According to a study conducted by the Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA), which was published on March 19, the average price of 20 basic products at Greek supermarkets is lower than other similar ones in Britain, France and Spain, daily Kathimerini reports.

The Greek shopping basket is 24% cheaper than its equivalent in the UK, 30% less than in France and 1.5% lower than in Spain.

Value-added tax, which is comparatively higher in Greece, represents an important share of retail prices in this country. If we deduct the VAT, then Greek prices are 44% cheaper than in the UK, 39% below the French average and 8.5%  lower than in Spain.

The IELKA survey shows that prices have actually declined in Greece given that both suppliers and retailers have been trying to bring them into  line with salaries and pensions, which have been significantly reduced due to the harsh economic circumstances the crisis-stricken country is trying to cope with.

“Greece is being present in many aspects of our daily life,” stress the video’s protagonists, reminding of what Greece gave the world in many areas of culture, upon which Europe has built the modern western civilization.

This message is also aimed at supporting Greece during its crushing economic crisis, something the Spaniards are suffering as well. Greece has the highest unemployment rate in Europe, with Spain right behind.

You can see the video below, which may be in Spanish but everyone can understand it apart from the language.

HEPO, following the successful in store promotion of the KAUFHOF German chain, in cooperation with the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Lisbon, took the decision to implement this new Greek products fortnight along with the Greek gastronomy week.

The El Corte Ingles chain has the exclusive overall responsibility for the selection of companies which are to participate, as well as the final number of products.

The so-called Tobin Tax is named for Nobel Prize winner James Tobin, who first recommended the idea, to be 1 percent or less, in 1972, when the Bretton Woods system of money management worldwide changed.

Podimata, who is also a Vice-President of the European Parliament, said it should be extended to all financial transactions and that is was necessary to prevent speculators from manipulating markets and government economies, especially those such as Greece that need bailouts and other assistance.

Some countries, particularly the United Kingdom, whose economies depend on the financial sector, have strongly opposed it, believing the tax would just force investors to move to countries who don’t impose it.

The Parliament voted 533-91, with 32 abstentions, in favor of the tax. Podimata said later that, “The tax on financial transaction gives to the citizens of the North and the South who have carried the cost of the financial services a message that their efforts are not in vain.”

She said the tax was an issue of social responsibility to make the financial sector contribute to the cost of the rescue packages it has from which it has benefitted and to slow a rise in Euro-skepticism and nationalism.

The tax faces another hurdle though as it must be approved by the 27 leaders of the European Union who make up the European Council, and the European Commission but Parliament officials said it could be put into practice in 11 countries initially, including Greece, as well as France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Spain and Estonia.

(Source: European Parliament)

Commission officials told Chountis that Greece’s unemployed receive less than those in other European Union. He said that last year only about one-fourth of Greece’s jobless received any benefits.

Commissioner Laszlo Andor told him that the benefit is only given for one year, that the self-employed are not eligible, and that a worker has to have 200 days of employment over two years to receive benefits upon losing a position.

In relation to other countries, especially Spain and Germany, the Commissioner responded that almost 59% of unemployed people receive benefit in Spain and 28.4% in Germany, where unemployment is much less. In Spain, the requirement is for 360 days of work in the previous six years.

He added that in Greece the benefit is 360 euros per month regardless of the beneficiary’s previous wage while in Spain it is based on 50-70 percent of the former salary, and in Germany it is 60 percent.

(Source: European Commission)

The proposed site aims to offer unemployed Greeks the chance of communicating and working from distance (or not) with employers of the Greek diaspora, which counts about six million people spread across some of the world’s richest countries.

According to the report, the idea came by of the thousands of Greeks who have chosen to leave the country during a crushing economic crisis. Papapostolou, a 26-year-old journalist, lives in Los Angeles, from where he runs Greekreporter, with news in English and Greek addressed to the Hellenic Diaspora on all continents.

“I understood that there was a communication gap between foreign investors and unemployed in Greece, especially those that can do computer work without having to leave the country, and tried to fill that niche,” Papapostolou told El Mundo.

Eight months after its creation, the site has 25,000 users and millions of visitors from all over the world. Its impact has been widespread, gaining both positive and negative reviews and comments.

Some have criticized the Greek webpage for encouraging the unemployed to leave Greece, but its creator defends his idea: “I think if people want to go, they are going to go. If you really want to travel abroad and find opportunity on our website, that’s fine, ” he explained to El Mundo.

Asked about the crisis plaguing Greece and the negative image of the Greeks abroad, Papapostolou defended the Greek worker commitment by noting that the Greeks have a unique determination to do their jobs. “President Clinton said a few weeks ago that the Greeks work 25% more than the Germans. The Hellenes are people striving,” he added.

For the creator of ‘Hire a Greek’, the country’s biggest problem is that there is growing hopelessness. Businesses are shutting down one after the other leaving the Greeks without job. “It’s not just an economic issue, but also a human one. Many people do not know what to do when they get up in the morning and can think of no possible solution to their problems,” laments Papapostolou.

Like many Greeks, however, Papapostolou told the Spanish news agency that he believes his country will eventually overcome the crisis. “We have survived for 5,000 years of history. What are now counting? Five years of crisis? I’m sure that Greece will continue to grow and will emerge much stronger than before,” he said.

Zara owner Amancio Ortega was allegedly struck with inspiration after watching the classic film in 1975 and decided to call his new shop Zorba, but faced last minute complications.
Jesus told The New York Times newspaper: “I don’t think they were thinking of making history, just that it was a nice name. But apparently there was a bar that was called the same, Zorba, like two blocks away, and the owner of the bar came and said: ‘This is going to confuse things to have two Zorbas.’
“They had already made the moulds for the letters in the sign, so they just rearranged them to see what they could find. They found Zara.”

It seems 76-year-old owner Amancio struck gold with his final name choice, since the high street favourite has expanded all over Europe and is a firm favourite with Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton.
It was recently announced the company has made him the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $53.6 billion.
(source: iafrica)

The wreck happened on Nov. 13, 2002 when the Greek-owned ship, under the flag of Bahamas, was carrying 70,000 tons of oil. During a storm, it asked for help by transmitting the S.O.S. signal. For the next six days it was wandering in the Atlantic with a cut on its side.

Then Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar’s government refused to allow the ship into port and a few days later, the tanker broke into two pieces and set off the oil leak that reached southern France, Spain and even Italy.

Magkouras stated in the court of La Corunia where he was being tried that he had seen some signs of erosion  but that he didn’t have the expertise to know how bad it was. “We did all the necessary visual inspections on the ship before we left Saint Petersburg,” the captain claimed. Spanish prosecutors are seeking a 12-year jail term and 2,000 people have filled suits totaling 4 billion euros ($5.2 billion).

Environmental groups such as Greenpeace have asked for Spanish ministers to be tried as well, including current Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was Minister of Interior during the time of the accident.

(Source: in.gr)

Kardasis created the new Ganymede brightness map (or albedo map) by using a common “hobby” telescope, ordinary camera and computer equipment. Officials of the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) said that his map matches with the ones taken by professionals.

The EPSC is meeting this week in Madrid and Kardasis’ map is to be presented in hope of encouraging amateur astronomers to continue their own research. Kardasis’ map identifies features on Ganymede, such as Phrygia Sulcus, a system of thousands of miles of grooves and ridges and a low-lying dark area called the Nicholson region.

Only the refrain is in Spanish which could be translated as following: “This is my last tango in Athens. A sorrowful tango running through my veins. This is my last tango in Athens. A f… tango running through my veins.”

Famous music band Apurimac collaborated with singer Elli Paspala for this song, where every word has Greek roots. Argentinian composer Daniel Armando recounted during an interview with the Ellinofrenia radio show that he got inspired to write this song during a trip to Cuba when he entered a book store and found a book entitled “17,000 Greek words in the Spanish language.”

Watch the full video below:

(Source: thinkfree.gr)