Opinion

The Greek Orthodox tradition to throw a Holy Cross into the waters on the  Epiphany Day remains largely a males-only issue even in the 21st century. Dozens of men, as young as 8 years old and as old as 89, jumped into the cold sea, into a river or a …

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“Investigations have ruled out lightning or a short circuit as the causes of Tuesday’s Penteli fire in North-East Athens,” Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides said at an extraordinary life briefing on Wednesday afternoon. It was certainly a surprise for the former EU Commissioner to have to rule out “lightning” on …

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Greece’s National Health Care organization EODY must have certainly believed that the “Ancient Greek Spirit” is eternal and every Greek hides a Pythagoras inside him – a mathematician… . Therefore, it issued its first weekly bulletin on Tuesday based on abysmal and fuzzy mathematics formulas that the average Greek has …

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Greece’s health authorities triggered a big confusion on Thursday afternoon, when they announced people as young as 30 years old could be administered the 4th dose (2nd booster shot) of vaccination against Covid-19. First it was the National Vaccination Committee that announced its decision to allow the 4th dose for …

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The Turkish folk, famous for their seafarer skills since their Mongolian past, wants to expand their territories and grab islands. In the West. Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. And half the Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, they illegally occupies since 1974. Haven’t Turkish politicians often claimed in the 1990’s …

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Constantly soaring electricity and fuel prices, a double-digit inflation in the last few months (expected to be at 12% in May) Greek households and businesses are desperate. But what does the conservative government to get the situation under control, except distributing bags with peanuts in form of subsidies? Not much… …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is under pressure, in his own country due to an inflation that has gone out of control. What does he do? He “sells” to his countrymen expansionist rhetoric and targets Greek and Arab territories for the sake of collapsed Ottoman Empire, a year but a …

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Mask mandate is lifted on June 1 and the majority of Greeks commenting on TV channels said they are relieved that they don’t have to wear the mask anymore. “Freedom! Finally!” an elderly man told state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday morning. A middle-aged woman said too she was happy about …

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Ι said many times on this blog that the surrealism we have been living in this country for the last two years resembles the one we used to love on the Monty Python series. I can understand the government’s efforts to turn black into white but the absurdity of statements …

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The pandemic as a chance. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is an optimist person who always sees the bright side of life against all odds including some thousands of deaths. For example, late on Thursday and in an interview with ANT1 TV, the 53-year-old leader responded to the question “-We …

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How many friends are you supposed to have as a person? Five? Ten? Fifty? Greece’s Health Ministry believes to know better. “If authorities tally up  more people than taking into consideration at the New Year’s Eve party, they will fine you,” TV channels report with emphasis on Thursday citing sources …

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Hardly had the Greek Health Minister announced New Year’s Eve celebrations without music and closure of food service facilities at 2 a.m. and a tsunami of cancellations struck restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. “We’re done. We close,” unionists of the sector told state-broadcaster ERT three hours after the announcement stressing …

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I can’t imagine the festive season without two of my favorite things: A Christmas tree and my favorite film of all times: A Christmas Carol. Year in, year out, I have to drop what I’m going and watch at least one version of Scrooge the the Ghosts. I love to …

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With the gender-based violence and femicide on the rise in Greece, there are many voices calling for the urgent need for education and self-criticism of the society, the dismantling of stereotypes and no tolerance against such crimes. And there come the conservative misogynists in the mainstream media trying to acquit …

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An interesting phenomenon even if despicable has been observed in the heinous crime where a 32-year-old pilot killed his 20-year-old wife Caroline Crouch and was trying to cover up the murder for 37 days, misleading the police, the media and the shocked Greek society. The “interesting” phenomenon is that some …

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“Welcome, nice to see you again, how are you doing?” said the young man as he arranged a table and two chairs at safety distance from the other customers. “How was the winter?” I asked and I knew the answer before  he replied “tough!” We winked with the eyes, looked …

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The long Greek Easter weekend was extended to Tuesday because the Labor Day on May 1 was moved to today. May Day is a strike day with shops and even supermarkets closed and this was impossible on Easter Saturday. Media are also on strike and in this sense the flow …

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As Greece celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Independence War against the Ottoman occupation in 1821, here is an approach by Stavros Papagianneas, communicator in Brussels. A Romantic Revolution I was born in Athens, and I love the city. It has a special vibe, an outgoing feeling, due to the …

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It could have been been a relaxed day with a bit of posting about the traditional Greek Meat Barbecue Feast Tsiknopempti in the morning and plates with grilled meat, chops, sausages, meatballs – plus mountains of salad – from noon onward. The BBQ smell would arise from the balconies in …

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Yes, this Christmas is “different.” To start with, for the first time since ever, there was no smiling, bold or shy child at my door step singing the Christmas carols. Blame the lockdown and the pandemic. And I must confess: this morning in deafening silence spoiled the whole mood for …

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