Νέα στοιχεία έδωσε στη δημοσιότητα ο Παγκόσμιος Οργανισμός Υγείας για την εξέλιξη της επιδημίας Έμπολα στη Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία του Κονγκό. Όπως ανέφερε, με βάση στοιχεία από τις υγειονομικές αρχές της αφρικανικής χώρας, ο απολογισμός είναι 506 νεκροί. Ειδικότερα, σύμφωνα με έκθεση του ΠΟΥ με ημερομηνία 4 Ιουλίου, έχουν καταγραφεί 506 θάνατοι και 1.561 επιβεβαιωμένα κρούσματα στη ΛΔ Κονγκό, ενώ ο αριθμός των νεκρών στη γειτονική Ουγκάντα παραμένει σε μόλις δύο επί συνόλου 20 επιβεβαιωμένων κρουσμάτων. Η 17η επιδημία Έμπολα στη ΛΔ Κονγκό, που κηρύχθηκε επίσημα στις 15 Μαΐου, προκαλείται από το στέλεχος Bundibugyo για το οποίο δεν υπάρχει ούτε εμβόλιο ούτε θεραπεία. Ο Έμπολα, ο οποίος προκαλεί αιμορραγικό πυρετό, έχει σκοτώσει περισσότερους από 15.000 ανθρώπους στην Αφρική τα τελευταία 50 χρόνια. Η πιο θανατηφόρα επιδημία στη ΛΔ Κονγκό είχε ως αποτέλεσμα σχεδόν 2.300 θανάτους επί συνόλου 3.500 καταγεγραμμένων κρουσμάτων την περίοδο 2018-2020. Πηγές: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ-AFP www.ertnews.gr

«Το πρώτο νέο τρένο από τα 25 που θα παραλάβουμε συνολικά έφτασε ήδη στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Πρόκειται για σύγχρονα υβριδικά τρένα νέας γενιάς, τα οποία θα ενισχύσουν τα δρομολόγια στον βασικό άξονα Αθήνα – Θεσσαλονίκη», αναφέρει σε ανάρτησή του ο Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης για την παραλαβή του πρώτου από τα 25 νέα τρένα, που θα ενισχύσουν τον ελληνικό σιδηρόδρομο. Στη συνέχεια, ο πρωθυπουργός διευκρίνισε ότι πρόκειται «για το πρώτο απτό αποτέλεσμα της συμφωνίας Ελλάδας – Ιταλίας για σημαντικές νέες επενδύσεις στον ελληνικό σιδηρόδρομο». «Τα νέα τρένα είναι εξοπλισμένα με τα πιο σύγχρονα συστήματα διαχείρισης κυκλοφορίας με σκοπό να ενισχύσουν ακόμα περισσότερο την ασφάλεια των μετακινήσεων. Ο στόχος μας είναι απλός, ένας σιδηρόδρομος, τον οποίο οι πολίτες θα εμπιστεύονται ξανά. Και συνεχίζουμε να εργαζόμαστε για αυτό» πρόσθεσε. @kyriakosmitsotakis_ Το πρώτο νέο τρένο, από τα 25 που θα παραλάβουμε συνολικά, έφτασε ήδη στη Θεσσαλονίκη. ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος Kyriakos Mitsotakis www.ertnews.gr

Flight delays in Greece’s airports trouble passengers and airlines again in summer 2026, in the peak of the tourists season. The Eurocontrol shows a 63% increase in compare to last year, while the Hellenic Air Transport Authority says the average wait 2.26 minutes. Extraordinary meeting of parties involved on Monday afternoon to deal with the […] The post Flight delays in Greece’s airports trouble passengers and airlines appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Three wildfires fronts have been raging on the island of Crete on Monday in the regions of Ierapetra, Viannos and Malevizi. One fire broke out near the Bramiana Dam in Ierapetra early on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile the fire is on decline and there is no longer a large active front, however, resurgences that occur in […] The post Wildfires rage on the island of Crete appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

