What is certain is that the courage of all those who took to the streets in Iran marks a turning point for every regime that insists on not respecting the rights of women.We all know that the Islamic Revolution vastly limited the rights of women in Iran.
According to the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index, Iran ranks 140th out of 144 countries as regards gender equality.
The data, however, cannot express the powerful stories of real people.
Mahsa Amini, who was murdered because some tufts of her hair were protruding from her Islamic head scarf, could have been any Iranian woman.
That is why Iran’s women flooded the streets carrying signs with the words, “We are all Ahsa Amini.”
That is why they are burning their hijabs and cutting their hair.
That is why many men are demonstrating by their side.
Iran, some say, has found its George Floyd, in the sense that the protests of Iranian citizens against the country’s authoritarian regime are not just an expression of rage for the shocking murder of the 22-year-old woman.
They are voices that seek greater change.
The question, therefore, is whether the demonstrations will develop into a mass anti-government movement.
What is certain is that the courage of all those who took to the streets in Iran marks a turning point for every regime that insists on not respecting the rights of women.
The protests reveal in the most emphatic manner that Iranian women are determined to claim that to which they are entitled.
They are prepared to struggle, and any means of violent coercion will not terrorise them.
They are accustomed to it.
Therefore, all they have to lose is a life with the fear of Iran’s morality police – literally and metaphorically.

A Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods study found two out of three households turn off their electricity as they cannot pay the bills, while 67 percent have cut spending on food.

We have read patiently and in good faith the energy and environment ministry’s 23 energy-saving tips for winter.
A typical example was don’t cover your radiators (with doilies for example).
It might have added that everyone in the family should sleep together in the same room so that the rest of the rooms need not be heated, and if you sleep hugged it is even better, because heat is transmitted more easily between two bodies. As the Greek saying goes, “Cold, weather for two”.
Other advice included the use duct tape so the cold air will not flow in, and placing LED bulbs in all your lighting fixtures, even if you don’t have the money to buy them.
We were told to install thermostats everywhere, shut appliances when they are not in use, install solar panel water heaters, buy new door frames that are energy efficient with thermal insulation, prepare food with pressure cookers, replace boilers, and buy new energy-efficient appliances.
They might have added we should wash our clothes by hand in a washtub as in the olden days.
This is all well and good, but one might ask, how many households are in a position to implement the proposals? How many of them have hundreds or thousands of euros to spare to replace appliances or heating systems?
How many families can cut off the heating in their kids’ bedrooms, and how many can change door frames or install a solar panel water heater?
According to a study conducted a few months ago by the Poulantzas Institute, in Greece there is an extremely high level of energy poverty.
Specifically, even before the beginning of the current energy crisis, let alone the coming “black” winter that we are all expecting in our country, the data was bleak.
One in two households finds it difficult to cover its energy needs.
Seven out of ten households that find it difficult to cover their energy needs have a monthly income of under 1,500 euros.
One in three households limits basic needs (such as food and medicines) to pay its energy bills.
Four out of ten households heat only part of their homes.
Three out of four households are not in a financial position to implement energy-saving interventions at home.
One in three households delays payment of energy bills, while one in two households has bloated bills.
Two out of three households did not receive a government heating subsidy.
A study issued yesterday by the Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA), indicates that two out of three households turn off their electricity because they cannot pay the bills, while 67 percent have cut spending even on food purchases.
Is all this not enough for the government to comprehend that its energy-saving proposals are at best childish?
It is acting as if it is teaching a primary school lesson in environmental and energy sensitivity.
One thing is certain.
The government is not addressing the overwhelming majority of Greeks that lives on a monthly income of up to 1,000 euros.
It is not addressing families that aside from household bills must pay the expenses of a child studying at university.
It is not addressing the unemployed, and particularly young people who cannot find a decent job with decent wages.
Moreover, it is not addressing hundreds of thousands of families in the provinces, the grandmas and grandpas in the villages, who not only do not have radiators, but can barely afford το light a wood-burning heater.
A state that operates under the rule of law and that protects its citizens is not a state that subsidises poverty and offers such energy-saving tips.
It does what is necessary to eradicate poverty.
As long as politicians display a sort of Marie Antoinette syndrome in the way they treat people, and as long as citizens will die because they cannot adjust to the new era [as one minister declared], there will be destitution and energy poverty, and winters like the one of 1942, when Greece was under occupation.
Therefore, let us not later wonder about the coming social unrest.
Let us not be taken aback by the burgeoning popular rage against “left-wing” and “right-wing” policies, that seem to have landed from other planets.

