“All around us here in the United States, we see the profound influence of Greek culture, art, and philosophy,” US Presdient Donald Trump said, welcoming members of the Greek-American community and guests to the White House….
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Greece as a Health Tourism destination included proudly in the World Tourism Health Map was presented in special events organised in Australia, in Sydeny and Melbourne ….
YoguDiet 2% stands for a year as the “Hot Trend” in the “packaging” and “healthy dairy” categories of TrendHunter.com. the world’s largest, most popular trend community with more than 60.000.000 views monthly .
More about the top innovative Greek yogurt with pharmaceutical activity, enriched with ….
Konstantinos Pantos (middle), Vice President of the Global Greek Doctoris Institute at the Health Tourism in Greece Ithaca Conference opening ceremony , with the President of Global Greek Doctors Institute George Patoulis (left) and Dionysis Stanitsas( right,) Mayor of Ithaca
Every day Konstantinos Pantos talks from his clinic in Athens via Skye, he explained, with couples that have heard for his fertility rejuvenating promising methods and results in their country , from all the continents of the globe, America, Canada, South America, Russia, China, Australia , even Mongolia, and who finally consider to try Greece to see their dream come true, ending most of the times with sucessful pregnancy and their babies born… .
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Professor Konstantinos Kouskoukis
The Beauty Of Kaimaktsalan, Greece
pebble beach near Agios Fokas, on the Dodecanese island of Kos, known as Bros Therma
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Greece is creating an international body of the local government for the Promotion and Development of Health and Medical Tourism in Greece which has been announced at the Special Thematic Conference on “Health Tourism: Engine of the National Economy’s Growth & Turning Greece into a top touristic destination all year round” in Ithaca, on Friday , May 26.
George Patoulis, President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece…
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Τhe first scientific congress on Health Travel to Greece “Health Tourism: Α Keystone of the National Economy Development and the Emergence of Greece to Top Health Travel Destination, 12 months a year round” , will be held 26 -27 May 2017 in Ithaca, organised by the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE) and the support of Athens Medical Association under the auspices of the President of Republic of Democracy of Greece, while the convention is hosted by the Municipality of Ithaca Ionian isl…
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Greece in the Heart of Chicago , Athens Medical Association Conference for Health Tourism in Greece , George Patoulis by the President of Greek American Community in Chicago, on special ceremony honoring Grecee’s Independence heroes, April 28, 2017
Uniting Greek Brains of today’s Medicine of the world from the country that gave birth to Medicine for the world , in Chicago , April 29, 2017 #HealthTourim #Greece
George Patoulis, Head of Greece’s Initiative for Heath Tourism in Greece, with Greek Minister of Maritime and Island Policy Panagiotis Kouroublis, at the ceremony for Greece’s Independence Heroes in the heart of Chicago
Greek Diaspora representative from the medical , political and business communities in Chicago attending the two days Health Tourism in Greece conference in Chicago, April 28,29
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Arrival of #HolyFire in Athens Easter 2016
Venizelos Airport , Easter,Holy Saturday, 2016
It’s not the first time for political Atheists in Greece, this time faithfuls consider it blasphemy ……
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The best resorts that come with the best views for 2017’s luxurytravelblog voted list, try to incorporate their surroundings into the complex and add to the view, rather than highlight the resort and take away from it. Santorini’s….
A group of friends in NSW with a keen interest in Lesvos have been working diligently to present A Taste of Lesvos on Sunday 2 April 2017 as part of the Greek Festival,
Sydney, 1946. Panagiotis Angelis and Efstratios Mihailaros, of Agia Paraskevi, arrive in Sydney and are welcomed by “horiani”.
Lesvos, Mindfulness for Impression : How Claire Lloyd made it home here…
Mytilenian Brotherhood of Sydney & NSW on the celebration of the 104th Anniversary of the liberation of the Island Lesvos., November 8th, 2016
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The Greek President of Athens Medical Association George Patoulis who leads Greece’s Initiative on Medical Tourism, has sought support from the corners of earth where the Greek Diaspora is found. In Montreal Canada, where a two days conference takes place on the Prospects of Medical Tourism in Greece, Patoulis asked personally from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau his support…
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A warm handshake in the White House , personally by the US President Donald Trump
The Pride is double among our Greek Communities of the Diaspora, where Greece’s heart beats stronger, @george_patoulis, President of Athens Medical Association said in Washington and Montreal upon his personal meetings with the US President Donald Trump and the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau….
