Greece

Greece, looking to tourist season, makes islands vaccination priority

Greece, which will open its tourist season on May 15, is prioritizing the COVID-19 vaccination of residents of its islands, authorities said. The country has hundreds of inhabited islands and…

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UPDATED: Greece cuts business tax to help pandemic recovery

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced new tax measures on Thursday to help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, cutting the basic business tax rate by…

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Greece aims to reopen restaurants next month

Greece aims to reopen restaurants early next month, state minister George Gerapetritis said on Wednesday, as the country is desperate for more economic sectors to resume operations ahead of its…

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Greece opens to tourists, anxious to move on from crisis season

RHODES, Greece (Reuters) - Greece began opening to tourists on Monday with few bookings but hopes for a better season to help make up for a 2020 devastated by the…

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Israel and Greece sign record defence deal

Israel and Greece have signed their biggest ever defence procurement deal, which Israel said on Sunday would strengthen political and economic ties between the countries. The agreement includes a $1.65…

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Greece says resolving differences with Turkey may be hard, but not impossible

Greece cannot ignore its differences with Turkey over territorial disputes in the Mediterranean and other issues but while a solution is difficult, it is not impossible, its foreign minister told…

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Greek foreign minister clashes with Turkish counterpart at news conference

ANKARA, April 15 (Reuters) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias clashed with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday at a joint news conference in Ankara that began with hopes of improved relations but quickly descended into acrimonious accusations from…

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Turkey says all issues with Greece to be discussed in meeting on Thursday

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he will discuss all disagreements between Turkey and Greece in a meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Ankara on Thursday and that…

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Greece orders COVID self-testing for service workers

Greece will make self-testing for COVID-19 compulsory for service workers in sectors including shops, restaurants and transport, authorities said, as the government looks to gradually reopen the economy. Greece, which…

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Greek PM says agrees to talks with Libya on maritime zones

Greece and Libya have agreed to hold talks on marking out their maritime zones in the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, after a meeting with the president of…

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Greece to lift quarantine rule for more travelers from next week

Greece plans to lift quarantine restrictions from next week for travelers from the European Union and five other countries who have been vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19, a senior…

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Greece to receive first 33,600 doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine this week

ATHENS, April 12 (Reuters) - Greece will get a first tranche of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 on Wednesday and will start inoculating people with it next…

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Greece’s Aegean Airlines posts full-year loss on pandemic impact

Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines on Monday reported a full-year net loss for 2020 as passenger traffic fell amid the coronavirus pandemic. Aegean said its net loss was 227.9 million…

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Greek crime journalist shot dead by motorcycle gunmen: police

ATHENS (Reuters) - Two gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed a prominent Greek crime journalist near his home in Athens on Friday, police said. George Karaivaz, a veteran journalist…

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Greece to open high schools despite a increasing number of daily new cases

Greece will open high schools next week despite a record number of daily new cases recently, officials said, as the government began mass distribution of home-testing kits it hopes will…

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Greece pledges more support for businesses as shops reopen

Greece will provide more financial aid to businesses hit by coronavirus restrictions in April, the finance minister said on Monday, as shops reopened despite surging case numbers that have put…

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Greece records highest number of deaths in 2021

Greek health authorities have reported 78 deaths linked to the coronavirus – the highest daily number recorded so far this year. A further 1,955 cases were also registered in the…

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Greece extends restrictions on international flights to April 19

Greece said on Sunday it was extending restrictions on domestic flights until April 12 and on international flights until April 19 as the number of new COVID-19 infections continues to…

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Greece accuses Turkey of trying to provoke it with migrant boats

Greece accused Turkey on Friday of trying to provoke it by attempting to push boats carrying migrants into Greek waters. Greece and Turkey disagree on a range of issues, including…

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Shops to reopen in Greece as some curbs eased to relieve pandemic fatigue

Greece will ease some COVID-19 lockdown curbs to relieve peoples’ fatigue with protracted restrictions, allowing small retail shops to reopen, authorities said as the surge of COVID-19 infections continues. “We…

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EU-funded recovery plan to usher new version of Greece, PM Mitsotakis says

Greece's European Union-funded 32 billion-euro recovery plan will mobilise additional private-sector money for investments in green energy, digitalisation, health and education, boosting growth and jobs, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said…

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Photo Story – IOC president Thomas Bach visits Athens

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (2R) welcomes International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach of Germany (2R) with president Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) Spyros Capralos (L) and Greece's Deputy Sports…

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Photo Story – Celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution

Greek Presidential Guards hoist the Greek flag in front of the Parthenon temple at Acropolis hill during a ceremony marking the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution (1821) in the…

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Greece celebrates 200 years of independence in pared-back ceremony

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece celebrated 200 years since the start of its struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire on Thursday with a ceremony that was to mark a new…

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UPDATED: Greece orders private sector doctors to assist against COVID-19

Greece has ordered private sector doctors in the broader Athens region to assist its public health system to fight a rise in new COVID-19 infections, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said…

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Greece to hand out self-testing kits as COVID-19 cases stay high

Greece will start distributing free do-it-yourself COVID-19 tests next month, the government said, as it seeks to alleviate pressure on a healthcare system facing a stubbornly high level of new…

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Three migrants found dead off Turkey coast, Ankara blames Greece

ANKARA (Reuters) - Three migrants were found dead in waters off Turkey's Aegean coastal town of Cesme while three others were rescued, and a search was continuing for one more…

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Greek archaeologists unearth bronze bull idol in ancient Olympia

Greek archaeologists have unearthed by chance a more than 2,500-year-old bronze bull idol at the archaeological site of Olympia, the culture ministry said on Friday. An observant archaeologist came across…

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Greece mulls lifting some COVID restrictions

