AEGEAN SEA

The hypocrisy continues, and everyone is playing their part.

The leftist-led government brought to Parliament a package of austerity measures it does not believe in - in fact, measures which are mandated by a bailout agreement that it refuses to take ownership of.

The Greek island of Kalymnos, situated in the Dodecanese island cluster in the southeastern Aegean Sea, was for a long time known as the ‘sponge divers’ island. But the island is rapidly gaining a reputation as a top destination for climbing enthusiasts.

‘Conde Nast Traveller’ site goes on a journey to the middle ages. A journey to a place unique on earth, where time has stood still. A journey to the Holy place of Orthodox Christianity, Mouth Athos, in Greece.

From Conde Nast Treveler:

Tofa?, a joint venture between Turkey's Koç and Italy's Fiat Chrysler, announced on May 3 that it made the highest volume of exports in the first three months of the year since 2010 thanks to demand for its new Aegea (Egea) model.

The Greek Defence Ministry is highly concerned over Turkey’s recent escalation of violations against Greek territories.

The European Commission will give Turks "conditional approval" to travel to the Schengen zone without visas, the BBC has reported, quoting "sources."

The British broadcaster said on its website that "the move is part of a deal in which Turkey is taking back migrants who have crossed over the Aegean Sea to Greece."

Greek Defence Minister Panos Kmmenos sent a clear message to Turkey concerning its repeated provocations in the Aegean Sea and Greek air space during his visit on the navy frigate ‘Adrias’. Accompanied by Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, who exchanged festive greetings with the ship’s officers and crew, Kammenos stressed the Greek armed forces were ready to defend every inch of the country.

‘Protothema.gr’ has released the video of the engagement between the Greek gunboat ‘Akteoros’ and a Turkish patrol boat in the Aegean Sea. Earlier on Good Friday, a Turkish patrol boat threatened to arrest the crew of Greek fishing boat ‘Agios Dimitrios’ claiming it was in Turkish waters.

Following tighter controls in the Aegean Sea by the combined efforts of patrol ships from NATO, Greece and Turkey after the activation of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, refugees are choosing a different route to reach central Europe. The refugees and migrants have chosen an alternative route via Bulgaria to move towards the continent, despite greater dangers.

The number of migrants and refugees crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Europe is falling significantly but people smugglers can rapidly change routes and authorities must not reduce their security efforts prematurely, the head of NATO said on April 21, praising Turkey's efforts to break the business model of traffickers.