​By Vasilis Kanellis / in.gr 

Alonso and Hamilton were team-mates for just the one year back in 2007 but they certainly managed to pack that sole season with drama, as they ended up missing out on the Drivers’ title by the narrowest of margins with Kimi Raikkonen stealing in.

Indeed, it was a rivalry based on both men battling for supremacy within the team, with Fernando arriving as a reigning double world champion and Lewis turning up as one of the most exciting talents around.

Both felt as though the team should have been built around them and there was a number of flashpoints through the season, with the rivalry still strong, though not as intense, today.
Indeed, in the battle to get the edge over his team-mate, Priestly has revealed the lengths Fernando went to to try and get his mechanics working double hard.

Fernando Alonso brings out the bribes at McLaren
“One of Fernando’s tactics is to try and bring the whole team over to his side of the garage,” Priestly said to the Pitstop podcast.
“He tries to wrestle control. There was a moment during 2007 when we had them both where Fernando turned up at a race and I arrived and Fernando’s manager or his trainer is handing out little brown envelopes stuffed with cash to everybody who wasn’t on Lewis’ car.

VIDEO: Marc Priestley explains Fernando Alonso’s incredible tactics to win support at McLaren ahead of Lewis Hamilton

“So his team, the support team, I was running the t-car team, we all got these little brown envelopes and I remember opening up the envelope and there was like €1,500 or something.
​
“It was so dodgy, first of all you just get an unmarked brown envelope and I’m like ‘thanks very much what’s that’ and the trainer wanders off and you’re left with this thing and you open it up and it’s literally just full of cash.
“You start looking around and your colleagues have all got them going ‘have you opened yours? How much did you get?’ And all of a sudden this starts spreading around the team and the only people that didn’t get them were Lewis’ crew.
“All of a sudden it starts to dawn on us what’s happened here, he’s looking to gain support, he’s trying to encourage, let’s say, people to support his side of this intense battle that they were in.”

Source:givemesport.com

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed hope that talks underway between authorities in Saudi Arabia and Iran will help to ease tensions in the Gulf region.
“I hope that the dialogue that started between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and other forms of dialogue in the region, will produce results and will allow a reduction of the tension in the Gulf,” he told Arab News.
It came as he reflected on the role the Kingdom, the UAE other Gulf nations can play in tackling global crises — including food insecurity, climate-related emergencies and energy shortages — and regional conflicts such as those in Syria, Yemen, Libya and between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“I am sure that (Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the entire Gulf Cooperation Council) will be quite active in relation to the promotion of peaceful solutions in their neighborhood: In Syria, Libya, Yemen or in any other country that is close to them,” said Guterres.
“I think the people of Syria, the people of Libya, the people of Yemen have already suffered too much. And my appeal is for everybody to come together to solve those problems.”
The UN chief also said he hopes that “GCC countries, which have a huge capacity for production, will contribute to (resolving) the energy crisis in the world.”
Turning to the latest developments in Libya, Guterres said that the supposed ceasefire there “is not in sight.”
He added: “It’s difficult to know what is the biggest challenge that requires action. We must preserve peace between (the rival authorities in the) east and west but that also means preserving peace in relation to the recent confrontations that happened in Tripoli.
“With the militias supporting either (Government of National Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid) Dbeibah or (Government of National Stability leader Fathi) Bashaga, we need hostilities (to stop.) That is fundamental.”
Guterres said that legitimacy remains a problem in Libya and he called for a quick agreement between the House of Representatives in the east of the country and the High Council of State that would allow the implementation of legal changes required for national elections to take place.
He urged external actors involved in Libya to “fully support the process of reconciliation” and back the political process that could lead to the election of a “legitimate government that everybody accepts.”
Speaking on Wednesday during a news conference to mark the start of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly the previous day, Guterres, who had just returned from a visit to flood-ravaged Pakistan, prefaced his remarks with a striking message denouncing the “sheer inadequacy of the global response to the climate crisis” and urging the international community to take more-aggressive action to mitigate its effects.
Describing the ongoing “climate carnage” in Pakistan, which has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 people and caused damages estimated at more than $30 billion, Guterres said his trip to the stricken country was a “window into the future.”
He added: “A future of permanent and ubiquitous climate chaos on an unimaginable scale: Devastating loss of life, enormous human suffering, and massive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods.
“What is happening in Pakistan demonstrates the sheer inadequacy of the global response to the climate crisis, and the betrayal and injustice at the heart of it. It is simply heartbreaking.
“No picture can convey the scope of this catastrophe. The flooded area is three times the size of my entire country, Portugal.”
Guterres once again pointed out that although the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause the planet to heat up and its glaciers to melt are overwhelmingly produced by the world’s richest nations, it is poorer countries such as Pakistan that bear the brunt of resultant extreme-weather events and the death and destruction they bring.
“Whether it’s Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, small islands or the least-developed countries, the world’s most vulnerable — who did nothing to cause this crisis — are paying a horrific price for decades of intransigence by big emitters,” he said.
“G20 countries are responsible for 80 percent of emissions. If one-third of G20 countries was underwater today, as it could be tomorrow, perhaps they would find it easier to agree on drastic cuts to emissions.”
He warned that continued inaction now will cause occurrences of devastating weather events to multiply in the future. The repercussions, including instability and global mass migration, will be felt “for years to come,” he added
“My message to world leaders gathering here is clear: Lower the temperature — now. Don’t flood the world today; don’t drown it tomorrow,” said Guterres.
Geopolitical divides have never been so extreme, he added, and are paralyzing efforts to address global challenges.
“Our world is blighted by war, battered by climate chaos, scarred by hate and shamed by poverty, hunger and inequality,” Guterres said.
The human solidarity enshrined in the words of the UN charter is “being devoured by the acids of nationalism and self-interest, shocking disregard for the poorest and most vulnerable in our world, (and) by politicians who play to people’s worst instincts, for partisan gain.”
He concluded by reiterating the importance of offering hope to people.
“This year’s general debate must be about providing hope and overcoming the divisions that are dramatically impacting the world,” Guterres said.
“That hope can only come through the dialogue and debate that are the beating heart of the United Nations and that must prevail … against all divisions.”

