Monthly Archives: January 2015

Τα ταχυδρομεία της Ιρλανδίας έλαβαν 140.000 γράμματα από μικρά (ενδεχομένως και μεγάλα) παιδιά προκειμένου να τα προωθήσουν στον Αγιο Βασίλη. Και τα πήγαν περίφημα, με εξαίρεση το γράμμα που έστειλε η 3χρονη κόρη του Άλαν Κάμπελ. Το γράμμα επέστρεψε, «λόγω ανεπαρκούς διεύθυνσης».

Όπως αναφέρει το BBC, το γράμμα αντίκρυσε πρώτη η 8χρονη αδελφή της μικρής, η οποία το πήγε στον πατέρα της.

Το δικό της γράμμα έφτασε κανονικά στο χωριό του Αγιου Βασίλη, οπότε το μικρό κοριτσάκι είχε μια εύλογη απορία: γιατί το δικό μου πήγε και της αδελφής μου δεν πήγε;

Ο πατέρας της οικογένειας διαμαρτυρήθηκε στα ταχυδρομεία, τα οποία ζήτησαν συγγνώμη και υποσχέθηκαν έρευνα για το περιστατικό.

«Ευτυχώς, είχαμε δει τον Άγιο Βασίλη όταν ήρθε στο Ντάντραμ (σ.σ. ένα εμπορικό κέντρο του Δουβλίνου),  προτού στείλουμε τα γράμματα των κοριτσιών, οπότε ήξερε τι θέλουμε. Τέλος καλό, όλα καλά» είπε ο πατέρας, σε μια προσπάθεια να κλείσει το ζήτημα.

Ο ίδιος, πάντως, αρνήθηκε την προσφορά των ταχυδρομείων να στείλουν ένα «ξεχωριστό γράμμα» στην μικρή του κόρη.

Τώρα πλέον είναι αργά.

πηγή:in.gr

Children have the right to access meaningful relationships in their lives.

The Australian Greek Welfare Society (AGWS) is offering a structured six-week course for Greek-speaking grandparents whose children are experiencing separation or divorce, in turn affecting their relationship with their grandchildren.

In 2007 adjustments were made to family law Australia-wide, recognising the rights of children to have access to meaningful relationships despite what happens to their parents’ relationships.

According to educator and trainer for the AGWS, Adonis Maglis, this is a prevalent issue in the Greek Australian community and the instatement of such a law was and is of great significance.

“What this means for the very first time in history is that grandparents have the opportunity to access mediation,” said Mr Maglis.

“This means they can go to a mediation centre and say ‘look our children have separated or divorced, and as a result our relationship with our grandchildren has been interrupted and has become hostile. We want to make sure that this relationship continues’.”

The mediation process allows grandparents to invite the parents for a discussion to organise an arrangement of regular visitation, given there are no issues regarding the health and safety of the child.

If however, the parents are unwilling to negotiate, the grandparents now have the right to obtain a certificate from the mediator and take the matter to court.

Started in 2007 in conjunction with the passing of the new law, the AGWS established a family program offering courses to grandparents after their family counsellor reported an increase in elderly people expressing issues that had to do with their adult children, particularly when their child had experienced a marriage breakdown, and gaining access to their grandchildren.

“This made us aware for the need to actually work with Greek-speaking grandparents who are coming to us because of the language barriers – they couldn’t access services like Lifeline or mediation centres, etcetera,” he said.

Funded by the Department of Social Services, the courses are run twice a year and offer a safe environment where attendees are given information and support services free of charge.

“People can come together in this confidential, respectful environment and learn about communication skills, stress management, conflict resolution, the role of the grandparents in their current context, family law and the rights of the children,” said Mr Maglis.

Since commencing the program, Mr Maglis says he has received an all-round positive response.

Despite some grandparents not being able to resolve their conflict for one reason or another, the program has changed their lives.

“They have this common understanding because it’s the same cultural background. They share a lot, they cry, they tell their story. So we find after the first session they’re actually exchanging phone numbers and so happy that they meet people that they can talk to about whatever’s happening and that they’re not going to be judged,” he said.

Those interested are encouraged to call and express their interest in the course, following which an assessment will be made as to whether the course is suitable for the needs of the grandparent.

In the case that the course is not suitable, other suggestions and offers of help will be made by a professional.

“I would encourage those interested to talk to a professional because sometimes when we try to resolve things within the family – which is a very common thing with the Greeks – every family member has vested interests, they’re emotionally involved, they have opinions, feelings and sometimes may not be the best person to talk to.”

For more information and to enrol, contact Adonis Maglis at the Australian Greek Welfare Society on (03) 9388 9998.

source: Neos Kosmos

Tiganis has seen effective results in studies on mice to suggest that this process may actually be the cause of weight gain and obesity.

