The government on Tuesday imposed price ceilings on unleaded gas in thirteen prefectures in Greece, without an expiration date. This will become effective as of Wednesday.
A ceiling is also imposed for the first time, on wholesale unleaded prices in five of the 13 prefectures affected by the retail price ceiling.
Regional Development and Competitiveness Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis told a press conference that the ceiling enters into effect on Wednesday, and will not be removed until the prices fall and the problems caused by illicit competition are solved permanently.
The prefectures (and highest prices for unleaded recorded) affected by the ceiling are: Cyclades islands (1.724 euro per litre), Cephallonia (1.769 euro per litre), Corfu (1.765), Lesvos (1.722), Grevena (1.736), Evros (1.744), Evrytania (1.745), Fokida (1.735), the Dodecanese islands (1.724), Lassithi (Crete, 1.788), Rethymno (Crete, 1.774), Samos (1,734) and Chios 1.739).
The ceiling on wholesale prices was imposed on five of those prefectures: Dodecanese (1.654), Lassithi (1.718), Rethymno (1.704), Samos (1.664) and Chios (1.669).
(source: ana-mpa)
Unleaded Gas Ceiling Imposed without Expiration Date
Cyprus Federation of America Organizes Book Presentation, NYC
The Cyprus Federation of America has organized a book presentation, titled “Cyprus Diplomacy”, which will be held on Tuesday, the 10th of May 2011, at 6:00 pm. The event will be presented by Ambassador Sotos Zackheos.
Dody Tsiantar, journalist and adjunct professor at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will be the coordinator of the presentation. The event will also be attended by Peter Papanicolaou, President of the Cyprus Federation of America, his Excellency Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the U.N., his Excellency Ambassador Minas Hadjimichael, Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the U.N., his Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and by Dr. Christos Ioannides, Director of Byzantine Studies at Queens College.
The book presentation will take place at the Archdiocesan Cathedral Ballroom, 337 East 74 Street, New York.
For further information, contact the Cyprus Federation at 201.444.8237 or visit: cyprusfederation@aol.com.
Various Greeks Elected in Canada’s Historic Government Race
Canadians voted and offered the first majority government to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after a historic race, where party correlations were reversed and the New Democratic Party of Jack Layton was nominated by the Opposition. The Liberal Party sank, only occupying the third position and the separatist Bloc Québécois lost its power over Quebec. At 11:30 p.m. Conservatives were winning 168 seats (they had had 143), the New Democratic Party held 102 seats (it had had 47), the Liberals held 33 seats (they had had 77) and Bloch Québécois held 4 seats (it had had 36). During a historic reversal, at Scarborough-Agincourt of Ontario, Jim Karagiannis kept the seat of the Liberal Party, but John Kanis lost it at Scarborough-Centre. Costas Menegakis, President of Canada SAE, won for the first time the seat for the Conservatives at Richmond Hill of Ontario. Tony Clement of Cypriot descent, Minister of Conservative Party’s government, was re-elected in Parry Sound-Muskoka. Nicky Ashton of Greek descent was re-elected in Manitoba with the New Democratic Party.
Annual Conference of Federation of Cypriot Communities Held in Darwin
The annual national conference of The Federation of Cypriot Communities of Australia and New Zealand (PASEKA) will be held for a first time this year in Darwin. It will start on Friday, the 6th of May, launched with a cocktail party by the N.T. Government at Parliament House, and will finish on Sunday, the 8th of May. The Cypriot Community Club of Northern Territory will host the business aspect of the conference.
Amongst others, High Commissioner of Cyprus in Canberra Yannis Iacovou will give an opening address. Apart from the usual issues to be discussed, all participants will focus on the future visit of President Christofia to Australia in May. A discussion on the various concerns and the future of education, the Greek language and Cypriot culture in Australia and NZ will be high on the agenda. The aim is for Greek to be taught in all public schools.
Greek Wines Make Wine and Spirits Top 50 for First Time
Several Greek wines are listed on Wine & Spirits Top 50 list. This is said to be the first time in 22 years that Greek wines have made it to the Annual Restaurant Poll list.
