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☆ Pent-up demand promises record tourist season for southern Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Giselda Vagnoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

What's more, there appears to be growing demand for the luxury end of the spectrum. Portugal registered more than 2.8 million of foreign visitors from January to March, the best first quarter on record, according to official data. Airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair have confirmed robust summer bookings while Ryanair, in anticipation of strong demand, has just ordered 150 new 737 Max-10s and optioned another 150. Italian travel and tourism company Alpitour forecasts turnover 30% higher this year. "We already see a very strong demand to book Christmas holidays in 2023.

☆ As Greek elections loom, parties vie for votes of 'lost generation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"What I imagined at 18 is a long way away from what I'm living at 28," the physics student said. "I don't know how we cannot be called a lost generation. "Pension income is a fiscal problem," said Vlassis Missios, an economist at the Greek Centre of Planning and Economic Research. For many young Greeks, finding suitable work is tough. "Even if they can't win the votes of the young people, they don't want to have them as opponents.

☆ Burundi-born ex-police officer seeks to be Greece's first Black lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Conservative New Democracy party candidate Spiros Richard Hagabimana arrives for an election campaign event at the neighbourhood of Nikaia, near Athens, Greece, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Louiza VradiSALAMINA, Greece, May 16 (Reuters) - In working-class neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Athens, Spiros Richard Hagabimana is going door-to-door in an election campaign that could see him become Greece's first Black lawmaker. Dressed in a suit and tie, Hagabimana walks the streets of the constituency he is contesting in Greece's May 21 election, meeting voters in farmers' markets and cafes. 'I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINISHED'Hagabimana first arrived in Greece in 1991 on a scholarship to study at the Naval Academy. Hagabimana, then a National Police officer, refused orders to suppress demonstrators and was jailed and beaten, he said.

☆ After fatal Greek train crash, a campus simmers with rage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] A man stands next to flowers and messages for the victims of a fatal train crash, at the closed train station of Thessaloniki, Greece, March 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisTHESSALONIKI, Greece, April 4 (Reuters) - A month after 12 students at Greece's largest university were killed in a train crash, messages of grief across the campus are tinged with rage. "This crime will not be forgotten," a note on a makeshift memorial at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki reads. Fifty-seven people died in the country's deadliest rail disaster on Feb. 28, when a passenger train and a cargo train travelling on the same track collided head-on. "This sadness, this anger, we tried - as students - to turn it into a fight," said Evangelia Grigoriou, a civil engineering student.

[1/4] Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis leads a cabinet meeting at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, March 28, 2023. Mitsotakis's New Democracy Party has held a comfortable lead over opposition leftist Syriza since it came to power in 2019, opinion polls show, but a Feb. 28 rail disaster which killed 57 people has stirred public anger and seen that gap narrow. The rail disaster on the Athens-Thessaloniki route, Greece's deadliest on record, sparked mass protests over the safety shortcomings of an underfunded and poorly maintained network, the legacy of a decade-long financial crisis which ended in 2018. Mitsotakis said the 'painful and traumatic' experience of the rail disaster highlighted deficiencies the state still had. "On May 21, Greek citizens will choose if the country will continue to seek winning the bet of reforms".

☆ Greek workers join walkout over deadly train crash, call protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS, March 8 (Reuters) - Thousands of workers will join a nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest over Greece's deadliest train disaster that killed 57 people, and mass demonstrations are expected to culminate outside parliament in Athens. Wednesday's strike, to be joined by various public sector workers, is expected to disrupt metro, tram and bus servives, and ferries will remain docked in ports as seamen join the walkout. "We will impose safe railways so that no one will ever experience the tragic accident at Tempi ever again," the main railway workers union said in a statement. ADEY, the umbrella union representing hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, also called for a day-long strike and protest over the "murderous crime". Greece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, under its international bailout program in 2017 to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.

[1/5] Destroyed carriages are seen on the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 3, 2023. Police said 31 bodies have now been identified - almost all from DNA tests as the crash was so violent. Not long before the crash, his son had told him he would be late and would call. In school yards in Athens, students used their bags to write the words "Call me when you get there," a phrase that has become one of the protest slogans. Work continued at the crash site, where rescue staff used cranes to lift some carriages thrown off the tracks.

