Category Archives: Uncategorized

Turkey has warned the European Union that 3 million more refugees could flee fighting in Syria as the EU struggles to manage its biggest migration emergency in decades.

Around 2 million refugees from Syria are currently in Turkey, and tens of thousands of others have entered the EU via Greece this year, overwhelming coast guards and reception facilities.

EU Council President Donald Tusk told lawmakers Tuesday that “according to Turkish estimates, another 3 million potential refugees may come from Aleppo and its neighborhood.”

Tusk said that “today millions of potential refugees and migrants are dreaming about Europe.”

He warned that “the world around us does not intend to help Europe” and that some of the EU’s neighbors “look with satisfaction at our troubles.”

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann was heading to the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos with Greece’s prime minister to view first-hand the impact of the refugee crisis and tour the facilities set up to handle the new arrivals, which number in the hundreds and sometimes thousands every day.

Faymann and Greece’s Alexis Tsipras were due on Lesvos around midday Tuesday and are to tour the reception center set up to register and process the arriving refugees and migrants.

About 400,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year, most in small overcrowded boats from the nearby Turkish coast. The vast majority don’t want to stay in the financially troubled country and head north through the Balkans to more prosperous European Union countries such as Austria, Germany and Sweden.

source:ekathimerini.com

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan appeared to mock European Union overtures for help with its migration crisis as he arrived for a long-awaited state visit to Brussels and a string of meetings with EU leaders set to start on Monday.

Turkey has warned against violations of its airspace amid claims Moscow’s warplanes have been straying over the border from Syria, as NATO called an emergency meeting over the ‘unacceptable’ intrusion.

Fr. George Passias and Edith Bouzalas leaving St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. Photo: JC Rice for the New York Post

Fr. George Passias and his parish-school principal Edith Bouzalas under fire for kinky affair and money embezzlement

Former chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Father George Passias has been removed from his parish after the revelation he had an affair with his much younger god-daughter.

The high-ranking Greek Orthodox priest starred in several kinky sex tapes with Ethel Bouzalas, a Peruvian woman married to a Greek man.

Passias baptised the woman before she married Mr Bouzalas and has been her mentor since.

Ethel Bouzalas has always been close to the priest and within few years he was promoted to parish-school principal, even without having proof of education.

The 67-year-old Washington pastor, who has four children from his marriage impregnated his 45-year-old also married lover who also assumed church treasurer duties.

In 2013, Passias had been accused of having an affair with the women who was reportedly seen sitting on his lap.

He had then told the The New York Post that “the allegations were cooked up by a group of evil-minded people” of the parish who wanted him gone.

“They have been saying I’m having a private affair with her,” he said. “She is a goddaughter to me. That’s it.”

Meanwhile, members of the parish were worried about the management of four church-owned apartment buildings and a constant flow of funds being allocated into repairs at the school which never happened.

The priest had once again denied everything calling the allegations “filthy lies.”

Asked why the church had ignored the longtime allegations of the affair, the bishop said, “Lacking any concrete evidence of an affair, there was no responsible way the church could take any further action.”

However, Ethel Bouzalas’ husband came forward and provided the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, with proof of the affair.

The same cleric who had once ordered female worshipers to cover their heads during confession, starred in shocking sex videos, without a hint of modesty.

In one scene, he watches his ‘god-daughter’ crush a banana bread with her bottom on top a bedside table, wearing stilettos.

In another video Bouzalas rubs her feet on the priest’s face whilst recording him and then he performs oral sex on her.

source:neos kosmos

Anti-terror police officers escort Nikos Michaloliakos, leader of the ultra-right-wing Golden Dawn party, at the courthouse. Photo: EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU.

‘Nikos Michaloliakos has blood on his hands,’ Panayiotis Fyssas says

The father of murdered anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas told a court at Athens’ Korydallos Prison on Tuesday that Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos was ultimately responsible for his son’s death.

Panayiotis Fyssas is the first witness to take the stand in the trial of Golden Dawn’s leadership, MPs and members, as the last few weeks since the court first sat have been taken up by procedural matters.

