Athens’ northern suburbs have been blanketed with snow and cars are moving with the help of chains, just two days after unseasonably hot weather. Winter has been unusually late in coming to Greece this year, and temperatures in Athens were a warm 22 degrees Celsius (72 F) as late as Thursday afternoon. They have now [...]

Greek PM George Papandreou pledged on Friday to build a long-delayed mosque in Athens for Muslim residents, noting that failure to provide such a facility for over two decades was a ‘disgrace.’ Papandreou added that a temporary official facility for Muslim services would be provided until the completion of a proper mosque, which he said [...]

A general strike was announced for the 15th of December by Greece’s largest labor union, the GSSE Union. The unemployment rate rose to 12% in July.  The government expects that the employment rate will worsen to 14.5% next year as the economy suffers its third consecutive year of recession.  The strike is a sign of protest to usterity measures [...]

Athens public transport employees will be staging strikes on Sunday and Monday in protest of the government’s changes in public transport and labour relations. Work halts on Sunday will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This coincides with hours that shops will remain open ahead of Christmas. On Monday, public transport will reach a standstill [...]

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Friday spoke out strongly against Germany’s idea of sanctions against serial budget sinners, saying it would trigger a referendum in the country. “I have told (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel and other EU politicians that if this is the case then I have to ask the Greek people to decide [...]

One person was killed and two others were seriously injured on Thursday when the train they were travelling on through central Greece derailed, reports said. Rescue crews rushed to the tiny mountain town of Ahladokamo to free the seven people aboard the train travelling from the town of Corinth to the city of Tripoli in [...]

Bar, club and restaurant owners staged a demonstration outside the Health Ministry on Wednesday.  They were in protest about the universal ban on smoking in indoor spaces including bar and dining areas. The protestors repeated their federation’s position that smoking should be allowed in public places where the public’s attendance was entirely optional and voluntary and [...]

Yesterday, December 8th, marked the 44th anniversary of one of the worst maritime accidents in Greece,  widely known as “Falkonera Shipwreck”.   217 people drowned. The ferryboat “Heraklion” sailed from Souda Bay, Crete to the port of Piraeus with a crew of 73 and 191 passengers on board at 8:00 pm on Dec. 7, 1966.  Gale force [...]