Schools have been ordered to close and a state of emergency has been declared on the Greek island of Kefalonia after an earthquake damaged homes and injured at least seven people.

An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 5 has struck off the Greek island of Zakynthos, but no injuries or damage have been reported, authorities said today.

GREEK protesters clashed with police and set fire to cars and a hotel in central Athens yesterday as tens of thousands marched against austerity measures aimed at pulling the country out of a debt crisis.

TWO Irishmen have died tragically while abroad in separate incidents.

Firefighters are battling a series of forest blazes on three Greek islands and the mainland.

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

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

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.

Greek authorities battling more than 50 blazes warned of more fires today because of strong winds.

A magnitude-5.1 quake jolted the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos today.

Hundreds of tourists and residents have been evacuated as a forest fire swept through resorts in northern Greece, destroying homes and cars.

THE airline at the centre of a chaotic weekend at Cork and Shannon airports had just one aircraft to service its entire operation, it emerged yesterday.

FROM Japan to Jamaica, millions marked World Environment Day yesterday by planting trees or staging rallies as the UN urged better “green” city planning to cope with runaway urban growth.

CORK International Airport handled an extra 308,000 passengers last year, bringing to 2.18 million the number of people who passed through its terminal.

LAST month was a record June for Cork International Airport, with traffic up by 45,611 passengers, or 24%.

A Greek coastguard vessel has rescued 1,000 illegal immigrants who were adrift on a ship which suffered mechanical failure off an island in the Ionian Sea.