Fyssas was questioned about the September night two years ago when his son was stabbed to death by GD member Giorgos Roupakias after being chased from a café in Keratsini, near Piraeus, by a group of neo-Nazis.

Fyssas explained that he received a phone call at around midnight on 18 September, 2013 and rushed to the scene of the stabbing. He told the court that he thought his son was alive at the time but that looking back on events he realised that Pavlos had probably already died by the time he was taken to the hospital.

“My suspicions turned toward Golden Dawn because my son’s songs annoyed them,” Fyssas said when the judge asked him who he thought had killed Pavlos. “His lyrics were directed at them.”

Fyssas said that based on what he was told by Pavlos’ friends, who were with him at the time of the stabbing, a group of around 20 GD supporters chased them from the cafe, where they were watching a soccer match. He said his son was unable to get away because several of his attackers cornered him and attacked him.

“Then the professional hit man arrived,” said Fyssas of Roupakias, who witnesses say arrived in his car and stabbed the rapper. Fyssas claimed that the party leadership had ordered the murder.

“The order came from the upper echelons of the party,” said the witness. “These guys take orders even to get up from their seats.”

The judge asked Fyssas who he believed had given the order to kill his son. “Michaloliakos,” he replied. “He has my son’s blood all over his hands.”

Fyssas made reference to the fact that the Golden Dawn leader, who was released from pretrial custody earlier this year, had accepted “political responsibility” for the murder in a recent radio interview.

The civil prosecution has asked for this comment by Michaloliakos to be recognised by the court.

The witness also claimed that the victim’s friends told him there had been around 10 policemen at the scene but that none had intervened until the stabbing had occurred. Roupakias was arrested by a female officer.

Panayiotis Fyssas appeared before the court on Friday.

Source: Kathimerini

In November the celebrity SYRIZA MP will visit Melbourne to take part in the Wheeler Centre’s Interrobang festival.

Victoria to welcome former finance minister at festival of ideas

The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne’s CBD has launched a new festival for November, with Yanis Varoufakis as a special guest.

The festival, entitled Interrobang, gives Australians the opportunity to submit questions relating to everything from politics to comedy, with a chance to have an expert respond. The questions will then be put to a vote. Those judged to be the most interesting will make up the festival’s program.

Seeking informed responses, organisers have put together a ‘brains Trust’, made up of 25 “of some of the brightest and most enquiring minds from around the world”, Emily Sexton, head of programming, told Neos Kosmos.

“We set ourselves a mission to bring together people who have a range of knowledge and expertise in more than one discipline.

“I think we succeeded in creating a diverse and exciting lineup that covers everything from politics and policy, to art and comedy,” said Ms Sexton.

“Obviously Yanis Varoufakis has an extraordinary mind. We think he’ll be able to give interesting insights into the questions about what’s happening in Europe socially, politically and economically, including the refugee crisis,” said Sexton.

“Having been a public political figure for some time he can also give a broad historical perspective that will be complemented by other members of our brains trust.”

Among those joining the former minister and Sydney University lecturer are author and journalist Mary Kostakidis​, medical anthropologist Gregory Phillips, and comedian and writer Rob Delaney.

Once questions have been finalised and allocated to the brains trust, the program’s format will be curated to suit each question, ranging from one-on-one lessons to large scale debates.

The Interrobang will take place on 27 and 28 November and will consist of over 26 events.

Questions to Yanis Varoufakis and other participants can be submitted through the Wheeler Centre website and Twitter using the hashtag #askinterrobang.

source:neos kosmos

PHOTO: EPA/ ALEXEY NIKOLSKY / RIA NOVOSTI / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT

The announcement came following a phone call between the two leaders last Friday.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin have confirmed their commitment to strengthen ties between the two nations.

The announcement came following a phone call between the two leaders last Friday, during which they also reiterated their dedication to undertake greater bilateral ties with relation to energy, said Moscow’s Kremlin.

