Daily Archives: August 13, 2015

Take a look through Australia’s post-war migration history with this short video slideshow.

You can find more information, including a book on the complete history of the department, at http://www.border.gov.au/about/corpor…

source:border.gov.au/about/corporate/history

Παραμυθένιος γάμος στην… Κεφαλονιά

Πηγαίνουν και Αυστραλοί εκεί για να παντρευτούν

Όρκους αιώνιας αφοσίωσης με φόντο το γαλάζιο της Κεφαλονιάς ανταλλάσσουν ολοένα και περισσότερα ζευγάρια από κάθε γωνιά του κόσμου, δίνοντας στο νησί μια θέση ανάμεσα στους τοπ γαμήλιους προορισμούς για φέτος.

Είναι ενδεικτικό ότι, σύμφωνα με τους υπευθύνους διοργάνωσης γάμων στο νησί, οι καλοκαιρινοί μήνες του 2015 είναι «sold out», ενώ οι κρατήσεις φτάνουν σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις έως και το 2018! Η Κεφαλονιά μετατρέπεται σε νέα Σαντορίνη κερδίζοντας προς το παρόν κυρίως Βρετανούς, Κύπριους και Έλληνες του εξωτερικού, χωρίς ωστόσο να λείπει το ενδιαφέρον από Αυστραλία και ΗΠΑ!

Τα γραφεία διοργάνωσης γαμήλιων τελετών στην Κεφαλονιά μιλούν για ραγδαία ανάπτυξη του κλάδου στην περιοχή. «Σε εμάς οι περισσότερες κρατήσεις αφορούν ζευγάρια από τη Βρετανία, ενώ στη δεύτερη θέση έρχονται Έλληνες και Κύπριοι του εξωτερικού» αναφέρει η υπεύθυνη διοργανώτρια του γάμου των Λόρεν και Άντριου, από το γραφείο Mythos Wedding.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

US actress Nia Vardalos is backing The Hellenic Initiative crowdfunding campaign. Photo: AAP/AP.

The goal is to raise US$1 million within the next month

In a response to Greece’s economic crisis, The Hellenic Initiative (THI) in the United States has launched its first global crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo.

Just past the two-week mark, the campaign is gaining momentum, with Greek American actress Nia Vardalos also getting behind the initiative.

People around the globe are being asked to make a contribution within their budget, regardless of the amount and to share the campaign with others.
So far US$5,550 has been raised. The goal is to raise US$1 million within the next month.

THI was established in the United States in 2012 to assist crisis relief and encourage business entrepreneurship in Greece.

Since then it has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to NGOs in Greece which provide assistance to some of those most severely affected by the economic crisis.

In June the Australian division of THI was launched in Melbourne.

source:neos kosmos

A year after being hailed as one of Greece’s greatest archaeological finds and a possible resting place of Alexander the Great, the largest tomb ever discovered in the country lies almost forgotten in the blazing summer sun.

The buzz of cicadas and wasps gives no hint that Amphipolis, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the northern city of Serres, drew a media stampede in August 2014 after authorities declared it a “unique” find.

“No one works here any more. The project is frozen, like everything else in Greece,” says a young guard, referring to the country’s economic crisis that in addition to mass layoffs and revenue cuts has also hit spending on cultural projects.

“We still don’t know if the country is going to run out of money,” he adds, refusing to give his name.

At the time of its discovery, there was speculation that archaeologists had found the tomb of Alexander the Great (356 BC to 323 BC) — or perhaps someone close to him like his mother Olympias or wife Roxana.

But a room-by-room search of the massive box-like tomb has failed to give conclusive answers to date.

Though the remains of an elderly woman were found — raising hopes it could be Alexander’s mother — the bones of two men, a newborn baby and animals including a horse were also discovered.

Out of 550 bone fragments found, 157 had been matched to specific bodies so far — including that of a fifth person whose sex has not been identified.

Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis has publicly criticised the previous conservative administration over its handling of the excavation.

“The way the excavation was carried out and (its) promotion… had elements of a show,” Xydakis said in a televised interview in March.

On Tuesday, the ministry said significant sums of money and time would be required to make the monument accessible to visitors.

“The work required to protect, rehabilitate and highlight the monument is enormous,” it said.

The ministry said 200,000 euros ($220,000) had been earmarked after the excavation work was carried out, but the imposition of capital controls in June linked to the economic crisis has delayed the release of funds.

As the scientific world awaits further clarification, a dispute has arisen over whether the tomb is actually Macedonian or was built under the Romans.

