News archive of October 2018

Transport authorities are on high alert following the recent spate of attacks targeting buses and trains.

On Tuesday night unknown assailants threw an object at a passing train near Petralona station on the ISAP electric railway, lightly injuring a female passenger in the eye.

A 35-year-old Greek man who was fatally shot by Albanian police in southern Albania last Sunday was not fired at from close range, according to a lawyer representing the victim's relatives.

In comments to reporters after talking to a Greek coroner who examined the body, the lawyer Konstantinos Giovanopoulos said that the 35-year-old was shot twice in the chest.

A van carrying 20 undocumented migrants crashed on Wednesday during an attempt by their suspected smuggler to evade arrest near the border town of Soufli in Evros.

According to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the driver lost control of the vehicle after trying to do a U-turn to avoid a police inspection and plunged into a ditch.

United Nations special envoy Jane Holl Lute met in Nicosia on Wednesday with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and reportedly conveyed a message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging all parties involved in the Cyprus issue to agree on the terms that will allow the resumption of reunification talks.

Police in the northern town of Kozani seized 6 kilograms of saffron crocus stamens valued at 2,740 euros and arrested two men, aged 23 and 24, on Tuesday.

The two suspects reportedly stole the stamens from an underground basement owned by a 54-year-old resident of Kozani.

The town is renowned for its crocus flowers that are cultivated by saffron producers. 

A gang of teenagers responsible for dozens of home burglaries was unraveled on Wednesday by police in the Western port city of Patra.

Three males, aged 16, 17 and 18, were arrested.

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has begun drilling in the eastern Mediterranean with its deepwater drillship 'Fatih' (Conqueror), the company's acting CEO, President and Director Melih Han Bilgin told a Turkish parliamentary committee.

Premier Viorica Dancila conveyed on Wednesday to Albania's visiting Defense Minister Olta Xhacka her appreciation for the good cooperation of the two countries as part of NATO and EU missions, the government said in a release.

Viorica Dancila welcomed Olta Xhacka, who is on an official visit to Romania October 30 - 31, at the Victoria Palace of Government.

Greek banks are proposing that the protection limit on the objective value of debtors' main residences be reduced to 100,000 euros in the context of the Katseli law.

That would signify a drastic decline from the current level that starts at 180,000 euros and can rise up to 280,000 euros depending on the number of children in a household.

Greek startup Loceye has secured funding of 300,000 euros from the Velocity Partners venture capital fund.

The local company has developed a platform that allows media firms, online shops and marketing professionals to conduct eye tracking research to identify which parts of their website each visitor focuses on when navigating.