Niarchos Foundation Health Initiative grants €420 million for new hospitals in Komotini, Sparta and Thessaloniki (photos)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announced a health partnership with the Greek government that will include three new hospitals and other initiatives worth a total of 420 million euros in funding.

The details of the partnership were unveiled by SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos at a discussion at the SNF Cultural Center, in the presence of Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leadership of the Health ministry, ministers and MPs, academics and the general public.

“Access to quality healthcare should be a fundamental right for all people—from the very young to the very old and from big cities to remote islands. Health is about something more essential than hospitals and equipment. It’s about hope, dignity, and respect. This belief drives the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s (SNF) vision for the health sector in Greece: improving health services to improve life for all of us,” SNF said in a statement.

Komotini General Hospital (to be completed June 2024), Sparta General Hospital (2025) and the Thessaloniki Pediatric Hospital (2024) will be designed by Renzo Piano, who also designed the complex that includes SNF’s Cultural Center, the National Library and the National Opera, and who attended the event. Each general hospital is budgeted at 90 million euros, and the children’s hospital at 150 million euros.

Anna Korakaki to become first woman to start Olympic torch relay

Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki has been selected to start the torch relay for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the first time in games history a woman is serving as the first torchbearer.

Greece's Olympic Committee said Thursday it picked Korakaki, who took gold in the women's 25-meter pistol event at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, to receive the Olympic flame from an actress playing the role of a high priestess in a flame-lighting ceremony to be held on March 12 at Ancient Olympia.

After Korakaki runs the first part of the relay, she will pass the torch to Mizuki Noguchi, the winner of the women's marathon in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Noguchi will be the first Japanese person to carry the 2020 Olympic flame when she collects it in Olympia, western Greece.

Tom Hanks: “Greece is Good for the Soul”

Greece is a “haven” and a “healing place,” Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, who was recently granted honorary Greek citizenship, told reporters at the Golden Globes awards in California on Sunday.

“I’ve been around the world, to beautiful places … none of them tops Greece. The land, the sky, the water, it’s good for the soul; it’s a healing place. Particularly if you get into that fabulous, fabulous Greek schedule of sleeping until noon, staying up until 3 o’clock in the morning, and arguing in a taverna until 3 a.m. It’s just the best life one can have,” Hanks said in comments to the press after being presented with the Cecil B. DeMille by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”

“I’ve been Hellenic for the better part of 32 years,” said the 63-year-old acclaimed actor and filmmaker, highlighting his marriage to actress and producer Rita Wilson whose mother Dorothea was Greek.

Football legend Mimis Domazos opens first free Soccer Academy in Greece

Retired Greek football legend Mimis Domazos, who is considered by many to be one of the best players that Greece has ever produced has opened the first free soccer academy in Greece, which will also support stray animals in Athens.

According to the announcement made by the Academy of Greek Football, the 77-year-old nicknamed “The General” is inviting children between the ages of 4 and 16 to enroll and train for free throughout the season, while also supporting stray dogs and other animals in the Greek capital.

The only catch is he requests that those who are in a position to do so, provide dry food, canned food and anything else they wish to donate towards stray animals in Athens.

The Favourite lives up to its name at European cinema's night of nights, wins 8 awards

The Favourite certainly lived up to its name at this year’s European Film Awards.

It was the clear winner at the Berlin ceremony, picking up a total of eight awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Yorgos Lanthimos.

Its Oscar-winning star Olivia Colman was unable to attend because of filming commitments, but co-producer Andrew Lowe addressed the audience on behalf of the crew.

Lowe paid a heartfelt tribute to the director, who beat some of cinema’s great masters to scoop the award.

Roman Polanski and Marco Bellocchio, two other favourites, came home empty-handed.

"I'd like to say a special thank you to Yorgos Lanthimos, our friend and leader on this great and epic voyage we have all shared,” Lowe told the Berlin crowd. “It's been a great honour for us tonight to be included among so many great nominees in this show."

Fans around the world wish Giannis Antetokounmpo a happy 25th birthday! (videos)

Reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrated his 25th birthday on December 6th and fans from around the world - including Greece, Malaysia, Russia, the Philippines, China, Malawi, Australia and the US - took time to send him their wishes.

Χρόνια Πολλά Γκρικ Φρικ!

Αστυνομικός σε περιπολία τραγούδησε στο πλάι μουσικού του δρόμου στο Μοναστηράκι (video)

Ένας αστυνομικός στο Μοναστηράκι πήρε το μικρόφωνο από μουσικό του δρόμου και τραγούδησε με τη συνοδεία κιθάρας.

Στο βίντεο που δημοσιεύτηκε ο ένστολος φαίνεται να στέκεται δίπλα στον μουσικό έξω από τον σταθμό του Μετρό. Πιάνοντας το μικρόφωνο, αρχίζει να τραγουδά το «Stand by Me» του Ben E. King.

Το περιστατικό συνέβη την Πέμπτη και ο αστυνομικός φαίνεται πως «κέρδισε» τις εντυπώσεις με την ερμηνεία του, αφού ολοκληρώνοντας το τραγούδι χειροκροτήθηκε από περαστικούς.

92-year-old Melpomeni Dina meets families of WWII Jews she saved (video)

One by one, the 40 descendants of a group of Israeli siblings leaned down and hugged the elderly Greek woman to whom they owe their very existence, as she sat in her wheelchair and wiped away tears streaking down her wrinkled face.

Clutching the hands of those she hid, fed and protected as a teenager more than 75 years ago, 92-year-old Melpomeni Dina said she could now “die quietly.”

Sunday’s emotional encounter in Jerusalem was the first time Dina had met the offspring of the Mordechai family she helped save during the Holocaust. Once a regular ritual at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, such gatherings are rapidly dwindling due to the advanced ages of both survivors and rescuers and may not happen again. The soon-to-be-extinct reunion is the latest reminder for Holocaust commemorators preparing for a post-survivor world.

“The risk they took upon themselves to take in an entire family, knowing that it put them and everyone around them in danger,” said Sarah Yanai, today 86, who was the oldest of the five siblings Dina and others sheltered. “Look at all these around us. We are now a very large and happy family and it is all thanks to them saving us.”

Greece wins European creditors’ approval to repay IMF early

Three weeks after issuing debt carrying a negative interest rate, Greece has won approval from its European creditors to repay part of its debts to the International Monetary Fund earlier than required, thus avoiding cumbersome interest payments.

Monday’s decision also spares Greece the obligation of having to make a massive early repayment to the Europeans too, whose loans carry lighter interest than the IMF ones.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said the decision would improve Greek debt sustainability and boost market confidence in the country which underwent a painful financial crisis in 2010.

Spyros Gianniotis to be inducted into International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2020

The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame announced on Saturday that Greek swimmer Spyros Gianniotis will be inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame in 2020.

Gianniotis will become the second Greek swimmer to be a member of the Hall of Fame, after Jason Zirganos, who was honored back in 1971.

Gianniotis has competed in every Olympic Marathon event since 2008.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he came in 16th place. In the 2012 London Olympics, he finished in the 4th place, when he missed the bronze medal by only five seconds.

In 2016 during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he finished second, winning the silver medal.