Adelaide GP Dr Mario Athinodorou, 52, faces the possibility of being struck off the medical register after the state’s medical tribunal found him guilty of sexual misconduct against multiple female patients. The Health Practitioners Tribunal of South Australia found the GP acted inappropriately between 1997 and 2012. A 151-page judgement described how he breached professional medical boundaries while treating ten women, aged from their early 20s to middle age. During tribunal hearings over the past 14 months, a four-member panel heard graphic evidence regarding his sexual behaviour over a 15-year period at the Medical Services’ North Haven surgery. His behaviour included kissing, hugging and groping women, asking them to undress whilst he undertook intimate medical examinations without a chaperone being offered or present during the examination. The judgement found he failed to treat patients with respect or act in their best interests, provided unnecessary services and had poor record-keeping. Authorities said he “behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct … or unprofessional conduct”.
The tribunal found that the married father of four, used his professional position to establish or pursue an inappropriate relationship with patients and he engaged in sexual misconduct in connection with the practice of medicine and that he also exploited the patients physically, emotionally and sexually.
A group of students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) brought home five medals from the International Mathematics Competition-IMC in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. The seven maths whizzes competed against the world’s finest mathematical minds from 64 countries in different categories that included Algebra, Mathematical Analysis, Geometry and Combinatorics. They stood out among 364 competitors, garnering a silver medal, four bronze ones and two honorary mentions.
Greek NGO Metadrasi received a $US2 million prize, the world’s biggest humanitarian award. The group won the Hilton Humanitarian Prize offered by the Conrad N Hilton Foundation for its “innovative approach to welcoming refugees and protecting unaccompanied minors”. Metadrasi was founded in 2009 to safeguard the rights of people displaced by war or persecution, with particular emphasis on minors who had reached Greece alone because they had either been lost or separated from their parents along the way. The organisation is present at all key entry points of Greece and has proven to be a safety net for unaccompanied children that it transports from detention centres to suitable accommodation and foster care. Metadrasi’s founder Lora Pappa hopes that the award would be use to strengthen the group’s advocacy and help more refugee children from the 12,000 minors that it has already helped.
Bishop Ambrosios of Kalavryta and Aegialeia announced his resignation to parishioners during last Sunday’s service in the church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary at the town of Kalavryta in the west Peloponnese. The bishop has served the area for 41 years, standing as one of the longest-serving bishops of western Greece, however the 82-year-old told his parishioners that the time had come for him to step down, inferring age as a possible reason for his resignation. He added that “our country is in danger and our faith is being besieged.” His time as bishop has been marked with controversy as a result of ultra-conservative and homophobic statements he has made in the past. Earlier in 2019, the bishop was found guilty of abusing ecclesiastical office and inciting hatred due to rants made in 2015. He had advised people to spit on gay people. “Do not go near them! Do not listen to them! Do not trust them! They are damned members of our society,” Ambrosios had said.
Greek Education Minister Niki Kerameos met with pulmonologists Panagiotis Behrakis, Chair of the Health Ministry’s national Anti-Smoking Committee and Vasso Evangelopoulou, a researcher at the George Behrakis Research Lab of the Greek Anti-Cancer Society. During the meeting, the specialists presented their initiative SmokeFreeGreece. Its overarching aim is to send positive messages to students against tobacco addiction, and highlight the positives of living a healthy and active life. Furthermore, they sought the Education Ministry’s support in running information sessions at schools to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking. Ms Kerameos was positive about their work, and agreed that tackling smoking, as well as use and addiction of drugs, should be incorporated into the school curriculum.
The University of Crete’s Museum of Natural History has had a new, and rather unique, member join its team: Ravel, an affectionate labrador. The first museum education dog in Greece, Ravel has been included as part of the Museum’s Summer Camp in a bid to increase both participation and learning – and according to curator Lena Borboudaki they are already seeing positive results. “Developing cognitive abilities and learning are the primary focus of educational programs including the help of animals, and activities including animals offer multiple educational and therapeutic benefits,” Ms Borboudaki told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA). The curator cited an example of a child with difficulties in communication and integration. They noted that the Labrador’s presence helped to reduce the child’s stress levels, and to be more active in the group.
One of two piles of human skeletons discovered by researchers on the shores of Roopkund Lake in northern India are believed to be the remains of Greeks. Researchers analysed the DNA of the skeletons, which date back to between 1600 and 1900 AD, and found 13 out of 14 skeletons had similar genotypes to people currently living in Crete, as well as mainland Greece. According to the findings, published in the scientific journal Nature, the individuals all appear to have been healthy up until the point of their death, which remains a mystery. Meanwhile the DNA of the second group of bones, believed to date back to 800 AD, was found to have similarities with people from South Asia, including modern India and Pakistan. The bones were discovered at an altitude of approximately 5,000 meters in the state of Uttarakhand, which is a popular destination among those who frequent the north of India. However the researchers are yet to determine why the group of people from modern day Greece were in this particular area at the time, nor do they have a plausible hypothesis as to why both groups died in such close proximity to one another.
Nina, aka the sweet Greek grandmother who became an Instagram sensation as @Yiayianextdoor thanks to her neighbour Daniel Mancuso whom she feeds regularly, went viral again. This time the internet went crazy as yiayia’s followers shared her happiness. The lovely lady who takes care of her neighbours as if they were her own children, while appearing on The Project back in June, revealed that she was worried about her sister in Greece who had suffered a stroke but could not afford the tickets. Flight Centre’s management were touched by Nina’s story and decided to gift to her and her husband return flights to Greece thanking Flight Centre and the team at Northland for the gift.