Father of Greek-American Texas shooter claims son was bullied (video)

Father of Greek-American Texas shooter claims son was bullied (video)

By News Room™ → May 22, 2018

The father of the Greek-American Texas shooter has claimed his son Dimitrios Pagourtzis was bullied and this may have led him to open fire on an art class in his Houston-area high school on Friday, killing 10 people.

Speaking to Greece’s Alpha TV on Sunday, Antonios Pagourtzis, said his son was a victim of bullying on a daily basis and often in front of his girlfriend, who was also among the victims.

“He was taunted, beaten and bullied, probably by many pupils,” Pagourtzis said.

Antonios Pagourtzis, who emigrated from Greece to the United States in his mid-twenties, claimed that Dimitrios may have snapped following constant bullying.

“My boy is not a man, he is a child. We cannot blame everything on the child, others are also responsible,” he said.

Pagourtzis revealed that he had seen a change in his son’s behavior in the two weeks before the shootings and he decided to skip work and be with Dimitrios.

According to new accounts by students who survived the shooting spree at the high school, the 17-year-old chillingly sang “Another one bites the dust” as he fired away with his father’s Remington 870 shotgun and .38-caliber handgun.

“He also kept playing a kamikaze song over and over as loud as he could,” on his cellphone Kole Dixon, 16, told The New York Post.

County officials revealed that Pagourtzis exchanged “a lot of firepower” with authorities before surrendering. Despite the gun battle, Pagourtzis collapsed on purpose while giving himself up, so he would not be shot by arresting officers.

Video in Greek

National Hellenic Museum Gala Raises Funds to Digitize Greek American History (video)

National Hellenic Museum Gala Raises Funds to Digitize Greek American History (video)

By News Room™ →

According to Greekreporter.com, the National Hellenic Museum (NHM) has brought the curtain down on its biggest and best Annual Gala yet — a top-notch evening of music, entertainment and culture held in Chicago.

The NHM Gala is also an opportunity for hundreds of Greek Americans and friends from across the U.S. to gather for a night of festivities and philanthropy.

Speaking to Greek Reporter was Dr. Calamos Nasir, president of the Hellenic Museum, who said their collections reflected some of the “hard, deep” stories of Greek immigrants’ lives in the U.S.

“We are the largest collection in the world for Greek-American stories,” she said.

National Hellenic Museum President Dr. Laura Calamos Nasir with Museum Chairman John Calamos Sr. (center) plus museum trustees and benefactors.
Explaining how the museum was in a unique position to reach across different regional groups — from Crete to the Ionian islands — the NHM could also bring together Church records and all kinds of other oral histories from Greek communities.

“Going, forward our plan is to digitize that in such a way that you can search through the website to find that information,” Nasir added.

Saturday’s event at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile was MCed by WGN-TV’s Emmy Award-winning entertainment reporter and critic Dean Richards.

Among the musical treats for the hundreds of attendees were the sounds of the Chris Sarlas Orchestra featuring George Dimas and Voula Karahaliou.

Also playing was The Levendes featuring Nikos Koutras, who treated gala-goers with traditional and contemporary Greek music amid a repertoire of dimotika, nisiotika, rebetika, and modern laika.
Philanthropic support from NHM Gala will benefit the tens of thousands of people — children and adults — who visit the National Hellenic Museum every year through field trips, tours and dynamic cultural and historical programs.

IMF calls for an agreement on Greece’s debt by next week - Poul Thompsen on CNBC

IMF calls for an agreement on Greece’s debt by next week - Poul Thompsen on CNBC

By NewsRoom™ → May 15, 2018

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs to reach an agreement with Greece and its European creditors by next week to ensure that the fund has enough time to give money to the embattled nation.

Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, Poul Thomsen, the IMF director for Europe, said that there needs to be an agreement at a meeting late next week.

 “We really need an agreement at the Eurogroup next week,” Thomsen told CNBC’s  Joumanna Bercetche.

“Time is running out,” he said, “but if there is an agreement in the Eurogroup meeting in May, then there will be enough time for us to activate the program and for it to coincide with the remainder of the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) program.”

Greece has been seeking debt relief — a relaxation of the terms for paying back its debts — since 2015, but the issue has dragged on due to opposition from several EU member states. Certain European countries, some of which are the largest lenders to Greece, are against significant debt forgiveness as they don’t want to be seen by their citizens as ongoing contributors to what they see as economic malpractices in their southern European neighbor.

Will be time to activate debt-relief plan for Greece: IMF from CNBC.

As we read in "Keep Talking Greece", the Eurogroup is a regular meeting for all the finance ministers from those countries that share the single currency, while the ESM is the organization that deals with bailing out struggling nations in the region.

