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Messi poses for a photo alongside his long-term partner Antonella Roccuzzo at the Ballon d’Or Gala on Monday night in Switzerland

Lionel Messi moved brilliance to another level as he was presented with the Ballon D’Or for the fifth time in his extraordinary career.

The greatest player of this generation was recognised by international captains, managers and journalists for his outstanding performances during 2015, when Barcelona became the first team to complete the treble of league, cup and Champions League for the second time.

Messi’s performances were, at times, mesmerising and his highlights from the past 12 months include his goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final, when he chipped Manuel Neuer from six yards, and his solo run against Atletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.

That goal was a contender for the Puskas Award, which is given to mark the previous year’s golden goal, but on this occasion, Messi had to settle for minor honours. Wendell Lira, a Brazilian forward, won it for his spectacular overhead kick for Goianesia.

Still, he arrived in Zurich on Monday at the peak of his powers, which was a stark contrast to 12 months ago when he was sullen amid intense speculation that all was not well behind the scenes at the Nou Camp after Messi had been dropped for a game against Real Sociedad.

His numbers since, though, have been stunning, with 53 appearances for Barcelona over the calendar year yielding 48 goals and 23 assists. Cristiano Ronaldo, his great foe, may have outscored him – 54 in 52 games for Real Madrid – but Messi’s form has been on another level. Those figures would have been even greater had a hamstring injury not cost him two months.

‘It is a very special moment for me to be back on this stage having watched Cristiano (Ronaldo) win it for the last two years,’ said Messi, who was clearly overcome when presented with the award in Zurich’s Kongresshaus.

‘It is incredible that it is my fifth Ballon d’Or, it is more than anything I could have dreamed of when I was a kid. I want to thank all my team-mates as without them none of this would be possible. I also want to thank football for everything, both the good and the bad. It has made me learn.’

There is undoubtedly a degree of ostentation to the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which is growing bigger by the year, but that should not detract from how remarkable Messi has been over the past decade. He has been first or second every year since 2008.

To put this into context, luminaries such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Luis Figo only won the Ballon d’Or once and it is difficult to imagine a time in the future when his figure is eclipsed. Certainly, his compatriot Ezequiel Lavazzi, the Paris Saint-Germain forward, thinks that will be impossible as he envisages more success for Messi.

‘He is breaking all kinds of records,’ said Lavezzi of a player who has scored 458 goals for Barcelona. ‘When is he going to stop? It all depends on him, really. When it comes to difficult games, he is always there. He makes a difference when teams most need it. He can score any type of goal. He can be on the pitch for a little, score two goals then he goes home happy.’

So what was Messi’s highlight of 2015? And what is the motivation to keep going when he has done everything there is to be done in Catalonia?

‘I try to beat my previous self and reach all our goals,’ said Messi. ‘Last year thankfully I managed to reach almost all of them. It was an amazing year that filled us with pride after such good work. It is hard to single out one moment. Our year was full of happiness and victories. It is hard to pick one.

‘These are good players (at Barcelona) with extraordinary quality. We hope that they are going to make us grow. I feel proud of having achieved everything that I have achieved, all my titles. It is always harder to win when you have won before. To come here for the ninth time is truly amazing.’

If there is to be someone who comes and challenges his supremacy in the future, it will be his colleague Neymar. The Brazilian, who is every inch a superstar, looks primed to get better and better in Barcelona. He has thrived under Luis Enrique, who was named Coach of the Year, but all he is thinking of for the moment is about self-improvement.

‘I don’t know if I am up to their level,’ Neymar said, when asked how he compares himself to Messi and Ronaldo. ‘These are two idols and if you have idols, it is difficult to perceive yourself as an equal or better. I have admired them for many years and it is an honour to be here with them.

‘I want to improve every single match and that is more important than being better than them. I am happy. The goals I have to thank my team-mates for that, Leo and the others. We set our own goals, our own history. Those two have made history and are still making it.’

Messi (right) celebrates his success with his son, Thiago (centre) and team-mate Dani Alves

source:dailymail.co.uk

MANCHESTER UNITED are reportedly ready to pay a world-record £90million to sign Gareth Bale – despite the player insisting he is happy at Real Madrid.

According to The Times, United are determined to get their man as manager Louis van Gaal seeks to spend his way out of their rut.

Van Gaal is under pressure not only to get results but also provide entertaining football as fans at Old Trafford become restless with his team’s style of play.

On Saturday they won a second game on the bounce when beating Sheffield United 1-0 in the FA Cup third round thanks to Wayne Rooney’s penalty in stoppage time.

Dutchman Van Gaal has already insisted he needs added flare in his attacking unit and Bale, it seems, is top of his January shopping list.

According to the report, Bale is unhappy with life in Spain and is seeking a move back to the Premier League.

Real sacked manager Rafael Benitez last week after falling behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the race for the Spanish title.

Bale is said to want a move away from the Bernabeu, despite the player explaining on Saturday that he is comfortable at the club.

“I had a very good relationship with Rafa [Benitez], obviously it was a big disappointment to see him go, but things like this happen in football, you’re professional and you get on with it and carry on,” Bale said.

