A public transport bus crashed into a traffic light pole in Athens’ northern suburbs Monday afternoon after its driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle
was operating a route from the Nomismatokopeio metro station in the Halandri area to Artemida
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ShareSaveCommentBusinessAerospace & DefenseUkraine Uses Science Fiction Technology To Neutralize Russia’s Deadliest MineByDavid Hambling
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights
I'm a South London-based technology journalist
04:33am EDTShareSaveCommentThe Ohhota ("Hunting") seismic sensor (left) triggers up to five antipersonnel mines in sequence
with a sophisticated sensor to detect and injure or kill engineers long before they find it
But a gadget dropped from a drone can defang this lethal device from a safe distance
The Hunting series was originally developed back in the 1970s to make minefields deadlier
Sappers were getting better at detecting and removing or destroying mines
so a new weapon was needed to disrupt attempts at tackling a minefield
Russian OZM 'Frog' bouncing mines which throw a grenade into the air when activated
Hunting’s nerve center is a 10-pound seismic sensor the size of a lunchbox which detects ground vibrations over a wide area
The sensor detects and roughly locates human footsteps from 90 meters/300 feet away
It can spot anyone approaching the minefield long before they are aware it is there
Hunting selects the nearest mine and triggers it
their comrades and medics will believe it to be a normal mine detonation and rush to their defense
Attempts by the wounded to crawl away into safety will trigger a third mine.”
They note that the air-bursting OZM-72 will injure both people standing upright and those on the ground trying to crawl
Having Hunting linked to five mines ensures that multiple rescue attempts can be hit and there will be few if any survivors
Hunting is claimed to reliably identifies moving humans
and distinguish them from animals and vehicles in all weather conditions
It can be calibrated to adjust to particular terrain types such as soft or rocky ground
The later version of Hunting also has a timer mechanism which activates and deactivates it at set times of day
giving a safe window for patrols to pass through – if they have enough confidence in it
The device has the name ‘ARTEMIDA’ on the side. This is the Ukrainian name for the Greek Artemis – the goddess of hunting
Ukraine's Artemida seismic similar imitated the vibrations of footsteps
Artemida emits a series of pulses which imitate human footsteps
This seismic simulator fools Hunting’s sensor into firing off all its mines harmlessly
Artemida does not appear on Ukrainian sites; all we know is what Combat Engineer reports
A model of the Thumper sandworm-calling device described in Dune
The thumper is a lure for carnivorous sandworms though
Such systems give a good chance of spotting mines without walking into them
More drones can then be sent to drop Artemida devices to neutralize and Hunting systems
a Russian air-dropped antipersonnel mine with a seismic sensor with a processor
The POM-3 mine has a seismic sensor so smart it can allegedly tell soldiers from civilians
but it would be relatively straightforward to use machine learning to help a seismic sensor detect footsteps reliably
and presumably to filter out fakes like Artemida
it would be equally simple to use the same machine learning to ensure that Artemida produced imitation footsteps matching natural ones as closely as possible
An AI-enabled Artemida might also be able to vary its output
trying out various patterns until it picked up the answering thump of a mine detonation
Future weapons will be increasingly sophisticated in their ability to detect targets
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Most of the continent has been hit by snow and freezing temperatures
and the cold snap seems set to continue for the next few days at least
Southern Europe — where people normally enjoy mild temperatures even during the winter months — has been hit especially hard
and ice has trapped ferries in Turkey and Italy
The icy spell has also been a deadly one in many countries
10 people died on Sunday due to hypothermia bringing the death toll linked to the cold weather to 65 since November
Extreme cold is still gripping some regions of the country with below minus 30 degrees
Greece and Bulgaria have also reported deaths from hypothermia
mostly amongst homeless people and asylum seekers
many of whom still live in very precarious shelters and tents
Many countries have also reported deaths linked to poor weather causing traffic incidents. On Monday
snowfall in Istanbul paralysed traffic for a third straight day and hundreds of flights were cancelled
With the cold snap set to continue for at least a few more days
here is a look at some incredible images of the freezing weather:
The research is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology
“Making sure there are enough women in clinical studies to accurately reflect the proportion of women who have strokes may have implications for future treatment recommendations for women affected by this serious condition,” said study author Cheryl Carcel
of The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney
“When one sex is underrepresented in clinical trials
it limits the way you can apply the results to the general public and can possibly limit access to new therapies.”