Monash University scientist Tony Tiganis may yet hold the key in the fight against obesity. Tiganis and his team have been researching the connection between two naturally occurring hormones, which he says has given scientists new insights into how the brain regulates body fat.

With obesity rates rising, accelerating obesity related illnesses, the push for a cure is becoming increasingly demanding. In Australia alone, approximately two-thirds of the population is overweight, and roughly one-third is obese, costing the economy in excess of $56 billion annually.

The process conjured by Tiganis relates to leptin – a hormone produced by fat acting to suppress hunger – and insulin – produced by the pancreas in response to the levels of glucose in the blood – after a meal. Both of these hormones convey to the brain the amount of energy stored in the body and how much more is likely to be stored as a result of consumption. Once the energy levels are received by the brain the body converts white fat (storage) into brown fat (energy burn).

Tiganis has seen effective results in studies on mice to suggest that this process may actually be the cause of weight gain and obesity.

“We believe that one potential reason for why we may get fat is that this mechanism of energy balance is altered because the brain does not respond to insulin and lepton and does not effectively promote the conversion of white fat to brown fat.

“In mice we’ve been able to show that if we instruct the brain to convert white fat to brown fat, mice don’t put on weight when they are fed a high fat diet and are metabolically healthy,” Tiganis told Neos Kosmos.

Whilst conclusive evidence is still years away, early signs of a ‘cure’ are positive.

“We’ve generated genetically engineered mice that lack these two molecules, and we found (by injecting insulin and leptin into the brains of the mice) the responses were enhanced and the mice had high levels of brown fat and were resistant to diet induced obesity. So we fed them a high fat diet and they simply didn’t put on weight – and this cannot be explained by changes in their activity. They didn’t move around more, they didn’t eat less, this can be explained solely by the increase in brown fat, the conversion of white fat into brown fat and the increase in anti-expenditure.”

He said factors behind the hormone (and resultant energy) imbalance are multifactorial, but hopes to eventually harness the ability to promote the conversion of white fat to brown fat in the human brain.

One of the stumbling blocks, he said, is the inability to test the human brain according to the same process trialled in mice.

“No-one’s really prepared to give up their brain. So we need to do a lot more work in mice, then we start looking at humans and come up with ways to manipulate this pathway. There’s nothing at this stage to be gained from our studies in terms of helping out individuals,” he said.

With effective obesity drugs still years away, for now Tiganis recommends regular exercise, a good healthy diet and limited carbohydrate intake as the keys to combating fat levels.

source:Neos Kosmos

A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Bashneft company northwest from Ufa, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, on Wednesday.

 Greece’s new Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will attempt on Thursday to clear up a dispute between Athens and the European Council when EU diplomats discuss whether to step up sanctions against Russia over fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The Greek government expressed displeasure earlier this week at the issuing of a statement by European Council President Donald Tusk, which called for further sanctions to be imposed. Athens said it had not given its consent for such a statement and had not been consulted properly.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for Tusk insisted that the proper procedures were followed. “We consulted all member states including a representative of the new Greek government,” he said. “It was our understanding that the statement had been agreed by all Monday evening.”

Athens, however, has a different interpretation of events. “They breached the EU’s rules and tried to present us with a fait accompli before we had even been sworn in,” said Kotzias.

However, sources said that the Greek government is willing to discuss the content of any further action against Russia and was more upset about the process followed. Athens also noted that there are other EU member states that are skeptical about further action against Russia and that any further measures agreed on Thursday may not be drastic.

source: ekathimerini.com

New Labor Minister Panos Skourletis announced on Wednesday the immediate restoration of the negotiation process for collective labor contracts and the Organization for Mediation and Arbitration (OMED), along with the reinstatement of the minimum monthly salary of 751 euros.

Admitting that his policies will be at loggerheads with those of his predecessor and the bailout agreements, Skourletis stated that his work will be very difficult as he was taking over the ministry from Yiannis Vroutsis.

He said the reinstatement of the minimum salary at 751 euros is the ministry’s central target, and that the implementation of the measure will be combined with a series of other policies that will facilitate the operation of enterprises and help them become sustainable, such as the restructuring of their debts to the tax authorities and social security funds.

The new minister acknowledged there are specific objections to that strategy by the business world, especially from small and medium-sized enterprises, as they say that the cost would be huge and they would not be able to respond to a hike in the minimum salary.

source:ekathimerini.com

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday that his government would not force a confrontation with the country’s international creditors even as his ministers pledged to overturn many of the reforms demanded by the creditors in exchange for rescue funding.

“We do not plan to head into a mutually catastrophic clash but we will not continue the disastrous policy of submission,” Tsipras said, adding that his government was “ready with realistic proposals on the issue of debt and investments.”

