The concession of the necessary land for the creation of an “urban promenade” along Athens’ southern coastal avenue was sealed on Monday with an agreement between the Hellenic Public Properties Company (ETAD), and the Region of Attica.
A Turkish newspaper has published video footage showing fragments of building material falling from inside the dome of the former Orthodox Christian cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, raising concern about the integrity of the monument and the safety of visitors.
The European Commission has preliminarily approved Greece’s request for the disbursement of €3.64 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Of the €3.64 billion, €1.69 billion comprises grants and €1.95 billion loans.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled Tuesday’s meeting with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after his office said the two sides had previously agreed that it should not be used as a public platform “to relitigate long, long settled matters,” a reference to ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures.
The “rule of law does not function in Albania,” the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of the Albanian city of Himare Fredi Beleri has said. Beleri was detained in May on suspicion of voter fraud. All his appeals to be released in order to be sworn in as mayor have been turned down by the Albanian courts.
Greece and Turkey stand at a “window of opportunity” to strengthen relations, with the willingness of both nations’ leaders proving pivotal in progress on this front, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has said.
Greek officials said Tuesday that they will continue talks with the British Museum about bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.
Greece will next month repay ahead of schedule 5.3 billion euros ($5.8 billion) of loans owed to eurozone countries under its first bailout, and hopes to repeat the move in 2024, Finance Ministry officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
Athens mayor-elect Haris Doukas visited the municipal authority’s Department of Sanitation on Monday, where he vowed a cleaner, greener city.
The US is reportedly discussing with Greece the sale of a total of 75,000 artillery shells from the Hellenic Armed Forces’ stockpile as part of the effort to replenish Ukrainian ammunition in the war against Russia.