Forever’ is a rollercoaster ride of Jess Mauboy favourite sounds from soul and gospel to jazz and dance pop. It is also the pop star’s most candid and personal album to date.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the pop star has always found it easier to reveal her personal stories in her songs.
She sings about the time she almost broke up with her husband Themeli Magripilis under the strain of maintaining their long distance relationship, when he stayed in their hometown, Darwin and she relocated Sydney to pursue her music and television careers.
She sings about that crossroads in their romance – they married in July 2022 – in the heartbreaking acoustic ballad Goodbye.
Photo: jessicamauboy
“That song is about when we almost broke up. We were eight years in a long distance relationship and we felt really apart, we weren’t doing things together, we weren’t creating a future,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“But we would never say goodbye (after being together), we couldn’t. We still always say see you later. “Finally we worked out how to salvage our relationship and made the move together and eight more years later, we’re living this beautiful life together in Sydney.”
Magripilis serves as her muse for several of the songs including the single Flashback, which recaptures the beginning of their “love story.”
“He’s my muse for songs; he’s so easy to write about and to write for. And he’s not bothered about that,” she mentioned.
Sometimes her songs are musical capsules which reveal some of the inner world Mauboy doesn’t share on social media.
Today, Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston turns 55! Τhe Greek Herald presents three special moments to celebrate the Greek roots of the actress who has spoken openly about the appreciation she has for her heritage.
A Greek Orthodox priest on Friends
In the season seven finale of “Friends,” titled “The One with Chandler and Monica’s Wedding,” Jennifer Aniston’s character, Rachel, scrambles to find an officiant for the wedding. Amidst the chaos, she encounters a familiar sight for Greek viewers — a Greek Orthodox priest officiating a wedding between Anastassakis and Papasifakis, a nod to Aniston’s Greek heritage.
“Kala esy?”
When a Greek reporter Giorgos Satsidis covered the Critics Choice Awards 2024 a few days ago, he asked Jennifer Aniston, “Ti kaneis?” which means “How are you?” and she answered immediately “Kala, esy”, “I am fine, and you?”, showing that she can speak Greek and she is ready to prove it at any moment.
When Jennifer Aniston used social media to pay tribute to her father
“Sweet papa… John Anthony Aniston. You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace – and without pain,” she had written on social media after her father passed away.
John was born Yannis Anastassakis in Crete, Greece, and emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania when he was a child. He was a theatre major at Pennsylvania State University and before starting his professional acting career in the 1960s, John served in the US Navy.
With early break-out roles on the small screen in ‘Combat!’, ‘I Spy’ and ‘The Virginian,’ his acting credits went on to include ‘Search for Tomorrow,’ as well as ‘The Gilmore Girls’. John was most known for his long-running role on ‘Days of Our Lives’ where he played family patriarch Victor Kiriakis, the former drug lord who goes on to found the powerful Titan Industries.
New excavations have unearthed further evidence that a previously discovered temple was a cult building within the famous sanctuary of Poseidon.
The Austrian Academy of Sciences suggest that it was an important religious center in the region.
According to the Jerusalem Post, new discoveries have indicated that the temple discovered in 2022 was larger than previously assumed.
Archaeologists from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Elis of the Greek Ministry of Culture uncovered a building in 2022 that was likely located within the famous sanctuary of Poseidon. It could possibly be identified as a temple of the god of the sea and earthshaker.
More parts of the temple were discovered after excavations in the fall of 2023 by archaeologists of the OeAI and the Greek Ministry of Culture in Kleidi-Samikon in the Western Peloponnese.
Photo: Dr. Birgitta Eder / Athens Branch of the Austrian Archaeological Institute
Latest excavations showed that the building is larger than it was originally believed. What was initially thought to be a vestibule, was actually a second room. The building is about 28 meters long and over 9 meters wide. It consists of two interior rooms, a vestibule and a rear hall or shrine.
There are no other buildings like this one, as of late while the function of the two rooms is still to be discovered. It was possibly a double temple where two different gods were prayed to, or it is two rooms, one behind the other.
According to the research the temple was built in two phases. The director of the Ephoria of Elis detailed that “in the second half of the fourth or first half of the third century BC, the Archaic temple from the sixth century BC was renovated.”
The team aims to find more about the dimensions and the purpose of the work while there are rumors about what is hidden beneath the earth in the location.
The share of renewable electricity production including large hydropower plants reached a historic high in 2023 in Greece – 57%.
Moreover, according to balkangreenenergynews.com, the sector covered more than half of demand for the first time. Gas consumption declined 10.1%, compared to the drop of 2.9% in electricity demand. Wind power capacity topped 5 GW.
Reports from the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) highlighted a decrease in power prices from the peak of the energy crisis. Despite economic growth, energy consumption dropped in Greece last year. Green Tank, in collaboration with ANA, presented a comprehensive overview of achievements in the energy market, underscoring the rising penetration of renewables.
Chairman and CEO of Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), known as Admie, revealed that renewable energy sources and large hydropower plants contributed 47.9% and 9.1% to production, respectively. The combined 57% share in the January-November period marked an unprecedented achievement, credited to investments in green energy and grid development.
Furthermore, fossil fuel participation in the energy mix declined as consumers embraced self-consumption installations. Natural gas consumption fell by 10.1%, with electricity demand dropping by 2.9%. Notably, Greece experienced nearly a month without coal power, signaling a significant shift towards sustainability in the energy sector.
Photo: Pok Rie
An overall 19.2 TWh of electricity was generated from fossil gas and lignite in 2023 or 4.3 TWh under the previous low.
In the first 11 months, the shares of lignite in electricity production (9.9%) and demand coverage (8.9%) landed below the 10% mark for the first time.
