Daily Archives: August 4, 2014

The Justice for Cyprus march, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey, was held in Sydney last Sunday.

Greek Australians voiced their opposition to the continuous occupation of Cyprus for the past 40 years.

Despite the lapse of 40 years, the Greek Australian community of Sydney and Wollongong demonstrated for another year in the heart of Sydney last Sunday, demanding justice for Cyprus, making the point that they do not forget the tragedy of Cyprus and stating that the national issue can only be resolved with the withdrawal of the Turkish occupying army.

The Hellenic community of NSW which took part in the events stressed that it is unacceptable for a European country to remain under occupation for 40 years.
Federal Liberal member for Barton Nickolas Varvaris conveyed the message of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who made special reference to the efforts made and the important role played towards achieving a resolution to the Cyprus issue by former Foreign Minister of Australia and Special United Nations envoy to the island, Alexander Downer.

Federal Labor MP Anthony Albanese, who was representing the Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, stated that Australia can do more for Cyprus, especially now that it is a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations. Regarding the role in the Cyprus question by Mr Downer, Mr Albanese mentioned that “during my visit to Cyprus last year, I found out that several Cypriots were dissatisfied with Mr Downer’s mediation”.

In his remarks, Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos said that “if mistakes were committed by representatives in the past, we should not dwell on them but treat them as lessons for more constructive contribution in the future”.

The envoy of Cyprus’ government to this year’s commemorative events in Australia, Mr Theodosios Tsiolas, general secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, informed the community about the current talks between the Cypriot government and the Turkish Cypriot side and went on to thank the diaspora for its continuous support on the national issue.

Present at the commemorative events in Sydney were the High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia Ioanna Malliotis, Greek Consul General Dr Stavros Kyrimis, the leadership of the Greek and Cypriot organisations of NSW, representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, state MPs and local councillors.

source: neos kosmos

Around 600 minor actions such as wage management are still yet to be completed.

Greece will not be able to complete some 600 pending actions in time for the troika review in September and will sit down with its lenders to discuss shortening this list when the two sides meet in Paris a few days before inspectors arrive in Athens, a government official told Kathimerini.

Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and several other ministers are due to hold talks with officials from the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank in Paris between September 3 and 5 to prepare the ground for the fifth review of the Greek adjustment program. However, the Greek side has around 600 minor actions, many of which relate to areas of lesser importance, such as wage management, to complete.

“Due to our own inconsistency and the delays of previous years, the troika has ended up micromanaging,” said a Finance Ministry source that preferred to remain anonymous. “There are details about all kinds of government policy in the memorandum. There is no way all this can be ready on time.”

He said that discussions in Paris would focus on which of these actions could be completed by late September or early October, when both sides would like to complete the review. Greece has the added incentive that a successful assessment would pave the way for discussions on further debt relief from the eurozone.

Source: Ekathimerini

More than one third of the population lives on or below the poverty line.

Greece ranks first in the eurozone and fourth among the 28 members of the European Union for the percentage of its citizens living on or below the poverty line, according to a new report.

The study, conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), found that just over a third (34.6 per cent) of Greeks – some 3,795,100 individuals – were living on less than 60 per cent of the national median income in 2013.

This percentage has risen steadily since 2010, when the country began implementing austerity measures, increasing from 27.6 per cent in 2010 to 27.7 per cent the following year, 31 per cent in 2012 and 34.6 per cent in 2013.

The publication of the study, which is based on Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat) data, coincided with the 40th anniversary of the effective ending of military rule in 1974.

Elstat’s data showed that the risk of poverty has increased significantly in Greece since 2010 and the percentage of relative poverty increased by 17.3 per cent, or 3.4 percentage points. In the same period, the poverty gap increased by 24.1 per cent and the risk of poverty and social exclusion by seven points, or 25.4 per cent.

In the European Union (EU), Bulgaria (49.3 per cent), Romania (41.7 per cent) and Latvia (36.2 per cent) have the highest percentages of people living in relative poverty.

Greece’s poverty rate also outstripped other EU countries that have entered austerity programs. In Ireland, the rate is 30 per cent, in Spain 28.2 per cent, in Cyprus 27.1 per cent and Portugal 25.3 per cent.

The five EU member-states with the lowest rates of poverty were the Netherlands (15 per cent), Czech Republic (15.4 per cent), Sweden (15.6 per cent), Finland (17.2 per cent) and Luxembourg (18.4 per cent).

The average poverty rate in the EU was 24.8 per cent and in the eurozone countries 23.3 per cent.

Source: enetenglish, ana-mpa

The nursing home provider will be able to hire 20 bilingual overseas workers a year.

