'Hero plumber' has citizen award rescinded

The man once dubbed the country's "kindest plumber” has had his British Citizen Award rescinded following a BBC investigation.

James Anderson, from Burnley, was given the accolade in 2023 for his work providing boilers and plumbing services for free.

The BBC revealed on Thursday that Mr Anderson's firm, Depher, a social enterprise, faked stories of helping people as it raised millions in donations.

A spokeswoman from the British Citizen Awards said information which had come to light about Mr Anderson's actions did not "align with our values".

The BBC found Depher used vulnerable people's photos without consent and claimed Mr Anderson had prevented an elderly woman from killing herself, but in fact she had died years earlier.

Mr Anderson denied some of the BBC's allegations but admitted: "I've made mistakes."

Social media stories made him a viral sensation during the UK’s cost-of-living crisis and the company brought in at least £2m in donations, according to a BBC analysis of his company accounts.

Among the donors were, reportedly, celebrities such as the singer Lily Allen and actor Hugh Grant, who gave £75,000.

Greece Updates Rules to Accelerate Absorption of EU Funding

Greek Economy & Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said this week that rules would be revised to accelerate the absorption of EU funding.

The changes concern a bill covering the country’s 12.2-billion-euro Public Investment Development Program and aim to allow dozens of projects funded by national or EU resources to move forward.

Additionally, Hatzidakis told a press conference this week that changes include better scheduling of works, the timely securement of funding, and the further reduction of red tape.

For the first time, the ministry will be setting up a mechanism that will ensure the funded projects are managed effectively and maintained, and a separate project financing account to cover natural disasters.

Lesvos: The Cultural Centre of Kalloni was destroyed by fire – 6.5 thousand volumes of rare books destroyed by fire

Completely destroyed by a fire that broke out at midnight yesterday, a building of the early 20th century in the location “Chania” of Kalloni Lesvos, which primarily housed the activities of the Kalloni Cultural Centre “Arisvi Club”.

President of the Cultural Center of Kalloni “Club Arisvi” Aristovoulos Eleftheriou [said], “were ashes 6.5 thousand volumes of rare books, many of which were published since the early 1700s, thousands of manuscripts and papyri, with recorded history mainly of Kalloni, but also of Lesvos and modern Greece."

Beachgoers in Greece urged to snitch on firms that break sunbed rules

Greece is planning to use artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to target nuisance sun lounges on beaches - while also urging the public to inform on rental firms that break the rules.

With the tourist season approaching, the country’s government is to start monitoring the position of sunbeds, umbrellas and chairs on its pristine coastlines.

It comes after a law introducing stricter rules was passed on Wednesday amid growing concerns over overcrowding and the illegal use of public space on beaches.

The new system, which will be tested in early June, will monitor almost 8,000 beaches across Greece where businesses have been granted licences to use public sands.

The government hopes the new measures will also help it in the tendering of beaches to private companies, while protecting public access to free beaches.

Concessions to operate sun lounger businesses, and build constructions, have been banned on 198 beaches in Greece, both on the mainland and on the country’s islands. These include beaches in Mani, Karpathos, Syros, Lesvos and Milos.

In other protected areas, the law states that 85 per cent of beach space cannot now be occupied by sunbeds.

It also prescribes a minimum distance of four metres between sunbeds and the shoreline, to facilitate access to the sea for holidaymakers.

Beaches are public in the country, but in recent years residents have become increasingly irked by the growing number of businesses which have been granted licences to rent out sun loungers and umbrellas.