Tag: Greece

Arab-backed fund signs $434m deal to buy luxury Greek resort

The new agreement includes amended special zoning and spatial planning for the development of Astir Palace.

Greece’s privatisation agency said it signed a €400 million ($434.3 million) deal with Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund to sell Astir Palace, a luxury seaside resort outside Athens.

Greece’s top administrative court had blocked the sale of the Astir Palace hotel complex in March, saying the town planning scheme that Greece submitted violated Greek law, as the construction of a large number of residential buildings would harm the natural and urban environment.

“Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund has signed the new agreement to submit the amended special zoning and spatial plan for the development of Astir Palace,” the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) said.

The fund represents investors from Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait and other emirates.

The agency said the agreement ensured that the fund’s development plan for the resort was adjusted to the court’s opinion.

“The whole process is expected to be completed within the first half of 2016,” HRADF said.

The agency is expected to cash in about €100 million from the deal. The rest of the proceeds will go to National Bank, Greece’s largest lender, which owns about 85 per cent of the resort.

Privatisations have been a key condition of Greece’s international bailouts since 2010, but its state asset sales scheme has produced poor revenues due to bureaucratic delays and lack of political will.

So far, Athens has raised only about €3.5 billion from state asset sales versus an original target of €50 billion.

(neoskosmos.com)

January 19, 2016
Minister of Endowment lauds Greek parliament’s recognition of Palestine

Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa lauded Wednesday the Greek parliament’s recognition of the state of Palestine, describing it as a “positive move”.

Gomaa called on nations to recognise Palestine and its right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, according to a statement released by the ministry.

Al-Azhar also welcomed the Greek parliament’s recognition of the state of Palestine, urging more countries to follow in suit. Praising its successful diplomacy, Al-Azhar lauded the Palestinian efforts to achieve their full rights and territories.

The Greek parliament approved its recognition of the state of Palestine Tuesday and urged the Greek government to “take suitable measure to recognise Palestine and encourage diplomatic efforts to continue peace talks in the region”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended the special session at the Greek parliament with different Greek parties and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Greek parliament speaker Nikos Voutsis said recognising Palestine will help achieve stability in the region.

Tsipras lauded the decision, describing it as “special” because the parliament voted unanimously on it.

Palestine’s Fatah movement welcomed the recognition and said the relations between Palestine and Greece have “developed” over years. Fatah agreed that other countries should follow Greece in this move.

(www.dailynewsegypt.com)

January 14, 2016
National Archaeological Museum celebrates 150 years of its foundation

The National Archaeological Museum is celebrating 150 years of its foundation. The anniversary is on 3 October 2016 but various and interesting exhibitions will be held, however, throughout the year, as stated by the director, Maria Lagogiannis during the presentations of the impressive 2016 panorama.

Among the news that stood out was the proclamation, on 18 May (International Museum Day), as the honored museum for 2016 from the Greek section of ICOMOS (International Council of Museums), an honour that is due to its contribution to culture, and the nationwide character of its collections, representing universal values.

The new year is marked by old and new exhibitions that evolve, such as the “unseen Museum”, that today launched another exciting exhibit, which will remain in the Hall of the Altar for two months, it is the Attic red-figure calyx krater, an eminently banquet vase, dating between 390 and 385 b.C. and depicts Dionysus besides Victory, an unusual presence that probably symbolizes the happy life and the victory over death.

From the new exhibitions scheduled we singled out the “Open Museum”, which is centered on openness and dialogue with society, and the involvement of the Museum with the social partners.

“In response to the guests’ request, the museum opens its doors in the spaces behind the stage, in the maintenance workshops and archaeological research areas, where our staff is preparing all the exhibits you watch in brilliant exhibition halls,” said Maria Lagogiannis.

Also, special thematic presentations by archeologists and specially designed familiarization workshops by maintainers will be offered at regular dates throughout the course of 2016, enriching the museum experience and deepening the relationship with the guests.

Meanwhile, from January and throughout the year the museum will feature innovative actions in collaborations with educational institutions, art organizations, unions and social organizations such as the Association of Sculptors, School of Antiquities Conservation and Athens School of Art, Museum of Herakleidon, the Athens State Orchestra, the National Tokyo Western Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Theatre, the School of Architecture of the NTUA, the National Gallery, the Library of the Hellenic Parliament and National Television.

The final action will join the festive atmosphere of the anniversary exhibition entitled “Odysseys”, which through the unique collections of the museum, that start from the Neolithic period and end in late antiquity will highlight the timeless struggle of human survival, development, acquisition of knowledge and happiness.

At the same time, great modern poets, Cavafy, Seferis, Elytis and Ritsos will hold the thread that will bridge the multiple symbolisms of Homer’s Odyssey and nowadays.

As reported by the Director, the museum in 2015 erved 103 research projects, Greek and international, innovative maintenance methods were applied, such as the analysis of the composition of the metal alloy of the Adolescent of Antikythera by spectroscopy X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and physicochemical investigation of the sculptures of the Antikythera shipwreck with GPR.