Fronditha Care has entered into a direct labour agreement between the Australian government to sponsor bilingual Greek-speaking overseas workers with qualifications in aged care.

The agreement, launched yesterday, will give Fronditha the ability to hire 20 people a year under the 457 working visa to supplement their staff shortages.

Currently, Fronditha is seeking bilingual and qualified personal carers and nurses.

New concessions for the agreement will see that those sponsored by Fronditha will be able to stay in the country for four years instead of the two normally given with 457 visas.

Those who are successful will be able to bring their families with them, and apply for permanent residency after the four years.

Launching the program at Fronditha’s Thornbury facility, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Michaelia Cash said the labour agreement program will form a small but important part of Australia’s overall skilled migration program.

“Fronditha is the only organisation providing a range of residential and support services to the Greek speaking elderly in Victoria, and on any given day the organisation is likely to provide care for more than 2000 elderly, employing more than 560 personnel,” she said.

“This agreement highlights the government’s consideration of the nice requirements in some areas of the health and community services sector and how skilled migration can support its contribution to caring for Australians now and into the future.”

The agreement will also help those here on student visas with the right qualifications get working positions, with their visa situation being transferred to 457 visa status if successful.

To be successful, people must have high English language levels, with only people passing a level 5 proficiency test deemed eligible.

The agreement will be in affect for three years, and will be extended by the government if it is deemed successful

Fronditha president, Mike Zafiropoulos says the staff that come to Fronditha from the agreement will be dispersed around all five facilities and in the home care system.

Hiring Greek speaking staff is at the heart of the agreement says Mr Zafiropoulos.

“The need to recruit Greek speaking staff is essentially to give linguistically and culturally appropriate care for our elders who can only communicate in the Greek language,” he said.

“After many years of hard work, our elderly deserve the best care even if they have limited or no English.”

Senator Cash visited Fronditha on June 4 to tour the facility.

source: Neos Kosmos

JOE Hockey has denied his May budget measures are tougher on the poor than well off households.

The Treasurer this morning said it was “wrong” that low income families were the biggest losers of the Abbott government’s first budget.

He was responding to a Fairfax report citing Treasury analysis, which showed when all factors are accounted for, spending cuts will leave an average low income family $844 per year worse off in disposable income (earnings after tax and government payments).

That’s compared to middle income families losing $492 and high income families $517.

But Mr Hockey labelled the reporting of the figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, as “deliberately misleading”.

“That story is wrong because it fails to take into account a range of things like the fact that higher income households pay half their income in tax, low income households pay virtually no tax,” he told Channel Nine’s Today Show.

“It does not represent the true state of affairs.”

The information was made available to the Coalition ahead of the May budget and according to the report does not take into account the proposed $7 GP co-payment.

Three months on and Mr Hockey and his colleagues are still trying to get support for the co-payment as well as other key measures.

Ahead of meetings with more new crossbench Senators, the Treasurer admitted there is “a lot of work to do”.

The government has had success in implementing a temporary deficit levy which will directly target high income earners that more than $180,000 a year.

Source: news.com.au

The Church of Greece is expected to proceed with the concession of the first of its property to go under the hammer – 83,000-square meter plot at Vouliagmeni near the Astir Palace Resort – in September.

The Church’s property utilization company (EAEAP) and consultants Cushman & Wakefield will start by choosing an administrator, taking things slow despite rumors that it is eager to get the process rolling, attributed by the Athens Archdiocese to avid interest from domestic and foreign groups.

The concession of this property will be the pilot project for EAEAP. It will be conducted through an international tender, allowing only for uses that are compatible with the operation and character of the Church. Market sources suggest that the royal family of Qatar, as well as the Martinos, Prokopiou and Konstantakopoulos groups are among the suitors.

If the Vouliagmeni concession project goes well, a huge property of 1.2 square kilometers will follow, at Faskomilia, between Vouliagmeni Lake and Varkiza, in southern Attica.

source: ekathimerini.gr

Πρωτοφανής είναι η επιδημία που έχει ξεσπάσει από τον ιό του Έμπολα σε χώρες της δυτικής Αφρικής. Ο απολογισμός σύμφωνα με τον Παγκόσμιο Οργανισμό Υγείας μέχρι την 27η Ιουλίου έφτασε στους 729 θανάτους ενώ τα κρούσματα έχουν ξεπεράσει τα 1300.

Ο ιός πλήττει κυρίως τη Γουινέα, τη Λιβερία, τη Νιγηρία και τη Σιέρα Λεόνε ενώ Κένυα κι Αιθιοπία, όπου βρίσκονται δύο από τα σημαντικότερα αεροδρόμια της Αφρικής, εντείνουν τα μέτρα για να αποτρέψουν την εξάπλωση του Έμπολα στο έδαφός τους.