“I’m happy at the moment. Obviously you can never predict what happens in the future, but I’m enjoying my football at the moment so I’ll keep going.”

source:express.co.uk

New Democracy, Greece’s major conservative party, has a new leader. Kyriakos Mitsotakis is promising a “common-sense” approach to politics, aiming to bring the party to the center and build “a great center-right movement.”

“We have one purpose. To express all the forces that stand against the populism of an incompetent government,” Mitsotakis told supporters Sunday night, referring to the leftist Syriza government led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Kyriakos has an impressive resume. He studied at Harvard University, before going on to work as an economic analyst at Chase Manhattan Group. Mitsotakis was first elected to the parliament in 2004.

The vote follows the resignation of New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras in July 2015 after an election loss. Interim leader Vangelis Meimarakis, who led the party through another defeat in the September 2015 general election, was the favored candidate in the leadership race, after he secured an 11.3 percent lead over Mitsotakis in the first round of voting. In the final ballot Mitsotakis held a two-point lead over Meimarakis with 70 percent of votes counted, but the final result will not be released until later Monday.

2015 was not a good year for New Democracy. In the January election, the party won just 76 seats, lost its position as the governing party and obtained its worst-ever share of seats. The left-wing Syriza, elected on a promise to resist European-imposed austerity measures agreed to by previous governments, took power for the first time.

A glimmer of hope for the right emerged when Syriza leader Tsipras resigned as prime minster in August, triggering a new election. Polls showed Syriza and New Democracy neck-and-neck, but the final result saw a vote gap of 7 percentage points between the two, with Syriza returning to government and New Democracy losing one net seat from the January result.

source:ibtimes.com

David Bowie accepts the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award (Photo by Brian Ach/WireImage)

David Bowie has died after an 18-month battle with cancer, the singer’s son has confirmed.

Duncan Jones wrote on Twitter: ‘Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.’

Statements were posted on the star’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts saying the star died on Sunday.
They read: ‘David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer.

‘While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.’

Bowie released his 29th album, called Blackstar, on Friday 8 January, to coincide with his 69th birthday.

The Heroes singer was famously very private but there had been rumours about his health for years.

Paying tribute to the singer on Twitter, comedian and actor Ricky Gervais, who convinced his long-time idol Bowie to star as himself – and ridicule Gervais – in an episode of 2006 sitcom Extras, wrote simply: ‘I just lost a hero. RIP David Bowie.’

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter ‘I grew up listening to and watching the pop genius David Bowie. He was a master of re-invention, who kept getting it right. A huge loss’.

Just three days ago a clip for the song from his new album, Blackstar called Lazarus was released on Youtube.

Lazarus is a biblical character that was resurrected from the dead.

The clip opens with Bowie, lying, bandaged on a hospital bed singing, ‘Look up here, I’m in heaven.’

Former NME editor Krissi Murison told Sky News the only other musician’s death she could think of which was comparable was that of John Lennon.

‘For a music fan, he was everything,’ she said.

Bowie made a surprise comeback in 2013 when he suddenly released a new single on his 66th birthday with an album out just weeks later, his first for 10 years.

Bowie was awarded a Grammy lifetime achievement award in February 2006 and his final performance on stage was later that year when he sang alongside Alicia Keys at the Black Ball in New York.

The star made a habit of confounding the critics – killing off his most famous creation, Ziggy Stardust, at the height of his fame – and reinventing himself in roles including glam rocker, soul singer and hippie songwriter.

Bowie, born David Jones in post-war Brixton, south London, kicked off his music career in the RB boom of the early Sixties.

In 1969 he made his first appearance in the charts with Space Oddity.

A string of albums followed, before 1972’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars made him an international star.

The 1980s saw him combine his pop career with appearances in films including Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and Absolute Beginners.

Bowie married Somali-American model Iman in 1992 and the couple had one daughter, Alexandria ‘Lexi’ Zahra Jones who was born in 2000.

The couple split their time between New York and London.

source:skynews.com.au

Με σύγχρονα, βιώσιμα κέντρα εκτός… κέντρου

Mε χαρμόσυνα νέα ξεκινά η νέα χρονιά για τους Μελβουρνιώτες και αυτό δεν είναι τυχαίο. Αυτή τη στιγμή, η Μελβούρνη είναι η ταχύτερα αναπτυσσόμενη πόλη της Αυστραλίας -έχοντας ήδη ξεπεράσει την «αντίζηλο» σε ρυθμούς ανάπτυξης- προβλέπεται, δε, ότι θα είναι η πρώτη πόλη των Αντιπόδων να έχει φθάσει τα οκτώ εκατομμύρια πληθυσμό μέχρι το 2055.

Σαράντα χρόνια αργότερα βέβαια από τώρα, αλλά τα παιδιά μας και τα εγγόνια μας, σίγουρα θα είναι εδώ για να δουν και να ζήσουν του λόγου το αληθές!

Εκείνο δε που θα της δίνει σίγουρα έναν ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα από αισθητικής, κυρίως όμως από πρακτικής πλευράς και θα της εξασφαλίζει τον τίτλο «μιας από τις βιοσιμότερες πόλεις του κόσμου», είναι το γεγονός ότι θα έχει πολλά αστικά κέντρα, εκτός του σημερινού γνωστού κέντρου στο οποίο αναφερόμαστε ως «το Σίτι».

