World

Athens, Sep 10 (IANS) Tourism in Greece, a vital pillar of the country's economy, is on track to yield record high revenues this year, exceeding pre-Covid levels, according to officials.

"2022 has been an amazing year for Greek tourism... I'm very happy to say that both branded and alternative destinations, both on islands and the mainland, were full of travellers and tourists this year, and we are set to surpass this year the numbers recorded in 2019, which has so far been a record year in tourism," Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias told Xinhua news agency.

In 2019, Greece registered 32 million arrivals and some 18 billion euros in tourism-related revenues, according to Bank of Greece (BoG) data.

The data so far this year indicates a strong comeback.

Tourism-related revenues were 224.5 per cent higher in June and 329.3 per cent higher in January-June 2022 than in the corresponding periods of 2021, according to the latest BoG announcement.

Compared with 2019, tourism-related revenues increased by 2.3 per cent in June 2022.

A recent analysis by local lender Alpha Bank expects Greece's tourism-related revenues to reach 20 billion euros this year, thanks to a travel frenzy after travel restrictions were lifted, giving a significant boost to the Greek GDP.

"After two very difficult years for tourism, we had an extremely positive rebound this year that helps us a lot and helps the Greek economy a lot. As a sector we usually account for 25 per cent of the GDP, this is a very big number for a national economy," Alexandros Vassilikos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH), told Xinhua on Friday.

Tourism was a key driver in Greece of the 7.7 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2021, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

The impressive performance of Greek tourism -- despite prevailing challenges, such as the simmering Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the energy crisis -- is the result of good planning, hard work and collaboration among all players, according to Kikilias.

However, there are many challenges lying ahead, such as the upscale of tourism infrastructure to accommodate more visitors, which requires the implementation of a strong strategy, the minister said.

"Circumstances are still very peculiar, which leaves a lot of question marks for the future. Nonetheless, we are extremely positive about the future," Vassilikos said.

--IANS
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By Ashe O
Washington, Sep 9 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth II has the rare distinction of having received all but one of the 14 US Presidents during her 70 year reign, Lyndon Johnson being the exception. Johnson was never an elected president, he succeeded John F. Kennedy after his assassination.


All five of the former US presidents still living paid homage issuing statements praising her reign and her persona.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, her summer retreat, at 96.

During her seven-decade reign, the Queen met 13 of the last 14 US presidents. This includes all five of the former presidents who are still alive: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

When Queen Elizabeth was still a princess in 1951, she travelled to Washington, DC for the first time to meet President Harry Truman, and the two complimented each other's nations.

"Free men everywhere look towards the US with affection and with hope," she told Truman.

In the wake of her death, the former presidents have offered their condolences and reflected on their interactions with the late monarch.

"Her dignity, graciousness, and sense of duty have been an inspiration, and we join the millions around the world in mourning a remarkable leader," Carter said in a statement.

Clinton in a statement said that he and his wife, Hillary Clinton, "mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and we join with people across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and all around the world, in giving thanks for her extraordinary life."

Clinton said they "will always be grateful for the kindness she showed us through the years, particularly during our visits to Buckingham Palace in 1995 and 2000, and for all she did to deepen the Special Relationship."

Describing her 70-year reign as "remarkable," Clinton said Queen Elizabeth "led Britain through great transformations with unfailing grace, dignity, and genuine care for the welfare of all its people."

"In sunshine or storm, she was a source of stability, serenity, and strength," he added.

Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush regarded the queen as a woman of "great intellect, charm, and wit."

In a statement, Bush said she "ably led England through dark moments with her confidence in her people and her vision for a brighter tomorrow."

"Spending time at Buckingham Palace, and having tea with Her Majesty -- and her Corgis -- is among our fondest memories of the presidency," Bush said.

Barack Obama said that he and former first lady Michelle Obama were "lucky enough to come to know Her Majesty, and she meant a great deal to us."

"Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with open arms and extraordinary generosity.

"Time and again, we were struck by her warmth, the way she put people at ease, and how she brought her considerable humour and charm to moments of great pomp and circumstance," Obama added.

