Author: Sidika Ayaz

Greece will do everything possible so that a tragedy like the one it is currently faced with will never happen again, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday following a head-on collision of two trains in central Greece that left behind 36 dead and dozens injured. “I can guarantee one thing: We will find out the causes of the tragedy and we will do everything possible to ensure that nothing of the sort ever happens again,” the Greek leader said on the site of the crash, according to a press statement. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou expressed her deep grief…

The Nordlotus sailed from Turkey’s Ceyhan oil export hub loaded with Azeri crude oil on Monday, the first since the earthquakes that hit the region on Feb. 6, ship-tracking data showed and a trading source said. The Alfa Baltica was also shown at a jetty at the Botas Ceyhan oil terminal on Monday. The tanker is also loading Azeri crude, a trade source said. The earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 and halted operations at Ceyhan, which receives crude supplies from northern Iraq and Azerbaijan. Loading of Azerbaijani oil at Ceyhan resumed on Sunday, a spokeswoman for BP said. The company declared force majeure on loadings…

Chinese President Xi Jinping has replied to a letter from Professor Stelios Virvidakis of the University of Athens and four other Greek scholars recently, extending congratulations over the founding of the Center of Chinese and Greek Ancient Civilizations. Hailing the long history of the Chinese civilization and profound influence of the ancient Greek civilization, Xi said in the letter that more than 2,000 years ago, the two civilizations shone brightly on the two ends of the Eurasian continent, jointly making a fundamental contribution to the evolution of human civilization. Now, it is of great historical and contemporary significance for the…

Indonesia plans to intensify talks with China and other Southeast Asian countries to finalize a code of conduct (COC) for the disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister said on Saturday, amid escalating tensions in the strategic waterway. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was speaking in Jakarta at the close of a meeting between foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the 10-member regional bloc chaired by Indonesia this year. “ASEAN’s outlook on the Indo-Pacific was central to the discussion,” she said. “We also discussed about the COC, the commitment of members to conclude the negotiation of the…

Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party tabled a censure motion against the government on Wednesday over allegations of surveillance of ministers, members of Parliament, generals, journalists and businessmen by the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP). Addressing Parliament, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the conservative government of extensive wiretapping wrongfully citing national security reasons. For several months, Greek media have reported that many people had been under surveillance by EYP in recent years. The independent Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE), which is responsible for privacy issues, has been investigating the issue. Mitsotakis…

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday called for a mechanism for the relocation of asylum seekers and urged better cooperation between the European Union (EU), Türkiye and his country in combating human trafficking. The handling of migration is an “ongoing wager” that demands European solidarity and preparedness, Mitsotakis said at an event organized by the Greek Migration and Asylum Ministry, the national news agency AMNA reported. “The handling of this problem can and must only be European,” he said. “Steps have been taken, but much more needs to be done. … In a period of international instability, immigration turns…

The United States, Britain and Australia have been pressing ahead with nuclear submarine cooperation despite being widely questioned, which creates nuclear proliferation risks and undermines the international non-proliferation system, the Chinese Embassy in Britain has said. In response to a question concerning the trilateral Australia-UK-U.S. (AUKUS) cooperation on nuclear submarines, the embassy said on Friday that such cooperation will exacerbate the resurgence of the Cold War mentality, trigger a new round of arms race, and further provoke regional security and military confrontation, seriously jeopardizing regional peace, stability and prosperity. The Asia-Pacific is now the most dynamic and fastest growing region…

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday said China is gravely concerned over and strongly disapproves the joint statement of the United States and the Philippines concerning the South China Sea. Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a relevant query. Wang said that on April 11, the Philippines and the U.S. held the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and issued a joint statement, which called on China to comply with the 2016 “Arbitral Award” on the South China Sea. The statement also mentioned that the two countries will support swift operationalization of the new sites for…

Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John has slammed the government’s nuclear submarine agreement. Earlier in March, under the so-called AUKUS trilateral security partnership, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak jointly announced Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines. Local media estimated that the deal will cost 268 billion to 368 billion Australian dollars (178 billion to 245 billion U.S. dollars) by mid-2050. Eight AUKUS-class submarines will be built in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, with the first to be completed by 2042. In a recent speech to the Parliament, Steele-John, a member of the…

Through win-win cooperation between the Chinese and Greek sides, Piraeus port has now taken a leading position in terms of container throughput and become the largest ferry port and the third largest cruise port in the European region, said Yu Zenggang, executive chairman of Piraeus Port Authority S.A.. ATHENS, April 21 (Xinhua) — Over 13 years of win-win cooperation between China’s COSCO Shipping and Greece’s largest port Piraeus have proven to be an exemplary case of common development, top managers and employees of the landmark investment project have said. In 2010, Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), a subsidiary of COSCO…