Kathimerini English
Athens bets on `made in Greece' military drones
Greece has moved to advance domestically developed military drone systems, awarding initial research and development contracts for three unmanned combat aerial vehicles and two related defense technologies, the Ministry of National Defense and the...
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Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses the IAEA Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris, Tuesday. Mitsotakis highlighted Europe's strategic misstep in turning away from nuclear power. `We cannot accomplish all the things we care about in Europe – strategic autonomy,...
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Europe signals unity as Cyprus tested
Cyprus is emerging as a test of European resolve to defend the territory of a European Union member-state, following the concentration of forces from several EU countries after drones were launched in recent days against British bases on the island. A...
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Reading the secrets beneath the paint
Experts use a multispectral imaging camera to examine `The Healing of the Paralytic,' by Luca Giordano, a fascinating case of forgery that began in a Naples monastery in 1653 and reaches present-day Athens. Nearly 3,000 confiscated artworks have been...
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Steam and stone: A 15th-century bathhouse is reborn
For 582 years, the Bey Hamam has stood at the heart of Thessaloniki. Now, following a €1.5 million restoration, the city's oldest and largest Ottoman bathhouse is fully open to visitors for the first time in decades. Founded in 1444 by Sultan Murad...
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The men who stared down death
The Culture Ministry has unveiled a newly acquired collection of photographs documenting the Nazi execution of 200 Communist prisoners at the Kaisariani shooting range on May 1, 1944 – images so historically significant that the state has declared them...
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Greece braces for potential refugee wave
Greece, like the rest of Europe, may face new refugee arrivals from Iran and neighboring countries, depending on how long military operations in Iran and the wider Middle East continue, officials and analysts say. Concern is mounting within the Greek...
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`Cyprus is not far away,' says Dendias
Greek warships were expected to arrive off Cyprus early Wednesday, completing what Athens described as a defensive deployment aimed at shielding the island from a possible Iranian strike and underscoring Greece's solidarity with Nicosia. The arrival...
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Athens prioritizes de-escalation
Confronted with a widening Middle East conflict and mounting security concerns in nearby Cyprus, the Greek government has moved to protect its citizens abroad while placing de-escalation and regional stability at the center of its response to the...
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Tens of thousands rally on anniversary of Tempe disaster
Protesters gathered in front of Parliament on the third anniversary of the Tempe train crash, Greece’s deadliest rail disaster, on Saturday. Tens of thousands rallied across the country, demanding justice ahead of a criminal trial starting this month....
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Two fleet veterans lower flag after decades at sea
Two main units of the fleet are being decommissioned after more than four decades of service and countless nautical miles: the frigate (pictured) Themistokles (F-465), type S, and the submarine Poseidon (S-116), type 209. Built in 1981, the...
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USS Gerald Ford sails from Crete to East Med as diplomacy dims
After a refueling stop in Souda in Crete, the USS Gerald R. Ford set course for Israel, signaling a sharper American posture in a region on edge. At the same time, American and Iranian officials met in Geneva for what was described as an effort to find...
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Greece, France near defense renewal
A few days after Easter, and in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron, Greece and France are expected to sign in Athens the renewal of their strategic partnership agreement on defense and security cooperation, which expires later this...
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A village between drought and deluge
Vangelis Simoglou did not sleep a minute the night the Evros River rose to swallow his fields and lap at the first houses of his village, Pythio in northern Evros, in northeastern Greece. He and his neighbors started up their tractors and spent hours...
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Shoplifting surge plagues supermarkets
Shoplifting at Greek supermarkets has surged, costing stores more than €320 million annually, exceeding the sector's total pre-tax profits as income pressures from years of inflation push households to the breaking point, industry officials say. The...
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A night at the museum
The harpist Sissi Rada at the Museum of Cycladic Art in 2024. Greek museums are ditching their hushed, reverential reputations – and throwing parties instead. From rooftop cocktails gatherings and DJ sets at the Goulandris Foundation to experimental...