At NATO’s summit in Turkey, leaders will consider Europe’s defense commitments, Ukraine aid, US force plans, and production needs. Credit: NATO, Flickr, CC BY NC ND 2.0 NATO leaders will gather in Turkey on the 7th and 8th of July for a summit expected to focus on Europe’s growing defense responsibilities, continued military support for Ukraine, and the alliance’s effort to turn higher spending into real battlefield capabilities. According to diplomatic sources, the talks will center on the implementation of NATO’s new defense spending targets, the gradual adjustment of the US military presence in Europe, and the need to strengthen the alliance’s defense industrial base. The meeting comes one year after the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, where allies agreed to raise defense and security-related investment by 2035. In Ankara, the emphasis is expected to move from political commitments to delivery, including ammunition production, air defense, readiness, interoperability, and faster procurement. NATO Summit banners are displayed outside a venue in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of the alliance’s July 7–8 leaders’ meeting. Credit: Georgi Licovski/EPA/AMNA. Europe under pressure to meet NATO’s 5% target The main political issue will be the implementation of NATO’s new 5 percent benchmark. Under the agreement reached last year, allies committed to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on core military needs and another 1.5 percent on defense-related investments, including resilience, infrastructure, cyber capabilities, innovation, and the defense industry. NATO wants the summit to project unity and momentum. Several allies have already raised defense spending significantly, but the pace remains uneven. Greece is among the countries that already meet the new target, according to diplomatic sources. Poland, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic states also fall into that group. Other allies, however, have not yet presented credible plans to reach the benchmark on time. US force plans put Europe’s role in focus The debate over spending connects directly to a larger shift in NATO. Washington wants European allies and Canada to carry more of the conventional defense burden in Europe, while keeping the US commitment to Article 5, NATO’s collective defense clause, intact. Diplomatic sources described talks on the future US military presence in Europe as constructive. Changes are expected to unfold gradually, since European allies and Canada can replace some US capabilities faster than others. Leaders in Ankara will not focus on troop numbers or technical military details. Those discussions will continue at the operational level. The summit will instead set the political direction for a more balanced distribution of responsibility across the alliance. That balance has become one of NATO’s most critical internal issues. The alliance wants Europe to become stronger without creating doubt about the US security guarantee that remains central to NATO deterrence. Ukraine aid to remain central to NATO’s Turkey summit Military support for Ukraine will also be high on the agenda. According to the draft declaration approved by the permanent representatives of NATO’s 32 member states in Brussels, leaders will commit seventy billion euros ($79.9 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2026 and pledge to maintain support at least at the same level in 2027. That would bring total military assistance for Kyiv to about 140 billion euros ($159.8 billion) over two years, covering equipment, training, and other military support. Some major contributors had pushed for national quotas to make burden-sharing clearer, according to diplomatic sources. The proposal did not secure the consensus required within NATO. The overall package includes sixty billion euros ($68.5 billion) already committed by the European Union for military assistance in 2026 and 2027 through a new ninety billion euro ($102.8 billion) loan to Ukraine. That leaves NATO allies with about eighty billion euros ($91.3 billion) in additional commitments over the same period. Part of that amount will cover purchases of specialized US weapons systems, mainly air defense, through the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). The mechanism allows allies to buy American-made systems for Ukraine, including equipment that only the United States can provide quickly and at scale. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker has signaled that substantial announcements on Ukraine support are likely in Ankara. He has also argued that Europe must carry more of the burden because the war is taking place on European soil, while making it clear that Washington’s commitment remains intact. Allies also hope the summit will send a clear message to Moscow that the war must come to an end. NATO pushes for faster defense production Defense production will form another major pillar of the summit. The NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum will take place on the sidelines, bringing together officials, defense executives, and experts to discuss production capacity, faster procurement, and stronger cooperation between governments and industry. For NATO, the industrial challenge has become urgent. Higher budgets will not strengthen deterrence unless they produce weapons, ammunition, air defense systems, and deployable capabilities at the speed required by the current security environment. Ammunition and air defense remain among the top priorities, according to officials. The alliance also hopes to reduce procurement delays and expand joint purchasing where possible. Innovation will likewise feature in discussions. Drones, surveillance systems, cyber tools, and advanced command-and-control capabilities now shape NATO planning as much as traditional platforms. Military officials increasingly argue that speed matters as much as scale. NATO’s Turkey summit to send concise political message The final declaration from Ankara will likely be brief, following the model of the Hague summit. The text will reaffirm NATO’s commitment to collective defense under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. It will also highlight fairer burden-sharing, stronger European and Canadian responsibility, continued support for Ukraine, and the need to convert defense spending into operational strength.

