#Ethnos Greek Newspaper

[gemsofgreece]

What's the population demographic of Greece? Because I read a lot complains about the immigration population and I remember during new years when there was a video of only Pakistani in Syntagma Square and I was kinda shocked that there were only men

The population demographic is:

In 10 million people, roughly one million are non-Greeks ethnically. The largest minority are Albanians, making almost the 50% of them.

This number doesn’t include the almost certainly much larger number of immigrants that have not entered with legally recognised papers and who arrive in big groups on boats everyday from the coast of Turkey while Europe (which pretends to be considerate) has blocked all its land borders and therefore these people have nowhere to go once they reach Greece, which is almost never their intended destination. I am hearing Greece has also started pushing them back or towards Central Europe “illegally” or in questionable ways lately which makes Europe mad but I can’t tell what’s going on for sure because you can hardly find the truth on media these days…

The “illegal” emigration to Greece is estimated to average an 100,000 per year for the last 20 years with an absolutely whopping 900,000 in 2015. It seems that not all these people have stayed though, as we are talking about a total of 2,5+ million in 20 years that, idk, seems a little excessive to me. Half of them seems more probable.

The last census showed an extremely alarming 300,000 brain drain in the last 10 years (although some estimations raise that number to 500,000), meaning young educated Greeks leaving the country for better work opportunities.

Perhaps you mean Omonoia? Omonoia has been a meeting point for foreign people for a long time. Maybe Syntagma too nowadays, I don’t know, it’s been ages since I was in Athens. Obviously the capital is always the place that attracts the most immigrants and that’s the case everywhere in the world.

It is true that there is an imbalance of young men emigrating to Greece rather than families with women and children. It’s usually those without papers that get through with the help of smugglers because crossing the Aegean Sea with super crowded tiny boats is very dangerous and families don’t attempt it as often as young men alone.

*Hope the sources I used are accurate. I used Wikipedia, Ethnos newspaper and EFSYN newspaper.

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Persian Empire, ancient Greek historiography, and the “New Achaemenid historians”

Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Source of the picture: https://sworld.co.uk/2/40723/photoalbum/favoutite-list.html

“Of the two most famous wars in ancient history, the Persian Wars and the Punic Wars, only the latter has, very recently, ended in an armistice. A newspaper clipping announced that the Mayor of Rome and the Consul of Tunisia had signed an agreement for the ending of hostilities. The Persian Wars are not over yet, and one might be tempted to see in the repeatedly uttered accusations of 'hellenocentrism' and 'iranocentrism' in scholarly liter- ature a sign of continued warfare. The echoes of Marathon and Salamis are still resounding. Not only to the extent that two, often well defined, parties can be distinguished in the field of research on early Persian history, roughly corresponding with classical historians on the one side and archaeologists on the other, but also because the Persian Wars have caused the conceptual framework that profoundly influences all perceptions of the history of the Achaemenid period to come into being. History in the sense that we under- stand it is, at least partly, a result of the great conflict between Greece and Persia. In its formation it embodies a particular way of thinking that was typical of the Greek fifth century. However great, generous and honest the first historian of Persia may have been, he nevertheless participated in a conflict, no longer perhaps overt but still lingering on. Strict neutrality, if such a thing is ever possible for a historian, was beyond even the reach of Herodotus, although he made a serious attempt. Later, in the fourth century the parties became more clearly defined but at the same time real interest in the Persians was lost and consequently they were reduced to two-dimensional figures. Persian history was now neatly divided into two periods, one of vigour and one of decay: the boundary between these usually taken as coinciding with the 'Great Persian Wars.' The empire itself was no longer seen as an evolving state with problems and successes, with developments and changes within its administrative structure and in its relations with subjects, but as a petrified entity dominated by the shadowy figure of the King of Kings.

This was the picture of Persian history at the time of Alexander, when the original model of it gradually ceased to exist. The concept was frozen and immobile and has lasted for two millennia. It has had its functions and was used, first by Alexander and his troops and for centuries afterwards by European historians. It even remained quite unaffected by the great discoveries of the 19th century: the decipherment of Old Persian cuneiform hardly influenced the principal tenets on which Persian history was based. Not even the important excavations in Iran had any substantial effect on the received image: if the monuments did not agree with Herodotus, so much the worse for  the monuments. The Greeks could not have been too far wrong: they were first of all Greeks, and therefore almost infallible, and secondly, they had been contemporaries and thus had first hand knowledge.

This picture has only very recently become unsatisfactory.· As Iranian linguists and archaeologists attempted to analyze their material within its own frame of reference the Greek brand of Persian history seemed to supply very few answers to their problems and was found to be less relevant. Ethno- archaeologists and anthropologists doing research in the area have further shifted the foci of research. At the same time important developments took place within the discipline of history itself. In the last two decades historians have become more interested in what might be called structural history, i.e. not so much the study of events and chronologies but the analysis of an entire society. In this type of research non-written evidence and written traditions of a non-literary character have become more important and have served to question the traditional view of the history of the Achaemenid period, based predominantly on the use of Greek historiographical sources.

In a structural approach to early Persian history the usefulness of the Greek tradition is obviously restricted (and at times even an obstacle, see below). The Greeks were usually not interested in the structure of the empire, their outlook being rather superficial and limited. Even in the few cases where an attempt was made to glance behind the curtain, the results were still distorted as even the most unprejudiced Greek author was necessarily influenced by the cultural and literary tradition in which he was working. Hence the paradoxical situation has arisen that, in order to move away from the dominant and oppressive Greek perspective, it is more than ever necessary to pay attention to Greek historiography and analyze it in a new way.

The content of the information about Persia in Greek literature was shaped and moulded to fit Greek artistic forms. Thus any historical information contained, not only in a very specific literary genre such as tragedy, but also in historiography will have been affected by the techniques either demanded by a particular literary form or characteristic of a specific author. The methods and techniques of individual authors have received much attention by classical scholars who have been able to single out patterns, designs and narrative structures in some of the main Greek authors on Persia. This increasingly sophisticated approach to the Greek sources, however, does not seem to have influenced the overall view of the Persian empire. Frequently authors of syntheses on the Persian empire use the data of Greek historiography indiscriminately, as though it were all equally relevant and reliable, ignoring (or perhaps simply unaware of) the discussions by classical scholars of, e.g., the narrative structure or the literary form that directly affects the trustworthiness of the source in question. On the other hand, classical scholars frequently fail  to indicate the relevance of their source criticism to the historiography of the Persian empire, usually because they are not well enough acquainted with the Iranian evidence to make a comparison between their own results and the Persian data. This gap, further widened by the different channels through which specialists in both fields make their results public, has been as unprofitable for Greek studies as for Iranian research. As the progress made on both sides is undoubtedly to be ascribed to specialization in each of the separate fields, Iranian and Greek, it is unlikely that the gulf separating historians and philologists from archaeologists and Iranologists will be, or indeed can be, bridged by a single scholar. It was, therefore, desirable for 'East' and 'West' to meet and discuss the results obtained so far. The Groningen Workshop of 1984 aimed at precisely this type of meeting and discussion.

The Introductory Note to the Workshop suggested the following two problems as important items for papers: 1) Studies of the mechanisms of Greek historiography and other Greek literature concerning Persia. 2) Case studies of specific examples where Iranian and Greek sources are seemingly in conflict and discussions of how to resolve such apparent contradictions.”