Greece is one of the few countries in the world, along with Morocco and India, to be gifted with natural resources such as plants and herbs that cure. Kozani, in North of Greece, is known for saffron cultivation, the only such place in all of Europe. Greece is the country of olive oil, of wheat and wine, the Mediterranean trilogy, each of them with a tremendous lot of applications in cosmetics. Greece is the country where chamomile, sage, lavender, and mint grow in abundance.
Among all the wonders of Greek nature are the springs, thermal waters and the sea itself, the Mediterranean. Euripides once wrote a piece about the curing virtues of thermal and sea waters. Spring waters in Greece have been around since highest antiquity and many were considered sacred and gave way to construction of temples, like in Delphi, the Castalia spring and in Vravrona. Since the spa is the temple of the 21st century, it is only natural that thalassotherapy complexes and thermal spas are built today in exceptionally gifted places.
Hot bathing was considered an extremely healthy and refreshing experience antiquity. Athenaeus wrote at the end of the 2nd century, reports with admiration that Homer’s Heroes were all familiar with bathing, as well as with the use of olive oil for the treatment of their body. The history of bathing in ancient Greece begins from the place of the so called Gymnasium. By incorporating full washing bathing facilities into its regular program, Gymnasium created the social and architectural context for one of the earliest forms of communal bathing in ancient society and exerted a formative influence in the subsequent development of baths.
It was the Greeks, attracted by the strange phenomena of thermal springs that attempted to classify them and study their properties and effects on man. Herodotus was the first to establish the precise methods of balneotherapeutic practices, but it was Hippocrates, the most celebrated physician of antiquity, who dedicated a large section to the therapeutic properties of thermal water in his work “De aere, aquis at loci”.
He analysed its chemical and organoleptic features, described the hygienic problems of using baths in various diseases and, in general, the effects of hot and cold baths on the human body.
It is widely known that as early as the 5th century BC the beneficial properties of the sulphurous springs were already known, especially for healing skin diseases and for relieving muscular and joint pain. In the Homeric poems and in Hesiod continuous references are made to the use of baths. After the difficulties encountered in battle or long journeys, heroes welcomed the coolness or wellness of a long restorative bath. Early Greek baths were constructed near naturally occurring hot springs or volcanoes, dating back to 500 B.C.
Either the bath or simple anointing of the body generally formed part of the business of dressing for dinner. It was generally taken shortly before the δεῖπνον, or principal meal of the day. Epictetus (Diss. i. 1, 29) mentions noon as the hour, while voluptuaries bathed repeatedly.
It was the practice to take first a warm or vapour, and afterwards a cold bath, though in the time of Homer the cold bath appears to have been taken first and the warm afterwards.
The persons who bathed probably brought with them strigils, oil, and towels, or had them carried by a slave. The strigil, which was called by the Greeks στλεγγίς or ξύστρα, was usually made of iron, but sometimes also of other materials.
Ancient Greeks were some of the first to make bathing not only essential for good hygiene, but also the epitome of public life. The average routine when someone attended a bathhouse in Ancient Greece involved rubbing one’s whole body with olive oil, working out in the gym until they were sweating profusely, then scraping the sweat and oil off the body. From there, Greeks would hop in the healing water and alternate between the warm pools, sauna, and cold plunge. Then, some would indulge in a massage or even a prostitute.
The Greeks kept things pretty basic—you could work out, bathe, and have a slave watch over your things until you were done. The Romans took things to the next level by adding on services for haircuts, shaves, bloodletting, surgeries, and of course, decadent food and wine. Ancient people often hung out in bathhouses for hours at a time.
Most Greek baths were filled with very healing water; the mineral water included detoxifying clay and Epsom salt.
Additionally, the Greeks infused their water with bay laurel leaves to increase circulation and reduce pain in the body. They also added lavender oil to the tubs for a relaxing, calming effect. The Greeks were also some of the first to use hot-air baths, or steam showers. The Spartans were known for loving a good-old steam bath; the rooms would be enhanced with bay laurel, fir, pine, and juniper branches for aromatherapy.
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Sources: thermalsprings.wordpress.com, allday.com
The first month of 2017 in Greece has been hard and extremely cold. Check Greece by a glance and all the Greek News on our Fully Updated Home Page
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The pomegranate fruit has been used throughout history and in virtually every religion as a symbol of humanity’s central beliefs and ideals, namely, life and death, rebirth and eternal life, fertility and marriage, and abundance.
