Mystery prevails in Ioannina surrounding the death of an 88-year-old man, whose body was found by police outside his home last night.
According to first estimations, the man may have been injured by a hunting gun. The gun and bullets were found and confiscated by authorities at the man’s home. Investigations regarding the cause of death are continuing, but the possibility of murder has been eliminated.
The exhibition “Syrtari XXII- Photos Decomposing” of the Benaki Museum in the Bazaios Tower is enjoying great popularity with a large influx of visitors as part of the 11th Naxos Festival. The “Syrtari XXII” exhibition will remain open to the public until the 2nd of September, with working hours 10:00-17:00 every day.
After visiting Elounda and Skiathos, Sakis Rouvas and Katia Zygouli, with their little daughter Anastasia, visited Corfu. Little Anastasia had the chance to enjoy her grandparents’ company and to play with them. Katia, who is in the late months of pregnancy, took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the sea and the sun as well, riding her jet ski and playing in the sea despite her condition. The photographic lens of “Hello” magazine identified them during their stay at the island of Corfu enjoying the island’s beauties and cuisine.
Turmoil goes on in Athens although there has been a big pause due to the holiday of August 15th. Yesterday evening, August 16th, a group of young people used a Molotov cocktail to attack riot police guarding PASOK offices on Navarinou Street in Exarchia.
No one was injured in the attack and no arrests were made. The authorities have made no further announcement or estimations concerning the event.
For many it is the most enchanting of the Greek Islands; for some, a favorite across the entire planet. On the island of Santorini, man and nature live in harmony. Born from the fires of a volcano, today it is a land of sea and wind with picture-postcard villages dotted on its rocky cliffs. The Phoenicians knew it as Kalliste – “the beautiful” – even without the pretty whitewashed villages that now dot the island’s dark volcanic cliffs, adding to its picturesque charm. The crescent-shaped island officially known as Thira or Thera, is the largest of the Santorini archipelago and extends its embrace halfway round a sea-flooded volcanic caldera. Some three thousand years ago, a huge volcanic eruption destroyed the civilisation of ancient Thera, giving rise to the myth of Atlantis, the legendary culture whose splendour was swallowed up by the sea in an apocalyptic cataclysm. However far-fetched the ancient accounts, there is little doubt that around 1500 BC Santorini was in fact half sunk in the sea, and that the present day morphology of the cluster of islands is a result. There’s only one downside to Santorini, the finest gem in the scattered treasure trove of the Cyclades group of islands, which dot the Aegean Sea off mainland Greece: its popularity. In summer, planes, ferries and cruise-ships disgorge hordes of tourists who head for the cable car, donkey taxi or – the bravest – on foot from the port to the centre of Fira, the capital, in search of the most photogenic spots, hoping to capture and carry away on film a fragment of the island’s beauty. And photo opportunities abound: the town is a picture postcard cluster of square, whitewashed houses perched on the edge of the abyss, blue-domed roofs and windmills, as well as pretty inns and taverns that the locals cede to the invading tourists in the high season. Santorini is home to Oia, one of the prettiest villages in the whole Mediterranean, famed for its stunning sunsets. And if you have the good luck to spend a few days on the island, don’t forget to visit the tiny medieval village of Pyrgos, with its steep labyrinthine streets, and the hidden fishermen’s taverns of the little port of Armeni, the Black Beach at Perivolos – named for the colour of the pebbles that lie on the shore – or the pretty Red Beach near the archaeological site at Akrotiri, where the remains of a Minoan settlement destroyed by the volcano were discovered buried by lava. There’s also that incredible, breath-taking view over the volcanic caldera visible from the village of Imerovigli. From here, you can follow a beautiful two-hour walk to Oia, set right on the edge of the cliff. And this is the setting and scenery where the A-listers escape the hordes of summer: from Versace, Gaultier and Moschino to Harvey Keitel and Hugh Jackman, the fashionable and the famous have added the glamour of their presence to the legendary suites of the Tsitouras Collection on this ancient and mythical island. THE PRACTICALITIES Getting there
During the summer, a number of airlines run charter flights to the island, including EasyJet, who fly direct to Santorini Thira Airport from London Gatwick. Alternatively, fly to Athens, and from there on to Santorini with Olympic Airways or Aegean Airlines or connect from one of the other islands such as Mykonos or Rhodes. Many of the islands are also connected by ferry or by boat. Getting around
There are public buses and metered taxis (sometimes shared) available on the island, or you can rent a car. Best time
to visit
From April to November the island is at its best, but try and avoid the summer peak season as some of the magic is inevitably lost in the crowds of visitors. Where to sleep
Set around a mansion dating from 1780, the five suites of the Tsitouras Collection are perched atop a thousand-foot cliff and have welcomed many famous names. The Mystique, too, with just 22 suites and villas and a breath-taking infinity swimming-pool looks out over the Aegean from the cliffs of Oia. The recently redesigned Chromata Hotel offers a glamorous contemporary ambiance, while the ultimately romantic Grace Santorini Hotel, in Imerovigli in the northwest of the island is a perfect location from which to view those magnificent sunsets. The modern resort facilities of Vedema are backed by the reputation of Starwood Hotels, while the stylish Kirini, is a member of Relais & Châteaux. Where to eat Among the best restaurants on the island is Papagalos, in Oia, serving Greek cuisine with an innovative touch. Also in Oia, the award-winning 1800, located in a neoclassical mansion, and in Pyrgos, recently relocated to new premises, Selene. Don’t miss The boat trip around the islets that dot the flooded caldera of the still-active volcano: you can bathe in the warm waters and round of the excursion with a tasty meal of fresh seafood or fish on the charming neighbouring isle of Thirassia.