The study looked at 281 stroke trials with at least 100 participants conducted between 1990 and 2020
The total number of participants was 588,887
The average prevalence of stroke in women across the countries included was 48%
Results were calculated in participation-to-prevalence ratio
a relative measure that weights the percentage of women in a trial compared to their proportion in the total population with that disease
It’s a simple way to tell if a research project has recruited enough women to be able to make accurate conclusions about the findings
A ratio of one means the percentage of women in the study is the same as the percentage of women with the disease in the general population
An acceptable range for an ideal ratio of female participation is between 0.8 and 1.2
We will only achieve more equitable representation of women in clinical trials when researchers look at the barriers that are keeping women from enrolling in studies and actively recruit more women
women were represented at a lower proportion relative to their prevalence in the underlying population
They found the greatest differences in trials of intracerebral hemorrhage
with a ratio of 0.73; trials in which the average participant was below 70 years of age
with a ratio of 0.81; non-acute interventions
with a ratio of 0.80; and rehabilitation trials
“Our findings have implications for how women with stroke may be treated in the future
as women typically have worse functional outcomes after stroke and require more supportive care,” Carcel said
“We will only achieve more equitable representation of women in clinical trials when researchers look at the barriers that are keeping women from enrolling in studies and actively recruit more women
People who fund the research also need to demand more reliable
sex-balanced evidence.” A limitation of the study is that it included only studies registered on a U.S
government website and may not have captured all stroke trials.
stroke cases and fatalities have been on the decline
according to an analysis of US stroke deaths from 1975 to 2019
researchers have found a new way to detect lesions in the brain of patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy in an MRI scan
While thrombectomy to remove blood clots after a stroke is increasingly performed
new research suggests that it may not be needed in all cases
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Wildfires destroy Greek olive cropsTHE ASSOCIATED PRESSARTEMIDA
Greece — The smoldering trunks of olive trees stretch across mountain slopes and valleys
their precious fruit lying like pellets of charcoal on the blackened ground
the groves that produce one of Greece's best-known exports have been devastated
A week of forest fires has not only killed 64 people but has laid waste to at least 454,000 acres of land
the glove-shaped southern peninsula where about a third of Greece's olive oil is produced
The flames might not devastate the overall olive oil industry in Greece
the world's third-largest producer: Initial estimates indicate about 4 percent of average annual production will be lost
and villages already struggling to survive an exodus of young people have taken another big hit
"This may not have a big effect on the macro scale
the impact is huge," said Gregory Antoniadis
chairman of the Greek Association of Industries and Processors of Olive Oil
The Finance Ministry reckons half the farm production of the fire-hit areas has been destroyed
In a culture where olive oil is sometimes called liquid gold
the spectacle of gnarled old olive trees going up in flames is especially painful
In this mountainous region 40 miles from ancient Sparta
olives provide 60 percent of farmers' income
Newly planted trees need seven to 10 years to bear fruit
and farmers "won't have any income from olive cultivation during that time," said Antoniadis
head of the Greek Union of Forestry Experts
calls it "an irreparable social and economic catastrophe" that has left its survivors "unable to meet their daily needs."
