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  • NCPC delegates arrive Rome, Greece on pre- visit ahead of 2023 main pilgrimage exercise

    NCPC delegates arrive Rome, Greece on pre- visit ahead of 2023 main pilgrimage exercise

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, NCPC, officials and State pilgrimage leaders have embarked on a Preparatory for the 2023 Main Pilgrimage exercise to Rome and Greece.

    The NCPC delegation arrived Rome, Italy on Saturday, 16th December, 2023 on a Pre- visit to visit some of the important holy sites and inspect some of the hotels that would be used by the intending pilgrims for the forthcoming Pilgrimage exercise which would commence by early next year.

    The delegation led by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Rev Dr Yakubu Pam arrived Fiumcino International airport, Rome at about 1:30 pm local time, and were warmly received by the ground handlers.

    The delegation inspected some important Biblical holy sites in Rome and Greece.

    While in Rome, the delegation would visit Mamertine Prison, St.Peter,s Basilica, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, amongst others.

    The delegation comprised of the Permanent Secretary General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Maurice Mbaeri, NCPC directors and Chairmen and Secretaries of the various states Christian Pilgrims Welfare Boards.

    In a statement signed by Celestine Toruka, Deputy Director/Head Media and Public Relations the Commission and the States Pilgrimage Leaders and Managers have resolved that Rome and Greece would be the next pilgrimage destination options for the December 2023 Main Pilgrimage exercise in view of the the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza, hence the Pre -Visit to the two countries.

  • US Returns Over 40 ‘Stolen’ Antiquities to Italy

    US Returns Over 40 ‘Stolen’ Antiquities to Italy

    In an effort to combat its reputation as a global hub for illicit art trade, New York authorities have returned more than 40 stolen antiquities worth nearly $3.5 million to Italy. The restitution ceremony, attended by Italian officials, marked the return of 42 exceptional artifacts, some dating back 2,500 years.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that the return of these artifacts is part of ongoing efforts to counteract decades of organized antiquities smuggling networks that have impacted Italy. Since assuming office in 2022, Bragg has overseen the repatriation of over 200 antiquities to Italy.

    Vincenzo Molinese, commander of Italy’s Carabinieri Art Squad, praised the successful collaboration between the United States and Italy that led to the recovery of these valuable pieces.

    Among the items returned is a vase from the Apulia region in southern Italy, dating back to 335 BC. This vase, used for mixing water and wine, was stolen from a burial site and smuggled abroad by Giacomo Medici, a notorious trafficker of Italian antiquities. The vase was located and seized from a private collection in New York last month, following its transit through London.

    New York prosecutors have been active in repatriating looted artifacts from various countries since 2017, spanning pieces originating from ancient Greece, the Roman and Byzantine empires, Iraq, China, India, and Southeast Asia. This ongoing effort reflects a commitment to addressing the global trade in stolen cultural heritage.

  • JUST IN: Greece Donates About One Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses To Nigeria

    JUST IN: Greece Donates About One Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses To Nigeria

    Greece has donated about one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria as the Federal Government moves to ensure more citizens are vaccinated against the disease.

    A delegation from the European country led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikolaos Dendias, announced the donation of the vaccines in Abuja on Monday.

    Dendias made the announcement at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and other Nigerian government officials.

    He said Nigeria and Greece have enjoyed a favourable bond over the years and that his country was even willing to expand the relationship,

    The Greek minister explained that such an expansion would culminate in the signing of Memoranda of Understanding on various issues affecting both countries.

    Onyeama, on his part, said Nigeria has enjoyed a smooth partnership with Greece in the area of defence.

    He said the present administration was willing to expand its partnership with Greece, especially in the areas of agriculture and infrastructure.

  • NCPC targets 10,000 pilgrims for 2021 pilgrimage to Israel, Jordan, Greece – Rev Pam

    NCPC targets 10,000 pilgrims for 2021 pilgrimage to Israel, Jordan, Greece – Rev Pam

    By Joyce Remi- Babayeju

    Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, NCPC, Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam, has disclosed that the Commission is targeting about 10,000 pilgrims for the 2022 Pilgrimage exercise to Israel, Jordan and Greece scheduled for February, 2022.