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.

☆ At least 16 dead, scores injured after trains collide in Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The site of a crash, where two trains collided, is seen near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Yiannis Floulis/File PhotoATHENS, March 1 (Reuters) - Sixteen people were killed and least 85 were injured after two trains collided head-on in Greece late on Tuesday, the fire brigade said, while the circumstances of the crash remained unclear. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, and a cargo train from Thessaloniki to Larissa, collided outside the city of Larissa in central Greece, said the governor of the Thessaly region. "There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming," a young man who was evacuated to a nearby bridge told SKAI TV. "It was like an earthquake," Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told ERT.

The collision occurred as the passenger train, heading to the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki from the capital Athens, emerged from a tunnel near the central town of Larissa. Our thoughts today are with the relatives of the victims," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the site of the crash, looking shattered. [1/15] The site of a crash, where two trains collided, is seen near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Giannis Floulis 1 2 3 4 5'MUM, I'M HURT'The passenger train was carrying 342 travellers and 10 crew, while two crew were on the cargo train, according to Hellenic Train data. Greece's ageing railway system is in need of modernising, with many trains travelling on single tracks and signalling and automatic control systems still to be installed in many areas.

☆ Piraeus Bank reports higher Q4 profit on strong net interest income
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ATHENS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT), Greece's fourth-largest lender by market value, reported on Friday strong net earnings in the last quarter of 2022 on higher fees and net interest income. The bank, which is 27 percent owned by the country's HFSF bank rescue fund, reported net earnings of 170 million euros, after a profit of 116 million euros in the third quarter last year. Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas Editing by Karolina TagarisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. The Dutch and Slovak central bank governors gave explicit support for a bigger move in March while ECB President Christine Lagarde also appeared to back such an increase. But it is not a reason to slow the tempo of raising interest rates," Kazimir said in a statement on Monday. "I am convinced that we need to deliver two more hikes by 50 basis points." Economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to deliver 50 basis point interest rate rises at each of its next two meetings.

☆ JP Morgan signs deal for stake in fintech Viva Wallet for over $800 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - JP Morgan (JPM.N) has signed a deal to buy a 48.5% stake in Athens-based payments fintech Viva Wallet for more than $800 million, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Saturday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal was expected to be announced early next week. Both JP Morgan and Viva Wallet declined to comment. JP Morgan announced in January that it had agreed to acquire a stake in Viva Wallet. Cloud-based Viva Wallet, which operates in 23 countries across Europe, provides card acceptance services through its POS application, add-on Google play devices and advanced payment systems in online stores.

☆ Greece's Mitsotakis says EU leaders close to gas price cap deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are "close to" imposing a natural gas price cap, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on ahead of talks on tackling high energy prices in Brussels on Thursday. "We are close to being able to impose a ceiling on the price of natural gas... I believe that, one way or another, we will find the necessary majorities in order to move in this direction," he said. Mitsotakis added it was "absolutely necessary" that Europe "sends clear signal to the markets that it is not going to allow the instrumentalization of natural gas by Russia." Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

'REFUGE FOR WINTER' AND BEYONDVisitors and more permanent residents are also arriving from Germany, which was highly dependent on Russian gas before the Ukraine war and is anxious about possible winter energy shortages. Airlines will increase by 31% the number of seats available to the Canary Islands, the regional tourism office said. Airbnb, the short-term rentals firm, said searches for winter stays in southern Europe tripled between April and June. "Even before the energy crisis, we would have liked to be in Portugal because of the weather," the 28-year-old said. "But with the energy crisis, (being in Portugal) gives us more security because of the climate."

☆ Greece rescues hundreds of migrants adrift on fishing boat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Greece rescued hundreds of migrants on Tuesday after the fishing boat they were travelling on issued a distress signal off the island of Crete, the coast guard said. A spokesperson for the coast guard cited survivors as saying about 400 to 500 people were on board. [1/5] Migrants stand onboard a fishing boat at the port of Paleochora, following a rescue operation off the island of Crete, Greece, November 22, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer 1 2 3 4 5The migrants were taken to the southern seaside town of Paleochora. Most asylum-seekers cross to Greece from neighbouring Turkey, though Greek news websites suggested those rescued on Tuesday had sailed from Libya.