defencenet.ae

An initial agreement to send 40 Greek army BMP-1s to Ukraine in exchange for a same-number of German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) appears finalized.
According to an announcement on Friday by Greece’s defense ministry, the agreement will proceed as planned.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had first discussed the issue of a “swap” of armored personnel carriers, although the prospect appeared to have stalled over the past few months.
The Soviet-designed and Warsaw Pact-made BMP-1 can be immediately deployed by Ukrainian armed forces, given that the specific IFVs are compatible with ammunition and other materiel currently used by that country’s armed forces to fight against an ongoing Russian invasion of the country.
Conversely, Greece will replace its 1980s-era IFVs with more modern and upgraded German armor.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht essentially confirmed that the agreement would go ahead, speaking in Berlin on Thursday.

in.gr 

The organisers of the banned Belgrade EuroPride have submitted a petition with 27,000 signatures to the government, asking President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic to “make it possible to hold EuroPride 2022 as planned”. 
They have said they will gather despite a police ban, having announced the new route for the walk, from the Constitutional Court to Tasmajdan sports center in Belgrade, where a music concert will be held later.
“We insist that EuroPride be held in the format we predicted; there was not a single incident during the four days [of Pride week]. We have been put in a situation where we have no choice; despite the police ban, we will gather,” Goran Miletic, one of the organizers, said.
He said they had again submitted an application to the police for an outdoor gathering on Saturday.
“We will pass by the Constitutional Court and will try to submit an application to the Constitutional Court again today,” said Miletic, referring to the fact that the Constitutional Court has four times declared Pride parade bans unconstitutional.
Some 45 Serbian NGOs have asked state institutions to support freedom of assembly for members of the LGBTIQ+ community, it was announced on Friday.
The government on Tuesday banned the planned march, citing a “risk of violence” after right-wing, anti-LGBT groups announced they would also march through the capital on the same day. Police banned right-wing protests as well.
The decision followed weeks of anti-LGBT agitation from the Serbian Orthodox Church and right-wing groups.
Several right-wing groups also announced protests on Saturday, although the police have banned their gatherings as well. On different social media networks, people have been urged to gather in front of several churches. The main gathering is scheduled to muster in front of the huge St Sava church in the city centre.
A neo-fascist organization, Srpska akcija, (“Serbian Action”) on Friday on its Telegram group called on people to be on alert on Saturday.
“Orthodox Serbs who participated in the three-fold magnificent walk and prayer must not fall asleep now, but closely monitor the situation and be ready to react on Saturday if need be,” they said, referring to an earlier anti-EuroPride rally.
On Wednesday People’s Patrols, a xenophobic right-wing organization known for attacking migrants and refugees, called on people to gather from early on Saturday in the city centre to prevent the “cunning” EuroPride organizers from making a move.
“We have so many churches in the very centre of Belgrade where we can gather for the morning liturgy, so, God help us, we will fill the streets of the capital city with the holy cross … it is a small sacrifice to set aside the morning and afternoon for the defence of family and religion,” they said on their Telegram page.
A Serbian MP and leader of the right-wing Dveri party, Bosko Obradovic, on Wednesday called on people to remain “vigilant”, saying the prohibited EuroPride walk may yet go ahead on Saturday despite the official ban.
“We need to be ready to go out again and again for new processions and family walks to defend our children from LGBT propaganda. Their goal is not a gay parade but the re-education of our children, and Christian, family and traditional Serbia must know and prevent that,” Obradovic said.
Obradovic on Friday announced that if EuroPride is held, it will be proof that Serbia is an EU and NATO colony.
The embassies of several countries in Serbia meanwhile expressed their full support for the members of the LGBTIQ community on the occasion of EuroPride, and expressed the hope that a solution will be found that will allow a peaceful, legal and safe walk in Saturday, according to a letter of support shared by the Dutch embassy on its Twitter account.
The letter was signed by the embassies of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Britain and the US.
President Vucic said on Friday that the law and the decisions of the Ministry of Interior on a ban of EuroPride will be respected, adding that he will not react to the topic anymore, saying it is “corruptly imposed”.
“I will not deal with that topic, corruptly imposed on the Serbian people and all those who are in favour but also those who are extremely against the walk; are all participating in a hybrid war against their country,” Vucic said.