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Mitsotakis pitches Greece as AI bridge
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The Greek PM took part on Wednesday in the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, joining global leaders as part of a two-day visit to India. The gathering centers on shaping a...
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Space dreams meet planetary facts
At 11 a.m., the foyer of the New Digital Planetarium filled with middle school students, arriving at the day's peak hour for school visits. Many had grown up on science fiction and a torrent of online images where space travel seems effortless, one...
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Greece seeks return of Nazi execution photographs
The Culture Ministry said experts have contacted a collector who put up for auction photographs depicting the execution of 200 communists on May 1, 1944, at the shooting range in Kaisariani, and will visit him in Ghent, Belgium, to assess their...
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Farmers drive their protest to capital
A nationwide rally of farmers, livestock breeders and beekeepers concluded Friday in Syntagma Square, with dozens of tractors parked in front of Parliament and protesters vowing to press on with their demands. The farmers began arriving in Athens...
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One avenue, two competing visions
The future of traffic on Vasilissis Olgas Avenue now rests with the government, even as a long-delayed redevelopment project nears completion, city officials say. The renovation of the avenue, closed in 2020 under former Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, is...
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Low expectations for Ankara summit
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to meet midday Wednesday in Ankara, 17 months after their last encounter, amid last-minute disruptions reflecting the persistent lack of trust that defines...
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Violence at university spurs safety push
The Education Ministry announced it will implement a university safety law following violent clashes at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki early Saturday morning. Unknown individuals emerged from the Polytechnic school after midnight and attacked...
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Media at a crossroads
The news of mass layoffs at the Washington Post added to a series of signs that the media worldwide are facing an unprecedented crisis. And because no country – especially no democracy – can get very far without robust and independent media, this news...
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Air Force spy case: One man or wider network?
Authorities are investigating whether a 54-year-old Air Force squadron leader (center) recruited additional military personnel in an alleged espionage network. The officer, charged with collecting and transmitting classified military information to...
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Espionage case rattles military
A senior Air Force officer was arrested Thursday on espionage charges, accused of transmitting highly classified military information to China using specialized encrypted software, according to government and security sources. Officials said the...
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Where Aristotle once walked, digital guides now follow
The Culture Ministry is modernizing the archaeological site of Aristotle's Lyceum in Athens with new infrastructure and digital enhancements. Two projects are planned under the `Lavrio-Athens-Eleusis' integrated spatial investment program, to be...
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Documenting the grace of another era
The Diamantidi Mansion, Paleo Psychiko; the work of architect Alexandros Nikoloudis around 1925. The suburbs of Psychiko, Neo Psychiko and Filothei, now administratively unified, still contain a substantial stock of historic houses that trace patterns...
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Corfu's masks awaken: Venetian revelry ignites Ionian isle
Corfu Town ushered in the 2026 Carnival on Sunday evening with a spectacle that fused pageantry, history and satire, as masked revelers in powdered wigs and brocaded gowns filled the island's historic squares beneath showers of confetti and the blare...
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Lessons from the Imia crisis
Have we learned anything from the 1996 Imia crisis? Have the lessons been incorporated into the DNA of the Greek state so that the next one will be managed differently? Let's see what the main problems were and whether they have been corrected. The...
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Schools struggle with unfit educators
Greek education authorities have recorded about 2,500 teachers nationwide who are deemed unable to perform classroom duties, mostly for psychological reasons, according to senior officials at the Ministry of Education. The educators are described...
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Turkey doubles down on Aegean lines
Turkey says any research activity east of the 25th meridian, which notionally divides the Aegean Sea in half, should be conducted in coordination with Turkish authorities, according to sources at the Turkish Defense Ministry. The clarification was...
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France underscores EU unity on SAFE
France's minister of the armed forces said access by non-EU countries to loans under the European Union's SAFE defense financing regulation requires unanimous approval by all member-states, as she reaffirmed France's deepening strategic defense...
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Tragedy strikes Greek soccer fans in Romania
Firefighters and police officers stand near the vehicles involved in a road accident with a minibus carrying PAOK soccer fans, in Romania on Tuesday. Seven people were killed and three injured in a multi-vehicle crash shortly after 1 p.m. near...
