The Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of more than 50 boats that departed in recent weeks from Marseille, Barcelona and Syracuse, said in a statement posted overnight on X that Israeli forces had approached the convoy near the eastern Mediterranean as it sailed toward Gaza.

“Israeli military boats have illegally surrounded the flotilla in international waters and threatened kidnapping and violence,” the group said, adding that communications had been lost with 11 vessels.

According to the organization’s live tracking system, the flotilla was positioned off the coast of Greece near Crete when the incident occurred.

The group said military speedboats identifying themselves as Israeli forces approached the vessels, pointed lasers and semi-automatic weapons at passengers, and ordered participants to move to the front of the boats and kneel.

“Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as ‘Israel’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons,” the organization said, adding that communications were being jammed and that a distress signal had been issued.Reuters could not independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate public comment from Israeli authorities.

The flotilla is part of a continuing effort by international activists to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007 after Hamas took control of the enclave.

Organizers say the mission is intended to deliver solidarity and draw attention to humanitarian conditions in Gaza, while Israel has previously said such flotillas violate security restrictions designed to prevent weapons and materials from reaching Hamas.

In late 2025, a previous flotilla involving around 50 boats and several high-profile activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was intercepted by the Israeli navy.The organizers and Amnesty International said that boarding operation violated international law, while Israel detained and later deported those involved.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, after nearly two years of war, while aid access and maritime restrictions around Gaza remain major points of dispute.

Speaking alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a visit to Athens, Macron said Article 42.7 of the European Union treaty was explicit in obliging member states to assist one another in the event of armed aggression.

“On Article 42, paragraph seven, we know that for us, it is clear and there is no room for interpretation or ambiguity,” Macron told reporters at a joint news conference.The provision, often described as the EU’s equivalent of NATO’s collective defense principle, requires member states to provide aid and assistance to a fellow member subjected to armed attack on its territory.

Macron’s remarks come as EU leaders have asked officials to prepare a detailed blueprint clarifying how the clause would function operationally, reflecting a broader reassessment of Europe’s strategic autonomy and defense readiness.

The renewed focus follows mounting concern among European governments over Washington’s long-term commitment to NATO, particularly after repeated political debates in the United States over burden-sharing and military support for allies.

France has long argued for stronger independent European defense structures, with Macron repeatedly calling for greater strategic sovereignty and reduced reliance on U.S. military guarantees.Greece, which maintains one of the highest defense spending levels in the bloc relative to GDP, has supported efforts to deepen European security coordination, particularly amid ongoing regional tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

While Article 42.7 was invoked only once by France after the 2015 Paris attacks its practical implementation has remained largely undefined, prompting calls for clearer procedures on military, logistical, and political responses.

Officials say the new framework under discussion is intended to ensure that the clause can function credibly in future crises, especially as the EU faces simultaneous security pressures from Russia’s war in Ukraine and instability across the Middle East.

Macron’s comments in Athens are likely to reinforce ongoing debates within Europe over whether the bloc should move beyond economic integration toward a more explicit collective defense posture.

The fire department said a man in his 50s was found trapped under a car in Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, amid severe weather conditions. Emergency services reported nearly 500 calls across the greater Athens area, including more than 30 rescue operations.

Authorities issued emergency alerts and closed schools in Athens and other regions as the storm intensified. Ferry services, a key transport link for Greece’s islands, remained suspended in many areas due to rough seas.

The national weather service warned of continued severe conditions, forecasting intense rainfall, thunderstorms and possible hail across much of the country.

Localized flooding has already been reported in several areas.On Wednesday, flights to Crete were disrupted after an African dust storm reduced visibility, forcing some aircraft to reroute.

Officials said the storm system, which has affected large parts of the country for three days, is expected to ease by Friday.

The planned aid comes as households face mounting pressure from higher fuel and electricity prices driven by geopolitical tensions affecting global energy markets.

Earlier this month, the government introduced a three-month cap on profit margins for fuel retailers and a range of supermarket goods in an effort to curb profiteering and contain inflationary pressures.

The measures target both energy-linked products and essential consumer items, reflecting concerns that supply disruptions tied to the conflict could feed through into broader price increases.

Greece, like many energy-importing economies, remains exposed to volatility in international fuel markets.