Απλωμένη σε 10.000 τετραγωνικά χιλιόμετρα και περικλείοντας 31 Δήμους, η Μελβούρνη κατοικείται από τα τρία τέταρτα του ολικού πληθυσμού της Βικτώριας.

Προάστια, όπως Werribee, Sunshine και Melton στα δυτικά, Sunbury στα βορειοδυτικά, Broadmeadows, Craigieburn και Epping στα βόρεια, Box Hill και Ringwood στα ανατολικά, Dandenong, Frankston, Cranbourne Pakenkham στα νοτιοανατολικά, θα πάρουν όλα τη μορφή μικρών κέντρων.

Ο κοινωνιολόγος ερευνητής, Mark McCrindle, είπε ότι η Μελβούρνη έχει ήδη αρχίσει να δημιουργεί αρκετά κέντρα, εκτός του γνωστού κέντρου της.

«Πρόκειται για μία τάση που την βλέπουμε σε διάφορα μέρη της υφηλίου. Αποτελεί μέρος ενός νέου, σύγχρονου τρόπου πολεοδομίας, όπου παρατηρούμε τη δημιουργία εμπορικών κέντρων, όπου υψώνονται μέτριας πυκνότητας κατοικίες».

Με αυτό το σύστημα, υποστηρίζει ο ίδιος, οι άνθρωποι δεν είναι υποχρεωμένοι να ταξιδεύουν μέχρι το Σίτι για δουλειά ή στο Chadsτone, για ψώνια. Και τα δύο μπορούν να γίνουν εκεί που κατοικούν, πράγμα το οποίο δημιουργεί αυτό που θα λέγαμε ‘τοπική ταυτότητα’.

ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩΦΛΙ ΤΟΥ ΚΕΝΤΡΟΥ

Ο πολιτειακός υπουργός Σχεδιασμού, Richard Wayne, και ο δήμαρχος Μελβούρνης, Robert Doyle, συχνά αναφέρονται στο γεγονός ότι η Μελβούρνη έχει εκατοντάδες εκτάρια γης, ακριβώς έξω από την πόρτα του Σίτι, στο κατώφλι της, συγκεκριμένα, τα οποία θα χρησιμοποιηθούν για νέα εμπορικά κέντρα και κατοικίες.

Το πιο γνωστό είναι το Docklands το οποίο έχει αναπτυχθεί κατά 60% και έχει ήδη εξασφαλίσει $10 δις από ιδιωτικά αναπτυξιακά έργα.

Με έκταση 190 εκταρίων, 10.000 κατοίκους και 53.000 θέσεις εργασίας, κορυφαίες εταιρίες όπως οι τράπεζες ANZ και ΝΑΒ, οι Medibank Private και Myer έχουν πλέον εκεί τη βάση τους.

Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι με την αποπεράτωση των έργων που εκτελούνται εκεί, το Docklands μέχρι το 2025 θα κατοικείται από 20.000 άτομα οι εργαζόμενοι δε εκεί θα ανέρχονται σε 60.000.

Αυτή τη στιγμή οικοδομούνται 14 μεγάλα έργα συνολικής αξίας άνω των $2.2 δις.

Μεταξύ άλλων, προγραμματίζεται να χτιστεί και ένας κινηματογράφος του συγκροτήματος Hoyts.

Όχι πολύ μακριά από το Docklands, απέναντι από το Footscray Rd., είναι το E-Gate, μια σχεδόν άγνωστη βιομηχανική περιοχή, η οποία σχεδιάζεται να στεγάσει σταδιακά 10.000 κατοίκους.

Λίγο πιο κάτω βρίσκεται το Arden-Macaulay, μια περιοχή του North Melbourne, που μια μέρα θα αποτελεί προέκταση του σίτι.

Θα έχει τρία νέα εμπορικά κέντρα και πέντε νέα πάρκα, η κυβέρνηση δε έχει ήδη διαβεβαιώσει ότι εκεί θα έχει τη βάση του ο νέος υπόγειος σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός.

ΟΙΚΟΔΟΜΙΚΟΣ ΟΡΓΑΣΜΟΣ

Ωστόσο, ο μεγαλύτερος οικοδομικός οργασμός στη Μελβούρνη, όταν μιλάμε για αστικά κέντρα, αλλά και στην Αυστραλία γενικότερα, εκτιμάται ότι σημειώνεται στο Fisherman’s Bend, μια έκταση 455 εκταρίων, νότια του ποταμού Yarra και δυτικά του Southbank, ακριβώς έξω από την πόρτα του σίτι.

Αξίζει να αναφερθεί, ότι μέχρι στιγμής, έχουν δοθεί το λιγότερο 15 άδειες οι οποίες συμπεριλαμβάνουν 20 περίπου ουρανοξύστες, ύψους μεταξύ 20 και 49 ορόφων, καθώς και άλλες μικρότερες οικοδομές. Μέχρι τον περασμένο Ιούνιο, είχαν υποβληθεί 23 άλλες αιτήσεις για 26 ουρανοξύστες στην ίδια περιοχή.