From the Introduction of  Amélie Kuhrt and Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg to the collective volume The Greek Sources.Proceedings of the Groningen 1984 Achaemenid History Workshop, edited by Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg and Amélie Kuhrt, available on file:///C:/Users/USer/Downloads/AH02.pdf

This seminary of 1984 was foundational for the historiographical school of the “New Achaemenid historians”. I appreciate how the two authors treat Herodotus and his historical approach to the Persian Empire. It is true that in later Greek authors -especially those with Panhellenic and anti-Persian political agenda- the Persians are often caricatured. I agree that we should not see the ancient Persians exclusively through the Greek eyes, that we should take into account the literary and intellectual context of the Greek authors who have written about Persia, and that the Iranian record is of fundamental importance for the historical knowledge of the Persian Empire and of the Persian civilization of the Achaemenid era. On the other hand, this Iranian record not only is fragmentary, but it is also dominated by the Achaemenid royal ideology and its particular way of understanding and representing things. And of course, if one should avoid caricatural presentations of the Persian Empire, one should also avoid its idealization. That’s why I think that the best scholarly approach to the Achaemenid history and civilization is the combination without prejudice of Iranian and non-Iranian (Greek and non-Greek) sources and their combined interpretation.

[elladastinkardiamou]

The historic newspaper of the Greek left, Avgi,will hold its daily edition after 70 years. The newspaper has apparently fallen victim to financial problems as other daily newspapers in the recent past due to changes in the landscape of printed media and readers habits.

Its director posted on social media on Wednesday that he resigns as he did not manage to increase the number of subscribers.

Like other historic newspapers ToVima and Ethnos, also Avgi will keep its printed Sunday edition and its website.

[fasterthanmydemons]

I want to ask a smart, interesting question that makes the mun think but I can't think of any so... *is thirsty for Pietro in 30 different languages*

WHAT’S THAT?! YOU WANT ME TO WRITE ABOUT PIETRO AND LANGUAGES?! OKAY!

I’m running with your smart, interesting question... You see what I did there... XDDD Actually Imma expand this to just Maximoff twins and languages, because it’s interesting to compare the two...

Both twins excel in learning languages, but in completely different ways. This has resulted in them having some common languages that are not native to them, but different levels of understanding of them, as well as languages that the other does not know.

Growing up, Wanda and Pietro learned Romani and Transian pretty much at the same time, although they consider Romani to be their native tongue. By “Romani,” I don’t mean Romanian, but rather a dialect of Romani (there are many) which is spoken by Roma clans. The Roma people are an ethno-religious group of people, spanning many different countries, so there are many different dialects, religious nuances, and genetic origins that contribute to the Roma people. A large number of them are dark-skinned, Jewish, and of Indian or Indo-European ancestry, but they aren’t limited to that. The way I get around using the MCU FCs for Wanda and Pietro (who are decidedly light-skinned) is by borrowing from their comic backgrounds to say that they are adopted. Their birth parents were light-skinned but of European and Jewish descent, while their adoptive parents were dark-skinned and of Roma descent. Thus, despite looking “White,” the twins identify as Romani and consider the Romani dialect their adoptive parents spoke as their native language. Not that they ever knew they were adopted, though... But anyway, it’s a language they would be far better at speaking than writing, since it would be a largely conversational and colloquial language with a lot of informal slang and adapted phrases, rather than a formal language derived from a written one.

Transian was the language of a fictional country in the Marvel universe as the country the twins lived in before being forced to move after Wanda was attacked as a young child for being a witch. They would probably also largely speak this one instead of writing it, as they used it most often before the age of six. Once they left Transia, the family spoke Romani rather than Transian during the nomadic period where they traveled in their vardo rather than having a permanent residence. 

Once the family settled in Sokovia, the twins began to learn it from hearing it around the city they lived in as well as reading it on television and in newspapers, although their understanding of the language was incomplete for the first couple years they lived there. By the time they were orphaned at ten, they were fluent speakers, but when alone together, they exclusively spoke Romani. However, since the twins continued to live in Sokovia and were bounced around to different foster homes, their mastery of the language continued. By the time they were teenagers living on the streets, Pietro had excelled a lot more at learning conversational Sokovian rather than formal written Sokovian than Wanda had by virture of the fact that he was more outgoing and spoke to a lot of the city folk. Wanda was introverted and shy and often relied on Pietro to communicate for her, resulting in her having less conversational proficiency as far as local slang with Sokovian than Pietro.

During this time, Pietro picked up on a lot of other languages that Wanda did not, although his understanding of them was incomplete and he might not even know himself what language certain phrases or words were from. This is because travel through Sokovia to get to other Eastern European countries was very common, so Pietro heard a lot of immigrants and vacationers speaking their own language. And because he was outgoing and liked to help local people, he also found himself translating at times - or at least attempting to - in order to facilitate people getting along with each other. So he was picking up parts of Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, even Serbian, Romanian, and Ukrainian.

Pietro is very intelligent, but he has a hard time concentrating on things like reading, studying, and learning languages from sheer vocabulary and grammar lessons alone. However, put him in a room of people that don’t all speak the same language, and eventually he will start picking things up. He’s very good with it, actually... a lot better than Wanda is. Wanda learns better from formal lessons and books and reading on her own, partially because she doesn’t have her brother’s concentration issues, but also because crowds and people she doesn’t know make her nervous, so she’s often not comfortable enough to be receptive to learning languages in casual conversation.

Once the twins ended up in the Hydra lab, they were forced to learn certain things that the organization thought would eventually make them more efficient and versatile spies. Languages was one of the things they really tried to drill into the twins. Wanda excelled at her lessons, but Pietro did not. So the English, French, German, etc. that they wanted the twins to learn was learned well by Wanda but not so much by Pietro. He had his usual trouble concentrating that the confined quarters, punishments, deprivations, and threat of Wanda being hurt only exacerbated. Wanda would try to help him learn so that he wouldn’t be punished, but he really had a hard time.

This is the reason why Pietro can sometimes sound very stilted in those languages, not at all natural, and can even have trouble thinking of certain words or phrases he wants to say. Those languages do not come naturally to him, so he has to really think about what he’s saying. It’s also the reason why Pietro’s accent when speaking English is much more pronounced and his speak more broken than Wanda’s is in that language. The more tired, frustrated, angry, upset, or distracted Pietro is, the more pronounced his accent will become and the worse his grammar and use of words will become as well. The same is true of Wanda, but not to the same degree.

The end result is that Pietro often uses more informal, slang, colloquial ways of speaking because that’s what he’s comfortable with. That’s what he’s learned through experience by talking with native speakers of the languages, so it’s settled in his brain more naturally and become second nature. Wanda’s speech is more formal, more streamlined, more grammatically correct, and more nuanced as far as word choice because she has studied vocabulary and grammar more extensively and retained more of that information.

Of course that is only true for non-native languages. When speaking their native Romani, they chatter on at light speed fluently and naturally using as much slang - and sometimes profanity - as they want, haha. That is the language they will break into when shocked, surprised, or suddenly upset or angry. Whenever they “forget English” for some reason, it is Romani they will default to, although sometimes they will substitute a word from another language here and there into English because they don’t realize it isn’t English. They learned so many languages in a short number of years that the words are sometimes a bit jumbled and crossed over.

