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Tag: Greece

  • Israel/Hamas war: Christian pilgrims now for Rome, Greece

    Israel/Hamas war: Christian pilgrims now for Rome, Greece

    The Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) has made changes in the destinations for Christian pilgrims in the hold lands.

    The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as concern for the safety and welfare of Nigerian pilgrims necessitated the change from Israel and Jordan to the Biblical sites in Rome and Greece.

    NCPC’s Executive Secretary, Reverend Yakubu Pam, announced this yesterday in Abuja.

    Pam said although the commission had arranged for Nigerian Christian pilgrims to embark on the year’s main pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan late last year, the outbreak of the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel and the subsequent conflicts that spread beyond the country’s borders necessitated a pause and the new decision to redirect the Christian pilgrimage to Rome (Italy) and Greece instead.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, Reverend Pam emphasised that the safety and security of Nigerian citizens has always been the prime concern of the commission.

    Read Also; Strengthening the National Safe Schools Initiative

    The NCPC chairman said the Christian pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan, earlier scheduled for December 2023, was suspended due to safety concerns.

    He added that it was being replaced with pilgrimage to Rome and holy sites in Greece by the end of this month.

    Pam said it took years before the NCPC under his watch considered visits to remarkable Biblical sites in Jordan, a Muslim country.

    The commission chairman said after a prolonged wait for the Israel/Hamas conflict to end, his teams’ previous researches on Biblical sites in Greece and Rome were properly analysed.

    Pam said he had personally led teams to inspect accommodation facilities and existing biblical sites, among other tasks.

    He said: “I have led NCPC teams to inspect holy sites across Greece and Rome. We have discussed extensively with government and local authorities and security. Accommodation and good hospitality is assured as the very first batch of Nigerian Christian pilgrims visit these places to connect physically with New Testament locations of the gospel and do spiritual exercises, including meditation and prayers for our dear nation.

    “Also, arrangements for smooth flight, good meals and local transportation have been concluded for the 2023/2024 main pilgrimage. State governments, states’ offices of Christian pilgrims welfare boards, churches and individuals have been formally informed about the modalities and the N3 million cost that only requires some augmentation of payment previously made for the Israel/Jordan trip.

    “Unknown to many, Apostles Paul and Peter, as well as the early Christians are why we have Christian sites in Rome. It was …also in Greece they founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD and began the spread of Christianity across the world,” he said.

  • 2018 FIBA World Cup: U.S halts Nigeria in quarter-finals

    The U.S senior national women’s team on Friday halted the progression of their Nigerian counterparts, D’Tigress, with a 71-40 stoppage in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife, Spain.

    D’Tigress coming from the streak of three straight wins over Turkey, Argentina and Greece fought hard to book their place in the semi-finals but fell to the super powers of their American opponents.

    D’Tigress recorded a 17-9 lead in the first quarter but fell 16-18 in the second and 12-19 in the third before crashing 5-25 in the third to the nine times world champions.

    However, D’Tigress have by far achieved by all ramification being the first African team to berth in the quarter-finals of the World Cup and look good to restore their quality in the  classifications match.

    Read Also: FIBA WWC: D’Tigress face reigning champions USA

    News Agency of Nigeria reports that so far, it has been an amazing World Cup for the ladies in Green and White, and the first half of this one showed how much they have grown in recent years.

    They will take the two wins over European opposition with great pride, defeating Turkey in Group phase and Greece in the quarter-finals qualifications.

    Ezinne Kalu was all over the floor today, with 8 points, 6 assists (game-high), 5 steals (game-high), and four rebounds.

    Afolabi Oni, the media person with the team in Spain described the match as one that brought the best out of the team and D’tigress deserved a lot of applause.

    “Our girls deserve a lot of credit for reaching the quarter-finals, though they lost but they went down fighting against the very best team in the world.

    “Kudos to the team, they are our true heroes and deserve all the accolades for putting up a good performance in Spain, well done D’Tigress,’’ Oni said.

    The competition which began on Sept. 22 comes to an end on Sept. 30 when the 2018 champions will be crowned.

  • Greece arrests suspected Islamic State terrorist

    Greece arrests suspected Islamic State terrorist

    Greek authorities on Friday said they had arrested a Syrian man suspected to be member of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

    Police said that they found incriminating data, videos and photographs, including scenes of executions, on his mobile phone.

    He has reportedly confessed to being a member of Islamic State.

    The 32-year-old, who arrived illegally with his wife and two children on the island Leros in June 2016 after traveling from Turkey, was arrested on Thursday.