The government’s intervention signals an effort to balance market stability with consumer protection as the conflict’s economic impact deepens.Further details of the aid package were not immediately disclosed.

Turkey and Greece agreed during a landmark visit by Erdogan on Thursday to establish a roadmap designed to usher in a new era of closer relations.

Speaking to reporters on his flight back from Greece, where he met Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and several ministers, Erdogan said the meetings were held in a “very positive” atmosphere.

“We are trying to expand, develop this cooperation not just to energy, but all areas including nuclear energy. For example, we may provide an opportunity to Greece from the nuclear power plant we will build in Sinop,” Erdogan said, without elaborating, according to his office.

He said Mitsotakis was “warm” to the idea.

Ankara and Athens have long been at loggerheads over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, flights over the Aegean Sea, and the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus.

The two countries came to the brink of war in the 1990s, and in recent years have repeatedly argued about such issues.

Asked about resolving outstanding maritime disputes with Greece, Erdogan said Turkey’s stance on protecting its rights in the region had not changed, but that a fair sharing of energy resources was possible.

“A comprehensive and fair sharing in the eastern Mediterranean is possible. So long as we build the basis to make this happen, form correct roadmaps, and don’t give provocations an opportunity,” he said, adding a regional conference of littoral states that Ankara is proposing would be a “correct step” in forming this basis.

In a landmark visit of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to Greece, the long-time sparring partners agreed to focus on pursuing good neighbourly relations, keep open channels of communication, boost trade volumes and work on issues which have kept them apart, notably in the Aegean Sea.

“There is no issue between us that is unsolvable. So long as we focus on the big picture and don’t end up being like those who cross the sea and drown in the river,” Erdogan said after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. The meeting went on longer than expected.

The NATO allies wanted to raise bilateral trade volume to $10 billion, while Erdogan said both countries could benefit from high-level meetings held annually.

“Geography and history has dictated that we live in the same neighbourhood.. But I feel a historical responsibility to utilise this opportunity to bring the two states side-by-side, just as our borders are,” Mitsotakis said.

More accustomed to verbal jousting in recent years, chilly relations between the two neighbours thawed markedly after Greece swiftly dispatched aid in the wake of a devastating earthquake in Turkey in February.

Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically-split Cyprus.

They came to the brink of war in the 1990s, and in recent years have argued over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, defence issues, migration and the acquisition of fighter jets, which interrupted cooperation talks.

But ‘earthquake diplomacy’ – similar to another thaw under similar circumstances in 1999 – has turned the tide, again.

Striking an upbeat tone, Erdogan earlier said the two countries should focus on the positives, and less on the negatives.

“It will be much more beneficial for the future if we look at things from a glass half-full perspective,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou earlier.

Greece got permission from the European Union to re-activate a seven-day tourist visa for Turkish visitors for 10 islands close to the Turkish coast.

Both countries want to show they are willing to mend ties.

Turkey has been seeking EU membership for more than two decades. Following a debt crisis that rocked the euro zone, Greece wants to regain its footing and appear as a pillar of stability in a changing geopolitical landscape due to the war in Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.

“There is no problem we cannot solve through dialogue on the basis of mutual goodwill,” Erdogan told Kathimerini newspaper in an interview, a day before the two countries’ fifth High-level Cooperation Council (HCC) in Athens.

The neighbours and NATO allies have been at odds for decades over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically split Cyprus. They reached the brink of war in the 1990s.

Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed in July to resume talks and confidence-building measures as they hailed a new, “positive climate” in ties after more than a year of tensions over energy resources and defence issues.

Erdogan, who is due to meet Mitsotakis on Thursday, said that Turkey was honestly trying to resolve its differences with Greece and that Greece had realised that Turkey would never reject an extended hand of friendship.

“I will tell him, Kyriakos, my friend, we don’t threaten you if you don’t threaten us,” Erdogan told Kathimerini, adding that Athens and Ankara could solve their problems without foreign intervention.

He said cooperation could be enhanced in sectors including the economy, transport, energy and migration, where Turkey needed the support of the European Union, and that the renewed electoral mandate both leaders received this year could help the two countries make constructive progress.

