goinggreek.info
To Kafeneion => Grapevine / News Briefs => Topic started by: Maik on Tuesday, 21 March, 2023 @ 03:09:22
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Today’s bank rates:
1 €UR = £0.9019 GBP
1 €UR = $1.1039 USD
£1 GBP = 1.1088 €UR
$1 USD = 0.9059 €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 (https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money).
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 (https://weather.com/en-IE/weather/tenday/l/GRXX0035:1:GR)
Day, Date Hi°/Lo° Wind sp Wet Forecast
Tue 21/03 16°/11° 11 km/h 77% Showers probable
Wed 22/03 18°/11° 15 km/h 12% Sunny
Thu 23/03 19°/12° 11 km/h 10% Sun & cloud
Fri 24/03 19°/11° 17 km/h 10% Sunny
Sat 25/03 19°/12° 13 km/h 10% Mostly sunny
Sun 26/03 19°/12° 17 km/h 10% Sunny
Mon 27/03 18°/11° 24 km/h 22% Mostly sunny
Tue 28/03 16°/10° 34 km/h 50% Showers possible, winds probable
Wed 29/03 15°/11° 21 km/h 01% Mostly sunny
Thu 30/03 17°/12° 22 km/h 22% Sun & cloud
frost.getmap.gr (https://frost.getmap.gr/map#7.38/38.253/21.001)
(http://goinggreek.info/gallery/1_31_01_23_5_47_12.png) No risk of frost
Edit: exchange rates updated
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Met Police is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, damning review finds
The horrifying state of Britain’s largest police force has been laid bare in the Casey review, which names the Metropolitan Police institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic.
A damning new report commissioned in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard’s murder warns that it shouldn’t be ‘our job as the public to keep ourselves safe from the police’.
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/20/met-police-is-institutionally-racist-misogynistic-and-homophobic-18473155/
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First World War baby sells Somerset home after living there for 102 years
A woman born months after the end of the First World War is selling her house in Somerset after living there for 102 years, an estate agent has said.
Nancy “Joan” Gifford is putting her three-bedroom house on the market having lived in it through the Second World War, the invention of television and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, according to Somerset-based estate agent Holland and Odam.
Her family bought the property at 1 The Mead, in the village of Street, for £200 in 1921 and it is now priced at £169,950.
She turned 104 on Tuesday.
Mrs Gifford’s son John, 79, still lives in Street.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/somerset-holland-italy-scarborough-mary-b1068719.html
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Health system is in search for volunteer blood donors
In the wake of the February 28 railway disaster at Tempe that killed 57 people, thousands of people volunteered to donate blood. The amount collected within a week was almost double the usual intake, the National Blood Donation Center (EKEA) announced. Given that there was relatively little need for blood as a result of the accident, the donations have covered the needs for the next few weeks.
The surge notwithstanding, there are far too few volunteer donors in Greece.
In 2022, 523,230 blood units were collected and another 20,000 were imported through the Red Cross.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1206966/health-system-is-in-search-for-volunteer-blood-donors/
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Controversy in Greece Over Closure of Shipwreck Beach on Zakynthos
The decision announced last week by the Greek Tourism Ministry to shut down for the summer one of the most-visited beaches in Greece, Navagio located on the island of Zakynthos, has caused controversy after the Municipality of Zakynthos said it had not been informed.
Speaking to GRTimes.gr, the president of the Zakynthos city council, Stavros Kakolyris said the decision announced in the press last week came as a surprise and a “blow” to the municipality.
The announcement created a stir among Zakynthos tourism businesses and the committee responsible the safe management of the beach resulting in the resignation of several members of the committee who claimed that their recommendations for protective measures which should have already been implemented were not taken into consideration. At the same time, the Zakynthos Chamber requested a second on-the-spot risk assessment of the beach.
Speaking to the Athens News Agency (ANA) today, Kikilias reiterated the ministry’s decision that the beach would remain closed for the summer: boats will be able to approach but swimming will not be allowed near the beach.
https://news.gtp.gr/2023/03/20/controversy-in-greece-over-closure-of-shipwreck-beach-on-zakynthos/
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Beavers to be reintroduced in west London
Beavers are to be reintroduced to west London for the first time in 400 years in a bid to tackle climate change.
Conservation groups have received almost £40,000 from the mayor of London to create a home for two Eurasian beavers at Paradise Fields in Ealing.
It is hoped the planned wetland will help promote a biodiverse ecosystem.
The Ealing Wildlife Group said it expected a breeding pair of beavers could arrive as soon as autumn this year.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65016196
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Islanders on South Uist vote against mass culling of red deer
Around 200 people had signed a petition calling for red deer to be eradicated.
https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/south-uist-islanders-vote-against-mass-culling-of-all-red-deer-on-93000-acre-estate
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That Greece might be free – Remembering the Scottish philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence
The writer George Finlay was such an enthusiast for Greece that he moved to Athens and would be buried there. Finlay was born in England in 1799 to Scottish parents. He was educated at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as Gottingen in Germany. Finlay joined Lord Byron during the war of independence, was with him on Cephalonia and at Messolonghi and later served on the warship Karteria under the command of fellow Philhellene, the British naval officer Frank Abney Hastings.
https://neoskosmos.com/en/2023/03/21/features/that-greece-might-be-free-remembering-the-scottish-philhellenes-in-the-greek-war-of-independence/
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Greece has Europe’s most expensive electricity
Despite the drop in its wholesale rates of electricity, by 8% on a daily basis, the Greek power market remained the most expensive in Europe for the second day in a row on Monday.
Retail tariffs for the month of April are estimated to be 15-20% lower than those in March, which were in the range of 20-25 cents per kilowatt-hour. April’s basic tariffs are expected to fluctuate around 15-20 cents per kilowatt-hour.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1207061/greece-has-europes-most-expensive-electricity/
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Rural doctor service available in Vlakhata between 10:00-13:00 tomorrow, Wednesday, 22 March. Face masks and social distancing required.
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Executives behind P&O Ferries sackings share £16m payday
The Dubai executives behind P&O Ferries shared a $19m (£16m) payday following last year’s mass sackings at the English Channel operator.
Bosses at DP World, the owners of P&O Ferries, received $18.9m in salary, bonuses and other incentives during 2022, according to accounts published on Tuesday.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/03/21/executives-behind-po-ferries-sackings-share-16m-payday/
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Body of an unidentified male in advanced state of decomposition recovered this morning from rocky coastline at Cape Korai of Partheni, north Leros.