Latest news with #Cycladic
DW
2 days ago
- Climate
- DW
Greece: Firefighters battle deadly blaze near Athens – DW – 08/09/2025
Three people died as gale-force winds hit Greece, fanning the flames of a wildfire close to the capital. More strong winds are expected in the area, which could further exacerbate blazes in several regions. More than 260 firefighters battled a wildfire near Greece's capital Athens on Saturday, as wind conditions raised alarms about the fire's potential to escalate. The blaze, which has already left one person dead, broke out on Friday in Keratea, a rural area some 43 kilometers (27 miles) southeast of Athens. Two others died after being caught in the gale-force winds. The wildfire, stoked by winds of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour, destroyed several homes and farmlands in Keratea, setting olive orchards alight. Footage published by local media showed gutted houses. Local officials ordered the evacuation of several homes in the area and an elderly care center. Police went door to door late on Friday night to ensure that the homes had been evacuated. The remains of an elderly man were found in a burned-out structure near Keratea. "The fire has weakened, but there are still active pockets," a fire department spokesman told AFP news agency on Saturday. Several other wildfires were reported across Greece, including regions around the historical site of Ancient Olympia and on the tourist island of Kefalonia. Winds of up to 74 kilometers (46 miles) an hour were forecast for Saturday, Greece's national weather service EMY said. Strong coastal winds also caused the deaths of two Vietnamese tourists, who were on a cruise ship group visiting a lunar-like, volcanic rock beach on the Cycladic island of Milos. The 61-year-old woman fell into the sea at Sarakiniko beach, and a 65-year-old man tried to rescue her, according to the Greek coastguard. After ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers was disrupted by the severe weather, a temporary ban on ships leaving or arriving at Athens ports was lifted on Saturday. In neighbouring Turkey, wildfires caused the Dardanelles Strait, a waterway linking the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, to be shut temporarily in both directions. Hundreds of people were evacuated from areas close to the blazes in the northwestern province of Canakkale. Greece, Turkey other Mediterranean countries are known for hot and dry summers that scientists have dubbed "a wildfire hot spot." The two neighbors have been enduring a summer heatwave, with temperatures in Athens recently hitting 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). Much of the region around Athens has had barely a drop of rain in months. Forecasters in Greece and Turkey say the risk of wildfire will remain high until October. The fires have become more destructive in recent years due to climate change, scientists say, sparking calls for new ways of tackling the issue. Authorities are under growing pressure to invest in artificial intelligence and satellite monitoring to spot fires before they spread. There are also calls for Mediterranean nations to expand cross-border firefighting collaboration, including shared rapid response teams and water-dropping planes and helicopters. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Int'l Business Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Int'l Business Times
Two Tourists Die, Fires Erupt In Greece Amid Gale-force Winds
Two Vietnamese tourists died at sea in Greece on Friday, the coastguard said, as gale-force winds confined many ferries to port, disrupting tens of thousands of summer travellers, and sparked wildfires. A coastguard spokeswoman said a man and woman had died at the Sarakiniko beach on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades, as firefighters battled blazes near Athens and on the island of Cephalonia. "The man and woman were found unconscious in the sea and were taken to the local health centre," the spokeswoman said. "They were Vietnamese tourists on a cruise ship group. The woman fell in the water and the man apparently tried to save her," she said. The civil protection ministry had said wind gusts would reach 88 kilometres (54 miles) an hour, especially in the southern Aegean and the Sea of Crete. More than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a fire in Keratea, southeast of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television. "It's a difficult fire... (owing) to wind gusts," he said, adding that several communities had been evacuated. "The fire front is seven kilometres, homes are under threat," a local mayor, Dimitris Loukas, told ERT, adding that the wind was complicating efforts to douse the blaze from the air. The Cephalonia fire was earlier placed under control, local officials said. National weather service EMY said the winds would weaken after midnight. The coastguard said most ferries were unable to depart on schedule from Piraeus and other Athens ports, especially to the Cyclades or Dodecanese islands. Several services were cancelled and others postponed. At Piraeus, hundreds of people crowded outside a ferry that was bound for the Cycladic islands of Paros and Naxos, waiting for news on a possible departure. Nearby, stranded travellers surrounded by rucksacks and suitcases formed a huge queue outside a ticket office and made desperate phone calls hoping to make rearrangements to save their journeys. "There's huge lines, huge commotion, everyone's waiting in the sun and it's a very tough time," said Philip Elias, an American tourist. Sergi Gros, a 51-year-old civil servant from Spain, said he was scrambling to find last-minute accommodation in Athens for two nights, having already lost his booking on the island of Astypalea. "We arrived at 6:45 in the morning and they told us the ferry was cancelled," Gros told AFP, saying there was a "total lack of information". "I don't think (the hotel) can be refunded because it's not their fault. It's a great shame because we booked with a big (ferry) company, and there are people who reserve months in advance... they left us stranded," he said. Maritime connections with the Saronic islands near Athens including Aegina, Hydra, Poros and Spetses and the Ionian Sea were unaffected, the coastguard said. Strong winds are common in Greece at this time of year, and firefighters have already faced several major blazes this summer, including on the islands of Evia and Chios and in the western Peloponnese.
