Tag Archives: Greece

Wildfires burned in regions across southern Europe on Monday, fuelled by hot weather and strong winds, as some northern countries cleaned up after a weekend of torrential rain and flooding. In Greece, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said firefighters had battled around 50 fires during the past 24 hours and it …

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 …

Emerging from the crystal-clear turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, Hans-Juergen Fercher has just returned from his fourth dive to where mounds of 2,500-year-old wine pots mark the site of an ancient shipwreck — and Greece’s first underwater museum. “This is a combination of diving and archaeological diving. It’s diving …

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 …

Greek authorities on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos say they are drawing up a criminal case, including on charges of espionage, against 10 people, all foreign nationals, for allegedly helping migrants enter the country illegally. Police in Lesbos said on Monday the investigation had been ongoing for several months …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday peace talks on the future of ethnically divided Cyprus can take place only between “the two states” on the Mediterranean island. In a speech in the divided Cypriot capital of Nicosia, Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s position in a dispute that is damaging Turkey’s relations …

Divers have discovered rare remains of a military vessel in the ancient sunken city of Thônis-Heracleion – once Egypt’s largest port on the Mediterranean – and a funerary complex illustrating the presence of Greek merchants, the country said on Monday. The city, which controlled the entrance to Egypt at the …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to Northern Cyprus to mark the anniversary of Turkey’s 1974 invasion, a visit that is bound to draw the ire of Greek Cypriots. Erdogan will embark on the two-day trip to the Turkish Cypriot-controlled northern territories on Monday. He is scheduled to meet with …

Greece banned music in restaurants and bars and imposed a nighttime curfew on its popular holiday island of Mykonos on Saturday after a rise in new coronavirus infections there. Known as the party island of the super-rich, Mykonos is one of Greece’s most popular destinations, attracting more than a million …

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 …

Four people were found dead as a huge fire raged for a second day in Cyprus, razing tracts of forest in a blaze one official called the worst on record. The blaze, fanned by strong winds, affected at least 10 communities over an area of 50 square kilometres (19 square …

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 …

The Greek coastguard said that one of its patrol vessels was “harassed” by a Turkish patrol boat on Sunday, causing minor damage, a day before the Greek and Turkish leaders hold talks in Brussels. There were no injuries in the incident, which occurred east of the Aegean Island of Lesbos, …

A Greek court has sentenced four young Afghan asylum seekers to 10 years in jail each after they were charged with starting fires that destroyed Europe’s largest migrant camp last year. Defence lawyers said the men, who denied the accusations, were found guilty of intentional arson. The defence described the …

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 …

Greece has reacted furiously to remarks by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu describing the Muslim minority community in northern Greece as Turkish who were denied full civic rights. “We want Greece to give the same rights as we provide to the Greek Orthodox Church and Greek minority to the Turks …

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 authorities have evacuated around 300 people from their homes as a fire, which broke out on Wednesday night near a seaside resort on the Peloponnese peninsula, spread to surrounding villages. No deaths have been reported but police spokesman Theodoros Chronopoulos told Reuters on Thursday that 300 people had been …