Greece

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 250 million on Monday as some countries in eastern Europe experience record outbreaks, even as the Delta variant surge eases and many countries resume trade and tourism.

The daily average number of cases has fallen by 36% over the past three months, according to a Reuters analysis, but the virus is still infecting 50 million people worldwide every 90 days due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.

By contrast, it took nearly a year to record the first 50 million COVID-19 cases.

ATHENS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Queues formed outside shops in Athens on Saturday on the first day of new restrictions to curb soaring coronavirus infections which require the unvaccinated to have negative COVID-19 tests.

COVID-19 infections in Greece hit a new daily high almost every day in November, prompting authorities to announce new measures on Tuesday, which also restrict access to cafes and restaurants, state services and banks to those who are either vaccinated or have a negative test.

ATHENS, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Greece mounted a rescue operation on Friday for a cargo ship carrying about 400 migrants after it sent out a distress signal off the island of Crete, the coast guard said.

The Greek coast guard quoted passengers as saying the Turkish-flagged vessel had sailed from Turkey, calling it "one of the largest search and rescue operations carried out in the eastern Mediterranean."

Authorities said the ship was being taken to land but gave no further details. The nationalities of the passengers were not immediately made public.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s often-strained relations in past years with European economic powerhouse Germany took center stage in a meeting in Athens Friday between outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greece’s president.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou was Merkel’s first official meeting during her visit to the country whose financial crisis marked much of her 16-year tenure and Germany’s relationship with Europe.

ATHENS, Oct 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four Tibetan activists were removed from outside the archaeological site of ancient Olympia and detained on Monday, an hour before the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics torch lighting ceremony.

The activists, three women and one man, were taken to the police station in ancient Olympia, a spokesperson for the group of activists said. The spokesperson said they had neither protested nor unfurled any banners.

An ancient Olympia police station official said the four had been detained, but not arrested.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two women attempted to hang a banner from the Acropolis in Athens Sunday morning in protest at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, and were detained by Greek police.

The activists, 18-year-old Tibetan student Tsela Zoksang and 22-year-old exiled Hong Kong activist Joey Siu, both American citizens, are members of the “No Beijing 2022” campaign, a statement from the New York-based organization Students for a Free Tibet said.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday, two weeks and a day after another temblor killed a man and damaged hundreds of buildings.

The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the undersea earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at 12:24 p.m. local time (9:24 a.m. GMT) off the island’s eastern coast.

It was felt as far as the coast of Turkey and on Cyprus, more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) to the east, authorities said.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A 58-year-old Greek man was arrested Monday after he drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk in front of the the country’s parliament building and reportedly threatened police.

Bomb disposal officers checked the vehicle and one gas canister and a plastic gasoline container were removed, police officials said. They added that no flammable liquid was found in the plastic container.

Lettering in Greek visible on the side of the vehicle read “The Turks govern Greece. Proof inside.”

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 5.8 struck the Greek island of Crete on Monday, killing one person and injuring several others, while damaging homes and churches and causing rock slides near the country’s fourth-largest city.

The quake sent people fleeing into the streets in the city of Heraklion, and schools were evacuated. Repeated aftershocks rattled the area, adding to damage in villages near the epicenter.

ATHENS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Mediterranean nations must lead the way in addressing climate change, the Greek prime minister said, warning that the cost of doing nothing was unimaginable, with mankind possibly struggling to survive beyond the turn of the next century.

Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Spain were ravaged by wildfires and record high temperatures this summer, with scientists warning the region had turned into a "wildfire hotspot". Germany, Turkey and China were pounded with devastating floods.