South of Athens lie the Lord of the Sea's ancient remains
As you wander around the Greek capital, spare a thought for Poseidon. How different things might have been had the sea god won the epic showdown for the city, back in mythical times. Competing for ...

Value-added Stockholm; Rotterdam highlights; trousers with no pockets; Greece clamps down on smoking
Bargain of the week: Stockholm plus Faced with intense competition from low-cost airlines, Scandinavian airline SAS (0845 607 2772; flysas.co.uk) is seeking to add value to its flights between ...

Bomb Destroys Greece Tax Office in Athens
In June, a far-left militant group called Armed Revolutionary Action claimed it carried out a similar attack on another Athens tax office that caused no injury. Photo by BGNES

to The President of The European Commission
Nikos Martis Former Gov. Minister President of the MACEDONIA HESTIA 8 Kaissarias St. 115 27 Athens Tel 210 777 8800 19th June 2009 O P E N L E T T E R to The President of The ...

Gov't dismisses call PASOK call for early elections
Government Spokesman Evangelos Antonaros on Friday dismissed main opposition PASOK party leader George Papandreou's call for early elections in September, saying the government had no intention of "fo...

Black Sea Bank offers 40-mln-USD credit line to Turk Eximbank
The Black Sea Bank for Commerce and Development on Friday announced it will offer funding of up to 40 million US dollars to the Turkish state bank Turk Eximbank through a five-year, revolving pre-expo...

Greek media cancel strike after court ruling
03/07/2009ATHENS, Greece -- A strike planned by the media Thursday (July 2nd) had to be cancelled after a court in Athens declared it illegal. The decision came shortly after the strike action began a...

PASOK interest in transparency 'hypocritical'
in transparency expressed by main opposition PASOK comes "too late" and is "hypocritical". Government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros

ND wants end to private donations
A day after a former PASOK cadre claimed that his party kept secret accounting books in the late 1990s in order to hide illegal contributions, the government attempted to steal a march on the main opp...

Roma fiesta turns ugly as tempers flare
Police yesterday issued arrest warrants for three people linked to a violent brawl that broke out on Wednesday night during a party at a Roma settlement in Megara, west of Athens, and led to the fatal...

Religion like no other
The large amphitheater at Epidaurus was built by Polycleitus in the 4th century BC; another 21 rows were added later by the Romans. Since 1955, theatrical performances have become a mainstay of the Gr...

Top Greek judge's car hit in bomb attack
Athens - A top Greek judge's car was destroyed in a bomb blast while a tax office caught fire in a separate attack and another bombing targeted a government-affiliated migration organisation, police s...

Police stations full to bursting
A series of police sweeps in central Athens has put a huge strain on police detention centers, necessitating the transfer of detainees, chiefly immigrants, to police facilities in the countryside, Kat...

Our Newspaper Needs Your Participation
OUR NEWSPAPER NEEDS YOUR PARTICIPATION We are gratified by the many favorable responses we receive regarding our 20 year old newspaper and these responses serve as encouragement to continue in our c...

International sand sculpture festival
APA sand sculpture is displayed during the international sand sculpture festival in the Bulgarian town of Burgas, east of Sofia, yesterday. The town is holding the festival for the second time and tho...

Rail link with Russia to get on track
EUROKINISSITransport Minister Evripidis Stylianidis (photo left) spoke yesterday about the creation of a commercial rail route linking Greece and Russia in order to facilitate trade relations and tran...

Hospital stretcher bearer contracts swine flu
THANASSIS STAVRAKIS/APThe number of swine flu cases in Greece rose to 108 yesterday after another seven people tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said. One of the new sufferers is a st...

Professional rights rap for Greece
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) yesterday ruled against Greece for failing to adopt a European Union directive that would allow foreigners to work here without having to face unnecessary bureaucra...

Time of uncertainty for tourism
Visitor arrivals are expected to drop by between 5 and 13 percent this season, according to a semi-annual report prepared by research group Academy of Tourism Research and Studies (ATEM).A 13 percent ...

Conference in Athens on underwater tourism
Opening the conference, Markopoulos pointed out that a special reference to scuba diving tourism will be made in the draft law for special forms of tourism, while the National Strategic Reference Fram...

Greek foreign minister and OSCE chairperson Dora Bakoyannis visited Yerevan on Friday where she met with Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.
Greek foreign minister and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairperson-in-office Dora Bakoyannis was in Yerevan on Friday, where she met with her Armenian counterpart Edward...

Bomb explodes at Greek tax office, no injuries
The blast occurred at 4:35 a.m. (0145 GMT) Friday in the central Ambelokipi district, and followed an anonymous warning call to two Athens newspapers, a police spokeswoman said.Magdalini Bakalarou sai...

Arsonists target Migration Policy Institute in Kolonaki
Arsonists targeted the building housing the Migration Policy Institute in the central Kolonaki district of Athens at dawn on Friday. The unidentified arsonists doused the Institute's entrance with a ...

Group of 31 tourists from US and Panama with new flu symptoms
Group of 31 tourists from US and Panama with new flu symptoms A group of 31 tourists from the US and Panama who are visiting northern Greece presented symptoms of the new flu A(H1N1) virus on Thurs...

