Author Topic: 29/12/22  (Read 1661 times)

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Offline Maik

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29/12/22
« on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 02:50:17 »
Today’s bank rates:
1 €UR = £0.9070 GBP
1 €UR = $1.0959 USD
£1 GBP = 1.1025 €UR
$1 USD = 0.9125 €UR

Based on Alpha Bank exchange rates, these are widely used by exchange agencies in Greece.
Other banks likely to offer a different rate which may be marginally higher or lower.
Banks and foreign exchange offices normally charge standard 2% commission.
You may get a better rate changing your holiday money in advance at e.g the
Post Office.
NB: some f-ex agencies advertise "No Commission".
Invariably, they deduct commission before they (don't) advertise the rate.
Foreign exchange offices are businesses, not charities.


Ten day weather forecast for Kefalonia:
This is an overall forecast, due to the mountainous terrain the weather can be very localised.
Updated forecast @
weather.com

Day, Date   Hi°/Lo°   Wind sp   Wet   Forecast
Thu 29/12   17°/11°   05 km/h   24%   Sun & cloud
Fri 30/12   17°/12°   07 km/h   12%   Sun & cloud
Sat 31/12   17°/11°   05 km/h   14%   Sun & cloud
Sun 01/01   17°/11°   05 km/h   12%   Sunny
Mon 02/01   18°/11°   05 km/h   08%   Sunny
Tue 03/01   18°/12°   11 km/h   08%   Mostly sunny
Wed 04/01   17°/12°   08 km/h   08%   Sun & cloud
Thu 05/01   16°/10°   13 km/h   08%   Sun & cloud
Fri 06/01   15°/10°   14 km/h   18%   Sun & cloud
Sat 07/01   16°/11°   12 km/h   09%   Sun & cloud

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #1 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 02:58:48 »
Quote
Cruel owner stamped on bull dog pup in Rochdale after she chewed the remote control

A puppy who was hit, kicked and stamped on by her owner after she chewed the TV remote controller has been found a loving new home.

Kia, an 11-month-old American bull type dog, was left with injuries to her face and eyes after the vicious attack in Rochdale.

A witness said they heard her yelping and heard a man shouting at Kia, before hitting her in the face, stamping on her and picking something up from the ground and hitting her twice in the head with it - all because she had damaged the remote control for the TV.

A nervous and badly injured Kia was rescued from Rochdale and taken into the care of the RSPCA's Greater Manchester Animal Hospital. Both of her eyes were red and bloodshot and there was a cut above her left eye. Vets discovered bruising to her face, mouth chin, neck and ears and she also had a fractured tooth. She was treated at the hospital where she stayed for two nights before being transferred to the RSPCA Preston branch.
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-12-28/cruel-owner-stamped-on-bull-dog-pup-after-she-chewed-the-remote-control

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #2 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 03:01:27 »
Quote
Police pledge to attend every burglary ‘could become box-ticking exercise’
Pledge for officers to visit all victims and crime scenes ‘won’t make a blind bit of difference’ if there is no effort to catch culprits

The police pledge to attend every burglary risks becoming a “box-ticking exercise” in which officers turn up but make no effort to catch the culprit, the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) has warned.

Paul Fotheringham, a former major crime detective, said the boom in doorbell cameras means there is now a wealth of evidence available to help apprehend criminals.

But he added that police have to be given the time and resources to gather the evidence and examine it properly.

