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☆ Dan Jones Turned to Fiction After Dinner With George R.R. Martin
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are no books actually on the night stand — just a clock, lamp and photo of my daughters. But beside it is a wobbly pile of 21 volumes (I just counted), and a smaller tower of almost as many again. Each summer I rent a house in a village in the foothills of the White Mountains in Crete. There is one bougainvillea-shaded taverna, which shares the village square with a tiny Byzantine chapel, decorated with magnificent 14th-century frescoes. I sent Alice fan mail to say so, and we ended up on the phone for an hour talking about medieval beards.

Persons: Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “, ” There’s, Jack Reachers, Thucydides, Walter de la, Kostas, Alice Winn’s, “, ”, Alice Locations: Peloponnesian, Crete

Climate Change Conference (COP 28) that opens on Nov. 30 in Dubai. Neither floods nor fires are new to Greece but with climate change, they are becoming a frequent disruptor to an economy dependent on tourism and farming. "We have to change our prediction methods," Skylakakis said, acknowledging the rapid pace of climate change. Mitsotakis has urged the EU to top up its solidarity fund and help countries tackle the impact of climate change. Adaptation measures worth 67 billion euros could reduce that loss to 510 billion euros, the country's leading economic think tank IOBE said in a February report.

Persons: Louisa Gouliamaki, Dimitris Kouretas, Kouretas, Theodore Skylakakis, Storm Daniel, Kostas Agorastos, Giorgos Stasinos, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Sokratis Famellos, Skylakakis, Thanos Giannakakis, Nikos Papathanasis, Miltiadis Gkouzouris, Mitsotakis, Petros Varelidis, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Michele Kambas, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Reuters, United Nations Environment Program, Mount Olympus, HVA, Chamber, European, Justice, EU, Water Management, Environment Ministry, Thomson Locations: Vlohos, Greece, Greece's, Thessaly, Europe, Dubai, Los Angeles, Dutch, Athens, Thessaly's, Mouzaki, Netherlands

☆ Spain close in on top spot with Cyprus win
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Spain closed in on clinching top spot in their Euro 2024 qualifying Group A when they strolled to a 3-1 away win against Cyprus on Thursday. Happy to help the team and for the beautiful goal," Yamal said. "To play football is very difficult and it's difficult to win comfortably, scoring a lot of goals," said De La Fuente. "The opponent also play and they want to please their fans, so we need to be focus all the time. "In the second half we didn't play as well as we did in the first and they had their chances later on.

Persons: Luis de la Fuente, Yamal, Barcelona wonderkid, Mikel Oyarzabal, Joselu, Kostas Pileas, De La Fuente, Fernando Kallas, Julien Pretot Organizations: Cyprus, Spain, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Real, Thomson Locations: Spain, Scotland, Georgia, Cyprus, Real Madrid

☆ Liverpool thump Toulouse 5-1, Brighton earn first European win
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The rest of the match belonged to Liverpool as Wataru Endo headed them back in front just past the half-hour mark. That goal took the Egyptian's tally to 43 for Liverpool in major European competitions, a record for any player at an English club. Liverpool top the group by five points over Union Saint Gilloise and Toulouse, who both have four points. BRIGHTON ROCKBrighton achieved a European milestone by beating Ajax and reigniting their chances of reaching the knockout stages. They are now level on four points with second-placed AEK Athens in Group B, a point behind Olympique de Marseille.

Persons: Diogo Jota, Wataru Endo, Darwin Nunez, Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah, LASK, Cameron Puertas, Christian Burgess, Joao Pedro, Diant Ramaj, Ansu Fati, Maurice Steijn, Kostas Fortounis, Rodinei's, Angelo Ogbonna, Angelo Ogbonna . West Ham, Lucas Paqueta's, Edoardo Bove, Romelu Lukaku, Jose Mourinho's, Alejandro Grimaldo, Stade Rennais, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Tommy Lund, Ken Ferris Organizations: Liverpool, Brighton, Ajax, Olympiakos, West, Marseille, Leverkusen, Rennes, LIVERPOOL, Toulouse, Europa League, Brighton & Hove Albion, Ajax Amsterdam, Union Saint Gilloise, Union, BRIGHTON ROCK Brighton, AEK Athens, Olympique de Marseille, AEK, Seagulls, Olympiakos Piraeus, Europa Conference League, West Ham United, Freiburg, Backa Topla, AS Roma, Slavia Prague, Slavia, Bayer Leverkusen thumped Qarabag, Stade, Panathinaikos, Villarreal, Maccabi Haifa, Thomson Locations: Roma, England, Anfield, Brighton, Liverpool, Toulouse, Europe, Angelo Ogbonna . West, Gdansk