In a post to Truth Social, Trump said he and former first lady Melania Trump "will always cherish our time together with the Queen." "What a grand and beautiful lady she was -- there was nobody like her!" Trump wrote, said the Business Insider.

--IANS
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New York, Sep 9 (IANS) NASA has announced that it is considering two dates, September 23 or September 27, to attempt the launching of Artemis I into the space.

Artemis I is NASA's uncrewed flight test which will provide a foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

On September 3, NASA attempted to launch Artemis I, however, it was called off after detecting a liquid hydrogen leak. The team is trying to work through a leaky fuel problem with the rocket, called the Space Launch System or SLS.

While the rocket is still on the Launch Pad, engineers are repairing the area where the leak was detected.

They have constructed a tent-like enclosure around the work area to protect the hardware and teams from environmental conditions.

Teams will check the new seals under cryogenic, or supercold, conditions in which the rocket's core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage will be loaded with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to validate the repair under the conditions it would experience on launch day.

Meanwhile, NASA has submitted a request to the Eastern Range for an extension of the current testing requirement for the flight termination system.

"NASA is respecting the range's processes for review of the request, and the agency continues to provide detailed information to support a range decision," the US space agency said in a statement.

It is also evaluating and adjusting launch opportunities and alternate dates based on progress at the pad and to align with other planned activities, including DART's planned impact with an asteroid, the West Coast launch of a government payload, and the launch of Crew-5 to the International Space Station.

--IANS
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Houston, Sep 9 (IANS) At least two juveniles were injured following a shooting at a park in Uvalde, a small town in Texas where a mass school shooting earlier this year had killed 19 students and two teachers.

The Uvalde Police Department said it responded to the shooting "with injured victims" at Uvalde Memorial Park around 5.30 p.m. on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The injured were air-lifted to a San Antonio hospital.

It was a suspected gang-related shooting, said the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

"This information is preliminary, as the situation develops we will work with local law enforcement to provide updates," the DPS tweeted.

Authorities are looking for a juvenile suspect, San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported, adding that it's "not a dangerous situation for the general public".

An investigation is underway, said the report.

Students in Uvalde just returned to classrooms on Tuesday for their first day of the new school year, which was pushed back to give local schools extra time to take a number of new security measures in the wake of the May 24 shooting at the Robb Elementary School.

--IANS
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London, Sep 9 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth II became a cultural staple during her long and eventful reign. She was the most photographed woman in history -- gracing the cover of 'Time' magazine at age three, the first of several such appearances -- and was depicted on the big screen, the small screen, the stage, in music, and in art, says 'Variety' in a special report.

She is the subject of the Netflix original series 'The Crown', which follows the Queen from the 1940s to modern times and examines her relationship with the various prime ministers -- Liz Truss was the 15th she invited to lead Her Majesty's Government 48 hours before her passing -- as well as with other figures, both within the Royal Family and outside it.

Over the show's six seasons, each of which covers approximately a decade in her life, she has been portrayed by three different actors: Claire Foy, who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal, and Olivia Colman, who earned both a Golden Globe and an Emmy, and Imelda Staunton, who will portray the Queen in her 70s and 80s during the show's fifth and sixth (also believed to be its final) season. Season 5 will premiere on Netflix in November this year, notes 'Variety'.

Helen Mirren also memorably played the British monarch in the 2006 film 'The Queen', written by 'The Crown' creator Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Frears. The film was set in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, a low point for the British royal family, and won Mirren a best actress Oscar for her performance, adds 'Variety'.

Mirren went on to play Elizabeth again in the West End and on Broadway, in the stage hit 'The Audience'.

The monarch also made an appearance in 'Spencer', played by Stella Gonet -- the film stars Kirsten Stewart as her daughter-in-law Princess Diana -- while the Queen's early childhood was portrayed in the Oscar-winning 2010 film, 'The King's Speech', starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham.

The 2015 British comedy drama film 'A Royal Night Out' offered a fictionalised glimpse of the night Elizabeth (played by Sarah Gadon) and her sister Princess Margaret (Bel Powley) were allowed secretly to slip out of Buckingham Palace to join the crowds celebrating V-E Day on the streets of London in 1945.

