Coast guard officers helped rescue 16 migrants from a sinking boat near the Dodecanese island of Kos yesterday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The small vessel had started taking on water near Kos and a coast guard patrol boat helped the eight men, three women and five children out of the sinking vessel. Another migrant had swum to safety on a nearby beach and was also rounded up. The migrants were taken to the island's medical center for checks. Meanwhile, four migrants were arrested on the northeastern Aegean island of Samos. The migrants told coast guard officers that they had rowed to Greece from Turkey in an inflatable dinghy.

A total of 29 political parties will stand in next month's general election. The Supreme Court prosecutor's office said yesterday that another 25 parties, in addition to the four that already have seats in Parliament, submitted their details by yesterday's deadline. The parties will have to submit their finalized candidate lists by Friday.

The Confederation of Greek Hunters issued a statement yesterday requesting that people stop hunting as wildfires continue to ravage the country.

An 80-year-old man was killed when he crashed his motorcycle into a pickup truck in Serres, northern Greece, police said yesterday. The truck driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.