(www.ellines.com)

January 12, 2016
3 Greeks among the brightest young entrepreneurs in the world

Forbes magazine published the list “30 under 30” for 2016, featuring 600 of the brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents in 20 different sectors. They were chosen from over 15,000 nominees overall. Forbes is clearly good at the guessing game of who’s about to be increasingly important each year. 3 Greeks are among the list in 3 different categories: Art-Style, Marketing & Advertising and manufacturing-industry.

See below who are the 3 Greeks features in the best “30 under 30”:

1. Athena Papadopoulos – 27 years old

Athena Papadopoulos is in the 23rd place in the list of the 30 brightest talents in the category Art & Style. She is an artist and sculptor. She was included in Bloomberg New Contemporaries, received considerable attention for a show installed in a hotel room during Frieze London in 2014, and landed a solo exhibition at the Zabludowicz Collection in London this past January.

2. Nick Cromydas – 29 years old

He is in the 6th place in the category Marketing & Advertising. Cromydas is the founder of New Coast Ventures, an Illinois-based digital innovation company.

3. Jeff Stefanis – 25 years old

Jeff Stefanis is in the 27th place in the category Manufacturing-industry. He is the cofounder of Riide. The electric bike, Riide, is specifically designed for “city-proud” millennials. The company recently won backing from the district’s Digital DC Tech Fund.

(www.ellines.com)

January 12, 2016
Here’s why the Greek Islands deserve this year’s Nobel Peace Prize

The accelerated war in and around Syria has displaced millions up million families, who take the treacherous journey across the high seas towards Europe, through Greece. The refugee crisis is at its worst than it has ever been in history. According to the UNHCR, the global refugee population was at an all-time high of 59.5 million at the end of 2014.

“Every morning he puts on his wet suit, gets in his van, takes out his binoculars and looks out for boats. Every arrival that comes, he waits for the boat to get closer to land, he walks bravely into the ocean, and pulls the boats to shore,” Layma Murtaza shares the story of Thanassis, a Greek volunteer from Athen who is helping rescue the many refugees that arrive daily on the shores of Greece.

Murtaza is an Afghan-American researcher who is among the volunteers on the Green island of Lesvos (Lesbos) – who provide support to refugees.

“We’ve seen Thanassis do this twice,” she says. He wakes up every morning at 4:30am to meet the boats carrying the refugees. “We saw him last night at Pikpa and thanked him for his efforts. He told us, “I never get tired of doing it. I never get tired. I’m a human being and they are too.”

Pikpa is among the many local organisations in Greece working with refugees. They have an open, self-organised refugee camp in Mytilene, Lesvos, that helps provide resources, food and shelter to the refugees. It is largely run by volunteers from local Greek Islands. “There are many Greek locals that helping through volunteering at the camps, greeting boats arriving on shore, and providing housing to volunteers in addition to various other ways,” Murtaza says.

Community effort

In a fitting lesson to larger nations, who are shutting their doors to the asylum seekers, the Greeks are welcoming them with open arms.

“Taxi drivers are kind and understand the situation and have lots of love and care for the refugees. Even shop owners in Militini have created make shift signs in handwriting in the languages of Arabic and Farsi to guide the refugees.I think it’s a great relief for someone to know that they are welcome in the shop with that sign,” Murtaza adds.

From 31 December 2015 to 4 January 2016, the Greek Coast Guards rescued 596 refugees in 13 incidents that occurred in the sea regions of Lesvos, Chios, Agathonissi, Kos and Megisti, reports Greek Reporter, a local news website.

This despite the debt crisis this little European nation faced in mid-2015, that forced banks to shut shops and government had to impose capital controls. Greece’s financial problems are far from over. Unemployment remains rampant and fear of bankruptcy looms over their economy.

But, their own troubles have done little to deter their spirit of community and goodwill as they pour out in hundreds to offer assistance to the incoming refugees. “From what I understand through speaking to various locals, the reason the Greek islanders have sympathy is because many of their parents and grandparents were refugees and asylum seekers from past wars in history. It hits close to home and they try to help in any way that they can,” reasons Murtaza.

Efforts hailed internationally

The humanitarian work has not gone unnoticed, though. At least three online petitions have made an appeal to award the next Nobel Peace Prize to the citizens of the Greek Islands. One of these, specifically mentions Lesvos, saying, “It is always those who have little that give, those who have no means that help, those who look horror in the eye that hope. It is the people of Lesbos (sic) who have provided consistent care and tenderness in welcoming the refugees.”

This informal nomination to one of the most prestigious awards has been backed by over 150,000 people in the two months that they’ve been online.

Whether the Norwegian Nobel committee obliges to this growing public remains to be seen. In the meanwhile though, the people of Greece certainly have won the hearts of the many refugees escaping was and turmoil.