About the poll, Wine & Spirits Senior Editor Tara Thomas said, “We’ve been following restaurant wine trends for 22 years at Wine & Spirits through our restaurant poll. Basically, we ask beverage managers at the best restaurants across the country what their guests are drinking—and you can bet their answers rarely included Greek wines a decade ago. That began to change a few years back, but there were never enough mentions to be statistically relevant until this year, when even restaurants like Charlie Trotter’s reported having great success selling Greek wines. Boutari, Skouras and Spiropoulos in fact, made the Restaurant Top 50, the collection of the 50 most popular wines across the board. This puts them in the same company as Veuve Clicquot, Shafer, Sonoma-Cutrer, Muga, Fonseca and other enormously popular, established brands. What a coup!”
Thomas also said in the interview that “Greece has more unique varieties than any country but Italy, which makes it one of the most exciting countries for a wine lover to explore . And it also has varieties that deserve to be considered as classic as any of the more typical classics.” She also stated that Greek wines, “ought to be a source of excitement for a long time, as it’s still so much in a period of exploration and discovery, and the wines that are have already been established as great (Santorini, Naoussa, Nemea) will continue to find themselves regularly listed at top restaurants with other wines from well-established regions.”
Michalis Ekonomou Appointed Art Director of Philharmonic Orchestra of Qatar
Young Greek musician Michalis Ekonomou will be the Art Director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Qatar, starting September 2011. Michalis Ekonomou directed the Philharmonic Orchestra of Qatar for the first time last January, playing works of Mitropoulos, Theodorakis, Debussy and Elgar. They also presented a work of the director, entitled “Δίηχον”, which was awarded at a composition competition in the U.S.A. The obligations of the Greek conductor include more than 15 concerts per year, as well as the whole art program of the orchestra. The Philharmonic orchestra of Qatar consists of very high-level musicians coming from all over the world and despite these people being young, they have cooperated with soloists and internationally acknowledged conductors, such as Maazel, Albrecht, Kitajenco, Gaffigan, Kalb and others. The orchestra is housed at the building of the Opera of Qatar’s capital, Doha. Michalis Economou has studied in Greece and the U.S.A. He is a conductor of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens and a Professor of the Music Department of the National Technical University of Athens. He has been honored with prizes at composition competitions, such as first prize at the international competition “Dimitris Mitropoulos”. Some of his works have been presented at Carnegie Hall and at the Athens Concert Hall.
Nostos Literary Contest Winners Announced, Buenos Aires
The Hellenic Cultural Association “Nostos” in Argentina has announced the winners of its 3rd international literary contest, with the theme of this year being “The Parthenon Marbles: The History of a Looting, or The Looting of History?”.
More than 350 essays, tales and poems in Greek, Spanish and English from five continents were entered in this year’s contest. It was organized by Nostos under the aegis of the Greek Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Argentinean national senate.
The first prize in the Greek language category went to Vayia Kapnia (Greece) for her work “Caryatid”, while second place was shared by Sonia Zacharatou (Greece) for her work “Selene’s Mourning” and Vassiliki Nevrokopli (Greece) for her work “Parthenon Marbles – The Petrified Fury”. Third place was shared by Dimitris Despotakis (Greece) for his work “In the Heavens on a Blonde Day” (Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin) and by Paraskevi Kostopetrou and Victoria Makri (Greece) for their work of “The Sacred Dance of the Caryatids”.
Honorable distinctions were also awarded to Antonia Georgedaki from Greece and Ioanna Georgikopoulou from France.
Special prizes were also awarded to three minors from Greece: Manolis Dikaiakos, Andreas Horakis and Nikolaos Xifaras.
The three top prizes in the Spanish language were awarded to Maria del Pilar Paz Manoso (Spain), Marta Silvia Dios Sanz (Greece) and Hector Manuel Taboada (Argentina).
