Monthly Archives: August 2015

Οι πολωνικές αρχές είναι σχεδόν βέβαιες ότι έχουν εντοπίσει ένα θαμμένο τρένο των Ναζί που εξαφανίστηκε μυστηριωδώς προς τα τέλη του Β΄ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου και φημολογείται ότι ήταν γεμάτο με όπλα και θησαυρούς ανεκτίμητης αξίας.

“Είμαι κατά 99% βέβαιος ότι ένα τέτοιο τρένο υπάρχει όμως οι πληροφορίες για το περιεχόμενό του είναι προς το παρόν αδύνατον να επιβεβαιωθούν” είπε ο υφυπουργός Πολιτισμού Πιοτρ Ζουκόφσκι σε συνέντευξη Τύπου που παραχώρησε.

Το “τρένο των Ναζί” που ισχυρίστηκαν ότι ανακάλυψαν πρόσφατα στο Βάλμπζιχ ένας Πολωνός και ένα Γερμανός κυνηγοί θησαυρών αναθέρμανε τον θρύλο των αμαξοστοιχιών που, γεμάτες με χρυσό και κοσμήματα, κατευθύνονταν στο Βερολίνο προς τα τέλη του πολέμου.

Φωτογραφίες που τραβήχτηκαν με ειδικό ραντάρ δείχνουν κάτω από το έδαφος κάτι που μοιάζει με τρένο και το μήκος του ξεπερνά τα 100 μέτρα. Τα βαγόνια του ήταν θωρακισμένα, γεγονός που ενδεχομένως να μετέφερε ειδικό φορτίο “ίσως στρατιωτικό εξοπλισμό, αλλά ίσως και κοσμήματα, έργα τέχνης ή αρχεία”, είπε ο Ζουκόφσκι στους δημοσιογράφους.

Οι αρχές άρχισαν να ψάχνουν μόλις πρόσφατα για το τρένο αυτό, αφότου ενημερώθηκαν από τους δύο κυνηγούς θησαυρών ότι το εντόπισαν στη νοτιοδυτική Πολωνία και ζητούν το 10% της αξίας του ως αμοιβή.

Επί δεκαετίες κυκλοφορούσαν φήμες ότι ένα τρένο των Ναζί είχε “εξαφανιστεί” μέσα σε μια σήραγγα κοντά στα σύνορα της Πολωνίας με τη Γερμανία, ενώ πλησίαζαν στην περιοχή οι δυνάμεις του Κόκκινου Στρατού. Ο Ζουκόφσκι αποκάλυψε ότι η αρχική πηγή των θρύλων αυτών ήταν ένας άνδρας που ισχυριζόταν ότι βοήθησε το “κρύψιμο” του τρένου. “Στο νεκροκρέβατό του, έδωσε την πληροφορία μαζί με ένα σχεδιάγραμμα του πού μπορεί να βρισκόταν”, είπε, χωρίς να δώσει περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες.

Ο Ζουκόφσκι είπε ότι οι ειδικοί αναζητούν τρόπους για να φτάσουν στο θαμμένο τρένο. Το υπουργείο Πολιτισμού προειδοποίησε την Πέμπτη ότι μπορεί η περιοχή να είναι παγιδευμένη με εκρηκτικά και κάλεσε τυχόν κυνηγούς θησαυρών και φιλοπερίεργους να μην την πλησιάζουν.

Πηγή:madata.gr

Tsipras and his supporters say they are aiming to capture an outright majority of seats in the new parliament, hoping that the new Syriza, shorn of its hardliners, will attract enough moderate voters to more than make up for the defections.

This will be difficult to achieve, experts say.

The first major opinion poll since elections were called, published Friday in the left-leaning Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper, showed Syriza as the most popular party, with 23 percent saying they intend to vote for it. That was down from 26 percent in early July.

The second-biggest party, the conservative New Democracy, appears to be catching up, with 19.5 percent of the intended vote, up from 15 percent in July.