Three blasts shake Athens, no injuries
An Athens tax office caught fire in a separate attack and a third bombing targeted a government-affiliated migration organisation.The car of the chairman of the Council of States, Greece's top adminis...

Photographer Yannis Larios unveils 'Paros Island, beyond crowded eyes' summer Greece photos
Yannis Larios, the Greek travel photographer, presents his Paros Island, Greece photos at his website at http://www.larios.gr. Larios elects to uniquely present this beautiful island "beyond crowded e...

Coca-Cola Hellenic new management structure
Greece: Coca-Cola Hellenic new management structure 10:18 - 03 July 2009 The company announced the appointment of Mr Dimitris Lois to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer, reporting d...

Economic, Business and consumer Sentiment improves
Greece: Economic, Business and consumer Sentiment improves 10:15 - 03 July 2009 Economic and Business sentiment, improved in Greece, in June, accordingto data released by IOBE ( Institute of Economic...

Greece Piraeus Bank in partnership with BNP on wealth management
Greece Piraeus Bank in partnership with BNP on wealth management 09:24 - 03 July 2009 The agreement calls for the establishment of two wealth management joint ventures, one in Greece and one in Switze...

Jumbo to spend 150 mil euros for expansion
Greece: Jumbo to spend 150 mil euros for expansion 09:18 - 03 July 2009 According to Press reports (Imerisia newspaper), Jumbo is planning investments worth EUR 150m until the end of 2011 targeting to...

Delek bids for Shell stations in Greece
DLEKG ) has bid for Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS; LSE: RDSA) gas stations in Greece. Delek Group made the bid through subsidiary Delek Europe BV. The bid, and the two competing bids, are reportedl...

Amendment for illegal building conversions tabled Thursday
In a bid to boost state revenues and to end decades-old building code violations, the government on Thursday will table an amendment allowing home owners to avoid annual fines for illegally converted ...

Gazi district offers free, hi-speed wireless Net
Athens residents and visitors as of Thursday will enjoy free high-speed wireless Internet in the Soho-like Gazi district of the Greek capital, an initiative coming within the framework of the Informat...

Hellenic Postbank, Hellenic Post unveil Post Insurance Brokerage
Ηellenic Postbank and Hellenic Post on Thursday signed the statute of Post Insurance Brokerage SA, a subsidiary offering brokerage insurance services, signalling the beginning of a new era for Hellen...

HELEXPO SA is the official exhibition
Dear Sir / Madame, HELEXPO SA is the official exhibition and Congress Organizer in Greece and one of the biggest in the broader S.E.European Area, with an experience of over 80 and more than 25 own...

Immigration Is A Threat To Greek Democracy - EU Commissioner
"There is a major threat to the equilibrium of the Greek democracy because of the uncontrollable flow of immigration," Barrot told a press conference in

Greece donates $650,000 food aid to Zimbabwe
Greece has donated 650,000 U.S. dollars to Zimbabwe to help fight cholera and assist in food relief projects, The Herald said on Thursday. Speaking recently on the occasion of Greece's National Day, t...

Local resident uses a hose...
VANGELIS BOUYIOTIS/EUROKINISSIA local resident uses a hose in an effort to extinguish a blaze that broke out in the area of Aghia Kyriaki near the Peloponnesian town of Nafplion yesterday. The fire, t...

Tweak for building laws
An attempt to remedy a persistent flouting of the law in the construction of homes, which will also raise an estimated 2 billion euros for public coffers, was unveiled by the government yesterday but ...

New director being lined up for new museum
The New Acropolis Museum, which is about to get its first director, officially opened on June 20, when the president of its administrative board, Dimitris Pandermalis, gave dignitaries a guided tour o...

Parties must look again at funding
The remarks made yesterday by Theodoros Tsoukatos, an aide to former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, regarding the manner in which PASOK officials kept records of campaign contributions to the Socialis...

Athens and Cyprus bourses broaden ties
The stock exchanges of Athens (ATHEX) and Cyprus (CSE) have decided to broaden their cooperation, allowing Cypriot members access to the Greek derivatives market and paving the way toward a cheaper ex...

Energy stocks fuel rise in main index
The positive climate on international bourses also spurred the Greek market yesterday, securing gains for many stocks and particularly for energy blue chips.The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index m...

Museum curator, 80, murdered on the job
The bizarre killing of an 80-year-old man, found dead late on Tuesday in the folk art museum where he had been curator in Paiania, eastern Attica, was being attributed by police yesterday to a robbery...

Program on cooling units a hit
Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis said yesterday that some 67,000 air conditioners have been handed in by households as part of a government program aimed at upgrading the power efficiency of coo...

Queries choke smoking hotline
Health Ministry workers manning a special telephone service providing clarifications to owners of bars and restaurants as well as other citizens regarding smoking restrictions introduced yesterday wer...

Bulgarians look to ex-minder
EPALeader of the GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) party and Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov waves to supporters during his visit to the village of Zheliava, near Sofia, Bulgaria, on ...

Greek mental care failures
Dr Yiorgos Astrinakis, resident psychiatrist at Dromokraitio hospital As we walk through the women's clinic I notice wide leather straps and buckles lying beside the beds. "We have to keep so...

