Country subdivisions

As winter tightens its grip in Turkey, Cappadocia's beautiful scenery under a blanket of new pristine snow mesmerizes visitors. (IHA Photo)

Schools in three Thessaloniki municipalities are to remain closed due to the spread of flu that has led to a large number of absences among pupils.

The affected municipalities are Kordelio-Evosmos, Ambelokipi and Lagada.

Earlier this month, the Health Ministry sent a circular to schools across the country with guidelines on how to avert the spread of flu.

The Taliban said it had shot down a U.S. military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel on board.

Farmers in Thessaly in central Greece are set to signal the start of the almost annual strikes by the country's agricultural community, parking their tractors along stretches of the national highway in Larissa, Volos, Karditsa and Trikala on Monday.

The Greek government's response to the accumulated indignation reflected in the large protest rallies on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos in the northern Aegean on Wednesday, where residents and business owners protested against the creation of new more restrictive reception centers and the overcrowding at the existing camps, cannot just be a demagogic appeasement involving conciliatory r

Mayors of three Greek islands bearing the brunt of intensely overcrowded refugee and migrant camps demanded the transfer of thousands to the country's mainland during a meeting with the new migration minister in Athens on Thursday.

Following a day of protests on Lesvos, Chios and Samos against the mounting pressure of irregular migration on the islands, the regional governor for the Northern Aegean, Kostas Moutzouris, and the mayors of the three islands are due in Athens on Thursday to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis calling for a swift resolution to the problem. 

Residents of the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos on Wednesday held public protests against what they said is the negative impact of the migration crisis on their communities and on North Aegean islands at large, which is home to the most congested reception and identification facilities - also known as hotspots.

Local residents, business owners and officials have launched a day of protest on the Greek islands hardest hit by migration, demanding that the Greek government ease the severe overcrowding at refugee camps.

The Greek government is under growing strain over immigration amid ongoing protests against plans to create at least 10 closed pre-departure centers across the country coupled with a delay in the disbursement of European Union funds for that purpose.