Latest news with #ATHENS
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Climate
- Al Etihad
Three die in Greece as gales stoke fires, disrupt ferries
8 Aug 2025 20:24 ATHENS (REUTERS/AFP) Three people, including two Vietnamese tourists, died in Greece on Friday as ferocious winds whipped up wildfires and disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakersMore than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a blaze in Keratea, southeast of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television."It's a difficult fire," he said, citing gusts of wind and reporting that several communities had been discovered the body of an elderly person inside their burned home in Keratea, and the wind was hampering water bombers' ability to operate, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a press AFP journalist in the nearby town of Palaia Fokaia, around 45 kilometres south of Athens, saw fire consume a house and thick smoke choke the planes, 12 helicopters and 170 firefighters were deployed around Keratea, 30 kilometres southwest of the capital, and residents were called to evacuate, the fire brigade of the area has seen barely a drop of rain in months. Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour fanned the fire, setting olive tree orchards alight. Images on local media showed houses engulfed in flames.|Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure in Keratea, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing."The fire is advancing. In some places, only aerial firefighting is possible," Yiannis Schizas, a member of the Civil Protection in the area, told SKAI TV."There is too much wind. It is becoming a mess," he winds are expected through the weekend and the touristy island of Kefalonia, in western Greece, a wildfire was out of control, burning forests and farmland, authorities and local media said. Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach. Parched southern France is currently facing its worst wildfire in decades.
Straits Times
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Athens mayor clashes with Israel ambassador over anti-Semitic graffiti
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Athens mayor Haris Doukas was accused of not acting against 'organised minorities' who put up anti-Jewish graffiti. ATHENS – The mayor of Athens became embroiled in a war of words on Aug 3 with the Israeli ambassador to Greece, who accused city authorities of not doing enough to clean up anti-Semitic graffiti. Ambassador Noam Katz told the Kathimerini daily in comments published on Aug 3 that Israeli tourists felt 'uncomfortable' in Athens because the mayor, Dr Haris Doukas, does not act against 'organised minorities' who put up anti-Jewish graffiti. Dr Doukas responded within hours on X: 'We have proved our strong opposition to violence and racism and we do not take lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians.' The Socialist Pasok party mayor added: 'Athens, capital of a democratic country, fully respects its visitors and supports the right of free expression of its citizens. 'It is revolting that the ambassador concentrates on graffiti (that is clearly wiped off) while an unprecedented genocide is taking place in Gaza.' Greece, as well as several other European nations, has seen a number of left-wing-led pro-Palestinian demonstrations. A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists around the Greek islands was greeted by demonstrations in several ports. While following a pro-Arab policy for several decades, Greece has since 2010 stepped up links with Israel, notably on security and energy. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services between S'pore and Johor: LTA Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am World Trump is winning his trade war, but Americans will pay the price Singapore President Tharman meets migrant workers who saved driver of car that fell into sinkhole Singapore Singapore must stay socially progressive while conserving its cultures: Tharman Opinion The charm – and drawbacks – of living in a time warp in Singapore Singapore Now flying solo, Acres CEO Kalaivanan Balakrishnan presses ahead with wildlife rescue efforts Life KPop Demon Hunters to get sequels, expanded universe to include musical, live-action remake Since the Gaza war started in October 2023 , with the Hamas attack on Israel, a growing number of Israelis have visited Greece and started investing in its property market. According to the Athens mayor, the number of Israelis who have secured Greek resident permits by buying property increased by 90 per cent in 2024. AFP
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kirby Smart opens preseason camp for 10th season at Georgia with young team after 2024 SEC title
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Kirby Smart opened his 10th season as Georgia coach with Thursday's first preseason practice knowing he didn't have to worry about his message growing old with his players. More than half of Georgia's players are starting their first or second years. Smart knows his lessons won't quickly sound stale for the defending Southeastern Conference champion Bulldogs. With only seven returning starters, Georgia opened practice with a long list of young players eager to seize their first starting jobs. 'We are young ... but we are hungry,' Smart said Thursday. 