Tribute to an overlooked artist
Paul Delvaux, who first visited Greece in 1938.By Margarita Pournara - KathimeriniLast Saturday, Minister of Culture Antonis Samaras inaugurated an exhibition of works by Paul Delvaux at the Basil & E...

Teacher 'molested' girl of 13
Teacher 'molested' girl of 13 A 31-year-old primary school teacher at a school in a suburb of southern Athens yesterday was detained on multiple charges of sexually molesting a 13-year-old female stud...

The Siemens kickbacks and bribes case and recent tax measures were the main front-page item in Thursday's dailies.
The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance. The Siemens kickbacks and bribes case and recent tax measures were the main front-page item in Thursday's dailies. ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "PASOK w...

The actor known for playing the boyfriend returns to play opposite his 'Greek Wedding' costar.
Off-screen, actor John Corbett is not really in love with Nia Vardalos -- his costar in the 2002 crowd-pleasing hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the new romantic comedy, "I Hate Valentine's Day," wh...

2 Greek weightlifters test positive for doping
The head of Greece's weightlifting federation says two members of the team in the Mediterranean Games in Italy have tested positive for doping.Pyrros Dimas said he was informed Tuesday that the 'A' sa...

Greek law restricts public smoking
A THENS, Greece — Europe’s most nicotine-addicted nation adopted a new public smoking ban Wednesday in a bid to stub out the Greek habit of lighting up practically everywhere. Exceptions h...

Heavy-smoking Greece tries to kick the habit with ban
By Ahmed Ali AmirMORONI (Reuters) - French planes hunted on Wednesday for the flight recorder from a plane that crashed into deep water off the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros.A 14-year-old girl w...

Ahepa Answers White House Call To Public Service
AHEPA ANSWERS WHITE HOUSE CALL TO PUBLIC SERVICE By: Basil Mossaidis, AHEPA Executive Director In the spirit of Hellenism, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association answers the...

Greek stocks continued moving higher in the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday, in line with other European markets.
Greek stocks continued moving higher in the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday, in line with other European markets. The composite index rose 1.22 pct to end at 2,236.98 points, with turnover at 186.6...

Greece fires up anti-smoking ban amid confusion
Wielding high fines, Greece's health ministry yesterday launched a nationwide smoking ban - the third this decade - in a bid to eliminate the habit in Europe's most nicotine-addicted nation.As a 2008 ...

Greeks try to stub out smoking once again
Greece adopted a new public smoking ban today, with exceptions for mental patients and gamblers.Unrestricted indoor smoking in restaurants, bars, coffee shops and workplaces is now against the law, in...

Powerful quake hits near Greek island
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hits near the Greek island of Crete 6.7 quake can cause major damage, especially in areas of poor construction No immediate word on casualties or damage

Former Greek Siemens exec ordered held in Germany
(AP) — MUNICH - A German court said Wednesday it has ordered that a former head of Siemens AG's Greek branch be kept in custody pending a decision on his possible extradition to face money lau...

Tsoukatos out on bail; denies Siemens bribe charge
Former PASOK official Theodoros Tsoukatos, who served as a political advisor to ex-prime minister Costas Simitis, was prohibited from leaving the country and released on a 100,000-euros bail on Wednes...

Greek plastics sector's profits down 52% in '08
Greece’s plastics industry’s net profits fell 52 pct in 2008, or by 36.8 million euros compared with 2007, with almost two in three enterprises reporting either profit declines or losses during th...

Swedish ambassador outlines Stockholm's EU presidency priorities
He underlined that Sweden is concerned about unemployment, which currently has risen to 10 and 11 pct, compared to a previous 3-5 pct, characterising it as a major challenge. Other issues included in ...

Greece's third try at smoking ban gets underway - Feature
Athens - Greece introduced a ban on smoking in public places on Wednesday - its third attempt in a decade to stamp out the habit in the country considered one of the last bastions of smoking in the Eu...

Quake reported south of Greece
Cairo - An earthquake of at least 5.9 magnitude struck in the Mediterranean Sea off southern Greece on Wednesday and was felt as far away as Cairo in Egypt, but there were no immediate reports of inju...

PPC to start hedging on oil
Greece: PPC to start hedging on oil 13:47 - 01 July 2009 Greece's electricity utility PPC Borad of Directors (BoD) decided to initiate hedging on petrol prices in order to shield its financial operati...

Generals meet civilian leaders
AFPTurkish President Abdullah Gul (center), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (l) and General Ilker Basbug (r) hold a National Security Council meeting with military and civilian leaders in Ankara y...

Economy is running out of steam
Retail spending in Greece fell sharply in April as households trimmed food bills in order to get by while credit expansion slowed another notch, indicating that the amount of money being pumped into t...

Cosmote buys Zapp in Romania
Leading mobile phone operator Cosmote confirmed yesterday it has signed an agreement to buy out Romanian cellphone network Telemobil SA, known as Zapp.The 61-million-euro deal will give the OTE subsid...

Dilemmas of political planning
By Alexis PapachelasThe prime minister appears to have chosen how to fight his next political battle. By opening up a new front on reforms and taking a tough stance on terrorism and illegal immigratio...

OPAP clinches deal with sales agents
STELIOS BOURASGambling company OPAP announced that it has reached an agreement with its sales agents and will offer new products via its network, in news that helped to send the stock higher on the At...