The award-winning works will be published in a special anthology, together with the works receiving honorable mentions, including a tale by ANA-MPA journalists Alexandra Gouta.
This year’s contest opened up collaboration, for the first time, with overseas agencies working for the spread of Hellenic civilization and history, including the University of Chile’s “Fotios Malleros Center for Hellenic and Byzantine Studies”, the only such center in Latin America, established in 1968. Additional participants include the Association of Writers of Argentina, as well as the Association of Greek Writers and Authors of the Five Continents, the Diaspora Literary Stoa from Australia, and the Greek Community of Lima, in Peru.
“This year’s contest aims to unite all Greeks and non-Greeks with one voice, in a written appeal to the world of Letters, so as to vindicate the just national demand of Greece for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, by the British Museum to the New Acropolis Museum,” Nostos president Christina Tsardikos told ANA-MPA.
(source: ana-mpa)
Private U.S. & EU Universities Now Included in Greece's Life Long Learning Institutions Network
Private colleges providing tertiary-level education, mostly offering courses under franchise agreements with universities in the U.S. and European Union, have been made part of Greece’s Life Long Learning Institutions Network. This was based on a decision by the Education Ministry on Monday.
In order to be issued an operating licence they will now have to meet standards of quality laid down by the Ministry for the first time since such colleges first appeared in Greece nearly 50 years ago.
The criteria for issuing licences are outlined in the Ministerial decision published in the Government Gazette and concern the academic staff, the curriculum and the facilities available at such colleges.
(source: ana-mpa)
Great Greek Actor Thanasis Veggos Passes
Thanasis Veggos died today, on the 3nd of May 2011, due to serious health problems. Veggos was a great actor and director.
He was born on May 29, 1927 in Piraeus. Due to economic difficulties, he had to work since his childhood. On a personal level, he was exiled from 1948 to 1950 for political reasons. On Makronisos island, he met director Nikos Koundouros, who later gave him his debut movie role in Magiki Polis (1955). His first major role was in Psila ta Heria Hitler (“Hands Up, Hitler”) in 1962.
Extemporization, surreal humor and social criticism are the dominant elements in his films. He often played everyday characters struggling to get by. He has also portrayed anti-heroes, acted in entertaining dramas, and also performed in theatre productions, such as in Aristophanes’ comedies. His characters are often named Thanasis. A documentary of his life, which title translates as A Man for All Seasons, was produced in 2004. During the “Golden Sixties” of the Greek film industry, he made his most famous films such as Secret Agent 000, Enas Trellos Vengos and many others. Most of them were produced by his own company Θ-Β Comedy Films (Tainies Geliou)
In the year 2000, his car crashed into a train, but he survived. He later produced safety advertisements on the matter. Veggos was married and has two children. In 2008, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, thanks to his incomparable talent.
During the last decade, Veggos has starred in several extremely popular television series but was otherwise withdrawn from public life and never gave interviews or made public appearances. A notable exception was during a special commemorative event, held by the municipality of Piraeus on 2008, in which it was announced that the public square next to his childhood neighborhood would be renamed in his honor. Veggos, surrounded, by his wife Mina and two grandchildren, was deeply moved to tears by the gesture. Certainly, Greece has lost a most lovable and larger-than-life character.
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Ministry of Education Registers Greek Diaspora Teachers
The Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious affairs, is aiming for a better collaboration and employment of the Greek Diaspora and detached educators, to ensure interaction and feedback towards educational practices in Greece and the Diaspora.
Within the context of restructuring and an qualitative upgrade of Greek language education abroad, the Ministry intends to proceed to a mapping of Diaspora teachers and graduates from Greek or foreign accredited higher education institutions. All are criteria which represents a core qualification for appointment to primary or secondary education domestic posts.
Greek teachers abroad have been informed that they can submit a relevant application until the 9th of May to the competent Education Office.
Subsequently, Education Coordinators are required to compile relevant tables, illustrating the number of Diaspora teachers and dispatch them to the Competent Department of the Ministry.