stood among the blackened stumps of her trees and wept
When Kostandopoulou arrived in the mountain village of Artemida more than 40 years ago
vines and a vegetable garden on the edge of the village
The 77-year-old woman said she sat outside her house all night splashing water on the garden and managed to save it while others burned to the ground
The government has announced a $400 million aid package including an initial $4,100 for each family that lost belongings and a $13,600 payment for those that lost a house
Farmers are to get $818 for each acre of burned olive groves
while private donations from Greeks for fire relief total over $52 million
and a vast expanse of charred earth surrounds the village
from the valley below to the mountain peaks in the distance
The village's main source of income was olive oil
Now he fears the inhabitants will simply move away
"I had olive trees I had planted as a child
is one of many whose family long ago abandoned village life for the city
but his father had returned to Makistos and restored his ancestral home
gutted in flames so intense that the windows melted
"There is absolutely nothing left of agricultural land
and the animals that survived have nothing to eat," he said
The family made wine and two tons of olive oil a year to supplement its income
"There are people who are 80 years old whose houses were burned
the director of the NGO Vialex located in Transdniestria
fellow practitioners all dedicated to combating violence against women
are seated not in a meeting room before her
but in offices and living rooms all across Moldova
In the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures have not only changed the manner in which these activists meet, they have also complicated their task of assisting women who are victims of violent behaviour. A recent OSCE-led survey confirmed that domestic violence is an acute problem in many OSCE participating States
the confinement of families to close quarters at home has caused the incidence of violence to rise
The crisis has made it difficult to counsel women in person
so we decided to produce online broadcasts with information about what to do if assistance is needed
Olga PurakhinaDirector of the NGO Vialex located in Transdniestria
“They turned out to be surprisingly successful: over 400 views in a single day
as opposed to webinars we organized in the past
which sometimes attracted only ten participants,” says Olga
The OSCE Mission to Moldova has organized this online forum for four NGOs
two from Transdniestria on the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru River and two from the right bank
to allow professionals to exchange their best practices in coping and adjusting to the new conditions
“These info broadcasts are short and can be watched anytime during 24 hours,” says Olga
“They don’t require registration or a specific time commitment
We gave them titles such as ‘Improving family relations’ that appeal to a broad audience
important information about whom to contact if violence strikes can be spread as widely as possible
Potential victims need not fear the reprisals they may experience if caught viewing a post specifically about countering violent behaviour.”
who directs the NGO Artemida in Drochia on the right bank of the river
takes the floor: “When women requiring protection do contact us
we need to accommodate them safely without increasing the risk of infection for themselves or those who are helping them
We have set up special quarantine accommodations where they spend the first 14 days
Once it is sure that they are free of the virus
we find appropriate placement for them and continue our assistance.”
The OSCE Mission to Moldova has been co-operating with civil society partners for over a decade to improve the lives of survivors of gender-based violence
The Mission works to facilitate the achievement of a lasting
comprehensive political settlement of the conflict over Transdniestria
and combating domestic violence on both banks of the river is one of the confidence-building measures under the settlement process
“It is part of our core mandate to bring people together
to build bridges between the two banks,” says Otilia Bologan-Vieru
the Mission has trained hundreds of judges
prosecutors and law enforcement officers on combating domestic violence
including on how to refer the victims and aggressors to social service providers
Since 2008 the country has a well-established national referral mechanism: each district has a multidisciplinary team consisting of social workers
a law enforcement officer and a public prosecutor
We have also assisted with the development of new legislation that forces aggressors to go through rehabilitation courses as part of their protection order,” Otilia explains
One of the Mission’s key partners is the NGO Artemida
which has pioneered the simultaneous counselling of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence
The success rate has been remarkable – no recurrence in 95 per cent of the cases
“This is the most efficient approach: you cannot work just with one side of the problem and not with the other,” says Ina Gradinaru
The Drochia Centre works according to the so-called Duluth Model
an innovative approach that takes the blame off victims
places accountability on the offender and involves the community in ending domestic violence
the Mission arranged a visit for NGOs from Transdniestria and other parts of the country
including the autonomous region of Gagauzia
to the Drochia Centre to witness its methods first-hand
In addition to bringing practitioners from the different regions of Moldova together
the Mission has created opportunities for them to acquaint themselves with innovations from farther afield