MIG’s property arm aims for 7.5 mln euros
Shoppers are seen walking past commercial properties in central Athens in this file photo. MIG Real Estate Investment Company, the property arm of Marfin Investment Group, said yesterday it will seek ...

New free-press publication takes fresh look at the world of books
Read on. Book Press is addressed to a young audience more familiar with online reading rather than the hard copy. Starting this fall, the free-of-charge publication will be printed in 40,000 copies.By...

Swifter justice for all
The unjustifiable delays that plague the administration of justice in major cases in Greece have reached a ludicrous extreme and are at the point of undermining the entire system.In the United States,...

Smoking controls come into effect
ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU/ANAA man smokes at a cafe in Athens yesterday, a day before a ban on smoking in public places was due to come into effect across Greece. Establishments that are less than 70 square ...

Cosmote acquires Romania's Telemobil for EUR 61 M
Greece: Cosmote acquires Romania's Telemobil for EUR 61 M 10:31 - 01 July 2009 COSMOTE Group signed an EUR 61 million agreement for the acquisition of Telemobil S.A (Zapp) while COSMOTE will also assu...

Eight hurt over crate of beer
Eight hurt over crate of beer Eight people were hospitalized yesterday, one with serious injuries, after a large group of Roma and locals got into a violent brawl in Aghios Ioannis on the east coast o...

Greece News latest RSS headlines - Greek Herald.com
Provides the latest RSS feeds for Greece News. For more headlines on Breaking, National, Business, Finance, Sports and World News, visit our home page

 

Method or madness?
Greece's policy regarding illegal immigrants used to be very successful: People caught trying to sneak into the country were either forced back across the border or were abandoned to their fate, in the knowledge that the migrants would do all in their pow... ...

Migrant influx ‘a social threat’
A burgeoning influx of illegal immigrants could threaten social stability in Greece and must be curbed, the European Commission's Vice President Jacques Barrot warned from Brussels yesterday, reiterating calls on Ankara to cooperate by cracking down on hu... ...

Hospital stretcher bearer contracts swine flu
The number of swine flu cases in Greece rose to 108 yesterday after another seven people tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said. One of the new sufferers is a stretcher bearer working at Athens's Sismanogleio Hospital (photo) which has be... ...

ND wants end to private donations
A day after a former PASOK cadre claimed that his party kept secret accounting books in the late 1990s in order to hide illegal contributions, the government attempted to steal a march on the main opposition party by saying that it intends to change the l... ...

Professional rights rap for Greece
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) yesterday ruled against Greece for failing to adopt a European Union directive that would allow foreigners to work here without having to face unnecessary bureaucracy. The EU regulation should have been adopted in Octob... ...

Police stations full to bursting
A series of police sweeps in central Athens has put a huge strain on police detention centers, necessitating the transfer of detainees, chiefly immigrants, to police facilities in the countryside, Kathimerini has learned. A recent police crackdown in the ... ...

President Karolos Papoulias...
President Karolos Papoulias yesterday appealed to politicians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to abandon 'nationalist and anachronistic tactics for the benefit and welfare of its citizens.' Papoulias (l) made his statement from Belgrade, wher... ...

Roma fiesta turns ugly as tempers flare
Police yesterday issued arrest warrants for three people linked to a violent brawl that broke out on Wednesday night during a party at a Roma settlement in Megara, west of Athens, and led to the fatal knifing of a 50-year-old woman and the injury of a 37-... ...

Half measures in construction
Without doubt the whole plan for «tidying up» the mess of illegally closed spaces was dictated by the need for fast cash. It would be a good development if we saw the same «humble» motive leading to changes in other longstanding problems in construction a... ...

Shameful union practices
It is indeed an extremely shameful practice on the part of trade unionists to seize control of office buildings and prevent staff from exercising their lawful right to work, as a means of enforcing strike action. Such action undertaken yesterday by union ... ...

July 3, 1959
FROL ROMANOVICH KOZLOV: Washington, 2 - Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Frol Romanovich Kozlov, speaking at a press conference in the nation's capital this evening, gave the impression that, without departing from Soviet policy with regard to Berlin, he sinc... ...

Balkan Briefs
Body of Canadian bludgeoned to death found in gorge near Cyprus coastal resort NICOSIA (AP) - Cypriot police say a Canadian man has been found bludgeoned to death at the bottom of a gorge near a southern coastal resort. Police spokesman Michalis Katsounod... ...

Albanian opposition: Too early to say who won polls
TIRANA - Albania's opposition Socialist Party said yesterday it was premature for any party to claim victory ahead of the final results of the country's election the ruling Democratic Party has already claimed it has won. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said ... ...

Croatia moves to fill gap
ZAGREB (AFP) - Croatia moved yesterday to swiftly fill the vacuum a day after the shock resignation of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, which came as the country faces a serious economic crisis and blocked European Union talks. Sanader has come under fire for ... ...

Coalition woes seen in Bulgaria
SOFIA (AFP) - Bulgaria's center-right opposition is poised to defeat the ruling Socialists in a general election Sunday, but will find it difficult to form a stable enough coalition to govern, experts say. According to last-minute opinion polls, Sofia May... ...