    Pam said Israel would be opened for pilgrimage in January 2022, while the commission is preparing for February to travel to the holy land.
    The Executive Secretary of the Commission gave this information in Lagos during an interactive session with the media, adding that the Commission had already raised about 3000 of that expected figures from the states.

    This was contained in a press release signed by Celestine Toruka Head Media and Public Relations made available to Daybreak today.

    According to the release , NCPC boss decried that the pilgrims spirit is dying in the South East where there is predominantly Christians scored the least on sponsorship of Christian pilgrims, followed by South West zone.

    While he commended Enugu state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his Lagos state counterpart, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu for doing well in sponsorship of Christian pilgrims.

    He said Ebonyi state Governor had promised to sponsor about 300 pilgrims, Imo state 500 and Lagos 300.

    Rev Pam disclosed that NCPC would soon unfold a scheme that would enable intending Pilgrims to save money and sponsor themselves, adding that the Commission would ensure that the church takes over the sponsorship of Christian pilgrimage.

    He said he had been to many states in the country to build relationships with Christian fathers, church groups and the Governors to sponsor pilgrims.

    Meanwhile, Pam who is also a peacebuilder stated that he has been involved in different peace missions to the South East to intervene on the issue of IPOB and the End SARS Protest in Lagos.

    The NCPC boss said he came on board with a 6 point agenda in fighting corruption in the commission, rebuilding relationships with the governors and Christian fathers.

    To fight corruption in the commission, the NCPC boss explained that he had made the procurement process clean by ensuring things like returning travel allowances when he was supposed to travel but could not make it.

    He disclosed further that Jordan has been added into the Christian pilgrimage package while the Commission has put up a strategy to ensure there is zero abscondment of pilgrims.

    Rev Pam said part of the strategy is also to peg the age limit of intending pilgrims to 40.

    On why the commission is not considering including local religious sites in Nigeria on its package, or recognising them for pilgrimage, Rev Pam pointed out that based on the NCPC Act, the body can only embark on pilgrimages to sites connected with Jesus Christ’s missionary journey on earth and that of other notable prophets and patriarchs.

  • Greece shuts down all schools as COVID-19 surge overwhelms hospitals

    Greece shuts down all schools as COVID-19 surge overwhelms hospitals

    Greece announced on Saturday the closure of its primary schools, kindergartens and daycare centres amid a surge in COVID-19 cases that has saturated the national health system.

    A statement issued by the country’s Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said “The Greek government decided the suspension of the functioning of schools until November 30.

    “Closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do. This is a measure of how serious the situation is,” he added.

    READ ALSO: COVID19: We must continue to fight hard, take precautions — Gbajabiamila

    Secondary schools have already closed since last week and all lessons are being taken remotely.

    Most European countries have kept schools open during the second wave of cases that have hit the continent since September, unlike in March and April when they were shuttered during the first lockdowns.

    Since late October, the daily number of deaths in Greece has quadrupled with 50 deaths reported some days, while the number of infections has doubled to around 3,000 cases daily.

    Out of the 1,143 total, intensive care unit beds nationwide on Friday 830 were occupied.

    The country with a population of 10.9 million people has experienced 997 deaths and 69,675 contaminations since the beginning of the pandemic in late February, most of them in the last four months.

    The most hard-hit area is the northern city of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece.

    “The health system is in the red,” Health Minister Kikilias warned.

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  • Greece accused of opening fire as border tensions with Turkey grow

    Greece accused of opening fire as border tensions with Turkey grow

    Turkey accused Greece of opening fire at migrants trying to cross the border, killing at least one, a charge that Athens dismissed as “fake news,” as worries grew that Europe was about to face a new version of a migration crisis it thought it had solved.

    The rush of news left the European Union scrambling for solutions on Wednesday.