It organized a study trip to Sweden last year
which is at the forefront of innovations in empowering survivors of domestic violence
Municipalities allocate funds to each individual case
allowing survivors to access and manage their own resources
This is very different from the top-down approach seen elsewhere
which encourages dependency on the part of the victim
the situation in Sweden cannot be compared one-to-one with that in the Republic of Moldova
But the visit sparked lively and constructive discussions
not only among the practitioners but also with the Moldovan authorities who also took part in the visit
Ala VechiuSenior Programme Assistant at the OSCE Mission
Visits abroad like this one have several benefits all rolled into one
The very fact that practitioners from the left and right banks were there together forged new ties between them
which have become important during the COVID-19 pandemic
the NGOs from the left and the right banks are contacting each other
providing and receiving advice on specific cases,” says Ruslan Abdyldaev
The OSCE Mission to Moldova’s work to combat gender-based violence was nominated for the OSCE Gender Champion award this year
It was cited as an example of political confidence-building at its best
The Greek Police (ELAS) has successfully resolved the case of the murder of six Turks in the town of Artemida (Loutsa) in Eastern Attica on September 11
An official statement is expected later in the afternoon
Two Turkish men have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the fatal gangland shooting of six other Turks in Greece last month
Police said the six men killed in a September 11 car ambush in Loutsa outside Athens were believed to have been members of an international crime group and had made a brief stop in Greece en route to Turkey
Mass shootings of that kind are practically unheard of in Greece
and authorities had from the outset suspected a connection with foreign-based criminal organizations
A police statement said one of the two detained suspects had made arrangements for the victims’ stay in Greece and travel plans to Turkey but allegedly led them into the fatal ambush in the seaside town of Artemida
The six were attacked in their car as they drove to the Athens airport
and police said the killers finished them off with shots to the head fired at close range
Artemida is about 20 kilometers east of Athens and close to the airport
was arrested at the airport hours after the shootings before he could board a flight to an eastern Aegean Sea island close to the Turkish coast
The arrests followed cooperation with Greece’s secret service and counter-terrorism squad
and exchanges of information with authorities from other countries
One of the two suspects arrested in the gangland shooting of six Turks in the seaside town of Artemida on September 11 is said to have provided police with details of the plan
according to a well-placed source who spoke with Kathimerini
a Turkish citizen who was arrested Tuesday in his apartment in Agios Dimitrios
told police that the other arrested suspect
visited him at his home and said he wanted his help for a “job.” He then took him in his car and went to Artemida
that his role would be to stay in a car (with the three designated assassins)
while Suleiman would pick up the six victims from the place where they were staying in order
to transport them to Athens International Airport
Muharrem has claimed to police that he was not there when the ambush took place because he got the jitters
was arrested at the airport hours after the shootings before he could board a flight to an eastern Aegean island close to the Turkish coast
Police say he was the one who had made arrangements for the victims’ stay in Greece
Greek police are looking for a third person
but officers have concluded that the executioners have successfully avoided arrest
A woman who lived near the site of the ambush testified Thursday that she saw three men getting into a black car
She added that one of them went beck to where the bodies lay
A total of 50 bullets were pumped into the victims
Police found 60 bullet casings on the site
Mass shootings of that nature are extremely rare in Greece and police immediately suspected that a foreign criminal organization was involved
chose Greece as a stopover on their way to Turkey
A double homicide in early August in the Chatonnay region of southeastern France is suspected of being connected to the execution Monday afternoon of six young Turks with French travel documents in the town of Artemida (Loutsa) in East Attica
two Turkish nationals traveling with fake Bulgarian identity cards were found dead
One of the victims had been shot 12 times in the chest and head
while the second had been shot once in the chest
They had been found dead inside a house they had rented through the Airbnb app
According to recent reports in France’s Le Point
the double murder in southeastern France bore the hallmarks of the Dalton gang led by the Turkish criminal Baris Boyun
and information from Turkish security sources
who were shot dead with more than 60 bullets on Monday
who is allegedly responsible for a series of armed incidents in Turkey and France
had managed to elude Turkish police officers during a chase a few months ago
his accomplice had been arrested while attempting to flee to Georgia and had confessed during interrogation that Doruk B
Some other members of Boyun’s gang (Dalton according to the French press) also fled to Greece after the double homicide in southeastern France
The six young Turks reportedly arrived in Greece in early August
One of them had been arrested during the summer for illegal entry into the country