Popescu: ‘I was an informant’
BUCHAREST (AP) - Gheorghe «Gica» Popescu, the former captain of Romania's national soccer team, acknowledged yesterday being an informer for the country's secret police during the communist era. Popescu's admission comes just three days after he denied th... ...

International sand sculpture festival
A sand sculpture is displayed during the international sand sculpture festival in the Bulgarian town of Burgas, east of Sofia, yesterday. The town is holding the festival for the second time and thousands of Bulgarian and foreign tourists were expected to... ...

In Brief
Athens bourse hooks up with European network The Athens Exchange said yesterday its central securities depository and Spain's Iberclear connected successfully with Link Up Markets, the joint venture of eight European depositories set up to improve effici... ...

Time of uncertainty for tourism
Visitor arrivals are expected to drop by between 5 and 13 percent this season, according to a semi-annual report prepared by research group Academy of Tourism Research and Studies (ATEM). A 13 percent drop in arrivals means that 13.1 million tourists will... ...

Partnership for Piraeus and BNP Paribas
Greece's fourth-largest lender Piraeus and France's BNP Paribas have agreed to team up to provide wealth management services by using the Greek bank's domestic and foreign branch network, they said yesterday. Piraeus Bank and BNP Paribas Wealth Management... ...

Budget measures off target
Recent government measures to raise taxes and cut state spending in a bid to meet fiscal goals are off target, according to a report released yesterday. Alpha Bank's weekly economic report said tax hikes announced in March and June do not combat tax evasi... ...

Rail link with Russia to get on track
Transport Minister Evripidis Stylianidis (photo left) spoke yesterday about the creation of a commercial rail route linking Greece and Russia in order to facilitate trade relations and transactions between the two countries. Speaking at the general meetin... ...

Stocks end the day in the red
Greek stocks ended with widespread losses yesterday, as banks gave up more than 2 percent. The Athens bourse's benchmark general index eased 0.87 percent to 2,217.58 points after showing gains for much of the session. Selling pressure picked up after wors... ...

Epidaurus: Religion like no other
It began as a religious rite over 2,500 years ago. The Greater (or City) Dionysia, the festival dedicated to the Olympian god of wine, agriculture and the theater always commenced with the citizens' procession toward the Theater of Dionysus, perched on th... ...

TV Guide
... ...

Selections
The Sparrow A Hong Kong pickpocket and amateur photographer snaps a picture of a beautiful girl. She took his fancy and he and his friends embark on an adventure as they try to find out who she is and why she seems trapped. Drama directed by Johnnie To, s... ...

Cinema Guide
... ...

WHAT'S ON
... ...

Kathimerini English Edition : Print Edition : 3/7/09

 

Lajcak urges solution to Macedonian-Greek dispute
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Thursday (June 25th) urged both Macedonia and Greece to resolve their long-standing n...

Former Siemens executive arrested in Germany
BERLIN, Germany -- The former manager of Greek operations for German company Siemens, Michalis Christoforakos, was arrested on Thursday (June 25th) i...

Business: Tomatoes top Macedonia's exports
Macedonian tomatoes are a hit on the international market. Also in business news: Romania and the EC sign a 5 billion-euro memorandum, and recession continues in Bulgaria.

SETimes news - Greece
News and Views of Southeastern Europe

 

Measures to combat unemployment discussed
On June 23 Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was briefed by Employment Minister Fani Palli-Petralia who later told reporters that reforms of the IKA pension and healthcare fund the countrys largest dominated the meeting. She said a relevant draft bill is ready for tabling in the first Parliament summer recess session....

Greeces current accounts deficit shrinks
Greeces current accounts balance showed signs of improvement in the first four months of 2009 with the current accounts deficit shrinking by 20 percent compared with the corresponding period last year down to 10.3 billion Euro the Bank of Greece announced on June 24. The central bank attributed this development...

Tourism in Greece and Cyprus down
The key tourism sector for Greece fell by 11.6 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2008 according to data from the Central Bank of Greece on June 25 highlighting the impact of the global economic slowdown. The statistics were also gloomy for...

Parliament passes tough new immigration law
Greece has passed a tough new immigration law allowing it to impose heavy fines on people-traffickers and holding illegal immigrants for six months before deportation officials said on June 25. Under the new law passed late on June 24 night before parliament went into recess for the summer individuals found...

Banks to overcome financial crisis
The Bank of Greece said in its first report on financial stability on June 23 that the countrys banking sector has the ability to overcome even the most extreme crisis. The central bank however stressed that vigilance was needed since uncertainty over the course of global and European economies remained...

Stylianidis announces OSE railways reforms
Greek Transport and Communications Minister Euripides Stylianidis on June 24 unveiled a restructuring and development plan for the loss-making state-run Hellenic Railways Organisation OSE . Stylianidis said OSE was the biggest loss-making public sector enterprise in Europe with annual losses of around one billion Euro and an accumulated deficit of around...

Bombardier sells 8 Q400 aircraft to Olympic Air
Canada-based Bombardier Aerospace announced on June 16 that MIG Aviation 3 Limited a subsidiary of Marfin Investment Group Holdings SA of Greece has signed a firm order for eight Q400 aircraft including five Q400 NextGen airliners and has taken options on an additional eight Q400 NextGen airliners a press release...

