Provinces of Greece

There has been an unprecedented explosion in construction on the Cyclades in the Aegean over the last five years, according to data from the National Statistical Service on new constructions from 2018 to 2022 on the region's 23 inhabited islands. 

The Megalopolis Basin in the Peloponnese was among the southernmost ecological refuges in Europe during the glacial periods of the Middle Pleistocene, according to the results of a five-year program of surface and geoarchaeological research recently completed by the Culture Ministry and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA).

Animal rights activists and concerned citizens decry the illegal transformation of a 900-meter road in a Natura area on the island of Lesvos into a horse racing track.

Although the Environment Ministry was involved in the issue, calling for a "complete ban on any kind of excavation activity in the area," races were held as normal, and attended by local officials.

The popular travel magazine Vagabond, published in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, proposes the islands of the Cyclades to its readers for their holidays this summer in the context of a dynamic promotion program of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) office in Scandinavia.

Greek authorities said Monday they had arrested five police officers from a special border guard force on suspicion of working with smugglers to help migrants cross into the country from neighboring Turkey.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis will tour the regional units of Lasithi and Iraklio, in Crete, on Tuesday.

At noon, he will visit Sitia, Makris Yalos, Ierapetra and Agios Nikolaos, before visiting Moschos.

At 8 p.m., he will address an open event at Agios Titos square in Iraklio. [AMNA]

A powerful drama inspired by Homer's Odyssey and starring Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope is wrapping up filming at the end of the month on the Ionian island of Corfu, state broadcaster ERT reported on Tuesday.

The North Aegean development program to 2030 was revealed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the island of Lesvos on Friday morning.

The Municipality of Sitia, in the easternmost part of Crete, has seen its Airbnb listings grow recently, with a survey by Tourix showing that by end-March the area east of Agios Nikolaos and Ierapetra hosted 783 listed accommodation facilities, up 7.11% from March 2022, able to host up to 3,297 guests simultaneously.

Greek authorities on Wednesday rescued a group of 39 migrants who had been abandoned by smugglers on an islet in the river that runs along the country's land border with Turkey, police said.

A police statement said the 13 men, 11 women and 15 children had been ferried across in a plastic boat from the Turkish side of the Evros river.