At a time when walls and fences are going up across Europe in response to the migrant crisis, there is hope a long-standing barrier in one part of the continent could finally come down in 2016. After decades of division in Cyprus, there is genuine belief a political solution will bring together Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south. Since 1974, when a brief Athens-inspired coup […]

I’ve been fortunate in my career as a presenter to travel to some of the more remote parts of the world – so at first glance, to make a programme that focuses on Greece might seem an odd decision. In many ways Greece is a known concept – the tourist industry has introduced millions of us to the country. We love the weather, the islands, the way of life. Read […]

Prof Kypros Nicolaides studies the overhead monitor. “The head of the baby is down, and it is much easier to do when the head is up. So, there are two things we can do.” He pauses and an expectant silence falls. “We can all concentrate and chant. Do you want to chant? Like Hare Krishna?” Tension in the room immediately dissipates, replaced with slightly bewildered, muted laughter. “Or,” he continues, […]

The refugee story has hardly begun. There will be, on conservative estimates, another million arriving via Turkey this year – and maybe more. The distribution quotas proposed by Germany, and resisted by many states in eastern Europe, are already a fiction and will fade into insignificance as the next wave comes. Germany itself will face critical choices: if you’re suddenly running a budget deficit to meet the needs of asylum […]

The women of Pomakohoria are choosy who they share their secrets with. When the founders of fashion label Zeus + Dione approached them to see if they would add their unique macramé finishing to fancy capes, they were suspicious. And rightly so. The idea of opening Greek luxury fashion house in the middle of the country’s economic meltdown seems like a ridiculous idea. A year or so on, the 40 […]

A Daily Telegraph photo extravaganza on the best beaches in Greece. See the pictures here.

The ongoing economic crisis in Greece since 2008 has had an impact, primarily negative on the social, political, and economic fabric of the polity writ large. The question is whether it has had an impact on policy making as well. A recent study I conducted with my colleague Kostas Ifantis for the Hellenic Observatory with a generous grant from the National Bank of Greece on the perceptions of Greek Foreign […]

Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government lost out in congressional elections in Venezuela, Argentina has a new center-right president, and Tsipras’ domestic political dominance seems lately very uncertain. According to recent polls, Syriza is polling at around 18 percent, down from the 36 percent of the vote they received in last September’s elections, and is now neck-and-neck with the conservatives. For those who believe that a new crisis is coming to Athens, […]