Latest News from Greece
Athens won’t aid Iranian tanker, minister says
As an Iranian oil tanker which Washington wants seized heads toward Greece, officials Wednesday indicated that Athens would not help the ship reach Syria while seeking to play down the prospects of such a development.
Turks denied asylum should return to Turkey: Greek PM
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Aug. 22 that Turks who have the right of asylum can remain in Greece but those who cannot obtain it should return to Turkey.
Electricity restored in Poros after plane crash
Greek authorities said on Thursday they have fully restored electricity to the island resort of Poros, a day after a private helicopter hit its main power line and crashed into the sea, killing all three men on board.
The accident knocked out the island's power supply at the height of the summer tourist season.
Bank of China coming to Greece this year
Bank of China will open a branch in Greece by the end of the year, the bank's head of European operations, Zhou Lihong, said on Wednesday in Athens, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Kostas Fragogiannis.
German experts discuss migration with Greek officials
Greek officials met on Wednesday in Athens with a delegation of German specialists on issues of migration to discuss arrivals of third-country nationals and find ways of collaborating.
PM to call for investments in Paris visit
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be visiting Paris on Thursday to promote investments in Greece and gain support for a new agreement with Greece's creditors that could lead to lower primary surplus targets as of 2021.
Skilled people only
Greece's state sector must be staffed with capable individuals who don't simply rely on their party background and connections. Recent reports of failed political candidates and party cadres being appointed to agencies of the country's broader public sector are a cause for disappointment.
Wanted: Effective officials
Greece suffers greatly from the ineptness and inactivity of people that take over state sector jobs despite lacking the necessary skills, qualities or enthusiasm.
Albania rescues 36 Afghans from ship, trying to cross into Greece
Albania's Defense Ministry says its ship in the Aegean Sea has rescued 36 Afghans trying to cross into Greece.
Defense Minister Olta Xhacka tweeted Wednesday that 19 Afghan children, eight women and nine men were rescued by the ship Oriku in cooperation with Frontex, the European Union's border control force. She says they have been handed over to local authorities.
Drug hauls on land and sea
Port authorities in Gytheio, southern Greece, confiscated 1.067 tons of unprocessed cannabis that was found on board a Delaware-flagged yacht called My Dream sailing in the Gulf of Laconia on Wednesday morning.
According to authorities, two foreign nationals, aged 42 and 28, were arrested.
Greece has most motorcycle deaths per million in EU
Greece has the highest rate of motorcyclist deaths among the European Union's 28 member-states, according to the most recent data from the EU's statistics service Eurostat.
Specifically, according to figures from 2017, Greece had 20.1 deaths per million inhabitants in that year, just above Malta with 20 deaths per million.
Parliament body to hear from candidates for top court jobs
A special parliamentary body will hear on Thursday and Friday from 11 candidates vying for the positions of the president and top prosecutor of Greece's Supreme Court.
Intensive Traffic at Four Border Checkpoints Both for Cars and Trucks
The traffic at Kalotina border checkpoint, Lesovo border checkpoint, Danube bridge checkpoint and Danube bridge 2 checkpoint is intensive. This was reported by DG Border Police. The traffic information at the border checkpoints is from 1 pm.
Mitsotakis, Lowey meet at Maximos Mansion
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday met with US House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey at Maximos Mansion.
Sources said talks centered on prospects for closer political, defense and economic cooperation between Athens and Washington.
Mitsotakis vows measures to support disabled persons
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has vowed to step up national implementation of European Union legislation regarding disabled people as well as set up a national accessibility authority, which will be directly overseen by his office, that will monitor the enforcement of measures to support persons with disabilities.