☆ Marseille down 10-man AEK, Olympiakos end West Ham's unbeaten European run
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MARSEILLE, France, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Olympique de Marseille overcame AEK Athens 3-1 in the Europa League with two penalties after a red card for the visiting goalkeeper, while Olympiakos Piraeus beat West Ham United 2-1 on Thursday to end the Londoners' 17-match unbeaten run in Europe. WEST HAM LOSEOlympiakos beat Europa Conference League holders West Ham in Group A as the visitors suffered a rare European defeat. Kostas Fortounis delivered the opening goal for Olympiakos with a powerful right-foot strike from outside the box, finding the bottom corner after 33 minutes. West Ham got a consolation goal in the 87th minute courtesy of a powerful Lucas Paqueta volley from the edge of the box. Freiburg and West Ham are top of the group with six points, while Olympiakos have four.

Persons: Vitinha, Orbelin Pineda, Cican Stankovic, Jordan Veretout, Nordin Amrabat, Renan Lodi ., Kostas Fortounis, Angelo Ogbonna, Angelo Ogbonna . West Ham, Lucas, SC Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo, Ayoze Perez, Luis Muriel, Sturm, Sporting, Fabian Piasecki, Sebastian Coates, Viktor Gyokeres, Tommy Lund, Ken Ferris Organizations: Olympique de Marseille, AEK Athens, Europa League, Olympiakos Piraeus, West Ham United, Marseille, AEK, Brighton & Hove Albion, Ajax Amsterdam, WEST HAM, Olympiakos, Europa Conference League, West Ham, SC Freiburg's, Serbian, Real Betis, Aris Limassol, Sparta Prague, Rangers, Sturm Graz, Rakow, Sporting, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, Europe, Renan Lodi . Marseille, Angelo Ogbonna . West, Backa Topola, Freiburg, West Ham, Czech, Austria, Rakow Czestochowa, Portuguese, Gdansk

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Finishing her class at The Julliard School of the arts in New York, Greek opera great Maria Callas gave her students a final word of advice. The City of Athens inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum in the center of the Greek capital Wednesday, marking a century since the birth to Greek parents of the legendary soprano in New York. They might know much about Maria Callas,” museum supervisor Erato Koutsoudaki told The Associated Press. “This is the first museum dedicated to Maria Callas that … combines technology with lived experience,” the mayor said. “We welcome this museum with great joy and deep respect for the great diva."

Persons: Maria Callas, Maria, Callas, Manolo Blahnik, ”, Erato Koutsoudaki, Maria Kalogeropoulos, Maria ”, Angelina Jolie, Kostas Bakoyannis, …, “ Organizations: Julliard School, Maria Callas Museum, Julliard, Associated Press, Athens Locations: ATHENS, Greece, New York, Kyrgyzstan, Congo, City, Athens, Paris

☆ Greek PM to call for reforms, fiscal prudence after deadly storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Renee Maltezou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks to journalists, in the aftermath of Storm Daniel in central Greece, in Larissa, Greece, September 8, 2023. The storm swept through Thessaly in central Greece for three days flooding cities and villages and turning the region into an inland sea. "We still have a state which, despite the reforms, does not correspond to current needs. So we need to make more changes," one of the officials said, adding that fiscal prudence was necessary due to the relief measures for Thessaly. Greece will include any extra spending in a supplementary budget for 2023, which will not derail the country's fiscal progress, a second official said.