while in the last week they had settled in a house in the area of Artemida
A fire broke out in the seaside East Attica town of Artemida on Thursday morning and while it was burning close to homes in the residential area of Agios Ioannis
the fire service has brought it under control
the blaze is still burning in an expanse of dry brush and weeds at the end of Ioanninon Street but is no longer threatening homes
Two water-dumping helicopters and 10 firetrucks were quickly dispatched to the site of the fire
Arson investigators have also been dispatched to find the source of the blaze
Greek property owners are required to clear their plots for a second consecutive year ahead of wildfire season
The government platform for declarations will be open from April 1 to 30
Funding for wildfire prevention has increased by 9% this year
“We need double what we’re allocated,” said Georgios Yassimakis
Local governments struggle with limited resources
but hiring temporary workers requires funds we don’t have,” noted Dimitrios Markou
Authorities also urge residents to follow disposal guidelines
Municipalities are pressing for more funding
and public cooperation to mitigate fire risks
With 46 dead yesterday afternoon and the toll expected to climb
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis declared a state of emergency
saying the forest fires 'can't be a coincidence'
He vowed that the arsonists would be found
Within hours police had arrested a suspect
'All regions of the country are declared in a state of emergency in order to mobilise all means and forces to face this disaster,' he said in a televised address to the nation
'We are living a national tragedy,' said Karamanlis
He called an extraordinary cabinet meeting after visiting villages that had been reduced to cinders in the southern Peloponnese
With at least two tourists among the dead - and hundreds more holiday-makers threatened - Karamanlis urged Greece's EU partners to despatch more water-dropping planes and helicopters
saying it was a crisis Greece could not handle alone
a day of 'national mourning' that would not be forgotten soon
'These are very difficult times for all of us,' said Karamanlis
whose government has faced criticism for its handling of an unrivalled spate of forest fires that has wrought destruction across Greece this summer
'I wish to express my deep grief over the lost lives
on many fronts and under particularly tough conditions.'
With new fires erupting almost hourly and authorities battling some 170 blazes from the Ionian Sea in the west
Ioannina in the north and the Peloponnese in the south
firefighting services have been stretched to the limit - despite the military being mobilised by the government
were also hampering efforts to extinguish the flames
forcing the evacuation of monks from a monastery and closing the national highway
a wall of flames stretched across the Peloponnese with witnesses describing harrowing scenes
Officials said the devastation was on a scale not seen in peacetime
Entire villages looked as though they had been vaporised
People who had tried to escape fires engulfing homesteads were found dead in their burnt-out cars
In one village near the Peloponnesian town of Zaharo
police discovered the bodies of a mother and her four children
In a single night everything we know has been destroyed,' Nikos Kakovessis
had been joined on the beaches of the peninsula by tourists forced to flee hotels and resorts at the peak of the holiday season
Many had fled the flames with nothing but the clothes they were wearing
With thousands expected to spend last night outside
nearby tavernas were providing tablecloths for evacuees to sleep on
Officials yesterday said they feared arsonists were behind the wildfires
At least 21 of the fires that we are fighting erupted after 9pm Friday
which points to the crime of arson,' said Yannis Stamoulis
by far the worst in a 24-hour period since June
was blamed on people refusing to leave their homes
'People are not evacuating when we ask them to because they are afraid of losing their possessions
Greece has seen more than 300 fires in the past three months
The ecological disaster has dented the popularity of the ruling Conservatives
who have called early elections to take place on 16 September
This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025
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The project will construct modern sewerage infrastructure and ensure safer effluent disposal in the Rafina-Pikermi and Spata-Artemida municipalities in Attica
not only for the protection of public health and the environment
but also to lift an EU-imposed penalty for Greece’s failure to comply with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
the Court of Justice of the European Union fined the country EUR 10 million and an additional EUR 3 640 000 for every six months’ delay in complying with Directive 91/271/EEC
when warning letters were sent and legal processes initiated
The agglomerations of Rafina and Artemida were required to have implemented drainage systems by 31 December 2000; the agglomerations of Pikermi and Spata by 31 December 2005
This investment will fund a 430 km-long network of sewage pipes
a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 135 000 population equivalent
and a 2.2 km-long pipe for releasing treated effluent into the sea
It also covers the construction of an administration building and an environmental awareness and information centre
The new plant will include primary treatment in sedimentation tanks
membrane bioreactors and processes to eliminate organic waste
as well as UV disinfection and chlorination
