Greece in fire alert – strong winds and negligence the main factors

According to Greek daily Kathimerini the fires raging in the North East of Greece, in the Thrace area and very close to the Greek Turkish borders, have destroyed more than 15 thousand acres of wooded and agricultural land. About 10% of the nature reserve of the Dadia forest have been burnt while there is no [...]

Fires in Εvros – Thrace but also in Athens

A fire that broke out in Thrace has been rekindled this morning. The strong winds that blow in the area are pushing the fire towards the Dadia forest, a world famous forest reserve, home to many wild birds of prey. A fire broke out yesterday in a southern Athens suburb – Ano Glyfada. It is [...]

G3 -Greek Government gaffes: new episodes

After accusing taxi drivers of harming the tourist season and defaming Greece as an international destination the Greek government decided to give them a helping hand by making things worse! As from September 1 the VAT for foodstuff served in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, fast food shops etc will go up from 13% to 23%!! [...]

Midsummer celebration – Dekapentavgoustos

Dekapentavgoustos (fifteen of August) is the greatest summer celebration of the Greek Orthodox Church. It is the day of the dormition and passage to heaven of Virgin Mary or Panagia as the Greeks call the Mother of Christ. Panagia or Virgin Mary is one of the most popular figures of the Greek Orthodox Church. The [...]

Okra – cornes grecques-: favorite summer fare

The french call okra “cornes grecques”, in other words “greek horns”. Apart from its popularity in Greece this tasty vegetable has come to Europe from Africa and probably via Greece. I find that very often people dislike the sticky and mucus like substance okra excretes when not cleaned properly. In order to do it well [...]

Corfu fire limited to the North East near Loutses

The fire fighting department has announced that the Loutses front in Corfu is under control but not totally extinguished. A new fire has broken out in the Chalkidiki area and another one in Philipiada, western Macedonia.

Greek taxi drivers strike ending tomorrow?

The Greek taxi owners Federation is holding an extraordinary meeting tomorrow with the President Mr. Lyberopoulos proposing to halt the strike. This development came after a meeting with the Prefects all over Greece who promised not to issue new taxi licences until the relevant legislation has gone through Parliament. In the meantime the Thessaloniki taxi [...]

Greek taxi drivers face split in their ranks

All day today the Athens taxi drivers association held a general assembly to decide on their next move. It was finally announced that they will continue their strike at least until Saturday. There is a split in their ranks though because the taxi drivers in Rhodes and Kos have decided to halt their strike for [...]

Corfu fires under control – no danger for the inhabitants

The fires in Corfu are under control. The fire department is focusing on the north but there is no danger to inhabited areas. The same applies for fires that broke up in Zakynthos yesterday and in Crete today.

Corfu fires under partial control – smaller ones in Zakynthos

A government delegation arrived to Corfu early today, Wednesday, to coordinate the fire fighting struggle and examine its causes. The Prefect of the Ionian islands claimed again that the number of fires and their timing points to arson. Fires in the island of Zakynthos, another Ionian island, strengthen this argument. The fires are still on [...]