As Murtaza puts it, “It’s quite beautiful that despite the Greek economic crisis, people give and continue to give. I have learned that humanity lives on Lesvos.”

(www.catchnews.com, by Ruchi Kumar)

January 11, 2016
Greek University Students Win World Law Debate Competition

Two law students from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) claimed the first spot in one of the categories of the World Universities Debating Championships, January 3, in the city of Thessaloniki.

The victorious team composed by speakers Maria Rousi and Thodoris Dounias was competing in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) category. After going through the qualifying rounds held between December 29 – 31, the NTUA students were among the four teams to go through to the final.

The topic of the final debate was the use of photographs in the ongoing refugee crisis, by various humanitarian campaigns. The NTUA students, as well as students from UKIM Skopje of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) had to debate in favor of permitting such photographs while students from the German FSU Jena and from Brawijaya University in Indonesia had to speak on prohibiting the photographs.

The annual competition that was held in Thessaloniki this year, included 1,200 students from 350 institutions hailing from 70 different countries, according to Huffington Post Greece.

Team A from Harvard Law School won the Open category (English as a First Language Competition), while team A from De La Salle University won the English as a Second Language (ESL) category. Michael Dunn Goekija won the Open Best speaker award.

(greece.greekreporter.com)

January 8, 2016
Disappearing Greece: Bye bye kastana man, send my regards to the laterna player

Poverty gave rise to traditional professions, but is now sweeping them away in post-bailout Greece. Catch them before they disappear altogether.

Desperate for revenue, the Greek government is clamping down on the poorest professions in Greece. The story of the elderly kastana (chestnut vendor) who was rendered unconscious by over-zealous policemen caught fire on social media. The vendor could not afford a license, and became one of the latest victims of the economic crisis. Here are some traditional professions struck by the crisis in Greece.

Kastanas – Chestnut vendor

As the weather cools down, chestnut vendors appear on street corners offering the roasted treat. Unfortunately, with less people buying them there are less vendors selling.

Salepi vendor

The chilly Salepi is a thick and frothy winter drink that is just right to warm up on your insides. Not only does the drink offer steamy warmth on a cold winter day, but thanks to its semen-like texture it has been considered for centuries to be an aphrodisiac.

Koulouras – Koulouri bread vendor

Greece’s tastier response to the U.S. bagel, street koulouria are sold almost everywhere for just 40-60 cents. A bargain!

Peripteras – Kiosk owner

The kiosk (periptero) is an important part of Greek daily life as you can found anything here – newspapers, cigarettes, gums, beer, etc. The periptero owners are something like a mini-market/neighborhood watch/info stand in their area, but have fallen victim to the economic crisis with the institutions demanding their closure as part of the prior actions Greece has pledged to.

Laterna (piano barrel) player

Laterna (piano barrels) players once walked up and down the streets with their instruments. Made popular by the film, “Laterna, poverty and goodwill” (Laterna, Ftohia ke filotimo) and its sequel, the laterna players survived on the kindness of passers-by. Now, they need to cut receipts for their donations.

(en.protothema.gr)

January 8, 2016
From Greece to Egypt on a Sailboat

By Tanya El Kashef

In July 2015, I took part in a sailing voyage from Athens to Hurghada with the purpose of delivering four sailboats to Egypt. A daring journey for a group made up of mostly novices, it took nineteen days of sailing through six Greek islands, the wrath of Meltemi winds, long late night sails and the Suez Canal; in the end, we slowly but surely made our way home to the Red Sea.

The idea was to spend my summer vacation doing something that would add value and experience, so when the opportunity to deliver four sailboats from Greece with Red Sea Sails came my way, I didn’t hesitate to take it on.

A budding project, Red Sea Sails intends to establish a sailing school, to provide sailboat charters and ultimately spark a sailing culture in a sea it believes is an ideal setting. While sailing is very new to the Red Sea – which currently have about ten sailboats in El Gouna and Hurghada combined – it is not an entirely new sport to Egypt and has had its popularity in places like Cairo, Alexandria and Ismailia. And although the days of elegant yacht clubs and their community of sailors are long gone, it is not uncommon to hear friends say that they have dabbled in the sport or that they used to go sailing with their grandfathers.

The feedback I received prior to the trip was a mix of nostalgic memories, intrigue and enthusiasm, and these sorts of reactions affirmed that an interest in sailing did exist and could possibly be fostered. However, it takes more than mere interest to become a well-rounded sailor – a fact I was soon to discover.

Read the rest of the article here

December 19, 2015
Beware of Greeks building smart cars

George Parthimos presents his plan for an innovation centre linking Melbourne and Detroit, to develop applications for internet-connected vehicles.

Read more at neoskosmos.com

December 14, 2015
Greece Among the ‘Smartest’ Countries in the World

The OECD released a list that ranks countries based on the highest number of scientists per capita in fields such as mathematics, physics, technology and engineering. As it turns out Greece was placed among the 10 “smartest” countries in the world.

Read more at greece.greekreporter.com

December 14, 2015