According to Pakistani media, which Directus cited: “The Greek embassy in Islamabad has thus far revoked the visas of hundreds of underprivileged Pakistanis. These Pakistanis spend 2 to 5 million rupees to obtain visas for Greece. A visa that is issued by Greece is revoked by the Greek Embassy. The innocent poor who pay money to first obtain a work permit are being treated very unfairly. And visas are revoked by the Greek embassy in Islamabad.

According to Urdu Media Greece, hundreds of Pakistani families have made calls and left messages after having their visa applications denied, wasting their money as well.

“We urge the governments of Pakistan and Greece to treat this matter seriously. Why do they misuse Pakistanis’ hard-earned money? Greece’s Urdu Media enquired.

There are hundreds more Pakistanis who enter the country and Europe illegally, but here is the tale of two who tried to enter Greece officially.

Husnain Shah, a Pakistani smuggler who has been in the business for more than ten years, disputes that he had a significant hand in the shipwreck off the Greek coast that claimed almost 300 Pakistani lives.

People visit our homes and ask us to put them in touch with someone who can take their brothers and sons abroad since there is so much unemployment here, he told the BBC.

Husnain estimates that during his years of operation, he has abducted thousands of people.

Because there was no other business, I started this. I don’t play a major part; the big and wealthy people in Libya are the ones who receive the majority of the funds—not even a tenth of it.

Many people in this country are considering moving abroad because even a modest wage will likely be higher than what they can make if they stay, given the fragile state of the economy, the nearly 40% inflation rate, and the falling value of the Pakistani rupee.

At the conclusion of the previous year, a poll indicated that 62% of boys and young men between the ages of 15 and 24 desired to leave. Some people may attempt to go lawfully, while others will seek out alternate unlawful methods.

European Union foreign ministers said on July 20 they were ready to re-engage with Turkey, but stopped short of offering Ankara a clear resumption of membership talks.

Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership for more than two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over the bloc’s concerns over the rule of law and human rights in the country.

The division of Cyprus between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, has also been an impediment.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, whose countries are both EU members, said they welcomed a Turkey-EU re-engagement but that it had to be “gradual”, and, if necessary, “reversible”.

“Those two words should guide us. We can be optimistic, but we are not naive,” Mitsotakis told reporters after meeting Christodoulides in Nicosia, Cyprus’s ethnically-split capital.

The two terms have been built into European terminology over Turkey for some years, reflecting in part the long and convulsed journey of the country in attempting to join the bloc.

Christodoulides said launching a positive agenda with Turkey also implied “positive moves” on Ankara’s part over Cyprus.

“It’s important that our EU partners are also taking the same view,” Christodoulides said.

Cyprus was divided after a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece. It is represented in the EU by an internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government.

On-off peace negotiations in the past focussed on uniting the island under a two-zone federal umbrella endorsed by the United Nations. In recent years the Turkish Cypriot side has advocated a two-state settlement, rejected by Greek Cypriots.

“Any partitionist thoughts of two states is completely off any agenda of discussion, and I want to be very clear on that,” Mitsotakis said.

As recently as last Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said a resumption of peace talks on Cyprus would be possible only if the Greek Cypriots accepted sovereign equality.

Athens (Reuters) – Greece and Turkey agreed on Wednesday to resume talks and confidence-building measures as they hailed a new “positive climate” in ties after more than a year of tensions between the historic foes.

The two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have been at odds for decades over a range of issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically split Cyprus.

Last year, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan halted bilateral talks in a dispute over airspace violations and after accusing Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of pressuring the United States to block the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

Relations improved when Greece became one of the first countries to send rescue workers to help pull survivors from the rubble after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey in February.

Erdogan and Mitsotakis, both recently re-elected, met on the sidelines of a NATO Summit in Vilnius on Wednesday in their first meeting since March last year.

“It is to the benefit of both countries that the positive climate formed in bilateral relations over recent months has continuity and consistency,” the two leaders’ offices said in identical but separate statements.

“The two sides agreed to build on the positive momentum and activate multiple channels of communication between the two countries in the coming period,” they said, adding that the two leaders look forward to “more frequent contact at all levels.”

They also agreed that the next meeting of a High-Level Cooperation Council, a mechanism the two countries set up in 2010 for their rapprochement, will be held in the northern Greek city of Thessalonki in the autumn.

“We are cautiously optimistic we can turn a new page,” Mitsotakis told reporters after the summit.