Zakynthos

The bitter truth is that it often takes a natural disaster to appreciate our history. The recent earthquake on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, for example, drew attention to the fortress-like Monastery of Strofades, which sustained significant damage in the 6.4-Richter quake.

The parents of Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old American student who was beaten to death on Zakynthos in the summer of last year, face the media outside a court in Patra Thursday. Phil and Jill Henderson expressed their disappointment with the court, which convicted six out of nine defendants on assault charges, rejecting a prosecutor's recommendation to find them guilty of murder.

A Greek court on Thursday convicted and sentenced six of nine suspects in the fatal beating of an American tourist in an island resort last year.

They were handed sentences ranging from five to 15 years on reduced charges of deliberate bodily harm.

A Greek court is expected to issue a verdict in the trial over the fatal beating of an American tourist in a resort area of a western island last year.

Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old of Austin, Texas, died after being beaten in the street following an argument in a bar in the popular Laganas resort area of Zakynthos island in July 2017.

Bakari Henderson's family returned to Greece some two weeks ago expecting a verdict in the trial into the young man's murder on the holiday island of Zakynthos in summer 2017. The trial of the nine suspects accused of Bakari's murder had started on September 21, at a court in the western port city of Patra.

American photographer Robert McCabe and Greek journalist Katerina Lymberopoulou present "The Last Monk of Strofades: Report from an Unknown Ionian Island," a book published by Patakis that pays tribute to a historic Byzantine monastery on an islet off the coast of Zakynthos. The book holds special significance as the monastery was destroyed by an earthquake last month.

Inspections of buildings rocked by last month's 6.4-magnitude quake on Zakynthos continued on Monday as the Ionian island was jolted by another powerful tremor measuring 5.1.

According to the results of some 675 inspections conducted since the October 26 temblor, 400 buildings have been deemed safe to use while 275 have been characterized as temporarily unsafe.

An undersea quake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale struck the Ionian Sea off the coast of Zakynthos shortly after 3 p.m. just a few hours after another moderate tremor in the same area.

There were no reports of any injuries or damage following the quake whose epicenter was located some 65 kilometers southwest of Zakynthos at a depth of just 300 meters.

Windy conditions in the Ionian Sea on Saturday have prompted authorities to halt ferry services to and from the islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia.

According to the Greek meteorological service, winds in the area reached 8-9 on the Beaufort scale.

A moderate undersea quake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale occurred in the early hours of Monday in the Ionian Sea but there were no reports of any injuries or damage on islands that have recently been shaken by strong tremors.