The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has launched a preliminary investigation into former New Democracy official Kalliopi Semertzidou and family members, following a report that they allegedly received 2.5 million euros in EU farm subsidies from the troubled Greek agricultural payments organization, OPEKEPE.
Egypt’s reaction in the form of a note verbale to Greece’s maritime spatial planning (MSP) published last April is an “an expected reaction,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The first week of August is proving much “hotter” than expected regarding political developments, as the OPEKEPE farm subsidy scandal continues to fuel the news coverage and is maintaining high-pitched political confrontation despite Greece’s traditional summer recess.
Divers sent to evaluate the state of a passenger ferry that ran aground off Nea Styra, in Evia, with 105 passengers and nine crew on board, have found a 20-meter crack below the water line, according to state-run broadcaster ERT.
Despite Cyprus being better prepared than ever ahead of the wildfire season, last month Cyprus was hit with its worst wildfire in decades.
Greek authorities have expressed deep concern over reports of expanded land encroachments by Israeli settlers on property belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church in the West Bank, particularly around the historic Monastery of Saint Gerasimos of the Jordan near Jericho.
A warning has been issued for Thursday as Greece’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection forecasts a very high risk of wildfires in six regions.
Prosecutors have charged the captain of the Panagia Paravouniotissa ferry with causing a maritime accident after the vessel ran aground off Nea Styra, Evia, with 105 passengers and nine crew on board. He remains in custody and is due back in court on Friday.
Airline booking data show the number of visitors to Greece for August-October is set to rise 4.6% against the same period in 2024.
Greece has formally rejected Libya’s maritime claims in a letter to the United Nations secretary-general and in a diplomatic note to the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, escalating a long-standing dispute over offshore energy rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.