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Israel returns 22 artifacts as Greece pushes to bring antiquities home

ATHENS, Greece | Israel on Tuesday returned 22 ancient artifacts that had been illegally removed from Greece, as Athens steps up an international repatriation campaign ultimately aimed at securing the return of sculptures taken from the Acropolis. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni received the objects from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Amir Ganor, director of its […]

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Rubio refuses to comment on Guilfoyle allegations

ATHENS, Greece | U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday flatly refused to comment on a new report alleging that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before taking up her post. Rubio told reporters that he would not discuss the allegations contained in a Wall Street Journal […]

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For everything from troubled hearts to lost keys, Greeks bake cakes for a wish-granting saint

ILION, Greece | For the careless and despairing alike, there’s a special day on the Orthodox Christian calendar to provide relief — with the help of some orange-flavored cake. Thousands of pilgrims gathered late Wednesday and Thursday at the Church of St. Fanourios, 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Athens, with their baked offerings. They […]

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Wildfire near Athens leaves rescuers scrambling to reunite hundreds of animals

MEGARA, Greece | Sasa, an alert and floppy-eared mixed-breed puppy, did not return home when the remaining containment lines were lifted Wednesday in the wake of a wildfire that swept across mountains and coastal areas near Athens. The pup was one of hundreds of pets and wild animals rescued by volunteers this week during the […]

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Water-dropping planes battle Athens wildfire as England records driest-ever July

ATHENS, Greece | A prolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall led to the driest July in England and Wales in nearly two centuries of record-keeping, according to provisional statistics, the U.K.’s weather service said Monday . All of Wales and more than half of England are officially in drought, the Met Office said. The […]