So far, all the money that Greece has received under its third bailout program has come from Europe and it’s still waiting for a slice from the Washington, D.C.-based IMF. The IMF has said that it will not disburse any funds until Europe agrees on specific measures that will make Greek debt more sustainable over the long term. Greece has a debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) of 180 percent.
However, the debt issue becomes even more pressing as Athens approaches the end of the financial program, scheduled for August 20.
Between an agreement on debt and the end of the bailout, the IMF has said it would be available to disburse 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion). CNBC

Case of Greece’s ex-ELSTAT Chief Goes Back to Court

Case of Greece’s ex-ELSTAT Chief Goes Back to Court

By NewsRoom™ →

The case of former head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) Andreas Georgiou over misrepresentation of Greek financial data will be up for review by the Appeals Council for a third time, following a Supreme Court decision on Monday.

The Appeals Court has twice so far acquitted him of charges that he misrepresented Greek fiscal data of 2009 in order to help the then government bring the country under bailout agreements.

Included in his file is a Eurostat document verifying that Greek data he submitted followed the correct terms and conditions set out by the EU agency.

In the second review of the council, Georgiou was acquitted of giving false testimony, a crime in Greece. On Monday, the Supreme Court decided to accept a proposal by its prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou to revoke that acquittal.

The case of Georgiou, whose tenure at ELSTAT ran from 2010 to 2015, will now have to be reviewed by the Appeals Court again.

Two Women Arrested in Relation to Dead Newborn Found in Garbage Bin

Two Women Arrested in Relation to Dead Newborn Found in Garbage Bin

By NewsRoom™ → May 14, 2018

ATHENS – A 19-year old girl and her 54-year old mother were arrested on Sunday in connection with the dead infant found dead in a garbage bin in Petroupoli, an outlying northwestern suburb of Athens, in February.

The infant was found in the rubbish, wrapped in a plastic bag, on February 26, 2018.

According to "The National Herald", the 19-year-old confessed that she was the baby’s mother and that she didn’t want to keep the child, so with her mother’s help they strangled the newborn and threw it into the garbage.

Home of State Minister Flambouraris Targeted on Sunday

Home of State Minister Flambouraris Targeted on Sunday

By NewsRoom™ →

ATHENS – The home of Minister of State Alekos Flambouraris on Strefi Hill in Athens was once again the target of a fire bomb attack in the early hours of Sunday morning, at 4:30.

According to "The National Herald", a group of youths attacked a police platoon permanently stationed outside the minister’s house, which the minister no longer occupies. They threw stones, bottles and fire bombs at police, causing damage to three parked cars, before running away.

Half an hour later, there was another attack by youths against a riot police platoon stationed outside the offices of the PASOK party on Harilaou Trikoupi street, which did not result in injuries or damage. No arrests were made.

Greece and FYROM Seek to Reconcile Name Dispute in Skopje

Greece and FYROM Seek to Reconcile Name Dispute in Skopje

By NewsRoom™ → May 13, 2018

Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) counterpart Nikola Dimitrov will meet on Saturday with UN mediator Matthew Nimetz as talks for a resolution to the name dispute drag on.

The meeting follows Friday’s gathering of Balkan and Central European ministers in Athens.

The foreign ministers of Albania, FYROM, Montenegro, and Serbia, all of them hoping to join the EU, were invited as observers along with colleagues from EU members Slovenia and Cyprus.

It is thought that Greece and FYROM need to find a new name for the Former Yugoslav Republic which will be used both at home and abroad, something which would require changes to its constitution.

The two sides are reportedly trying to buy more time for Skopje to be the location for the proposed change, despite opposition calls for it to be put to a public referendum.

It had been hoped earlier this year that FYROM would be accepted into NATO and the EU soon after the name dispute with Greece was settled. However, despite initial signs of progress, including meetings between the two states’ premiers, talks seem to have stagnated in recent months.

Juncker Asks for Greater Solidarity with Italy, Greece on Migration

Juncker Asks for Greater Solidarity with Italy, Greece on Migration

By NewsRoom™ →

BRUSSELS (ANA/M. Spinthourakis)— European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker asked member-states on Friday to show greater solidarity with Greece and Italy in their efforts to deal with the repercussions of the refugee and migration crisis, during a speech at the ‘State of the Union 2018’ conference in Florence.

As we read in "The National Herald", Juncker acknowledged that solidarity cannot built in a day and has to develop over time but underlined that crises weaken the EU and lead to a rise in populism and nationalism.

Solidarity should not be confined to migration issues but should also apply in the economy, added Juncker, citing the example of the economic support for countries undergoing structural economic reforms and the reserve funds in the European budget for coping with emergencies and delicate situations. Another exampe of such solidarity, Juncker said, was the doubling of the funds for Erasmus programme.

