Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities said Wednesday that a coast guard vessel fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing boat during a confrontation in Greek waters near the eastern Aegean Sea island of Chios.

The shipping ministry said the Turkish vessel refused to leave Greek waters and had attempted to ram a Greek patrol boat before the shots were fired.

No one was injured in the incident that occurred amid renewed tension between Greece and Turkey over a long-standing dispute over sea boundaries.

21 Feb 2022; MEMO: The Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Greece met today in the Greek capital, Athens, in an effort to resolve tensions and improve relations.

According to a Twitter post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the meeting that took place between deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onal, and his Greek counterpart, Kostas Fragkogiannis, was the third working meeting to improve and advance dialogue between the two neighbours.

ATHENS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The charred body of a man was recovered on Sunday in a truck on a ferry off the Greek island of Corfu, the local fire brigade announced.

A fire had broken out on the car deck of the ferry on Friday, after it departed from the port of Igoumenitsa en route to Brindisi in Italy. 280 people were rescued from the vessel, including two men who were found several hours after the mass evacuation.

On Sunday, one more person was found alive on the ship, a 21-year-old Belarusian man who was transferred to a local hospital in a stable condition.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A survivor has been rescued Sunday morning from the stern of a still burning passenger ferry, Greece’s coast guard said. There are 11 people still missing.

A coast guard spokesman told The Associated Press the man, a Belarussian, was found on the left rear side of the Euroferry Olympia in apparently good condition.

“The fact that this man succeeded, despite adverse conditions, to exit into the deck and alert the coast guard ... gives us hope that there may be other (survivors),” coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state broadcaster ERT.

ATHENS/ROME, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Eight passengers were missing after a blaze engulfed a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early on Friday and fire fighters were still battling to rescue people trapped on the ship, authorities said.

A total of 240 passengers and 51 crew were onboard the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia when the fire broke out, and rescue vessels had taken most of them to the island of Corfu where ambulances were waiting.

The Greek fire brigade said two men trapped in the ship's garage had been rescued. Fire fighters were trying to reach another three.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government is seeking parliamentary approval Tuesday for a 3 billion euro ($3.4 billion) agreement for three new French-made frigates that defense officials say are vital for addressing ongoing tensions with neighboring Turkey.

Lawmakers are also debating whether to add six new Rafale fighter jets to an existing order for 18 planes ‒ six of them newly built and 12 that were previously in service in the French air force.

13 Feb 2022; MEMO: A European political party slammed Greece on Friday for a new probe launched into a Turkish minority association that organised a march for rights in July.

The march by the Xanthi Turkish Union (Iskece Turk Birligi-ITB), one of the oldest and most influential associations of Turkish minorities in Greece, had been attended by thousands of people and prominent figures who protested that Greece had not applied decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which favored the minority.

04 Feb 2022; MEMO: The UN Refugee Agency said, on Friday, it was "shocked and deeply distressed" by reports that 19 migrants died on Wednesday on the Greek-Turkish border, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"We have seen reports in the media. And we are shocked and deeply distressed by these reports," UN High Commission for Refugees spokesman, Boris Cheshirkov, told a news conference.

He said they have reports that people have died near the border between Greece and Turkiye.

ATHENS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Greece will allow music in restaurants and bars again and extend their operating hours as it lifts some of the restrictions imposed last month now that coronavirus infections and the pressure on hospitals are easing, authorities said on Thursday.

The country last month forced bars, nightclubs and restaurants to close at midnight, with no standing customers and no music, following a surge of cases over the Christmas holidays due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A severe weather front has hit Greece, with below-freezing temperatures and snowfall in many parts of the country, including the capital Athens and many Aegean islands.

Authorities have warned the public to limit their movements outdoors to the essential on Monday and Tuesday, while schools in many areas were shut. Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said more than 46,000 school classes across the country were being held online.