Mr Fotheringham warned that measuring performance based on how many burglaries a force responds to would not make a “blind bit of difference” if they do not also increase the number of arrests and prosecutions.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/28/police-pledge-attend-every-burglary-could-become-box-ticking/



Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #3 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 13:38:43 »
Quote
Number of wolves increasing in northern Greece

With scientists noting their growing presence in residential areas in recent years, the Hunting Club of Drama said that three dead wolves have been found in as many months in the northern Greek region.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1201129/number-of-wolves-increasing-in-northern-greece/

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #4 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 15:00:31 »
Quote
Foreign Ministry concerned with developments in Wadi Hilweh

The Greek Foreign Ministry has expressed its concern on Thursday about the events in Wadi Hilweh in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, where Israeli settlers are alleged to have seized land belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1201229/foreign-ministry-concerned-with-developments-in-wadi-hilweh/

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #5 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 15:02:25 »
Quote
‘Polar bomb’ cannot be ruled out for Greece, says expert

Given the extreme weather phenomena observed on all continents, in particular the deadly snowstorm in the US, it cannot be ruled out that Greece will face a “polar bomb,” according to Efthymios Lekkas, a professor of geology and natural disaster management, who cited the climate crisis as the driving force.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1201172/polar-bomb-cannot-be-ruled-out-for-greece-says-expert/

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #6 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 20:04:45 »
Quote
Teen gang rape highlights amoral outlook

Referring to the case, experts have sounded the alarm, noting the lack of understanding of right and wrong, no interest in any sanctions and no concern for the impact of their actions on the victim. 

“From what we know so far about this crime, we are talking about the normalization of heinous acts,” says criminologist Elena Syrmali. 

“We are talking about a lack of perception of right and wrong. Of no interest in any sanctions. Of no understanding of the impact on the victim by children, and at a time when we have talked so many times about the trauma of victims of sexual abuse, at a time when so much is written about rape, when there are campaigns about it all. We are talking about a distorted view of relationships, of what is serious and what is not. A distorted perception of our own boundaries in relation to each other. We’re talking mostly about normalizing cruelty,” she added. 

Sexual abuse, she says, is not about sex, but about imposition, about exerting power over the weak.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1201082/teen-gang-rape-highlights-amoral-outlook/

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #7 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 20:11:00 »
Quote
Man’s €20,000 hidden in the chimney goes up in smoke when wife lights fire

Italian homeowner hid the money in government bonds in his Rome apartment because he was worried about burglars
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/29/mans-20000-hidden-chimney-goes-smoke-when-wife-lights-fire/

 :doh:

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #8 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 20:24:28 »
Quote
One in 10 Tory peers have given more than £100,000 to party
Exclusive: 27 members of House of Lords have donated almost £50m in total to Conservatives

One in 10 Conservative peers are big donors to the party, giving almost £50m in total, new analysis shows, amid controversy over more financial backers believed to have been put forward on Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

The new year honours list giving out knighthoods and damehoods is due to be published on Friday, with Rishi Sunak under pressure to clean up politics by cutting out big donors. Last year under Johnson, David Winton Harding, a billionaire hedge fund manager who had given £1.5m to the Tories, was given a knighthood.

During his three years in power, Johnson submitted the names of six major donors for peerages, including three financiers: Sir Michael Hintze, who has given £4.5m to the Conservatives; Michael Spencer, who together with his company has given about £7m; and Peter Cruddas, who has donated £3.4m.

At least two more donors – David Ross, the Carphone Warehouse founder who arranged Johnson’s £15,000 holiday in Mustique in 2020, and Stuart Marks, a technology entrepreneur – have been tipped for a peerages in his resignation honours list. The list has been expected for some time, but it appears to have been held up during the vetting process, with Sunak facing calls from Labour to block it.

There has also been a growing trend of big donor peers being given jobs as ministers. Most recently, Liz Truss requested a peerage for Dominic Johnson, a former party vice-chairman who has given more than £300,000 and was the business partner of her then business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg. He was subsequently appointed as a trade minister, a job he then retained under Rishi Sunak.

At least six big donor peers have been given government jobs in the last decade, including two schools ministers (Theodore Agnew and John Nash), a Scotland Office minister (Malcolm Offord) and a business minister (Jonathan Marland). Dolar Popat served as a government whip.

In total, at least 40 Conservative donors have been put forward for peerages since John Major’s time in office.

