Author: Artemis Economalli

Greece will not change its position on non-recognition of the secessionist province of Kosovo, the presidents of Greece and Serbia said at a meeting in Belgrade on Tuesday. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou arrived in Belgrade on Monday for a two-day official visit. Sakellaropoulou and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed topics including the strategic cooperation between Greece and Serbia, strengthening stability in the region, and Serbia’s European integration. Sakellaropoulou underlined the “exceptional” bilateral relations between Greece and Serbia for the last 150 years, and supported the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, adding: “Our position regarding Kosovo and Metohija remains unchanged.” She also expressed her…

Piraeus Port in Greece has announced a record annual turnover of 194.6 million euros (207.5 million U.S. dollars) in 2022, an increase of 26.2 percent from 2021. Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA S.A.) said on Friday that in 2022 its profit before tax reached 74.7 million euros, which was 51.7 percent higher than the year before. Meanwhile, profit after tax stood at 52.9 million euros, an increase of 43.9 percent. “It is worth noting that the above results showcase the best ever performance achieved by PPA S.A. in both revenue and profitability,” the company said. The results by core activity…

The minimum monthly wage in Greece will be increased to 780 euros (830 U.S. dollars) as of April 1 this year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said here Friday. This is the third time in three years the minimum wage is increased, he said. In 2019, the minimum monthly wage in the country was 650 euros. The approximately 600,000 low income earners will still be struggling due to the inflationary pressures of recent months. However, this is the best possible the government could do and Greek enterprises could afford, he said. “The new increase obviously doesn’t solve the problem. But it…

Pakistan extended its deepest condolences and sympathies to the government and people of Greece over the loss of precious lives in a deadly train collision in the country, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. “We pray for the quick recovery of those injured in the incident,” the ministry said in a statement. The death toll from the collision of two trains in central Greece on Tuesday night has increased to 36, while 66 injured people were still hospitalized.

Greece’s Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned on Wednesday following a fatal head-on collision of two trains that occurred in central Greece on Tuesday. At least 36 died in the crash. “It is what I feel my duty to do as a minimal sign of respect to the memory of the people who died so unjustly, taking responsibility for the chronic shortcomings of the Greek state and political system,” he said in an e-mailed press statement. “From the bottom of my heart, I once again express my pain and support to the families of the victims,” he added. The…

At least 26 people were killed and 85 others injured when a passenger and cargo train collided in central Greece late Tuesday night, national broadcaster ERT reported. ERT said the injured, 25 in serious condition, have been transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. The passenger train traveling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki and the cargo train collided in the Evangelismos area, near Greece’s fourth-largest city Larissa, according to the country’s national news agency AMNA. The cause of the accident remains unclear. Multiple carriages derailed, and at least three caught fire after the “strong” collision. “Wagons 1 and…

At least 16 people were killed and 85 others injured when two trains collided in central Greece late on Tuesday, state broadcaster ERT reported. A passenger train traveling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki and a cargo train collided near Tempe, some 380 km north of Athens, the report said, citing Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis. Multiple carriages derailed, and at least three caught fire after the “strong” collision. Rescue teams have arrived at the site, and hospitals in the region have been informed to prepare. “Most of the passengers have been safely evacuated,” the report said. Local…

Greece and Bulgaria signed here on Thursday two memoranda of understanding (MoU) to further develop bilateral cooperation in the energy sector to benefit the wider region. Under the first one, which concerns the security of supply and storage of natural gas, the energy companies of the two countries will be able to store gas at facilities in Bulgaria and Greece, according to an e-mailed press announcement from the Greek government. Under the second memorandum, which concerns cooperation in oil, the two sides will explore the prospect of building a new pipeline that will connect the two hub ports of Alexandroupolis…

The Greek state and people have been mobilized to provide humanitarian aid to Türkiye and Syria following this week’s devastating earthquakes that have resulted in thousands of casualties. On the order of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece has offered to the two affected countries 90 tonnes of health and medical equipment and basic necessities, such as 7,500 blankets, 1,500 beds and 500 tents. Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu welcomed the first shipment of humanitarian aid on Thursday in Adana, according to Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry. Four such flights departed from Greece for Türkiye on Thursday and Friday.…

Devastated twice in a decade (in 2012 and 2021) by wildfires, part of the Sounion National Park, 9 kilometers north of the ancient Temple of Poseidon that overlooks the Aegean Sea and about 40 kilometers south of Athens, could no longer regenerate naturally on its own. The environmental organization WWF Greece (the Greek chapter of the World Wildlife Fund), in collaboration with the Greek government and support of private sponsors, has launched a pilot program that aims to restore part of the national park and show the way for the future of reforestation in Greece, their representatives told Xinhua recently.…