Εκείνο που προγραμματίζεται, όπως φαίνεται, είναι η Μελβούρνη να αποτελείται από διάφορα αστικά κέντρα στα οποία τα καταστήματα, τα σχολεία, τα πάρκα, οι χώροι εργασίας και κοινωνικών υπηρεσιών θα βρίσκονται σε απόσταση 20 λεπτών από το κατώφλι των κατοίκων της περιοχής.

Ένα αστικό μικρό κέντρο που δημιουργείται αυτή τη στιγμή βόρεια της Μελβούρνης είναι το Cloverton, βόρεια του Craigeburn.

Αναφέρεται ότι όταν θα ολοκληρωθούν τα έργα, σε 30 περίπου χρόνια, θα είναι το μεγαλύτερο αστικό κέντρο που έχει δημιουργηθεί στη Βικτώρια, εμπλουτισμένο με οκτώ σχολεία, πανεπιστήμιο, πάρκα και πληθυσμό άνω των 30.000 κατοίκων.

ΣΤΟ ΠΑΡΕΛΘΟΝ ΟΙ ΜΟΝΟΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΕΣ

Οι μονοκατοικίες, όπως τις ξέρουμε σήμερα, θα ανήκουν στο παρελθόν, καθώς τη θέση τους θα έχουν καταλάβει διαμερίσματα.

Το μέλλον θα βρει τους Μελβουρνιώτες να βλέπουν προς τα πάνω, όπως περισσότερες από 1,5 εκατ. νέες κατοικίες που θα χρειαστούν μέχρι το 2050 θα είναι σε διαμερίσματα μεσαίας πυκνότητας.

Διαμερίσματα αυτού του τύπου, σε οικοδομές τριών ή τεσσάρων ορόφων, βλέπουμε ήδη να «φυτρώνουν» σε προάστια, όπως τα East Brunswick, East Coburg και Camberwell.

Ο καθηγητής Κοινωνιολογίας, Brendan Gleeson, επικεφαλής του Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute του Πανεπιστημίου Μελβούρνης, μας πληροφορεί ότι νέα προάστια εξακολουθούν να γεννιούνται.

«Μέχρι το 2050, η Μελβούρνη δεν θα στοιβάζει τους νέους κατοίκους της σε πλαστικούς, ανώνυμους πύργους. Αντίθετα, θα έχει βρει πώς να δημιουργεί περιοχές μεσαίας πυκνότητας και μικρών αποστάσεων με θέσεις εργασίας και άριστο συγκοινωνιακό δίκτυο.

Το θερμότερο, άστατο κλίμα, θα αντιμετωπιστεί μ’ ένα εντυπωσιακό έργο δημιουργίας πράσινου το οποίο θα εξασφαλίζει δροσιά, ενώ θα τέρπει και από αισθητικής πλευράς» τόνισε ο ίδιος.

ΤΟ ΝΕΟ ΠΡΟΣΩΠΟ ΤΟΥ DANDENONG

Το Dandenong -το οποίο ήδη έχει πάρει νέα όψη, με την κεντρική οδό, Lonsdale, να στολίζεται από πράσινο-, προβλέπεται ότι στο μέλλον θα πάρει τον ανεπίσημο τίτλο της πρωτεύουσας των νοτιοανατολικών προαστίων. Πάρα πολλά έργα έχουν ολοκληρωθεί, ενώ άλλα βρίσκονται σε εξέλιξη, προσδίδοντας νέα δυναμική στο προάστιο και καθιστώντας το πόλο έλξης πολλών που επιδιώκουν σήμερα να βρουν εργασία εκεί, να μείνουν μόνιμα ή απλώς να το επισκεφθούν.

Ένα άλλο προάστιο το οποίο αναπτύσσεται στα δυτικά της Μελβούρνης, είναι το Cairnlea το οποίο βρίσκεται εκεί που ήταν, πριν χρόνια, εργοστάσιο εκρηκτικών υλών,το Albion Explosives Factory, το οποίο ήταν σε λειτουργία από το 1940 μέχρι το 1980.

Σήμερα σφύζει από ζωή, το ένα τρίτο δε της έκτασης έχει πάρκα και ανοιχτούς χώρους για σπορ και αθλοπαιδιές.

Το πρόσωπο της Μελβούρνης, όπως φαίνεται, αλλάζει μεθοδικά όσο και δραστικά, φέρνοντας τις μελλοντικές γενιές κοντά στην εποχή των ηλεκτρονικών, άνευ οδηγού, οχημάτων.

Στόχος, η Μελβούρνη, να εξακολουθήσει να είναι μία από τις πλέον βιώσιμες πόλεις του κόσμου.

Τα βραχυπρόθεσμα, όσο και μακροπρόθεσμα σχέδια, την οδηγούν, όπως φαίνεται, με ασφάλεια εκεί.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Thanasis Lyberis during shooting with fellow actor George Rigas while making a film about the Foreign Legion. Lyberis set out at the start of the 1900s from Vasilitsi, a very poor village in the southern part of Messinia in the Peloponnese, and went through hell and high water to reach America.