To follow, on Tuesday Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Russian Segey Lavrov met to further discuss cooperation and bilateral relations.

“The General Assembly is very, very important for both multilateral and bilateral negotiations, and in this context we saw the Foreign Minister of Russia,” said Mr Kotzias.

“2016 is the Year of Greek-Russian Friendship and Cooperation, and I invited him to come to Athens this year so that we can move ahead with our cooperation.”

The ministers, who met while in New York, also addressed “the Syrian issue” and their “cooperation goals”, with Mr Kotzias referring to earlier meetings with the Iranian foreign minister, American officials and European foreign ministers.

“We also talked about the situation in Ukraine,” he added.

Source: Reuters, ANA-MPA

Bill Shorten has condemned organisations that incite “criminal thinking” in vulnerable young people, comparing them to pedophiles who prey on Australia’s youth.

The Opposition Leader said he had “no time for organisations fomenting dangerous” ideas amid reports the 15-year-old who shot dead a police employee in Sydney on Friday attended the Parramatta Mosque before the murder, including for a service associated with the controversial political group Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

Farhad Khalil ­Mohammad Jabar is believed to have been radicalised through worshippers he met at the mosque where other teenagers are known to have sympathies for the terrorist group Islamic State.

Asked about the reports and if the government needed to take a new approach to this type of violent behaviour, Mr Shorten said: “If there are organisations in this country preying upon vulnerable young people, filling their heads full of murderous crazy nonsense, then those organisations are breaching their social contract with the Australian people.

“I have no time for organisations fomenting dangerous, criminal thinking in vulnerable young people. These organisations preying upon young people are a sort of political or a terrorist version of the pedophiles who prey upon young people too. It is just unacceptable.”

Mr Shorten has spoken to police investigating the murder and backed Malcolm Turnbull’s inclusion of the Muslim community in response to the tragic incident.

“When I look at the Australian Muslim community, I see Australians first and people of a particular religion second. I believe that the best way we can defeat terrorism craziness in all its evil forms is by working together,” he said.

“The worse thing we can do is start having majorities picking on minorities. Australian Muslims are parents first. They would be appalled and shocked by what they have seen.”

The Prime Minister again offered his and the government’s condolences to the family of Jabar’s victim, father-of-two Curtis Cheng, and said he intended to speak with his relatives today.

Mr Turnbull said it was too early to comment on whether Jabar was self-motivated in murdering Mr Cheng.

“Can I just simply say that we all of us need to be very aware of the way in which radicalisation can occur. Communities at every level, from families all the way up, should be alert to what young people are doing, what influences are impacting on young people,” Mr Turnbull said.

“This is an evolving problem, it is rapidly changing, and we need to be as nimble as our opponents.

“You have to be prepared all the time to examine the effectiveness of what you’re doing and be prepared to change and adapt to better take on your opponents.”

The government’s resolve to combat violent extremism was “absolutely undiminished”, he said.

source:theaustralian.com.au

Διψήφια αύξηση, αλλά σταθερά ενοίκια σε Σίδνεϊ, Μελβούρνη – Εγκαταλείπονται Δυτική Αυστραλία, Κουίνσλαντ.

Mε διψήφια ποσοστά συνεχίστηκε η αύξηση των τιμών των κατοικιών σε Μελβούρνη και Σίδνεϊ το τελευταίο 12μηνο.

Στη μεγαλύτερη πόλη της Αυστραλίας το ποσοστό της αύξησης έφτασε στο 16,7%, αν και τα πιο πρόσφατα στοιχεία δείχνουν ότι υπάρχει εξασθένιση των τιμών. Τον φετινό Σεπτέμβριο η αύξηση περιορίστηκε στο 0,1% και στο 4,6% για το τρίτο τρίμηνο της φετινής χρονιάς.

Σε αντίθεση, στη Μελβούρνη, οι τιμές αυξήθηκαν κατά 2,4% μόνο το μήνα Σεπτέμβριο, κατά 7,4% το τρίμηνο Σεπτεμβρίου και κατά 14,2% από τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2014.

