Greece

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said on Sunday it was extending restrictions on domestic flights until April 12 and on international flights until April 19 as the number of new COVID-19 infections continues to rise.

Under the restrictions, passengers flying to Greece must receive a negative PCR test 72 hours before arrival and undergo random testing for COVID-19.

ATHENS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou met here on Monday with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe.

Noting that Greece and China are both ancient civilizations, Sakellaropoulou said the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries continues to develop. She thanked China for its strong support in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s cabinet on Monday approved a national recovery plan that it hopes will boost economic growth by as much as seven percentage points over the next six years and create tens of thousands of jobs.

Under the multi-billion euro coronavirus recovery package agreed by European Union leaders last year, Athens is to get 19.4 billion euros in grants and 12.7 billion euros in cheap loans over the coming years, equal to about 16% of its gross domestic product.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s home affairs commissioner is visiting asylum-seeker facilities on the eastern Greek islands of Samos and Lesbos amid continuing accusations against Greece of illegal summary deportations.

EU commissioner Ylva Johansson and Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi were to hold meetings with local officials on the two islands Monday, and to visit a new camp being constructed on Samos, and a camp on Lesbos in which thousands of asylum-seekers have been living since the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp on the island burned down last year.

ATHENS, March 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greece has ordered private sector doctors in the broader Athens region to assist its public health system to fight a rise in new COVID-19 infections, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Monday.

The government had earlier called on private sector doctors to help out as Greece’s public hospitals have been overwhelmed by surging COVID-19 infections and intensive care wards are running out of beds.

It said about 200 doctors were needed.

ATHENS, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Five southern European Union (EU) member states on the frontline of irregular migration flows in recent years urged their EU partners to show more solidarity in addressing the challenge, during a ministerial meeting here on Saturday.

Migration and interior ministers of Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Malta discussed the common problems they are facing and issued a joint statement on their proposals for the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum.

ATHENS, March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Greek police officer was seriously injured after clashes broke out during a demonstration in an Athens suburb against police violence, prompted by a video that appeared to show a man being beaten on Sunday by officers in the area.

More than 5,000 people marched through the densely populated residential area of Nea Smyrni. Some banners read “Cops out of our neighbourhoods”.

ATHENS, March 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A new earthquake hit central Greece near the city of Larissa on Thursday, the same region where an even stronger tremor left 11 people injured the day before, the Athens seismological observatory said.

The quake, which the US Geological Survey said was of 5.6 magnitude, caused rock falls close to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Meteora orthodox monasteries in Kalabaka, emergency services said.

No injuries were immediately reported from the new quake, which was felt 20 kilometres from Elassona, near Larissa, the observatory said.

ATHENS, Feb 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on citizens who remain skeptical about COVID-19 vaccines to get vaccinated.

He made the call at a time when 500,000 vaccinations have been carried out across the country.

ATHENS, Feb 13 (NNN-SANA) – Foreign ministers of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, reiterated the necessity to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria, which preserves its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In a statement, following talks in the Greek capital, Athens, published yesterday, the ministers affirmed their commitment to unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

The statement affirmed support for a permanent political settlement to the crisis in the country, in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution no. 2254.