What does the phrase “Hollywood Greeks” bring to mind? For most, it’s probably Greek-American film stars such as Olympia Dukakis or Zach Galifianakis or directors such as Alexander Payne.

That’s today. About a century ago, however, when Greeks left for America simply in hopes of making a living, things were much different. Usually farmers or fortune hunters, the emigrants of the early 20th century ended up doing all sorts of odd jobs and some of them managed to make it into the then-newly established capital of the film industry. Today, poet, writer and researcher Fontas Landis is ready to present the untold tale of the Greeks in the exciting early days of Hollywood using photographs from the archive of one of those pioneers.

Thanasis Lyberis set out at the start of the 1900s from Vasilitsi, a very poor village in the southern part of Messinia in the Peloponnese, and went through hell and high water to reach America. There, like thousands of other Greeks, he went from job to job, struggling to make a living. Eventually, however, he managed not just to survive, but also to amass the experience of three or four lifetimes. His glory days were undoubtedly those he spent working in Hollywood.

Starting out as a stunt man and extra, the intrepid Greek played roles – including female parts – in dozens of films, working with some of the greats of the time, such as Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, John Gilbert, Ramon Novarro and many, many more. Lyberis also got the opportunity to rub shoulders with other prominent figures of the time, among them Albert Einstein, William Saroyan, Bernard Shaw and Walt Disney.

The photographic archive Lyberis compiled, in combination with Landis’s recordings of conversations with him shortly before his death, are significant not just because of these personages but also because they give us images of and information about other Greeks who were working in Hollywood at the time and whose names have been more or less forgotten today. William Nickle (Nikolopoulos) from Aigio, Giorgos Stamatopoulos, or George Stam, from Galaxidi, and Giorgos Koundouros from Crete were all friends of Lyberis.

Their signed photographs are moving because they bring to life the people of a heroic age, people who struggled, together with so many others, to achieve the American dream.

Landis is working with the nonprofit organization Mnimes (Memories), which manages the archive, to publish as much of the material as possible. This effort will start with the publication of a coffee-table book in 2016 on the Greeks of Hollywood. There are also efforts under way to create a small museum to display the material, which were initiated by Landis during a recent trip to Los Angeles, where he mobilized a number of Greeks to form a committee headed by the director of the Hellenic Library of Southern California, Philip Trevezas.

The final project in this ambitious campaign to showcase Greek talent on and behind the silver screen is a documentary in which director Costas Vakas will follow in Lyberis’s footsteps from the small Peloponnesian village to Tinseltown.

“Almost all of these Greeks are practically unknown – in America at least, nobody knows who they are. Their portraits and the photographs from the films in which they acted are alone important testimonials that show, if nothing else, that these people existed,” says Landis.

The researcher hopes that the book will encourage more research into this fascinating chapter of the Greek diaspora. It would be an interesting challenge, for example, for someone to try locate the films they appeared in, even though it appears unlikely given that old film was often destroyed due to fire risk and the lack of storage space.

source:ekathimerini.com

A meteorite that was recently discovered in Australia is believed to be older than Earth.

The space rock came crashing down to our planet on November 27 last year.

Locals in the William Creek and Marree areas of South Australia saw it breaking through the atmosphere. It was also picked up by the Desert Fireball Network which monitors meteors over the outback.

Experts spent three days searching for it.

The meteorite was finally discovered 16.5 inches below thick salt lake mud – a few days later and it would have been washed away.

It’s thought to be 4.5 billion-years-old. The Earth is estimated to be a little bit older.

Phil Bland, from Curtin University, said: ‘It was an amazing team effort – we got there by the skin of our teeth.

‘This meteorite is of special significance as the camera observations used to calculate the fall positions have also enabled the solar system orbit of the meteorite to be calculated, giving important contextual information for future study.

‘It demonstrates beyond doubt that this giant machine that we’ve built really works.’

source:metro.co.uk

Six Victorian real estate agencies are under investigation for suspected underquoting, as the state property watchdog cracks down on the illegal practice.

Rising consumer complaints about underquoting sparked a statewide blitz last year, with the Victorian government ordering Consumer Affairs Victoria to conduct 200 surprise inspections.

Underquoting is when a salesperson advertises a price for a property that is less than the vendor is willing to consider – in order to encourage more buyers to look at the property.

The property watchdog has probed 340 recent property sales for signs of underquoting.

Six major investigations are now underway. The government has not identified the agencies being investigated but said they included franchisees from larger real estate agencies and smaller private operations.

The watchdog has also issued statutory notices demanding paperwork proving no unethical behaviour has occurred.

Consumer Affairs Minister Jane Garrett said surprise auction inspections would continue until July, targeting “hot spots” including the inner eastern suburbs.

“We are halfway through these inspections and the results will be used to inform any changes that are needed,” she said, adding the inspections may also lead to further prosecutions.

While the practice of underquoting can be “extremely difficult” to prove, Ms Garrett said current probes were closely monitoring the auction process from start to finish.

The watchdog is sifting through advertisements, emails and documents in a bid to identify agents that have underquoted.

“It is always going to be a difficult thing to prove but we have to do better than we’ve done,” Ms Garrett said.