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Gas leak blamed in deadly blast
An early-morning gas leak is the leading cause of a powerful explosion and fire that tore through the Violanta biscuit factory in the central Greek city of Trikala, killing five workers, according to initial findings by the fire service, which has...
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A capital choking on its own wheels
Finding parking in Athens neighborhoods like Kypseli (photo) can take over 30 minutes, reflecting Greece’s status as the EU region with the fourth-highest car ownership: 872 vehicles per 1,000 residents, far above the European average of 550. Despite...
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A final slips away, but a medal remains within reach
Greece's goalkeeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos, right, tries to block a shot from Hungary’s Szilard Jansik during the semifinal match between Greece and Hungary at the men’s European Water Polo Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday. Greece lost 15-12,...
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When crisis warnings stay in the drawers
Images and videos laid bare the scale of destruction caused by flooding across the Athens basin, from Agios Dimitrios and Ano Glyfada to Vari, Keratsini, Perama, Salamina, Alimos and western Attica. Despite preparations ahead of the expected weather...
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Heavy rain
flooded Athens’ streets Wednesday as authorities moved to curb travel during severe weather. Schools were closed, public services scaled back and many workers shifted to remote work as intense rainfall overwhelmed urban infrastructure. Scientists...
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Athens navigates US-EU tensions
Greece is navigating a precarious diplomatic path as tensions escalate between the US and the European Union over Greenland, with concerns mounting about initiatives from Washington that could fundamentally reshape the international system. The focus...
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A state-of-the-art warship anchors new era
The frigate Kimon, the first of the Navy’s FDI-class ships, arrived at the Salamis Naval Base on Thursday, welcomed by Greece’s political and military leadership. Two more ships of the class, Nearchos and Formion, are scheduled for delivery in 2026,...
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48-hour ultimatum issued to farmers
The government and protesting farmers moved closer to confrontation on Tuesday after some farm groups refused to attend talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and insisted on escalating road blockades. Mitsotakis met representatives from 14...
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The gods departed; the crowds arrived
Mount Olympus is no longer the mountain of the gods but of visitors. Since the pandemic, crowding has spread from roadside tavernas to high elevations, with tents filling the Plateau of the Muses and bot‑ tlenecks forming on the trail to the summit,...
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Energy deals anchor US-Greece ties
Athens views the energy agreements signed last November as the most significant achievement in bilateral relations during the first year of Donald Trump's second term in the White House, according to Greek officials. At the same time, concern persists...
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Farmers signal possible dialogue shift
Forty days after the start of nationwide protests, farmers decided to move toward dialogue with the government, concluding weeks of road blockades and internal debate that disrupted daily life across the country. The shift followed multiple meetings,...
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Breaking stereotypes: Blind climber shines in 2025 highlights
Ten-year-old Theodoros Vasilakis from Ioannina, who was born blind, poses on a climbing wall in a portrait by photographer Dimitris Tosidis. ‘Through his example, he breaks stereotypes about disability, showing that nothing is impossible with...
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Farmers set to escalate their protests
After a month of protests, farmers appear unwilling to budge and could be ready to escalate their action. On Sunday, protesting farmers from across the country will hold their third meeting at Malgara, a highway interchange near the northern city of...
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PM tours new Panathinaikos stadium construction site
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (left) on Tuesday toured the construction site of Panathinaikos’ new soccer stadium in the Votanikos area of western Athens, calling the project a long-awaited milestone for the historic club. Mitsotakis was...
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Spinning on borrowed hopes
A merry-go-round in Omonia Square at Christmastime at the start of the new millennium. Spending on Athens’ festive decorations reflected the big hopes that were built up but would end up derailing in the first, rough quarter of the 21st century....
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Silver finds its shine again in Ioannina
Professor Dimosthenis Papadopoulos designs jewelry with his students at the Museum of Silversmithing in Ioannina. For the past two months, the cen‑ turies‑old tradition of silverworking has been taught at the University of Ioannina School of Fine Arts,...
