Greece

Ship with hundreds of Afghan migrants docks at Greek port

A Turkish-flagged cargo ship carrying 382 mostly Afghan migrants docked safely at a Greek island's port early on Sunday, two days after losing power in the Aegean Sea and sending…

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Greek socialist party leader dies at 57 after battle with cancer

Fofi Gennimata, the leader of Greece's socialist opposition Movement for Change, died on Monday after a long battle with cancer. The death of Gennimata, who was 57, was announced by…

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Greece wants ‘realistic’ EU green policy for shipping

EU shipping power Greece has told the European Commission that adding the industry to the bloc's carbon emissions trading scheme should be proportionate and tightly enforced to secure a level…

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Magnitude 6 quake hits eastern Mediterranean, USGS reports

A magnitude 6 earthquake hit the eastern Mediterranean off the Greek island of Karpathos on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The tremor was felt on the islands of Crete,…

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Strong quake rattles Crete, no immediate reports of damage

A powerful quake rattled the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday for a second time in less than a month but there were no immediate reports of damage. A magnitude 6.3 tremor…

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Greece-France defence pact protects against third-party aggression-Greek PM

A new defence agreement between Greece and France will allow them to come to each other's aid in the event of an external threat, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said…

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Greece proposes EU-wide mechanism on rising energy costs

Greece has proposed an EU-wide mechanism for hedging against steep gas price fluctuations to help households tackle rising energy prices across the bloc. Gas prices have surged so far this year…

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Greece says will not allow ‘uncontrolled’ migrant flows from Afghanistan

SAMOS, Greece, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Greece will not allow a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis to unfold on its borders following the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister…

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Greece imposes COVID restrictions for its second largest city

Greece will impose a nighttime curfew and ban music at bars, cafes and restaurants in Thessaloniki, its second biggest city, following an increase in COVID-19 cases, the government said. Infections…

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Greek current account turn to surplus in July, tourism revenues up

Greece's current account turned to surplus in July compared to the same month last year on the back of a significant rise in tourism revenues, the Bank of Greece said…

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Extreme heat ravages Greece’s mussel harvest

Fisherman Stefanos Sougioultzis cracks open the mussels he cultivated in Greece’s Aegean Sea only to find scores of empty shells. After a summer of scorching heat and warming waters, it…

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Greek PM says climate crisis is with us and cost of ignoring it ‘unimaginable’

Mediterranean nations must lead the way in addressing climate change, the Greek prime minister said, warning that the cost of doing nothing was unimaginable, with mankind possibly struggling to survive…

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Turkish President Erdogan says to meet Greek PM in New York

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that he would meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York.…

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Greece is bouncing back from pandemic rout, says PM Mitsotakis

ATHENS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Greece is on track to produce a primary surplus from 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday, saying the country's economy had shown resilience…

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EU’s Mediterranean states demand global action on climate crisis

ATHENS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Leaders of the EU's bloc of nine southern European members on Friday demanded urgent global action to combat a worsening climate crisis and build a…

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Greece sees jump in international arrivals in August

International air traffic to Greece picked up strongly in August at the peak of the summer tourism season, civil aviation authority data showed on Friday. Arrivals nearly doubled in that…

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Greek unemployment drops to 14.2% in July

Greece's jobless rate dropped to 14.2% in July from 15.0% in the previous month, data from the statistics service ELSTAT showed on Wednesday. Seasonally adjusted data showed 664,384 people were…

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Greece plans firm hand on Afghan migrants, wants more EU help

ATHENS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Greece would seek to block a potential wave of Afghan asylum-seekers fleeing Taliban rule and needs more European Union help on migrant issues, the prime…

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Anti COVID vaccine protesters clash with police in Greece

Demonstrations against compulsory vaccination also took place in Istanbul on Saturday, where more than 2,000 Turks protested against the government's new inoculation push. ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired tear…

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Photo Story: Athens Flying Week Air Show at Tanagra Airbase

A Greek Spitfire performs a low pass during an airshow at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, Greece. The performance is part of an annual airshow, known as Athens Flying…

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Photo Story: ‘Zorba the Greek’ composer Theodorakis dies at 96

Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis directs his orchestra during a rehearsal at the ancient Herodium Atticon theater at the steps of Acropolis, in Athens, Greece, 20 May 2001 (reissued 02 September…

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Greek police use tear gas, water canon during Athens vaccine protest

Greek police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a group of people who threw flares and other objects during a protest in central Athens on Sunday against mandatory…

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Freighter sinks after hitting Greek islets, all 16 crew rescued

ATHENS, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A Togo-flagged cargo ship sank on Saturday after hitting Greek islets in the Aegean Sea but all 16 crew were rescued, the Greek coast guard…

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Freighter heading to Tunisia sinks off Greek coast, all 16 crew rescued

A Togo-flagged cargo ship sank on Saturday after hitting Greek islets in the Aegean Sea but all 16 crew were rescued, the Greek coast guard said. The freighter Sea Bird,…

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Villagers evacuated as forest fire spreads near Athens

People were evacuated from two villages west of Athens on Monday as firefighters battled a new blaze in a forested area that was devastated by flames last week. Authorities ordered…

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Greece plans to name heatwaves in the same way as storms

Spurred on by this summer’s record temperatures, Greek scientists have begun discussing the need to name and rank heatwaves, better known for their invisibility, before rampant wildfires made the realities…

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Greece says border forces on alert to avoid repeat of 2015 migrant crisis

Greece's border forces are on alert to avoid a repeat of the mass arrivals of migrants that the country experienced in 2015, the government's spokesman said on Thursday, following the…

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Greek firefighters battle growing forest blaze near Athens

Greek firefighters are battling a wildfire raging through one of the last remaining pine forests near Athens and said that homes could be at risk. More than 500 wildfires have…