Consumer Affairs Victoria received 120 complaints of alleged underquoting or price misrepresentation in the 2014-15 financial year. Complaints have steadily risen since 2011-12, when just 20 complaints were registered, prompting the government to clampdown on the practice.

“We know this is a problem and it can be heartbreaking for potential buyers who are lured in by these tactics,” Ms Garrett said.

Asked if agents could simply stop listing reserve prices ahead of auctions, Ms Garrett suggested future reforms would aim to tackle loopholes.

The head of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria Enzo Raimondo said he supports any compliance activity the CAV undertakes.

“We’re not going to stand by any agent that has deliberately done the wrong thing,” he said.

But Mr Raimondo also said the issue of underquoting needed to be understood in the context of a rising market.

“Even vendors and agents are surprised at some of the prices paid in 2015, especially with a strong overseas investment market,” he said.

Under the current rules, a reserve can be set by a vendor on the day of an auction and it can be higher than the advertised price if interest is strong.

However if a vendor tells their agent the reserve price during the listing campaign, the agent cannot advertise the property below that figure.

The state government is currently reviewing property laws in Victoria, including the conduct of real estate agents and agencies.

It comes as new figures show that in the last two years, 1676 complaints against real estate agents have been lodged.

Agents in Melbourne, Wantirna, South Melbourne, Doncaster East and South Yarra have received the most complaints.

source:theage.com.au

Rarely have financial markets had a more traumatic start to the year. Shares plunged, the price of oil clattered to its lowest level in 11 years, trading on the Chinese stock market was halted twice, and the World Bank warned that a “perfect storm” might be brewing.

George Osborne chose his moment well to go public with his concern that the UK faces a “cocktail of threats”. In addition to the $2tn wiped off global stock markets, the North Koreans claimed they had exploded a hydrogen bomb and relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran worsened markedly.

On the face of it, there seems no reason why the global markets should remain depressed. Rising oil prices have traditionally been associated with recessions, so a drop of more than two-thirds in the cost of a barrel of crude should, logically, be good for growth. Cheaper energy means lower costs for businesses and additional spending power for consumers. There are winners and losers from a falling oil price but on balance the impact should be positive.

What’s more, it could be that the gloom about China is overdone. The slowdown in the rate of growth is not just intentional but desirable. Should the economy cool more quickly than planned, Beijing has plenty of power to ensure there is no hard landing: it can boost public spending; it can push the currency lower to boost exports; it can cut interest rates.

Trading on the Chinese stock market was a farce. “Circuit breakers” were introduced at the start of the year to prevent turbulence, used twice to stop investors selling shares, and then abruptly dumped at the end of last week. But the chaos needs to be put into perspective. Only the rich play on the Chinese stock market and their activities have little bearing on corporate investment. Share prices rose by 150% between June 2014 and May 2015: events since have seen the froth blown off the market, but the wider implications for China, let alone the rest of the world, are negligible.

The US-based fund manager Blackrock remains sanguine about the prospects for 2016, seeing events of the past week as akin to the brief period of turmoil last August rather than the start of a bear market. “On balance, the US economy is in decent shape (outside of manufacturing) and economic conditions in Europe are improving as well. The declines in these markets may have more to do with sentiment than substance,” it said.

There is, though, an alternative – and much darker – interpretation of the events of the past week, which begins and ends with China.

Rapid growth in what is now the world’s second-biggest economy helped prevent a second Great Depression in 2008-09, but there was a heavy price to pay. China spent public money lavishly – often on pointless projects – and by making credit cheap and abundant it set off a property boom. There has been misallocation of capital on a colossal scale, resulting in empty office blocks and unproductive factories.

Laura Eaton of Fathom Consulting says Beijing has hit the panic button: “In our view, the ongoing series of stimulus measures employed by the Chinese government merely highlights their discomfort. Quite simply, we believe that their actions belie their words. China is suffering a hard landing.”

Eaton expects the People’s Bank of China to devalue its currency aggressively over the coming months. The impact of that would be to flood the global economy with cut-price Chinese goods, putting added pressure on competing developing nations and turning ultra-low inflation to outright deflation in the west.

All this would happen at a time when other central banks and finance ministries are low on ammunition. In previous economic cycles, countries have gone into recessions with healthy public finances and relatively high levels of interest rates. That has allowed public spending to rise, taxes to be cut and the cost of borrowing to be lowered. Almost seven years into the recovery from the downturn of 2008-09, interest rates in the developed world are barely above zero and the repair job on public finances remains unfinished.

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said last week the global economy would remain fragile in 2016. She said there was likely to be an “increased divergence” in monetary policy in developed countries. The fund thinks the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank will be providing extra stimulus at a time when the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are pushing up interest rates. In the past, this has tended to be a recipe for trouble in the markets.

Lagarde also predicted that China’s attempt to rebalance its economy towards consumer spending rather than exports would prove a bumpy process rather than a trouble-free one: the transition was leading to lower demand for commodities, with knock-on effects for those countries producing oil and industrial metals.

Pressures on commodity producers are already evident. Russia and Brazil are in recession; Saudi Arabia has announced an austerity budget and is planning to sell a stake in its state-owned oil company Aramco. If the Saudis are feeling the pinch from an oil price that has fallen from $115 a barrel in August 2014 to $33 a barrel on Friday, other countries in the emerging world are probably getting close to breaking point.

