Massachusetts

An unusually heated clash of rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination could be the hallmark of Jan. 14 night's televised debate in Iowa.

Just six candidates are gathering in Des Moines, the smallest number yet on a debate stage. That dynamic will offer candidates more opportunities to criticize each other's proposals as well as tout their own.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is in Istanbul, where he is meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Earlier, Dendias attended Mass at the Patriarchate.

Dendias and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, had a phone conversation Tuesday.

The battle for the heart of the US Democratic Party is on, as Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren challenge the status quo by promoting radical policy programs such as a "Medicare for All" system and an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

About 5,000 Bulgarian youth go to student work and travel programs each year in the United States of America, and interest in working in the country remains high. 

Elizabeth Warren repeatedly came under attack during Oct. 15's Democratic presidential debate as rivals accused the Massachusetts senator of ducking questions about the cost of Medicare for All and her signature "wealth tax" plan in an attempt to derail her rising campaign.

London-based designer Sophia Kokosalaki has died at the age of 47, local media report.
Born in Athens in 1972, Sophia Kokosalaki studied Greek and English literature at the University of Athens before moving to London, where she graduated with an MA in womenswear from the venerable Central Saint Martins fashion college.

The Washington Oxi Day Foundation, a nonprofit focused on commemorative events promoting Greek culture and history, has announced the winners of its Philotimo Scholarship Competition, in which it asked Greek-American students across the United States to describe the Greek word "philotimo."

US-based company Tesla is trying to boost its solar panel business with a new marketing approach - customers will be able to rent the technology rather than buy it, the Associated Press reported.

The company's CEO, Elon Musk, announced the new initiative in a series of posts on Twitter yesterday.

The Metropolitan Amvrosios of Kalavryta, a fiery conservative Greek Orthodox bishop known for criticizing, often in intemperate terms, those who he believed acted in a "non-Christian" or "non-Greek" way, including gays, migrants and politicians, resigned Sunday.

Pope Francis presented on Saturday the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary in Sumuleu Ciuc with a Golden Rose, a gift the Popes have been offering since long to the world's major sanctuaries. The Pontiff placed the rose at the feet of the wonder-working statue of the Virgin Mary.