Rhodope

During the night, there will be scattered clouds, predominantly significant over Eastern Bulgaria, with no precipitation expected. Conditions will remain relatively calm, with minimum temperatures ranging between 6° and 11°, while in Sofia, temperatures will hover around 6°.

The meteorological outlook for January 6 predicts scattered clouds across Bulgaria, with increasing cloud cover by evening, accompanied by rain in the southern regions and the Rhodope Mountains. Expect light to moderate south-southwesterly winds, occasionally becoming stronger in the Danubian Plain. Temperatures will range from 10C to 15C, reaching 13C in Sofia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will head to Thrace after his visit to Athens in early December, as he does every time he visits Greece, before returning to Ankara.

This will be the third time Erdogan will visit Thrace during a visit to Greece.

Socialist opposition leader Nikos Androulakis on Thursday said the destruction caused by the wildfires that burned on the mountain range of Rhodope in Xanthi, northern Greece, the previous days caused a "biblical catastrophe". 

The fires in Greece are continuing. Last night, a new fire broke out - on the island of Samothrace.

The flames in the Greek part of the Rhodopes are heading towards Komotini at this hour, reports the Greek public television ERT. Several villages in the area are being evacuated.

According to preliminary estimates, the fire has burned 380,000 acres.

Firefighters continued their efforts to combat numerous wildfires throughout Greece on Wednesday.

Eight people were arrested in northern Greece in the past two days for attempting to transport a total of 57 migrants into Greek territory, the police reported on Wednesday. Seven of the suspects are foreign nationals and one is Greek.

The suspects were detained in the regional units of Drama, Evros and Rodopi in separate incidents on 14-15 August.

Mustafa Katranci, a parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives from the Rhodope province in northeastern Greece, announced on Monday he was withdrawing from the electoral race, after the main opposition claimed that his name was included in an intelligence report citing his alleged links to the Turkish Consulate in Komotini.

It was the blush color of Rodopi that stood out against the otherwise blue electoral map of the country after Sunday's election, the indomitable "village" of the SYRIZA "Gauls," as some so coyly described it.

The elections in Rodopi are undeniably interesting, particularly due to the campaign made by the Turkish Consulate, a foreign diplomatic mission, to influence the outcome.

The Migration and Asylum Ministry and the EU are co-financing the recruitment of 150 new border guards with funds from the Integrated Border Management Fund - Border Management and Visa Instrument (2021-27).

The new guards will bolster the operational capabilities of the police directorates of Rodopi and Kavala in northern Greece.