Geography of Greece

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.

A meeting between Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis and officials from the three Greek Aegean islands hosting the largest number of refugees and migrants concluded with an initiative to hold regular meetings to examine developments on the islands and inform them on the government's plans.

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. 

Nine people were detained on Thursday following a fourth day in a row of arson attacks on cars in central Athens.

According to the police and fire service, four cars were torched at 3.40 a.m. on Karachristou Street, in the district of Kolonaki, three of which were completely destroyed and the fourth was seriously damaged.

Firemen were called in to put out the blaze.

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.

Authorities were on alert on Wednesday following the third day in a row of arson attacks on cars in central Athens and in the affluent northern suburbs of Maroussi and Agia Paraskevi in the early hours of the morning.
There were three attacks in Maroussi between 1.05 and 1.40 a.m., with unidentified assailants torching a total of 11 cars, five of which were totally destroyed.

Police on Wednesday were questioning a foreign national believed to behind the theft of at least 33 vehicles in the upscale Athens neighborhood of Kolonaki and the northern suburb of Maroussi.

The man, about whom no further details were released, was arrested on Monday shortly after breaking into a parked car in Exarchia.
Officers are seeking another two suspected accomplices.

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.