Pietro often feels like his more fragmented English is a sign of low intelligence, when in fact, in many other languages it is Wanda who will sound more foreign, have a heavier accent, or will speak in an unnaturally formal way. Pietro will sound more natural in some cases because the languages he’s retained are largely what people would speak in their everyday lives. Wanda would sound either aristocratic, eccentric, arrogant, or just plain silted in some language because she is using the 100% formal, proper, grammatically correct forms of verbs and articles an things. With regard to English, Wanda begins to learn a lot more casual ways of speaking once she comes to live with the Avengers. Although, after Pietro dies, whenever she is alone and talking to him, she still speaks to him in Romani. And that just hit me in the feels. XD

Alright, that’s all I’ve got on that subject, but if you have any further questions about this topic, feel free to send them along. Thank you for sending this in! =)

[kalofagas-ca]

Keftedakia With a Paprika Sauce

Keftedakia With a Paprika Sauce

Here’s a bookmarked recipe that I finally got around to trying this summer. Keftedes are a seasoned Greek meatball and here we have the use of the the diminutive, “keftedakia” or little meatballs. The recipe comes from Ethnos, one of Greece’s daily newspapers. It seems every paper in Greece has a section dedicated to food, most offer a special food magazine monthly and some even have a part of…

[konputer]

RT @carolecadwalla: “Boris Johnson had gone out publicly and essentially asked Britons ... to accept death,” said the Greek newspaper Ethnos. It declared him “more dangerous than coronavirus”. https://bit.ly/3bse66e

“Boris Johnson had gone out publicly and essentially asked Britons ... to accept death,” said the Greek newspaper Ethnos. It declared him “more dangerous than coronavirus”.https://t.co/XVb89ibkUp

— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) March 24, 2020

from Twitter https://twitter.com/hellokonputer March 25, 2020 at 11:08AM

[prevnews]

Macedonia name: after the referendum, the battle of Parliament

Power and opposition screamed victory Monday after the referendum on the new name of Macedonia, with a victory of yes but also a massive abstention that raises uncertainty about ratification in Parliament. The agreement signed in June by Macedonian Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Greek Alexis Tsipras, plans to christen "Republic of Northern Macedonia" this small, poor country of the Balkans. This would close the conflict with Athens, which for a quarter of a century has accused its small neighbor of usurping its historical heritage and blocking its path to the European Union and NATO. According to the results of almost all polling stations on Monday, 91.48% of voters who voted Sunday voted yes, while 5.64% voted no to this agreement. But the very strong abstention - after two-thirds of the 1.8 million registered citizens did not take part in this referendum - undermines the legitimacy of the vote, on which relied the Social Democrat Zoran Zaev to to find in Parliament the two-thirds majority required. With his allies of the Albanian minority parties (20-25% of the 2.1 million inhabitants), he misses eleven elected. In the perspective of this battle, everyone offers his contradictory readings of popular sovereignty. "More than 90% of the total votes are for yes, so now it is the turn of the Parliament to confirm the will of the majority," Zoran Zaev told AFP. The boss of the right-wing opposition (VMRO-DPMNE), Hristijan Mickoski, told him that "the government had lost its legitimacy, and that the only thing left to do was to respect the will of the people". reside in his eyes in the mass of those who responded to calls for boycott. - Towards elections - He himself did not participate in the vote, as did President Gjorge Ivanov, whose role is honorific, resolute opponent of the agreement with Greece. "More than 600,000 citizens voted Yes," the daily Sloboden Pecat, close to power, said Monday. "Failure of the referendum, Macedonia is heading for new elections," according to his competitor Vecer, favorable to the opposition. For the opponents, the vote is rendered invalid by a constitutional provision which requires a quorum of 50% for imperative referendums. But Zoran Zaev retorts that the referendum was advisory and that this bar does not have to be reached. "This type of referendum serves as an indicator for those responsible for making a decision, in this case the Parliament," says constitutional law professor Subhi Jakupi, for whom the quorum rule does not apply. "Everyone knows that the lists are not up to date" that the figure of 1.8 million voters is "inflated" when the reality is between 1.4 and 1.5 million because of an emigration of mass, says the French academic specialist in the Balkans, Loïc Tregoures. No census has been conducted since 2002. Convincing eleven deputies of right to defect seems complicated for Zoran Zaev, even if the VMRO-DPMNE is divided. If he does not succeed, he will call early elections in November. - 'Hurry up' - A likely outcome for political commentator Aco Abranov: "Zaev will not succeed in Parliament and we will soon have elections that the VMRO-DPMNE will lose", he predicts, citing his recent poor electoral results and the dismay of the right-wing party since that he lost power. On Sunday night, Westerners reiterated to Macedonian officials that there was no plan B. "The NATO gate is open, but all national procedures must be completed," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted. Greece, which has been cautious about what the Ethnos newspaper has described as a "Pyrrhic victory", has always warned that its veto will not be lifted until the problem is solved. "Time is running out because Tsipras has taken a lot of risks and nothing says that the next Greek government will be on the same line," warned Loïc Trégoures. Read the full article

[newsintodays-blog]

Tsipras declares 'day of liberation' after Greece exits bailout

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/08/21/tsipras-declares-day-of-liberation-after-greece-exits-bailout/

Tsipras declares 'day of liberation' after Greece exits bailout

ATHENS (Reuters) – Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the end of a “modern-day Odyssey” on Tuesday after Greece emerged from nine years of bailouts, saying it should never forget the harsh lessons learned under tight financial supervision by its creditors.

FILE PHOTO – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for the second day of a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2018. Tatyana Zenkovich/Pool via REUTERS

“This is a day of liberation,” Tsipras declared, standing on a hilltop overlooking a bay on the Ionian island of Ithaca.

His decision to give a post-bailout speech on the island was laden with classical symbolism: in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, returned home from the Trojan war after a 10-year voyage lost at sea.

Looking somber, Tsipras said: “We will not commit the affront of ignoring the lessons of the bailout on Greece. We will not let oblivion mislead us.”

He added: “We will never forget the cause, or the people who led our country into bailouts.”

Greece’s third bailout deal ended on Monday. The country’s international creditors had bankrolled the country in return for tough reforms and austerity monitored by their inspectors since 2010.

Athens, which will now rely on markets to refinance its debt, has been considering bond issues to re-establish itself as a regular borrower. However, with debt markets jittery over Italy and Turkey, that plan is on the back burner. A bond issue now could prove too expensive.

With an accumulated cash cushion of about 24 billion euros, Greece can wait for calmer days; this is enough to cover about two years of its borrowing needs.

Tsipras, a leftist elected in 2015 promising to tear up the bailouts, was forced instead to accept a loan package that August to stave off bankruptcy and the prospect of the country being ejected from the euro zone.

It was the nation’s third since 2010, and the country has altogether received 288 billion euros ($330 billion) from creditors, making it the biggest bailout in history.

ODYSSEY, AKA BAILOUT

Dressed casually in a white open shirt and slacks, Tsipras drew frequent analogies with the Odyssey, in which the hero was called to deal with the Cyclops, sirens and unruly suitors plotting to take his place – a dig at the opposition New Democracy party, which is leading in opinion polls.

“Ithaca will once again be identified with the end of a modern-day Odyssey,” he said.

“Three-and-a-half years ago, our people took a historic decision. To take the helm away from those who led it to the rocks, and to give it to new captains,” Tsipras said, referring to the election victory of his Syriza party.

He faces elections next year.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused Tsipras of putting on “a show”.

“The symbolism of Ithaca is false,” he said in a televised address. “We have not reached the end of the journey. Today is the end of cheap financing, but the tough measures and heavy commitments signed by Mr Tsipras will continue.”

Former socialist prime minister George Papandreou, who applied for the first bailout from Greece’s euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in April 2010, also once drew on the Odyssey analogy.

“We are on a difficult path, a new odyssey for Greece and for the Greek nation,” Papandreou said at the time. “But we know the way to Ithaca, and we have charted the waters in our quest.”