    The governor of Turkey’s border city of Edirne, near the zone of clashes between the migrants and Greek security forces, said that one migrant was killed and five were wounded by gunfire.

    All six victims are reportedly males, but their identities were not immediately known, the governor said in a statement.

    The dead person was hit in the chest. The Greek border police used rubber and live bullets along with gas, stun and smoke grenades, it added.

    Sayyid Rahman from Afghanistan, who returned from the no-man’s land to Pazarkule on the Turkish side, said that he saw security forces firing at migrants and hitting six.

    In Athens, a government spokesperson dismissed the report.

    “I vehemently deny reports of injuries through Greek fire,” the spokesperson, Stelios Petsas, told a news conference, accusing Turkey of fabricating “fake news.”

    Thousands of migrants are stranded on Turkey’s land border with Greece, ever since Turkey on Friday said it would no longer stop then from trying to reach Europe. But the move was met by a harsh response from Greece, which does not want a repeat of the last migration crisis, which peaked in 2015-16.

    Greek security forces have been firing tear gas at the migrants trying to cross the land border between Kastanies and Pazarkule nearly every day since Turkey flung the border gates open.

    At Kastanies, on the Greek side of the border, the military allowed reporters one hour of access to the restricted zone on Wednesday.

    A dpa reporter saw police in riot gear launching tear gas at migrants as they moved towards the border fence and barricades. The migrants threw some of the still-smoking missiles back, along with stones.

    Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised not to move to re-establish border controls for migrants until his conditions are met.

    “This refugee influx will continue until a new constitution, based on Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity, is drafted and free elections are held … and a new government is formed,” he said on Wednesday.

    “If they want to solve the issue, European countries should support the political and humanitarian solution Turkey is trying to achieve in Syria,” Erdogan added. “We hope that … European Union will see the truth and provide our country with the necessary support.”

    According to Greek sources, some 12,500 migrants were massed across the border, in the Evros region in the north-east, with the biggest flashpoint in the area of the Kastanies-Pazarkule crossing.

    Erdogan’s move spurred EU leaders into scrambling for measures to prevent a new surge of migrants, four years after a collapsing deal with Turkey curbed the influx.

    In Brussels, EU interior ministers are due to conduct emergency talks about the situation on the bloc’s external borders later on Wednesday.

    Many in the European Union worry about a repeat of Europe’s 2015-16 migration influx, which triggered a populist backlash and gave rise to anti-EU forces.

    The flaring crisis also exposes a broader rift between member states on how to deal with migration.

    Efforts to overhaul the bloc’s outdated asylum rules have led nowhere, with EU capitals fiercely divided on who to take in and how to distribute them. One thing all can agree on is the need to strengthen the bloc’s external frontiers.

    EU border agency Frontex is preparing to deploy further equipment to the Greek border, while Athens can expect up to 700 million euros (781 million dollars) in EU additional funding.

    Greece was also taking steps on its other flank, in the Aegean, and is set to accelerate the deportation of migrants still arriving on the islands.

    The navy deployed a ship to Lesbos, which is to take people who arrived since the crisis flared on Friday to a closed camp on the mainland. From there, the migrants are to be swiftly deported to their countries, a coastguard officer told dpa on the island.

    Since Sunday, Athens suspended asylum applications for a month and plans to expel all those arriving in the meantime with an expedited procedure. (dpa)

  • Greece, UEFA vow to clean up Greek football

    Greece, UEFA vow to clean up Greek football

    The Greek government on Tuesday signed an accord with UEFA to clean up Greek football, seeking ways to tackle the threat posed by corruption, match-fixing and other problems.

    “We’ve taken a political decision to clean up Greek football for good and we are very much looking to your assistance in proceeding down that path,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin.

    The declaration of intent signed by the two men watched by FIFA vice president Greg Clarke “demonstrates our commitment to make significant improvements and upgrading Greek football…” said Mitsotakis.

    UEFA intends to produce a report within three months on ways to improve the administration of Greece Challenges include finding ways to fight the threat of match-fixing, corruption and doping as well as refereeing issues.