Persons: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Storm Daniel, Kostas Mantziaris, Daniel, Greece's, Mitsotakis, Renee Maltezou, Lefteris Papadimas, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Mega TV, Thomson Locations: Greece, Larissa, Thessaly

☆ Greek PM to call for reforms, fiscal prudence after deadly storm - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Renee Maltezou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks to journalists, in the aftermath of Storm Daniel in central Greece, in Larissa, Greece, September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kostas Mantziaris/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsATHENS, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce state reforms and relief measures in a keynote speech on Saturday, days after a devastating rainstorm killed at least 17 people, sources said. The storm swept through Thessaly in central Greece for three days flooding cities and villages and turning the region into an inland sea. So we need to make more changes," one of the officials said, adding that fiscal prudence was necessary due to the relief measures for Thessaly. Greece will include any extra spending in a supplementary budget for 2023, which will not derail the country's fiscal progress, a second official said.

Homes were carried away by torrents, vital infrastructure was destroyed and crops in the country's second-largest tract of farmland wiped out. "I don't think we have realised the magnitude of this disaster yet," Professor Efthymios Lekkas, a disaster management expert, told state broadcaster ERT on Friday. "We have been on the mountain," Dimitris, one of the stranded villagers, told Skai television. One of the breadbaskets of Greece, Thessaly represents about 15 percent of the country's annual agricultural output. ($1 = 0.9328 euros)Additional reporting by Michele Kambas; Writing By Michele Kambas; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Louisa Gouliamaki, Efthymios Lekkas, George Tsatrafyllias, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Kostas Agorastos, Dimitris, Lekkas, Michele Kambas, John Stonestreet Organizations: REUTERS, Greece Storm ebbs, ERT, Thomson Locations: Larissa, Greece, Thessaly, London, Thessaloniki, Vlochos, Karditsa

The mainland port city of Volos, the surrounding mountainous Pelion area and the cities of Karditsa and Trikala were among the worst-hit areas. Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said during a press briefing on Thursday that six people had been reported missing in the area of Karditsa. A senior fire brigade official told Reuters that the body of a man was found in the town of Domokos. [1/5]Locals are evacuated on a boat by volunteers, as storm Daniel hits central Greece, in Farkadona, Greece, September 7. Flash floods in Greece in 2017 killed 25 people and left hundreds homeless.

Persons: Daniel, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Pavlos Marinakis, Marinakis, Vassilis Kikilias, Kostas Mantziaris, Palamas, Giorgos Sakellariou, Vasilios Vathrakogiannis, Lefteris Papadimas, Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou, Alex Richardson Organizations: Civil, Reuters, REUTERS, coastguard, Thomson Locations: Greece, Volos, Karditsa, Trikala, Thessaly, Domokos, Farkadona, Palamas, Agia Triada, Skiathos

REUTERS/Kostas Mantziaris Acquire Licensing RightsATHENS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - At least two people died and three were missing on Wednesday after torrential rain flooded homes and businesses and destroyed infrastructure in central Greece, the fire brigade said. A Reuters witness said that the river near the nursing home had swallowed the road and flooded a train station in Volos, disrupting train traffic. Greece has said the weather was the most extreme in terms of the amount of rainfall since records have been kept in the country. Police on Wednesday issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Karditsa as the rainstorm was expected to intensify again later on Wednesday. In northwest Turkey, at least five people were killed after heavy rains triggered flash floods, Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Wednesday.

Persons: Daniel, Kostas Mantziaris, Storm Daniel, Haber, Lefteris Papadimas, Angeliki Koutantou, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Police, Thomson Locations: Nea Lefki, Larissa, Greece, Volos, Trikala, Karditsa, Turkey

☆ Torrential rain follows summer wildfires in Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[18/29]Debris is pilled up at the premises of a factory, in an area flooded due to the impact of storm Daniel in the village of Nea Lefki, near Larissa, Greece, September 6. REUTERS/Kostas MantziarisLARISSA, GREECE

Persons: Daniel, Kostas Mantziaris LARISSA Organizations: REUTERS Locations: Nea Lefki, Larissa, Greece

☆ Greece wildfires: A losing battle to save the lungs of Athens
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eleni Giokos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The national park, known as the "lungs of Athens" is now home to a battle to repel wildfires. Now it is the home to a raging battle, as the emergency services try to repel more than 200 wildfires in Greece since Monday alone. Firefighters look at a wildfire burning on Mount Parnitha, in Athens, Greece, August 24, 2023. Burning cars destroyed by the fire on Mount Parnitha in Athens, Greece, on August 23, 2023. It was a welcome glimmer of hope, but it will take more than a little water to protect Greece from these wildfires and those that will surely come again.