Austerity and political turmoil followed as the economy shrank by a quarter, pushing a third of the population into poverty and forcing the migration of thousands abroad.

More bailouts followed in 2012 and 2015, saddling the country with debt equivalent to 180 percent of its annual economic output, despite relief on repayments of its official debt and a writedown of bonds held by private creditors.

In return for the debt relief, Greece will have to maintain primary budget surpluses – excluding debt repayments – in the coming years, and further cuts in pensions may be made in 2019.

One newspaper also referred to the long voyage of Odysseus. “Even after Ithaca we will still be rowing,” the daily Ethnos said on its front page.

($1 = 0.8744 euros)

editing by David Stamp, Larry King

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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[smnews]

The death toll from a fire which ripped through a Greek coastal town stood at 80 on Wednesday as frantic relatives tried to track down people missing from the inferno and coroners began the grim task of identifying bodies. Hundreds of people were trapped in the eastern resort of Mati on Monday night as flames whipped around them. Many jumped into the sea to survive but others died from suffocation, either in their cars or trapped on the edge of steep cliffs. The Greek anti-terrorist service was investigating suggestions that the blaze - one of several throughout the Attica region - was started deliberately, a security source said. Arson is often thought to be behind some fires in a crude attempt to clear forest land for building. The fire brigade said the death of a survivor in hospital had brought the toll up to 80. The service had also received dozens of calls reporting missing persons, but it was unclear if some of them were among those found dead, a spokesperson said.  Some appeared on television to plead for help, and others posted pictures online of their missing loved ones.  "I'm looking for my mum," a young woman told Greece's SKAI TV between sobs. Her mother was Athina Karakoulaki, 48, whom she last spoke to on Monday afternoon as the flames closed in. A father also appealed on Greek TV for help to find his missing 9-year-old twin daughters after he thought he recognised them in TV news footage below.  Sophia and Vasiliki's father recognised them in TV news footage of their escape from the fires on a boat, and is now appealing for help to find his daughters Yiannis Philipopoulos and his wife had spent the day fruitlessly searching local hospitals and through law enforcement agencies on Tuesday, and said seeing the footage of the boat on the TV news had given them hope that their daughters, who went missing with their grandparents, were still alive.  But later reports in Greece said that a man who was on board the boat had come forward to say the girls were his, meaning that Mr Philipopoulous' twins Sofia and Vasiliki (pictured below, left to right) remain among the ranks of the missing.  Greece wildfires: missing twins photo The fire in Mati broke out close to 5pm, (2pm UK time), an hour which is observed as a siesta time in rural Greek communities. Mati was popular with local tourists, including pensioners, and they were caught up in the tragedy alongside international tourists - including a handful of Brits and an Irish honeymooning couple - as well as local residents.  Rescue teams combed through the area and the sea on Wednesday trying to locate anything which could offer clarity on the missing, who are thought to number about 40. "We took our cars and went down to the sea and got into the sea to escape, but there were people who did not make it," said Mati resident Agni Gantona. "We got into the water and stayed there for about five hours until the boats came to pick us up. We were at the beach with about 250, 300 people. "Some were burned, some were near fainting from the smoke and the flames. Groups of us, we were holding each other by the hand and shouting each other's names, because we could not see from the smoke." With most of the corpses badly charred, identification of the dead will be challenging, experts said. "Work has started on identifying the victims of the wildfires but the majority of the bodies are totally charred," Grigoris Leon, head of the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine, told Reuters. An aerial view shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in the village of Mati Credit: REUTERS/EUROKINISSI The post-mortems and identification procedures are taking place at a morgue at Shisto, west of Athens. Leon said this will involve team work by coroners, forensic dentistry experts from the Athens University's Dental School, and the police forensic service. It was unclear what caused the fire, which spread rapidly through the community. But some suggested that the sheer force of winds, thick pine, fire and panic was a deadly combination making even the most well-executed evacuation plan futile. Greece wildfires gallery puff "Armaggeddon," wrote the daily newspaper Ethnos on its front page, a reference to the Biblical location prophesising the end of times. It carried a photo of a burned Greek flag hanging among the branches of a charred tree. Bride in hospital and groom missing as Irish newlyweds caught up in wildfires A newly-married Irish couple were also caught up in the wildfires. Zoe Holohan and Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp became separated as they tried to escape the fires in the coastal town of Mati. The pair got married at Clonabreany House in Kells, Co Meath, last Thursday before flying out to Greece for their honeymoon on Saturday. Ms Holohan, who works in advertising for the Sunday World, is in hospital after suffering burns to her head and hands, but her husband has not yet been found. Zoe Holohan on her wedding day. She is now recovering from the Greek fires in hospital Credit: PA The couple, who live in Dublin, were travelling in a vehicle when they were forced to flee. Ms Holohan was able to escape to a nearby beach and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night. The British Embassy said a number of Brits had also been evacuated, with one in hospital with minor injuries.  'Mati no longer exists': Resort devastated by blaze Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said firefighters were still searching for more victims and taking "dozens of calls" from people looking for relatives. Winds of above 60mph in Mati caused a "sudden progression of fire" through the village, said Maliri. "Mati no longer exists," said the mayor of nearby Rafina, Evangelos Bournous, adding that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged. "I saw the flames outside the window of our hotel. I thought it would explode," said Alina Marzin, a 20-year-old German tourist who had been staying at the Capo Verde hotel in Mati on Monday evening with her brother and their parents. At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea. Some 715 people were evacuated by boats to Rafina, the government said. One rescuer told The Telegraph that rescuing those in the sea was his "duty as a human".  Egyptian fisherman Halil Tafir, 42, said the coastguard asked if he could help the victims, many of whom were struggling for air in the waves, so he set out on his fishing boat.  “They were terrified and nervous," he said. "I pulled them up with my hands and used the rope to get them. I saw at least two dead bodies in the water. And I saw a 70 year old lady who was covered in burns. I tried to save her but at first I couldn’t reach her. We finally got her into the boat. “I was so glad I could rescue them and they thanked me.” The boat could only fit 20 people at a time, forcing the fishermen to make multiple trips to and from the safety of nearby Rafina. At one point the flames were so close they were licking around the boat, he said. He finally stopped rescuing people at 3am on Tuesday morning.  But Mr Tafir says he is no hero.  “I’m just human. It was my duty to help as a human,” he said.  Wildfires The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism after Greece sought help. Several countries said they were sending aircraft to help fight the flames. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people", while Pope Francis spoke of his "deep sadness," sentiments echoed by EU and NATO leaders. NATO head Jens Stoltenberg offered the alliance's full solidarity with Greece, whose government earmarked financial aid for victims' relatives. "People are shocked, lost. Some of them have lost everything: children, parents, homes," said Red Cross spokeswoman Georgia Trisbioti. Wildfire in Mati, Greece Were fires started by arsonists? Investigation begins Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said the priority was to extinguish a fire still burning in Kineta, 30 miles from Athens. Near the town of Marathon, residents fled to safety along the beach, while 600 children were evacuated from holiday camps. Officials raised the possibility the blazes could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes. "I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires," Tsipras said as supreme court prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire. Showers were set to see temperatures around Athens drop slightly after hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Fires rage across Europe amid record temperatures The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days. Sweden, experiencing an unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century, has counted more than 20 fires across the country. Fires have also hit Finland's northernmost Lapland province. A global heatwave map shows how the UK was another warm blob in a mostly warmer-than-normal world in June 2018 Norway, which experienced its hottest May temperatures on record, has seen several small fires. One firefighter was killed on July 15 trying to contain a blaze. Fires have raged for five days in Latvia, destroying more than 1,000 hectares in the Baltic state.