Leftist daily Avgi, the newspaper of the ruling SYRIZA party, on Sunday said a group of experts had dated the tomb to the first or second century BC — up to 300 years after Alexander’s death, and it dismissed efforts to link the monument to his family as a “fiasco”.

The head archaeologist at Amphipolis, Katerina Peristeri, fired off an angry letter to the newspaper to defend her evaluation.

“The tomb complex was built in the final quarter of the fourth century BC (325-300 BC)… and was used until Roman times,” Peristeri said.

“The Macedonians sealed it for protection in the second century BC,” she said, adding that a full evaluation would be made in the autumn.

The tomb, measuring 500 metres (1,640 feet) in circumference and dug into a 30-metre hill — was found to contain sculptures of sphinxes and caryatids, intricate mosaics and coins featuring the face of Alexander the Great.

Built on the banks of the river Strymon, Amphipolis was an important city of the ancient Macedonian kingdom under Alexander.

Alexander built an empire stretching from modern Greece to India. He died in Babylon and was buried in the city of Alexandria, which he founded. The precise location of his tomb is one of the biggest mysteries of archaeology.

The Amphipolis tomb’s location was known in antiquity, and it is believed to have been repeatedly looted following the conquest of the ancient Macedonian kingdom by Rome in the second century BC.

No funerary offerings were found, and the culture ministry has confirmed that even the single grave found inside the tomb had been searched.

Historians had dismissed from the start the possibility that the tomb’s occupant could be Alexander himself, who conquered the Persian empire and much of the known world before his death in Babylon at the age of 32 in 323 BC.

source:ekathimerini.com

NEWCASTLE’s Greek community has used traditional music, dance and cuisine to demonstrate its support for the Resilience Sculpture Project, which will be unveiled in Newcastle’s Foreshore Park next month.

The Newcastle Herald has previously reported how psychotherapist Joanne Sinclair approached renowned sculptor Roger McFarlane about three years ago with her vision to create a work that would recognise the impact mental illness has made on the community.

Mr McFarlane travelled to a quarry on the Greek island of Thassos three months ago to choose two blocks of marble weighing a combined 21 tonnes that were installed on July 15 at his base at Camp Shortland.

‘‘I chose Thassos marble because it was reasonably clear, had no cracks through it, was predominantly pure white with a few grey shadows through it and it sparkled in the light,’’ Mr McFarlane said.

‘‘Later, I was at a function at the United Service Club and met a man who had come from the Greek mainland about 12 kilometres from Thassos and told him our story.

‘‘Since then, the Greeks have adopted us.’’

Honorary consul for Greece in northern NSW Geoff Antoniades, rector of The Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church of Newcastle Father Nicholas Scordilis and the church’s Hellenic dancers were among the community members who visited the partially completed sculpture on Sunday, saying it was another symbol of the connection between Greece and the Hunter.

‘‘We were really amazed that the marble had come all the way from Thassos, but the real reason we were impressed and pleased to be someway involved is because of what this sculpture will mean for Newcastle,’’ Father Scordilis said.

‘‘The people behind this project deserve our gratitude and respect, because they’re helping to raise awareness that people in our community are suffering and it can be a rough journey.’’

Ms Sinclair said everyone knew someone who had suffered from mental illness.

‘‘Services can do so much to help people but the community has to do its bit too,’’ she said.

Mr McFarlane is often joined by volunteers as he works for at least eight hours a day on the sculpture – an abstract figure of a female sitting in contemplation, on a rectangular base bearing the word ‘‘resilience’’.

The sculpture will be installed at its permanent location on September 5.

source:theherald.com.au

Σίδνεϊ, Αυστραλία
Σοκ και δέος προκαλούν οι φωτογραφίες του νεκρού καρχαρία-τίγρη που αλιεύτηκε το προηγούμενο Σαββατοκύριακο στη βόρεια Νέα Νότια Ουαλία στην Αυστραλία.

Το θαλάσσιο κήτος, μήκους σχεδόν εξίμισι μέτρων, πιάστηκε από έναν αυστραλό ψαρά, ονόματι Μάθιου (αγνώστων λοιπών στοιχείων), το περασμένο Σάββατο στα ανοιχτά της παραλίας Σέβεν Μάιλ στη περιοχή Λένοξ Χεντ.

Ο καρχαρίας απείλησε αρκετές φορές να σκοτώσει σέρφερ και αυτοδύτες, για το λόγο αυτό και κάποιοι -άγνωστο ποιοι ακριβώς- πλήρωσαν τον Μάθιου προκειμένου να κυνηγήσει και να σκοτώσει το κήτος, καθώς η περιοχή προσελκύει πολλούς λάτρεις των δυο συγκεκριμένων σπορ από όλο το κόσμο.