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The Civil Protection Secretariat Official Guidelines
The General Secretariat for Civil Protection (www.civilprotection.gr) Interior Ministry has asked the competent Greek government agencies in charge and the regions and municipalities of the country, for increased civil protection preparedness,and to directly respond to any severe weather phenomena emergencies .
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The gifts of the Magi, the wise men to the Newborn Jesus are intact and safeguarded in a monastery in Greece. During this Christmas the priceless gifts have been displayed from the Monastery of St. Paul, one of twenty monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula to St. Tito Church in Heraklion Crete for public praying…..
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“We open our arms, on these very moments, to those who are the weak, and I believe this reflects the feelings of the vast majority of the Greek people. Despite our difficulties we keep an attitude of dignity, and this is much greater wealth and much larger surplus ….”
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Vandals on Saturday Dec 18, 2016 set fire on a Greek Orthodox church of Archangel Michael in the Lagolio village of Crete.The unknown perpetrators, burned holy icons and part of the chancel and wrote “Allah is great” in Arabic on the walls,
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“We found a town square and a street grid that indicate that we are dealing with quite a large city. The area inside the city wall measures over 40 hectares.
“We also found ancient pottery and coins that can help to date the city”the leader of the team, Robin Ronnlund said in his statement.
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Learn about the historic discovery of the sacred rock in Jesus Tomb in Jerusalem,by the Greek scientists research team, recently visited PM Alexis Tsipras. It’s a blessing, he said, …..Read more
PM @tsipras_eu professor at the Polytechnic, the head of Jesus tomb’s rock discovery team
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It was President’s Obama wish to visit the Acropolis, as he stated, among first things as he stepped in Athens, on his final presidential tour . And it was meant to be private…
.. so private , the Acropolis has never been again
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Perennial tests and researches revealed that a mix of essential oils from three specific Cretan herbs which you can find all over walking on the Cretan land , prevent by long wise tradition Cretan inhaitans from falling ill from flu or cold during the winter, since they consume these herbs as daily beverage
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“We now think the Terracotta Army, the Acrobats and the bronze sculptures found on site have been inspired by ancient Greek sculptures and art,”…
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Saudi Arabian Prince Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud sailed into the port of Mytilene in the Aegean with two yachts, “Elegant 007” and Aristotle Onassis’ legendary yacht “Christina”.
The yachts anchored half a mile from the beach of Vatera in south Lesvos,
An underwater museum with statues inspired by the myth of the Argonauts and the legendary Centaurs, is to be created in Volos, on the east-central coast of Greece.
This is an ambitious plan to create an artificial reef in Volos’s Pagasitikos Gulf, which will consist of sculptures of legendary heroes of ancient Greek myths associated with the land of Thessaly – Jason, the Argonauts and the Centaurs- with the aim of drawing attention to local attractions.
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Wine was made in Europe as early as 4200 B.C, in Northern Greece as the findings of the joint Greek-French excavation team in a Neolithic house dating to 4500 B.C. has shown. Scientific analysis proved that the grapes had been pressed, based on findings of tartaric acid in the vessels, in addition to carbonized grape pips and their skins The grape pips and skins indicate that the grapes had been pressed
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Greece’s summer cruise season may have delayed in 2016 to start , as the cruise lines’ executives had noted since June, but the latest Istanbul terrorist attack has eventually favored tourist traffic and passenger arrivals unpredictably, and the season seems to promise to boost more Greece’s economy than expected till now
Since July 1, most of the biggest cruise lines announced cancelling call stops in Turkey due to the Istanbul attack, and replacing them by stops on Greek ports, not only Piraeus, but also Volos, Nafplion, Rhodes and more
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A severe gastroenteritis outbreak in Viotia region of Greece, after a mass gathering and dinner in a local tavern, has lead to one death so far and some dozens of hospitalizations and set on Emergency the Greek Centers o f Disease Control that is conducting on the spot outbreak investigation . It is said that the mass food poisoning which has shocked the local community is due to salmonella, but the CDC of Greece, has not yet officially announced the laboratory results .
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In #Greece’s biggest port, tens thousands #cruise travelers’ #arrivals at risk to be canceled
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Vladimir Putin’s visit coincides with a period during which “Greece has turned a page and looks to the future with optimism”, said Greek Prime Minister .
