International organizations

The signs are there, everywhere. Athens is full of foreign tourists. You see them packed into the narrow city-center streets, but also unexpectedly wandering around the suburbs, smiling from ear to ear, slaloming between the cars parked on the sidewalks. Some of Greece's most popular destinations are already packed - with foreigners. Others are getting there.

Dublin-based low-cost giant Ryanair recently announced it was adding Albania to its roster for the first time as its 37th country destination, with new flights from Edinburgh, London Stansted and Manchester, alongside a host of European cities.

The tragic shipwreck off the southern coast of Greece on Wednesday, with dozens of deaths and hundreds missing, has become a source of confrontation between the country's caretaker government and leftist SYRIZA, which referred to "unanswered questions" in relation to the management of one the Mediterranean's worst tragedies of its kind.

Russian tourists' bookings for holidays in Türkiye, especially in Antalya, have increased by 20 percent in the past few weeks compared with April and May, Turkish daily Milliyet has reported.

Russian holidaymakers had delayed vacation plans due to the ongoing war and elevated inflation which eroded their purchasing power. Russians were looking for alternative destinations to Türkiye.

There were many issues that needed to be discussed in Thursday's television debate between the leaders of the five parties represented in the Parliament after the May 21 election, which was canceled because of the tragic shipwreck off the coast of southwestern Greece.

Slovenia will get an additional seat in the European Parliament under a proposal adopted by the parliament on 15 June. The new distribution must now be okayed by the heads of state.

The proposal would award two seats to Spain and the Netherlands, and one to Slovenia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Ireland and Latvia.

Slovenia would thus have nine seats.

The shipwreck that killed at least 79 people in international waters off Greece happened in search and rescue waters under Greek responsibility, Italy's interior minister said on Thursday.

"The event occurred, and was confined within, the Greek search and rescue area, under the specific responsibility of that country", Minister Matteo Piantedosi told Italy's SkyTG24 TV channel.

The shipwreck off Pylos, where at least 78 people died, is a "heartbreaking reminder" that human trafficking must stop, European Council President Charles Michel said on Wednesday.

Steve Vranakis, former Chief Creative Officer for Greece, spoke on Greece as a brand during the "Reimagine Tourism in Greece" initiative held by Kathimerini.

Vranakis emphasized the need to reinvent the Greek tourism sector, highlighting that Greece has regained its credibility.

Border Force and the military escort migrants ashore at Dover after they crossed the English Channel in Dover, Britain, 27 August 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STUART BROCK

"Designating a state as a 'safe country' necessitates the confirmation that 'there is … no serious risk of persecution of nationals of that State'. Unfortunately, Albania does not meet this criterion," the letter reads.