'We've got a team that's fun to coach. ... A lot of them haven't had an opportunity to play, and now this is their opportunity. Sometimes when you're coaching, it's a lot more exciting for guys when they're having their first time. Now that being said, the lack of experience sometimes can show, but we're going to try to get through that in camp.' A more experienced Georgia team finished 11-3 last season and No. 6 in The AP Top 25 final poll. It was the team's eighth consecutive top 10 finish under Smart, including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Last season's SEC championship was Georgia's third with Smart. Georgia returns only four starters on offense. That total includes two tight ends — Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie, who made seven starts. Right tackle Earnest Greene III is the only returning starter on the offensive line. Wide receiver Dillon Bell is the fourth returning starter on offense. Quarterback Gunner Stockton took over for injured Carson Beck in the second half of Georgia's 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta. Stockton started in the Bulldogs' 23-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals. Smart says Stockton is still competing with Ryan Puglisi, but it would be a major surprise if the junior doesn't start in Georgia's season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30. Following Beck's transfer to Miami, Stockton strengthened his hold on the job with a strong spring practice and directed the first-team offense in the G-Day spring game. The defense includes only three starters: lineman Christen Miller, inside linebacker C.J. Allen and cornerback Daylen Everette. Fire, passion, energy Smart, 49, was asked if he still lives up to the team's 2025 motto: 'fire, passion, energy.' 'I feel it every day, because if you don't have it, it's hard to be successful,' Smart said. 'You can't keep up. Our staff has it. Our staff has great juice. We've had a chance to reenergize.' A championship standard Delp was a freshman on Georgia's 2022 national championship team. He said he's motivated to help the Bulldogs win another title and has tried to share lessons from that team with new players. 'I came back for a reason,' Delp said when asked why he didn't enter the NFL draft. "I want to have a great season. 'I know how it was when when we won games and we won national championships. I was here for that and so I just kind of share with them the standard and what those older guys were holding me to when I was younger. I just try to keep it the same, you know, the standard is the standard. You've got to do it certain ways to win championships.' 'Big Mike' finally has his chance Offensive guard Micah Morris (6-4, 330) entered camp as a projected starter. The fifth-year senior was a fill-in starter last season. This is his long-awaited opportunity to be a full-time starter. Morris, who has a nickname of 'Big Mike' and a reputation as the strongest player on the team, said he never considered finding an opportunity to start at another school through a transfer. 'This is my home, this is where I committed,' Morris said. 'This is where I wanted to be when I was a 17-year-old kid. ... I knew I could develop here even if I wasn't starting.' Jackson facing internal discipline Smart said backup offensive lineman Jahzare Jackson, a sophomore, 'is disappointed, obviously, in the decision-making process' following his arrest in Athens on July 16 on possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, a felony. 'He's being disciplined internally, but he's with the team,' Smart said. ___ AP college football: and
Reuters
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Greek parliament set to probe agency linked to EU farm-aid fraud
ATHENS, July 30 (Reuters) - Greek parliament has voted in favour of setting up a committee that will investigate a government agency handling EU agricultural subsidies since 1998, following a scandal in which Greek farmers for years faked land ownership to receive the aid. European prosecutors have found indications that farmers and state officials allegedly defrauded the European Union of subsidies for the use of pastureland at least since 2019. In June, they referred the case to parliament - the only body that can investigate politicians - on suspicion that two former agriculture ministers from the ruling, centre-right New Democracy party, were involved in the case. They have both denied wrongdoing. The case is hurting the popularity of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government, which came to power in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023 with a majority, polls show. Greek media reports have pointed to clientelism, or the trading of resources for political loyalty, as possibly motivating the fraud. Late on Tuesday, parliament approved the government's proposal to set up the committee to investigate the agency OPEKEPE, founded in 1998. The government controls 155 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament. The main opposition, the Socialist PASOK party, which has 33 seats, and other leftist parties rejected the plan, accusing the government of stalling and digging up the past to cover up its responsibility. They want a more powerful committee set up, that can directly charge ex-ministers and will focus on the European prosecutors' case, instead of OPEKEPE's operations over the years. They fear that delays could lead to the write-off of potential crimes under a statute of limitations. Mitsotakis told parliament Greece has paid nearly 3 billion euros in EU fines related to the misuse of the farm subsidies over the past decades, calling OPEKEPE an "open wound" whose ills were timeless.
Washington Post
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Stefanos Tsitsipas parts ways with tennis coach Goran Ivanisevic after brief stint
ATHENS — Stefanos Tsitsipas has parted ways with coach Goran Ivanisevic after a brief stint together, the former third-ranked player said. 'Working with Goran Ivanisevic was brief but an intense experience and a truly valuable chapter in my journey,' the Greek star Tsitsipas wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. 'I'm thankful for the time, effort and energy he dedicated to me and my team.' Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist who fell out of the top 20 in June, started working with 2001 Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic after his second-round loss at the French Open in late May. Ivanisevic coached the 26-year-old Greek player at Halle and Wimbledon, where he retired due to a back injury during his opening match, trailing by two sets to love against Frenchman Valentin Royer. 'As we are now following our separate ways, I have only respect for Goran — not just for what he's achieved in tennis, but also for who he is as a person,' Tsitsipas said. 'I wish him nothing but the very best moving forward.' Tsitsipas is next scheduled to play in Toronto from Sunday. ___ More AP tennis:
