Regional units of Greece

Northern Aegean Regional Governor Kostas Moutzouris said he was "surprised" by the Greek government's sudden announcement on Monday that it is speeding up the creation of new, closed migrant centers on the islands.

Greece plans to accelerate the creation of detention centres on its outlying islands in the Aegean Sea after a backlash against overcrowded camps by some migrants and nearby residents.

Construction of closed pre-departure migrant centers on Greece's eastern Aegean islands will begin in March, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Monday, adding that the new facilities are expected to operate by summer.

The government is expected to move forward with its plans to build new, more secure, reception facilities for migrants on the Aegean islands in the coming days, with announcements on construction expected imminently even as local authorities continue to oppose the projects.

The regional authorities of Achaia, western Greece, were urging drivers on Thursday to use snow chains if travelling near the area of Kalavryta, as a cold front brought freezing temperatures around the country.

State-run news agency ANA-MPA reported that snow chains were required when travelling from Kalavryta to Diakopto, Patras and Halandritsa.

Very low temperatures, rain and snowfall accompanied by strong winds were the main characteristics of the weather in Greece on Thursday.

The lowest temperatures recorded by the Meteo service stations of Athens National Observatory on Thursday were -6.4C in the village Vlasti of Kozani, -4.7C in Vytina, in Arcadia, Peloponnese and -4.7C in Mavrolithari, central Greece.

The regional governor of the Northern Aegean, Kostas Moutzouris submitted a new call on Wednesday to declare a state of emergency on three islands, following two days of protest marches by asylum seekers demanding better living conditions and a quicker asylum procedure, and attacks by extremists in Lesvos.

Train operator Trainose is improving service between the port city of Thessaloniki and the towns of Kilkis and Serres in northern Greece, with more routes and affordable tickets.

The Benaki Museum's Pireos Street annex presents "From Homer's World: Tinos and the Cyclades in the Mycenaean Age," an exhibition of finds from a Mycenaean tomb discovered at Agia Thekla on the island of Tinos that is one of just three such funerary monuments known in the Cyclades.

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.