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Greece wildfires: Death toll hits 80 as anti-terror unit launches investigation

The death toll from a fire which ripped through a Greek coastal town stood at 80 on Wednesday as frantic relatives tried to track down people missing from the inferno and coroners began the grim task of identifying bodies. Hundreds of people were trapped in the eastern resort of Mati on Monday night as flames whipped around them. Many jumped into the sea to survive but others died from suffocation, either in their cars or trapped on the edge of steep cliffs. The Greek anti-terrorist service was investigating suggestions that the blaze - one of several throughout the Attica region - was started deliberately, a security source said. Arson is often thought to be behind some fires in a crude attempt to clear forest land for building. The fire brigade said the death of a survivor in hospital had brought the toll up to 80. The service had also received dozens of calls reporting missing persons, but it was unclear if some of them were among those found dead, a spokesperson said.  Some appeared on television to plead for help, and others posted pictures online of their missing loved ones.  "I'm looking for my mum," a young woman told Greece's SKAI TV between sobs. Her mother was Athina Karakoulaki, 48, whom she last spoke to on Monday afternoon as the flames closed in. A father also appealed on Greek TV for help to find his missing 9-year-old twin daughters after he thought he recognised them in TV news footage below.  Sophia and Vasiliki's father recognised them in TV news footage of their escape from the fires on a boat, and is now appealing for help to find his daughters Yiannis Philipopoulos and his wife had spent the day fruitlessly searching local hospitals and through law enforcement agencies on Tuesday, and said seeing the footage of the boat on the TV news had given them hope that their daughters, who went missing with their grandparents, were still alive.  But later reports in Greece said that a man who was on board the boat had come forward to say the girls were his, meaning that Mr Philipopoulous' twins Sofia and Vasiliki (pictured below, left to right) remain among the ranks of the missing.  Greece wildfires: missing twins photo The fire in Mati broke out close to 5pm, (2pm UK time), an hour which is observed as a siesta time in rural Greek communities. Mati was popular with local tourists, including pensioners, and they were caught up in the tragedy alongside international tourists - including a handful of Brits and an Irish honeymooning couple - as well as local residents.  Rescue teams combed through the area and the sea on Wednesday trying to locate anything which could offer clarity on the missing, who are thought to number about 40. "We took our cars and went down to the sea and got into the sea to escape, but there were people who did not make it," said Mati resident Agni Gantona. "We got into the water and stayed there for about five hours until the boats came to pick us up. We were at the beach with about 250, 300 people. "Some were burned, some were near fainting from the smoke and the flames. Groups of us, we were holding each other by the hand and shouting each other's names, because we could not see from the smoke." With most of the corpses badly charred, identification of the dead will be challenging, experts said. "Work has started on identifying the victims of the wildfires but the majority of the bodies are totally charred," Grigoris Leon, head of the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine, told Reuters. An aerial view shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in the village of Mati Credit: REUTERS/EUROKINISSI The post-mortems and identification procedures are taking place at a morgue at Shisto, west of Athens. Leon said this will involve team work by coroners, forensic dentistry experts from the Athens University's Dental School, and the police forensic service. It was unclear what caused the fire, which spread rapidly through the community. But some suggested that the sheer force of winds, thick pine, fire and panic was a deadly combination making even the most well-executed evacuation plan futile. Greece wildfires gallery puff "Armaggeddon," wrote the daily newspaper Ethnos on its front page, a reference to the Biblical location prophesising the end of times. It carried a photo of a burned Greek flag hanging among the branches of a charred tree. Bride in hospital and groom missing as Irish newlyweds caught up in wildfires A newly-married Irish couple were also caught up in the wildfires. Zoe Holohan and Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp became separated as they tried to escape the fires in the coastal town of Mati. The pair got married at Clonabreany House in Kells, Co Meath, last Thursday before flying out to Greece for their honeymoon on Saturday. Ms Holohan, who works in advertising for the Sunday World, is in hospital after suffering burns to her head and hands, but her husband has not yet been found. Zoe Holohan on her wedding day. She is now recovering from the Greek fires in hospital Credit: PA The couple, who live in Dublin, were travelling in a vehicle when they were forced to flee. Ms Holohan was able to escape to a nearby beach and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night. The British Embassy said a number of Brits had also been evacuated, with one in hospital with minor injuries.  'Mati no longer exists': Resort devastated by blaze Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said firefighters were still searching for more victims and taking "dozens of calls" from people looking for relatives. Winds of above 60mph in Mati caused a "sudden progression of fire" through the village, said Maliri. "Mati no longer exists," said the mayor of nearby Rafina, Evangelos Bournous, adding that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged. "I saw the flames outside the window of our hotel. I thought it would explode," said Alina Marzin, a 20-year-old German tourist who had been staying at the Capo Verde hotel in Mati on Monday evening with her brother and their parents. At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea. Some 715 people were evacuated by boats to Rafina, the government said. One rescuer told The Telegraph that rescuing those in the sea was his "duty as a human".  Egyptian fisherman Halil Tafir, 42, said the coastguard asked if he could help the victims, many of whom were struggling for air in the waves, so he set out on his fishing boat.  “They were terrified and nervous," he said. "I pulled them up with my hands and used the rope to get them. I saw at least two dead bodies in the water. And I saw a 70 year old lady who was covered in burns. I tried to save her but at first I couldn’t reach her. We finally got her into the boat. “I was so glad I could rescue them and they thanked me.” The boat could only fit 20 people at a time, forcing the fishermen to make multiple trips to and from the safety of nearby Rafina. At one point the flames were so close they were licking around the boat, he said. He finally stopped rescuing people at 3am on Tuesday morning.  But Mr Tafir says he is no hero.  “I’m just human. It was my duty to help as a human,” he said.  Wildfires The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism after Greece sought help. Several countries said they were sending aircraft to help fight the flames. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people", while Pope Francis spoke of his "deep sadness," sentiments echoed by EU and NATO leaders. NATO head Jens Stoltenberg offered the alliance's full solidarity with Greece, whose government earmarked financial aid for victims' relatives. "People are shocked, lost. Some of them have lost everything: children, parents, homes," said Red Cross spokeswoman Georgia Trisbioti. Wildfire in Mati, Greece Were fires started by arsonists? Investigation begins Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said the priority was to extinguish a fire still burning in Kineta, 30 miles from Athens. Near the town of Marathon, residents fled to safety along the beach, while 600 children were evacuated from holiday camps. Officials raised the possibility the blazes could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes. "I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires," Tsipras said as supreme court prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire. Showers were set to see temperatures around Athens drop slightly after hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Fires rage across Europe amid record temperatures The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days. Sweden, experiencing an unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century, has counted more than 20 fires across the country. Fires have also hit Finland's northernmost Lapland province. A global heatwave map shows how the UK was another warm blob in a mostly warmer-than-normal world in June 2018 Norway, which experienced its hottest May temperatures on record, has seen several small fires. One firefighter was killed on July 15 trying to contain a blaze. Fires have raged for five days in Latvia, destroying more than 1,000 hectares in the Baltic state.

