Page 2 - Greece

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to arrive on Wednesday for two-day trip

Talks on fast tracking mobility agreement expected

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis to visit India next week for two days

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will pay a two-day state visit to India from February 21 with an aim to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. It would be the first visit to India by a head of state of Greece to India after a gap of 15 years. India-Greece relations were elevated to 'strategic partnership' during Modi's visit to Greece in August last year. Mitsotakis will be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the Raisina Dialogue in the national capital, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday, announcing his visit. The Greek prime minister will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. "Prime Minister Mitsotakis's visit is expected to further strengthen and deepen the strategic partnership between India and Greece," the MEA said. Mitsotakis will also visit Mumbai before returning to Athens. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PM Mitsotakis will hold bilateral discussions and Prime Minister M

Greek parliament passes landmark law legalising same sex marriage

The Greek parliament passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage making it the first majority Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality for all, CNN reported

Greek parliament set to vote on legalising same-sex marriage today

Greece's parliament is set to vote on Thursday to legalise same-sex civil marriage, in a first for an Orthodox Christian country and despite opposition from the influential Greek Church. Opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the proposed reform, and the issue has failed to trigger deep divisions in a country more worried about the high cost of living. The landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ' centre-right government is backed by four left-wing parties, including the main opposition Syriza. That would secure it 243 votes in the 300-seat parliament. Several majority and left-wing lawmakers are expected to abstain or vote against the reform but not enough to kill the bill. Three small far-right parties and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party have rejected the draft law. State Minister Akis Skertsos stressed at the opening of the two-day debate Wednesday that most Greeks already accept the idea of same-sex marriages. We are not deciding on change in

EAM Jaishankar, Greek NSA Athanasios Ntokos discuss key regional issues

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Greece for his maiden visit to Greece at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Greece to soon present legislation allowing same-sex marriage: Official

Greece's centre-right government will soon submit legislation allowing same-sex civil marriages, despite reservations from its own lawmakers and the country's influential Orthodox Church, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. But he stressed that the proposed law would not extend the right to parenthood through surrogate mothers to same-sex couples an issue that has divided Greek society. What we are going to legislate is equality in marriage, Mitsotakis said. We will remove any discrimination concerning sexual orientation in the issue of marital relationship. But, he added, "we won't change the law on assisted parenthood. The idea of women who are turned into child-producing machines on demand ... that is not going to happen. Several lawmakers from the right wing of the governing New Democracy party have expressed opposition to any overhaul of Greece's marriage and parenthood laws to include same-sex couples. Mitsotakis said in Wednesday's interview with state-ru

Migrant boat sinking off Greek island leaves 3 dead, 2 missing, 8 rescued

A search and rescue operation was underway Monday after a dinghy carrying migrants sank overnight off the coast of the small eastern Greek island of Symi, leaving at least three people dead, the coast guard said. Eight people were rescued, with two of them transported to a hospital on the nearby island of Rhodes and the rest transferred to the main port in Symi, according to the coast guard. Authorities said they recovered the bodies of two men and one woman from the sea. Survivors said two more people in the dinghy were believed to have managed to reach the shore on their own. Two coast guard vessels, four private boats and an air force helicopter were searching the area for the two missing people. The nationalities of those on board the dinghy were not immediately known. Greece lies along one of the most popular smuggling routes for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and trying to get into the European Union. Many use small dinghies to head f

Rescue op underway off southwestern Greece for around 90 migrants on yacht

A rescue operation was underway Wednesday morning for dozens of migrants on board a yacht reported to be in difficulty off the southwestern coast of Greece, authorities said. The coast guard said the yacht, believed to be carrying around 90 people, was spotted about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) west of the small town of Pylos. Six of the people on board were picked up by another yacht sailing in the area and transported to Pylos, where one woman was transferred to a hospital in the southern city of Kalamata. Another 25 people were picked up by a passing tanker ship and were being transported to Kalamata, while the remaining passengers were being transferred to another passing cargo ship, the coast guard said. A coast guard lifeboat was on the scene, and another coast guard vessel was on the way. There were no reports of any missing passengers. The area is near where a deadly migrant shipwreck in June left hundreds of people dead and missing and led to allegations that Greek .

India to be invited to trilateral summit of Israel, Greece, Cyprus next yr

At the Summit, the leaders said that they reaffirmed their commitment to continue strengthening the dynamic cooperation of the trilateral partnership platform

Migrant boat sinking off Greek island leaves 4 dead, 18 rescued: Officials

Greek authorities said that four people died and 18 were rescued Monday after a boat carrying migrants apparently sank northeast of the Greek island of Lesbos, which lies near the Turkish coast. The coast guard said one of its vessels collected the 18 survivors and four people found unconscious and transported them to the island's main port of Mytilene. Over the weekend, the coast guard has said it has picked up dozens of people from boats near eastern Aegean Sea islands, part of an increase in new arrivals over the past two months. For decades Greece has been one of the preferred entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and hoping for a better life in Europe. More than 14,000 people have reached Greece by land and sea so far this year, according to United Nations figures. That's about a tenth of the total successful Mediterranean crossings, most of which about 104,000 were to Italy. Arrivals in Greece for the

