The administration of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing intense criticism for its response to deadly wildfires that killed 85 people at last count. The opposition accused the Tsipras government of incompetence and arrogance, while the government blamed illegal construction in the affected areas and suggested terrorists might have set the fires.
RAFINA, Greece (AP) — The death toll from twin wildfires that raged through Greek seaside areas looked set to increase to around 50 Tuesday after rescue crews reported finding the bodies of more than 20 people huddled closely together near a beach northeast of the capital, Athens.
illegal migrants crossing into Greece has surged by 122 percent compared to the same period last year, with the Turkish land border under increasing pressure.
A Greek diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday that Greece will expel two Russian diplomats “suspected of meddling in the politically sensitive issue of Macedonia.” Greek media later said that up to four people might be expelled. Russia has threatened to retaliate in kind, creating one of the most serious breaches to date between the two countries.
The deal struck by the Greek and Macedonian prime ministers to end the 30-year argument over what the Macedonian republic should be called is making little progress through the Greek government. On Tuesday, an influential member of the governing political coalition announced he was ready to bring the entire government down if the name deal moves forward.
The leader of the community of Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos has called on the government to do more to deal with the escalating tensions due to the migrant crisis, warning that citizens may try and take the law “into their own hands.”
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) – Macedonian authorities say seven policemen have been injured and 25 protesters detained during overnight clashes in the capital of Skopje, as demonstrators opposed to the name deal with Greece tried to push their way into parliament.
The 30-year battle between Greece and Macedonia over what the Republic of Macedonia should be called appeared to conclude on Tuesday with an agreement to add the word “North” to its name. Unfortunately, the Greek opposition promptly filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while the Macedonian president declared he has no intention of signing the deal his own prime minister negotiated.
Contents: Macedonia name issue triggers more huge protests in northern Greece; Protesters in Greece demand that Macedonia’s new name be ‘erga omnes’
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has suspended a bilateral agreement with Greece allowing Athens to return migrants to Turkey, in retaliation for Greece’s failure to extradite eight Turkish officers who fled to Greece after Turkey’s failed 2016 military coup.
Contents: Turkey and Greece tensions rise with warplane dogfights over Aegean Sea; Deep millennia-old issues separate Turkey and Greece
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Authorities on Greece’s island of Crete say 70 migrants have been removed from a yacht and detained after entering Greek waters.
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — At the heart of Moria, an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, is a dark rectangular building ringed with police guards and coils of razor wire. Taking photographs of it is prohibited.
A voluntary return scheme for asylum seekers and illegal migrants has helped over 10,000 people leave Greece voluntarily, with almost 2,500 opening small businesses in their countries of origin.
Over 20,000 migrants have travelled to Europe by sea in the first 122 days of 2018, according to the UN Migration Agency.
Unknown assailants destroyed several Jewish headstones in a cemetery in a southwestern suburb of Athens, Greek police said Saturday, announcing they would launch an investigation.
An angry mob on the Greek Island of Lesbos has attempted to overturn a police bus after protests – against European Union (EU) migration policies and the arrival of the Greek Prime Minister – turned ugly.
Italy and Greece have failed to properly log and register around two-thirds of the irregular, illegal, and asylum seeker migrants pouring over their borders, the Dutch have claimed.
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — A general strike virtually shut down the Greek island of Lesbos on Thursday as residents protested a European Union migration policy that has left thousands of asylum-seekers stranded here.
Greece is being “overwhelmed” by illegal migrants surging across its land border with Turkey, with a local mayor warning the situation is “on the verge of spinning out of control”.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday that Greece categorically rejects “unacceptable preconditions” from Turkey for the return of two Greek soldiers arrested on the Turkish side of the border in March.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Several hundred refugees and migrants have gathered outside a police station in Greece’s second largest city, waiting for hours to be formally arrested in order to gain temporary residence in the European Union country.
Amid mounting tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, a Greek fighter plane reportedly crashed on Thursday after intercepting Turkish fighters near the island of Skyros. The pilot was reported dead on Thursday morning.
Greek forces fired tracer rounds at a Turkish helicopter near the Greek island of Ro in the Aegean Sea on Monday night, in the latest sign of mounting tensions between Athens and Ankara.
Turkey has been accused of allowing migrants to “surge” into Greece amid a dispute over EU funding, as Europol reveals they are tracking some 65,000 people-smugglers.
China’s Communist Party paper People’s Daily Online published a superficially hilarious critique of democracy on Tuesday in which “experts” complain that “Western political parties are nowadays being kidnapped by votes.” Underneath the shocking revelation that politicians don’t always keep their campaign promises is a more serious critique of democracy as hypocritical, inefficient, and more difficult to purge of corruption than modern Chinese Communism.
Contents: Tense Turkey-EU summit in Bulgaria once again ends in failure; Other unresolved issues from the EU-Turkey summit meeting
President Donald Trump honored Americans of Greek descent and the influence of ancient Greece on the founding of America as he addressed White House guests during Thursday evening’s Greek Independence Day celebration.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A court in northern Greece has convicted a Syrian refugee of having been a fighter with the Islamic State group in Syria, and sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment.
Turkish security forces took two Greek soldiers into custody on Friday. The two reportedly became “lost” in poor weather conditions and strayed across the border into Turkey’s Edirne province.
The government of Cyprus has accused the Turkish military of threatening to sink an oil and natural gas exploration vessel doing exploratory work off the Cypriot coast. The vessel, the Saipem 12000 charted by the Italian firm Eni, was previously blockaded by Turkish warships on
Turkey is already involved in a military incursion into Syria and might be on the verge of a full-scale conflict with the Syrian government, or even a confrontation with U.S. forces, but the Turkish ruling party is also surprisingly enthusiastic about invading Greece. Even some Turkish politicians are hot for a war with Greece they believe they would easily win.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say 17 Turks who reached a Greek island by dinghy from Turkey are seeking political asylum in Greece.
Turkey’s prime minister has warned his country “will fight” the United States if it stands in the way of its anti-Kurdish operations, shortly before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to meet with the country’s president.
A new report from the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, has claimed that conditions in the Greek island migrant camps have become incredibly dangerous for women and children who face the threat of sexual violence.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The United Nations refugee agency is urging Greece’s government to provide separate housing and washing facilities for women and children at island refugee camps, citing the risk of sexual violence.
Germany is the biggest breaker of European Union (EU) rules, it has been revealed, as the bloc threatens sanctions against Britain after Brexit and on Hungary for refusing forced migrant quotas.
Contents: Hundreds of thousands in Athens Greece protest Macedonia name compromise; Officials go from optimism to pessimism over solving Macedonia issue
Contents: Greece and Macedonia negotiate a contentious name change to replace FYROM; Massive protests in Thessaloniki Greece threaten Tsipras government
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A court in northern Greece has sentenced 23 people to prison terms ranging from eight to 1,489 years for smuggling Iraqi and Syrian refugees into the country from the Turkish border in 2015 and 2016.