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[saadullah-faisal-world]

The death toll from a fire which ripped through a Greek coastal town stood at 80 on Wednesday as frantic relatives tried to track down people missing from the inferno and coroners began the grim task of identifying bodies. Hundreds of people were trapped in the eastern resort of Mati on Monday night as flames whipped around them. Many jumped into the sea to survive but others died from suffocation, either in their cars or trapped on the edge of steep cliffs. The Greek anti-terrorist service was investigating suggestions that the blaze - one of several throughout the Attica region - was started deliberately, a security source said. Arson is often thought to be behind some fires in a crude attempt to clear forest land for building. The fire brigade said the death of a survivor in hospital had brought the toll up to 80. The service had also received dozens of calls reporting missing persons, but it was unclear if some of them were among those found dead, a spokesperson said.  Some appeared on television to plead for help, and others posted pictures online of their missing loved ones.  "I'm looking for my mum," a young woman told Greece's SKAI TV between sobs. Her mother was Athina Karakoulaki, 48, whom she last spoke to on Monday afternoon as the flames closed in. A father also appealed on Greek TV for help to find his missing 9-year-old twin daughters after he thought he recognised them in TV news footage below.  Sophia and Vasiliki's father recognised them in TV news footage of their escape from the fires on a boat, and is now appealing for help to find his daughters Yiannis Philipopoulos and his wife had spent the day fruitlessly searching local hospitals and through law enforcement agencies on Tuesday, and said seeing the footage of the boat on the TV news had given them hope that their daughters, who went missing with their grandparents, were still alive.  But later reports in Greece said that a man who was on board the boat had come forward to say the girls were his, meaning that Mr Philipopoulous' twins Sofia and Vasiliki (pictured below, left to right) remain among the ranks of the missing.  Greece wildfires: missing twins photo The fire in Mati broke out close to 5pm, (2pm UK time), an hour which is observed as a siesta time in rural Greek communities. Mati was popular with local tourists, including pensioners, and they were caught up in the tragedy alongside international tourists - including a handful of Brits and an Irish honeymooning couple - as well as local residents.  Rescue teams combed through the area and the sea on Wednesday trying to locate anything which could offer clarity on the missing, who are thought to number about 40. "We took our cars and went down to the sea and got into the sea to escape, but there were people who did not make it," said Mati resident Agni Gantona. "We got into the water and stayed there for about five hours until the boats came to pick us up. We were at the beach with about 250, 300 people. "Some were burned, some were near fainting from the smoke and the flames. Groups of us, we were holding each other by the hand and shouting each other's names, because we could not see from the smoke." With most of the corpses badly charred, identification of the dead will be challenging, experts said. "Work has started on identifying the victims of the wildfires but the majority of the bodies are totally charred," Grigoris Leon, head of the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine, told Reuters. An aerial view shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in the village of Mati Credit: REUTERS/EUROKINISSI The post-mortems and identification procedures are taking place at a morgue at Shisto, west of Athens. Leon said this will involve team work by coroners, forensic dentistry experts from the Athens University's Dental School, and the police forensic service. It was unclear what caused the fire, which spread rapidly through the community. But some suggested that the sheer force of winds, thick pine, fire and panic was a deadly combination making even the most well-executed evacuation plan futile. Greece wildfires gallery puff "Armaggeddon," wrote the daily newspaper Ethnos on its front page, a reference to the Biblical location prophesising the end of times. It carried a photo of a burned Greek flag hanging among the branches of a charred tree. Bride in hospital and groom missing as Irish newlyweds caught up in wildfires A newly-married Irish couple were also caught up in the wildfires. Zoe Holohan and Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp became separated as they tried to escape the fires in the coastal town of Mati. The pair got married at Clonabreany House in Kells, Co Meath, last Thursday before flying out to Greece for their honeymoon on Saturday. Ms Holohan, who works in advertising for the Sunday World, is in hospital after suffering burns to her head and hands, but her husband has not yet been found. Zoe Holohan on her wedding day. She is now recovering from the Greek fires in hospital Credit: PA The couple, who live in Dublin, were travelling in a vehicle when they were forced to flee. Ms Holohan was able to escape to a nearby beach and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night. The British Embassy said a number of Brits had also been evacuated, with one in hospital with minor injuries.  'Mati no longer exists': Resort devastated by blaze Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said firefighters were still searching for more victims and taking "dozens of calls" from people looking for relatives. Winds of above 60mph in Mati caused a "sudden progression of fire" through the village, said Maliri. "Mati no longer exists," said the mayor of nearby Rafina, Evangelos Bournous, adding that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged. "I saw the flames outside the window of our hotel. I thought it would explode," said Alina Marzin, a 20-year-old German tourist who had been staying at the Capo Verde hotel in Mati on Monday evening with her brother and their parents. At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea. Some 715 people were evacuated by boats to Rafina, the government said. One rescuer told The Telegraph that rescuing those in the sea was his "duty as a human".  Egyptian fisherman Halil Tafir, 42, said the coastguard asked if he could help the victims, many of whom were struggling for air in the waves, so he set out on his fishing boat.  “They were terrified and nervous," he said. "I pulled them up with my hands and used the rope to get them. I saw at least two dead bodies in the water. And I saw a 70 year old lady who was covered in burns. I tried to save her but at first I couldn’t reach her. We finally got her into the boat. “I was so glad I could rescue them and they thanked me.” The boat could only fit 20 people at a time, forcing the fishermen to make multiple trips to and from the safety of nearby Rafina. At one point the flames were so close they were licking around the boat, he said. He finally stopped rescuing people at 3am on Tuesday morning.  But Mr Tafir says he is no hero.  “I’m just human. It was my duty to help as a human,” he said.  Wildfires The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism after Greece sought help. Several countries said they were sending aircraft to help fight the flames. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people", while Pope Francis spoke of his "deep sadness," sentiments echoed by EU and NATO leaders. NATO head Jens Stoltenberg offered the alliance's full solidarity with Greece, whose government earmarked financial aid for victims' relatives. "People are shocked, lost. Some of them have lost everything: children, parents, homes," said Red Cross spokeswoman Georgia Trisbioti. Wildfire in Mati, Greece Were fires started by arsonists? Investigation begins Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said the priority was to extinguish a fire still burning in Kineta, 30 miles from Athens. Near the town of Marathon, residents fled to safety along the beach, while 600 children were evacuated from holiday camps. Officials raised the possibility the blazes could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes. "I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires," Tsipras said as supreme court prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire. Showers were set to see temperatures around Athens drop slightly after hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Fires rage across Europe amid record temperatures The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days. Sweden, experiencing an unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century, has counted more than 20 fires across the country. Fires have also hit Finland's northernmost Lapland province. A global heatwave map shows how the UK was another warm blob in a mostly warmer-than-normal world in June 2018 Norway, which experienced its hottest May temperatures on record, has seen several small fires. One firefighter was killed on July 15 trying to contain a blaze. Fires have raged for five days in Latvia, destroying more than 1,000 hectares in the Baltic state.