Ειδικοί εκτιμούν ότι οι τιμές δεν αναμένεται να συνεχίσουν με τους ίδιους ανοδικούς ρυθμούς, αφού τα ενοίκια παραμένουν αμετάβλητα. Στη Μελβούρνη η μέση τιμή των ενοικίων έπεσε κατά 3% για πρώτη φορά από το 1996.

Εκτός από τις δύο μεγαλουπόλεις, στο Brisbane οι τιμές αυξήθηκαν κατά 4,6% και στην πρωτεύουσα Καμπέρα κατά 0,6% την τελευταία χρονιά, ενώ στις άλλες πόλεις οι τιμές υποχώρησαν. Στο Darwin οι τιμές έπεσαν κατά 3,9% και στο “κόκκινο” ήταν και οι τιμές των κατοικιών στο Perth, στην Αδελαΐδα και στο Hobart.

Επιπλέον, και εξαιτίας της υποχώρησης της εξορυκτικής δραστηριότητας, όλο και λιγότερος πληθυσμός μετακινείται στις Πολιτείες της Δυτικής Αυστραλίας, του Κουίνσλαντ και της Βόρειας Περιοχής, με ρυθμό ρεκόρ για την τελευταία δεκαετία. Την ίδια ώρα, η Βικτώρια και η Νέα Νότια Ουαλία δέχονται όλο και περισσότερα κόσμο. Το Σίδνεϊ και η Μελβούρνη μαζί σημείωσαν αύξηση στον πληθυσμό κατά 0,9% τον περασμένο μήνα και κατά 11% μέσα σε μία χρονιά.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Εξαιτίας μιας αλλαγής που αποφασίστηκε επί κυβέρνησης Gillard

Πάνω από το 70% των ανέργων της Αυστραλίας βρίσκονται εκτός εργασίας εδώ και πάνω από ένα χρόνο, σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία του Αυστραλιανού Συμβουλίου Κοινωνικών Υπηρεσιών που προέρχονται από το Centrelink. Είναι η μεγαλύτερη αύξηση στη διάρκεια των τελευταίων τριών χρόνων.

H αύξηση αυτή αντικατοπτρίζει την μικρή αύξηση στην δημιουργία νέων θέσεων εργασίας στην αυστραλιανή οικονομία αλλά και την απόφαση της παλαιότερης κυβέρνησης της Julia Gillard που ανάγκασε χιλιάδες Αυστραλούς, που μέχρι πρόσφατα ελάμβαναν τα επιδόματα αναπηρίας και μονογονεϊκής οικογένειας, να λαμβάνουν το επίδομα ανεργίας Newstart.

Πιο αναλυτικά, τον Αύγουστο ο αριθμός των μακροχρόνια ανέργων έφτανε τις 538.900, ενώ πριν από ένα χρόνο ήταν 498.290. Πριν από τρία χρόνια, τον Αύγουστο του 2012, ήταν μόνο 352.850.

Υπολογίζεται ότι σήμερα στη χώρα υπάρχουν 100.000 περίπου οικογένειες με μόνο ένα γονέα και οι οποίοι λαμβάνουν πλέον το επίδομα Newstart.

Σύμφωνα με το Συμβούλιο, αν και η ιδέα της επιστροφής στην αγορά εργασίας όταν το παιδί φτάσει στην ηλικία των οκτώ ετών είναι καλή, πολλοί γονείς, που έχουν σπουδάσει για πολλά χρόνια, βρίσκονται εγκλωβισμένοι σε δουλειές με χαμηλές αμοιβές ή αναζητούν εργασία για τις οποίες δεν έχουν ειδικευτεί.

Το Συμβούλιο επιθυμεί η κυβέρνηση του νέου πρωθυπουργού Malcolm Turnbull να εγκαταλείψει την προηγούμενη πολιτική της κυβέρνησης Abbott που επιθυμούσε την παράταση κατά τεσσάρων εβδομάδων την περιόδου προτού ένας άνεργος λάβει το επίδομα.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος