Elefsina

Greetings! So, these past few days I read in Proto Thema and on protothema.gr the excellent commemorative piece by Panos Loukakos, marking 50 years of New Democracy, which is being celebrated today. The highly engaging novel-like text on the 50 years of New Democracy naturally focuses on its founder, Konstantinos Karamanlis, and the chosen title is a quote from him: “Am I the right-winger?

The trip from central Athens to Elefsina and the West Attica town's Old Olive Mill takes me through a hot, "post-industrial world in transition and looming uncertainty," just as the note on the exhibition I'm heading to promises. The show is titled "Elefsina Mon Amour: In Search of the Third Paradise," and it is the headline visual arts event of the 2023 Cultural Capital of Europe.

Theodoros Pangalos, a former foreign minister with Socialist PASOK in the 1990s, died on Wednesday, aged 84. The news was announced by his family on his Twitter account. 

"Our beloved Theodoros Pangalos died today peacefully at home with his family and close associates by his side. Have a good journey our beloved. We will always remember you with love," the tweet said. 

A man runs up Philopappou Hill under a cloudy sky with the city of Athens visible in the background on Tuesday. Apart from the greater Athens area, the other regional units under strict lockdown are Viotia, Rodopi, Kozani and the islands of Kalymnos and Lesvos.

Authorities have extended a hard lockdown on the western Athens municipalities of Elefsina and Aspropyrgos until Wednesday, January 6, at 6 a.m., Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias told a press briefing on Tuesday, due to their heavy epidemiological burden.

Just a few days after the partial easing of restrictive measures to contain coronavirus cases, the pandemic has surged again in Western Attica, prompting immediate emergency action, with Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias announcing a ban on movement from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Parents and even more so grandparents of students of Drapetsona's Second Primary School - at the junction of Georgiou Afara and Eleftherios Venizos Streets - may not be aware of methanethiol (methyl-merkaptani in Greek) but they can certainly recognise the odour in the air that they breathe.

The government is trying hard to revive two companies which are important for the local economy and the country's armed forces, Hellenic Vehicle Industry and Elefsis Shipyards.

An Athens prosecutor has brought charges against Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou and another nine officials in connection with the flash floods in Mandra, western Attica, in November 2017 which resulted in the deaths of 25 people and the destruction of hundreds of properties.

The reasons for the divestment of Munich-based Bosch Siemens Hausgerate (BSH) from Greece, with the cancellation of a multi-million-euro project and the approaching closure of its plant in Rendi, southern Athens, are not only related to the financial crisis and the adverse business climate in the country, but also due to local reactions to its investment.