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Greece says cannot become gateway to EU for fleeing Afghans

Greece does not want to become the entry point into the European Union for Afghans fleeing the escalating conflict in their homeland, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said, calling for a…

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Greece posts better-than-expected deficit thanks to lower spending

Greece's central government posted a better-than-expected primary budget deficit of 9.07 billion euros ($10.69 billion) for the first seven months of the year, with lower spending offsetting below-target revenues, the…

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Wildfires burn outside Athens, villages evacuated

Strong winds fanned two wildfires outside Athens on Monday, threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of villages. More than 500 wildfires have broken out in recent weeks across Greece, which,…

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Tui says Turkey, Greece wildfires not hitting bookings

Wildfires in Turkey and Greece have had little impact on TUI's holiday bookings to these destinations, the company said. Tui said it expects reasonably good profitability in the summer due…

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Greece appoints new minister to handle wildfire aftermath

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday appointed a new minister in charge of recovery from natural disasters in a bid to defuse growing anger over the struggle to curb…

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UPDATED: Vessel sinks off Greek island, all 17 on board rescued

All 17 people aboard a vessel that sank on Thursday off the Greek island of Milos have been rescued, the coast guard said on Thursday. All aboard were Greek citizens.…

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Greece says EU not ready for new migrant crisis as Afghan conflict grows

The European Union is not in a position to deal with a repeat of the migration crisis in 2015 and must try to keep people from fleeing the growing conflict…

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Greek villagers mount vigil to save homes as wildfires burn for eighth day

Residents mounted a round-the-clock watch on Tuesday to try to save their homes from wildfires ravaging the Greek island of Evia as the government defended its handling of the crisis. Greek fire crews,…

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Greek PM approves 500 million euro budget for wildfire relief, reforestation

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday he had approved a supplemental budget of 500 million euros ($587 million) to fund relief and compensation for people who have lost…

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European Commission disburses €4 billion in pre-financing to Greece

The European Commission has today disbursed €4 billion to Greece in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's grant and loan allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Greece…

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Greece starts to count cost after a week of devastating fires

Greek authorities have begun assessing the damage from wildfires that have devastated huge swathes of forest and forced thousands to flee from their homes over the past week, as fires…

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Photo Story: Helping the helpless in Greece

Firefighter Dimitrios Zarkadas gives water to an abandoned shepherd dog during a wildfire at the village of Istiaia in the island of Evia, Greece, 09 August 2021. Fires that broke…

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Blaze ravages Greek island of Evia, Firefighting plane crashes in Zakynthos

Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday, and ferries were on standby for more…

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Blaze ravages Evia island on sixth day of Greek wildfires

housands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday, and ferries were on standby for more…

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Hundreds evacuated by sea from island as Greek wildfires rage

Hundreds of people were evacuated by boat from an island near Athens as Greece braced for a fourth day of wildfires on Friday with emergency services forecasting strong winds and…

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Greece slaps restrictions on two tourist islands to curb COVID

Greece imposed a night time curfew and banned music on two popular tourist islands on Thursday to contain the spread of COVID-19, its civil protection deputy minister said. The Mediterranean…

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Greece battles wildfires for third day, site of ancient Olympics saved

Greek authorities ordered more evacuations on an island near Athens on Thursday and battled a blaze near the site of the ancient Olympic Games in the western Peloponnese as wildfires…

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EU helps Italy, Greece, Albania and North Macedonia to fight ‘devastating’ forest fires

As forest fires continue affecting various regions in the Mediterranean and the Western Balkans, the European Commission is swiftly mobilising support to assist countries in limiting the spread of the…

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Greece on high alert as wildfires reach suburbs of Athens

Athens (dpa) - Firefighters in Greece were unable to contain a giant fire that reached the northern suburbs of the capital Athens on Tuesday. The fire is now burning in the suburbs of…

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Greek tourism faces tense ‘summer of patience’

For two balmy weeks in July, hotel manager George Tselios dared to hope his pandemic nightmare was behind him. He was getting 100 bookings a day for his Rhodes seaside…

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Greece issues wildfires warning over ‘dangerous’ heatwave

Greek authorities warned the public against unnecessary work and travel on Friday as temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F) in Athens and the ancient Acropolis, its most visited monument,…

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EU health body warns against visiting popular Greek islands over COVID-19

Greece's south Aegean islands were marked 'dark red' on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's COVID-19 map on Thursday after a rise in infections, meaning all but essential…

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Majority of Greeks trust COVID vaccines despite protests – poll

Nearly two-thirds of Greeks believe getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can beat the pandemic and most favour mandatory vaccination for certain groups such as healthcare workers, nursing home staff and teachers,…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Meteora, Greece

The Monastery of Roussanou is seen during a sunset in Meteora, Thessaly, Greece. The Meteora is a unique geological phenomenon in central Greece hosting one of the largest built complexes…

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Greece searches for missing migrants off Crete

Greece was searching for migrants who went missing after their sailing boat sank off the island of Crete, its shipping ministry announced. A nearby vessel spotted the boat after it…

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Cyprus talks can resume only on two-state basis, Erdogan says

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…

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No vaccines, no dinner: indoor Greek restaurants accept only inoculated customers

Restrictions allowing only people vaccinated against coronavirus to be served at indoor restaurants, bars and cafes went into effect in Greece on Friday, with diners broadly in favour of the…

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Germany lists Greece and the Netherlands as coronavirus risk areas

Germany has declared all of Greece a coronavirus risk area, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Friday, which means that tourists and returning German nationals need to present a…

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Greece sees surge of international arrivals in June

Air traffic in Greece picked up strongly in June after the government eased coronavirus-related travel restrictions in May before the start of the key summer tourist season, civil aviation authority…

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