This will ensure less water is withdrawn from the water table
which will decrease salinization of underground reserves
will be channelled into the sea through the underwater pipeline
The sewage sludge will initially be treated to generate biogas
Other treatment processes will dry it for use as fuel in the cement industry
The project will protect public health and the environment against the negative effects of releasing untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater into the soil or ocean
The area has an important coastal ecosystem and sensitive water balance
to the benefit of locals and tourists alike
The environmental awareness and information centre
to form part of the treatment plant’s facilities
will be used for pilot programmes on reusing effluent
Information and training on environmental topics will also take place there
Total investment for the project “Collection
treatment of urban wastewater in Rafina-Pikermi and Spata-Artemida municipalities and reuse – disposal of treated effluents” is EUR 292 442 805
with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 176 406 552 through the “Transport Infrastructure
Environment and Sustainable Development ” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period
The investment falls under the priority “Conservation and Protection of the Environment - Promotion of effective use of resources”
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On many of Greece’s beaches where music blares out of big speakers at full blast
you might think you’d wandered into a daytime dance club if it weren’t for the rows of cheek-by-jowl sunloungers
The law stipulates that a business leasing beach space is required to leave 50 percent of the area unoccupied in order to allow access to those who do not wish to pay for special beach services
The business is also required to leave a 5-meter gap between its amenities and the sea
as well as maintain a distance of 100 meters from similar seaside ventures
Greek legislation does not allow for the placement of sound systems or music at volumes in excess of the 50-decibel mark
Of course that’s all a far cry from the reality at many of the country’s beaches
Kalamaki Beach on the Ionian island of Zakynthos
is not allowed to have more than 150 beach umbrellas and 300 sunloungers
although in practice there are currently 500 recliners spread across the beach
Similar failures to observe the law have become the rule along Greece’s coastline
During summer weekends it is estimated that some 120,000 Athenians visit beaches in the Municipality of Spata-Artemida
Out of the 46 seasonal businesses (including canteens and beach services) that operated in the area last year
only eight do not have a permit,” noted Spata-Artemida Mayor Dimitris Markou
who has gone some way toward restoring order in the area
just because a business has made the effort to get a permit to operate does not mean it will continue to obey the rules
“Municipal police officers are carrying out daily inspections and have already issued 25 500-euro fines,” Markou added
The most frequent transgressions are not maintaining the required distance from the sea
as well as failing to maintain a distance of 100 meters from the next beach business
It appears that the owners of beach businesses are will to risk being busted by inspectors due to the fact that they only have the summer season to maximize their profits; however
the Municipality of Spata-Artemida has upped its own game in a bid to collect more for its own coffers with certain changes
beach businesses that had signed contracts with us were obliged to pay the leasing fee in three installments
with the final payment made at the end of August
some left the final payment unpaid before changing their tax registration number and then going on to sign a new contract for the following year,” said Markou
the Ministry of Environment issued a comprehensive recommendation for the use of beaches that fall under a special protection regime
signed agreements with the entrepreneurs,” said Panayiota Theodorou
who is in charge of environmental planning at Archelon
the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece
The organization has sent a letter of protest
which has also been signed by other organizations
“I attribute this decision to fears of permit delays due to being short-staffed
while at the same time what is coming to the forefront is making sure that the municipalities receive their income,” she added
violations are rampant at several Greek beaches that are part of the Natura 2000 network – a European Union environmental initiative intended to ensure the survival of threatened species and habitats across all 28 member-states (Greece has an estimated 500 Natura 2000 beaches)
A case in point is the coastline of northern Crete
“About 9,000 sunloungers have been placed on the 10 km stretch of Hania Bay
while 8,000 beach recliners have been recorded along the shore of Rethymno Bay,” Theodorou added
There is a similar situation at Laganas Bay on Zakynthos
as well as Kyparissia Bay in the Peloponnese
a key nesting site of the loggerhead sea turtle
The public order ministry said Dimitris Papangelopoulos, who is responsible for prosecuting terrorism and organised crime, ordered the investigation to determine "whether the crimes of arsonists and of arson attacks on forests carried out in the country during the summer of 2007" could come under Greece's anti-terrorism law.
The investigation would also seek to identify those who were responsible, the statement said.
At least 63 people have died in the fires. A blaze broke out today on the fringes of Athens, burning down a slope of Mount Ymittos and threatening a suburb of the capital.
