Category Archives: Greece

Cyprus: row erupts as passports of Turkish Cypriot officials rescinded

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Head of Turkish-controlled north, Ersin Tatar, calls move by Greek Cypriot government ‘racist’ and ‘anachronistic’

A war of words has erupted on Cyprus as the divided island’s two ethnic communities exchange barbs over the decision by the Greek Cypriot government to rescind the passports of senior Turkish Cypriot officials.

Ersin Tatar, who heads the Turkish-controlled north and is among those affected, described the policy as “an assault” on attempts to find a solution to the country’s partition. Previously he had called the move “racist” and “anachronistic”.

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Greece will not be ‘gateway’ to Europe for Afghans fleeing Taliban, say officials

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Athens calls for a united response, as refugees already in Lesbos hope their asylum claims will now be reconsidered

Greek officials have said that Greece will not become a “gateway” to Europe for Afghan asylum seekers and have called for a united response to predictions of an increase in refugee arrivals to the country.

Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has spoken to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about the developing situation in Afghanistan this week. Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi last week said: “We cannot have millions of people leaving Afghanistan and coming to the European Union … and certainly not through Greece.” The country has just completed a 25-mile (40km) wall along its land border with Turkey and installed an automated surveillance system with cameras, radars and drones.

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Greece plans to name heatwaves in the same way as storms

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Personalising the ‘silent killer’ hot spells could raise awareness in time to avert loss of life and property, say scientists

Spurred on by this summer’s record temperatures, Greek scientists have begun discussing the need to name and rank heatwaves, better known for their invisibility, before rampant wildfires made the realities of the climate crisis increasingly stark.

A preventative measure, the move would enable policymakers and affected populations to be more prepared for what are being described by experts as “silent killers.”

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Greek minister defends wall on border with Turkey during Afghan crisis – video

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After Greece finished building a 40km fence along its natural border with Turkey, the minister for citizen protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, defended the move, saying the country could not wait for EU decisions. 

Amid concerns that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan could lead to increased refugee flows to Europe, the EU border agency, Frontex, is helping Greece to secure its land and sea borders as well as using new detecting technology

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‘My animals burned alive’: the man putting his life back together after Greece’s wildfires – video

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Shepherd Giannis Tsiboukas, 36, confronts  the ‘total destruction’ caused after a wildfire ravaged his land on the island of Evia in Greece. Tsiboukas lost more than 40 animals to the fire that destroyed more than 50,000 hectares. Peoples homes and livelihoods have been decimated. 

Hundreds of wildfires have torn through Greece this month on the heels of its most severe heatwave in decades, which left its forests tinder dry. Other Mediterranean countries – Turkey, Italy, Algeria and Spain among them – have suffered similar problems.

Scientists say there is little doubt that climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is driving more extreme weather events. 

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Drone footage shows aftermath of Evia wildfires in Greece – video

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Greek and foreign firefighters continued to tackle flare-ups in northern Evia from a blaze which has already burned more than 50,000 hectares of forest. Drone footage shows kilometres of charred, blackened hillsides and damaged homes in a region known for agricultural production as well as tourism

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Turkey flood deaths rise as fresh fires erupt on Greek island of Evia

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Twenty-seven killed in Turkish flash flooding, with southern Europe bracing for more extreme weather

The death toll from flash floods in Turkey has reached 27 and fresh wildfires erupted on the ravaged Greek island of Evia, as southern Europe braces for more extreme weather events caused by human-made climate change.

Record Mediterranean heatwaves fuelled blazes that have devastated parts of Italy, Turkey and Algeria, with Spain and Portugal on high alert, while Turkey’s Black Sea region has been hit by some of the worst floods in living memory.

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Drone footage shows devastating aftermath of wildfires – video

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Devastating wildfires have ravaged large areas in southern Europe as the region endures its most extreme heatwave in three decades. Several people have died in Greece, Turkey and Italy, with many more injured. Huge fires also have been burning across Peru as well as northern Russia, with smoke from forest fires in Siberia reaching the north pole

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Wildfires rage in Greece and Italy as EU mounts firefighting operation

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Week of blazes forces evacuations and brings devastating scale of destruction to large areas of southern Europe

The devastating scale of destruction from a week of wildfires in Greece and Italy was being assessed as the EU mounted one of its largest firefighting operations ever and smoke from forest fires in Siberia reached the north pole.

As UN experts on Monday said global warming was advancing faster than feared and that humanity was “unequivocally” to blame, firefighters and local residents battled massive blazes on the island of Evia, east of Athens, for a seventh straight day.

