Author Topic: 21/01/19  (Read 4410 times)

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Offline Maik

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21/01/19
« on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 03:21:39 »
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Despite the Rain, Patras Celebrates the Opening of the 2019 Carnival Season

Despite the heavy rain, thousands of people attended the celebrations of the opening ceremony of the world-famous Patras Carnival on Saturday night.

The third biggest city in Greece has a rich history of Carnival celebrations that go back to the early 19th century.

The theme of this year’s ”Patrino Karnavali” is ”the Carnival that Makes History and Brings Back Memories”.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/01/20/despite-the-rain-patras-celebrates-the-opening-of-the-2019-carnival-season/

Apokreas (without meat) starts 17 February this year but, for some reason I haven't yet discovered, festivities in Patras start around 17 January every year. May have something to do with St. Anthony, but I'm not sure what.

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #1 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 03:30:03 »
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Macedonia and Greece: Clashes in Athens over neighbour's name change

Protesters have clashed with police in the Greek capital Athens at a big rally to oppose the government's deal with Macedonia on changing its name.

Police fired tear gas at some of those attending a protest which attracted tens of thousands to the city.

The deal, which is yet to be approved, designates Greece's northern neighbour as Republic of North Macedonia.

The name Macedonia is sensitive for many Greeks who say it implies a claim on the Greek province of the same name.

Years of wrangling finally brought an agreement last June between Greece's left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart.

A vote on the deal, which aims to end a 28-year row between the nations, is set to take place in the Greek parliament this week.

Organisers had said as many as 600,000 people were expected to take part in Sunday's demonstrations.

The actual numbers fell far short - with police estimating 60,000 in the capital at 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46938371

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #2 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 12:35:05 »
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Zakynthos Hoteliers Call for Island’s Hospital to Operate Normally

According to reports, three patients that were hospitalized on Zakynthos while waiting for days to be transferred to an intensive care unit (ICU) in the country, had died due to delays. It is noted that the hospital on Zakynthos has an ICU but has a shortage of the specialized personnel to staff it. Therefore, ICU patients are sent to other hospitals in Greece. In the case of the three patients on Zakynthos, who were waiting to be transferred since early January, no ICU beds were available anywhere in the country.
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/01/18/zakynthos-hoteliers-islands-hospital-operate-normally/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #3 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 12:50:30 »
Not sure any Brit ex-pats will be interested in going but looks like there will a coaches going from Kef to Athens on 20 January for people wishing to demonstrate against the North Macedonia name deal.

From what I can make out, there was one coach from Kef, maybe half full.
« Last Edit: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:31:56 by Maik »

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #4 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:13:14 »
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Police force offers lunch with the chief constable and 'name a horse' to raise funds to keep its mounted division

A police force is to offer meals with its chief constable and the chance to name a horse in a bid to raise funds for its mounted division.

Merseyside Police has raised more than £50,000 for its police horses since launching their corporate sponsorship scheme last April.

The scheme was launched following a series of budget cuts that threatened the future of its 133-year-old mounted section.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/20/police-force-offer-meals-chief-constable-chance-name-horse-fundraising/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #5 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:14:53 »
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Families could face fines of at least £1,000 for taking children on term-time holidays

Parents could be fined thousands of pounds for taking their children on holiday during term time under a proposal currently being considered by Lancashire County Council.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/family-holidays/term-time-holiday-fines-1000-pounds-per-child/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #6 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:18:23 »
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The 'exhausting' work of factcheckers who track Trump's barrage of lies
Since taking office, Trump has made 7,645 ‘false or misleading claims’. In the month of October he said 1,200 things that were false or misleading, according to Fact Checker database

Donald Trump’s tumultuous presidency has presented problems for journalists the world over. But spare a thought for the people whose job it is to keep track of his lies: the Trump factcheckers.

Since taking office, the president has lied about everything from immigration figures to the number of burgers he served to the Clemson football team at the White House last week.

