Greece Lifts COVID Curbs for Travelers Ahead of Key Summer Season

The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
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Greece Lifts COVID Curbs for Travelers Ahead of Key Summer Season

The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)

Greece lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for foreign and domestic flights, its civil aviation authority said, ahead of the summer tourism season that officials hope will see revenues bouncing back from the pandemic slump.

To fly in or out of the country, travellers were previously required to show either a vaccination certificate, a certificate saying they had recovered from coronavirus or a negative test.

From May 1, passengers and crew will need only to wear a face mask, the civil aviation authority said.

The summer tourism season typically begins after the Greek Orthodox Easter, which was on April 24. Greece is expecting high numbers of visitors this year, with officials predicting revenues reaching 80% of 2019 levels. That was a record year before the pandemic brought travel to a halt.

With infections waning, restaurants and retail shops returned to 100% capacity on Sunday, allowing customers in without proof of vaccination but with a mask.

Greece has reported 3,323,922 cases so far and 29,153 deaths from COVID.



Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Iran's police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"The police commander... was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff," the police said, AFP reported.

"Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi's death depends on the medical examiner's final report.

The police said the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

"The behaviour of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority," the statement added.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi "was killed under torture in the detention center".

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.