Persons: Nikos, Eleni Giokos, CNN Nikos, ”, Nicolas Economou, Kostas, Michalis Diakakis, Parnitha, Giorgos Arapekos, Dr Diakakis, Nikos ’ Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, Reuters, of Geology, Kapodistrian University of Athens, AP, Police Locations: Athens, Greece, Paraskevi, Panitha, Greece’s, ”, Parnitha, Dadia, Alexandroupoli, Evros

[1/3] Destroyed truck carriages are seen in a factory yard as a wildfire burns at the city of Volos, in central Greece, July 27, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisVOLOS, Greece, July 27 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Greece battled flames burning for the 10th day on the island of Rhodes, while new blazes erupted on the mainland that destroyed farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals. Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens. The body of a 45-year old shepherd was found in a rural area on Wednesday evening, the fire brigade said. The fire brigade said more that 500 wildfires have burned in Greece so far this year.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Kostas Koukouvinos, Rhodes, Vassilis Kikilias, Karolina Tagaris, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Firefighters, ERT, Civil, Thomson Locations: Volos, Greece, Alexandros Avramidis VOLOS, Rhodes, Magnesia, Athens, Lamia, Kymi, Evia, Portugal, Sicily, Algeria

☆ Europe weather: Heatwave in Greece likely to become longest one country has ever recorded
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Duarte Mendonca | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A heat wave baking Greece is likely to become the longest the country has ever recorded, experts say, as the country battles wildfires and restricts access to its popular tourist sites. He told CNN that the streak could go beyond those days, but at the moment “it’s hard to predict.”The longest continuous heatwave that Greece has faced was 12 days long, back in July 1987, Lagouvardos said. The country also experienced record-breaking heat, with capital Rome hitting a new high temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Scientists are warning that the extreme weather may only be a preview of what’s to come as the planet warms. “The weather extremes will continue to become more intense and our weather patterns could change in ways we yet can’t predict,” said Peter Stott, a science fellow in climate attribution at the UK Met Office told CNN.

Persons: National Observatory of Athens Kostas Lagouvardos, Lagouvardos, Socrates Baltagiannis, ”, Peter Stott Organizations: CNN, Staff, Research, National Observatory of, Reuters, Getty, Rome, UK Met Office Locations: Greece, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Rhodes, Europe, Veneto, Balkans

ATHENS, July 19 (Reuters) - Wildfires burned for a third day west of the Greek capital Athens on Wednesday, as authorities braced for a new heatwave stoking tinderbox conditions across the country. At first light, air water bombers resumed operations over the towns of Mandra, west of Athens, and Loutraki, close to the Corinth canal which separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnese. Firefighters worked throughout the night to keep flames at bay and away from a complex of coastal refineries. Dozens of homes were gutted and hundreds forced to flee towering flames which seared through hamlets on Tuesday. A year later, 101 people died in the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, after a wildfire razed the town in a matter of hours.

Persons: Vassilis Varthakogiannis, Kostas Tsigas, Greece's, imploring, Andreas Theodosiadis, Michele Kambas, David Holmes Organizations: Firefighters, Traffic, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, Athens, Mandra, Corinth, Greece, Peloponnese, Italy, France, Rhodes, Dervenochoria, Mati

☆ Haaland's absence fails to stop Man City from hammering Liverpool
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Nothing changed," Guardiola said after his 100th win at Etihad with City. The club made an exceptional signing with him – he's a world champion alongside Lionel Messi because he has something." His fitness is unclear, although TV cameras caught him on his feet wildly celebrating Alvarez's goal. The City manager pumped his fists wildly after Alvarez's goal and then confronted Liverpool substitutes Kostas Tsimikas and Arthur Melo when they walked by him on the sidelines seconds later. "Manchester City are disappointed to have heard inappropriate chants from home fans during today's game," the team said.