“We will prove wrong those who have doubted us.”

The premier set out his government’s four chief priorities – tackling the country’s “humanitarian crisis,” rebooting the economy, seeking a solution to Greece’s debt problem, and clashing with vested interests.

He said these and other goals would be detailed in the government’s policy program which is to be unveiled in Parliament soon. The House is to convene on February 5 with a vote on the government’s presidential candidate one of the first tasks ahead of it as well as the presentation of the policy program.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis initially appeared to strike a harder tone than Tsipras, describing Greece’s memorandums as “a toxic mistake” and saying the new government would seek a “Pan-European New Deal” which he described as a “bridge” between previous agreements and a new arrangement with the troika of creditors.

One of the first things his ministry will do, Varoufakis said, would be to reduce costs at the Finance Ministry by reducing the number of advisers. He also promised to rehire hundreds of sacked cleaning staff; they were replaced last year by a private firm that the outgoing government claimed was less costly.

Tsipras and Varoufakis are to receive European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Athens on Thursday and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Friday. On Wednesday Varoufakis said he had spoken with Dijsselbloem on Monday and that the two had found “common ground” regarding the way forward toward an agreement with creditors. Varoufakis said they agreed to “deconstruct” scenarios casting the talks as “a Far West-type duel.”

According to sources, the government wants there to be a transitionary period between the end of the current bailout program and the launch of a new program to be agreed by the summer with creditors on the basis of SYRIZA’s anti-austerity proposals.

Responding to questions about intense upheaval on the markets on Wednesday as government officials heralded their plans, Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis, who is to oversee the enforcement of economic policy and talks with the troika, said the government was seeking “neither to clash, nor to compromise” with creditors and that it would present its own program. “The memorandum has expired for us,” he said.

source:ekathimerini.com

Ο πρωθυπουργός με τον πρίγκιπα Φίλιππο

Ο πρωθυπουργός, Τόνι Άμποτ, υποσχέθηκε να συμβουλεύεται πιο συχνά τους υπουργούς του πριν πάρει σημαντικές αποφάσεις.

Ο κ. Άμποτ δέχθηκε σφοδρές επικρίσεις, ακόμα και από υπουργούς του και στελέχη του κόμματός του να ανακηρύξει τον πρίγκιπα Φίλιππο «Ιππότη της Αυστραλίας» με την ευκαιρία της Ημέρας της Αυστραλίας.

Υπουργοί, κυβερνητικοί βουλευτές, ακόμα και ο πολιτειακός πρωθυπουργός της Κουινσλάνδης, μαζί με σχολιαστές και την αντιπολίτευση, «σφυροκοπούν» τον πρωθυπουργό που «επέλεξε τον πρίγκιπα μιας ξένης χώρας για να τον κάνει ιππότη της Αυστραλίας» σημειώνοντας πως «η χώρα έγινε ρεζίλι διεθνώς».

Μπροστά στη γενική κατακραυγή, ο κ. Άμποτ δήλωσε ότι «πήρε το μάθημά του» και στο εξής θα διαβουλεύεται τους συναδέλφους του υπουργούς.

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

Λόγω του αποτελέσματος των ελληνικών εκλογών

Παρά τη σημαντική μείωση της τιμής των καυσίμων, το κόστος ζωής στην Αυστραλία παρουσίασε αύξηση κατά 0.2% το τρίμηνο Οκτωβρίου-Δεκεμβρίου.

Σε ετήσια βάση, ο πληθωρισμός έπεσε πάντως στο 1.7% από 2.3% που ήταν το προηγούμενο τρίμηνο.

Η πτώση του πληθωρισμού οδήγησε σε μικρή ανάκαμψη την αξία του δολαρίου Αυστραλίας που ανήλθε στα 79.98 σεντς του αμερικανικού νομίσματος.

Στο μεταξύ τρεις από τις τέσσερις μεγαλύτερες τράπεζες της Αυστραλίας εκτιμούν ότι η Κεντρική Τράπεζα (Reserve Bank) θα υποχρεωθεί να μειώσει εκ νέου τα επιτόκια για να τονωθεί η οικονομία λόγω της αβεβαιότητας που προκαλεί το εκλογικό αποτέλεσμα των ελληνικών εκλογών.

Τα επίσημα επιτόκια στην Αυστραλία είναι στο ιστορικό χαμηλό του 2.5% που όμως είναι ένα τοις εκατό πιο ψηλά από τα επιτόκια άλλων αναπτυγμένων χωρών.

Αυστραλοί οικονομολόγοι εκτιμούν ότι στην επόμενη συνεδρίαση του το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο της Reserve Bank θα υποχρεωθεί να μειώσει τα επιτόκια «τουλάχιστον 0.25%».

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος