Greek wildfires a major ecological catastrophe, PM says

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Greek wildfires a major ecological catastrophe, PM says

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Greek wildfires a major ecological catastrophe, PM says

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Greek wildfires a major ecological catastrophe, PM says

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday described the devastating wildfires that burned across the country for more than a week as the greatest ecological catastrophe Greece had seen in decades.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

'We fought a great battle': Greece defends wildfire response

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — As the worst of Greece's massive wildfires were being tamed Tuesday, the country's civil protection chief defended the firefighting efforts, saying every resource was thrown into the battle against what he described as the fire service's biggest-ever challenge.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

'We fought a great battle': Greece defends wildfire response

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — As the worst of Greece's massive wildfires were being tamed Tuesday, the country's civil protection chief defended the firefighting efforts, saying every resource was thrown into the battle against what he described as the fire service's biggest-ever challenge.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

'We fought a great battle': Greece defends wildfire response

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — As the worst of Greece's massive wildfires were being tamed Tuesday, the country's civil protection chief defended the firefighting efforts, saying every resource was thrown into the battle against what he described as the fire service's biggest-ever challenge.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

European nations impose incentives, penalties to boost shots

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

European nations impose incentives, penalties to boost shots

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

European nations impose incentives, penalties to boost shots

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

European nations impose incentives, penalties to boost shots

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Migrant family's presence on Greek island hints at pushbacks

VATHY, Greece (AP) — Around dawn one recent spring day, an inflatable dinghy carrying nearly three dozen people reached the Greek island of Samos from the nearby Turkish coast. Within 24 hours, refugee rights groups say, the same group was seen drifting in a life raft back to Turkey.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Migrant family's presence on Greek island hints at pushbacks

VATHY, Greece (AP) — Around dawn one recent spring day, an inflatable dinghy carrying nearly three dozen people reached the Greek island of Samos from the nearby Turkish coast. Within 24 hours, refugee rights groups say, the same group was seen drifting in a life raft back to Turkey.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Migrant family's presence on Greek island hints at pushbacks

VATHY, Greece (AP) — Around dawn one recent spring day, an inflatable dinghy carrying nearly three dozen people reached the Greek island of Samos from the nearby Turkish coast. Within 24 hours, refugee rights groups say, the same group was seen drifting in a life raft back to Turkey.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

‘All my hopes were him’: A migrant father’s plight in Greece

VATHY, Greece (AP) — On a pine-covered hill above the sparkling blue Aegean lies a boy’s grave, a teddy bear leaning against the white marble tombstone. His first boat ride was his last — the sea claimed him before his sixth birthday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

‘All my hopes were him’: A migrant father’s plight in Greece

VATHY, Greece (AP) — On a pine-covered hill above the sparkling blue Aegean lies a boy’s grave, a teddy bear leaning against the white marble tombstone. His first boat ride was his last — the sea claimed him before his sixth birthday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

‘All my hopes were him’: A migrant father’s plight in Greece

VATHY, Greece (AP) — On a pine-covered hill above the sparkling blue Aegean lies a boy’s grave, a teddy bear leaning against the white marble tombstone. His first boat ride was his last — the sea claimed him before his sixth birthday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Migrant father charged with son's death on journey to Greece

VATHY, Greece (AP) — On a pine-covered hill above the sparkling blue Aegean lies a boy’s grave, a teddy bear leaning against the white marble tombstone. His first boat ride was his last — the sea claimed him before his sixth birthday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Greece extends lockdown past 2 months, expands vaccinations

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has extended a two-month lockdown by at least one week, through Jan. 18, and announced plans Friday to increase the number of people getting COVID-19 vaccines from 5,000 per day to 8,000 per day.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

PM says Greece will ramp up speed of COVID-19 vaccinations

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will ramp up the speed of its coronavirus vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate about 8,000 people or more per day compared to the current 5,000 per day, the country's prime minister said Friday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Greeks face lockdown Christmas, but with books and tidy hair

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The bulk of Greece's lockdown measures will remain in place over the Christmas period although bookshops and hairdressers can reopen next week and the quarantine on people entering the country will be relaxed, authorities said Friday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Greece extends coronavirus lockdown by a week

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government spokesman on Thursday announced a weeklong extension to the country's current lockdown, due to the continued spread of the coronavirus, particularly in the north of the country.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Greece extends coronavirus lockdown by a week

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government spokesman on Thursday announced a weeklong extension to the country's current lockdown, due to the continued spread of the coronavirus, particularly in the north of the country.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Virus deaths of senior Serb religious leaders triggers alarm

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — After the two most senior Serbian Orthodox Church leaders died within a month after testing positive with the coronavirus, health experts and even hardcore believers are starting to worry. The spread of the virus within the largest religious group in the Balkans is getting more alarming …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Greece: 2 private clinics appropriated to treat COVID-19

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities are taking over two private health clinics in the northern city of Thessaloniki as the region’s public hospitals struggle to cope with a surge in coronavirus cases, the country's Health Ministry said Friday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Report slams conditions in Greek migrant detention centers

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe, the continent’s main human rights organization, slammed the conditions under which migrants are held in some detention centers in Greece and voiced concern Thursday over persistent allegations the country illegally pushes back migrants coming from Turkey.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Greece's archbishop hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos, has been hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19, the Archdiocese of Athens announced Thursday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Greece: No police custody for migrant unaccompanied minors

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is abolishing the practice of holding asylum-seeker children and teenagers who arrive in the country without parents or guardians in protective police custody, the migration minister said Wednesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Police fire tear gas to break up banned gatherings in Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police detained several dozen people and fired tear gas in Athens Tuesday as hundreds of protesters defied a ban on gatherings of more than three people to mark the anniversary of the crushing of a 1973 student uprising against the military junta then ruling Greece.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Thousands of police deploy on Greek uprising anniversary

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands of police officers have been deployed in Athens and the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to prevent gatherings to mark the anniversary of the crushing of a 1973 student uprising against Greece's military junta.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greek PM appeals for restraint during uprising anniversary

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister appealed to political parties Monday to show “self-restraint” in commemorations marking the 1973 crushing of a student uprising by the ruling military junta at the time, as part of measures to curtail a surging coronavirus outbreak in the country.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greek hospital staff demand hirings as cases, deaths spike

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Dozens of hospital workers held protests at hospitals in Greece Thursday, demanding more medical staff be hired as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus that has led to a new lockdown being imposed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greek hospital workers demand more hirings in pandemic

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Dozens of hospital workers held protests at hospitals in Greece Thursday, demanding more medical staff be hired as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus that has led to a new lockdown being imposed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece, Egypt seek Biden role in East Mediterranean dispute

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Wednesday that he expects U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to play a more active role in attempting to calm tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece, Egypt seek Biden role in East Mediterranean dispute

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Wednesday that he expects U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to play a more active role in attempting to calm tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece, Egypt seeks Biden role in East Mediterranean dispute

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Wednesday that he expects U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to play a more active role in attempting to calm tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece imposes lockdown to avoid worst at hospitals

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — With a surge in coronavirus cases straining health systems in many European countries, Greece announced a nationwide lockdown Thursday in the hopes of stemming a rising tide of patients before its hospitals come under “unbearable” pressure.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece imposes lockdown to avoid worst at hospitals

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — With a surge in coronavirus cases straining health systems in many European countries, Greece announced a nationwide lockdown Thursday in the hopes of stemming a rising tide of patients before its hospitals come under “unbearable” pressure.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Europe tightens restrictions as virus hospitalizations rise

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Coronavirus cases hit new daily highs this week in Russia, and Germany and the U.K. announced plans Tuesday to expand virus testing as European countries battled rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

New Russian infections soar; UK, Germany widen testing

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Coronavirus cases hit new daily highs this week in Russia, and Germany and the U.K. announced plans Tuesday to expand virus testing as European countries battled rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Europe tightens restrictions as UK, Germany widen testing

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — New coronavirus restrictions took effect Tuesday in Austria and Greece, while Germany and the U.K. announced plans to expand testing for the virus as European nations battled rapidly increasing infections and hospitalizations that strained their health care systems.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Northern Greece locks down as Europe tightest restrictions

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A lockdown came into effect in northern Greece on Tuesday, with the southeastern European country joining the list of the continent’s nations tightening restrictions to restrain rapidly increasing coronavirus infections.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Quake strikes Turkish coast and Greek island, killing 19

ISTANBUL (AP) — A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 19 people and injuring over 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, officials said.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Quake strikes Turkish coast and Greek island, killing 19

ISTANBUL (AP) — A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 19 people and injuring over 700 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, officials said.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Quake kills 6 in western Turkey, rattles Greek island

ISTANBUL (AP) — A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, collapsing buildings in the city of Izmir in western Turkey, and officials said at least six people were killed and scores were injured.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Turkish health minister: 4 dead, 120 injured in earthquake

ISTANBUL (AP) — A strong earthquake struck Friday between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, collapsing several buildings in Turkey’s western Izmir province and leaving at least four people dead.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Quake between Turkey, Greece topples buildings in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — A strong earthquake struck Friday between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, collapsing several buildings in Turkey's western Izmir province and causing some damage in Samos. There were reports of people trapped beneath rubble in Izmir.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece, Turkey wrangle over military games in eastern Med

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Monday denounced Turkey’s plans to carry out a maritime military exercise on Oct. 28, a Greek national holiday, announced hours after NATO’s secretary general said both countries had called off wargames on each other’s national holidays.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greek court imprisons far-right Golden Dawn party leadership

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Former lawmakers of Greece's extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party began turning themselves in to authorities Thursday, after a court ordered their imprisonment following their convictions for running the party like a criminal organization.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece asks EU countries to halt military exports to Turkey

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has asked fellow European Union countries to halt military exports to Turkey, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday, amid a deepening dispute between the two neighbors over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Greece's first female president is sworn in

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s first female president, a former high court judge, was formally sworn in to office Friday, nearly two months after the country’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect her.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

EU blasts Turkey for "organized" migrant attack on Greece

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Clashes between Greek riot police and migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey erupted anew Friday as European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for using migrants' desperation "for political purposes.”

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Thousands of migrants look for way around shut Greek border

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants and refugees searched for ways to cross Greece's border with Turkey on Tuesday, as Athens ramped up its diplomatic efforts for help from the European Union to seal off its eastern land and sea frontiers.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Thousands of migrants look for way around shut Greek border

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants and refugees searched for ways to cross Greece's border with Turkey on Tuesday, as Athens ramped up its diplomatic efforts for help from the European Union to seal off its eastern land and sea frontiers.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Thousands of migrants look for way around shut Greek border

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants and refugees searched for ways to cross Greece's border with Turkey on Tuesday, as Athens ramped up its diplomatic efforts for help from the European Union to seal off its eastern land and sea frontiers.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Hoping for a new, stronger mandate

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Breathing life into bailout discussions

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Cyprus banks to remain closed until Thursday

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Free-fallin'

ATHENS, Greece - A sign taped to a wall in an Athens hospital appealed for civility from patients. "The doctors on duty have been unpaid since May," it read, "Please respect their work."

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Greece secures biggest debt deal in history

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Italian president tries to calm anxious markets

ROME - With markets tumbling around the globe, Italy's president promised emphatically Wednesday that Silvio Berlusconi will step down soon as premier and lavished honors on a leading economist, who instantly became Berlusconi's presumed successor.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Greece steps back from prospect of debt default

ATHENS, Greece - Greece appeared to step back from the prospect of a devastating debt default Friday after its prime minister quelled chaotic political infighting and Germany softened a contentious demand that the private sector participate in a European bailout.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Greece recommended for next batch of bailout

ATHENS, Greece - Greece is poised to receive the next installment of its bailout facility, and will likely get further rescue loans to prevent it from defaulting on its massive debts, European officials said Friday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Europe tries to douse debt crisis

BRUSSELS - European leaders have agreed on a series of strong steps to stamp out the spiralling debt crisis, including consolidating public finances, bringing in the European Central Bank to ensure eurozone stability and possibly set up a European mechanism to preserve financial stability and prevent future crises like the …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Greece seeks bailout from IMF, EU

ATHENS, Greece - Hobbled by exorbitant borrowing costs, Greece triggered an emergency aid plan Friday to draw cash from the International Monetary Fund and countries that use the euro - the first test of whether the EU is prepared to bail out one of its members.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

EU leaders: Greece plan to stabilize Europe

BRUSSELS - A hard-won deal to provide a safety net for Greece provided the debt-ridden country with some welcome relief Friday, with its cost of borrowing on international markets edging down slightly and labor unions at home saying they would hold off on any further strikes - at least for …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO