Greek Cypriot author Antonis Georgiou has received the ‘European Literature Award’ for 2016 for his book titled ‘An album of stories’, originally title: ‘Ena alpum istories’, published by ‘To Rodakio’. The European Literature Award started in 2009 by the EU in an effort to promote young successful authors in their home countries to a pan-European audience. The judging committee is made up of 10 people from the countries participating in the event each year. The author wrote on his facebook page that he was pleased to have been selected and thanked the committee. The Award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Brussels at the end of May.
Author: Athanasios Koutoupas
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Greek-Cypriot author Georgiou wins 2016 European Literature Award
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joins Greek Independence Day parade in Montreal
MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to his Montreal riding of Papineau on Sunday to join several thousand people at the city’s Greek Independence Day parade.Trudeau quickly left the head of the procession to shake hands with members of the crowd lining the sidewalk.
He later waved a Greek flag from the sidelines.
The parade, which has been taking place in Montreal for about 40 years, featured brightly-dressed dancers and schoolchildren waving Greek, Quebec and Canadian flags.
One float paid tribute to the Greek island of Lesbos and featured children wearing life jackets worn by refugees.A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s Office said Trudeau makes a point of attending the event every year since it takes place in his riding.
A day after Trudeau was mobbed by fans in a Halifax farmer’s market, he proved to be equally popular with an enthusiastic Montreal crowd.
John Kountourakis and Aglaia Panopalis ran through the crowds with their two young children to catch Trudeau, and the kids were rewarded with handshakes and high-fives.
“The fact that he came here as a Prime Minister when no other Prime Minister has come to the parade is fantastic,” Kountourakis said. “It says a lot about him.”
Spyros Montzenigos, a representative of Montreal’s Hellenic Community, said Trudeau’s appearance was extra-special this year now that holds the country’s highest office.
“It’s the Greeks that voted for him, when he became a deputy, and then he became Prime Minister,” he said. “So the Greek community is supporting him pretty well.”
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Greek family opens it home to Syrian refugee families
A Greek family opened its home to two Syrian migrant families last week, moved by the plight of thousands who have fled a five-year war for the security of Europe and are stranded.As soon as Dimitris Spiridis arrived with a huge bag of croissants to hand out to migrants living in a sprawling border camp at Idomeni, he decided that he needed to do more to help.
“There was rain and fog. The only thing you could hear at eight in the morning was tears and coughing,” he said.
“I was shocked. All the tents were soaked, all their clothes were soaked. Mud, humidity and tears, nothing else. Are we or aren’t we Christians?” Spiridis told Reuters Television.
The 50-year-old used to work as a cook in Switzerland and has been back in Greece for five years, where, like so many in the recession-hit country, he has been unable to find a job and helps out in the family bakery.
He and his wife Maria live about half an hour’s drive from Idomeni, in the small village of Evropos.
Now they have one Syrian family in a small attic apartment and another family with three children are staying in their bedroom. The couple now sleep on the couch in their living room.
Spiridis said he would house the families as long as necessary. “So, we are all living downstairs together. One big family, 22 people in total. It’s fine,” he said.
More than 50,000 refugees and migrants are living in Greece and more are arriving despite a deal agreed by the EU and Turkey on Friday intended to halt illegal migration flows to Europe.
Under the pact, Ankara would take back all migrants and refugees, including Syrians, who cross to Greece from March 20 and whose asylum applications are rejected. In return, the EU would take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and make financial and political concessions to Ankara.
“I want Europe if it can, and I know it can, to accept these families from Syria, a place that has been destroyed, and for these families to be reconnected with their relatives,” Spiridis said.
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Greek-owned merchant fleet larger than UK, Germany and Norway combined!
According to data by maritime site ‘VesselsValue.com’, the Greek merchant fleet is ranked on the top of global value. The aggregate asset worth of the Greek-owned fleet is larger than that of Norway, Britain and Germany combined! VesselsValue are specialists in appraising the worth of merchant fleets across the world and estimate the net value of the Greek-owned fleet at 105.65 billion Euros! Despite the negative economic climate in the dry bulk freight market, the Greek fleet raised its percentage in capacity to 20% compared to last year’s 17%, according to the latest report by Lloyd’s Register presented at the annual Union of Greek Shipowners. The Greek fleet has around 4,500 vessels that correspond to 19.63% of world dead weight tonnage (dwt).
