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.
CAIRO (AP) — A Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked Egypt’s vital Suez Canal on Thursday morning, authorities said, the latest such incident in the busy waterway.
According to Leth Agencies, a canal services company that oversees the waterway, the Xin Hai Tong 23 ran aground before dawn at the southern entrance to the canal, blocking four vessels. The ship was refloated by the Suez Canal Authority a few hours later, the company said, and normal traffic was restored.
However, Egypt’s state-run Suez Canal Authority said the vessel had broken down during its transit through the canal due to engine failure. It said the ship was towed away from the area by three tug boats.
The two conflicting accounts as to how the incident unfolded could not be reconciled.
The bulk carrier, measuring about 190 meters (625 feet) by 32 meters (105 feet), had set off for Suez from the Saudi Red Sea port of Duba. Later in the day Thursday, it was at sea about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) south of the canal, according to Marine Traffic, a vessel tracking firm.
Thursday’s incident is the latest in a flurry of ships running aground in the Suez Canal or getting stuck in the crucial waterway over the past few years.
In January, a vessel owned by Greek firm Primera Shipping Inc. broke down at the 38 kilometer (24-mile) mark of the canal, near the Egyptian city of Qantara. In March a Liberia-flagged ship ran aground in the two-lane part of the waterway. Both vessels were refloated hours later.
The most prominent case was that of the skyscraper-sized container ship, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, which ran aground in a single-lane stretch of the canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway. A massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats, helped by the tides, freed it six days later, ending the crisis and allowing hundreds of waiting ships to pass through the canal.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a vital link for oil, natural gas and cargo of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners. In 2015, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi ’s government completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world’s largest vessels.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
CLOSTER, NJ – The well-attended Greek Independence Day Celebration in Closter, NJ, took place on March 25, beginning with the Flag Raising Ceremony at Ruckman Park in Closter.
FAIRVIEW, NJ – The Greek Cypriots of New Jersey under the auspices of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, the Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York and Consul General of Cyprus Michalis Firillas will commemorate the 69th Anniversary of the EOKA Liberation Struggle of Cyprus from British Colonial Rule 1955-1959, with a memorial service at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, 101 Anderson Avenue in Fairview, NJ, on Sunday, March 31.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A fundraiser for President Joe Biden on Thursday in New York City that also stars Barack Obama and Bill Clinton is raising a whopping $25 million, setting a record for the biggest haul for a political event, his campaign said.
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Michelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504.
ATHENS — Police in Greece clashed late Wednesday with Communist-backed demonstrators who tried to prevent a concert by U.