Four planes, a helicopter and 15 trucks with 45 firefighters attended the fire as it burned through shrubs toward the suburb of Papagou. A pall of smoke hung over central Athens, and the smell of burning permeated the air.
Firefighters and planes from across Europe, backed by soldiers, police, officials and hundreds of thousands of volunteers, joined the fight yesterday against forest fires that have caused death and destruction across Greece over 48 hours.
Italy, France, Germany, Norway and Spain despatched aircraft and commandos to a nation that by last night appeared increasingly unable to combat the fires.
With authorities trying to stop two world heritage sites - Olympia and the fifth century BC theatre of Epidavros - being burned on the Peloponnese, officials did not rule out that hundreds of people could also be missing, having become victims of disorganisation and bungled evacuation plans.
Since the first fires broke out on Friday, the hardest hit area has been the southern peninsula - a popular destination for British holidaymakers - where high temperatures and gale force winds have fanned the flames.
"The damage is terrible, without precedent. We are doing everything we possibly can to help people, to save lives," said the acting interior minister, Spyros Flogaitis.
Over the weekend, television channels depicted harrowing scenes of people burned alive in their cars as they belatedly tried to flee the flames. On Saturday, police said they found the bodies of a mother and her four children who were incinerated when their home near Zacharo in the Peloponnese was engulfed by flames.
Despite the mass evacuation of villages, towns, hotels and resorts - thousands of tourists have been forced to camp on beaches - officials said many of the elderly and infirm were refusing to leave their homes.
"There are death notices everywhere," one local resident said. "Everyone knows someone who has lost a person to the fires."
A senior official in Olympia had expressed concerns over whether the ancient monument, the site of the first Olympic games, would escape the flames. By last night it appeared that attempts to keep the fire at bay had been successful: the fires scorched the yard of the museum, housing a number of famous classical sculptures, such as Hermes by Praxiteles, but planes, helicopters and scores of firefighters halted the advance.
"With self-sacrifice, firefighters fought 'trench battles' to rescue these sensitive and important sites," the public order minister, Byron Polydoras, told reporters.
The foreign intervention came less than a day after the country's prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, declared a state of emergency and appealed to the European Union for help. With an estimated 170 fires on 42 fronts and new ones erupting every hour, he said the situation was simply too much for Greece to cope with alone.
Yesterday, the French leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, offered Mr Karamanlis further aid after it emerged that two French tourists were among the casualties. Greece's foreign minister, Dora Bakoyiannis, said she expected 31 aircraft from 12 countries to arrive today.
Despite the overseas assistance, authorities remained pessimistic that the fires, which had intensified as they raged through six pine forests, would be brought under control soon. "The winds have fallen and that is helpful but this is a situation that cannot be confronted easily," said Nikos Diamantis, a spokesman for the firefighting force.
By last night about 500 conscripts had joined locals, often armed only with buckets and hose pipes, in the west, north and south of the country, as the fires spread to the island of Evia, killing at least six people there.
The tardy intervention of the army added to widespread condemnation of the government's handling of the catastrophe. Many criticised Mr Karamanlis, who this month called a snap election for September 16, of failing to do enough to prevent the outbreak of some 3,000 forest fires that have destroyed large parts of Greece this summer.
The ruling New Democrats have also been denounced for undermining the firefighting force, reorganised by the former Socialist government ahead of the 2004 Athens Olympic games, by handing top jobs to inexperienced political appointees.
"This is nothing short of a national tragedy," said Giorgos Papandreou, Greece's main opposition leader, after visiting the Peloponnese. "The government has a lot to answer for."
Writing in the Sunday Vima, the columnist Rihardos Someritis said: "We had a beautiful country but we are increasingly losing it to fires, rubbish and the illegal buildings [built on land cleared by blazes]."
Yesterday, as fires continued to smoulder in the Hymettus range around Athens, the health ministry appealed to inhabitants to stay indoors and keep their windows shut because of the high density of ash in the air.
Wild fires across Greece are frequently blamed on arsonists working on behalf of developers intent on building on prime forest land. Mr Karamanlis said it was "too much of a coincidence" that so many of the blazes had erupted simultaneously and often in the dead of night. The government yesterday announced bounties of up to 1m (£680,000) for information that could lead to the arrest of arsonists.