Finally, referring to EU’s weakenesses, Juncker supported the abolition of unanimity in the decision-making processes that refer to foreign and tax policy.

Appeals Court Finds Former Minister Mantelis Guilty of Money Laundering

Appeals Court Finds Former Minister Mantelis Guilty of Money Laundering

By NewsRoom™ →

ATHENS – An Appeals Court on Friday returned a guilty verdict for former transport minister Tassos Mantelis and his co-defendants in a Siemens’ kickback case.

The appeals court found him guilty by four votes to one on the charges of money laundering. According to the indictment, Mantelis accepted bribes totalling 450,000 German marks (230,000 euros) from the German company in 1998 and 2000, which were deposited in a Swiss bank account under the name Rocos. The cash, according to the judges, was a gift for awarding the German company the contract for digitising the centres of the state-run telecoms company, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE).

Ilias Georgiou, a former Siemens Hellas executive, and Mantelis’ associate Aristidis Mantas were also found guilty.

As we read in "The National Herald", the appeals court hearing will now continue by examining possible mitigating circumstances that may lead to a reduction of the eight-year prison sentence imposed by a lower-level court. His defence lawyers have asked the court to also take into account their client’s “genuine contrition” and the fact that he has returned the entire sum that he supposedly received to the Greek state.

The court’s sentence will be announced once this stage of the trial is completed. Depending on its decision – and especially if the original sentence is not reduced – the now 73-year-old Mantelis may face the possibility of prison.

Holy Synod Criticizes New Law Allowing Same-Sex Couples to Become Foster Parents

Holy Synod Criticizes New Law Allowing Same-Sex Couples to Become Foster Parents

By NewsRoom™ → May 12, 2018

The new law that allows same-sex couples to become foster parents denies certain children the right to grow in a normal family environment,” the Holy Synod of the Greek Church said on Thursday, criticizing the government for introducing the law.

The Holy Synod “is once again registering its strong opposition to the state’s choice to deny certain children the right to develop in a natural family environment with model father and mother figures. (…) Unfortunately, ‘political correctness’ won against the natural order of things and the child’s interests,” it said.

According to "The National Herald", the draft law, introduced by the Labor Ministry and passed by Parliament on Thursday, allows the fostering of children by couples of the same sex who have signed a civil partnership agreement. It does not allow same-sex couples to adopt.

Stress Tests Results Credit Positive for Greek Banks: Moody’s

Stress Tests Results Credit Positive for Greek Banks: Moody’s

By NewsRoom™ →

The results of a stress test round for the four Greek systemic banks – Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank and Piraeus Bank – are credit positive and showed the resilience of their supervisory capital, Moody’s said in its Credit Outlook report released on Thursday.

“The results of the stress tests are credit positive for the four banks since they will not need to raise new capital, something that will offer them time to focus on reducing their high stock of non-performing exposures (NPEs), which is their most significant credit challenge,” the credit rating firm said.

“Following the successful completion of the stress test, we believe that the banks’ managements will focus more on the strategic plans to deal with NPEs and achieving their goals to reduce NPEs as committed with the European Central Bank,” Moody’s said.

According to "The National Herald", Greek banks plan to reduce their NPEs to around 65 billion euros by the end of 2019 from around 96 billion in the end of 2017, or 49 pct of loans. Moody’s said that a significant part of the banks’ capital base included deferred tax assets (DTAs), a majority of which (around 16 billion euros) are eligible to be transformed into tax credits to be paid by the Greek state if banks record annual losses in the future. DTAs are assets based on the funding ability of the Greek state “which has a relatively weak credit position. These assets accounted for around 55 pct of CET1 of the four biggest banks in December 2017, undermining the quality of their capital and their ability to absorb losses,” Moody’s said.

Ministers from Central Europe, Balkans Meet in Greece

Ministers from Central Europe, Balkans Meet in Greece

By NewsRoom™ →

The foreign ministers of eight central European and Balkan EU countries meeting in Greece have called for a more democratic and socially-just Europe.

Friday’s meetings in Sounio, south of Athens, bring together ministers from the Visegrad Group — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary — plus Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.

The foreign ministers of Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, all of them hoping to join the EU, have been invited as observers along with colleagues from EU members Slovenia and Cyprus.

As we read in the "GREEK REPORTER", Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias stressed the need to work on a new justification for the EU, providing a vision and reforming its institutional systems.

The EU’s goal, he said, must be “to better serve its citizens and empower the EU in a changing world,” focusing on people and the environment.

“We want a more united EU, which is more democratic and socially just. An EU that is stronger in the world and cares for its citizens,” he said.

Ministers agreed on the importance of safeguarding the social state and the handling of the migration issue, as well as the changes that must be made to the Dublin Treaty.