In 2016, the Queen, played by Penelope Wilton, was a character in 'The BFG', Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl and 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' also tackled the British monarch, according to 'Variety' -- literally.

In this 1988 comedy, Leslie Nielsen's character uses a running tackle to save the Queen from what he wrongly believes to be an assassination attempt. The actress who plays her in the film, Jeannette Charles, has made a career of royal impersonation, standing in as Elizabeth in about 20 movies and TV programmes over a 40-year period.

In animated form, notes 'Variety', the Queen in her Cinderella-like royal coach survived an attempted robbery of her crown in the 2015 film 'Minions' and a rear-ending by Homer Simpson in a 2003 episode of 'The Simpsons' (titled 'The Regina Monologues').

She wasn't so lucky in a 2012 episode of 'Family Guy', in which a high-speed chase of her carriage ends in a royal fatality, and in 2007, according to 'Variety', an episode of 'South Park' sparked outrage after it showed her dying by suicide on the throne. She also made an appearance in Gary Janetti's short-lived animated comedy 'The Prince', which ran for one season on HBO Max.

In 2022, the Queen delighted viewers around the world by guest-starring in a video with Paddington Bear. In the skit, which was filmed at Windsor Castle and broadcast before the Platinum Jubilee concert, Paddington is invited to the Queen's abode for tea where chaos ensues.

At one point in the video that went viral globally, the bear offers Her Majesty a marmalade sandwich fished out of his hat, as he tells her: "I always keep one for emergencies." In response, the Queen replies, "So do I" and opens her handbag to pull out a marmalade sandwich of her own.

--IANS
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London, Sep 9 (IANS) Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on Friday offered tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, who died the previous day aged 96, describing her an extraordinary person who lived an extraordinary life and her devotion to duty was only matched by her skill as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In a tribute, Scotland said: "It is with the greatest sorrow and sadness that we mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. After a long life of faith, duty and service, a great light has gone out.

"Her Majesty was an extraordinary person, who lived an extraordinary life: a constant presence and example for each of us, guiding and serving us all for as long as any of us can remember.

"Throughout her reign, and seven decades of extraordinary change and challenge, Her Majesty was the epitome of duty, stability, wisdom and grace.

"Her Majesty loved the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth loved her. During her reign she travelled more than any monarch in history, visiting every part of our family of nations. Between 1971 and 2018, she missed only one Heads of Government Meeting. Her devotion to duty was only matched by her skill as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, always a generous host and consummate diplomat."

The Secretary-General said in Her Majesty's final Commonwealth Day message, she described "our family of nations as a modern, vibrant and connected Commonwealth that combines a wealth of history and tradition with the great social, cultural and technological advances of our time".

"That the Commonwealth stands ever taller is a credit to all who have been involved. The growth and vibrancy of our modern Commonwealth is a credit to her and testament to her dedication, wisdom and leadership.

"In 1947, before she ascended to the throne, she stated that 'whether my life be long or short I will dedicate it to the service of the Commonwealth. Her Majesty honoured that promise," Scotland added.

As the sixth Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, she said she would always be "grateful for her warmth and kindness to me".

"Our interactions were a delight, and it was wonderful to see her passion and animation whenever discussing anything relating to the Commonwealth. Her long years of interaction and partnership with generations of world leaders and their people, particularly the young, gave her extraordinary insight, which brought ever-more life and meaning to her service," the Secretary-General added.

Elizabeth breathed her last at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, one of her four 'royal' residences and possibly her favourite.

Her family from near and afar had gathered there to be at her side in her final moments.

--IANS
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By Yashwant Raj
Washington, Sep 9 (IANS) For some Americans, no Indian-American will ever be American enough. Not even when one of them is elected to the US Congress to represent millions of Americans.


Indian-American lawmaker Pramila Jayapal was allegedly stalked by a man who would drive by her home in Seattle, Washington hurling insults and invectives in her direction. He told the police after his arrest that he would do that every day till she packs her bags and left for India.

The Washington Post on Thursday reported her 47-minute ordeal on the night of July 9 when she was home and experienced for the first time the man's hatred. She was watching a psychological thriller "Mindhunter" with her husband, Steve Williamson, when it started.