    The family moved through several refugee camps after their arrival, planning to continue further north to Europe.

    Police became aware of the suspect after his wife filed a report alleging violence against their children.

    The man is due to appear in front of prosecutors on Saturday.

    Report says authorities are still checking the suspect’s background prior to his arrival in Europe.

    Read Also:IPOB as a terrorist organisation: What the Law, legal experts say

  • U.S. helicopters arrive Greece to support Operation Atlantic Resolve

    U.S. helicopters arrive Greece to support Operation Atlantic Resolve

    Eight U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and more than 70 other pieces of equipment have arrived at the Port of Thessaloniki in Greece.

    The helicopters and equipment are part of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB)’s nine-month rotational deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR).

    The Department of Defence, in a statement on Monday, said OAR was designed to reassure European allies in light of Russias invasion in Ukraine.

    It said the helicopters arriving in Greece were part of a European theatre rotation that includes armour and air assets that began arriving in January.

    The Department said troops would train with the U.S. allies and partners as well as respond to crises should it be required.

    According to the statement, this is the first full aviation regionally allocated force to OAR and U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR).

    U.S Black Hawks

     

    “This is the most successful alliance in the history of the world.

    “The port of Thessaloniki is a gateway into Europe, and Atlantic armies could not prosper without our allies,” Army Lt.-Gen. Ben Hodges, the USAREUR Commander, said.

    Hodges said USAREUR’s preparation for increased presence across the European theatre contributes to and strengthens the alliance’s deterrence and defence.

    “The forward presence of U.S. troops is essential to assure allies, deter adversaries and be postured to act in a timely manner if deterrence fails.

    “Deterrence is about the agility of the United States Army.

    “These helicopters came from Fort Drum, New York, and just hours after the aircraft are coming off of the ship they are going to fly away from here and in about three days they are going to conduct an air assault operation in Romania.

    “In such a short amount of time, that kind of agility is central to what we do,” Hodges said.

  • PRE-SEASON: Ifeanyi Ubah to tour five foreign countries

    PRE-SEASON: Ifeanyi Ubah to tour five foreign countries

    The Management of FC Ifeanyi Ubah have concluded plans to embark on a two-week European tour of five countries – United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

    The planned tour is a move to prepare the team for next season’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Federation Cup and CAF Confederation Cup campaigns.

    The Anambra Warriors won the 2016 Federation Cup final after beating Nasarawa United 5-4 on penalties.
    However, management has approved and released cash reward (winning bonuses) for the players, management and the supporters club to appreciate them for their commitment and determination throughout the season and the eventual Federation Cup triumph as follows:
    a) N10, 000, 0000 for the footballers.
    b) $10,000 for the Head Coach/Technical Director, Mitko Dobrev and Assistant Coach, Rafael Everton.
    c) N3, 000,000 for the management and coaching staff.
    d) N2, 000,000 for the supporters club.
    The management has also approved a minor reorganization in the top level of the coaching staff aimed at repositioning the team.
    In this regard, management announced the appointment of Kenichi Yatsuhashi, a Japanese-American and former Head Coach of Accra Hearts of Oak as the new Head Coach of FC Ifeanyi Ubah.

    He holds a USSFA and National Youth Coaching licence, a CONCACAF Internatonal Coaching licence, an NSCAA Goalkeeping Diploma and a KNBV Advanced Diploma, IFA GK Certificate and FIFA and FIFA/AFC Grassroots Certificate.
    The board also appointed Mr Yaw Preko as the new Assistant Coach/Physical trainer of the Club. Yaw Preko joins Fc Ifeanyi Ubah from Accra Hearts of Oak where he was acting Head Coach. Yaw Preko is also currently the Acting Head Coach of Ghana’s national Team (Black Stars of Ghana) and a former top striker in Turkish football club, Fenerbahce S.K.
    Similarly, management promoted its Bulgarian Head Coach, Mitko Dobrev to the position of the Technical Director of the Club.
    On another note, following the successful utilization of the N100,000,000 war chest handed down to the team by the Management during the mid season, the management is pleased to announce the approval and release of the sum of N150,000,000 to the club for the enhancement of the club, signing of additional players and vigorous preparation for next seasons.
    The road show, presentation of the cup to the people of Anambra State and official unveiling of newly appointed technical officials will take place on the 16th of November, 2016.

  • Migrant crisis: Greece recalls envoy from Austria

    Greece has recalled its ambassador to Austria amid sharp divisions among European Union states over the migrant crisis.

    It acted after Austria hosted a meeting with Balkan states on the migrant issue, to which Greece was not invited, the BBC reports.

