General News
Greek-American James A. Koshivos, 21, Killed after Car Plunged into Ocean
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
ATHENS — The spreading COVID-19 Delta variant from India that's becoming the dominant strain in Greece has set off jitters in the tourism sector just as waves of foreign visitors are arriving, the development upsetting revenues expectations.
While vaccinations had worked to bring down the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, a majority of people in Greece have refused to be inoculated and the New Democracy government isn't making shots mandatory.
The fiscal side effect of that could be another critical crunch and has led already to revisions over how much money will be brought in from tourism, which represents as much as 18-20 percent of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 169.83 billion euros ($200.3 billion).
The government's advisory panel of doctors, scientists and epidemiological specialists and professors will review the data as it's changing to make recommendations on any new measures or restrictions.
An already lenient lockdown has essentially been lifted but defiance of requirements to wear masks and stay safe social distances, along with the Delta strain and wild parties and public gatherings has led to rising cases, noted Kathimerini in a feature on the developments.
But the government is anxious that hopes that this year would bring in half of the record 9.1 billion euros ($10.73 billion) in 2019 won't be met, another blow to slow recovery estimates.
There was some good news with the United Kingdom, a major market for tourism in Greece, going to allow travelers to come to a number of countries without having to quarantine on return.
Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis told the paper that, taking into consideration all the factors, “We can only assess as particularly positive some factors, such as the number of arrivals during June,” which were nevertheless lower than hoped.
Spinning it, he said that, “We did much better than the corresponding month last year, while now the decision of the British government to lift the restrictions on its vaccinated citizens is very important and we expect a positive impact on Greek tourism,” for the summer.
But he said the government will prioritize public health although Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier admitted there would be political factors that had to taken into account as well for now.
“We will not hesitate to tighten the health protocols,” he said, adding that ”from the first moment, the message was: We open safely – we follow the protocols – we speed up the vaccinations,” said Theoharis.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter received her final farewells Wednesday in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are considering holding a formal vote next month to authorize the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden as the party looks to legitimize a process that has yet to yield any direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president.
JERUSALEM (AP) — It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is ISIS.
ATHENS – As the 100th anniversary of her birth approaches on December 2, the tributes to Maria Callas continue – literally all over the world.
NEW YORK – Ahead of The Hellenic Initiative’s 11th Annual New York Gala on December 2, honoree Ted Leonsis, the well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist, shared his thoughts with The National Herald.