The poll was conducted by the ProRata company on Aug. 25-26 with a sample of 1,000 people nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Much will depend on Tsipras, who is personally quite popular. Greeks feel that, although he agreed to the tough budget austerity measures in the new bailout, he did what he could to convince creditors to ease the terms. He also enjoys an image as a down-to-earth politician who dismantled the old, established parties that led the country into financial ruin six years ago.

source:washingtonpost.com

Οι παπαγάλοι κοκατού της Αυστραλίας είναι έξυπνοι και παιχνιδιάρηδες… 

Στην Ωκεανία οι Έλληνες ξεπερνούν το εκατομμύριο, οι κοκατού πιθανά τα 100 εκατομμύρια, αλλά δεν είναι λίγοι όσοι μιλάνε -και τραγουδάνε- ελληνικότατα, χάρη στην αγάπη και τη φροντίδα των ομογενών…

Απολαύστε έναν από αυτούς, στο βίντεο του Παναγιώτη Ροτζιώκου:

Πηγή:tilestwra.com

Today our $14.5 million terminal redevelopment, of which $11.1 million was funded by the NSW Government’s Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund, was officially opened by Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast Scot MacDonald.

The opening marked the end of the 12-month build which expanded and refurbished the Newcastle Airport terminal. The completed works include:

• the extension of the terminal building by 50%
• a brand new departure lounge and arrivals hall
• dedicated facilities for customs, immigration, and quarantine to facilitate international services, and
• six new food and beverage outlets.

The local design and construction team, Schreiber Hamilton Architects and Hansen Yuncken, have designed and built a vibrant space that will meet the growing needs of Newcastle Airport.

When we asked our CEO, Peter Cock, what the official opening represented to him he said that unveiling the stunning finished product is very satisfying.

He then went on to say “We now have an airport that complements the spirit of our region. It’s bright, modern, and ready for the future.

“The completion of this project begins an exciting period for our business and for the region.

“The Newcastle Airport you will experience today really sets the benchmark for regional aviation in the terms of design, build, and customer service. The building we have today will connect our region to the rest of Australia and beyond and is an airport our region deserves,” concluded Peter.

You know what Peter, we agree with you. Double thumbs up from us.

source:newcastleairport.com.au

Ένας 36χρονος άνδρας από το Λέικ Έλσινορ της Καλιφόρνια κινδυνεύει να χάσει το χέρι του ως αποτέλεσμα του δαγκώματος ενός φιδιού, με το οποίο είχε προσπαθήσει την περασμένη Δευτέρα να βγάλει… μία selfie!

Ο άνδρας βρήκε το επικίνδυνο φίδι, μήκους ενάμισι μέτρου, στο ράντσο της οικογένειάς του και σύμφωνα με το protothema, θεώρησε καλή ιδέα να βγάλει μία αναμνηστική φωτογραφία με τον κροταλία τυλιγμένο στο λαιμό του. Το ερπετό φυσικά αντέδρασε με τον μόνο τρόπο που μπορούσε, δαγκώνοντας τον παράτολμο άνδρα στο χέρι.

Παρόλο που ο Γκόμεζ μεταφέρθηκε άμεσα στο νοσοκομείο για να του παρασχεθεί το αντίδοτο, η ποσότητα του δηλητηρίου που είχε ήδη περάσει στο αίμα του ήταν μεγάλη. Όπως δήλωσε η μητέρα του στον τηλεοπτικό σταθμό KCBS, αν και η ζωή του γιου της δεν κινδυνεύει, υπάρχει πιθανότητα να χάσει το χέρι του αφού το δέρμα γύρω από την περιοχή του δαγκώματος έχει αρχίσει να σαπίζει.

Αν και αποφάσισε να δημοσιοποιήσει την ιστορία του γιου της για να του δώσει ένα μάθημα, εκθέτοντας την απερισκεψία του στον κόσμο, η μητέρα του 36χρονου νιώθει τυχερή που ο γιος της τη γλίτωσε τόσο φτηνά, αφού το φίδι θα μπορούσε να είχε δαγκώσει τον Γκόμεζ στον λαιμό, σκοτώνοντας τον ακαριαία.

Πηγή:madata.gr

The number of refugees and migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe has soared past 300,000 this year, and some 2,500 more have died trying, the UN said Friday.

Nearly 200,000 people had landed in Greece since January, while another 110,000 had made it to Italy, UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said, compared to some 219,000 last year.

source:ekathimerini.com

As Greece fends off criticism for its handling of a burgeoning refugee crisis, sources in the Hellenic Police and Coast Guard have told Kathimerini that a plan was jointly presented to the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, more than two months ago.

