Greece

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

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

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"

The majority of the passenger involved in the accident were young, ERT reported citing a local hospital

The government has promised a thorough investigation into the causes of one the worst train disasters in the history of Greek railways, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA

A passenger train and an oncoming freight train collided in a fiery wreck in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing 26 people and injuring at least 85, Fire Service officials said. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flame after the collision near Tempe, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 people had serious injuries. The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains, Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis said. Hospital units used to treat burn victims had been alerted in the area, he said, and dozens of ambulances were involved in the rescue effort. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the rail cars to search for trapped people. Passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed were transported by bus to Thessaloniki,

The program aims to unlock investments of over 372 billion euros across Europe, to support the EU's strategic priorities, these include the European Green Deal and the digital transition

The body of one more migrant has been found in the western Aegean Sea near where an overloaded sailboat smuggling dozens of people to Europe sank in rough seas this week, Greek authorities said on Friday, raising the total death toll to 23. A coast guard statement said the number of survivors so far remains at 12, which leaves another 34 people reported missing from Tuesday's accident in a dangerous strait between the islands of Evia and Andros. The dead include five children. Two of the 12 survivors have been arrested on suspicion of working for the smuggling gang that had organised the voyage from Turkey, by skippering and crewing the sailboat. Others among the survivors who were all men said the vessel had departed from the area of Izmir in western Turkey with 68 people on board, and capsized before sinking in high seas. It was the latest in a series of recent deadly shipwrecks of boats carrying migrants through Greek seas. At least 27 people drowned in two separate shipwrecks

Greek authorities accused Turkey of forcing 92 migrants to cross into Greece and stripping them naked before doing so. Greek police on Saturday said that police officers found the migrants stark naked on Friday, "some with bodily injuries" who had entered the country using plastic boats to cross the Evros River, which forms a border between the two countries. The migrants told police and officers of Frontex, the European Union's border agency, that they had been forced by Turkish authorities to board three vehicles that took them to the border. The migrants testified that they had been forced to strip naked before boarding the boats. Police said it had provided clothing and food for the migrants. "Turkey's provocative behaviour exceeded all limits," Greece's Ministry of Asylum and Migration said Saturday. Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi posted a photo of the naked migrants on his Twitter account Saturday, commenting, in Greek and English: "Trkiye's behaviour towards 92 migrants

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit central Greece early Sunday, but there were no early reports of damage or casualties. The tremor struck at 1:02 am and had an epicenter 12.7 kilometers below sea level in the Gulf of Corinth, about 100 kilometers west-northwest of the capital, the Athens Institute of Geodynamics reported. The tremor lasted at least 15 seconds and was felt over a large area. Near the sparsely populated epicenter, residents reported hearing a buzzing sound, according to local media. Tremors of this magnitude are common in Greece, which lies in a highly earthquake-prone area, north of where the African plate is pushing underneath the Eurasian plate.

At least 15 people have died as two boats carrying migrants sank in Greek waters late Wednesday, and rescuers were looking for dozens still missing, authorities said early Thursday. The coast guard said 15 bodies had been recovered near the eastern island of Lesbos after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Five people were rescued and three had been located on a rocky outcrop near the site of the sinking. A second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the west, near the island of Kythira, where a sailboat carrying about 100 migrants hit rocks and sank late Wednesday. Officials said 30 people had been rescued after that boat hit rocks off the village port of Diakofti on the east of the island. Winds in the area were up to 70 kph (45 mph). We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight, Martha Stathaki, a local resident told The Associated Press. All the resid

Greece has the right to take all defensive measures to protect its easternmost islands amid threats by neighbouring Turkey that dispute Greek sovereignty rights and raise the spectre of war, the Greek defense minister said Saturday. Speaking after Cyprus' independence day military parade, Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said Turkey's revisionist and destabilising behaviour also undermines security in the wider eastern Mediterranean region. Panagiotopoulos dismissed Turkey's demands to demilitarize the islands as if they're not being threatened and as if we don't have the right to take all defensive measures for them as baseless and unacceptable. Earlier this week, Turkey summoned the Greek ambassador to protest the alleged deployment of dozens of U.S.-made armored vehicles to the Aegean islands of Samos and Lesbos, which Ankara says should remain demilitarized in line with international treaties. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned that his country wouldn't hold b

The president of the European Union's executive arm travelled Saturday to Bulgaria for the opening of a natural gas link between the country and Greece, emphasising the EU's determination to stop relying on Russian energy imports. Speaking at a ceremony in Sofia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the pipeline as an important contribution to limiting opportunities for Russia to use its gas and oil reserves to blackmail or punish the EU. This pipeline changes the energy security situation for Europe. This project means freedom, von der Leyen told an audience that included heads of state and government from the region. The European Commission committed nearly 250 million euros to finance the project, von der Leyen said. The importance of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria pipeline, which was completed in July, has significantly risen after Moscow decided to turn its natural gas deliveries into a political weapon. A second European pipeline started operatin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "use all means" to protect Ankara's rights and interests against Greece

Lebanon, Cyprus and Greece have signed a tripartite agreement to strengthen their cooperation on diaspora affairs, the National News Agency (NNA) reported

Greece's air force on Monday took delivery of a first pair of upgraded F-16 military jets under a $1.5 billion programme to modernise its existing fighter fleet amid increasing tensions with neighbouring Turkey. The two F-16s presented at the Tanagra airbase northwest of Athens are the first of 83 to be refitted with advanced electronics, radar and weapons capabilities by late 2027 by Greece's Hellenic Aerospace Industry, in coordination with U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The head of Greece's joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Constantinos Floros, said the programme's successful and timely completion is an issue of the highest national importance. Any potential aggressor will have to think twice or thrice before trying their luck, once the upgrade is completed, he said at Monday's presentation ceremony, adding that the new planes would increase Greece's footprint within NATO. Relations with historic regional rival Turkey have hit a new low following repeated, thinly-veiled threats fr

Greece will always seek to keep open channels of communication with Turkey, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said

The European Union should have a coordinated response to the challenge posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's blackmail with the supply of natural gas, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Saturday. He said Putin's invasion of Ukraine is meant to "legitimise a despotic authoritarianism and enable any local troublemaker to do the same, a hardly veiled reference to Greece's neighbour Turkey and the increasingly aggressive rhetoric of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the Ukraine war, we stand with those defending themselves, we stand with democracy and freedom...we know what it means to have an (aggressive) neighbour, Mitsotakis said. Putin wants to turn European anxiety about energy into political destabilisation, Mitsotakis added in the keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, in which Greece's heads of government announce the coming year's economic policies. The Greek premier reminded his audience that Greece had proposed months ago a cap on natural ga

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a package of measures including raising the minimum wage and pensions to further help households and businesses tackle the energy crisis and high inflation

Tourism in Greece, a vital pillar of the country's economy, is on track to yield record high revenues this year, exceeding pre-Covid levels, according to officials.