Heraklion

"Exercise, exercise, exercise", read an emergency text message which alerted people on the island of Crete of a mock earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude off the city of Iraklio.

Tourists rushed to evacuate the hotel, while workers in vests offered first aid to an injured woman in a tent as part of a quake drill dubbed "Minoas" after the mythical Cretan Bronze Age king.

A 61-year-old man succumbed to his injuries after being crushed by a tractor for unknown reasons while working in his field in the Malades area of Heraklion, Crete, on Friday.

He was immediately transported to the Venizeleio Hospital of Heraklion with severe injuries.

Despite medical efforts, approximately 24 hours after the accident, he passed away.

The recent spike in migrant flows to the southern shores of Crete is becoming an increasing source of concern for the government, which expects an intervention from the European Commission.

The flights to and from the Nikos Kazantzakis airport of Iraklio, Crete, that had been suspended due to maintenance work, restarted on Saturday, the Civil Aviation Authority said.

The first flight took place at 3 p.m.

The controlling stake of 67% in Iraklio Port Authority will be transferred in the next few weeks to Italy's Grimaldi Group, which prevailed in the relevant tender. It will be preceded by the ratification of the concession contract by the Parliament and the financial settlement of the transaction.

The airport at Iraklio in Crete will be closed between February 19 and 24 as maintenance and repair work is carried out on the runway.

Responding to the announcement, Greek carriers Aegean and Sky Express on Tuesday said that passengers will be rerouted to Hania or Sitia or offered the option of a ferry boat.

The demolition of illegal constructions on the shores of the island of Crete was suspended on Thursday by the Lasithi Court of First Instance. More specifically, it halted four planned demolitions in Elounda, even though the relevant protocols were final. 

More complex toilets first appeared nearly a millennium later, in the ancient Minoan civilization on the island of Crete

The Greek physicist Giorgos Grammatikakis has passed away at the age of 84. He had been receiving medical care at the University General Hospital of Iraklio on Crete for several days due to respiratory failure before succumbing on Wednesday morning.

Authorities have detained the captain and the deck officer of the Blue Horizon ferry in connection with the death of a 36-year-old man at the Piraeus port late on Tuesday.