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[teeky185]

The death toll from a fire which ripped through a Greek coastal town stood at 80 on Wednesday as frantic relatives tried to track down people missing from the inferno and coroners began the grim task of identifying bodies. Hundreds of people were trapped in the eastern resort of Mati on Monday night as flames whipped around them. Many jumped into the sea to survive but others died from suffocation, either in their cars or trapped on the edge of steep cliffs. The Greek anti-terrorist service was investigating suggestions that the blaze - one of several throughout the Attica region - was started deliberately, a security source said. Arson is often thought to be behind some fires in a crude attempt to clear forest land for building. The fire brigade said the death of a survivor in hospital had brought the toll up to 80. The service had also received dozens of calls reporting missing persons, but it was unclear if some of them were among those found dead, a spokesperson said.  Some appeared on television to plead for help, and others posted pictures online of their missing loved ones.  "I'm looking for my mum," a young woman told Greece's SKAI TV between sobs. Her mother was Athina Karakoulaki, 48, whom she last spoke to on Monday afternoon as the flames closed in. A father also appealed on Greek TV for help to find his missing 9-year-old twin daughters after he thought he recognised them in TV news footage below.  Sophia and Vasiliki's father recognised them in TV news footage of their escape from the fires on a boat, and is now appealing for help to find his daughters Yiannis Philipopoulos and his wife had spent the day fruitlessly searching local hospitals and through law enforcement agencies on Tuesday, and said seeing the footage of the boat on the TV news had given them hope that their daughters, who went missing with their grandparents, were still alive.  But later reports in Greece said that a man who was on board the boat had come forward to say the girls were his, meaning that Mr Philipopoulous' twins Sofia and Vasiliki (pictured below, left to right) remain among the ranks of the missing.  Greece wildfires: missing twins photo The fire in Mati broke out close to 5pm, (2pm UK time), an hour which is observed as a siesta time in rural Greek communities. Mati was popular with local tourists, including pensioners, and they were caught up in the tragedy alongside international tourists - including a handful of Brits and an Irish honeymooning couple - as well as local residents.  Rescue teams combed through the area and the sea on Wednesday trying to locate anything which could offer clarity on the missing, who are thought to number about 40. "We took our cars and went down to the sea and got into the sea to escape, but there were people who did not make it," said Mati resident Agni Gantona. "We got into the water and stayed there for about five hours until the boats came to pick us up. We were at the beach with about 250, 300 people. "Some were burned, some were near fainting from the smoke and the flames. Groups of us, we were holding each other by the hand and shouting each other's names, because we could not see from the smoke." With most of the corpses badly charred, identification of the dead will be challenging, experts said. "Work has started on identifying the victims of the wildfires but the majority of the bodies are totally charred," Grigoris Leon, head of the Hellenic Society of Forensic Medicine, told Reuters. An aerial view shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in the village of Mati Credit: REUTERS/EUROKINISSI The post-mortems and identification procedures are taking place at a morgue at Shisto, west of Athens. Leon said this will involve team work by coroners, forensic dentistry experts from the Athens University's Dental School, and the police forensic service. It was unclear what caused the fire, which spread rapidly through the community. But some suggested that the sheer force of winds, thick pine, fire and panic was a deadly combination making even the most well-executed evacuation plan futile. Greece wildfires gallery puff "Armaggeddon," wrote the daily newspaper Ethnos on its front page, a reference to the Biblical location prophesising the end of times. It carried a photo of a burned Greek flag hanging among the branches of a charred tree. Bride in hospital and groom missing as Irish newlyweds caught up in wildfires A newly-married Irish couple were also caught up in the wildfires. Zoe Holohan and Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp became separated as they tried to escape the fires in the coastal town of Mati. The pair got married at Clonabreany House in Kells, Co Meath, last Thursday before flying out to Greece for their honeymoon on Saturday. Ms Holohan, who works in advertising for the Sunday World, is in hospital after suffering burns to her head and hands, but her husband has not yet been found. Zoe Holohan on her wedding day. She is now recovering from the Greek fires in hospital Credit: PA The couple, who live in Dublin, were travelling in a vehicle when they were forced to flee. Ms Holohan was able to escape to a nearby beach and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night. The British Embassy said a number of Brits had also been evacuated, with one in hospital with minor injuries.  'Mati no longer exists': Resort devastated by blaze Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said firefighters were still searching for more victims and taking "dozens of calls" from people looking for relatives. Winds of above 60mph in Mati caused a "sudden progression of fire" through the village, said Maliri. "Mati no longer exists," said the mayor of nearby Rafina, Evangelos Bournous, adding that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged. "I saw the flames outside the window of our hotel. I thought it would explode," said Alina Marzin, a 20-year-old German tourist who had been staying at the Capo Verde hotel in Mati on Monday evening with her brother and their parents. At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea. Some 715 people were evacuated by boats to Rafina, the government said. One rescuer told The Telegraph that rescuing those in the sea was his "duty as a human".  Egyptian fisherman Halil Tafir, 42, said the coastguard asked if he could help the victims, many of whom were struggling for air in the waves, so he set out on his fishing boat.  “They were terrified and nervous," he said. "I pulled them up with my hands and used the rope to get them. I saw at least two dead bodies in the water. And I saw a 70 year old lady who was covered in burns. I tried to save her but at first I couldn’t reach her. We finally got her into the boat. “I was so glad I could rescue them and they thanked me.” The boat could only fit 20 people at a time, forcing the fishermen to make multiple trips to and from the safety of nearby Rafina. At one point the flames were so close they were licking around the boat, he said. He finally stopped rescuing people at 3am on Tuesday morning.  But Mr Tafir says he is no hero.  “I’m just human. It was my duty to help as a human,” he said.  Wildfires The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism after Greece sought help. Several countries said they were sending aircraft to help fight the flames. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people", while Pope Francis spoke of his "deep sadness," sentiments echoed by EU and NATO leaders. NATO head Jens Stoltenberg offered the alliance's full solidarity with Greece, whose government earmarked financial aid for victims' relatives. "People are shocked, lost. Some of them have lost everything: children, parents, homes," said Red Cross spokeswoman Georgia Trisbioti. Wildfire in Mati, Greece Were fires started by arsonists? Investigation begins Interior Minister Panos Skourletis said the priority was to extinguish a fire still burning in Kineta, 30 miles from Athens. Near the town of Marathon, residents fled to safety along the beach, while 600 children were evacuated from holiday camps. Officials raised the possibility the blazes could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes. "I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires," Tsipras said as supreme court prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire. Showers were set to see temperatures around Athens drop slightly after hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Fires rage across Europe amid record temperatures The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days. Sweden, experiencing an unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century, has counted more than 20 fires across the country. Fires have also hit Finland's northernmost Lapland province. A global heatwave map shows how the UK was another warm blob in a mostly warmer-than-normal world in June 2018 Norway, which experienced its hottest May temperatures on record, has seen several small fires. One firefighter was killed on July 15 trying to contain a blaze. Fires have raged for five days in Latvia, destroying more than 1,000 hectares in the Baltic state.

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[megadarkbouquettidalwavethings]

Greek Football League Suspended After Gun Controversy

Paok president Ivan Savvidis (C) takes to the pitch carrying a handgun in his waistband © AFP

All fixtures in Greece’s Super League have been suspended indefinitely, according to the government on Monday. The development comes hours after the owner of the PAOK team invaded the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt. “We have decided to suspend the championship,” deputy minister for sport Yiorgos Vassiliadis told reporters after an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “It will not start again without a new framework agreed by all,” Vassiliadis said, adding that the government was in close contact with European football body UEFA.

Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of PAOK owner, Greek-Russian businessman Ivan Savvidis, after he invaded the pitch, accompanied by bodyguards, to confront the referee in protest at a 90th-minute disallowed goal in a top-of-the-table clash against AEK Athens.

The match was interrupted as AEK’s squad walked off the pitch. The goal was later allowed. PAOK and AEK are in a neck-and-neck race for the league title.

A tobacco industrialist with extensive holdings in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Savvidis recently also bought one of Greece’s top newspapers, Ethnos. He is considered a political ally of Tsipras.

Two weeks ago, another match in PAOK’s Toumba stadium was marked by controversy after a cashier roll thrown from the stands hit the coach of visiting rivals Olympiakos.

The match was abandoned and PAOK were initially docked three points but managed to overturn the decision on appeal.

