Greece

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Martian skies over Athens? Greece’s capital turns an orange hue with dust clouds from North Africa

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Skies over southern Greece turned an orange hue on Tuesday as dust clouds blown across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa engulfed the Acropolis and other Athens landmarks.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-dust-orange-sahara-winds-3593a433a6e630fe3fb8ed278134837a?

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A 2,000-year-old statue is found abandoned in a garbage bag in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A marble statue of a woman believed to be more than 2,000 years old was found abandoned in a garbage bag near the Greek city of Thessaloniki, police said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-ancient-statue-thessaloniki-ac751946c43686edc4fe6358aed10a5d?

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Violent protests in Greece on rail crash anniversary as frustration at system failures boils over

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Riot police fired volleys of tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons at protesters hurling gasoline bombs and smashed-up paving stones in Athens on Friday. The massive demonstration marked the second anniversary of Greece’s worst rail disaster that has become a symbol of institutional failure.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-tempe-rail-disaster-strike-d9996948371c5ec703d27006ae23db9b?

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A veteran conservative lawmaker is sworn in as Greece’s new president

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Veteran conservative lawmaker Constantine Tassoulas was sworn in as Greece’s new president Thursday, as the government grapples with lingering public anger over a deadly rail disaster two years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-president-politics-tassoulas-db1f4771e16254a234a713908c01f5b7?

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New armed extremist group claims responsibility for bombing near Greece’s rail headquarters

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A new extremist group claimed responsibility Sunday for a bomb that exploded near the offices of Hellenic Train, Greece’s main railway services operator and the planting of another near the Labor Ministry in early February.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-bombing-railways-accident-armed-group-b6f5a4a8d68c52d5f2b67a0875cd2f29?

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Greece’s dark past is uncovered after 33 bodies are found in a civil war-era mass grave Yedi Kule castle in the port city of Thessaloniki was a prison where Communist sympathizers were tortured and executed during Greece’s 1946–49 Civil War. As many as 400 prisoners were executed there, according to historians and the Greek Communist Party. For the families of slain pro-Communist Greeks, the find in the Park of National Resistance, in the shadow of the Byzantine fortress, is reviving a wartime legacy kept dormant to avoid reigniting old animosities. Read more.

What to know: Greece’s archaeological service cleared the site for development because the bones are less than 100 years old. But authorities in Neapolis-Sykies, a suburb of Thessaloniki, pressed on with excavation, saying the chance find has “great historical and national importance.” The find has not been directly addressed by the country’s center-right government – a reminder that many Greeks still find it easier to walk past the country’s ghosts than confront them.   The small site has become Greece’s first Civil War mass grave to be exhumed. City officials are taking steps to conduct DNA testing on the remains and urging families of the missing to submit genetic material.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Dozens of ancient artifacts seized in Greek island smuggling raid

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Migrants on deportation list to wear ankle monitors, Greek government says

Migrants in Greece with rejected asylum claims will be required to wear ankle monitors as part of planned measures to speed up deportations, a government official announced Monday. Read More.