All articles tagged with #athens
As Europe swelters, Athens sees a rising sunhat trend among visitors and locals around landmarks like the Acropolis, with fedora, baseball cap, bucket and straw styles in higher demand. Vendors say the surge is driven by extreme heat, sun protection awareness, and social media fashion trends, highlighting how the heatwave is shaping tourism at Greece’s capital.
Two people died and hundreds were forced to flee as wildfires broke out near Athens, with firefighting efforts ongoing, while in Italy four Renaissance paintings were stolen overnight from a museum, with investigators suspecting a professional hit.
Forensic results to determine Elisabeth Ross’s cause of death in Athens are delayed by at least a month; the Afghan suspect Sharif Ahmadzai is charged with homicide with intent, with autopsy later listing asphyxiation as a probable cause, and the case could take up to 18 months to go to trial.
BBC reporter Ben Philip covers the investigation into the death of Scottish aid worker Lisa Ross, whose body was found in an abandoned Athens building. Afghan-born Sharif Ahmadzai is charged and remanded after allegedly moving the body; he denies homicide. The case has drawn local shock in Kypseli, highlighted by court appearances and ongoing leaks shaping coverage, while emphasizing Lisa Ross's refugee-support work and the broader refugee context in Greece.
A 38-year-old Scottish missionary, Elisabeth-Jane Ross (Lisa), was found dead in a suitcase in Athens' Kypseli district after going missing while volunteering with a refugee aid group. Afghan boxer Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, has been charged with murder and robbery and reportedly admitted to moving her body but denied killing her; he appeared in court. Ross’s friends and the City on a Hill Church remember her as a devoted missionary who served people around the world.
Alaina Hall’s aunt says Hall’s family never wanted her to marry Afghan migrant Sharif Ahmadzai, who is accused of murdering charity worker Elisabeth-Jane Ross in Athens and stuffing her body in a suitcase; the couple—who met on the Greek island of Lesvos in 2016 and wed in 2023 after Ahmadzai’s conversion to Christianity—reportedly have a child, as Greek authorities investigate whether a confrontation tied to a possible mugging or assault led to Ross’s death.
The 26-year-old Afghan-born boxer Sharif Ahmadzai has been arrested in Greece over the death of Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross, whose body was found in a suitcase in an Athens building. He traveled to Greece as a refugee, reportedly met Ross through a charity he helped run, and police say he used her bank cards; authorities have located him near the scene and fast-tracked toxicology tests as he awaits a court appearance in Athens.
Firefighters near Athens battled a wildfire using water-dropping planes after a helicopter collision, with authorities deploying airborne resources to help contain the flames.
Two firefighting helicopters collided while battling wildfires near Athens, killing a Greek and a Danish crew member, as Greece endures extreme winds and shifting fronts; France says the Bordeaux blaze is contained and Spain remains with pockets of outbreaks though improving, while EU-wide fires have burned hundreds of thousands of hectares this year.
The body of 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane Ross, a British charity worker with ties to Greece, was found in a suitcase in a derelict lot in Kypseli, central Athens. Police say she likely died several days before discovery, with no visible injuries; investigators are reviewing CCTV footage and digital footprints, including the victim’s still-active phone, as they search for clues and potential suspects. Over 60 officers are on the case, but no suspect has been identified yet.
Two American visitors were stabbed in a random attack on a pedestrian street near the Acropolis Museum in Athens; a 60-year-old Greek man was detained at the scene, the victims (a 53-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman) suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and police say the motive is unknown as investigators pursue charges; the Acropolis and nearby museum remained open.
A man stabbed two Greek American tourists near the Acropolis Museum in Athens; the attacker was detained and the victims were taken to the hospital by ambulance. Police said the suspect appeared to have psychological problems. Violent attacks are rare in Greece, and this incident comes after another shooting in central Athens earlier this year.
In Athens, restorers inserted two marble blocks into the Parthenon’s western end, making the façade look whole for the first time in about 220 years. The EU-funded restoration, ongoing since 1975, aims to repair war, weather and looting damage to the 25‑century‑old temple, which drew millions of visitors last year.
Ryanair passengers bound for London Luton were left behind in Athens as passport-control queues and extra border checks caused delays, with the flight departing about an hour late after missing passengers had to be rebooked; Ryanair cited border-control delays, while Athens airports noted high passenger volumes and new processing requirements tied to non-Schengen travel, underscoring broader delays linked to the EU’s Entry/Exit System.
Greek police arrested an 89-year-old man after a double shooting in Athens left five injured, first at a social security office in Kerameikos and then at a courthouse in Ambelokipi; he fled with a shotgun and was later detained in Patras with a loaded .38 revolver, with motive not yet known.