The mayors of Marousi, Galatsi, Pefki-Lykovrysi, Oropos and Perama have asked the State Council to cancel the decision of the Ministry of Interior, Economics and Labor regarding the mayor’s office incompatibility. According to “Kallikratis” plan, the mayors of municipalities which have more than 10,000 habitants cannot exercise their professions during their term of office. The mayors claim that this an indirect, unjustified and anticonstitutional restriction of their rights in being elected if imposed, and successful professionals will be discouraged from getting involved in politics. In addition, they believe this ministerial decision violates the principles of equality and proportionality and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Greek Yoghurt “Chobani” rakes the American market. The company belongs to the 39-year-old Turkish descent Hamdi Ulukaya.
Hamdi Ulukaya came to the United States from Turkey in 1997 to learn English and continue his education at the University at Albany. A visit from his father changed the direction of his life.
With his father’s support and encouragement he came to the conclusion that the American Market did not have enough dairy products, and so he made the decision to change this. It would be expected that the CEO would be a Greek but this is not true. The Turkish managed to conquer the American market.
His company is developing with only 6 years of production. Although there has been great competition amongchains of dairy products such as Kraft and Danone, Hamdi s Ulukaya’s company remains the champion among them. Last year his profits were more than $ 257,3 million, an increase of 225% from 2009.
France and Germany Wednesday upped the pressure on their euro zone peers to improve fiscal discipline in the bloc by cutting the region΄s wayward spenders off from key European Union transfer funds.
In a letter sent to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel recommended that payments from the EU aid fund΄s to euro area members states with “excessive budget deficits” be suspended.
They also said that money from EU structural and cohesion funds not used by euro area countries receiving bailout money should be pooled in a new fund. This new fund should be managed by the European Commission in order to bolster growth and improve competitiveness in the euro zone, Sarkozy and Merkel wrote in the letter.
These proposals are part of a wider initiative unveiled Tuesday by France and Germany to improve governance in the euro zone in a bid to ease market fears that debt woes from the region΄s weakest peripheral countries will spread to the core of the region.
Among Sarkozy΄s and Merkel΄s main proposals is the creation of a new job of euro zone president to help better coordinate macro economic policies in the bloc, to hold regular meetings of euro zone leaders and to closely coordinate French and German budget planning.
(source: Dow Jones)
The Bakker couple from the Netherlands visited Crete for the first time 20 years ago. They stayed in Hersonissos, but their trip to Elounda and Spinalonga was enough to make them love the place, according to anatolh.com.
Five years later, in 1996, when their first child was born, they decided to name the baby Elounda!
According to an article published in e-typos. com, fifteen Turkish officers and soldiers were wounded by an accidental shot during a landing exercise on one of the islands of the Aegean Sea.
Instead of shooting to hit the target, the projectile hit the podium where the Turkish officers were observing the exercise. Due to the nature of the accident , the nature of accident is suspicious.
The timing of the exercise raises concern, as it coincided with the Turkish threats against Cyprus in view of the drilling in localized deposits of natural gas in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the innuendo from the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to take military action if the Cypriot Government does not proceed to it.
According to reliable sources, both Athens and Nicosia are very concerned about the threats of their neighbor, and do not exclude the possibility that they view the economic downturn in Greece and Cyprus as a national weakness, and therefore take all measures at diplomatic and operational level, because,as they say, there will be any decline in face of Turkish provocations.
Vice President of New Democracy Dimitris Avramopoulos, commenting on a statement about Turkish provocations, urges Ankara to respect international law: ”The reactions of the Turkish government and Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding surveys on hydrocarbons promoted by Cyprus on her marine area are illegal and unfounded. The fact that Turkey characterised licenses given by the Cypriot government for underwater research to U.S. companies as ”illegal”, exposes Turkey in a negative way, regarding its commitment to international law and international legitimacy.
Regardless of what Turkey wants to believe, or pretends to believe, the government of an independent and sovereign state, member of the UN and the European Union, has every legal right to act so at international level, as it is the sole internationally recognized authority that represents in terms of international legitimacy, the whole of Cyprus and its people. “
