HAP TEAM 1

[Anna Karayiannopoulou]: With a modest ceremony at the World War II memorial as well as other events in honor of those who fought against the Axis forces and of contemporary defenders of freedom, democracy, and human rights, the anniversary of the “Oxi” was celebrated by the namesake foundation here in Washington. The Oxi Day Foundation, […]

[Dimitris Manis]: Some of the largest national parks in the USA have reopened their doors to the public after being forced to shut down about two weeks ago due to the shutdown of the American government. Some states decided it’s better to fund the operation of certain parks and monuments themselves rather than having them

[Zoi Leoudaki]: Dear friends, hello. With us in the Voice of America studio in Washington is the Minister of Culture and Sports, Panos Panagiotopoulos. Welcome to Voice of America. [Panos Panagiotopoulos]: It’s good to see you. I’m particularly happy to be here with you, and I thank you for the opportunity you’re giving me to

[Dimitris Manis]: A new academic program for talented young people from Greece is starting at the American University John Hopkins, based in Baltimore, in collaboration with Anatolia College, which is based in Thessaloniki. The program is fully funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The inauguration of the program was held on Monday, September 16, at

[Dimitris Manis]: Memorial ceremonies were held today, Wednesday, September 11, 2013, in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania in honor of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks orchestrated by the terrorists of Al Qaeda. In New York, relatives and friends of the victims gathered

[Zoe Leoudaki]: Just a few decades ago, America was a very different country. A black person could not sit in the same spot on the bus where whites sat. They had to enter buildings through a specific entrance, live in specific neighborhoods, and did not always have the right to vote. One man changed all

[Anna Karagianopoulou]: As part of the Friends of Cyprus program, this year again, a group of children from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities came to the United States to get to know each other better and to experience American life together. During their visit to the Voice of America studio, the teens from

[Zoe Leoudaki]: In six months, Russia is set to host the Olympic Games in Sochi. In 2018, it will host the Football World Cup, while it is bidding for the World Expo 2020, the World Trade Fair. However, recently, the Russian government enacted legislation that prohibits supporting gay rights. This new law has caused many

[Dimitris Manis]: The meeting between the Greek Minister of Defense, Dimitris Avramopoulos, and his American counterpart, Chuck Hagel, was conducted in a very good atmosphere. The two officials met on Tuesday afternoon at the American Pentagon following an invitation by Mr. Hagel. [Dimitris Avramopoulos]: Today, I met with the United States Secretary of Defense, Mr.

[Anna Karagiannopoulou]: The American Secretary of State, John Kerry, is undertaking his sixth trip to the Middle East, which will focus on the latest developments in Egypt as well as efforts to find a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Kerry returns to the Middle East after talks in the region last month,