    Meanwhile, EU and Balkan interior ministers met in Brussels to try to heal rifts over the migrant issue.

    Speaking afterwards, the EU’s migration commissioner warned the bloc’s migration system could “completely break down” within weeks.

    Dimitris Avramopoulos said member states had until a March 7 summit with Turkey to curb the number of migrants.

    “In the next 10 days, we need tangible and clear results on the ground,” he told reporters.

     

  • Greece crisis: Eurogroup ministers to decide on bailout

    Eurozone finance ministers are meeting to decide on a new bailout deal for Greece after Athens backed the plan.

    Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said ministers would have to be sure the Greek government would carry out the promised reforms.

    The deal demands tax rises and more tough spending cuts in return for a €85bn (£61bn, $95bn) bailout – Greece’s third in five years.

    It is needed to stop Greece exiting the eurozone and to avert bankruptcy.

    But it comes at a heavy political price for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has faced a rebellion in his left-wing Syriza party.

    More than 40 Syriza MPs voted against him when parliament decided on the bailout agreement on Friday, after all-night talks.

    Reports in Greece suggest he will seek a vote of confidence in parliament next week, bringing the prospect of snap elections closer.

    Arriving at the 19-member Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Germany’s finance minister – one of Mr Tsipras’s harshest critics – was upbeat.

    “I am actually quite optimistic that we shall reach a result today, the preparations have advanced pretty well,” Wolfgang Schaeuble said.

    He said ministers would consider how well Greece had responded to EU demands, and whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would commit to supporting the bailout package.

    German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (left) has criticised Greek delays in the past

    Earlier the Eurogroup head welcomed the Greek parliament’s vote to sign off the deal, and said eurozone finance ministers now needed to decide on it.

    “We’re going to talk about political trust,” Mr Dijsselbloem said.

    “That’s still a factor of course with Greece: can we trust that it’s actually going to happen?”

    Greek MPs backed the deal on Friday morning after a marathon all-night session marked by procedural delays and often angry exchanges in parliament.

    Thirty-one Syriza members voted “No”, and 11 abstained – the biggest rebellion within Mr Tsipras’s party so far. The rebels represented almost a third of Syriza’s MPs.

    A “Yes” vote by MPs was required for eurozone ministers to endorse the deal to release the funds.

    The deal also needs approval from the parliaments of several other countries, including that of Greece’s most influential creditor, Germany, before any funds can be disbursed. Some nations, such as Finland, have already given their approval.

    Greece must repay about €3.2bn to the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 August.

    If it defaults on this debt, the ECB is likely to stop emergency funding for Greece’s crippled banks.

  • Greece debt crisis: German MPs vote ‘yes’ to bailout talks

    Greece debt crisis: German MPs vote ‘yes’ to bailout talks

    The German parliament has voted in favour of starting negotiations on Greece’s €86bn (£60bn) bailout deal.

    The motion passed with a clear majority, with 439 MPs in favour, 119 votes against and 40 abstentions.

    Prior to the vote, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of “predictable chaos” if the Bundestag did not back the plan.

    The Greek parliament has already voted in favour of the hard-hitting austerity measures required by the eurozone for a third bailout deal.

    On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised the level of emergency funding available. This has paved the way for Greek banks, which shut nearly three weeks ago, to reopen on Monday.

    Greek banks have only been allowed to open briefly to give pensioners access to their cash

    But credit controls limiting cash withdrawals to €60 a day will only be eased gradually, officials say.

    Separately on Friday, the European Council approved a €7bn bridging loan for Greece from an EU-wide emergency fund. The loan was approved in principle by eurozone ministers on Thursday, but required consultation with non-euro states.

    It means Greece will now be able to repay debts to two of its creditors, the ECB and International Monetary Fund (IMF), due on Monday.

    The German parliament has voted in favour of the proposal. But the mood is ugly. Forty-eight of Mrs Merkel’s conservative MPs had indicated in advance that they would defy her. Others went along with the party line but grudgingly; many here struggle to justify a third bailout to taxpayers in their constituencies.

    This morning a poll revealed 49% of Germans don’t want to enter talks over the deal.

    Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble can expect a tough time too; his notoriously hawkish stance has upset some MPs who worry that Germany’s reputation has been damaged as a result.

    Interestingly, Mr Schaeuble used an interview on the eve of the debate to raise the prospect again of a temporary Greek exit from the eurozone.

    Chancellor Merkel told MPs ahead of Friday’s vote that the deal was hard for all sides, but said it was the “last” attempt to resolve the crisis.

