Summers in southeastern Europe are growing longer and more oppressive with each passing year. In cities, coastal areas, and rural and forested regions alike, heat lingers further into the calendar and reshapes the rhythms of everyday life. This summer is not expected to be any different. Scientific models for the region indicate a trend toward sustained above-normal temperatures, driven by ocean warming and global climate mechanisms such as El Nino, which may be amplifying the worldwide thermal anomaly.

Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has launched his new party under the name Greek Left Coalition — ELAS — with opinion polls already placing the fledgling movement in a dead heat with the socialist PASOK party for second place in Greek politics.

The U.S. State Department called Alexandros Giotopoulos "a convicted murderer and terrorist" and expressed solidarity with victims' families after the Greek appeals court released the 82-year-old November 17 leader on medical grounds — a decision that has now drawn condemnation from Washington, Ankara and prominent Greek political figures within days of his release.