That was the first time they saw and heard the stalker, who and his black car with gold rims driving past their house had been a familiar sight to neighbours.

It was 10:38 p.m.

"F...... C...," said one of the men, according to voices captured by security cameras. Another voice said something that included "India".

"But I will continue to drive by here and voice my opinion, until she goes back to India - or something else," Brett Forsell, 49, one of the two men said as he sat in a police car after his arrest.

Jayapal was born in Chennai, India and immigrated to the US at the age of 18. After two years in Washington state politics - serving in the state senate - she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, becoming the first Indian woman to do so (Kamala Harris became the first Indian American woman elected to US senate the same year - their respective terms started in 2017). A Democrat, she is now in her third term and heads the party's congressional liberals as chairperson of the House Progressive Caucus.

Jayapal has also been a strident critic of former President Donald Trump and blamed him for the stalker. "The person that occupied the White House, the highest office in the land, actually used and unleashed and mobilised all of that violence and white supremacy using the tools of the federal government," she said shortly after the incident.

Many Indian-Americans will identify with her experience. A group of them found themselves yelled at by a woman in Plano, Texas recently. "Go back to India," their tormentor, a woman who introduced herself to them as Mexican-American, told them repeatedly, among other things. She was arrested later.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer with GPS major Garmin, was killed in a bar outside the company premises in Olathe, Kansas in 2018 by a man who yelled at him to "leave my country". The killer claimed he had mistaken Kuchibhotla for someone from the Middle East.

"I've had people forever telling me to go back to India," Jayapal told The Washington Post. "But I will say that this was different. This was really different."

Forsell had planned to pitch a tent close to Jayapal's house to serve her as a constant reminder. And on the night of his arrest, he was carrying a Glock pistol, which he claimed to the police, was meant only for self-defence.

The US' top federal investigative agency FBI tracks discriminatory rhetoric and actions as hate crimes - race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender and gender identity.

Crimes against Indians and Indian-descent Americans are covered under the category of religion as "Anti-Hindu". The 2019 FBI hate crime report said there was a 7 per cent increase in cases against Hindus. These were the most recent publicly available data on bias crimes.

--IANS
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Damascus, Sep 9 (IANS) Russian airstrikes on positions of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in northwestern Syria reportedly killed 120 rebels.

The Russian warplanes attacked a Nusra Front training camp in the Sheikh Youssef area of Idlib province and destroyed observation points, drones, and missile launchers, state news agency SANA cited Russian military sources in Syria as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, also reported the Russian airstrikes in Idlib, saying the Russian warplanes carried out 14 airstrikes on Thursday and fired one surface-to-surface missile on rebel-held areas in the province.

Occupied by a number of rebel groups, including ultra-radical ones like Nusra Front, Idlib has emerged as the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

--IANS
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London, Sep 8 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace has said, BBC reported.

All the Queen's children are either at, or are travelling to, her Scottish estate near Aberdeen.

"Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," a statement said.

The Queen is comfortable, it added.

It is very unusual for Buckingham Palace to put out a statement like this - it is usually unwilling to provide a commentary on the 96-year-old monarch's medical matters, which are seen as private, BBC reported.

Prince Charles has travelled to Balmoral with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Duke of York and the Count and Countess of Wessex are travelling to the Scottish estate, about 40 miles (64km) west of Aberdeen.

The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, was already in Scotland undertaking engagements.

The Duke of Cambridge is also on his way, with the Duchess of Cambridge remaining in Windsor with their children on their first full-day at school.

Barriers are being placed outside one of the entrances to the estate.

There are clearly pressing concerns for the Queen's health - much more explicitly put than before and without any reference to this only being about difficulties with mobility.

There are also warnings against unfounded speculation, such as that she might have had a fall. And on Tuesday she was on her feet and photographed smiling as she appointed new Prime Minister Liz Truss, BBC reported.

But from the last-minute cancellation of what would only have been a virtual meeting of the Privy Council - of senior ministers - there is no mistaking the fragility of the Queen's health.

--IANS
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