The last time the developing world was in crisis, Alan Greenspan, the then chairman of the US Federal Reserve, rode to the rescue with cuts in interest rates. The dotcom bubble resulted, and when that went pop Greenspan responded by again slashing interest rates. That led to the US sub-prime housing bubble. When that went pop, China came to the rescue while the west sorted out its wrecked banking system.

So what happens if the first week of 2016 is more than a temporary wobble? More quantitative easing? Negative interest rates? Helicopter drops of money? Nobody really knows. As Sir Alex Ferguson once said: this is squeaky bum time.

source:theguardian.com

Χάρη στον Ελληνοαυστραλό γυναικολόγο Κωνσταντίνο Πάντο

Αυξάνονται και πληθύνονται τα Αυστραλεζάκια που γεννιούνται στην Ελλάδα με τη μέθοδο της εξωσωματικής γονιμοποίησης.

Ήδη ο αριθμός των παιδιών της Αυστραλίας που έχουν γεννηθεί στην Ελλάδα εκτιμάται γύρω στις τρεις χιλιάδες!

Αυτό, τουλάχιστον, υποστηρίζει ο Ελληνοαυστραλός γυναικολόγος Δρ Κωνσταντίνος Πάντος, ο οποίος αυτές τις μέρες βρέθηκε στην Αυστραλία με τα οκτώ παιδιά του και την σύζυγό του, Ευαγγελία.

«Ήρθαμε για να πάρουμε οξυγόνο από την Αυστραλία» λέει στο «Νέο Κόσμο» ο διακεκριμένος επιστήμονας, σημειώνοντας ότι όλα τα παιδιά του, αν και γεννήθηκαν στην Ελλάδα, «είναι Αυστραλοί πολίτες».

Ο ίδιος νοίκιασε ένα μίνι-μπας (με οδηγό τον ίδιο) και έδειξε στα παιδιά και την σύζυγό του (τους οποίους φέρνει συχνά-πυκνά στην Αυστραλία) τα αξιοθέατα της «δεύτερης πατρίδας τους».

Παράλληλα, βεβαίως, προώθησε και την ελληνική «εξαγωγή» επιστημονικής τεχνογνωσίας στον τομέα της Ανθρώπινης Αναπαραγωγής, καθώς όλο και περισσότερα ζευγάρια επιλέγουν την εξωσωματική γονιμοποίηση.

Όπως λέει ο Έλληνας επιστήμονας, μπορεί στην Ελλάδα της οικονομικής κρίσης πολλοί παραγωγικοί τομείς να έχουν πληγεί ανεπανόρθωτα, ωστόσο υπάρχουν και κάποιοι που όχι απλώς «ανθούν» αλλά εδραιώνουν τη χώρα διεθνώς. Ο επιστημονικός τομέας της Ανθρώπινης Αναπαραγωγής εδώ και χρόνια έχει φέρει την Ελλάδα στο επίκεντρο της ιατρικής πρωτοπορίας, χάρη στις επιτυχίες των Ελλήνων γιατρών με εξειδίκευση στην ιατρικώς υποβοηθούμενη αναπαραγωγή.

Πρωτοπόρος σε αυτή την προσπάθεια είναι ο Δρ Κωνσταντίνος Πάντος, με σχεδόν 30 χρόνια πείρας στη Μαιευτική και Γυναικολογία και 25 χρόνια ως ειδικός στην αντιμετώπιση της υπογονιμότητας και γενικός γραμματέας της Ελληνικής Εταιρείας Αναπαραγωγικής Ιατρικής.

Ο Κωνσταντίνος Πάντος γεννήθηκε στην Αυστραλία (Μελβούρνη), αλλά έλαβε το πτυχίο της Ιατρικής από το Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών το 1981. Ειδικεύτηκε στη Μαιευτική-Γυναικολογία στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών και το 1988 του απονεμήθηκε ο τίτλος του Διδάκτορα της Ιατρικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου. Εξειδικεύτηκε, όμως, στον τομέα της ιατρικώς υποβοηθούμενης αναπαραγωγής στο Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Το 1994, ο Δρ Πάντος ίδρυσε το Κέντρο Ανθρώπινης Αναπαραγωγής, μια ιδιωτική μονάδα αντιμετώπισης της ανθρώπινης υπογονιμότητας, η οποία τώρα είναι μια από τις μεγαλύτερες, πιο ολοκληρωμένες, εξειδικευμένες μονάδες παροχής υπηρεσιών γονιμότητας στην Ευρώπη με πάνω από 4000 κύκλους IVF ετησίως.

Δέχεται υπογόνιμα ζευγάρια από ολόκληρο τον κόσμο, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της Ευρώπης, της Αυστραλίας και των ΗΠΑ. Μόνο στην Αυστραλία, κατά τη διάρκεια των πέντε τελευταίων ετών, χιλιάδες μωρά έχουν γεννηθεί από ζευγάρια τα οποία υποβλήθηκαν σε IVF διαδικασίες στην εν λόγω μονάδα.