Από το αεροδρόμιο του Ναϊρόμπι μετακινούνται περίπου 19.000 επιβάτες την ημέρα, από και προς περίπου πενήντα χώρες της Αφρικής, της Ευρώπης, της Ασίας και της Μέσης Ανατολής. Την ίδια ώρα πάντως η αεροπορική εταιρεία Emirates ανακοίνωσε πως διακόπτει τις πτήσεις της προς τη Γουινέα, μία από τις τρεις αφρικανικές χώρες που έχουν πληγεί, μέχρι στιγμής, από τον ιό Εμπολα, ενώ η εταιρία έχει ήδη διακόψει τις πτήσεις προς τη Λιβερία και τη Σιέρα Λεόνε.

Οι Γιατροί Χωρίς Σύνορα εκτιμούν πως η επιδημία του Έμπολα είναι πλέον «εκτός ελέγχου» και προειδοποιεί πως υπάρχει «πραγματικός κίνδυνος να δούμε και άλλες χώρες να πλήττονται» από τον ιό.

Ο ΠΟΥ προειδοποιεί και ενημερώνει πως τα συμπτώματα του Έμπολα περιλαμβάνουν μεταξύ άλλων πυρετό, πονοκεφάλους, πόνους στους μύες, τις αρθρώσεις ή το στομάχι, γενική αδυναμία, διάρροια, εμετούς, απώλεια της όρεξης και, σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις, αιμορραγίες. Η ασθένεια μπορεί να εμφανιστεί μέσα σε διάστημα 21 ημερών από την προσβολή του ατόμου και δεν υπάρχει κανένα εμβόλιο ή φάρμακο που να την καταπολεμά.

Ο ιός μεταδίδεται αποκλειστικά με την άμεση επαφή με τα σωματικά υγρά των ασθενών ή με μολυσμένα αντικείμενα, όπως για παράδειγμα σύριγγες, ενώ υπογράμμισε μάλιστα ότι ο ιός δεν μεταδίδεται από άνθρωπο σε άνθρωπο εάν δεν έχουν εμφανιστεί τα συμπτώματα στον ασθενή.

Ο ιός μπορεί να διαδοθεί από τις βλεννώδεις εκκρίσεις, το σπέρμα, το σάλιο, τον ιδρώτα, τον εμετό, το αίμα ή τα κόπρανα του ασθενούς.

Το ποσοστό θνησιμότητας από τον αιμορραγικό πυρετό μπορεί να φτάσει το 90% και αυτοί που επιζούν μπορεί να είναι μολυσματικοί επί δύο μήνες μετά την ανάρρωσή τους. Μάλιστα, οι άνδρες που επιβίωσαν μπορεί να μεταδίδουν τον ιό μέσω του σπέρματός τους επί επτά εβδομάδες αφού αναρρώσουν.

Το ΚΕΕΛΠΝΟ συμβουλεύει τους έλληνες ταξιδιώτες που επισκέπτονται περιοχές της Δυτικής Αφρικής να ενημερωθούν για τον αιμορραγικό πυρετό από τον ιό Έμπολα πριν ταξιδέψουν.

Όπως επισημαίνεται ο αιμορραγικός πυρετός είναι σπάνια αλλά θανατηφόρα ιογενής λοίμωξη. Όπως τονίζει το ΚΕΕΛΠΝΟ παρόλο που η μετάδοση του Έμπολα μεταξύ των ανθρώπων μέσω αιωρούμενων σταγονιδίων δεν έχει αναφερθεί ποτέ σε χώρους παροχής υπηρεσιών υγείας, συνιστάται η χρήση μάσκας και οφθαλμικής προστασίας σε περίπτωση που ο ασθενής εμφανίζει αναπνευστικά συμπτώματα ή εμετούς.

Οι ταξιδιώτες συνιστά το ΚΕΕΛΠΝΟ να είναι ενημερωμένοι για τον τρόπο μετάδοσης της νόσου και να τηρούν τα μέτρα ατομικής προστασίας.

Σε περίπτωση που εμφανίσουν συμπτώματα κατά τη διάρκεια του ταξιδιού ή αμέσως μετά την επιστροφή από χώρα όπου αναφέρονται κρούσματα πρέπει να αναζητήσουν άμεσα ιατρική βοήθεια αφού προηγουμένως ενημερωθεί ο ιατρός για τα συμπτώματα και για το ταξίδι.

Πηγή: madata.gr