South Australian State Labor minister, Michael Atkinson, has inflamed tensions between Turkey and Canberra about a "genocide" by accepting an invitation to address a 20,000-strong rally in Greece on the sensitive issue.

In an article in Australia's "The Age" newspaper entitled "Britain runs out of excuses for keeping Elgin Marbles" underlines that the opening of the New Acropolis Museum will minimize the British Museums argument that it is the best place to house the marbles that were removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin.

One of the greatest moments of this years 27th Greek Festival in Sydney organized by the Greek Orthodox Community if New south Wales, will be a series of concerts by Eleftheria Arvanitaki at Sydney's famed Opera House.

Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis will meet today with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, as part of a series of contacts with the state and political leaderships of the Alliance's member countries, in view of the fact that Scheffer's term as Secretary General will expire at the end of July.  

The civil servants' umbrella union is staging a 24-hour public sector strike against salary cuts and pension reforms, also demanding salary increases and aid for the state employees' health care fund, as well as uniform and permanent work contracts.