Asharq Al-Awsat
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Anti-war Demonstrators Protest the Arrival of an Israeli Cruise Ship on the Greek Island of Crete
Demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza protested the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship on another Greek island Tuesday – the third such protest on Greek islands in the last week. Protesters on the southern Greek island of Crete unfurled a huge Palestinian flag at the port of Agios Nikolaos and shouted 'Free, free Palestine' as the tourists on board the Crown Iris disembarked and left on buses for their tours of the island, according to images shown on local media outlets. Riot police kept the crowd away from the pier where the cruise ship was docked, while scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police. Local media reported that officers used pepper spray at one point to keep the crowd back. Four people were detained, local media said. Video showed police leading one man away, his arms cuffed behind his back, as he shouted 'Free, free Palestine.' Similar scenes unfolded the previous day when the Crown Iris docked in a port on the eastern Greek island of Rhodes, where clashes broke out between riot police and demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza. There also, the cruise ship's passengers disembarked for tours of the island, and no violence was reported. Anti-war protesters on Greece's Cycladic island of Syros were the first to hold a demonstration against the docking of the Crown Iris, on July 22. The crowd of about 150 people chanted slogans and carried banners that read 'Stop the Genocide' and 'No a/c in hell' — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip. On that occasion, the ship's roughly 1,700 passengers didn't disembark and the ship left the island earlier than planned, with the company operating the trip, Israel's Mano Cruise, saying it had 'decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination.' Last week's incident had triggered a phone call by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis. Greece is a popular tourist destination for Israelis on package tours and traveling independently, particularly in the summer months, and there are several flights per day between Tel Aviv and Athens, as well as from Israeli airports directly to Greek islands.
New York Times
29-07-2025
- New York Times
Five Under-the-Radar European Beach Hotels
It can be hard to escape the tourist hordes in Europe during high summer, but there are still seaside spots that the locals keep mainly to themselves. These five hotels — from a whitewashed gem on a lesser-known Greek island to an haute restaurant with rooms on England's east coast — offer access to beaches with more space to spread out your towel. Room rates listed here are for summer. Nostos Boutique Hotel, Serifos, Greece This two-year-old spot on the rugged Cycladic island of Serifos is a five-minute walk from the beach. With whitewashed walls and blue shutters, the hotel — which has 17 guest rooms, many with balconies, as well as a small gym — echoes the island's sugar cube-style architecture. Unlike some neighboring islands — Sifnos, for example, lost its low-profile status when the actress Margot Robbie was photographed wheeling her suitcase off the ferry in 2023 — Serifos still feels off the grid. It's hard to pick a favorite among its 50 beaches, but Psili Ammos, a 10-minute drive from Nostos, is a worthy contender. A golden crescent on the eastern side of the island just north of Livadi port, it's shaded, unlike many of the island's beaches, by tamarisk trees, and there are two tavernas: Stefankos, the more refined of the two, serves Cycladic classics like Greek salad with creamy mizithra cheese, zucchini fritters with tzatziki and fresh fish. From about $250 a night. Les Hautes Mers, Île d'Yeu, France One of only a handful of hotels on Île d'Yeu, a tiny island 10 miles off the west coast of France, three-year-old Les Hautes Mer has 25 bedrooms, some with sea views, decorated in shades of blue with nautical details like model sailboats. There's a swimming pool and a restaurant, where plump, sweet Fromentine oysters are the must order. Half a mile from Port-Joinville, the island's harbor and main village, where the ferry arrives from the mainland town of Fromentine (or you can take a 10-minute helicopter flight), Les Hautes Mers faces Plage de Ker Châlon, a broad, sandy beach on the island's northeastern coast. Lined with dunes and pine trees, it slopes gently to the ocean and is a favorite of kite and windsurfers on breezy days. From about $425 a night, with a three-night minimum stay. The Suffolk, Aldeburgh, Britain Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Hill
29-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Anti-war demonstrators protest the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship on the Greek island of Crete
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza protested the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship on another Greek island Tuesday – the third such protest on Greek islands in the last week. Protesters on the southern Greek island of Crete unfurled a huge Palestinian flag at the port of Agios Nikolaos and shouted 'Free, free Palestine' as the tourists on board the Crown Iris disembarked and left on buses for their tours of the island, according to images shown on local media outlets. Riot police kept the crowd away from the pier where the cruise ship was docked, while scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police. Local media reported that officers used pepper spray at one point to keep the crowd back. Four people were detained, local media said. Video showed police leading one man away, his arms cuffed behind his back, as he shouted 'Free, free Palestine.' Similar scenes unfolded the previous day when the Crown Iris docked in a port on the eastern Greek island of Rhodes, where clashes broke out between riot police and demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza. There also, the cruise ship's passengers disembarked for tours of the island, and no violence was reported. Anti-war protesters on Greece's Cycladic island of Syros were the first to hold a demonstration against the docking of the Crown Iris, on July 22. The crowd of about 150 people chanted slogans and carried banners that read 'Stop the Genocide' and 'No a/c in hell' — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip. On that occasion, the ship's roughly 1,700 passengers didn't disembark and the ship left the island earlier than planned, with the company operating the trip, Israel's Mano Cruise, saying it had 'decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination.' Last week's incident had triggered a phone call by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis. Greece is a popular tourist destination for Israelis on package tours and traveling independently, particularly in the summer months, and there are several flights per day between Tel Aviv and Athens, as well as from Israeli airports directly to Greek islands.