Know what that means , just by a glance
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On this transitional critical moment, our strategic cooperation with Russia is of extremely importance, said Alexis Tsipras , on historical meeting with President Putin
On his first trip to a European Union country this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Greece Friday to visit a secluded Christian Orthodox monastic sanctuary and eye energy and privatization deals in the cash-strapped country.
Putin has made only a handful of visits to EU countries since sanctions were imposed on Moscow two years ago in response to the Ukraine crisis.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at the Greek government headquarters in the Maximos Mansion at 18:25 on Friday, after a short walk from the presidential palace, where he was met by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the steps leading up to the building. Putin was accompanied by the foreign ministers of Greece and Russia and the rest of the Russian delegation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was received by President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos at the presidential mansion on Friday, immediately after his arrival in Greece, beginning the first of a series of meetings with Greek officials during his two-day visit.
“You visit to Greece comes at a crucial time, not only for our region but for all of Europe,” Pavlopoulos said as he met the Russian president on his arrival.
“Close cooperation between Russia, the United States and the European Union to end the war in Syria is exceptionally important for our time,” the Greek president added.
Responding, Putin said it was time to “proceed with specific steps in order to exploit the opportunities that exist for strengthening bilateral relations,” while noting an impressive increase in Russian tourists visiting Greece.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, center, arrives to the port of Dafni, at Mount Athos, Greece, Friday, May 27, 2016, a day ahead of Russia’s President Putin’s visit. Russia’s president is due in financially struggling Greece Friday for a state visit that will include a trip to a 1,000-year-old, all-male Orthodox Christian sanctuary in the north of the country. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill arrived on Friday at 10:45 at Macedonia airport of Thessaloniki and left straight for his pilgrimage visit to Mount Athos.
Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Amanatidis and Deputy Interior Minister Maria Kollia-Tsarouha welcomed the Patriarch with whom they had a brief meeting before his departure for Ouranoupolis and the monastic community of Mt. Athos.
Metropolitan of Kassandria Nikodimos and the Consulate General of Russia in Thessaloniki Alexey Popov were also present at the reception ceremony.
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia will visit Thessaloniki on Sunday and will make a pilgrimage at the Cathedral of Aghios Dimitrios and afterwards will attend the liturgy at the Aghios Grigorios of Palamas Cathedral.
In his statement Amanatidis pointed out the relations that bind the Greek and the Russian people adding that “we all expect with hope the message that will send the Holy and Great Synod and the heads of the Orthodox Churches that will be held on Crete in June in a world that is plagued by huge social problems underling the role of the Patriarch as a factor of the Orthodoxy’s stability.
This year marks the 1,000th anniversary of the first recorded settlement there by Russian monks, in 1016. While most of Mount Athos’ 1,500 monks are Greek-born, male Orthodox Christians are allowed to live on the peninsula as monks, which male followers of other religions can visit but not live on. The 20 monasteries on the peninsula include one Russian, one Serbian and one Bulgarian, while Romanians, Moldovans, Ukrainians and Georgians also live there.
Mount Athos occupies almost the whole of the Athos Peninsula and is declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the most unusual places in the world and the only self-governing part of the Greek State, governed by the “Holly Community”. It is a community of priests based in Karyes that follows the Julian Calendar, along with other Byzantine edicts and mores. The Holy Mountain (as it is in Greek) consists of 20 monasteries, 12 sketes and about 700 houses, cells of hermitages.
The monasteries themselves are true masterpieces of traditional Macedonian and Byzantine architecture. Inside there is an unimaginable wealth of unique treasures, religious frescoes, rare mosaics and libraries full of arte facts including miniatures, books, codices and manuscripts.
Only men are allowed entrance into Mount Athos and all are required to obtain a special entrance valid for a limited period. Women can view the monasteries from a cruise along the west coast of Mount Athos.
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This year’s Thursday, May 19, marked the 100th anniversary of the Pontian Greek genocide by the Turks, that took place between 1916-1923, the most tragic page of Pontian Greek history.
“Will the outrageous terrorising, the cruel torturing, the driving of women into the harems, the debauchery of innocent girls, the sale of many of them at eighty cents each, the murdering of hundreds of thousands and the deportation to, and and starvation in, the deserts of other hundreds of thousands, the destruction of hundreds of villages and cities, will the wilful execution of this whole devilish scheme to annihilate the Armenian, Greek and Syrian Christians of Turkey — will all this go unpunished?” – Henry Morgenthau, United States ambassador to Turkey, 1918
The Pontiac genocide was a mass slaughter that is but one chapter in the murderous campaign by the Ottoman Empire against Christians. In Pontus alone, it is estimated that some 350,000 Greeks were killed who were totally deprived of the Black Sea region, their native land.