Government to reinforce SMEs
Following his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis the government plans the reinforcement of small and medium size enterprises SMEs . Hatzidakis said that 10 000 loans have been given to SMEs under the second stage of the TEMPME Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and...

Despite crisis arrivals figures strong
Greek Tourism Development Minister Costas Markopoulos said on June 16 the anticipated percentage reduction in tourist arrivals to Greece this year will not reach two-digit figures. The minister told reporters he was satisfied with the figures on arrivals at Greek airports during the first five months of the year which...

Prepaid mobile users no longer anonymous
Legislation now being prepared by the Greek Transport and Communications Ministry will require all those using prepaid mobile phones to be identified abolishing the privilege of anonymity that is currently in effect. The draft law will soon be tabled in Parliament and is expected to become law by July with...

Oil price hike helps Burgas-Alexandroupolis
The Bourgas-Alexadroupolis oil pipeline will move forward regardless if oil prices rise or fall since the project is needed as an alternative for increased oil exports from Russia and the Caspian that will further burden existing oil routes Christos Dimas general manager of the joint venture Helpe SA ndash; Thraki...

Rooftop photovoltaic programme gets a boost
The Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies HELAPCO outlined a new incentives programme for small rooftop applications up to 10kWp. HELAPCO with this small-scale incentive plans to spur solar energy demand in the country. The new programme which applies to both residential and commercial applications sets feed-in tariffs at 0.55 Euro/kWh...

Greeks banned from smoking in the workplace
The Greek government has announced a ban against smoking in the workplace to take effect starting July 1. As of July 1 no smoking will be allowed anywhere in the workplace said Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos. He said the government will only pass a partial ban for restaurants and bars...

Greece rejects British loan offer for marbles
Greece on June 11 turned down a British Museums offer to loan the long-disputed Parthenon Marbles. In an interview with Greek radio broadcaster Skai on June 11 British Museum spokesperson Hannah Boulton said the museum could consider loaning the disputed marbles to Greece for a period of three months. She...

Inner cabinet outlines illegal migration measures
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on June 11 chaired an inner cabinet meeting devoted to illegal immigration and the positions that Greece will adopt at the upcoming European Union summit. Reporting on the results of the meeting Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that illegal migration was the issue expected to...

Government to cut fiscal deficit to 3.7% in 2009
Greek Economy and Finance Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou said on June 10 the government will unveil a package of measures this month aimed at cutting the countrys fiscal deficit to 3.7 percent of GDP this year n 2009. After making a comprehensive estimate of trends in state proceeds and of the inflation...

Initiatives on the crisis will continue
...

Public Power Corporation plans eco investments
The Public Power Corporation DEH and its subsidiary DEH Renewables have already started implementing environmental investments amounting to 7 195 million Euro in 13 big regions in the country which will be carried out over the 2009-2014 period. According to an announcement these investments concern the construction of new units...

European fund and asset management group in Athens
...

Tourist flow decreases 7.2% in Q1
...

NBG head sees crisis ending
...

Committee to facilitate Burgas-Alexandroupolis
In the framework of narrow collaboration of the Greek Ministry of Development with the local society of Evros a Common Ministerial Decision was signed with the Ministries Interior and Economy and Finances for the formation of a committee which will assist the involved ministries in the preparation of construction of...

Premier calls for digital revolution
Speaking at a two-day international congress organised by Greeces National Committee on Telecoms and Post Offices EETT Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on May 20 spoke of the digital revolution noting that information today was an important factor of growth and progress while at the same time comprising a powerful...

Justice minister sees progress in US visa issue
Greek Justice Minister Nikos Dendias on May 20 predicted that Greeces inclusion in the US visa waiver programme was now in the final stages of completion a development that would allow Greek citizens easier travel to the United States. Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar at the National Judges...

MIG launches contest for new OA logo
Marfin Investment Group MIG on May 21 announced an open contest for the new logo of Olympic Airlines OA . MIG OAs new owner said the public will be able to vote on the web for the logos submitted in the contest adding that logo proposals may be submitted by...

Greece News - New Europe News
Greece News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

Google Street View blacked out in Greece
Internet giant Google has been stopped from gathering images in Greek cities for its Street View service until it provides further guarantees about privacy.

Where the ancient Olympics meet the Wild West
If you want to get away from it all when traveling in Greece, head for the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Studded with antiquities, this land of ancient Olympia, Corinth and Sparta offers plenty of fun in the eternal Greek sun, with pleasant fishing villages, sandy beaches, bathtub-warm water, and none of the tourist crowds that plague the much-scrambled-after Greek Isles.

Dozens arrested in Greece over child porn
Twenty-four Greek nationals, including a priest and a neurosurgeon, have been arrested on suspicion of child pornography, Greek police announced Tuesday.

Gunmen snatch leading Greek shipping boss
Three gunmen have kidnapped a leading Greek shipping magnate, police said Monday.

Chip pan rally
Later this summer, a motor rally will make its way across Europe. Nothing strange in that you might think. But this is a race with a difference -- a "banger rally" if you like -- and one with a well-tuned environmental message.

Greece in belt-tightening budget despite protests
Greece passed a belt-tightening budget Monday, despite weeks of nationwide protests over the economy and jobs enflamed by the fatal shooting of a teenager by police earlier this month.