    Media caption The BBC spoke to some Germans who said Greece needed EU support

    “We would be grossly negligent, indeed acting irresponsibly if we did not at least try this path,” she said.

    According to Reuters, 60 members – almost a fifth – of Mrs Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrat party voted against the motion.

    Austria’s parliament voted in favour of negotiations earlier on Friday, before the outcome of the German vote was announced.

    Germany and Austria are among several eurozone states requiring parliamentary approval to go ahead with bailout talks. France and Finland have already backed the negotiations.

    Meanwhile, there have been fresh calls for Greek debt relief measures from International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde – echoing a call from Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.

    Ms Lagarde told France’s Europe 1 the IMF would participate in a “complete” Greek package that includes debt restructuring, as well as an “in-depth reform” of the Greek economy.

    Media caption Tanya Beckett spoke to tea shop owner Sakis Papatheodorou who is struggling to pay his suppliers

    Greece has debts of €320bn and is seeking its third international bailout. Last month it became the first developed country to fail to make a repayment on a loan from the IMF.

    The bank closures have been one of the most visible signs of the crisis.

    From Monday, a weekly limit on withdrawals may replace a daily cap, Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas suggested.

    “If someone doesn’t want to take €60 on Monday and wants to take it on Tuesday, for instance, they can withdraw €120, or €180 on Wednesday,” he told Greek ERT television.

    The announcements from the ECB and the Eurogroup came after Greek MPs passed tough reforms on taxes, pensions and labour rules as part of the new bailout deal.

    A rise in value added tax (VAT) from 13% to 23% will kick in on Monday, affecting food and drink in restaurants, taxi fares, selected supermarket items, public transport and plane and ferry tickets.

    Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced opposition to the deal from MPs within his left Syriza party. He is widely expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle on Friday.

  • Greece mulls parallel currency alongside euro

    As Greece’s financial pli-ght worsens, an odd idea keeps popping up: a parallel currency alongside the euro that would circulate inside Greece and be used to pay for anything from taxes to food and clothing.

    Even German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said  Greece may need a parallel currency if talks with creditors fail, people familiar with his views told Bloomberg.

    One version of the idea calls the second currency a TAN, for tax anticipation note. Another calls it a grec, for government reimbursement exchange credit. There’s also the TCC, for tax credit certificate. In 2014, before becoming Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis pitched European governments on the FT-coin, where FT stands for future taxes and coin refers to bitcoin.

    Details differ quite a bit, but the big idea is to free up euros to pay foreign debts and to juice economic growth by spreading more money around domestically. The money would be an IOU issued by the Greek government that could be passed from one person to another. The government could print a bunch of the new currency (or create electronic ledger entries if the currency is virtual) and spend it on whatever governments buy, including civil servants’ salaries. People would in theory be willing to accept the money because it could be used to pay taxes.

    Greece doesn’t have the option of monetary stimulus, because it doesn’t control its own money—the European Central Bank does. And it can’t run bigger deficits, because creditors won’t stand for it.

    But is this idea anything more than an intellectual exercise? Unfortunately for Greece, probably not.

    “No, it’s not a good idea, and no, it has no chance of happening,” said Jacob Funk Kierkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Introducing it, he said, “would surely aggravate the other Europeans as well as the ECB. It would politically aggravate the situation that Greece is in.” He called it “very primitive and naive, knee-jerk Keynesianism.”

    People would naturally be suspicious that the new currency would be funny money, and wouldn’t accept it on the same terms as euros, Kierkegaard said. Given Greece’s track record, they would tend to fear that the government would print too much of it, creating an oversupply that would degrade the currency’s value. And because the initial allotment would produce a smaller economic spurt than the government was counting on, the government would indeed be tempted to print more, Kierkegaard said.

    In February, Huw Pill and Themistoklis Fiotakis of Goldman Sachs International described the idea of a parallel currency as belonging to a “gray area” between fully staying in the euro zone and completely exiting.

    Backers of parallel-currency concepts say the idea can work. “The grec is emphatically not ‘funny money.’ It has a real, tangible value from day one,” Alan Harvey, senior economist at the Institute for Dynamic Economic Analysis (IDEA) in Seattle, wrote in a paper. It’s the ability to use the government-created alternative currency to pay taxes that guarantees its value, Harvey said in an interview. Ordinarily money is created through bank lending. “This is a different way of creating money,” he said.