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[worldhotelvideo]

[https://youtu.be/L-P7UpinwMo] Welcome to Hotel Cetarium in Castellammare del Golfo, Italy (Europe). The best of Hotel Cetarium. diving, hiking, cycling and fishing. In the bar section we will be able to enjoy breakfast in the room, room service and bar. As far as transport is concerned, bicycle rental (additional charge) and car hire. For the reception we will be able to meet newspapers, safety deposit box and 24-hour front desk. Within the common areas we will be able to enjoy terrace, shared lounge/tv area, garden and sun terrace and outdoor furniture. The cleaning of the facilities have included laundry. If you fly for business reasons in the accommodation you have meeting/banquet facilities and fax/photocopying. We will be able to highlight other possibilities as lift, non-smoking throughout, designated smoking area, non-smoking rooms, facilities for disabled guests, air conditioning and luggage storage Book now cheaper in http://ift.tt/2oJmGbd You can find more info in http://ift.tt/2F6jIn1 We hope you have a pleasant stay in Hotel Cetarium Other hotels in Castellammare del Golfo La Blanca Resort https://youtu.be/0Dqwdbh6gyg Other hotels in this channel Hotel Moderne St Germain https://youtu.be/BBJ0VntqXUg Hotel Paris Prague https://youtu.be/SPZU--shKS8 Melas Resort Hotel https://youtu.be/rQ-ObM8OGi8 Sky Villa Boutique Hotel https://youtu.be/O26icS_kiyM The Jane https://youtu.be/AxWBUawlHzA Port Marina Hotel https://youtu.be/Tvl-OmuU7G4 Le Palace https://youtu.be/oBu26ioKH7U Mayfair Hotel https://youtu.be/_fnJnxQy60o Coco Bodu Hithi https://youtu.be/-aKLx6ri3To Hotel Delarc https://youtu.be/MNL0u2fmvvg Woodbridge on the Derwent https://youtu.be/6f-RA_dlYf0 Hotel Casa da Montanha https://youtu.be/W3Haghf_6qU Piergiorgio Palace Hotel https://youtu.be/IJQDt1wjoPQ Grand Mercure Shanghai Hongqiao https://youtu.be/7kGA1wfk8XE Hotel Creta Paguera https://youtu.be/FnBgO8Gpskc In Castellammare del Golfo we recommended to visit In the Italy you can visit some of the most recommended places such as Greek Theater of Segesta, Castello Arabo-Normanno - Castellammare del Golfo, Penelope escursioni, Ethno-Anthropological Museum - Annalisa Buccellato, Monte Inici, PARR. MARIA SS. THE AID, Torre Guidaloca, Scopello view and Castello Arabo Normanno vista Panoramica. We also recommend that you do not miss Panorama del Teatro Greco, Scalinata Rotary per la Pace, We hope you have a pleasant stay in Hotel Cetarium and we hope you enjoy our top 10 of the best hotels in Italy All images used in this video are or have been provided by Booking. If you are the owner and do not want this video to appear, simply contact us. You can find us at http://ift.tt/2iPJ6Xr by World Hotel Video

[perspectivemattersministries]

Who’s Kingdom Are You With?

PERSPECTIVE MATTERS...

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...”    ~ Matthew 24:7

The events of recent weeks, and more accurately stated, recent months, reveal that we are living in prophetic times in America. As we read our newspapers and watch the news play out live on television and social media, we can hold up the unparalleled truth of the Word of God, the prophetic Scriptures, and agree together that these are prophetic times we are living in indeed. Living in prophetic times requires prophetic people to have a prophetic response.

The anchor text for our word for today, captioned above, is an interesting prophetic word spoken from the very lips of Jesus Himself. Answering the inquiry of His disciples concerning what will be the sign of His coming and of the close of the age, Jesus provided an exceedingly thorough answer detailed in Matthew 24:4-51. Worldwide, we have been in the period of the “beginning of the birth pains” (Mat. 24:8) for quite some time now. But the prophetic clock of appears to be moving ahead and rapidly speeding up the events being ushered forth what Jesus prophesied would come before He does.

In our text for today, the word translated into our English word for “nation” is derived from the original New Testament Greek word, “ethnos” from which our English word “ethnicity” is derived. Throughout the years we have heard of foreign news reports about “ethnic cleansing” in various lands throughout the world including Europe, Asia and Africa. Now the intensely cruel idea of ethnic cleansing has come to America, long considered one of the bastions of freedom and civility left in the world.

A proper reading of the original Greek text might read like this: “For ethnicity will rise against ethnicity, and kingdom against kingdom...” Ethnic groups are most often distinguished by skin color, facial features and culture. These parameters measure both exterior and interior contents. While skin color and facial features are without question fleshly, culture is especially soulish. It is your culture that truly defines you as a person in as much as your soul does. Culture is woven into the soul of a person. It comes out in the manner in which you dance and dine, live and love. It is expressed through language and fashion, music and art.

Separate a person from his or her culture and you separate the person from their very self, their very soul. African slaves violently removed from their land and culture could never be stripped of their soul and their unique culture that was inextricably woven into them has managed to survive through music, art, cuisine, fashion and other cultural identification. The same can be said of Latinos removed from Latin America, Irish removed from Ireland, Italians removed from Italy, etc. That is why “Soul Music” and “Soul Food” are so aptly named. They are the products of the soul and experiences of the people out of which they came.

Whether he knew it or not, President Trump made a profound statement when he admitted publicly during his Tuesday night tirade his fear that “our culture” is being dismantled by the dismantling of Confederate relics of our disgraceful national past. He quite frankly stoked the fires of ethnic hatred drawn on cultural fault lines. What is even more troubling has been the excruciating silence from the ignoble Christian Right inhabited by Evangelicals both white and black. In fact, we are witnessing with our own eyes the embrace of turbulence bent on the ethnic cleansing of American shores of those who neither look like them or hold their culture sacrosanct. America chose its king and its kingdom... It chose Babylon and a contemporary version of Nebuchadnezzar, a culture steeped in commerce and arrogance just like the first Babylon and its king that preceded this one. As it ended badly for the first Babylon, it will also be so for this one.

It is time to chose kingdoms. You cannot be complicit with the kingdoms of this world that are on the verge of devouring each other along color and culture fault lines. It is the response of the people of God that was prophesied by such events that would have us seeking God and looking for a way out of the land that even our love inspired by our devotion to Christ could not redeem, a land that would continue to betray both God and us.

“2 Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.’ 3 For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away. 4 In those days and in that tIme, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten” (Jer. 50:2).

As we matriculate through the periods of history preordained by the prophetic Word of God, we must remain vigilant and awake to the times we are living in. We are entering the period of labor contractions that will serve to dial up the birth pains as the earth begins to dilate  and prepare to crown our coming King as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Hear this word of the Lord for the shamelessness of our President and the culture of pride and superiority he presides over: 

“31 Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. 32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him. 33 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is His name. He will surely plead their cause, that He may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon” (Jer. 50:31-34).

The unrest has come to the inhabitants of this Babylon. Find your rest in the King of the Kingdom of God and among those who have forsaken the culture of this world and its kingdoms in favor of the culture of Christ into which we have been adopted not only as citizens but as sons and daughters. Because His Kingdom cannot be shaken, even in these turbulent times, neither can you! Chose your kingdom! Perspective Matters...

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[ralphturchiano]

Turkey test Greek defenses, violates Greek airspace 138 times in one day. Rising Airspace tensions between Greece and Turkey Thursday, 02 February 2017 The Turkish planes, one pair and four single aircraft, entered the Greek airspace on Wednesday morning, violating it a total of 138 times during the day, including eight times over the Imia and Kalolimnos islands, the Ethnos newspaper said on Wednesday.