Latest news with #DerekGatopoulos
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kiteboarders flock to Greek coast as August gales churn sea
Strong August winds swept across Greece's eastern coastline near Athens on Thursday, drawing dozens of kitesurfers, who performed impressive aerials against a cloudless sky. With gusts reaching up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour), the beach at Agios Nikolaos — a rugged strip east of the Greek capital, near the port of Rafina — transformed into an open-air playground for wind sports enthusiasts chasing the seasonal 'meltemi' winds. (AP Video: Srdjan Nedeljkovic; Production by Derek Gatopoulos)
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greece hooks up an undersea power link to Crete that's key to Mediterranean grid expansion
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece announced Monday it has completed the work on an undersea power cable link connecting the mainland to the island of Crete, a key step in its ambitious plan for a wider expansion of the grid in the Eastern Mediterranean that will eventually include Cyprus and Israel. The 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) link spanning 330 kilometers (205 miles) was plugged in on Saturday and is expected to be fully operational this summer, Greece's grid operator said. The project, for which the European Union provided the bulk of funding through grants and loans, aims to bolster energy diversification after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Athens hopes to extend the link to Cyprus and Israel — dubbed the Great Sea Interconnector — by the end of the decade. The project is also a move toward Crete being able to replace fossil fuel-based power generation with renewables, government officials said. 'Crete is becoming a central pillar for the country's energy transition,' Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said. 'We're moving forward with the development of an integrated network of electrical interconnections, strengthening our country as a strategic energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.' However, the wider project has been complicated by financial disagreements and ongoing maritime disputes between Greece and Turkey. Greece and Egypt also want to establish a separate undersea link on a similar timetable that would bypass the island of Crete and connect directly to the Greek mainland, near Athens. The undersea cables to Crete have been laid at a depth of 1,200 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) and will support a capacity of 1,000 megawatts using high-voltage direct current transmission systems. Supervised by a subsidiary of Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator, the project involved private contractors Siemens Energy of Germany, Greek construction firm TERNA and the Italy-based Prysmian Group cable company, among others. Derek Gatopoulos, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
More than a dozen migrants die as boats sink off Greece and Turkey
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A boat carrying migrants from Turkey to a nearby Greek island sank Thursday morning, leaving at least seven people dead, including three children, Greece's coast guard said. Turkish authorities reported what appeared to be a separate sinking in the same area, with nine people dead. The two accidents reportedly occurred several hours apart in the narrow stretch of the Aegean Sea between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, with both sides unaware of the other nation's rescue efforts. Greece's coast guard said a dinghy carrying migrants began taking on water and 23 people were rescued and the bodies of three women, two boys, one girl and one man were recovered. The survivors were taken to a migrant camp on the island. The search and rescue operation continued into Thursday afternoon as the exact number of people who had been on board the dinghy was unclear. Weather in the area was reported to have been good. The nationalities of those on board were not immediately known. Separately in Turkey, the Canakkale governor's office said the Turkish coast guard received an emergency call for help from a migrant boat and deployed three boats and a helicopter. The statement said that nine bodies had been recovered and the search for one missing person continued, while 25 people were rescued. Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats. Many are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common. The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea, and many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece. Last year, more than 54,000 people used what has become known as the eastern Mediterranean route heading to Greece, and more than 7,700 crossed Greece's small land border with Turkey, according to figures from the U.N. refugee agency. There were 125 people reported dead or missing. By March 30, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said there had been just over 8,000 people arriving in Greece by sea and 755 by land since the start of 2025. ___ Wilks reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's global migration coverage at Elena Becatoros And Andrew Wilks, The Associated Press
The Independent
03-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
More than a dozen migrants die as boats sink off Greece and Turkey
A boat carrying migrants from Turkey to a nearby Greek island sank Thursday morning, leaving at least seven people dead, including three children, Greece's coast guard said. Turkish authorities reported what appeared to be a separate sinking in the same area, with nine people dead. The two accidents reportedly occurred several hours apart in the narrow stretch of the Aegean Sea between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, with both sides unaware of the other nation's rescue efforts. Greece's coast guard said a dinghy carrying migrants began taking on water and 23 people were rescued and the bodies of three women, two boys, one girl and one man were recovered. The survivors were taken to a migrant camp on the island. The search and rescue operation continued into Thursday afternoon as the exact number of people who had been on board the dinghy was unclear. Weather in the area was reported to have been good. The nationalities of those on board were not immediately known. Separately in Turkey, the Canakkale governor's office said the Turkish coast guard received an emergency call for help from a migrant boat and deployed three boats and a helicopter. The statement said that nine bodies had been recovered and the search for one missing person continued, while 25 people were rescued. Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats. Many are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common. The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea, and many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece. Last year, more than 54,000 people used what has become known as the eastern Mediterranean route heading to Greece, and more than 7,700 crossed Greece's small land border with Turkey, according to figures from the U.N. refugee agency. There were 125 people reported dead or missing. By March 30, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said there had been just over 8,000 people arriving in Greece by sea and 755 by land since the start of 2025. ___ Wilks reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece contributed to this report. ___
Associated Press
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
NATO is testing its ability to rapidly deploy across eastern Europe — without direct U.S. assistance — as Washington shifts its approach toward European defense and the war in Ukraine. (AP video by Lefteris Pitarakis, Derek Gatopoulos, Theodora Tongas)
Video NATO tests new deployment model without US ahead of Ukraine war anniversary NATO is testing its ability to rapidly deploy across eastern Europe — without direct U.S. assistance — as Washington shifts its approach toward European defense and the war in Ukraine. (AP video by Lefteris Pitarakis, Derek Gatopoulos, Theodora Tongas)
