Immerse yourself in traditional Greek culture with the sounds, sights and tastes of Greek Fest Orlando. Guests can enjoy the festivities free admission.

Renowned Greek musician and composer Mimis Plessas has died just a week before his 100th birthday.

Fires have broken on a Greek-flagged oil tanker previously attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week.

A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area.

A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea has come under repeated attack, leaving the vessel “not under command” and drifting ablaze in an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Preliminary results show Albania's governing Socialist Party candidate Vangjel Tavo has won the mayoral election in the southwestern town of Himara.

Pope Francis has voiced his hope that the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for countries at war to respect an ancient Greek tradition and establish a truce for the duration of the Games.

Turkey’s president has reaffirmed his commitment to a two-state peace deal for ethnically split Cyprus that Greek Cypriots have dismissed out-of-hand, again putting a damper on prospects for a quick resumption of talks to resolve the half-century-old conflict.

The United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies are criticizing Greece’s failure over the past year to shed light on one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea that left hundreds dead.

The remains of recently identified Greek soldiers who fought in Cyprus against invading Turkish troops nearly a half-century ago have been returned to their families.

A Greek-owned and Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier that came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels earlier this week had a cargo of grain bound for Iran.

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The flame that is to burn at the Paris Olympics has been kindled at the site of the ancient games in southern Greece.

In a meticulously choreographed ceremony on Tuesday, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics will be lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece.

Archaeologists excavating new sites in Pompeii have uncovered a sumptuous banquet hall decorated with intricately frescoed mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War.

Voters around the world who worry about growing threats to democratic freedoms should consider electing more women in countries’ national elections this year.

Hi friends! It’s Brenda, back for all the Central Florida Happenings.

A weekend of dancing, delicious food and delightful memories await you at this year’s Saint Katherine Greek Festival in Melbourne.

Longtime regional rivals Greece and Turkey have made a significant step in mending ties during a visit to Athens by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Greek food, music and fun are coming to the Orlando area.

Greece has become a late but enthusiastic convert to new technology as a way of displaying its famous archaeological monuments and deepening visitors' knowledge of ancient history.

One airline is betting that passengers will pay extra to sit away from babies and young children.

Nearly 100 Croatian soccer fans have appeared in an Athens court to face serious criminal charges that include murder and membership of a criminal organization, over their alleged involvement in deadly fan violence.

The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus have made a joint appeal for information that could lead to the buried remains of people who vanished amid violence and war decades ago, as more eyewitnesses die.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared a national day of mourning for citizens who died when a fishing trawler packed with migrants sank off the Greek coast.

There are still more questions than answers about what led up to one of the worst shipwrecks in recent Mediterranean history in which some 500 people are feared dead.

Nine survivors from a migrant boat that sank were arrested on suspicion of smuggling as hope faded for hundreds of missing passengers and attention turned to Greece’s failure to act before the ship capsized.

Hundreds of remnants of ancient Roman life — from dice to rain gutter decorations to burial offerings 3,000 years old — have long been hidden from public view.

Excavations in the ancient city of Paestum in southern Italy have unearthed seven terracotta bull heads and a figurine of the Greek god Eros riding a dolphin.

President Joe Biden — surrounded by Greek-American politicians and community leaders — marked Greek Independence Day at the White House on Wednesday.

Greek authorities say police are continuing searches in Athens and other parts of the country following the arrest of two suspects accused of planning an attack at Jewish center in a busy downtown area of the Greek capital.

Police in Greece say two men accused of planning an extremist attack on a Jewish restaurant in Athens and possibly other targets that would produce mass civilian casualties have been arrested.

A stationmaster accused of causing Greece’s deadliest train disaster has been charged with negligent homicide and jailed pending trial.

The Saint Katherine Greek Festival is returning to Brevard County this weekend for its 51st year with tasty Mediterranean dishes, one-of-a-kind dance performances and more.

A court on the Greek island of Lesbos has rejected charges against a group of aid workers and volunteers who participated in migrant rescue operations, ruling on procedural grounds to return the case to the prosecution for refiling.

A group of 24 Greek and foreign aid workers and volunteers who participated in migrant rescue operations on an eastern Greek island are on trial in a smuggling-related case widely criticized by human rights groups.

Greece is planning a major extension of a steel wall along its border with Turkey in 2023 in a move that is being applauded by residents in the border area as well as voters more broadly.

Greek food, music and fun are coming to Orlando.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a national debate meant to broaden end-of-life options.

A new report has found that clean energy now provides more employment than the fossil fuel industry, reflecting the shift that efforts to tackle climate change are having on the global jobs market.

Protesters angry over a building collapse in southwestern Iran that killed at least 33 people have shouted down an emissary sent by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says it has seized two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.

Antiquities authorities in Egypt say archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of a temple for the ancient Greek god Zeus in the Sinai Peninsula.

The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus have kicked off an initiative to give women an equal say in any renewed push to reunify the east Mediterranean island nation.

An SUV crashed Friday afternoon into the outdoor seating area of a popular Greek restaurant in Northwest Washington, D.

Fire service rescuers are expanding a search inside a burning ferry anchored off the Greek island of Corfu where 10 people remain missing.

Archaeologists in southern Italy say they have discovered the ruins of a painted brick wall and ancient warrior helmets at a site that might have been a forerunner of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena.

A censure motion brought by the main opposition party against the Greek government over its handling of a severe snowstorm last Monday has been rejected after a three-day debate.

Italian media say Nino Cerruti, the Italian fashion designer credited with revolutionizing menswear in the 1960s and who gave Giorgio Armani his first fashion break, has died.

Egypt’s foreign minister has rebuffed a Turkish push for a two-state peace deal on ethnically divided Cyprus.

The U.N. climate summit, known as COP26 this year, brings officials from almost 200 countries to Glasgow to haggle over the best measures to combat global warming.

British officials have identified a relative of the delta variant.

A celebration of Greek food and culture is making a return to Maitland this year after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted a lunch for the leaders of divided Cyprus in hopes of spurring a return to negotiations to reunite the Mediterranean island nation.

Health leaders and epidemiologists are starting to use names from the Greek alphabet to address different variants of the coronavirus.

A painting donated to Greece by Pablo Picasso will go back on display at the newly renovated National Gallery in Athens after its recovery nine years after it was stolen and the arrest of a 49-year-old construction worker as a suspect.

Ferry services to the Greek islands have been disrupted after a seamen’s union went ahead with a strike that a court had declared illegal.

Storms are given a name to help communication between forecasters and the overall public. During the season, forecasters could be tracking and supplying information on multiple storms. Naming them allows information to be streamlined to reduce confusion about which storm is being described.

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece returns to Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI – For tennis up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas, the draw at the Miami Open began to look a lot less daunting even before the tournament began. “It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” Tsitsipas said after his third-round victory Saturday. 2-seeded Tsitsipas is among those with the best chance to take advantage, and he looked the part against Damir Dzumhur, winning 6-1, 6-4. “I created a lot of opportunities with my serve — I wasn’t rushing at all, finding the right angles and executing it perfectly,” Tsitsipas said. In women's play, top-ranked Ash Barty and three-time champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to a round of 16 showdown.

(NOAA via AP)With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. The Greek alphabet had only been used twice in 2005 and nine times last year in a record-shattering hurricane season. AdMeanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is recalculating just what constitutes an average hurricane season. STARTING EARLIERMIT hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel said “this whole idea of hurricane season should be revisited." So a warming world means the new normal is busy hurricane seasons just like the last 30 years.

The Israel Antiquities Authority displays newly discovered Dead Sea Scroll fragments at the Dead Sea scrolls conservation lab in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Israeli archaeologists on Tuesday announced the discovery of dozens of new Dead Sea Scroll fragments bearing a biblical text found in a desert cave and believed hidden during a Jewish revolt against Rome nearly 1,900 years ago. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists on Tuesday announced the discovery of dozens of Dead Sea Scroll fragments bearing a biblical text found in a desert cave and believed hidden during a Jewish revolt against Rome nearly 1,900 years ago. The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts found in desert caves in the West Bank near Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s, date from the third century B.C. There are slight differences and some of those differences are important,” said Joe Uziel, head of the antiquities authority's Dead Sea Scrolls unit.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Black Greek organizations came into the spotlight after Kamala Harris became vice president. Harris graduated from Howard University, a historically Black college, where she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In 1930, the Black Greek organizations formed National Pan-Hellenic Council. Members of Black Greek organizations also emphasize education. Although life in a Black Greek organization can start in college, it does not have to end there.

Raab pledged support in helping to “break the logjam” that has blocked a peace deal for nearly a half-century, fueled tensions over offshore energy reserves and encumbered Turkey’s relationship with the European Union. Greek Cypriots strongly reject any deal that would legitimize the east Mediterranean island nation’s ethnic partition. AdOnly Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third where it keeps more than 35,000 troops. Although Cyprus is an EU member, only the Greek Cypriot southern part where the internationally recognized government is seated enjoys full membership benefits. The last push for a peace deal in July 2017 collapsed amid much acrimony.

