Tag Archives: Athens

Greek police used teargas and water cannon to disperse people who had gathered in central Athens on Saturday to protest against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. More than 4,000 people rallied outside the Greek parliament for a third time this month to oppose mandatory inoculations for some workers, such as healthcare and …

Amnesty International accused Greek police of using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to impose blanket bans on protests and apply excessive force to crush peaceful demonstrations. Street protests are common in Greece, and several have taken place in recent months on issues ranging from new labor law to Israeli …

Turkish guards have detained dozens of refugees who had been strip-searched and beaten by Greek forces and forcibly pushed across the border, a local media report says. Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper, quoting Turkish Defense Ministry sources, reported on Tuesday that some 42 refugees, including a dozen naked individuals, had been …

Greek police have unearthed a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso that was stolen more than nine years ago in a daring heist at the National Gallery in Athens. The Picasso painting, Woman’s head, was found with a damaged work by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in a warehouse about 50 …

Thousands of Greeks marched in Athens on Thursday against government plans to overhaul labour laws which unions say will undermine workers’ rights and let companies bring in longer hours through the back door. Greece’s biggest private and public sector unions staged a day-long strike that brought public transport to a …

Athens is investing in new measures to monitor camps, but experts fear the moves will deepen divides. Parwana Amiri first noticed the concrete walls being built around her refugee camp on the Greek mainland one morning a few weeks ago. “It was a feeling that when we were sleeping, they …

Hundreds of Greek firefighters battled a forest fire near Athens for a third day on Saturday but brought the main front of the blaze under control as weather conditions improved. The fire, on the Geraneia mountain range, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital, is “one of the …

Greek police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting in Athens against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Hundreds of people shouting “Freedom to Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags marched to the Israeli embassy, which was cordoned off by police buses. The demonstration in the Greek …

At least five people have been killed in flooding caused by thunderstorms and torrential rains on the Greek island of Evia. Officials said victims included an eight-month-old baby and two people in their 80s. Rescuers found their bodies in houses in the village of Politika. Search efforts are continuing for …

Athens police were bombarded with Molotov cocktails and pelted with stones amid major protests against a new government bill limiting public gatherings. Some 10,000 people had assembled to protest across the Greek capital. Shortly after 8.30 pm local time, a group of some 200 protesters was gathered outside the parliament …

Greece has extended for another two weeks a coronavirus lockdown on its overcrowded migrant camps as the country gears up to revive its tourism-dependent economy. “For residents of the reception and identification centers across the country, measures against the propagation of the COVID-19 virus are extended” until June 21, the …

The moving of thousands of refugees, some of them from Greek islands to the mainland, could leave many homeless and is deeply concerning, the UN Refugee Agency said Tuesday. The UNHCR said that the government-arranged exit of some 9,000 recognized refugees from Greece’s reception system, which began Monday, is a …

Greeks are celebrating Independence Day indoors, without the usual parades and rallies due to the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the usual parade by schoolchildren and the annual military parade, this year military aircraft flew over the country to mark the day.

Greek riot police and troops fired tear gas early on Wednesday at hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece. The air was thick with smoke on both the Greek and Turkish sides of the Kastanies border crossing, and fire engines were …

Thousands of people, some shouting “Erdogan terrorist”, took to the streets of Paris and other European cities on Saturday in protest at the Turkish assault on Kurds in Syria. Protesters marching under the Kurdish green, red and yellow flag waved placards reading “Trump = serial killer” or “the true leader …

Greek police have caught a group of migrants from Syria attempting to fool migration control by posing as a volleyball team from Ukraine. Ten Syrian refugees were arrested at Athens International Airport over the weekend, police said. In an attempt to fool migration control, they all dressed in identical uniforms, …

Air tankers and helicopters were deployed to drop water over devastating wildfires raging on Eubea, Greece’s second-largest island. The video shows an air tanker in the sky, which quickly goes from light blue to hellish yellow and bright orange when the aircraft flies above the wildfire, dousing the blaze with …

A strong earthquake has shaken the Greek capital of Athens, knocking out phone networks and power in parts of the city. The 5.1 magnitude earthquake had an epicentre about 22km (14 miles) north-west of Athens. Athenians ran out into the streets and evacuated tall buildings as the tremor shook the …

Vandals on Tuesday hurled red paint at Greece’s parliament, one of the most heavily guarded buildings in central Athens, before dispersing into nearby streets. The attack, days before a European Parliament election, lasted just a few minutes. There were several red stains on the facade of the parliament, facing onto …