    Parallel currencies are sometimes found in countries that impose controls on the inflow and outflow of money. Cuba has had a nonconvertible peso alongside a convertible CUC, although it’s phasing out the latter. Another twist is a local currency like Ithaca Hours, which is used to buy goods and services in the area of Ithaca, N.Y.

  • Deported from Greece, held for robbery

    Deported from Greece, held for robbery

    Ebonyi State Police Command has busted a robbery syndicate. One of the suspects was said to have been deported from Greece.

    The three-man gang, it was gathered, robbed one Mrs Maureen Nnebuife of the sum of N650,000.

    They have been paraded at the State Police Command headquarters, Abakaliki, by the Commissioner of Police, Maigari Dikko.

    The CP said the command’s Security and Investigation Bureau nabbed the suspects after a painstaking investigation.

    The suspects included one Okechukwu Okolie, 27, who reportedly returned from Greece recently. His residential address was given as No. 23 Iweka Road, 9th Mile, Enugu State. Another  suspect, Nnabude Onwudiwe, 28, was said to hail from Achi Village, Oji-River, Enugu State, while Sunday Achu, 38, of Umulokpa Nsukka, Enugu State was named as the third man in the gang.

    The CP said: “Along Afikpo Road close to Romchi Park, the trio-in-crime accosted Maureen Ekechi Nnebuife, 29, residing at No. 7 Convent Road, Abakaliki and beguiled her into their red-coloured Golf car with registration number Ondo AM 763 NND”.

    “One of the miscreants feigned to have just arrived from Greece and didn’t know his way around town and needed to be directed to any nearby Eye Clinic for medication”.

    “While in the car, the said woman was dispossessed of the sum of N50, 000 cash which her husband sent her to…deposit in a bank”.

    “Not yet done with her, the crooks forced her under threat to her mother’s residence at Onueke and robbed her of N600, 000 cash which the poor woman trades with in her meat business”.

    “On a tip-off, the hoodlums were trailed to Spera en-Deo Junction and nabbed by Sub operatives. The aforesaid red Golf car was recovered as exhibit”.

    One of the suspects, Okechukwu described his gang as OBT people (419ners), explaining that their victim was robbed for her greediness.

    He said: “It is out of her greediness and that was why she was robbed. I was deported from Greece because of the crisis there and this is just my two months I was deported.”

    On his part, Sunday Agu said he ventured into crime after being duped in his trading business.

    The CP who was represented at the event by the command’s spokesman, DSP Chris Anyanwu said the command also rescued one Chidinma Nwaji, a 28-year-old man from a thick forest in Cross River State after he was abducted by ritual murderers.

    He said: “On the 6th day of May, 2015, Chidinma Nwaji, a 28-year-old man of Ikenyi Ndiebor Ezza-Inyimagu, Izzi Local Government Area, Ebonyi State embarked on a journey back to his place of abode”.

    “When approaching the Motor Park, he felt that somebody whom he couldn’t recognise tapped him and from that moment he lost consciousness and never knew any other thing that happened to him until he recovered and found himself in a strange bush”.

    “On getting wind of the disappearance of the said Chidinma Nwaji, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of this Command swung into action and trailed the victim to Okondo Village in Ogoja Local Government Area, Cross-River State where he was eventually rescued on from a bush”.

    “He confided in the operatives that the hoodlums who abducted him wanted to kill and use him for money rituals but fortunately when they cut his forehead and took his blood sample for test, the witch doctor rejected it, saying that his blood is not the type required for the rituals”.

    DSP Anyanwu said investigation is ongoing to unravel the miscreants behind the dastardly act.

    Meanwhile, CP Dikko has decorated promoted police spokesman Anyanwu and 12 others, urging them to see their elevation as added responsibility.

    Anyanwu was promoted from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

    •Officers of the command
    •Officers of the command

    In the promotion, 12 officers were promoted from ASP to DSP while one was promoted from the rank of CSP to SP.

    Addressing the newly promoted officers, Maigari thanked the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase for finding them worthy of the elevation and called on them to see their promotions as added responsibility.

    While congratulating the officers, he said they have a long way to go in the force and urged them to redouble their efforts to continue to grow.

    Responding on behalf of the promoted officers, DSP Chris Anyanwu expressed gratitude to the police service commission for the promotion.

    The officer promoted from DSP to SP was Abel Inya while those promoted to the rank of DSP included Michael Ayogu, Joshua Maigoroson, Honesty Onyeneke, Bethel Ejike, Ifeanyi Osuji and James Arikpo.

    Others were Uzor Aiyeba, Kazeem Adegoke, Peter Josiah, Peter Enighe, Victor Obasogie and Amaralam Chika.