News archive of August 2020

Up to 700,000 euros have been stolen from mobile phone users in 40 SIM swapping attacks so far this year in Greece, Kathimerini has learned.

The death toll rose by 5.851, the WHO added.
According to TASS, a total of 17.660,523 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the world, and 680.894 people have died as a result of this infection.
WHO statistics are based on officially confirmed country data.
Most cases, 9.476,763, were registered in South and North America.

Many of the world's most life-changing events have taken place without a bang, almost quietly. A few days ago, an experienced Greek diplomat, a German judge and a close adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat down at the same table in a small building next to the German Chancellery in Berlin.

Passengers wait to board a ferry at the port of Piraeus, at the start of the peak of the Greek holiday season, on Saturday. An estimated 355,099 passengers left the country's main port for the Aegean islands last month. Ferries are operating at 60% capacity, while passengers are obliged to wear masks inside the ferries due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

Τhe Environment Ministry's recommendation for setting construction limits on certain islands is excellent. It may come at a price, politically, but in the medium term it will boost the value of land and make those islands more sustainable and attractive.

Could it be that Stanford Professor John Ioannidis helped decide US President Donald Trump's stance on coronavirus, especially his opposition to lockdowns? Quite likely, according to news website Buzzfeed.

Greek health authorities on Sunday announced 75 new coronavirus cases _ 4 of them from international arrivals _ and 2 deaths over the past 24 hours.

The total number of cases has risen to 4,662, with 208 deaths. Twelve patients are on ventilators, while 128 have exited intensive care units.

Visitors wearing virtual reality headsets are seen at the information center of the newly inaugurated Underwater Museum of Peristera, on the western Aegean island of Alonissos, on opening day on Saturday. The museum, the first of its kind in Greece, showcases the Peristera shipwreck, named after the uninhabited island opposite Alonissos where it was discovered in the early 1990s.

Romanian residents spent over EUR 480 million (RON 2.34 billion) on vacation and business travels in the first quarter of this year, of which 77.6 pct for those targeting domestic destinations, according to data centralized by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

Police continue their intensive checks for violations of social distancing guidelines in the island holiday hotspots of Paros, Mykonos and Santorini. Arrests have been made.

On the island of Paros, six nightclubs were raided; police shut down one of those for 15 days because of overcrowding and fined its owner 3,000 euros. Five arrests were also made for excessive noise.