World

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said the 2nd European Political Community Summit, held in Chisinau, Moldova on Thursday will promote security and stability in Europe.

"I am in Moldova, representing Greece at the 2nd European Political Community Summit, which is taking place in the shadow of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine," Sakellaropoulou told journalists on arrival.

Greek tourism has been established as a pillar of stability and growth over the last years, despite the turmoil and difficulties it faced from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the outgoing president of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Giannis Retsos, told its 31st regular general assembly on Wednesday.

The biggest lawmaker group in the European Parliament on Wednesday walked out of negotiations on a landmark EU law to protect nature, dealing another blow to the contested proposal.

Spain takes over the helm of the rotating European Union Council Presidency on June 1. As a member of the EU since 1986, this is Spain's fifth EU Presidency.

Foreign Minister Vassilis Kaskarelis is on Wednesday expected to meet Albanian counterpart Olta Xhacka, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Oslo to discuss the release of a jailed ethnic Greek official. 

The European Parliament will on Thursday question Hungary's ability to hold the rotating presidency of the 27-nation European Union next year, citing the country's problems with the rule of law, a draft parliamentary resolution showed.

Two Italian intelligence agents and a former member of the Israeli security forces died when a boat carrying tourists overturned in strong winds on Lake Maggiore in Italy, officials said Monday.

A Russian woman was also reportedly killed when the boat capsized Sunday evening near Lisanza at the southern end of the lake in northern Italy, after the weather suddenly turned stormy.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, global companies were quick to respond, some announcing they would get out of Russia immediately, others curtailing imports or new investment.

Billions of dollars' worth of factories, energy holdings and power plants were written off or put up for sale, accompanied by fierce condemnation of the war and expressions of solidarity with Ukraine.

A boat carrying about 500 migrants, including a newborn baby and pregnant women, has disappeared in the central Mediterranean, two charities said on Friday.

Alarm Phone, a group that picks up calls from migrant vessels in distress, said it lost contact with the boat on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, two off-duty US soldiers stationed in central Slovakia caused an incident in a grocery store last weekend, which needless to say is being exploited by pro-Russian elements in the country. Though nobody was hurt and the two soldiers did not damage anything, they were loud and under the influence of alcohol.