Tsipras: 'We are one step away from a historic event'

After nearly 30 years of inertia and repeated national concessions, following an entire year of gruelling negotiations, Greece was finally coming to the end of an arduous process, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday, taking the stand during the parliamentary debate on the Prespes Agreement. 

"At this moment we are one step away from a historic event," he told lawmakers, stressing that the time had come for each one of them "that cannot be blackmailed or terrorised and speak only with their conscience" to step up and face their responsibility to history and the nation.

Replying to main opposition New Democracy President Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had preceded him, Tsipras slammed him for being "divisive and offensive" and accused him of lacking arguments to support his positions. He also strongly criticised the main opposition leader's failure to condemn attacks targeting MPs that supported the Prespes Agreement.

"You did not find one word of condemnation...you attempted instead to address us with language

Theodorakis: Prespes Agreement stops FYROM 'monopolising' the name "Macedonia"

Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the Prespes Agreement on Thursday, Potami party leader Stavros Theodorakis defended his position to support the agreement as beneficial for Greece.

"The Prespes Agreement stops our neighbours monopolising the name Macedonia.
The overwhelming majority of the world's people, when they hear Macedonia, they think of FYROM," Theodorakis said, pointing out that 140 countries have recognised Greece's northern neighbour with its constitutional name.


This alone proved that Greece "was burying its head in the sand" all these years and refusing to see

Greek Parliament heading toward crucial vote of confidence in government

Procedures for a vote of confidence in the government were set in motion on Sunday following an announcement by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that he will seek to renew Parliament's mandate, so that his government can complete its term with an absolute majority.



The prime minister's announcement came after  the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party announced its departure from the ruling coalition.

In the case that his bid is unsuccessful, the constitution dictates that the country must hold snap elections and clearly defines when a government has lost parliament's confidence and can no longer continue to rule.



Even in the case of snap elections, however, the prime minister has laid down a time schedule, saying

Armed forces chief Admiral Apostolakis to take over Greece's defence ministry

Following the resignation of Panos Kammenos as defence minister, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday announced that the leadership of Greece's defence ministry will go to the current commander of the armed forces, Hellenic National Defence General Staff chief Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis.

He was born in 1957 in Rethymo, Crete and graduated from the Hellenic Naval Academy in 1980, after which he had an exemplary career as an officer in the Hellenic Navy, rising through the ranks to

Strasbourg shooting: Gunman on run after killing 2 and injuring 11 near Christmas market

"There were gunshots and people running everywhere," one local shopkeeper told BFM TV. "It lasted about 10 minutes."

Local journalist Bruno Poussard said he heard more than a dozen shots being fired along the street where he lives before soldiers and police descended on the scene.

France's Interior Ministry confirmed a "serious public security incident" and said at least two people.


MEP Linda McAvan tweeted: "There's a shooting incident tonight in Strasbourg centre where Xmas market takes place.



"European Parliament on lock down. I and my staff are safe in the building."

Tsipras: We are correcting the injustices created by harsh austerity

"Today is a happy day for millions of our fellow citizens," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday, in his address to Parliament during the plenary debate on the bill annulling prelegislated pension cuts.

"I am glad," he said, "that all deputies will be happy to vote for another positive social measure."

"Some do not understand that each step is part of a clear and specific plan. So they talk about promises and handouts," Tsipras said, referring to the main opposition.

"We do not give handouts. But we are correcting the injustices created by the harsh and unprecedented austerity of your [time in power]," he noted.

Mitsotakis: 2019 is an election year and the Greeks will send you back to the opposition

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sternly attacked Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in his speech in parliament on Tuesday, during the discussion of a draft bill annulling prelegislated pension cuts.

"You are the longest-serving memorandum prime minister," Mitsotakis said, adding that "2019 is an election year and your course will end at the ballot box, with the Greek people sending you back to the opposition."

Accusing Tsipras of believing that he can mislead society, Mitsotakis added that "all citizens know that your policy is a great lie. Today you celebrate 1,447 dark days in power."