Το 2004, ο Δρ Πάντος ίδρυσε την Κλινική «ΓΕΝΕΣΙΣ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ», μια ιδιωτική Μεικτή Χειρουργική Κλινική η οποία έκανε τη διαφορά στον τομέα της υγείας. Είναι μια σύγχρονη Κλινική, η οποία διαθέτει εξοπλισμό και εργαλεία τελευταίας τεχνολογίας, στελεχωμένη με κορυφαίους Έλληνες επιστήμονες της ιατρικής με σκοπό την ικανοποίηση αναγκών για υπηρεσίες υψηλής εξειδίκευσης και χειρουργικές τεχνικές «μονοήμερης νοσηλείας στην Κλινική». Η Κλινική διαθέτει Μονάδα IVF, Χειρουργικό Τμήμα, Γυναικολογικό Τμήμα, Μικροβιολογικό και Βιοχημικό Εργαστήριο και Τμήμα Πλαστικής Χειρουργικής.

Μέχρι σήμερα, εκτός από την ΓΕΝΕΣΙΣ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ και το Κέντρο Ανθρώπινης Αναπαραγωγής, ο Δρ Πάντος έχει ιδρύσει αρκετές σύγχρονες μονάδες IVF σε διάφορες περιοχές της Ελλάδας: στον Βόλο (1995-2012), στα Ιωάννινα (1996-έως σήμερα) και στην Πάτρα (2007-2011), φέρνοντας τη θεραπεία της υπογονιμότητας πλησιέστερα στις ασθενείς σε ολόκληρη την Ελλάδα.

Ο ίδιος λέει ότι η Ανθρώπινη Αναπαραγωγή μπορεί να αποτελέσει πρόσφορο έδαφος για ανάπτυξη του Ιατρικού Τουρισμού στην Ελλάδα, αλλά και της ενίσχυσης της συνεργασίας ιδιωτικού και δημοσίου τομέα και σημειώνει:

«Την Κλινική «ΓΕΝΕΣΙΣ» επισκέπτονται ζευγάρια από 32 χώρες, τα οποία βοηθάμε να γευτούν τη χαρά της μητρότητας και της πατρότητας, αντίστοιχα, που τόσο πολύ αναζητούν, έχω κάθε λόγο να πιστεύω ότι έχει δημιουργηθεί μια ιδιαίτερα θετική εικόνα για την Ελλάδα στον τομέα αυτό. Εξάλλου, δεν είναι λίγα τα πρωτοσέλιδα στον διεθνή Τύπο, καθώς και τα ρεπορτάζ σε διεθνή ειδησεογραφικά μέσα που προβάλλουν τις επιτυχίες τη χώρας μας στην αναπαραγωγική ιατρική.

Δοθείσης της ευκαιρίας να υπενθυμίσουμε μεταξύ άλλων ότι, από εμάς γεννήθηκε το πρώτο παιδί στον κόσμο με βιοψία βλαστοκύστεων, απαλλαγμένο από μεσογειακή αναιμία το 2004, επίσης εδώ γεννήθηκε το πρώτο παιδί στον κόσμο, απαλλαγμένο από χρόνια κοκκιωματώδη νόσο (που παράλληλα με μεταμόσχευση βλαστικών κυττάρων έσωσε το πάσχον αδελφάκι του το 2005), ενώ στην Ελλάδα πραγματοποιήθηκε και η πρώτη εγκυμοσύνη μετά από προεμφυτευτική διάγνωση όλων των χρωμοσωμάτων με τη μέθοδο Array-CGH, το 2010.

Συνεπώς, η Ελλάδα αποτελεί πόλο έλξης για τα υπογόνιμα ζευγάρια γεγονός που όχι μόνο βοηθά να δοθεί χαρά και ελπίδα σ’ αυτά τα ζευγάρια αλλά έχει πολλαπλά οφέλη για την οικονομία».

Ο Δρ Πάντος λέει πως τα προβλήματα υπογονιμότητας είναι σήμερα συχνότερα.

«Tα προβλήματα υπογονιμότητας είναι συχνότερα και αυτό οφείλεται αφενός στις διαφορετικές προτεραιότητες, τόσο του άνδρα, όσο και της γυναίκας, οι οποίοι καθυστερούν να δημιουργήσουν οικογένεια, με αποτέλεσμα να μειώνεται η γονιμοποιητική ικανότητα, κυρίως στις γυναίκες. Ωστόσο, τα τελευταία χρόνια, παρουσιάζονται αυξημένα προβλήματα γονιμότητας και στους άνδρες, εξαιτίας κυρίως του σύγχρονου τρόπου διαβίωσης, της καθιστικής ζωής, των φυτοφαρμάκων που περνούν στην τροφική αλυσίδα και της μόλυνσης του περιβάλλοντος» τονίζει.

Και συμπληρώνει ότι ο κόσμος συνειδητοποίησε πως η εξωσωματική γονιμοποίηση δεν είναι κάτι «εκτός φύσης» αλλά απλά αποτελεί διευκόλυνση της γονιμοποίησης των γαμετών και παράκαμψη διαφόρων προβλημάτων στο αναπαραγωγικό σύστημα.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος