Greeks and the Oscars!

The Academy Awards often had Greek color. Greeks and people of Greek origin have always represented the Greek spirit in cinema’s biggest celebration.

This year alone, Greek Australian George Miller is nominated for the furious Mad Max: Fury Road.

Young Greek pole vaulter Emmanuel Karalis scaling the heights

Teenaged Greek pole vaulter Emmanuel Karalis is determined to scale new heights despite the negative impact of the country's financial crisis on sport.

Fresh from breaking the world youth record, a mark which had stood for 12 years, this month, the 16-year-old is being hailed as a future star of Greek athletics.

With his leap of 5.53 metres at the national indoor championships in Piraeus, Karalis finished third behind Greek champion Kostas Filippidis, eclipsing the 2004 record of 5.51 set by Argentine German Chiaraviglio.

But rather than bask in the glory of his feat, Karalis, who received his first pair of spikes from Filippidis, is not resting on his laurels.

“For a kid my age what I've achieved is huge, but to be honest I feel like now my career is starting; this is the platform I can use to train harder and improve,” he told Reuters.

Everyday Heroes: Meet the Greek Islanders Nominated for Nobel Prize (video)

LESBOS, Greece — Sub-zero temperatures and ice-cold waters haven't stopped tens of thousands of migrants from landing on the shores of this tiny Greek island this winter — though many have died trying.

The locals of Lesbos have been flung into the roles of rescuers and receivers. 

Their courage, compassion and self-sacrifice has inspired a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. 

Here are some of their stories.

The fisherman

Thanos Marmarinos has traded fishing time for towing in boats full of desperate migrants, saving scores from the frigid sea.

"One boat was filling with water — there were 18 children in it, including a three-month-old baby. If we hadn't been there, they'd have drowned," the 62-year-old said.

Meet Konstantinos Laskaris, Tesla’s Lead Motor Engineer

The Principal Motor Designer at Tesla Motors, the electric luxury cars maker, is Greek. Meet Konstantinos Laskaris.

Since 2012, Laskaris is lead designer at Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley, California. There, he implements new technologies for the electric cars of the future.

It comes as no surprise that Tesla, the EV trailblazer, spends a considerable amount of resources on internal R&D to develop better parts for EVs, and that its testing facilities and engineering talent are at the forefront of the industry.

“As Tesla’s Principal Motor Designer, Konstantinos Laskaris is responsible for the electromechanical design and optimization of the company’s existing and future traction motors,” wrote Charged EVs, a magazine specializing in electric vehicles, calling Laskaris “Tesla’s motor guru.”