Exhausted Greek firefighters battled around the clock for the fourth day to try and contain massive blazes north of Athens today.

A partial drop in gale-force winds early today offered hard-pressed Greek firefighters a brief respite from the wildfires which have raged for two days north of Athens.

Dozens of wildfires broke out across Greece, torching olive groves, cutting off villages and sending residents fleeing as one of the largest blazes swept perilously close to the capital's northern suburbs.

Nato and Russia have agreed to resume military ties in their first high-level meeting since Russia’s war with Georgia disrupted their relations 10 months ago.

The Greek government has sacked three Justice Ministry staff after the escape of two robbers from a high-security prison in Athens by helicopter - for the second time in less than three years.

Gunmen linked to Greece’s most militant guerrillas shot and seriously wounded a policeman in Athens yesterday, weeks after the killing of a teenager by police prompted nation wide rioting.

Riot police clashed with demonstrators outside parliament today as a general strike paralysed Greece, shutting down schools, hospitals and international flights and raising pressure on a fragile government reeling from four days of riots.

Street violence eased early today after masked youths and looters rampaged through Greek cities for four days in an explosion of rage triggered by the police shooting of a teenager.

Riot police fought running battles with mourners after the funeral today of the Greek teenager whose shooting by officers set off waves of rioting across the country.

Greece braced itself for more violence today as it prepared for the funeral of the youth whose shooting by police sparked the worst riots in decades.

Hundreds of youths smashed, burned and looted their way through Greek cities in a third day of mayhem after the shooting of a teenager by police sparked the worst riots in decades.

Police fired tear gas at rioting youths smashing up shops today in the third day of rioting sparked by their shooting dead an Athens teenager.

Seismologists warned today that a strong aftershock was expected in south-western Greece after yesterday’s powerful earthquake, which killed two people and injured nearly 150.

At least two people died and 90 others were injured when a strong earthquake struck southwestern Greece today.

American film director Jules Dassin, whose Greek wife Melina Mercouri starred in his hit movie 'Never On Sunday' and six more of his films, has died in Athens at 96.

Cyprus’ new president pledged to open new crossing points on the divided island and to work towards demilitarising it under a possible reunification deal.

A new, smaller Greek Cabinet will be sworn in today, giving conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis a streamlined governing team for his party’s second term.

Fresh off its re-election in the smouldering aftermath of deadly forest fires, Greece’s conservative prime minister Costas Karamanlis unveiled a streamlined cabinet peppered with a few new faces.

Greece’s conservative prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, was today expected to announce the names of the Cabinet ministers who will constitute his incoming government, two days after his re-election.

Greece’s conservative prime minister has won re-election with a diminished majority in parliament after a financial scandal and devastating forest fires that killed more than 65 people last month.

Conservative prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, declared victory in Greece's parliamentary election tonight, although official results showed he would have a slimmer majority in parliament.

GREECE’S governing conservatives appeared headed for election victory last night, exit polls showed, despite widespread anger over devastating forest fires that killed more than 65 people last month.

Forest fires continued to burn in parts of southern Greece while the other main fronts of a series of massive fires have been extinguished, Greece’s fire service said today.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso toured fire damaged areas in southern Greece by helicopter today, and promised aid to relieve areas where 64 people died and an estimated 190,000 hectares (469,000 acres) of forest and farmland were destroyed.

Promises of aid poured in from Greece and abroad as firefighters managed to douse most of the massive fires that ravaged the Greek countryside for a week and killed 64 people.

All major blazes in Greece were under control today, and firefighters were working to extinguish smaller fires in the southern part of the country.

FIREFIGHTERS battled the country’s last big blaze in southern Greece yesterday after managing to bring under control hundreds of others that for one week ravaged large parts of the country and killed at least 64 people.

Firefighters battled the country’s last major blaze in southern Greece today, after managing to bring under control hundreds of others that for one week ravaged large parts of the country and killed at least 64 people.

Greece’s fire department said all major blazes were “generally receding,” but authorities remained on high alert for possible rekindling of the massive fires that have killed at least 64 people before a new heat wave forecast for the weekend.

Foreign firefighters and aircraft joined the battle today against blazes in southern Greece that have killed 64 people.

Fires tore through parched forests and swallowed villages across Greece, bearing down on communities near Ancient Olympia in the south today. At least 49 people were dead.

Forest fires that have claimed at least 40 lives raged uncontrolled across vast areas of southern Greece today as a new blaze threatened buildings on the fringes of Athens.

The death toll from forest fires that have raged uncontrolled across vast swathes of southern Greece rose to 37 people, the fire department said today.

A Greek privacy watchdog today fined mobile-phone operator Vodafone £51m (€76.1m) over a wiretapping scandal that involved the illegal monitoring of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

A Greek privacy watchdog today met to consider fining mobile-phone operator Vodafone over an illegal phone-tapping operation that targeted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Asia will drive a massive online expansion by the end of the decade, helped by computer sharing and emerging mobile phone technology, the United Nation’s top Internet official has predicted.

Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged Cyprus to support Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union during a visit to Athens marked by violent protests.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged Cyprus to support Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union during a visit to Athens marked by violent protests.

Olympic chief Jacques Rogge’s Olympic venue tour roadshow rolled on today with a visit to the main press centre, with the IOC boss declaring the press have never had it so good.

MILLIONS of Greeks around the world, from New York to Melbourne, erupted in joyful celebration after Greece beat hosts Portugal in the Euro 2004 final on Sunday.