Here is an overview of the Pontian genocide from the Pontian Greek Society of Chicago:
With the commencement of World War I in 1914, Turkey called for general mobilization. Since the Christian men were not allowed to bare arms, they were sent to labor battalions in the interior of Turkey, which were essentially “battalions of death.” Forced labor in the treacherous mountains and ravines, hunger, and exposure to severe weather conditions killed most of those forced to serve in these labor battalions. Some of those who survived were able to escape to join those Greeks in the mountains who took up arms to protect themselves and their families. After eliminating a significant part of the male population, the Young Turk leaders and later Kemal Ataturk, proceeded to eliminate the rest of the Greek population including the elderly, women, and children. Their plan was to deport the Greek population to the interior and expose them to severe weather conditions, hunger, and illness. Censorship was used quite effectively to avoid headlines in the foreign press. After executing many prominent Greeks in the western Pontus, the Turks proceeded to deport a large part of the Greek population to the interior, Kurdistan, and as far as Syria…
By 1923, out of an approximate 700,000 Pontian Greeks who lived in Turkey at the beginning of World War I, as many as 350,000 were killed, and almost all the rest had been uprooted during the subsequent forced population exchange between Greece and Turkey. This was the end of one of the ancient Greek civilizations in Asia Minor. As a consequence of the deliberate and systematic policy of Turkification of the Ottoman Empire, it is estimated that more than 2.75 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks were slaughtered outright or were victims of the “white death” of disease and starvation — a result of the routine process of deportations, slave labor, and death marches.
“Today, Friday, 20th of May 2016, the Ministry of National Defense, is welcoming with honors of the Head of the State the holy icon of Panagia Soumela ,symbol of Orthodoxy and the Greeks of Asia Minor and Pontos” Defense Minister Panos Kammenos stated
In 1922, when Greeks of Asia Minor and Pontus were driven from the lands of their ancestors, the monks hid the icon of Panagia Soumela that is believed to have been painted by Evangelist Luke. According to Orthodox Church tradition, the miraculous icon of Panagia Soumela was earlier found at the end of the fourth century A.D. in a cave at Mt. Mela, where it had miraculously, by Christian tradition, been transferred by angels.
The Minister of Defense thanked the Presidnt of Panagia Soumela Foundation President Giorgos Tanimanidis for “a religious relic of inestimable value.”
This year, on Saturday, May 21, 2016, the great Celebration Event will start in Dionysiou Areopagitou Street at 11am and will culminate at 8:30pm in the Temple of Olympian Zeus, to honor the Greeks of Pontus continuing the tradition and culture with the involvement of future generations to maintain their Pontian roots and heritage
Kammenos said that on that day, like every year, the Presidential Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, will don the traditional Pontian uniforms to honor the heroes of the Pontian Greek genocide
Source: Greek media coverage, and the HALC blog
Till the end of June , up to 50 ‘guest officers’ will be deployed by Europol on rotation at key points on the external border of the EU to strengthen the security checks on the inward flows of migrants, in order to identify suspected terrorists and criminals, a EUROPOL press release announced.
They will help reinforce security at the external borders of the EU by
- supporting the secondary security check process,
- by cross-checking data against data held in specialist counter-terrorist and other databases at Europol, and
- by facilitating rapid and secure information exchange between Member States.
This will not include first line border control, although the officers will work closely with those from Frontex involved in such a task. The officers will work under the responsibility and legal framework of the country of deployment.
Europol’s Management Board approved the recruitment of up to 200 counter-terrorist and other investigators for deployment to migration hotspots in Greece and other countries, EUROPOL press release said, adding that . Europol will form this pool of law enforcement officers through their secondment from national services in EU Member States.
On previous weeks, the Slovenian director of Europol’s newly-established European Migrant Smuggling Center (EMSC) Robert Crepinko, had told on an interview that 10 undercover officers had already been stationed on the islands of Chios, Samos, Lesvos and Leros where refugee registration centers are in operation, as well as in Piraeus Port, doing secondary security checks to assess the possibly dangerous migrants before they would enter the EU
Crepinko added that the Europol agents would also offer aid to the Greek authorities, in the effort to locate and stop migrant smugglers operating in Greece.
