Lesvos

The latest spike in migrant arrivals in Greece has caught the government off guard, with critics saying it has no plan of action as the situation has become reminiscent of the crisis at the end of 2015, when thousands of people flooded into the country.

Without a concrete plan, government officials are reportedly hoping for bad weather to save the day and limit arrivals.

Lesvos Mayor Spyros Galinos has written to the government and the European Commission asking that immediate action be taken to reduce the number of refugees on the island.

Lesvos has become a magnet for bicycle-riding Turkish holidaymakers this summer, and municipal authorities say large numbers of Turks have been traveling to the northeastern Aegean island specifically for this purpose over the past few months.

A team from the Apostolic Nunciature of Greece on Thursday visited the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos to assess how a 50,000-euro earthquake relief donation by Pope Francis can be best put to use.

Amid a fresh uptick in migrants reaching Greece's eastern Aegean islands from Turkey and rising tensions on island reception centers, Lesvos Mayor Spyros Galinos on Wednesday sent a letter to several ministers and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, calling for immediate action to ease the pressure on local communities.

The number of illegal immigrants and refugees in Lesvos has increased due to the rising flows on the island in the last month.

Thus, on June 26th in Lesvos, in the camps and other structures, according to the Greek Police of the northern Aegean, 3.873 people reside, compared to 3.847 in Chios and 1.939 in Samos.

The cost of a 6.1-Richter earthquake off the island of Lesvos last week is growing by the day, according to local authorities, as more than 500 buildings have been condemned and hundreds of residents are homeless.

Greeks on the island of Lesvos were counting the cost on Tuesday of a massive earthquake which ripped through its south on Monday, razing an entire village and leaving one person dead.

Many residents of Vrisa, a community of some 600 people, spent the night in tents, local hotels and a monastery after the 6.3 magnitude quake rippled through the area, toppling buildings.

Former Barcelona stars will take part in a friendly match against veterans of the Greek national squad on Lesvos to honor the eastern Aegean island's role during the ongoing refugee crisis.

Teams will face off at the municipal stadium of Mytilene, the island's capital, on Thursday at 6.30 p.m.

A left-wing consensus and changes made to the country's bailout program helped Portugal's economy to rebound, Secretary of State for Defense Marcos Perestrello has said.