Explainer: Why is there unrest in Greece?
Youths have rioted on the streets of Athens and other Greek cities for the past three days. Stores and cars have been torched, barricades erected and rioters have fought running battles with police.

Riots continue across Greece after teen killed by police
Bursts of tear gas exploded in downtown Athens as police continued to battle hundreds of young self-styled anarchists rioting Sunday in major cities across Greece.

Greek police clash with strikers
Riot police fired tear gas Tuesday to disperse rock-throwing youths amid a nationwide general strike that brought air, rail and ferry traffic to a halt in Greece.

Transport strike brings Greece to a halt
Greece's air, rail and urban transport came to a grinding halt Wednesday as the country's biggest labor union staged a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest of the government's plan to sell off the state's ailing carrier Olympic Airlines.

Richard Deitsch: Daily Briefing, Aug. 13
• Here comes the biggest test of the Games: Can NBC survive without Michael Phelps winning a gold medal? Thankfully there's the Redeem Team, the scrappy band of billionaires who face their first real test of the Games on Thursday (8 a.m. ET) against Greece, an impressive winner over Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany.

Strong earthquake jolts Greece
A strong earthquake jolted western Greece on Sunday, killing at least two people and trapping several people beneath collapsed buildings, according to officials and state-run media.

Girl's Twin Found Inside Her Stomach
A 9-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin

Carrying a torch for tradition
The Olympic flame on Monday began its 34-day journey around the world ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games. Here are some facts about the centuries-old traditions behind the relay and its modern development.

Major strikes paralyze Greece
Routine activity ground to a halt on Wednesday as protesters from all walks of life staged a general strike over proposed changes to Greece's pension program.

What services does my town need?
Dear FSB: I would like to start a service business in Greece and am looking for ideas. Can you recommend any websites that offer ideas of service businesses that are popular in the United States?

Greece, Lithuania advance to European semifinals
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Theodorus Papaloukas made a layup with 7 seconds left as Greece scored 10 straight points in the final 1:32 to beat Slovenia 63-62 on Thursday night to advance to the European Basketball Championship semifinals.

Spain routs Greece again; Russia stays perfect
Rudy Fernandez had 20 points and Memphis Grizzlies center Pau Gasol added 15 for Spain in a 76-58 victory over Greece on Friday in the second stage of the European basketball championship.

Last Greek fire under control
The last major fire in southern Greece has been brought under control after flaring up again over the weekend, fire officials said Sunday.

Greece faces flood threat
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A massive cleanup, reconstruction and anti-flood effort was being launched Monday for fire-stricken parts of southern Greece as one fire front continued to burn while others abated, officials said.

EU promises aid to fire-hit Greece
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso toured fire-damaged southern Greece by helicopter Saturday and promised aid for areas where 64 people died and an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland were destroyed.

Foreign firefighters aid Greece
A small fleet of foreign planes and helicopters is buzzing around Greece to try to battle dozens of wildfires that have killed at least 64 people.

Greek agents probe 'arson plot'
With wildfires raging across the countryside, Greece's government says it has enlisted intelligence and counterterrorism agents to foil what it sees as a deliberate plan by arsonists to destroy Greek forests.

A Political Fire Also Burns in Greece
The Prime Minister's suggestion of sabotage has roiled a country already reeling from the destructive wildfires

Death toll rises from Greek fires
Firefighters rushed helicopters and buses Monday to evacuate more than two dozen villages threatened by towering walls of flames that had killed 63 people while ravaging swaths of forest and farmland in Greece's worst wildfire disaster in memory.

Two charged over Greek wildfires
Greek officials have arrested and charged two individuals in connection with the fires that have scorched southern Greece, razing dozens of villages and killing at least 51 people, Fire Brigade Officer Nikos Tsogas said Sunday.

Official: Greek fires inch closer to Olympic cradle
The wildfires that have scorched southern Greece, killing dozens of people, reached the ancient city of Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic games, an official said Sunday.

Greek leader suggests political extremists set fires
Fires in southern Greece that have razed dozens of villages and killed at least 44 people may have been deliberately set ahead of next month's national elections, the prime minister suggested Saturday.

15 die as fires ravage Greece
At least 15 people died and thousands of acres (hectares) of forest were consumed in fires racing through Greece's Peloponnese peninsula on Friday as southeast Europe experienced a resurgence of summer blazes.

Best of Feherty
E-mail Feherty a question at feherty@golf.com.

Greece renews fight for lost marbles
Emboldened by the return of two ancient artifacts claimed to have been spirited from Greek soil a decade ago, Greece's Prime Minister has lashed out at the British Museum, saying its grounds for refusing to relinquish possession of Greece's most famous antiquities, the Parthenon Marbles, were "feeble."

Murder of 5 hunters stuns Greece
Greek authorities are investigating one of the country's most mysterious murder cases after a family of hunters was killed over the weekend while pursuing their hobby in the plains of central Greece.

Rent a yacht for your next vacation
We're crossing the Gulf of Argolis: 37°8' N, 22°50' E. The water is placid, without a breath of wind, which is a bit of a disappointment - we've come to Greece to sail, but today we're under diesel...

Shipping cabernet from Peloponnese
Forget about that jet-fuel ouzo. Greek wineries are finally getting props from sommeliers, but they need U.S. reps. to market their product.

