Greece

LESBOS, Greece (AP) — Clashes broke out overnight on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios, where residents tried to prevent the arrival of riot police and excavating machines to be used to build new migrant detention camps.

Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds that gathered early Tuesday to try and prevent police from disembarking from government-chartered ferries.

On Lesbos, protesters set fire to trash bins and used municipal garbage trucks to try and block off the port area.

ATHENS (Reuters) - France will stand by Greece and Cyprus, supporting both in their disputes with Turkey over maritime zones in the Mediterranean, French Defence Minister Florence Parly was quoted saying in a Greek newspaper on Sunday.

Greece and Turkey are at odds over a host of issues ranging from mineral rights in the Aegean Sea to ethnically split Cyprus. Tensions are also running high because of Turkish drilling off Cyprus and the European Union has prepared sanctions against Turkey in response.

ATHENS, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Public services in Greece were paralyzed on Tuesday as the umbrella Civil Servants Trade Union (ADEDY) staged a 24-hour nationwide strike against social security reforms proposed by the government.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters were left stranded as public transport services were disrupted, from buses and the metro to ferries, which remained docked at ports as seamen's unions joined the strike.

ATHENS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission supports the launch of a discussion regarding the reduction of Greece's primary surplus targets, provided that the country will keep the momentum of reforms, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday during a visit to Athens.

Gentiloni is on a two-day visit to the Greek capital as part of his tour across European capitals in the context of the EU's regular schedule of coordination among member states on economic policy.

06 Feb 2020; MEMO: The Greek government announced on Tuesday that it will send Patriot defence missiles to Saudi Arabia to help it protect its oil installations.

Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, said that Athens will deploy the missiles at Saudi Arabia’s expense to protect the kingdom’s energy sector, installations and infrastructure.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas to disperse migrants and refugees protesting on Monday about conditions in migrant camps on the island of Lesbos and the slow pace of processing asylum requests.

Violence broke out near the Kara Tepe camp, a police official said, after hundreds of people marched from the island’s congested migrant camps to the city of Mytilene.

Aid groups have described living conditions in some of Greece’s island camps as appalling.

ATHENS, Jan 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mayors of three Greek islands bearing the brunt of intensely overcrowded refugee and migrant camps demanded the transfer of thousands to the country’s mainland during a meeting with the new migration minister.

During a second day of protests over the plight of the camps and the conservative government’s plans to replace them with holding centres, the mayors of Lesbos, Samos and Chios pressed for a swift resolution to the problem.

LESBOS ISLAND (Greece), Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of residents on Greek islands hosting large migrant camps on Wednesday kicked off a day of protests, demanding the immediate removal of asylum-seekers.

The islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios staged a general strike, shutting down shops and public services and rallying in central squares, many protesters waving Greek flags.

“We want our islands back, we want our lives back,” was the main slogan.

22 January 2020; AFP: A trailblazing judge with particular expertise in environmental law and the constitution will become Greece's first female president on Wednesday.

The candidacy of Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou has already won cross-party support and been welcomed by some commentators as a consensus candidate during a difficult time for Greek foreign policy.

18 Jan 2019; MEMO: A Greek opposition party leader has likened Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar to former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, a convicted war criminal.

This came after Haftar visited Athens on Friday and met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.