Seven Iraqi men and an Iranian on Wednesday threatened to throw themselves off a 14 meter high fire tower in a British military base on Cyprus. The act was in protest at not being given asylum status or a British passport, after having lived on one of the two British bases currently on Cyprus for the last seven years.
The Episkopi garrison is located on the outskirts of the southern port town of Limassol. British authorities have claimed the act one of 'blackmail' and that they asylum seekers will not receive citizenship being that they do not meet the criteria.
DF: The eight men originally entered Cyprus via the northern Turkish occupied third about 7 years ago and have been living illegally on the British bases since. Should their assylum be granted?
telegraph
posted on Thursday, January 10
A rather nationalist statement made by Metropolitan Bishop of Thessaloniki Anthimos last week has turned many heads in FYROM and angered many politicians in Greece's northern neighbor.
During a press conference last week talking about the current political process to find a final name solution for FYROM, the Bishop said, "Macedonia is Greek ... and parts of it that are missing should be returned." Politicians in FYROM are claiming that the statement was a threat to the Bitola area of southwestern FYROM, and that they expect Greek authorities to "immediately and unequivocally condemn such speech, which pose an indirect threat to the territorial integrity of Macedonia."
DF: Dora Bakoyannis, Greece's foreign minister, said that the statement did not, "of course, express the (Greek) government, the people and political parties; and that Athens does not seek any border changes."
Bitola, known as Μοναστήρι to the Greeks, was once home to a large ethnic Greek community which mostly left after the 1920s. A small community does reside in the city today, which is also home to a Greek consulate and a growing number of Greek businesses. The statement made by Anthimos however has been seen as extremist and out of line.
* Notice the Greek writing in the photograph taken in Bitola above.
Anthimos
posted on Monday, November 12
Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with the largest family in Greece recently--in view of in view of yesterdays November 4 holiday which is a day dedicated to families with many children.
Panagiotis and Maria Psarommati from the town of Elafonissos, in the southern Peloponnese, aged 97 and 89, respectively, have 14 children, 58 grandchildren and 82 great grandchildren.
posted on Monday, November 5
A homemade Greek flag seen by the first Greek troops to enter the northern port city of Thessaloniki on Oct. 26, 1912 was raised over the city from atop the landmark White Tower last Friday,marking the 95th anniversary of the ancient metropolis' liberation from Ottoman rule.
The flag was an heirloom preserved by the city's Kalos family for nearly a century. According to the family, the flag was sewn in secret by Kalos' daughter, Aggeliki, in the home's basement.
DF: The flag will later be preserved in the war museum of the city.
greece museums
posted on Monday, October 29
FYROM, Macedonia, Skopje, Vardaska? What will the final name be? Greece, the EU, and FYROM are working on deciding a final name that can be accepted by both countries and allow them to work on developing better relations.
For the first time, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said yesterday that Greece has the “full solidarity” of the 27-nation bloc in its name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and that “The time has come to find a solution."
Bakoyannis, Greece's foreign minister, has said that she will not accept a name for the country that includes the word "Macedonia" in it. All the political parties in Greece have joined efforts as well to resolve the name issue once and for all.
DF: The Greek community of Ontario, Canada is organizing a huge protest against the Canadian government in their recent approval of the name "Republic of Macedonia" for FYROM on October 27. More on the event below.
see DF Events - Ottawa Protest
posted on Wednesday, October 17
A dry run for the transfer of artifacts and antiquities from a small outdated museum atop the Acropolis to the new ultra-modern Acropolis Museum on Makrygianni street, some 400 metres away and off the Acropolis' south side, was successfully completed at the site yesterday.
More than 4,000 ancient statues, friezes and other itemsare going to be moved to the glass-and-concrete structure near the foot of the ancient hill.
DF: The new museum is slated to open sometime in 2008. The operation to move all the items will take about six weeks.
Reuters
posted on Friday, October 12
Immigrants in Greece hoping to secure the new European Union longterm resident status, a permanent form of residence in other words, will need to demonstrate a basic knowledge of Greek and Greek history, the government has decided, and not a proficient knowledge of Greek like was stated last year. (Last March the government said that all immigrants wanting to get long term residency should have had a Greek proficiency equivalent to children in secondary schools in Greece.)
DF: Is this a step in the right direction or wrong? Greece has one of the lowest acceptance rates of immigrants in the EU, but should they make the language requirements easier?
athens news
posted on Monday, October 8
For the third consecutive year, Athens International Airport's (AIA) airline-partners rewarded the airport with the 1st OAG Airport Marketing Award 2007 at the 13th World Route Development Forum "Routes 2007" in Stockholm, a press release issued by AIA's press office said on Wednesday.
Praised for "maintaining its Olympic sparkle", the AIA was awarded for its airline developmental programme resulting in 2007 to attract 12 new airlines and add 11 new destinations, to America, Asia and Europe.
The newest airline to connect to Greece is Air China.
AIA
posted on Friday, October 5
Greek soldiers continue to stand guard at one of the monasteries in the province which is seen as a integral part of the local Serbian minority's history.
Members of the 647th Mechanized Infantry Battalion have been protecting Sokolica Monastery since 2002; and have vowed to stay there until things are safe for the Orthodox minority in the area.
DF: More on this great story below. During the Kosovo crisis, Greek soldiers protected many churches and monasteries in the area to prevent them from being torched by Albanian extremists.
sofia echo
posted on Thursday, October 4
"Little Mermaid", whose real name is Swapnali Yadav, became the youngest swimmer ever to cross the Messinikos Gulf at the age of 8 years old and 7 month.
Swapnali was in Greece for an international swimming competition and competed with other swimmers who were much older than her. Not only did she beat the competition, but was able to swim the course in just over 11 hours. (Below the 12 hour threshold that was given to her by judges.)
DF: We're tired just thinking about it. Congrats.
sify
posted on Wednesday, October 3