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Farmer blockades snarl highways
Traffic across the country's national road network is testing drivers' nerves as agricultural blockades and police-ordered detours slowed travel on Tuesday, creating kilometer-long queues and hours of delays, authorities and participants said. At...
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Something finally changing in country's defense
appears to be waking up from an extended and dangerous slumber in connection with the country’s defense. The truth is that we are running badly behind, especially compared to the progress Turkey has made in recent years. A tremendous effort is now...
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Catacombs link Roman, Byzantine Athens
Beneath one of central Athens’ busiest areas, just steps from Syntagma Square and the National Garden, an underground complex reveals layers of the city’s ancient, Roman and Christian past. Below Filellinon Street and the Church of the Holy Trinity,...
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Greece raises its flag on a new era at sea
In the gray, rain-soaked weather of southern Brittany, emotion and pride cut through the wind as the Greek flag was raised on the Kimon, a new FDI frigate formally commissioned into the Hellenic Navy. It is the first of four such vessels and, officials...
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How Theodorakis briefly broke the silence
In October 1973, amid Greece’s dictatorship, newspapers carried an improbable headline: ‘Mikis Theodorakis’ songs permitted.’ For years, the composer’s music had been banned, surviving only in tavernas, homes and clandestine clubs. Exiled in Paris,...
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National Archaeological Museum expands into the future
The National Archaeological Museum is poised for a sweeping transformation, following unanimous approval of the architectural pre-study by the Central Council of Modern Monuments and the Central Archaeological Council. Designed by British architect...
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The price of education: Students on the move
For many Greek students, attending regional universities now means long commutes instead of dorm life. Twentyyear-old Dimitris Vogiatzoglou leaves his Piraeus home at 7.30 a.m., to attend classes at the University of Peloponnese in Corinth. ‘I go to...
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Two pupils
in the Arcadian village of Karytaina play soccer outside their small primary school, as 2025 closes with stark warnings about Greece’s worsening demographic outlook.
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Mounting pressure on farm policy
The government is facing mounting pressure on the agricultural front as farmer mobilizations intensify, dialogue remains stalled, and criticism grows within the ruling New Democracy party over how the crisis has been handled so far. Tensions were...
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Policing push cuts road fatalities
Every day, Greece's roads claim lives. Yet against this grim backdrop, transport experts say they are seeing a recent shift toward safer driving behavior, driven largely by intensified traffic enforcement and stricter penalties. According to initial...
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Solutions sought as farmer unrest grows
The government is racing to unlock delayed agricultural payments as farmers intensify nationwide protests, erecting roadblocks and staging confrontations that have raised concerns over public order and the economy. At least 40 agricultural blockades...
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City Hall to remove defunct structures from streets
The Municipality of Athens is in the process of completing a list of abandoned or vandalized structures and objects strewn throughout the Greek capital’s sidewalks and squares that no longer serve their purpose, aiming to eventually remove them. These...
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The poet who collected fragments of a city
In 1994, poet Dinos Christianopoulos noted of a handful of ancient sherds a friend had given him: ‘Except for one, they are all black-glazed and must belong to the Classical period.’ Those fragments, along with dozens of humble objects he gathered over...
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Storm Byron wreaks havoc across country
Severe weather from a system named Byron swept across Greece on Thursday, flooding roads, prompting school closures and triggering multiple emergency alerts as authorities warned of worsening conditions overnight. The storm hit large parts of the...
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Deadly outbreak silences Tyrnavos barns
In the farm belt around the municipality of Tyrnavos, central Greece, the barns stand silent. Over just three months, from June to August, sheep and goat pox swept through herds that once produced milk for prized feta cheese. Entire flocks were culled,...
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Blocked roads, empty pockets: Farmers push back in Thessaly
Farmers across central Greece are escalating protests as anger over unpaid subsidies, alleged mismanagement and mounting disasters fuels some of the largest blockades in years. At the main site outside Karditsa on the E-65 highway, roughly 1,500...
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