Firefighters in Greece discover another body, death toll reaches 21

Authorities battling a major wildfire in northeastern Greece that has been described as the European Union's largest single recorded fire have recovered another body, the fire department said Friday, bringing the total death toll from wildfires in Greece this week to 21. The fire department said firefighters recovered the body of a man from the Dadia forest national park, which lies near the border with Turkey, on Thursday. Eighteen bodies were discovered Tuesday near a shack in an area near the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis and the body of one more person had been found Monday in a forest. In central Greece, a man was found dead Monday in a sheep pen after reportedly trying to save his livestock from an advancing wildfire. With no reports of missing people in northeastern Greece, authorities suspect the bodies found in the area are those of migrants who may have crossed into the country recently from the nearby border with Turkey. Greece's Disaster Victim Identification Team

PM Modi conferred with Grand Cross of Order of Honour by Greek President

President of Greece Katerina N Sakellaropoulou feted PM Modi with the Grand Cross after the latter called on the former during his day-long official visit to Greece

PM Modi lands in Greece amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki jai', 'Modi, Modi'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome upon his arrival at the Hotel Grande Bretagne with chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' 'Modi, Modi'

PM Modi lands in Greece for first prime ministerial visit in 40 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Greece to hold talks with top leadership; Indira Gandhi was the last Indian leader to visit the country in 1983

PM Modi arrives in Greece on first prime ministerial visit in 40 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Greece on Friday for talks with the European country's top leadership to strengthen bilateral ties. Modi arrived here in the Greek capital from South Africa where he attended the 15th BRICS Summit and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders to further cement India's relations with those countries. Modi is here at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "I have the honour to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Greece after 40 years," Modi had said. The last high-level visit to Greece took place in September 1983 when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi travelled to the country. India and Greece enjoy civilisational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Prime Minister Mitsotakis to discuss ways to further deepen the relationship. He is also exp

Flames devour forests, homes as wildfires in Greece burn out of control

Advancing flames devoured forests and homes as wildfires that have killed 20 people raged across swathes of Greece Wednesday, with blazes also burning in neighbouring Turkey and in Spain's Canary Islands. Greece's largest forest fire was burning out of control for the fifth day near the city of Alexandroupolis in the northeast. Another major blaze on the outskirts of Athens torched homes, reducing some to piles of smoking rubble, and encroached into the national park on Mount Parnitha, one of the last green areas near the Greek capital. From Friday to Tuesday, 355 wildfires broke out, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said. On Wednesday, firefighters were tackling 99 blazes, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said in an evening briefing, including 55 that had broken out in the previous 24 hours. Authorities made 140 wildfire-related arrests, including 117 for negligence and 23 for deliberate arson, Artopios said, adding that nearly all were for .

18 bodies found in Greece as firefighters battle wind-driven wildfires

Firefighters on Tuesday found the burnt bodies of 18 people believed to have been migrants who had crossed the Turkish border into an area of northeastern Greece where wildfires have raged for days. The discovery near the city of Alexandroupolis came as hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires across the country amid gale-force winds. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece. With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. Another major blaze has been burning across Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands for a week, although no injuries or damage to homes was reported. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. In Greece, police activated the country's Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the

Open mind on expansion: PM Narendra Modi to head for Brics on Tuesday

Modi will be making an official visit to Greece on 25 August

Major wildfires burn in Greece, Spain's Canary Island of Tenerife

Major wildfires were burning in Greece and on one of Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa Monday, with hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of hundreds of firefighters battling the blazes, two of which have been burning for several days. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. In Greece, authorities ordered the evacuation of two villages in the central Viotia region, about 100 kilometres northwest of Athens, after a forest fire broke out Monday morning. The coast guard put two patrol boats and several fishing boats and private vessels on standby in case an evacuation by sea was necessary. Authorities said the body of a man was recovered from a sheep pen in the area under evacuation, with local media reporting the man apparently died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his ...

More villages evacuated as a large wildfire in Greece rages for second day

Greek authorities evacuated another four villages near the northeastern border with Turkey Sunday where a large summer wildfire that has already destroyed several homes over the weekend drew dangerously close. There were no reports of serious injuries to firefighters or residents from the forest blaze near the town of Alexandroupolis, that forced the evacuation of another eight villages Saturday. Strong winds whipped on the flames, and civil protection authorities warned of an extreme fire risk Monday in the region around the capital, Athens, and other parts of southern Greece. Some 200 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping aircraft, volunteers and police, were battling the blaze near Alexandroupolis. Local authorities said about half a dozen outlying houses and outbuildings were badly damaged in two of the evacuated villages, as well as a church. Sections of a major highway were closed for a second day as smoke reduced visibility, while Alexandroupolis residents were advise