Greece

14 June 2023; MEMO: At least 79 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and hundreds more were feared dead or missing after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters, Reuters reports.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A fishing boat carrying migrants capsized and sank off the coast of Greece on Wednesday, authorities said, leaving at least 78 people dead and many dozens feared missing in one of the worst disasters of its kind this year.

Coast guard, navy and merchant vessels fanned out for a vast search-and-rescue operation that also included a plane and a helicopter.

ATHENS, May 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Greek border police officers were arraigned Tuesday as suspected accomplices of a smuggling network that illegally brought migrants into the country from Turkiye.

The five men appeared before a prosecutor in the northeastern city of Orestiada, a day after the police department’s internal affairs division said they had been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes and breach of duty.

25 May 2023; MEMO: The Greek government is investigating claims of migrant push backs at the Aegean Sea following the emergence of video footage showing Greek coastguard units forcefully putting migrants on a black inflatable life raft and setting them adrift, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, AFP reports.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Senior judge Ioannis Sarmas was named caretaker prime minister in Greece Wednesday after a general election failed to produce a new government.

Sarmas, 66, will be sworn in Thursday and lead a caretaker government until a new election next month, according to government officials. The vote is widely expected to be held on June 25 but has not been formally confirmed.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is heading toward a new general election, two days after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party won a victory in a national vote but failed to clinch a majority in parliament.

A power-sharing deal was put mathematically out of reach Tuesday, after the main opposition party formally received — and summarily rejected — an invitation to try and form the country’s next government.

22 May 2023; MEMO: Cyprus does not share the views of Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi, who argued that the EastMed pipeline needed Turkiye's approval, said Energy Minister, George Papanastasiou, Channel News Asia reports.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For the first time in more than a decade, Greeks will go to the polls Sunday to elect a leader no longer confined to steering the country’s economy from a back seat.

Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is seeking a second term after a draconian regime of spending controls ordered by international bailout lenders ended last summer.

18 May 2023; AA: On the eve of general elections that will determine who will lead Greece for the next four years, the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) party emphasized the need for stability as opposition parties highlighted a growing living cost crisis.

Greece, with its economy mostly dependent on the service sector and tourism, was struck hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greek economy consequently contracted by nearly 10% in 2020.

VOLOS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister says his government is exploring a “win-win” solution to one of the world’s most intractable cultural heritage disputes: The fate of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum. But he rules out any deal that would include the word “loan.”