Greece’s ruling Conservatives win vote but fall short of majority
Athens, GreeceReuters Greece’s ruling New Democracy party stormed to a crushing victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday but fell just short of the threshold needed to form a government on its own, making a runoff election in a month more likely. With most votes counted, conservative New Democracy took a commanding lead of 40.8 […]
Greek PM dashes hopes of swift return of Parthenon marbles
Athens, Greece Reuters Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday dismissed reports of an imminent repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures known in Britain as the Elgin marbles. Britain and Greece recently began fresh talks over a possible deal to end the long-running dispute. Greece has repeatedly asked the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old […]
Cyprus Church leader Archbishop Chrysostomos II laid to rest
Nicosia, Cyprus AP Chrysostomos II, the leader of Cyprus’ Orthodox Church, was laid to rest Saturday with a ceremony that reflected centuries of ecclesiastical tradition, eulogised as his church’s greatest reformer and an outspoken fighter for his people. The spiritual head of the world’s 300 million Orthodox, Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew, was dressed in resplendent Byzantine […]
In democracy’s birthplace, Pope warns of populist threats
Athens, GreeceAP Pope Francis warned Saturday that the “easy answers” of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good rather than narrow, nationalist interests. Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Francis used a speech to Greek political and cultural leaders to warn Europe at […]