Greek authorities are considering lifting some COVID-19 restrictions as part of a plan for gradually re-opening a fragile economy, a minister said on Friday, even as hospitals remain under pressure…

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Greece calls for volunteer doctors to help state hospitals with COVID-19

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece on Wednesday urged doctors to volunteer their services to the state health system as it struggles to rein in fast-spreading COVID-19 infections. "We are at the…

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Greece, Turkey resume preliminary talks on maritime dispute

ATHENS, March 16 (Reuters) - Greece and Turkey began another round of exploratory talks in Athens on Tuesday, seeking common ground on a long-standing maritime boundaries dispute before a European…

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UPDATE – Earthquake of magnitude 5.7 strikes central Greece – GFZ

ATHENS (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake hit central Greece on Friday but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or of serious damage to buildings. The GFZ German Research Centre…

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Photo Story: Violent clashes in the streets of Athens

Demonstrators clash with riot policemen in Nea Smyrni, south district of Athens, Greece on Tuesday evening. The protest was organized as a result of a footage that was shared widely…

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Clashes break out in Greece after march against police

ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek police officer was hurt on Tuesday after clashes broke out during a demonstration against police brutality in an Athens suburb, prompted by a video that…

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Greece to welcome vaccinated and COVID-negative tourists from May

ATHENS, March 9 (Reuters) - People who are vaccinated against COVID-19, have antibodies or test negative can travel to Greece this summer, Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis said on Tuesday. Tourism…

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Israel, Cyprus and Greece agree to link power grids via subsea cable

Cyprus, Greece and Israel on Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world's longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of…

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Greece, Portugal and Spain follow Cyprus and invite vaccinated British to their countries

Daily Star reports that Portugal and Spanish islands are set to welcome back British tourists from the middle of May. Rita Marques, Portugal’s tourism minister, said the hope is that…

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6.2 Earthquake strikes Greece – UPDATE

ATHENS (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked central Greece on Thursday, although there were no immediate reports of casualties, a day after another powerful tremor hit the same area. The…

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Photo Story: The aftermath of Wednesday’s earthquake in Greece

Photos of the aftermath in Greece after a strong earthquake that shook the wider region of Thessaly, central Greece, on Wednesday 03 March 2021. A strong quake that shook the…

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Greece extends lockdown, tightens restrictions

Greece has extended a lockdown and tightened restrictions in more areas of the country to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic after a surge in new infections piled pressure…

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UPDATE: Earthquake of magnitude 6.2 strikes Greece

An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck central Greece on Wednesday, sending people rushing from their houses but drawing no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage. The European Mediterranean Seismological…

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COVID-19 pandemic in Greece showing no signs of waning

Greece extended lockdown restrictions on Friday to more areas of the country as the COVID-19 pandemic showed no signs of waning exactly one year after its first coronavirus infection was…

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Greece says Britons welcome to holiday with or without vaccine

Greece is ready to welcome British tourists this summer regardless of whether they have had a coronavirus vaccine, Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis was quoted as saying on Thursday. Greece, which…

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Greece wants quick EU action on vaccine passports

Greece is calling on EU authorities to "move more quickly" and embrace vaccine certificates, which could restore an element of mass travel in Europe. Speaking to the Financial Times, the…

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Greek current account deficit widens as COVID crushes tourism

Greece's current account gap widened sharply last year as the coronavirus pandemic cut revenues in the vital tourism sector by more than three quarters, data from the Bank of Greece…

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Greece extends lockdown to more areas to stem spread of pandemic

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece on Friday extended lockdown restrictions to more areas of the country to stem the spread of COVID-19 infections but lifted it in others where infections receded,…

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Greece tightens lockdown as cases increase

Greece will shut one border crossing with Albania and conduct rapid COVID-19 tests on all visitors at its land borders, its government spokesman said on Thursday, as cases in northern…

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Photo Story: Heavy snowfall in Athens

People make their way on Filoppapos hill, across Acropolis during heavy snowfall, in Athens, Greece. As the cold front Medea sweeping over Greece was in full progress and heading south,…

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Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 strikes near Greek town of Nafpaktos

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 struck early on Wednesday near the Greek seaside town of Nafpaktos on the north shore of the Corinthian Gulf, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. The…

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Greece woos private family wealth management services

Greece is preparing new measures to attract family offices offering dedicated wealth management services to ultra-rich clients, as it seeks to overhaul its image as an investment destination, two senior…

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Greece extends lockdown to more regions to contain COVID-19 pandemic

Greece extended the full lockdown imposed on metropolitan Athens earlier this week to more regions of the country in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections, the deputy…

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Greek unemployment drops to 16.2% in November, lowest since April 2011

Greece's jobless rate dropped to 16.2% in November from a downwardly revised 16.4% in the previous month, data from the country's statistics service ELSTAT showed on Thursday, the lowest rate…

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Greek restaurants plea for help as COVID restrictions crush business

Greek restaurant and cafe owners pleaded for additional government support to protect livelihoods and jobs after months of crippling restrictions on their businesses to help stem the spread of COVID-19.…

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Greek premier orders full lockdown in Athens after surge in coronavirus cases

ATHENS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday announced a full lockdown in the capital Athens and the surrounding region to curb a resurgence in coronavirus…

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More restrictions expected as Greek PM to address nation over COVID-19 surge

ATHENS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will make a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening after a rapid rise in coronavirus cases, his office…

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Greece, Israel sign agreement on tourism during PM’s visit

ATHENS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Greece and Israel signed an accord on Monday to ease travel restrictions to Greece for Israelis with proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a move Athens hopes…

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Greece extends restrictions on international flights to Feb. 22

ATHENS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Greece said on Sunday it was extending restrictions on domestic and international flights until Feb. 15 and Feb. 22 respectively to help curb the spread…

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