An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude struck in the Aegean Sea north of the Greek island of Evia on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake, which struck at 5:06 a.m. (0206 GMT), had its epicentre in the Aegean Sea about 40 km (25 miles) north of Evia, off the coast of central Greece.

Fuelled only by used cooking fat, eight teams completed a 2,500-mile car rally from London to Athens on Wednesday in a bid to promote awareness of cheap and environmentally-friendly bio-fuels.

The "Grease to Greece" race, the brainchild of 34-year-old Londoner Andy Pag, took the teams on a 10-day mission across Europe in which they begged oil to fuel their cars from restaurants, motorway cafes and fast-food joints along the way.
"There is no reason why Joe Public cannot do this, save themselves a bit of money and help the environment because they are not using fossil fuels," Pag said.

NAGESH KUMAR

Cyprus, facing its worst drought in a decade, will start importing water from Greece within the next two months, Agriculture Minister Michalis Polinikis said on Monday. Reservoirs are dangerously low and the crisis has forced emergency water rationing and sped up plans by Cyprus to desalinate more seawater. Its two desalination plants are already running at full capacity. "We are looking at many options to find conclusive solutions to this issue," Polinikis told reporters.

Droughts in Cyprus have forced government officials to ship in water from Greece to help ease the crisis. Minister signed a deal on Monday with shipping firm Ocean Tankers Holdings to transport drinking water to the island. Eight million cubic metres of water is set to be shipped to Cyprus by the end of June following a sustained period of drought on the island, which is a popular tourist destination. Last month, the government decided to impose water cuts for the first time in seven years.

EU To Give Greece 90 Mln Euros For Forest Fires BELGIUM: April 9, 2008 BRUSSELS - The European Union's executive arm on Tuesday proposed giving nearly 90 million euros ($142 million) in aid to help Greece cope with the damage from last year's forest fires. "I had the opportunity to see the horrific fire damage in Greece for myself, so I know the scale of the needs," EU Regional Aid Commissioner Danuta Huebner said in a statement. The fires caused major damage to basic infrastructure and the environment.