“It takes up a lot of our time just because he is constantly talking,” said Glenn Kessler, editor and chief writer of the Washington Post’s Fact Checker column.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/21/donald-trump-lies-factcheckers

 :iroll:

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #7 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:22:48 »
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On balance, have we benefited from being in the EU?
Analysis: It is impossible to know what Britain’s economy would look like if we had never joined the EU

“What have the Romans ever done for us?” the Monty Python team famously asked – the implication being that the many benefits, from sanitation to peace, were being taken for granted. Would it be fair, then, to ask in the same spirit: “What has the Treaty of Rome and the European Union ever done for us, the British?”

It is a fair question, but very difficult to answer.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/brexit-explained/eu-benefits-why-remain-brexit-leave-trade-economic-disadvantages-a8735351.html


Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #8 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 13:25:59 »
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Secondary school closes after 56 staff members call in sick with ‘flu’

A school in Southampton has been closed for at least two days after 56 staff members called in sick.

Hundreds of pupils at Redbridge Community School have also fallen ill in a suspected flu outbreak.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/flu-outbreak-sick-redbridge-community-school-closed-southampton-a8737521.html

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #9 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 15:27:56 »

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #10 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 15:36:10 »
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'Ancient' Scottish stone circle was built in 1990s

A stone circle thought to be thousands of years old has turned out to be a lot more modern after a former farm owner admitted building it in the 1990s.

The “recumbent stone circle” in the parish of Leochel-Cushnie, Aberdeenshire, was reported by the site’s current farm and was considered unusual for its small diameter and relatively small stones.

Historic Environment Scotland and Aberdeenshire council’s archaeology service celebrated it as an authentic discovery and continued their research until being contacted by the former owner who said they had built it as a replica in the mid-1990s.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/21/ancient-scottish-stone-circle-was-built-in-1990s

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #11 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 15:59:58 »
Latest from the Ionian Islands Regional Council is approval of funding to the tune of 54,352.71 euros for repairs to roads on Kef and Ithaki. Due for completion in six months after award to winning contractor.

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #12 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 16:08:44 »
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Greece has among highest rate of overqualified foreign workers

In many developed countries, a considerable share of workers is overqualified for their jobs.

Greece (60.7 percent), Spain (53.6 percent) and Italy (51.7 percent) are notable examples of Southern European countries where the foreign-born population has a far higher overqualification rate than the native-born population where the share is 32 percent, 36.9 percent, and 16.9 percent respectively.
http://en.protothema.gr/greece-has-among-highest-rate-of-overqualified-foreign-workers-infographic/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #13 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 16:17:10 »
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Police Arrest Greek Soldier, Briton at Greece-Turkey Border

Greek police arrested a Greek soldier and a British employee for a non-government organization on Sunday for allegedly taking photographs of military installations near the land border with Turkey.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/01/21/police-arrest-greek-soldier-briton-at-greek-turkey-border/

Offline expat

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #14 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 17:28:27 »
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Families could face fines of at least £1,000 for taking children on term-time holidays

Parents could be fined thousands of pounds for taking their children on holiday during term time under a proposal currently being considered by Lancashire County Council.

Whilst i have some sympathy for parents (not a lot) I would like to see this happen, we book holidays when the kids are at school, so there is nothing worse than having a feral kid kicking the back of your plane seat for 4 hours, there is a definite lack of parental care these days.

yours victor meldrew.

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #15 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 21:22:05 »
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Greece: Is it safe to travel to Athens after the political protests this weekend?
GREECE’S capital Athens was at the heart of violent demonstrations this weekend, leaving holidaymakers concerned as to whether it is safe to travel to the historic city.
By Beth Allcock

At least 60,000 people marched through the Greek capital of Athens on Sunday, armed with flares, firebombs and rocks.
https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1075336/greece-athens-holidays-islands-is-it-safe-travel-macedonia-prespes

Er, maybe 60 were armed with flares, fire bombs and rocks, but not all 60,000.


Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #16 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 21:58:59 »
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A million cell phones infected by malware, experts find

About one million mobile phone subscribers in Greece are estimated to have malicious apps or malware installed on their devices, Upstream CEO Guy Krief told Kathimerini, shortly after the Greek firm’s security experts uncovered a suspicious China-made Android weather app.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/236800/article/ekathimerini/news/a-million-cell-phones-infected-by-malware-experts-find

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #17 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:00:38 »

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #18 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:03:13 »
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Greece’s Citizens’ Service Centers To Go Fully Digital

Greece’s Citizens Service Centers (KEP) are about to fully digitize their services, state-run AMNA news agency reported earlier this week.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/01/20/greeces-citizens-service-centers-to-go-fully-digital/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #19 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:05:20 »
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English Shipping Company Registers Fleet in Cyprus Due to Brexit

P & O Ferries, a British shipping firm, has decided to register its entire English Channel operating fleet in Cyprus, a company spokesman told the Cypriot state-run CNA news agency on Friday.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/01/20/english-shipping-company-registers-fleet-in-cyprus-due-to-brexit/

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #20 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:38:15 »

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #21 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:54:40 »
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Shrinkflation: Hundreds of products are getting smaller, from cereals to chocolate bars
Inflation has been low but manufacturers continue to implement ‘stealthy’ price rises by making packets smaller, research finds

Hundreds of products including bread, breakfast cereal and chocolate bars have decreased in size, leaving shoppers with stealth price rises.

Shrinkflation – where an item gets smaller but the price remains the same – affected 206 products, compared to 79 items that increased in size, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A number size changes have attracted attention, particularly the increase in the triangle gaps of Toblerone bars in 2016 by Mondelez International. The confectionary company has since backtracked and announced Toblerones would revert to their original shape.

Mars shrank its Maltesers, M&Ms and Minstrels by up to 15 per cent while McVities Jaffa Cakes are around 10 per cent lighter but prices have remained unchanged.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/shrinkflation-cereals-chocolate-bar-bread-smaller-size-brexit-referendum-a8738701.html

Bought a Cadbury's Creme Egg yesterday. So small the sparrows were throwing bread at me.

Talking of which, there's a strange story about a Creme Egg that's 46 years old in the Daily Mirror

Offline Maik

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #22 on: Monday, 21 January, 2019 @ 22:58:55 »
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Theresa May scraps £65 fee for EU nationals applying to stay in UK after Brexit as PM outlines 'Plan B' to MPs
https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-21/theresa-may-brexit-deal-commons-speech/

Offline TonyKath

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #23 on: Tuesday, 22 January, 2019 @ 16:08:56 »
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English Shipping Company Registers Fleet in Cyprus Due to Brexit

P & O Ferries, a British shipping firm, has decided to register its entire English Channel operating fleet in Cyprus, a company spokesman told the Cypriot state-run CNA news agency on Friday.
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/01/20/english-shipping-company-registers-fleet-in-cyprus-due-to-brexit/
One of the cross Channel ferries is called "Pride of Gteat Britain".  :blink:

Tony

Offline TonyKath

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Re: 21/01/19
« Reply #24 on: Tuesday, 22 January, 2019 @ 16:15:18 »
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Police force offers lunch with the chief constable and 'name a horse' to raise funds to keep its mounted division

A police force is to offer meals with its chief constable and the chance to name a horse in a bid to raise funds for its mounted division.

Merseyside Police has raised more than £50,000 for its police horses since launching their corporate sponsorship scheme last April.

The scheme was launched following a series of budget cuts that threatened the future of its 133-year-old mounted section.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/20/police-force-offer-meals-chief-constable-chance-name-horse-fundraising/
What about Horsey McHorseface?!  But I'm one of the neigh sayers!   :lol:

Tony