Page 3 - Greece

PM Modi arrives in Greece on first prime ministerial visit in 40 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Greece on Friday for talks with the European country's top leadership to strengthen bilateral ties. Modi arrived here in the Greek capital from South Africa where he attended the 15th BRICS Summit and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders to further cement India's relations with those countries. Modi is here at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," Modi had said. The last high-level visit to Greece took place in September 1983 when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi travelled to the country. India and Greece enjoy civilisational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Prime Minister Mitsotakis to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship. He is also exp

Flames devour forests, homes as wildfires in Greece burn out of control

Advancing flames devoured forests and homes as wildfires that have killed 20 people raged across swathes of Greece Wednesday, with blazes also burning in neighbouring Turkey and in Spain's Canary Islands. Greece's largest forest fire was burning out of control for the fifth day near the city of Alexandroupolis in the northeast. Another major blaze on the outskirts of Athens torched homes, reducing some to piles of smoking rubble, and encroached into the national park on Mount Parnitha, one of the last green areas near the Greek capital. From Friday to Tuesday, 355 wildfires broke out, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said. On Wednesday, firefighters were tackling 99 blazes, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said in an evening briefing, including 55 that had broken out in the previous 24 hours. Authorities made 140 wildfire-related arrests, including 117 for negligence and 23 for deliberate arson, Artopios said, adding that nearly all were for .

18 bodies found in Greece as firefighters battle wind-driven wildfires

Firefighters on Tuesday found the burnt bodies of 18 people believed to have been migrants who had crossed the Turkish border into an area of northeastern Greece where wildfires have raged for days. The discovery near the city of Alexandroupolis came as hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires across the country amid gale-force winds. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece. With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. Another major blaze has been burning across Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands for a week, although no injuries or damage to homes was reported. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. In Greece, police activated the country's Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the

Open mind on expansion: PM Narendra Modi to head for Brics on Tuesday

Modi will be making an official visit to Greece on 25 August

Major wildfires burn in Greece, Spain's Canary Island of Tenerife

Major wildfires were burning in Greece and on one of Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa Monday, with hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of hundreds of firefighters battling the blazes, two of which have been burning for several days. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. In Greece, authorities ordered the evacuation of two villages in the central Viotia region, about 100 kilometres northwest of Athens, after a forest fire broke out Monday morning. The coast guard put two patrol boats and several fishing boats and private vessels on standby in case an evacuation by sea was necessary. Authorities said the body of a man was recovered from a sheep pen in the area under evacuation, with local media reporting the man apparently died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his ...

More villages evacuated as a large wildfire in Greece rages for second day

Greek authorities evacuated another four villages near the northeastern border with Turkey Sunday where a large summer wildfire that has already destroyed several homes over the weekend drew dangerously close. There were no reports of serious injuries to firefighters or residents from the forest blaze near the town of Alexandroupolis, that forced the evacuation of another eight villages Saturday. Strong winds whipped on the flames, and civil protection authorities warned of an extreme fire risk Monday in the region around the capital, Athens, and other parts of southern Greece. Some 200 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping aircraft, volunteers and police, were battling the blaze near Alexandroupolis. Local authorities said about half a dozen outlying houses and outbuildings were badly damaged in two of the evacuated villages, as well as a church. Sections of a major highway were closed for a second day as smoke reduced visibility, while Alexandroupolis residents were advise

Greece evacuates 19,000 people as wildfire blazes on the island of Rhodes

Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires burned for a sixth day on three fronts, Greek authorities said on Sunday. The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country. Local police said 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels. Six people were briefly treated at a hospital for respiratory problems. A person who fell and broke a leg during a hotel evacuation and a pregnant woman remained hospitalized, the latter in good condition, authorities said. Package holiday companies TUI and Jet2 canceled flights to Rhodes. Jet2 said it was canceling five regularly scheduled passenger flights to the island on Sunday but would fly the planes to Rhodes empty to retrieve customers. TUI said it was canceling all its flights to the island until at least Tuesday. British tourist Kevin Evans was evacuated twice on Saturday with his wife and th

Pak collects DNA samples from 200 families of those missing after boat sank

Pakistan has collected DNA samples from more than 200 families following last week's sinking of an overcrowded smuggling vessel off Greece that left more than 500 migrants missing, including scores of Pakistanis, authorities said Thursday. The families had approached authorities, saying they suspect their loved ones were on the boat, spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch of the Foreign Ministry told a news conference in the capital of Islamabad. Pakistani police, meanwhile, arrested 10 more suspected traffickers, bringing the number of traffickers detained in the nationwide crackdown to 17, she said. Nearly three dozen other suspects have also been taken into custody in connection with the case. However, she said the government still cannot verify the number of Pakistanis among the dead or missing from the sinking. The crackdown followed orders from Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for security forces to dismantle human smuggling networks in the country. The overcrowded fishing trawler ..

UEFA Euro Qualifiers: France emerge victorious, defeat Greece 1-0 at home

In the UEFA EURO Qualifiers match, France defeated Greece 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday at the Stade de France stadium.