Deadly train crash in Greece
At least one person was killed and 13 injured when a train struck a van that was illegally crossing the tracks in northern Greece, local officials said.

Strong earthquake rattles Greece
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Greece early Sunday afternoon, rattling much of the country, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Greece acts to protect on bird flu
Greek authorities have begun the systematic disinfection Wednesday of a farm on a remote Aegean Sea island where a lone turkey was found to be infected with a strain of bird flu.

Greek envoy faces arms trial
Greece on Tuesday said it had recalled its top envoy from Slovakia and ordered an urgent inquest into allegations that the diplomat is involved in arms smuggling.

Greece fears backlash after hijack
The Greek government has appealed for calm, fearing a public backlash against immigrants living in Greece following Wednesday's bus hijacking by two Albanian gunmen.

Greek bus hijacking ends peacefully
Two armed hijackers who had threatened to blow up a commuter bus in Greece released all of their remaining captives early Thursday and surrendered to authorities.

Face Off
Prepare yourself for a summer of hyperinspirational commercials. With the Athens Olympics just a few months away, the five-ring marketing circus is beginning. Some of the 63 U.S. sponsors and suppl...

Olympian task for new Greek leader
Greece's next prime minister has pledged to make this summer's Olympic Games in Athens "the best and safest ever held."

What To Do: March 2004
-- Make your 2003 IRA contribution The maximum amount that you can stash away in an IRA by April 15 is $3,000; the limit is $3,500 for those age 50 or over.

Death Of The Drachma
Having officially joined the European Union on Jan. 1, Greece began phasing out the drachma, Europe's oldest currency and the survivor of some 2,500 years of war and economic turmoil. Below, highli...

Greece: News & Videos about Greece - CNN.com
Find stories, videos, and photos about Greece from CNN.com.

 

Greece Presses Its Case
The president of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, threw some muscle into his country’s tug of war with Britain over the Elgin Marbles.

In Athens, Museum Is an Olympian Feat
The New Acropolis Museum, one of the highest-profile cultural projects undertaken in Europe in a decade, opens this weekend.

A Home for the Marbles
How long can the British authorities cling to Lord Elgin’s loot?

Majestic in Exile
The looting of the Elgin Marbles may have done the idea of Ancient Greece more good than harm.

Guard of Key Witness Killed Before Terror Trial in Greece
Masked gunmen ambushed and killed an undercover policeman on Wednesday in what authorities said was an escalation in recent attacks by domestic terrorists.

Terrorism Alleged in Policeman Killing in Athens
Masked gunmen ambushed and killed an undercover policeman guarding a key witness in a terror trial, authorities said Wednesday.

My Big Fat Crowded Athens Tour Bus
“My Life in Ruins,” Nia Vardalos’s first movie in five years, might as well be titled “How Georgia Got Her Kefi Back.”

Greece: Bomb Destroys Athens Bank
The explosion was triggered by 44 pounds of explosives stashed in a suitcase left at the entrance of a Eurobank bank branch in the suburb of Argyroupoli.

Athens Struck by Firebomb Attacks
Suspected anarchists in Greece unleashed a rash of coordinated firebomb attacks in Athens on Tuesday, the police said.

Duo’s Second Prison Escape Embarrasses Greek Officials
The escape by Vassilis Paleokostas and Alket Rizai came one day before both were to face trial for the first escape from Korydallos prison in 2006.

Greek Terrorists Claim an Attack
The far-left group Sect of Rebels claimed responsibility for opening fire on a private television network in Athens last week, vowing additional attacks against journalists, the police said Saturday.

The Global Recession, Graded on a Curve
The United States economy and stock market are doing quite well compared to those of other countries.

Police Clash With Greek Farmers for Second Day
Farmers from the southern island of Crete are in the port of Piraeus pushing demands for financial aid.

Greek Farmers Clash With Riot Police
The clashes with farmers pressing demands for government aid highlighted growing social unrest.

Government Reshuffle in Greece in Wake of Riots
Shaken by scandals, public protests and a surge in extremism, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of Greece on Wednesday replaced nine cabinet ministers.

NYT > Greece
World news about Greece, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

Did the Holy Roman Empire Plan the Greek Crisis?
You are going to see the same kind of financial crises in other European countries. Here’s why.

Europe and the Specter of 1968
France’s President Sarkozy fears a return to the youth riots of 40 years ago.

Who Will Stop the Greece Fires?
How the Greek riots were planned in advance

theTrumpet.com: Greece
theTrumpet.com -- Understand your world.

 

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Ellinik� �imokrat�a (Greek) / Hellenic Republic

Motto: Eleftheria i thanatos / "Freedom or Death"

Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Albania, FYROM and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east and south of mainland Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to the west. Both parts of the Eastern Mediterranean basin feature a vast number of islands.

Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of ancient Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule. Greece has a particularly long and eventful history and a cultural heritage that both shaped and has been shaped by cultures throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe.

It is regarded as the birthplace of the first major democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature, political science, major scientific and mathematic principles, and Western drama including both tragedy and comedy.

Modern Greece is a developed country, a member of the European Union since 1981, a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union since 2001, NATO since 1952, the OECD since 1961, the WEU since 1995, and ESA since 2005.

Athens is the capital; Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Volos and Larissa are some of the country's other major cities.