General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
ATHENS – The new New Democracy government plans not only to go into the anarchist-dominated neighborhood of Exarchia after anarchists who use it as a base, but will follow up with an overhaul that will include removing rampant graffiti and sprucing it up.
Working with municipal officials in the capital, authorities are building the plan with an aim to turn it from a grungy – if, some say, interesting and exciting hodgepodge of lifestyles – into a model neighborhood.
That means pruning trees, cleaning it up, and adding a Metro station in the main Exarchia Square, an area of frequent pitched battles between riot cops and anarchists who frequently tangle, with the former ruling Radical Left SYRIZA accused of condoning lawlessness that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he will end.
It also means clearing out squatters and anarchists who have taken over abandoned buildings with reports they are guarding them in anticipation of widespread police raids that could also turn the neighborhood into a battleground.
The details and timetable were discussed during a meeting between government officials and the new Athens mayor, Kostas Bakoyiannis – who is Mitsotakis’ nephew. The plan is estimated to cost 10 million euros ($11.17 million) and take up to five years to complete, promising a complete metamorphosis of the neighborhood, said Kathimerini in a report.
A task force of about 50 people will take part and begin with initial efforts such as painting over graffiti, fixing street lights and sealing abandoned buildings to keep out squatters. There will also be artistic events co-organized by residents, the paper said, and Strefi Hill, now frequented by drug users and criminals, will have new walking paths and lighting installed and police patrols will be beefed up in the area.
Police have recently conducted a number of raids in Exarchia to round up drug dealers and unlawful migrants, to the criticism of Human Rights Watch and other opponents of the government who are afraid there’s a bigger crackdown coming.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst.
NICOSIA - A meeting between the ministers of energy for Cyprus and Israel - George Papanastasiou and Eli Cohen - led to an agreement that the countries would make an underwater electric cable link a top priority, linking them to Europe.
LONDON (AP) — The British Museum on Thursday appointed National Portrait Gallery chief Nicholas Cullinan as its new director, as the 265-year-old institution grapples with the apparent theft of hundreds of artifacts and growing international scrutiny of its collection.
ATHENS - The European Union needs to get involved in the case of the two-year jail sentence given ethnic Greek Fredi Beleri who was elected Mayor of the seaside town of Himare and said the trial was a farce to get him and protect Prime Minister Edi Rama’s business friends.
Brace yourself for what could be another scorching summer in Greece as scientists are anxious that a warm winter - the warmest January recorded - and climate change will continue to bring weather anomalies.