In production, renewables and large hydroelectric facilities surpassed natural gas and lignite, at 19.6 TWh against 17.5 TWh.
Emissions from electricity production plummeted by 23%, reaching a record low of 13.25 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Prosumers, energy communities and other categories of producers of electricity for self-consumption had 421.3 MW installed at the end of December or almost twice as much as one year before. The level has roughly doubled every year since 2019.
Consumption of oil derivatives came in at 7% under the 2022 reading, driven by a whopping 32% fall in demand for heating oil. On the other hand, the demand for gasoline and diesel grew by 4% and 3%, respectively.
Additionally, the Hellenic Wind Energy Association reported the installation of 153 wind turbines in 2023, adding to Greece’s total wind power capacity, which surpassed 5 GW for the first time.
Zoe Ventoura won Australia’s heart as Packed To The Rafters’ girl next door, but she was never feeling comfortable with fame leading to the loss of her privacy. So while her latest role as an attention-seeking vamp onstage in Chicago: The Musical may seem a contradiction, she said that it is perhaps the most satisfying job of her career.
According to The Daily Telegraph, she kept her 2015 wedding to actor Daniel MacPherson and her pregnancy with their now four-year-old son Austin under wraps, the Australian public only learning of both after they had happened.
In her discussion with Stellar’s podcast “Something To Talk About,” Ventoura revealed her protective stance on her private life.
“I’ve always felt innately that my private life is private, particularly when family and close friends are involved. I’ve chosen this life, this career, and I understand that some of it is public facing,” she said to The Daily Telegraph.
Zoe Ventoura will star in a new musical opening at the State Theatre later in April “La Cage Aux Folles” Picture: Richard Dobson from The Daily Telegraph.
“But my friends and family have not, and my son has not, so I’ve always felt protective of that. Also, some moments in your life are just so special that I want to keep them for us”.
She expressed discomfort with paparazzi intrusion, particularly concerning photographs of her son, Austin, whose face she shields from social media. She also talked about how she feels becoming a mother at 40.
“I do feel very grateful that I was able to have a kid, you know, later in life, which I know is not true for everybody. I’m keeping up with everything so far.”
Ventoura also spoke aboutco-parenting Austin – and remaining on good terms – with MacPherson, after announcing their split in December 2020.
“We just want to make sure he’s the number-one priority – he feels safe, loved, happy, thriving. And we’re great,” she said. “It’s been 100 per cent respectful and amicable and we’re communicating constantly because when you have a child, you have to.”
“I feel really lucky because I know that it’s not always the case”.
Yiyang Sun – or Odysseus as he prefers to be called – first caught my attention during a quick scroll on social media one night.
In a video posted on Instagram, Odysseus shared how he was a 20-year-old born and raised in Shanghai, China, and was currently a college student at the Greek Department of the School of European & Latin American Studies at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).
The catch was that Odysseus shared this entire story in fluent Greek.
Of course, one of the first questions I had to ask during our interview was the question on everyone’s lips – how did Yiyang Sun become Odysseus?
“When I first entered university, I asked a Greek friend of mine whom I met on the internet, Olga, to give me a Greek name. She then sent me a list of names and their meanings and stories behind it,” Odysseus explained.
“Eventually I picked the name because Homer’s Odyssey is one of the first things that introduced me to Greece, and I love how the name sounds.”
Odysseus’ love for all things Greek only grew from there.
Eventually, the language enthusiast enrolled at the Shanghai International Studies University and instead of studying Russian, Japanese or Spanish, he chose to major in Greek Philology and learnt the Greek language.
“It was very hard for me at the beginning because the Greek language is written and spoken so differently from my mother tongue, and the complicated grammar was a big challenge,” Odysseus said.
“Verb conjugations and the constant changes of adjectives, pronouns, nouns, and articles were completely new to me and it took me a lot of time to get the hang of it.”
Despite this, the 20-year-old said there were many rewarding aspects to learning the language of the Greeks.
Odysseus in Greece.
“I love how the language is still similar to its older forms, despite its constant development throughout ages… I also love how Greek language provides many words for other languages. Before learning Greek, I could never understand why a decade means ten years. Now everything makes so much sense to me,” he said.
“Of course, the thing I love the most about learning Greek is that you can communicate with Greek people in their own language, and let me tell you, only in their mother tongue can you have a deeper understanding of how kind, how warm, and how funny they are.”
Odysseus’ love for Greece, its language and people, saw him start his Instagram page @iamodysun where he practices his speaking and engages with Greeks across the world.
“I’m really surprised that my videos are so popular and reach all over the world, and I’m really grateful for the encouragement and support from the Greek community,” he said.
On the topic of encouragement, I ask him whether he thinks more people should study Greek and his answer was a resolute ‘yes.’
“I strongly encourage others to study Greek, not only because it sounds amazing, but also because the language itself contains rich history and culture. However, it’s not a language that one can easily have good command of, so patience and devotion are definitely required,” Odysseus said, adding that he also plans to continue working on his study of the language.
Odysseus at the Palace of Knossos in Crete.
“Ihave already put in a considerable amount of effort to establish a solid foundation of Greek knowledge, including understanding the grammatical structure and the functioning of words. Now that I have acquired these basics, it is the perfect time to build upon them and improve my command of the language.
“By continuing to learn Greek, I will be able to deepen my understanding of Greek culture and gain more insights into the history, traditions, and customs of the Greek people. It will also enable me to understand more Greek literature, music, and other forms of art.”
In the meantime, you can also spot Odysseus on the street of Athens, Greece, as he enjoys his a one-year student exchange program. You can’t get more Greek than that!
