News archive of March 2018

Athens issued a stern message to Ankara on Saturday, stressing that the Imia islets are Greek and there is no question about their sovereignty.

"The legal status of Imia is firmly established," the Greek Foreign Ministry said, adding that "Greek sovereignty over Imia is a given and beyond doubt."

A model presents a creation by Vassilios Kostetsos, during a fashion show where the Greek designer presented his Spring Summer 2019 Haute Couture "Narcissus," at the entrance square of the ancient Herod Atticus Theater, in Athens, Saturday. [Yorgos Karahalis/AP]

Following the progress achieved in United Nations-mediated talks last week in Vienna on the "Macedonia" name issue, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his counterpart from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, are to take stock before further negotiations after Greek Easter.

Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou has criticized a decision by the Central Archaeological Council (KAS), the main guardian of Greece's cultural heritage, to turn down a request by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to shoot at the Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounio next month.

The volume of a loan which caters to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey has been raised, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on March 31.   

Turkey's president has recited an Islamic prayer in the Hagia Sophia, a historic Istanbul landmark that has become a symbol of interfaith and diplomatic tensions.

Police in Thessaloniki on Saturday were investigating claims that a 58-year-old man had been holding two of his cousins hostage for eight months and forcing them to give him money.

Water supply problems persisted in Thessaloniki on Saturday despite progress by technicians of the Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewage Company (EYATH) in mending a rupture to a central water main serving the northern port city.

Four suspected members of a robbery ring believed to have used stolen cars to drive through store fronts before robbing valuables were arrested by police in Patra, western Greece, on Saturday.

A 50-year-old police officer in Thessaloniki is believed to belong to a criminal ring that has swindled significant sums out of people trying to sell cars online.

The officer and another suspected ring member, a 43-year-old man, were arrested on Saturday on multiple fraud charges.