Syntagma Square, Greek Parliament, Athens. Credit: Tomas Wolf / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 DE In the 1990s, the Greek government introduced a series of subsidies for certain categories of public sector employees that, by most standards, seemed excessive or even absurd. When the Greek Socialist Party (PASOK), led by Andreas Papandreou, won the national election on October 10, 1993, it marked the third time since 1981 that Papandreou had been elected to lead the country. He defeated New Democracy leader Konstantinos Mitsotakis, who had served as prime minister from April 1990 to October 1993. The PASOK leader brought major changes to Greece’s fiscal policies. In sharp contrast to Mitsotakis’ more conservative approach, he increased public spending, raised pensions and public sector salaries, and expanded the power of labor unions. However, these policies led to rising inflation, which the government attempted to counter by further increasing public sector wages and pensions. Some of these increases came in the form of what are now remembered as the infamous PASOK-era subsidies—many of which are viewed as irrational or excessive by today’s standards. Pressure from unions, combined with the government’s willingness to appease politically aligned labor groups, led to the creation of numerous questionable subsidies. Still, it’s worth noting that certain targeted subsidies have long been used as a way to boost employee income without raising official salaries. Since pensions are calculated based on base salary alone—not total monthly income—this approach allowed employees to earn more during their careers without significantly increasing the state’s long-term pension obligations. Ten Greek government subsidies that seem unreal today Some government subsidies once granted to public sector employees in Greece sound almost fictional now. In some cases, these allowances amounted to up to 40 percent of an employee’s monthly salary. While certain subsidies—like those for heavy or unsanitary labor—were reasonable and continue to exist today for specific roles, others defied common sense, at least to anyone outside of the public sector. Below are ten of the most eyebrow-raising examples, most of which were introduced prior to the Greek financial crisis. Timeliness subsidy – This one is the most infamous of all. Introduced in the 1990s by PASOK, this bonus rewarded employees simply for arriving to work on time. It started with 1,790 employees of the ETHEL (pollution-free bus company), who received the equivalent of €310 ($360) per month. Later, a similar €120 ($140) monthly bonus was extended to all public sector employees. Fax handling subsidy – A whopping €870 ($1,020) per month was paid to 657 employees of the Public Power Corporation (DEI) for handling fax machines—technology already considered mundane even at the time. Handwashing subsidy – Precisely 1,987 employees of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE, now Hellenic Train) were granted €420  ($492) per month for keeping their hands clean while on duty. Envelope carrier subsidy – A €290 ($340) monthly allowance was given to 6,800 clerks in ministries and public agencies for carrying paperwork between offices. Cafeteria use subsidy – ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) employees received €120 ($140) per month to use the on-site cafeteria—essentially a dining bonus. Propeller subsidy – A mysterious allowance of €840 ($985) per month was paid to 653 employees of the Port Authority, supposedly due to their proximity to ship propellers. As any Greek Shipping Minister might say, “All ships have one!” Public bus delivery and pickup subsidy – Around 1,100 employees of the Ministry of Transport received €450 ($528) per month for the state’s routine delivery and reception of new public buses. Antenna subsidy – A hefty €1,120 ($1,313) per month went to 329 drivers of the traditional yellow trolleybuses in Athens, who occasionally had to reconnect the antenna to overhead wires when it became detached. Car warm-up subsidy – Around 420 employees of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) received €690 ($808) per month to warm up company cars before heading out for fieldwork. Efficient case processing subsidy – Ministry of Justice employees were granted €595 ($698) per month as an incentive to process cases more efficiently. One might assume that’s already part of the job description. Rampant inflation, easy bank loans reshape economy Beyond the substantial subsidies provided by the Greek government—which boosted the spending power of public sector employees—the banking market experienced significant liberalization. Banks began handing out loans and credit cards with minimal guarantees, while interest rates soared above 20 percent. Cold calls offering loans and credit cards became common. Greeks, who had previously been unfamiliar with the use of plastic money, were captivated by the tempting offers of instant funds repayable over two or three years. This created an illusion of affluence among Greek citizens that defined the mid-1990s and beyond. The absurdity of the banks’ loan policies at the time is evident in flyers advertising loans of 1,000,000 drachmas (a little over €3,000 or around $3,500) for a brief vacation in Paris or New York. The term “holiday loans” became a catchphrase, symbolizing Greeks’ consumption folly—a habit that would ultimately destroy households and businesses a decade later. With inflation running rampant, this false sense of wealth also reached Greek farmers, who received European Union subsidies that encouraged declining productivity, often spending the funds on luxury cars instead. Meanwhile, manufacturing continued to lose ground to the service sector, especially tourism, which was promoted as Greece’s new “heavy industry.” Thousands of households, fueled by this euphoria, mortgaged their future incomes for decades without anticipating the looming crisis. It all came to an end by 2011, when the economic crisis hit hard. Greece entered a period of austerity and had to borrow from the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund to repay nearly two decades of debt incurred by frivolous spending that created a false sense of prosperity. Yet during those years of subsidies and loans, all of this seemed insignificant. Greek citizens were swept up in a whirlwind of joy and optimism for the new millennium. All they needed was a loan to go on vacation and to pack their brand-name bags so they could fly off to a fantasy land of white and blue. It was a short trip but one they would remember forever—as social media can attest.

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