Greece - ekathimerini.com (English)

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1. Council of Europe flags Greek prison conditions; Athens cites reform plan in response

   The Council of Europe’s anti-torture body has again urged Greece to tackle chronic prison overcrowding, poor detention conditions and staff shortages, warning that some inmates are being held in conditions that could amount to “inhuman and degrading treatment.”

2. Mitsotakis calls Greece’s Cyprus deployment ‘defensive and peaceful’

   Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday described Greece’s deployment to Cyprus amid escalating Middle East tensions as “defensive and peaceful,” with the sole purpose of preventing threatening actions against the Mediterranean island.

3. New digital tool promotes health equity

   The Health Ministry, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), unveiled “Quality for All,” a digital health platform integrating data from national health service units and supervised agencies.

4. Greek F-16s scramble after drone spotted near Lebanese airspace; airspace temporarily shut

   Two Greek F-16 fighter jets stationed in Cyprus took off Wednesday after a drone was spotted near Lebanese airspace around 9.30 a.m., potentially targeting the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base. It was not immediately clear whether the drone was intercepted or shot down.

5. Cyprus reports suspicious object near Lebanese airspace

   Cyprus said Wednesday a suspicious object has been detected near Lebanese airspace, prompting authorities to take “all appropriate measures.”

6. Appeals court reaffirms Golden Dawn as criminal organization

   An appeals court on Wednesday unanimously upheld a landmark ruling that the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn operated as a criminal organization, reaffirming a 2020 trial court decision.

7. Greek warships deploy off Cyprus in show of support amid regional tensions

   Two Greek warships arrived off Cyprus early Wednesday, completing what Athens described as a defensive deployment aimed at shielding the island from a potential Iranian strike and underscoring Greece’s solidarity with Nicosia.

8. Nuclear energy to take center stage at Posidonia

   The option of ships using nuclear power will be a key discussion point at this year’s Posidonia shipping fair, at one of the event’s seminars.

9. US authorizes departure of non-emergency personnel from Cyprus, raises travel advisory

   The US State Department has given its non-emergency personnel and their families in Cyprus permission to leave.

10. Appeals court to rule on Golden Dawn 5 Years after historic conviction

    Five years after a three-member court in Athens unanimously ruled that the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party operated as a criminal organization in a decision widely hailed as historic, a five-member appeals court is set to deliver its verdict Wednesday in a case with far-reaching criminal and political implications.