Cemetery

Police in Turkey have arrested four people in relation to the desecration of Greek community cemetery in Istanbul last week.

Last Friday morning, staff at Aghios Eleftherios Cemetery, which serves the community of Tatavla in the Kurtulus district, noticed that holes had been dug within a fenced-off area of the cemetery.

No damage had been done to graves or the cemetery chapel.

Tourism development may have overshadowed the archaeological wealth found on the peninsulas of Kassandra and Sithonia in Halkidiki, but thanks to it, one of the largest cemeteries in northern Greece has been uncovered. Over a thousand burials of different types and numerous findings have been unearthed in recent years on Sithonia's Agios Ioannis coast.

The cemetery contained about 425 burials in total, the rail company said in a statement

Maltese authorities have refused a planning application to turn a site adjacent to the Turkish military cemetery into a business complex, a victory for campaigners who have been trying to stop construction plans near the historic site in the Mediterranean island.

So far, a total of 139,710,707 cases of coronavirus have been registered. According to the Worldometers website, the number of active cases is close to 18,000,000.

Rome, Italy: cemeteries packed, protests of undertakers

People have started selling cemetery plots on the black market for prices as high as 2 million Turkish Liras ($264,000), as finding graves in Istanbul, a metropolis where 70,000 people die every year on average, has become increasingly difficult.

A man, who runs a company that takes care of and looks after tombs, is offering a virtual tour of cemeteries in the southern province of Antalya as people cannot go out because of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Once huge funerals these days are mostly attended only by a small circle of close family members and friends, who have to observe social distancing measures.

The funeral processions are now done in the shortest time possible, and in some countries, police monitor the burials to make sure everyone obeys the rules.

Health Minister Nelu Tataru said on Monday in Galati that precautions and social distancing must be further kept in place, because "we still have three weeks ahead" of an upward trend of the coronavirus pandemic statistics.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece will convene an emergency meeting on Monday to decide upon measures it will adopt to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Among the measures to be discussed will be the suspension of services. However, churches are expected to remain open, contrary to the situation in other countries.