Kathimerini understands that a team of Greek officials visited Frontex headquarters on June 18 and presented a plan for strengthening patrols at sea and on land on Greece’s porous Aegean border with Turkey, a major transit point for refugees from the Middle East trying to reach Europe.

The plan called for officers to be transferred from the Greek police and other European forces to help patrol borders and process arrivals. It also requested fingerprinting equipment and vehicles to speed up identification and transportation on the island of Lesvos, one of the islands bearing the brunt of the influx.

The sources told Kathimerini that although Frontex approved the proposal, it was unable to get other European governments to endorse it. The agency is said to have told Greek officials to start implementing the plan, promising to cover the cost of the Greek police officers’ transfer. It was also suggested that Frontex has already disbursed 100,000 euros to this end, though this was refuted by government sources.

An official at the Ministry for Citizens’ Protection on Thursday said that the issue will be addressed during a visit by Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri to Athens next week.

Meanwhile in a related development, outgoing Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Tasia Christodoulopoulou on Thursday said that she expects Greece to be in a position to receive 30 million euros in European Union funding to deal with the influx within the next few days. She said the agency required by the European Commission to manage the funds is ready but is still waiting for some decisions to be published in the Government Gazette before it can become operational.

source:ekathimerini.com

Vienna: As regional leaders met on Thursday to tackle Europe’s refugee crisis, a gruesome discovery unfolded a short drive from the Austrian capital. An abandoned truck was found with at least 20 — and possibly up to 50 — decomposing bodies of migrants piled inside.

It was the latest tragedy in a year that has seen tens of thousands of people risking all to seek a better life or refuge in wealthy European countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the Vienna conference she was “shaken by the awful news,” and summit participants held a minute of silence.

“This reminds us that we in Europe need to tackle the problem quickly and find solutions in the spirit of solidarity,” Merkel said.

Hassan El Ali, from the Syrian city of Aleppo, said smugglers can easily be contacted “face to face, but also through Facebook and Twitter.” The 31-year-old who was camped on Serbia’s border with Hungary said migrants used word of mouth to find “hidden pages and forums about how to cross the border between Hungary and Serbia.”

Hungary on Thursday deployed more police on its porous border, but refugee activists said the effort appeared futile in a nation whose migrant camps are overloaded and barely delay their journeys into the heart of the EU.

Police reported a single-day record of 3,241 detentions Wednesday, 700 more than the previous day, as they launched a new initiative to channel migrants to one of the country’s five camps using special trains. Under police escort, about 600 asylum- seekers boarded a train to be delivered directly to at least two migrant camps.

Others continued to cross Hungary’s 109-mile (174-kilometer) border with Serbia on foot.

At the Vienna summit, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann had just finished telling other European leaders that there was an urgent need to crack down on human traffickers when news came of the grisly discovery on the highway.

Participants fell silent for a minute in tribute, and Faymann invoked the tragedy as showing the need for quick solutions to deal with the torrent of migrants.

“Today, refugees lost the lives they had tried to save by escaping, but lost them in the hand of traffickers,” Faymann said.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz floated elements of a five-point plan that foresees setting up safe havens in the migrants’ home countries where those seeking asylum in the EU could be processed and — if they qualify — be given safe passage to Europe.

Beyond safe havens, possibly protected by troops acting under a U.N. mandate, the Austrian plan to be submitted to EU decision-makers foresees increased controls on Europe’s outer borders and coordinated action against human smuggling. It also calls for refugee quotas for each of the EU’s 28 members — something that many countries have opposed.

“Never before in history have so many people fled their homes to escape war, violence and persecution,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. “And given the large number of unresolved conflicts in our neighborhood, the stream of refugees seeking protection in Europe will not abate in the foreseeable future.”

Amnesty International alleged that EU indecisiveness was partly to blame for the latest migrant tragedy.

“People dying in their dozens — whether crammed into a truck or a ship — en route to seek safety or better lives is a tragic indictment of Europe’s failures to provide alternative routes,” the rights group said a statement. “Europe has to step up and provide protection to more, share responsibility better and show solidarity to other countries and to those most in need.”

On Wednesday, the bodies of 51 migrants were found in the hull of a wooden boat off Libya by a Swedish rescue crew. The Swedish ship Poseidon was already rescuing 130 migrants from a raft when it got a call to assist the nearby wooden boat. The Swedes rescued 439 survivors from the boat and then found the bodies below deck.

source:firstpost.com