300 Pakistanis dead as boat capsizes in Greece: Here's what happened

Between 400 and 750 people were believed to have been aboard the vessel, when it sank about 80 km off the southern Greek town of Pylos

Greece boat tragedy: Pak PM orders crackdown against human smugglers

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered a crackdown against human smugglers as the country announced a day of mourning for the victims of the Greece boat tragedy, several of whom were from Pakistan. An overloaded boat carrying around 750 people, aiming to enter Europe illegally, sank in open seas off Greece. It is believed that several Pakistanis were among the victims, though their exact number is not known. So far, at least 12 Pakistanis have been found alive, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the premier said that June 19 would be observed as the Day of Mourning across the country, and the national flag would fly at half-mast. In another statement, the PMO said that Shehbaz directed the law enforcement agencies to track down agents involved in human trafficking and called for them to be brought to justice. He directed the FO to immediately take action on the boat capsizing and the report

Greece declares three-day national mourning for 79 shipwreck victims

"Everyone's thoughts are with all the victims of the ruthless traffickers who take advantage of human misery," said caretaker Prime Minister Ioannis Sarmas

At least 79 dead after overcrowded migrant vessel sinks off Greece

A fishing boat crammed to the gunwales with migrants trying to reach Europe capsized and sank Wednesday off the coast of Greece, authorities said, leaving at least 79 dead and many more missing in one of the worst disasters of its kind this year. Coast guard, navy and merchant vessels and aircraft fanned out for a vast search-and-rescue operation set to continue overnight. It was unclear how many passengers were missing, but some initial reports suggested hundreds of people may have been aboard when the boat went down far from shore. An aerial photograph of the battered blue vessel released by the Greek coast guard showed scores of people covering practically every inch of deck. Greece's caretaker prime minister, Ioannis Sarmas, declared three days of national mourning, "with our thoughts on all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness". Coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state ERT TV that it was impossible to accurately estimate the number of ...

79 migrants dead, dozens feared missing after vessel sinks off Greece

A fishing boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe capsized and sank off Greece on Wednesday, authorities said, leaving at least 79 dead and many more missing in one of the worst disasters of its kind this year. Coast guard, navy and merchant vessels and aircraft fanned out for a vast search-and-rescue operation set to continue overnight. It was unclear how many passengers might still be in the water or trapped in the vessel, but some initial reports suggested hundreds of people may have been on board. Authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far after the boat sank overnight in international waters some 75 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Greece's southern Peloponnese peninsula. The spot is close to the deepest area of the Mediterranean Sea and such depths could hamper any effort to locate a sunken metal vessel. Twenty-five survivors were hospitalised with symptoms of hypothermia. At the southern port of Kalamata, around 70 exhausted survivors bedded down in sleep

Cyber attack in Greece disrupts high school exams, causes political spat

Greece's Education Ministry says it has been targeted in a cyberattack described as the most extensive in the country's history, aimed at disabling a centralised high school examination platform. It said the distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks aimed at overwhelming the platform occurred for a second consecutive day Tuesday. The attack involved computers from 114 countries, causing outages and delays in high school exams but failing to cripple the system, the ministry said. The cyberattacks prompted a judicial investigation ordered by a Supreme Court prosecutor, to be assisted by the police's cybercrime division. It is the most significant attack ever carried out against a Greek public or government organisation, the Education Ministry said, describing the incidents on Monday and Tuesday as large scale and of sustained duration. End-of year high school exams in Greece are administered using an online platform known as the Subject Bank, designed to to set a uniform stand

An incredible turnaround

Greece's decade of recovery vindicates austerity

Polls open in Greece's first election since international controls ended

Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. The two main contenders in Sunday's vote are conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard-educated former banking executive, and 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, who heads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime minister during some of the financial crisis' most turbulent years. Although Mitsotakis has been steadily ahead in opinion polls, a newly introduced electoral system of proportional representation makes it unlikely that whoever wins the election will be able to garner enough seats in Greece's 300-member parliament to form a government without seeking coalition partners. The winner of Sunday's election will have three days to negotiate a coalition with one or more other parties. If that fails, the mandate to .

Cyprus, Israel, Greece join forces on energy, defence, economy and tourism

The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Israel and Greece agreed to cooperate more closely on issues including energy, defence, economy and tourism.

India, Greece allies, looking forward to boost cultural ties: Ambassador

Greece Ambassador to India Dimitrios Ioannou has said as "natural allies" he was looking forward to bringing the cultures of his country and India's, "both ancient civilisations", nearer. Ioannou, who was talking to PTI on the sidelines of an exhibition of artefacts at the office of Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal in New Secretariat building here, said he could discern Greek influence in some of the statuettes on display and vice-versa. "There is a two way street - we call it Greek Indian art - I hope such exhibitions will rekindle public interest in both countries to explore, to bring to the knowledge of everyone about this ancient heritage link which is somewhat forgotten. "Such exhibitions will strengthen ties between India and Greece, because there are too many things which are common between us," he said. Among the exhibits were statuettes of Gautam Buddha, yakhsis, Hindu gods and goddesses and mythological figures, on which the influence of the Gandh

India playing significant leadership role with G20 Presidency: Argentina

Responding to a question regarding India's G20 Presidency, Dimitrios Ioannou, Ambassador of Greece to India, said, "It's a very ambitious presidency. I am sure that they will achieve their goals"