New trafficking migration routes in Europe
The Slovenian official said that “We are looking into possible new routes that the migrant smuggling networks would use and we already have some developments in the new routes that have been used by organized crime,” , citing information that migrant traffickers are exploring options through Albania and Bulgaria.
“The drop in the number of arrivals on the Greek islands was dramatic.” Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri said on Friday , presenting the data of 90 percent drop on the number of migrants arriving in the Greek islands in April, compared to the previous month.
But for the first time in a year, the latest UN figures present more migrants arriving in Italy than Greece, trying to make their way into Europe
9,149 migrants arrived to the shores of Italy in April, while Greece received 3,462 people, figures of the UN’s refugee agency show.
Fewer than 2,700 people had entered in April.the European Union’s border agency Frontex said Friday, putting the drop down to the effect of the EU’s migrant agreement with Turkey and tight border controls at the Greek -FYROM border.
In March, before the EU-Turkey deal came into force, under which Ankara pledged to take back migrants from Greece, 26,971 people arrived to Greece, while 9,676 arrived to Italy.
Different countries of origin
But migrants arriving in Italy are not coming from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the three major groups trying their luck through Greece.
Asylum seekers making their way through the Mediterranean are primarily from Nigeria, Gambia, Somalia and other Sub-Saharan African nations.
Concerns that migrants will increasingly take the Italian route have prompted fears of another mass influx, leading Austria to plan to restrict access through the its Brenner border crossing with Italy, the eurobserver wrote.
The EU Commission has expressed concern over the effect this could have on the viability of the passport-free Schengen zone.
Several MEPs at the European Parliament Plenary in Strasbourg.on Wednesday May 11, demanded, addressing to the European Commissioner on Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos, the lift of “intermediate steps of Schengen roadmap”, and warned the Commissioner that the internal border checks could seriously harm both transport and tourism in Europe.
Rumors that move EU – Turkey agreement focus form Turkey to Greece as a “plan b”, are not real
the European Commissioner on Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos answered to the European Parliament and underled that there is only one plan based on solidarity and tackling of traffickers on EU – Turkey deal implementations. Avramopoulos stressed that “rumours can do only harm” .
These border checks are “exceptional and temporary” European Commissioner said, assuring the MEPs that the aim is to lift them by the end of the year, at the latest
This happened on parallel, on the same day that President of the European Parliament was announcing the No to to Turkey’s visa liberalisation
“The Turkish Parliament has not yet fulfilled and I stopped the process”, said Martin Schulz, explaining why the Commission sent to the European Parliament the 72 visa liberalisation benchmarks of which seven , he said are not yet met .“This is a point of disagreement, we should not hide it,” Martin Schulz added talking to the reporters on a press conference with the Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs.This happened on parallel, on the same day that President of the European Parliament was announcing the No to to Turkey’s visa liberalisation
Martin Schulz said that
the scope of Turkey’s anti-terror laws were “so far reaching that we think that some of the measures are touching not directly the fight against terrorism but, for example, the freedom of expression and of media.”
“We are trying to save the package,” Volkan Bozkır, the Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs and Chief Negotiator told the reporters .
Volkan Bozkır described as parts of the package the opening of chapters, the €3 billion plus €3 billion, energy platforms, economy and customs union and also EU – Turkey readmission agreement
The deal between the EU and Turkey to end the migrant crisis is facing “a very dangerous moment” Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said, heightening more tension between the two sides in honoring the deal, whie Europe is seeing the recent encouraging results
The international medical organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders), announced today, May 5, 2016 that it is not going to the World Humanitarian Summit. In a statement, MSF said it was pulling out “with disappointment”, after months of preparatory discussions. MSF believes the summit may let those most responsible for spiralling humanitarian need – governments – off the hook. The summit has lost its way and become, in MSF’s opinion, “a fig-leaf of good intentions”.
A spokesman for the UN’s emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, Herve Verhoosel, told IRINNEWS.ORG the move was “disappointing”, given MSF’s “strong and influential voice”.
,
MSF, one of the world’s most respected and courageous humanitarian organizations, has decided to pull out of the upcoming UN World Humanitarian Summit, saying the summit will not address issues of crucial importance such as the need for UN reform, the lack in global emergency response capacity, and the muddling of emergency response and development agendas. They feel the agenda will let governments who cause major humanitarian crises and obstruct humanitarian responses off the hook.
