News archive of February 2020

New EU rules on short-stay visas apply worldwide from 2 February 2020. They make it easier for legitimate travellers to apply for a visa to come to Europe, facilitating tourism, trade and business, while providing more resources for countering irregular migration risks and threats to internal security.

Which non-EU countries do the new rules apply to?

Recipients of letters and packages from China can rest assured that they are not at risk of contracting the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV, which causes deadly pneumonia. This was reported by the World Health Organization in its Twitter account.

"Sport is health, communication and entertainment, it is there to unite, not divide people. At the end of the day, yes, soccer is important, but fewer taxes, more jobs, good hospitals and good schools are much more so," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told lawmakers in Parliament on Thursday.

The criticism from citizens and from the media at the idea of installing a floating barrier in the northern Aegean to stem the inflow of migrants and refugees from Turkey is absolutely welcome. But how is condemnation of the scheme by European Union authorities in any way helpful?

Police said on Saturday that they identified three suspects who are thought to have been part of a group of hooligans who attacked a police vehicle outside the Athens Olympic Stadium on January 26 during a cross-town derby between host AEK Athens and Olympiakos.

The three suspects are two Greeks and a teenage foreign national.

The first English-language undergraduate course to be offered by a Greek state university, a four-year Classics program to start at the University of Athens in October, is attracting strong interest and the first few registrations have already been made, Kathimerini understands.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday addressed an event presenting the government's initiative to mark the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

Turkey and Lithuania are looking to double the bilateral trade volume from its current level, Turkey's trade minister said on Jan. 31. 

"Our trade volume with Lithuania is around $562 million, which is very low. We aim to increase it to $1 billion as a first stage," Ruhsar Pekcan said.

Florists across Turkey are gearing up for Valentine's Day just a couple of weeks away. (AA Photo)

Experts also cannot predict when the epidemic will reach its peak.
One of China's leading government-appointed experts, Zhong Nanshan, predicts that the outbreak of the disease, labelled as "demon" by Chinese President Xi, may peak in early February.