https://balkaninsight.com/​

The creation of an integrated information system for the National Health System of Cyprus has been undertaken by OTE Group, following an open international tender.

As stated in a relevant announcement, this is a flagship project of the Ministry of Health of Cyprus and the State Health Services Organisation of Cyprus (SHSO), aiming to upgrade, simplify and automate the procedures and health services provided to the citizens of Cyprus, with the assistance of technology. The project includes the functional, operational and technological modernisation of all Public Health Units (hospitals and health centres).

The information system
The integrated health information system to be implemented by OTE Group will include all the functions of a modern hospital. The management of the patient’s health record and the entire hospitalization process, from admission to the hospital to discharge, including prescription, will now be done electronically. The system will also include the operational functions of the health units, such as the management of clinical laboratories, the Intensive Care Unit, the Blood Bank, but also administrative functions such as human resources management, cost control, stock and facilities management, etc.
In this way, as noted in the OTE statement, the level of health services enjoyed by patients will be upgraded, while public hospitals and health centres will increase their productivity, while reducing workload. At the same time, they will make easier use of information for quick decision-making and more efficient management.

The project
To implement the project, OTE Group is undertaking the implementation study, design, development and installation of specialized software, as well as the implementation of two fully equipped private data centers. In addition, it will supply and install all the peripheral equipment (PCs, laptops, tablets, etc.) and will train the administrative and scientific staff of the health units in the use of the equipment and the individual subsystems of the health information system.
This highly complex project has a total duration of up to 16 years. The development of the systems will be implemented within 2 years, with the OTE Group taking over the operational support for 8 plus 5 years. 

“A New, digital era”
The Chief Executive Officer of the State health services organisation, Stavridis, said: “With the new Information System we are improving the health services provided, reducing operational costs, increasing productivity, ridding the Organization of outdated systems and reducing human errors.”
“With this great project, the National Health System of Cyprus is moving into the new digital era. We thank the Ministry of Health for the trust they have shown us by awarding us the contract. Both the complexity of the project and its importance for Cyprus make it a great challenge. Thanks to the experience and high level of expertise of our people, I am confident that we will carry it out in the best possible way”, said Mr. Lykourgos Antonopoulos, ICT Sales Director of OTE Group.

​in.gr 

The number of employed persons amounted to 4,116,125, increasing by 133,094 persons as compared with July 2021The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July 2022, in Greece, amounted to 12.6% compared to the downwards 14.1% in July 2021 and to the upwards revised 12.3% in June 2022
The number of employed persons amounted to 4,116,125 persons increasing by 133,094 persons as compared with July 2021 (+3.3%) and decreasing by 29,013 persons compared with June 2022 (-0.7%)
The number of unemployed persons amounted to 591,209 decreasing by 63,165 persons as compared with July 2021 (-9.7%) and increasing by 10,509 persons compared with June 2022 (+1.8%).
The number of persons outside the labour force, i.e., persons under the age of 75, that neither work nor look for a job, amounted to 3,121,452, decreasing by 101,966 persons as compared with July 2021 (-3.2%) and increasing by 16,465 persons compared with June 2022 (+0.5%).