    Match officials went on strike in 2018 and threatened a strike in January after attacks on referees and their homes and an attempt by Olympiakos to sue five referees.

    The meeting between the Greek government and world and European football administrators came two days after the league match between the country’s top clubs, PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus.

    The rivalry between the two sides exemplifies the challenges faced by the game in Greece.

    The enmity has spilt off the playing field into the courts and the political sphere after PAOK chief Ivan Savvidis was accused by Olympiakos of acquiring an illegal stake in Xanthi, another top tier club, through a family member, a claim he denies.

    The punishment for multi-team ownership is relegation and PAOK hit back by accusing Olympiakos of trying to win the championship by having their rivals demoted from the Super League.

    The Greek professional sports commission recommended the relegation of PAOK. But in an effort to calm PAOK tempers, Mitsotakis’ government amended a law which replaces relegation with a points deduction.

    Under the amended law, PAOK would face a five to 10-point deduction rather than automatic relegation.

    The dispute is still rumbling on and Greek football authorities have yet to meet to discuss the issue, while any changes must be ratified by global body FIFA.

    There is bad blood between the clubs’ owners, Evangelos Marinakis at Olympiakos and Savvidis.

    Savvidis is a Greek-Russian tobacco businessman and a former lawmaker in Russia with the party of President Vladimir Putin.

    He is locked in a bitter rivalry with Marinakis through TV stations and other media under their respective control.

    In 2018, Savvidis caused an outcry after storming onto the pitch with a holstered gun on his belt to protest a refereeing decision.

    Marinakis, close to Greece’s ruling party, has been reportedly linked to match-fixing and a drug trafficking case.

  • Greece orders registration of NGOs on migrant-crowded islands

    Greece orders registration of NGOs on migrant-crowded islands

    Officials on Wednesday said Greece has ordered all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) helping migrants on the Aegean islands to immediately register with the authorities.

    Deputy Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos, told radio Protothema that “these organisations sprang like mushrooms after the rain. Some behave like bloodsuckers.’’

    The parliament in Athens passed a relevant law in an emergency procedure, seeking to bring order to the chaotic migrant situation on the islands.

    Koumoutsakos accused some of the organisations operating on the islands, where thousands of migrants are stranded after arriving from Turkey, of abusing the volatile situation to tap EU funding.

    He voiced doubts that a protest of thousands of migrants on Lesbos, which ended with police firing tear gas to disperse the people occupying the island capital Mytilini, was spontaneous, implying that it was incited by some of the NGOs.

    Worried by the Greek’s government plan to accelerate the deportation of those whose asylum applications are rejected, the demonstrators demanded a transfer to the mainland.

    On top of moving to accelerate the processing of asylum applications and deportations, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government has taken or plans to take other steps to ease the burden of migrant overcrowding on the islands.

    The authorities already moved thousands of true refugees to the mainland, but the numbers arriving still outpace those leaving.

    Earlier, Athens opened a tender for the construction of a floating barrier off Lesbos to test the possibility of physically blocking the migrants sailing in from the Turkish coast, only 10-12 kilometres away.

  • Greece elects first woman president

    Greece elects first woman president

    Greece’s parliament on Wednesday elected the first woman president in the country’s history, a senior judge with expertise in environmental and constitutional law.

    A cross-party majority of 261 MPs voted in favour of 63-year-old Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, parliament chief Costas Tassoulas said.

    “Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou has been elected president of the republic,” Tassoulas said.

    The new president, until now the head of Greece’s top administrative court, the Council of State, will take her oath of office on March 13, he added.

    The daughter of a Supreme Court judge, Sakellaropoulou completed postgraduate studies at Paris’s Sorbonne University.

    She was also the first woman to head the Council of State.

    Although the president is nominally the head of the Greek state and commander-in-chief, the post is largely ceremonial.

    Greek presidents confirm governments and laws and technically have the power to declare war, but only in conjunction with the government.