He challenged Tsipras to explain the statements made by FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev about a "Macedonian language" that should be taught in Greece. "Zaev won what six prime ministers had

Greece keen to keep bilateral ties on even keel, Tsipras says in Moscow

Athens wants to mend the damage caused to ties with Moscow in the summer, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Friday.

“Dialogue is not always easy. However, our desire for [bilateral] ties to stay on the steady tracks that we built after 2015 helps us overcome any difficulties,” Tsipras said during a joint press conference.

In July, Athens expelled two Russian diplomats claiming that they had sought to undermine Greece’s name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and meddle in domestic

TechNews: Samsung’s first 5G smartphone for the first half of 2019!

Global 5G adoption to take off in 2021

Mobile internet connections on 4G networks are quicker than the internet connections that many people have at home. What used to be unthinkable in the early days of the mobile internet is now a reality. Streaming HD video or downloading music, apps and games on the go without a wi-fi connection is no problem on today’s wireless networks. According to Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report, there will be 3.4 billion 4G (LTE) smartphone subscriptions worldwide by the end of this year. The next revolution in wireless connections is already on the horizon though: 5G.

Verizon and Samsung issued a joint press release on Monday, touting the new technology and announcing Samsung’s first 5G smartphone for the first half of 2019. “5G mobility service will provide massive bandwidth, greater opportunities for connectivity and improved network reliability.

Scientists developed a blood test to detect cancer within just 10 minutes

A blood test can detect cancer within just 10 minutes, scientists have found, raising hopes that hard-to-spot diseases could be picked up early when treatment is most effective.

Currently doctors use symptoms and a raft of tests and biopsies to determine if cancer is present which can sometimes take months.

The new method from the University of Queensland looks for differences in the genetic code of cancerous and healthy cells.

The team found that the DNA of cancer cells sticks strongly to nanoparticles of gold giving a quick

After CIA briefing, Republicans say 'no question' Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi murder

Following a briefing by CIA director Gina Haspel Tuesday on the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, leading Republican senators told reporters that there was "zero question" that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal murder.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said "I have zero question in my mind that the Crown Prince MBS ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was happening. Planned it in advance. If he was in front of a jury he would be convicted in 30 minutes. Guilty," Corker said.

Corker called the Trump administration's claim that there is no direct evidence of the crown prince's involvement "unacceptable."

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said, "There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw."

"You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr.

PM Tsipras at American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce: "Greece is now a new economy"

The Greek economy is showing a trend of growth exceeding 2%, and is accelerating, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) during an address on Tuesday.

"Today we feel we were proven right, more optimistic, but also more determined to continue the hard work awaiting us," he said, adding that "it's not just the financial indicators that confirm the beginning of the post-memoranda era, it's the social indicators as well."

The prime minister said that "Greek debt is now sustainable, guaranteed and on a trajectory of steady depreciation," adding that his government "implemented over 450 reform actions in the economy."

Greece: EBRD extends mandate to 2025 to spur growth

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development got shareholder approval to extend its mandate in Greece until 2025 to support the country's recovery from a debt crisis and deep recession, the EBRD said on Tuesday.

The extension will allow the bank to continue supporting the Greek private sector, improving competitiveness and strengthening the regional integration of the country's economy.

EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti told Reuters in March that the bank would ask its board of

Greece: Road deaths drop by 52 pct, but the country's still among EU's laggards

The number of road deaths in Greece dropped by 52 percent in the 10-year-period from 2007 to 2017, yet the country still finds itself in 23rd place among the European Union's 28 member states on the road deaths list, a recent health conference in Athens has heard.

Meanwhile, the annual cost of traffic accidents resulting from deaths, injuries and material damage comes to more than 3 billion euros, the conference held by the American College of Greece's Institute of Public Health also heard, according to the Athens-Macedonian news agency.

Experts at the event noted that the economic crisis has played an instrumental role in curbing road accidents by limiting the number of vehicles in circulation and compelling motorists to drive more

The bodies of three people found after ‘freezing to death’ near Turkey-Greece border

The bodies of three people thought to be irregular migrants have been found in separate border villages in Turkey’s northwestern Edirne province, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 4.

