Ionian League

The eastern Aegean island of Samos was jolted by a 4.3 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning, according to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens. No injuries or damage were reported.

The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 11 a.m., was in the sea area 8 kilometers east of the port town of Karlovasi.

The Municipal Authority of Eastern Samos is holding its fourth consecutive student exchange program this month, in cooperation with Germany's Greifswald.

Greece has recovered the bodies of three minors and rescued 19 migrants after their dinghy hit rocks at the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea near Turkey, the coastguard said on Wednesday.

Greece has been a favored gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015 when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands.

Greece rescued 14 migrants including eight children from a rocky shore on the island of Chios, the coastguard said on Wednesday, adding that search-and-rescue operations were ongoing.

The migrants were believed to have reached the island in the Aegean Sea near Turkey on a dinghy, a coastguard official said. It was not immediately clear how many had been on board.

A coast guard patrol intercepted a speedboat carrying 22 migrants heading towards Greek shores in the southeastern maritime area of Chios island late Saturday.

The speedboat, carrying a total of 24 individuals (11 men, 7 women, 6 minors), was immobilized. Among those aboard, two individuals suspected of trafficking were arrested.

Coast guard officials on Samos have picked up 27 migrants who were stranded on a rocky islet northeast of the eastern Aegean island.

Upon receiving information that the migrants were on Aghios Nikolaos, a coast guard vessel approached the islet and located the group.

The number of migrant arrivals has increased in recent months for the first time in three years, so much so that although there were 4,881 persons staying at Reception and Identification Centers on the Greek islands in January, that number had more than doubled to 9,137 by the beginning of September.

The Coast Guard has said it rescued 25 undocumented migrants from a dinghy north of Samos island, near the islet of Prasonissi.

The foreign nationals (17 men, 4 women, 3 boys and a girl) are said to be well and were safely transferred to Malgari port, Samos.

They were subsequently transferred to a reception center for asylum-seekers. [AMNA]

Greece's coast guard on Tuesday rescued 52 people crammed onto a sailing boat anchored off an uninhabited island far from the country's mainland, authorities said.

Greece's coast guard was mounting a rescue operation Tuesday for dozens of people crammed onto a sailing boat anchored off the coast of an uninhabited island far from the country's mainland, authorities said.