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PORTLAND, Oregon, CMC – Barbadian jockey Rocco Bowen landed his second added-money race of the month when he captured the first leg of the US$ 4 300 McFadden Memorial Spring Claiming Series at Portland Meadows here Wednesday.
Going off as the 4-1 favourite aboard D Devil, Bowen produced an excellent gate-to-wire ride to carry the 10-year-old bay gelding to the wire by 3-1/2 lengths, in the five furlong trip.
He sparred with outsider Tw Dashboardlights for the lead during the quarter mile before emerging with the advantage nearing the quarter pole. Bowen then kept the gelding to task in the stretch to reach the finish unchallenged.
The victory was one of two on the day’s eight-race card for Bowen who also won the $3 500 race one with the favourite Artemida.
Going six furlongs, Bowen stalked early on before getting to the front in the stretch and carrying the three-year-old bay filly to the wire by 2-1/4 lengths.
He kept Artemida off the pace early on as Little MC staved off Aka Bones for the lead though the quarter mile completed in 23.55 seconds.
Bowen took the filly wide through the turn and then made his bid in the stretch, overhauling the leaders with a sixteenth to run, to reach the finish comfortably in a time of one minute, 15.68 seconds.
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This Schengen lounge is located near gate A25 and available to Star Alliance Gold members as well as Lufthansa or SWISS business class or connecting first class passengers. It is open daily from 4:30AM to 8:00PM seven days per week.
It’s very small. Half the area is taken up by the food and drink area while the other area is taken up by tables and chairs…
A breakfast buffet included pre-cooked omelets, chicken sausage, Greek custard pie, cheese pie, salami and similar meats, cheese, Greek yogurt, sliced fruit, breakfast breads, sliced watermelon, cereal, and toppings like walnuts, cranberries, and prunes.
The beverage selection includes a coffee machine (decent), beer, wine spirits, juices, water, and soft drinks. I also noticed a special table with Greek coffee that was nice and strong.
The seating area includes a couch spanning the length of the lounge with tables and chairs, an island with six seats, and a couple other small chairs. There’s really not a seating area. Instead, the lounge seems intended for food and drink.
but were so crowded I do not have any pictures
I’ll always stop by the Aegean Lounge for fresh juice
it less congested in the morning than the Aegean lounge
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Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home
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I agree that it’s never as packed as the A3 lounge
Not sure what I was thinking this morning…
“A breakfast buffet included pre-prepared omelets”
they included pre-cooked or prepared omelets…saying something was pre-prepared is a but redundant
Was just in this lounge a few weeks ago on our way back from Cyprus
We preferred the coffee in the Aegean lounge
but the food was better in the Lufthansa lounge
The Priority Pass lounge there in the A gates wasn’t the greatest
I enjoy the little omelets and sausages as preferred over the carb fest that was the Aegean lounge
In my experience the LH lounges are remarkably consistent around the world
I’m pretty sure there’s no restrooms inside (or I was given seriously duff info by the receptionist last month)
The afternoon food options are impressive for an LH J lounge
and the wide range of Greek wines also go down nicely
One of Lufthansa’s better outstation offerings
I found out after that I thought I was on the Senator side
I’ll have to return and update the post
and website in this browser for the next time I comment
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Two beaches in Greece are included in the list of Best Beach Awards 2015
compiled and announced by the Travel Channel
the world’s leading travel media brand
Red Beach in Santorini was named the Best Unusual Beach
while VICE (also known as Nissakia Surf Club) in Artemida — due east of Athens on the southern Evoikos Gulf — was named as the Best Beach Bar
In an article praising the two picturesque destinations
the famous Red beach is characterized as the “No
thanks to its striking crimson and black volcanic sands
VICE is dubbed “an epic beach bar situated on one of the most active shorelines in the country.”
The Travel Channel sifted through the sexiest beaches and island vacations to narrow down the nominees in 10 categories
Best Family Beach and the Best Beach You Haven’t Heard of – Yet
Each winner was chosen by an expert panel of advisors
including Beach Tomato co-founder Tom Marchant
Corinne McDermott of Have Baby Will Travel
and Travel Channel’s resident beach host Marianela Pereyra
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