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Funds have dumped their bets on higher copper prices as the turbulence triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to roil financial markets. The investment community has turned net short of CME copper for the first time in five months, while funds have cut their long exposure on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Investors' negativity towards Doctor Copper contrasts with the bullish headlines generated by the FT Commodities Global Summit. Investment funds bought into copper in January, the net long position expanding from 11,830 to 32,397 contracts at the end of the month. Bulls such as Trafigura and Goldman Sachs contend it's a very thin inventory cushion if China rediscovers its copper mojo.

☆ Copper prices could soar 33% in the next year as global inventories hit lowest since 2008, top metals trader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Copper could climb as high as $12,000 per metric ton in the next year, Trafigura said. "What's the price of something the whole world needs but we don't have any of?" "What's the price of something the whole world needs but we don't have any of?" Inventories are now at the lowest seasonal level since 2008, helping copper prices rise 6% this year to become the best-performing industrial metal. In its best-case scenario, S&P Global predicts that by 2035, the world will be lacking 1.6 million tons in needed copper.

☆ The loser of a rare submarine vs. submarine battle was found 80 years after being sunk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In July 1941, a British submarine sank an Italian submarine in the Mediterranean Sea. It was against this backdrop that the Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay and the Italian submarine Jantina squared off in the Aegean Sea near the island of Mykonos. The first two passed in front of the Italian sub, but the next struck it and exploded. The Italian sub sank quickly, and only six of the 48-man crew survived, swimming to a nearby island. By the end of the war, Torbay had sunk more than 40 German, Italian, and Japanese warships, merchant ships, and other vessels.

[1/2] Rescuers operate at the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Kostas MantziarisATHENS, March 4 (Reuters) - Rescuers continued digging through debris on Saturday at the site of Greece's worst train crash but were expected to wrap up their search operation later on the day. Tuesday's crash killed at least 57 people and injured dozens when a passenger train with more than 350 people on board careered into a freight train on the same track. The disaster in central Greece has triggered an outpouring of anger and protests across the country, as well as a sharp focus on safety standards across its railway system. The train, traveling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, was packed with students returning after a long holiday weekend.

Summary At least 46 killed in Greece's worst train disasterGovernment promises to fix ailing rail systemRailway workers walk off job in safety standards protestLARISSA, Greece, March 2 (Reuters) - The death toll from Greece's deadliest train crash was set to rise even higher, with 46 confirmed dead but ten people still missing, authorities said on Thursday. As many in Greece demanded answers, rescuers continued to comb through charred and buckled rail carriages to try and find more victims. [1/5] Rescuers operate on the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 2, 2023. INVESTIGATIONThe station master of Larissa train station was arrested on Wednesday and appeared before a local magistrate on Thursday. The Italian operation has responsibility for passenger and freight, and the Greek state-controlled OSE for infrastructure.

☆ Greek rescuers comb through train crash wreckage as hopes fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lefteris Papadimas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Rescuers operate on the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 2, 2023. The high-speed passenger train with more than 350 people on board crashed head-on with a freight train near the city of Larissa late on Tuesday, and hopes of finding anyone still alive in the wreckage more than 34 hours later appeared slim. The station master of Larissa train station was arrested on Wednesday as authorities probed the circumstances that led to the passenger train, en route to the northern city of Thessaloniki, colliding with another train carrying shipping containers coming in the opposite direction on the same track. Nikos Tsouridis, a retired train driver trainer, said drivers involved in the crash had died "because there were no safety measures. The Italian operation has responsibility for passenger and freight, and the Greek state-controlled OSE for infrastructure.

☆ Greece Train Crash Leaves at Least 38 Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Eric Sylvers | Cristina Roca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A train carrying several hundred people crashed late Tuesday night into a freight train in Greece, killing at least 38 and injuring more than 80, in one of the worst rail disasters in the country’s history. Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis said he would step down Wednesday after visiting the scene of the crash. “When something this tragic occurs, we can’t go on as if nothing had happened,” he said.

☆ Hours after deadly train crash, Greece agonises over what went wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Angeliki Koutantou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] A general view of the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. There have been widespread media reports electronic signal software was not working, meaning signalling was done manually. OSE, the country's state-owned operator for rail infrastructure, did not respond to calls requesting comment nor did it issue a statement. Within hours, Greek police had arrested the station master at a provincial train station, accusing him of death through negligence. Hellenic Train, a unit of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato which acquired passenger and freight operations, said it was working with authorities on the investigation.

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