“I don’t think this is ‘toys out of the pram’; I think MSF is desperately frightened to consistently find itself alone in trying to respond to needs that far overwhelm MSF.”
Meghan Rose “I think MSF is desperately frightened to consistently find itself alone in trying to respond to needs that far overwhelm MSF.” The strange thing is everyone feels this way, no? I wonder why everyone else keeps repeating/keeping an exhaustive pattern that only brings harm/more crazy making to the situation.
Peter N. Bouckaert The difference is that MSF is frequently the only humanitarian actor responding to overwhelming needs in the most dangerous places. That was the case at the height of the CAR crisis (with ICRC and ACF) and is the case in Syria. We may all feel overwhelmed, but that doesn’t mean that we are all there on the front lines with them.
So who is going to fight for doing the right thing? I don’t get the reasoning behind this. The same as I didn’t get the reasoning behind them and other NGOs pulling out of camps for political reasons. NGOs are supposed to be non political.
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As humanitarian crisis was unfolding at the Athens port of Piraeus, where thousands of asylum seekers and migrants were stranded…
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The populations of the Lower Paleolithic Age “walked” through Aegean to reach Lesvos on their migration routes, which was the Garden of Eden land that helped survival
These populations simply passed Aegean on foot, transferring cultural and technological achievements of their era “say Nena Galanidis, Associate Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Crete who has led the special archaeological research on Lesvos based on excavations that find today their epicenter at Lisvory, Lesvos area, near Kalloni gulf .
Lesvos, a big rich island today with incredible natural resources, had been an ideal destination, a garden of Eden, at the prehistoric times , and had served deep back in history as the migration passage for the populations of that time, the flows people of the lower Paleolithic era migrating during the glacier times in order to survive. And we don’t even know how much of “humans” that population had been
“Before 500,000 years, we have to imagine that this island used to join with Western Asia, and then to rule again. Today we all know Lesvos as an island, but had not always been island throughout the hundreds thousand years of its history.
During the glacial periods of times, the sea level fell, while the ocean water was “locked” in the glaciers due to drought and cold, the sea level fell, and a decline of about 60 meters was enough to unite Lesvos (and most of the islands of the Eastern Aegean) with West Asia, adds professor Nena Galanidou.
Putting them together, we can see today that all of what we know as island group of East Aegean Sea, was the land end of Anatolia.
Such geophysical conditions were allowing the animal populations to be displaced, as well as the populations of progenitor species of the modern man, called hominids. “.
The findings are mainly stone tools of the almond season, and large cutting tools, something like primitive cleavers. All are made exclusively from local rocks.
The paleolithic man who was active at the time, mainloy hunters and gatherers, had not yet learned any time of farming, to cultivate the land, therefore he was moving very often in areas where there was plenty of food.
“How and Why their archaeological imprint is visible to us today?, the archaeologist and excavatoror Nena Galanidou explains
The most probable explanation to me is that Lesvos has been the main stop during the hominids’ migration journey, because they found there prey, to feed themselves durin that jouney, and this happened on the shores of a large lake , Kalloni, the Beauty Golf of the island as it is known today. Also, they found the material to build their tools, in this place, but as well they find a point which can be for them very welcoming: the hot springs
Around the hot springs we find today a micro-environment that was created. It is no coincidence that Rodafnidia are located right next to the hot springs of Ai Yianni of Lisvori which is the only point with springs in Kalloni ( Beauty) Gulf. ”
Lesvos during that time was a real paradise, as, indeed, it still is today, but far more blooming and wild. The seasons between the glaciers, sea levels were significantly falling, and the bed was beconing a huge land. People and animals of that time, were easily moving on foot from Asia Minor to the island, a place disposable of large food reserves.
It is no coincidence that paleontological objects of the findings have been discovered at the area close to the Gulf of Kalloni, were Aristolis of Ancient Greece discoverd Biology, 2500 years before, but hundreds thousands years after the homisids had chose it .
Today the are is a remarkable and perfect ecosystem, a birdwatchers’ destination, and the Gulf itself becomes each year the source of the best omega 3 food in the world, sardines of Kalloni.
At the prehistoric times Kalloni Gulf was hosting a huge collection of birds, animals and plants, the findings reveal.
Close is the Polychitos area, Vrisa also, were the Museum of Natural History is based hosting many of Paleolithic findings.
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