Όπερ κι εγένετο.

Ο Μάθιου μίλησε στην αυστραλιανή εφημερίδα Northern Star λέγοντας πως έπιασε τον καρχαρία-τίγρη «πριν λίγες ημέρες στην θαλάσσια περιοχή που είναι γνωστή ως Τουίντ Χεντς».

Επίσης είπε πως κράτησε τα σαγόνια του ως ενθύμιο, κατά τη γνωστή ναυτική συνήθεια, μάλλον για να τα κρεμάσει στον τοίχο.

Ο καρχαρίας-τίγρης είναι ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα είδη καρχαρία που επιτίθεται και στον άνθρωπο. Τον αποκαλούν και «σκουπιδοτενεκέ της θάλασσας» καθώς τρώει οτιδήποτε, από φώκιες, δελφίνια κι ανθρώπους, μέχρι πινακίδες αυτοκίνητων, πλαστικά είδη και γενικά ό,τι του σερβίρουν…

Πηγή:in.gr

A year after being hailed as one of Greece’s greatest archaeological finds and a possible resting place of Alexander the Great, the largest tomb ever discovered in the country lies almost forgotten in the blazing summer sun.

The buzz of cicadas and wasps gives no hint that Amphipolis, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the northern city of Serres, drew a media stampede in August 2014 after authorities declared it a “unique” find.

“No one works here any more. The project is frozen, like everything else in Greece,” says a young guard, referring to the country’s economic crisis that in addition to mass layoffs and revenue cuts has also hit spending on cultural projects.

“We still don’t know if the country is going to run out of money,” he adds, refusing to give his name.

At the time of its discovery, there was speculation that archaeologists had found the tomb of Alexander the Great (356 BC to 323 BC) — or perhaps someone close to him like his mother Olympias or wife Roxana.

But a room-by-room search of the massive box-like tomb has failed to give conclusive answers to date.

Though the remains of an elderly woman were found — raising hopes it could be Alexander’s mother — the bones of two men, a newborn baby and animals including a horse were also discovered.

Out of 550 bone fragments found, 157 had been matched to specific bodies so far — including that of a fifth person whose sex has not been identified.

Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis has publicly criticised the previous conservative administration over its handling of the excavation.

“The way the excavation was carried out and (its) promotion… had elements of a show,” Xydakis said in a televised interview in March.

On Tuesday, the ministry said significant sums of money and time would be required to make the monument accessible to visitors.

“The work required to protect, rehabilitate and highlight the monument is enormous,” it said.

The ministry said 200,000 euros ($220,000) had been earmarked after the excavation work was carried out, but the imposition of capital controls in June linked to the economic crisis has delayed the release of funds.

As the scientific world awaits further clarification, a dispute has arisen over whether the tomb is actually Macedonian or was built under the Romans.

Leftist daily Avgi, the newspaper of the ruling SYRIZA party, on Sunday said a group of experts had dated the tomb to the first or second century BC — up to 300 years after Alexander’s death, and it dismissed efforts to link the monument to his family as a “fiasco”.

The head archaeologist at Amphipolis, Katerina Peristeri, fired off an angry letter to the newspaper to defend her evaluation.

“The tomb complex was built in the final quarter of the fourth century BC (325-300 BC)… and was used until Roman times,” Peristeri said.

“The Macedonians sealed it for protection in the second century BC,” she said, adding that a full evaluation would be made in the autumn.

The tomb, measuring 500 metres (1,640 feet) in circumference and dug into a 30-metre hill — was found to contain sculptures of sphinxes and caryatids, intricate mosaics and coins featuring the face of Alexander the Great.

Built on the banks of the river Strymon, Amphipolis was an important city of the ancient Macedonian kingdom under Alexander.

Alexander built an empire stretching from modern Greece to India. He died in Babylon and was buried in the city of Alexandria, which he founded. The precise location of his tomb is one of the biggest mysteries of archaeology.

The Amphipolis tomb’s location was known in antiquity, and it is believed to have been repeatedly looted following the conquest of the ancient Macedonian kingdom by Rome in the second century BC.

No funerary offerings were found, and the culture ministry has confirmed that even the single grave found inside the tomb had been searched.

Historians had dismissed from the start the possibility that the tomb’s occupant could be Alexander himself, who conquered the Persian empire and much of the known world before his death in Babylon at the age of 32 in 323 BC.

source:ekathimerini.com