With increasing scrutiny of the House of Lords, particularly in light of the investigations into the Tory peer Michelle Mone, Labour has made clear it would abolish it and is consulting on replacing it with an elected second chamber.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/29/one-in-10-tory-peers-have-given-more-than-100000-to-party

Offline TonyD

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #9 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 21:33:41 »
Just for a bit of balance, let's not forget Blair and Lord Levy's roles in the 2006 (2007?) Cash For Honours scandal, eh?

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #10 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:10:22 »
That was when the Conservative Party was accepting money from undeclared foreign nationals and the Labour Party was accepting legitimate commercial loans, right? After much mud slinging and a long and costly police investigation the CPS said, "No case to answer".

Perhaps another reason why the Lords needs reforms?


Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #11 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:15:11 »
Quote
Pele: Brazil football legend dies aged 82

Brazilian football legend Pele, arguably the greatest player ever, has died at the age of 82.

He is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country.

The only player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, Pele was named Fifa's Player of the Century in 2000.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42751517
« Last Edit: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:17:10 by Maik »

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #12 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:31:16 »
Quote
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood dies

Fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood has died aged 81.

Westwood made her name with her punk and new wave styles in the 1970s and went on to dress some of the biggest names in fashion.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64122181

Online U4ea

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #13 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:32:22 »
That was when the Conservative Party was accepting money from undeclared foreign nationals and the Labour Party was accepting legitimate commercial loans, right? After much mud slinging and a long and costly police investigation the CPS said, "No case to answer".

Perhaps another reason why the Lords needs reforms?

The biggest "loans" accepted in the Blair was the Price Finance Initiative scheme that saddled not the Party but the country with enormous repayments that go on for something like 30 years more.

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #14 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:38:01 »
Quote
Four more children in England die from Strep A bringing UK total to 30

At least 122 people have now died from Strep A - 25 of whom are children - in England, new figures show.
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-12-29/four-more-children-in-england-die-from-strep-a-bringing-uk-total-to-30

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #15 on: Thursday, 29 December, 2022 @ 23:51:27 »
The biggest "loans" accepted in the Blair was the Price Finance Initiative scheme that saddled not the Party but the country with enormous repayments that go on for something like 30 years more.

Private Finance Initiative, initiated by... John Major. A convenient way of putting public money into private businesses.



Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #16 on: Friday, 30 December, 2022 @ 00:15:50 »


Quote
How one walking stick could unlock the secret to Jack the Ripper’s identity
Police researchers believe this cane bears the only known facial composite of the man who brutally murdered five women in London in 1888

Ever since he terrorised the streets of Whitechapel in the autumn of 1888, the mysterious spectre of Jack the Ripper has gripped the public imagination. 

Yet for all the intrigue and speculation which has long swirled around Britain’s most notorious serial killer, little has ever been disclosed about his actual appearance.  

Now, police researchers have rediscovered a walking cane they believe bears the only known facial composite of the man who murdered and mutilated five women 133 years ago.

The cane had originally been presented to Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline “as a mark of esteem” by his team of seven officers at the conclusion of their investigation into the killing spree. 

Etched into its handle is the haggard face of a man, glaring out menacingly from beneath a dark cowl. 

The suggestion that the cane bears the face of the killer is controversial among other Ripper historians, however. 

There has been speculation that the stick was actually one of many that were hawked by penny dreadful salesmen to curious crowds near the scenes of the killing. 

Another claim is that each of the officers who worked on the case was presented with identical walking sticks and they were bought “off the peg”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/29/how-one-walking-stick-could-unlock-secret-jack-rippers-identity/

Offline Maik

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Re: 29/12/22
« Reply #17 on: Friday, 30 December, 2022 @ 00:18:23 »
Quote
UK Border Force official arrested for being illegal immigrant

The man allegedly lied about his origins when he arrived in the UK twenty years ago
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/29/uk-border-force-official-arrested-immigration-status/

 :iroll: