Parnitha

A veil of mystery continued on Monday to shroud the case of the beating and knife attack on two volunteers in the Parnitha forest area north of Athens after Friday midnight, seriously injuring one of them. 

Kathimerini understands that police are scanning the area where the volunteers were attacked by a group of eight people for drug plantations. 

Police in Athens are reportedly closing in on a gang of youths who allegedly attacked two volunteers participating in a forest cleanup on the Greek capital's Mount Parnitha over the weekend, leaving them in need of hospital care.

Olive trees in their hundreds and thousands stretch as far as the eye can see in the area between Mount Pateras - an extension of Parnitha - and Corinthia's Geraneia range in West Attica. Not many people know this, but the Greek capital's oldest living olive grove is in Megara and, more specifically, in Kapsalos.

Anti-soil erosion works are in full progress in areas affected by last summer's forest fires, including West Attica, Parnitha, Evros and the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy announced on Monday.

The Ministry of Culture is taking immediate measures to repair and support critical structural parts of the ancient Fyli Fortress on Mount Parnitha after the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) approved the architectural study for the restoration of the South Gate, the East Central Gate and two towers on either side.

Residents around Athens' mounts Parnitha and Penteli woke up on Tuesday morning to a blanket of snow, which has prompted authorities to close streets and avenues like Dionysou, Fylis and Parnithas leading to and from the mountains until they are clear and safe for driving. 

Heavy snowfall and ice prompted traffic police to close off a section of the road leading up to Mount Parnitha, north of Athens, on Tuesday afternoon.

Cars traveling on Parnitha Avenue will only be allowed as far as the cable car station, authorities said.

Crews are working to contain the inferno in Evros, in northeastern Greece, marking the 14th consecutive day of firefighting on Friday. During the night, they engaged in a battle to prevent the flames from encroaching upon the town of Soufli.

The fire in Evros, located in northeastern Greece, had consumed an area exceeding 82,600 hectares until August 28. This information is based on the latest high-resolution images obtained from the Sentinel-2 satellite and analyzed by the National Observatory of Forest Fires (NOFFi)'s burnt areas mapping service.

Firefighters worked for yet another night to extinguish the flare-ups in Evros, near the Turkish border. According to the Fire Brigade, their efforts to extinguish the flames are primarily focused on the areas of Lefkimmi, Kotronia, and Tris Vryses, which are experiencing the highest number of flare-ups. Simultaneously, there are also reports of flare-ups in the Kassiteri region.