Lute is meeting both leaders separately in order to prepare the ground for reunification talks. (Stavros Ioannides/Cyprus' Press and Information Office via AP)NICOSIA – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to meet next month with ethnically split Cyprus’ rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to gauge whether conditions are ripe to resume dormant peace talks, the Cypriot government spokesman said on Monday. Kyriakos Koushos didn’t provide a specific date for the informal February meeting that will also bring together top officials from Cyprus’ three "guarantors" — Greece, Turkey and Britain. Koushos was speaking after U.N. envoy Jane Holl Lute met with Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to prepare for the meeting that’s seen as the linchpin to restarting negotiations. Turkey’s research vessels — escorted by warships — continue to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Cyprus claims exclusive economic rights.

PARIS – An explosion at a Saudi cemetery where American and European officials were commemorating the end of World War I wounded three people Wednesday, according to official statements. A Saudi security officer was also lightly wounded, Saudi state media quoted a local official as saying. France has urged its citizens in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority countries to be “on maximum alert” amid the heightened tensions. Wednesday marked the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and is commemorated in several European countries. In 1916, during World War I, Ottoman troops surrendered to the local troops backed by the British in Jiddah, a Red Sea port city.

Police officers and rescue workers block the access to the scene after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot Saturday Oct.31, 2020 while he was closing his church in the city of Lyon, central France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)LYON – A Greek Orthodox priest was shot Saturday while he was closing his church in the French city of Lyon, and authorities locked down part of the city to hunt for the assailant, authorities said. “We don’t know at this stage the motive for this attack.”Antoine Callot, the pastor at another Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, identified the wounded priest as Nikolas Kakavelakis, a 45-year-old father of two. No one was guarding the church targeted Saturday in Lyon, or the church attacked in Nice on Thursday. The Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “We condemn the attack against an Orthodox priest of Greek origin near the Church of the Annunciation in Lyon, France.

Whether it’s in your latte or sitting out on your front porch, Monday’s the day to celebrate everyone’s favorite gourd. Oct. 26 marks National Pumpkin Day. The name comes from the Greek word “pepon,” which translates to “large melon.”Of course, pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes. [TRENDING: Vote for Trump or else | Woman on Delta flight punches attendant over mask | Disneyland blasts state’s guidance over closure]And while they’re fun to decorate and carve for Halloween, pumpkins are also packed with nutrients, like Vitamin C, making them the perfect treat for the fall season. If you were wondering, the Guinness World Record for the heaviest pumpkin is just over 2,600 pounds.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tropical Storm Epsilon formed Monday morning in the Atlantic Ocean, about 730 miles southeast of Bermuda. Epsilon, which could become a hurricane in the near future, has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, with higher gusts and is currently stationary, according to the National Hurricane Center. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and the tropical storm could near or reach hurricane strength on Wednesday, according to the latest advisory. As of now, computer models show the system staying away from Florida and heading to the Northeast United States or staying out to sea. Meet Tropical Storm Epsilon.

Another wave east of Bermuda has a chance to develop early next week as it gets pushed toward the Bahamas. Typically this time of year, the focus is on the Caribbean, as the Cabo Verde season -- storms rolling off of Africa -- slowly comes to a close. All major #hurricanes have formed in the central or western Caribbean. Large scale atmospheric conditions favor development in the Western Caribbean as we move into next week. Currently, there is not even a disturbance to pinpoint in that region, but given the conditions, thunderstorms appear likely in the Western Caribbean, and could eventually materialize into a tropical system.

In this undated photo made available Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, ancient Greek and Roman marble statues are seen prior to going on display in the newly refurbished Villa Caffarelli, one of the Capitoline Museums exhibition spaces overlooking the ancient Roman Forum, in Rome. One of the most important private collections of ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures is going on display Monday as part of the Eternal Citys 150th anniversary celebrations. (Fondazione Torlonia via AP)

In this undated photo made available Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, ancient Greek and Roman marble statues are seen prior to going on display in the newly refurbished Villa Caffarelli, one of the Capitoline Museums exhibition spaces overlooking the ancient Roman Forum, in Rome. One of the most important private collections of ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures is going on display Monday as part of the Eternal Citys 150th anniversary celebrations. (Fondazione Torlonia via AP)ROME – One of the most important private collections of ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures is going on display in Rome as part of the Eternal City’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The 90 works from the Torlonia Collection were opening Monday in the newly refurbished Villa Caffarelli, one of the Capitoline Museum’s exhibition spaces overlooking the ancient Roman Forum. The 620-piece Torlonia Collection is considered one of the greatest private collections of classical art, featuring marble busts, reliefs, sarcophagi and statues.

Turkish Cypriot leader and candidate Mustafa Akinci talks after casting his ballot at a polling station during the Turkish Cypriots election for a new leader in the Turkish occupied area in the north part of the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Nedim Enginsoy)NICOSIA – A leftist incumbent will take on a hard-line challenger in a runoff to decide who will lead Turkish Cypriots in overcoming deep political chasms with rival Greek Cypriots to end a nearly half-century of ethnic division in Cyprus and quell tensions over offshore energy reserves. “Despite this, the Turkish Cypriot people managed to show their will at the ballot box," Akinci said. The Famagusta suburb has remained off-limits and under Turkish military control since 1974 when its Greek Cypriot residents fled advancing Turkish troops. U.N. resolutions said any attempt to settle the suburb with anyone other than its Greek Cypriot residents would be “inadmissible."

Louisiana residents who are still recovering from the devastation of a powerful hurricane less than two months ago braced for another hit as Hurricane Delta steamed north through the Gulf on Thursday after swiping Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Associated Press reported. “They do not retire Greek alphabet storm names -- at least so far,” Gross said. The last time we went through all the letters of the alphabet and moved on to the Greek alphabet was 2005. In 2005, a record-breaking year of devastating hurricanes, we made it through six Greek letters. The Committee also agreed that it was not practical to retire into hurricane history a letter in the Greek alphabet.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Athens Marathon has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. It follows the legendary route purportedly run by the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. The classic marathon route has grown in popularity since the 1970s and the event now includes 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer races. The Greek track federation says it had considered holding only the marathon with fewer participants and compulsory COVID-19 tests for all runners but its proposal to Greek health authorities had not been answered. The federation says participants will be contacted and offered a refund or to transfer their participation to 2021.

When a hurricane season runs out of names in a particularly active season, the letters of the Greek Alphabet are used. Since the Greek Alphabet is the backup to the list of names every season, there could be a problem if a Greek Alphabet storm is worthy for retirement. Do Greek Alphabet Storms get retired? In 2006, following the first time the Greek Alphabet was required to complete a hurricane season, the WMO decided that it “wasn’t practical” to retire a Greek letter if it met the criteria for retirement because the use of the Greek Alphabet doesn’t occur frequently enough. If a Greek Alphabet storm is worthy for retirement, however the Greek letter would be included with the list of retired names with the year of occurrence, but that letter in the Greek Alphabet would still be used in the future.

This Aqua satellite image taken Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 and provided by NASA, shows subtropical storm Alpha in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean near Portugal's coast. The Atlantics record-breaking crazy hurricane season got a bizarre European remake Friday as forecasters ran out of traditional names and trotted out the Greek alphabet for subtropical storm Alpha. (NASA via AP)The Atlantic’s record-breaking “crazy” hurricane season got a bizarre European remake Friday as forecasters ran out of traditional names and trotted out the Greek alphabet for subtropical storm Alpha. The busy Atlantic is beta testing the Greek alphabet as Beta formed late Friday afternoon. With at least another month of the heart of the busiest part of hurricane season to go, one weather-watcher on Twitter talked of “Hurricane Pi on Thanksgiving.”

ORLANDO, Fla – Things have been crowded in the Atlantic lately and the storms currently spinning will soon have company. Two tropical waves, Invest 99L near Africa and Invest 90L in the Bay of Campeche, will be fighting for the last name of the 2020 hurricane season, Wilfred. An area of disturbed weather in the southern Gulf of Mexico is getting better organized and will likely get a name soon. This storm, likely getting the name Wilfred, will be stuck in between steering systems and may meander in the Gulf for a while. Tropical Depression 22 forms over the Gulf of Mexico (NHC)Tropical Depression 22:Tropical Depression 22 formed over the southwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Students at University of Central Florida will soon undergo random testing for COVID-19. Now UCF will undergo random testing - starting with 100 students in Greek life. While she supports random COVID-19 testing, she thinks students need more accountability. In a message sent out to students and staff, UCF said the random tests are required and those who refuse may be required to self-isolate for two weeks and may be subject to disciplinary action. UCF said the first group of students chosen for the COVID-19 testing will be notified Thursday by email.