For more than 70 days this summer, a marine heatwave cooked the waters of the western Mediterranean. "We've been witnessing marine heatwaves during the last 20 years," said Garrabou, who's also coordinator of the T-MEDNet marine monitoring network. A 2016 marine heatwave along Chile's southern coast caused huge algae blooms that wiped out fish farms and cost the aquaculture industry some $800 million, said scientist Kathryn Smith with the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. As the world warms, marine heatwaves are expected to become more frequent, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Though economists have yet to account fully for the impacts of marine heatwaves, recent experience has many concerned.

ATHENS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Greek workers went on a day-long strike on Wednesday, demanding higher wages to cope with surging inflation, as Europe's soaring energy prices and living costs trigger industrial action and protests across the continent. In Athens, thousands of people marched in the second 24-hour walkout this year over rising inflation, some holding up banners that read, "No to layoffs, no to pay cuts." The General Confederation of Greek Workers union (GSEE), which represents private sector workers, said unions had called the strike in protest "against the inflation suffocating Greek households, the jungle-like conditions in the labour market," referring to labour laws. [1/5] Members of the communist-affiliated trade union PAME shout slogans as they demonstrate during a 24-hour general strike, in Athens, Greece, November 9, 2022. "Making it to the end of the month means your wages will last you until the last day of the month.

☆ At least 20 migrants drown off Greek island, dozens more feared dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Greek rescuers on Wednesday recovered 20 bodies of migrants who drowned after their small boat capsized while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece, the coast guard said, and dozens more were feared dead. The boat sank on Tuesday in rough seas and gale force winds and a search-and-rescue operation was still under way off the Greek island of Evia on Wednesday, the coast guard said. Twelve people have been rescued but survivors told authorities said as many as 68 people had been on board. But Greek authorities say they have seen an increase in attempted entries through its land and sea borders with Turkey. On Monday, four migrants were rescued near the eastern Aegean island of Samos, close to Turkey, after their inflatable dinghy capsized.

☆ Ancient Greek artifacts go on display for first time, amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A visitor takes a picture of a marble Cycladic female figurine, during the opening of the exhibition ''Homecoming. Cycladic treasures on their return journey'' at the Museum of Cycladic Art, in Athens Greece, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Costas BaltasATHENS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Fifteen ancient Greek artifacts from the private Cycladic art collection of a U.S. billionaire went on display for the first time on Wednesday in Athens, under an agreement which has stirred controversy in Greece. A small group of protesters held a white banner outside the museum during the event on Wednesday reading, "They're stolen." Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Similar numbers fled in Greece as a blaze fuelled by gale-force winds raged in mountains north of Athens. ABOVE 40CIn Spain, where emergency crews were fighting fires in five regions, national weather service AEMET also forecast higher temperatures. REUTERS/Stelios MisinasTreasury Minister Simon Clarke said Tuesday's "remarkable, unprecedented" record served as "a reminder ... of the importance of tackling climate change." British engineers raced on Wednesday to fix train tracks that buckled in the heat after firefighters worked through the night to damp down wildfires. In southern Europe, far larger wildfires continued to rage.

Persons: Armando Silva, Stephen Belcher, Stelios Misinas, Simon Clarke, Tuesday's, Emmanuel Macron, Eugenio Giani, Christos Stylianides, Marc Fesneau, Manuel Lopes, Renee Maltezou, Angeliki Koutantou, Karolina Tagaris, Dominique Vidalon, Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Kate Holton, William James, Emma Pinedo, Catarina Demoney, John Stonestreet, Nick Macfie, Alex Richardson, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: China, Emergency, Science, Technology, Britain's Met, REUTERS, European Union, Fincantieri, Thomson Locations: Tuscany, Athens, ATHENS, LONDON, Europe, London, Italy, Lucca, Greece, China, Texas , Louisiana, Arkansas, Central U.S, Portugal, Spain, Portugal's, Murça, Trieste, Rome, Milan, Florence, Britain, Pallini, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Monfalcone, Penteli, Gironde, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon

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