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Thousands flee Greek island as wildfires raze forest and homes

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Firefighters tackle blazes on two fronts on Evia as heatwave-driven devastation across southern Europe continues

Thousands of people have fled wildfires that are destroying vast swathes of pine forest and razing homes on Greece’s second-largest island, Evia, as devastating summer blazes rage from southern Europe to Siberia.

“We have ahead of us another difficult evening, another difficult night,” Greece’s deputy civil protection minister, Nikos Hardalias, said on Sunday, adding that nearly a week after the blazes started, strong winds were driving two major fire fronts in the north and south of the island.

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Sky glows red over ferry evacuating people from Greek island fire – video

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The sky over the island of Evia turned red and orange as people boarded an evacuation ferry after days of fires in the area.

Dozens of wildfires have burned in Greece after the longest heatwave in 30 years, which sent temperatures soaring to 45C.

The Greek coastguard said three patrol boats, four navy vessels, one ferry and various tourist, fishing and private boats were on standby to carry out more potential evacuations from villages on the island's northern tip.

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‘Apocalyptic’ scenes hit Greece as Athens besieged by fire

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The city is surrounded by flames. On the ground, there are tales of heroism – and fear for the future

Little had prepared any of us on the Athens-bound flight for the sight of the great fire-induced clouds that swept either side of the plane as it made its descent on Friday.

News of the extreme heat engulfing Greece had spread beyond its borders all week, packaged in increasingly desperate language. Temperatures were breaking records few had ever imagined. If Monday was bad, then Tuesday was worse. In some parts of the country, the mercury had hit 47C (117F), with thermal cameras on drones recording the ground temperature in downtown Athens at 55C.

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‘Greece has burned’: thousands flee Athens suburb as wildfire spreads – video

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Thousands of people were forced to flee Thrakomakedones, a suburb of the Greek capital, after strong winds spread wildfires that burned down homes.

More than 50 wildfires are burning across Greece as the worst heatwave in more than 30 years has hit the country. 

Tens of thousands of acres of forestland, homes and buildings have been destroyed and the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has promised a radical shift in the country's approach to the climate emergency.

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Eight dead as wildfires continue to rage across southern Europe

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Deaths occur in Turkey with Italy and Greece also badly hit and thousands evacuated

Eight people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes as extreme wildfires continue to rage in parts of southern Europe.

Related: The photo that has come to define Turkey’s wildfires

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Greek prime minister says ‘worst is yet to come’ as wildfires rage around Athens – video

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that emergency services faced a difficult night ahead as wildfires north of Athens leaped back to life and westerly winds were set to strengthen.

'Unfortunately the worst is yet to come and the night ahead seems menacing. Tomorrow we expect strong western winds in many areas of our country,' the Greek prime minister said in a special televised address.

Mitsotakis urged people to comply with evacuation orders and avoid unnecessary trave. Authorities warned of more blazes on Friday as temperatures hovered around 40C.

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Greece fires: 150 houses destroyed by wildfires as monks refuse to leave stricken island

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Villages on Evia are evacuated as blaze rages across the island, and fires also threaten suburbs of Athens and historic Olympia

At least 150 houses have been destroyed by a raging fire that surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages on the Greek island of Evia, one of over 100 blazes burning in the country.

Firefighters were also continuing to battle a blaze near Athens on Thursday morning, while the mayor of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, pleaded for help as flames threatened the site.

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Greece: thousands of residents flee as wildfires reach outskirts of Athens – video

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Thousands of residents in the northern outskirts of Athens have been forced to leave their homes as a forest wildfire reached residential areas. The blaze sent a huge cloud of smoke over Athens and prompted multiple evacuations near Tatoi, 13 miles to the north. 

It comes as Greece experiences the worst heatwave since 1987, according to local authorities. Temperatures have reached 42C in parts of the Greek capital

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Turkey appeals for help to fight wildfires as heatwave continues

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Wildfires break out across much of southern Europe, with temperature reaching 45C in Greece

Turkey has launched an international appeal for help in taming fires raging across the country that have killed eight people in recent days, as what has been described as one of the worst heatwaves in decades intensifies in south-east Europe.

Following criticism of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after it emerged that Turkey has no firefighting planes, authorities in Istanbul were promised water-dropping planes from the European Union. The country is battling deadly wildfires along its coastline for a sixth day.

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Tourists evacuated from Pescara as Italy records more than 800 wildfires

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Wildfires burn across Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey in heatwave bringing temperatures above 40C

At least five people have been wounded and holidaymakers evacuated after wildfires devastated a pine wood near a beach in Pescara, Italy, as one of the worst heatwaves in decades swept across south-east Europe.

A five-year-old girl was taken to hospital but her condition is not believed to be life-threatening, according to reports.

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