The body of one migrant – thought to be of Afghan origin – was found in the village of Serem, while the bodies of two other migrants were found in the villages of Akçadam and Adasarhanlı, the agency said.

All the migrants are thought to have frozen to death, and their bodies were sent to the Istanbul Institution of Forensic Medicine for further examination.

Turkish authorities caught a 29-year-old Afghan man, named as Jamalvddin Malangi, who told reporters in Edirne that Greek police sent him back to Turkey on a boat via River Evros (or Meriç)

Greek Saffron To Reach Chinese Stores By 2019

Greek saffron, known as the “red gold” of the Greek nation, is expected to soon hit the Chinese market, landing on the shelves of Chinese shops by the start of 2019.

Greek saffron, known as the “red gold”

Speaking to the state-run A.M.N.A., President of the Kozani Saffron Producers Cooperative Nikos Patsiouras said that entering the Chinese market had been a very long and arduous process but one that, if successful, will greatly benefit both saffron producers and the Greek economy as a whole.

“It appears to be heading toward a good outcome […] For four days a Chinese delegation that was in Kozani from October 31 went over everything with a fine-tooth comb and I believe that, by the end of the current year or early 2019 at the latest, our saffron will be imported as a spice in the distant and vast Chinese market,” he said.

Greece: Nearly Half Greece’s Active Population Out of Work

According to the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises‘ weekly economic bulletin published on Thursday, 44.7 per cent of the economically active population in Greece is out of work.

More specifically, between the ages of 15 and 64 years old, 55.3 per cent of the population is working, meaning that from this income, after removing the portion that is used for daily living expenses in Greek households, the country needs to pay for the pension system, defense, healthcare and educational needs for the entire country.

The figures do show a trend of improvement; however, according to the same report, this is mainly due to the large number of Greek people who have already left the country. Between 2009 and 2017, Greece’s workforce lost approximately 259,000 men and gained 6,000 women.

The report also points out the issue of the country’s long-term unemployment, which remains high,

EN: Greece Church agreement to take 10,000 priests off payroll

A landmark agreement has been reached in Athens that will end the status of priests and bishops as civil servants and bring Greece a step closer to separation of Church and state.

Some 10,000 Church employees will come off the payroll, although their wages will still be paid as a state subsidy.

The Orthodox Church plays a significant role in public life in Greece.

Some priests and politicians criticised the deal between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos.

What have they agreed?

The two leaders say the state will continue to pay the clergy's salaries but no longer as civil servants. Greece has been trying to scale back its public sector after years of international bailouts. In 2015, 18% of the workforce was employed by the government.

Payment will be made through an annual subsidy of around €200m (£175m; $230m), and that fund will not be affected if the Church increases or reduces the number of priests.

In return, the Church will not oppose moves to make the state "religion neutral" and would drop any claim to property once taken over by the state.

This property dispute dates back to 1952, and in their agreement the two sides said they would set up a joint fund to manage and develop sites claimed by both Church and state. Revenues and bills would be split 50-50.

Will anything change in Greece?

ABCGN_World: Iran's Rouhani warns of 'war situation' as U.S. sanctions resume

The United States says the measures are not aimed at toppling the government, but at persuading it to radically change its policies.

By Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Monday with air defense drills and an acknowledgement from President Hassan Rouhani the nation faces a "war situation," raising Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic republic takes hold.

The sanctions end all the economic benefits America granted Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, though Iran for now continues to abide by the accord that saw it limit its enrichment of uranium. While for now not threatening to resume higher enrichment, Iranian officials in recent months have made a point to threaten that could resume at any time faster than before.

The new American sanctions particularly hurt Iran's vital oil industry, a crucial source of hard currency for its anemic economy. Its national currency has plummeted over the last year, sending

CDU: Merkel to Give Up Leadership in Dramatic Move

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic party after nearly two decades, a person familiar with the matter said, a dramatic sign of her waning authority that will raise questions about her staying power as chancellor.