News archive of April 2023

US President Joe Biden took it on the chin Saturday at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner as he laughed gamely through sharp jokes about his age, and hit back with a few of his own.

A huge fire erupted in Moscow-annexed Crimea after a suspected drone attack hit an oil depot, as fighting intensified on the southern Ukrainian front and shelling deprived Russian border villages of power.

Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy fire over Khartoum as fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week with the UN chief warning the country was falling apart.

The good news is that the notoriously fractious Greek eco-parties have banded together, with the encouragement of the European Greens, to contest the May 21 election.

World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas landed 39 straight first serves en route to claiming a 3-6 6-1 7-6(5) comeback win over Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open, with the Greek crediting his focus and relaxation for his near-perfect serving performance.

The socialist PASOK-Movement for Change party unveiled its at-large list, made up of 15 candidates, for the May 21 election Saturday.

The Constitutional Court has suspended legislative amendments that allow the warrantless use of tracking devices to target smugglers of products such as tobacco that are liable for excise duty.

Pets will soon be allowed into more than 120 archaeological sites across Greece, the country's Culture Ministry announced on April 27, although not in the Acropolis or some of the other top tourist draws.

A statue of Buddha has been discovered in Egypt's ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea, shedding light on trade ties with India under the Roman empire.

A Polish-U.S. mission discovered the statue "dating back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice," an antiquities ministry statement said on April 27.

Following the completion of meticulous restoration works conducted by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the 174-year-old Virgin Mary Church in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir has been opened to visitors.

The historic Orthodox church, built in 1849, was used as a house of worship for Orthodox Greeks in the region until 1924 and served as a prison between 1950 and 1983.