Turkey closes borders to five countries due to new Covid-19 variant
Turkey closed its borders to passengers from five countries as a measure against the new coronavirus variant, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday.
Athens: A capital in transition
A string of unexpected events have changed Athens in the 21st century, from the economic crisis in 2008 to the pandemic in 2020, and from its new human geography and the redistribution of its population around the suburbs to the tourism rebound.
Moody’s warning to Frankfurt
International rating agencies are sending clear messages to the European Central Bank about the risk to Greece’s cost of borrowing unless Frankfurt continues to purchase Greek bonds after the completion of the extraordinary program of quantitative easing (PEPP).
Asylum seekers face new rules in mainland areas
Two new reception and identification centers in northern and southern Greece will be designated by the Migration Ministry in the coming days to record the biometric data of all foreign nationals in mainland areas who were not registered at existing centers on the islands and the Evros border outpost.
Tourism rebound fizzles out
Last-minute cancellations of bookings for holidays in Greece are on the rise after the latest surge in the pandemic, plunging Greek tourism back into a state of uncertainty.
Athens cannot be redrawn overnight
“A comprehensive plan for Athens is not something that can be done overnight. It’s a long-haul proposition that demands prioritized and orchestrated urban interventions, which then need time to mature.
Variant prompts emergency measures
In response to the emergence of the new Covid variant Omicron variant that carries an “extremely high number” of mutations, the Greek Health Ministry on Friday announced a new series of restrictions regarding travel originating from countries in southern Africa where it was first detected.
Tourists, locals leave layer of waste on Naxos seabed
More than 1,100 plastic bottles and cups, 500 aluminum cans, 150 glass bottles and even a tractor wheel and a toilet bowl were collected in just a few hours by volunteer divers last weekend from a small part of the port of the popular Aegean island of Naxos.
ECB has more tricks up its sleeve than just PEPP
The European Central Bank is likely to stop further bond purchases under its pandemic-era support scheme from early next year but will still have other purchasing programs in its toolkit, President Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying by a German daily.
FinMin: Greece’s cash buffer secure and sufficient
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras reiterated on Friday that the government will not impose a new lockdown and that the country’s cash reserves are secure and sufficient to meet any possible crises.