Dimitris Koutsoumbas

The leaders of the five parties contesting the June 25 election after making it into Parliament in the May 21 ballot will be locking horns in a televised debate, it was announced on Tuesday.

The debate will be aired by state broadcaster ERT on June 15, the Interparty Committee, which met at the Interior Ministry in Athens on Tuesday morning, decided.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis resumed his pre-election campaign tour on Tuesday, after testing negative for Covid. Mitsotakis posted a photo on his personal Instagram account with the negative test result, calling it "The good news of the day."

He had tested positive for the virus on Friday and had to cancel several events, including a planned trip to Mount Athos.

A caretaker government led by a judge and with non-politicians at the crucial posts will be sworn in Thursday.

The secretary-general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, hailed his party's strong showing in the elections, especially in the urban centers and working-class neighborhoods as a promising message for the party in view of the second ballots.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is on the island of Tinos with his family, wished Happy Easter to Orthodox Greeks around the world in a post on the social media. Mitsotakis will be attending services on the island during the holiday.

Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras was spending Easter with his family in Corfu, where he participated in the annual ritual of pot smashing.

The Athens metro stops "Syntagma" and "Panepistimio" were shut down at 10:30 on Sunday for a rally taking place at Syntagma Square over the deadly train collision accident at Tempe.

The rally is being held downtown as of 12:00 noon, and metro trains will be passing through the two stations mentioned above without stopping.

By George Gilson

A massive number of mourners gathered outside of Athens Cathedral today to bid farewell to the beloved composer Mikis Theodorakis, who died at age 96 and left a deep imprint on the Greek soul and national consciousness, at the funeral.

The remains of Mikis Theodorakis will be lie in state during a three-day popular pilgrimage in the Cathedral of Athens, from next Tuesday until Thursday.

According to information at the popular pilgrimage, all the necessary health safety measures will be observed.

So far, however, the place where the leading Greek composer will be buried has not been announced.

The great composer conveyed his wish via a letter to the leader of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the most popular political leader in Greece (46 pct), despite a slight decline in his popularity, while the majority (57 pct) of people want the government to complete its term, according to a nationwide poll conducted by Prorata and published on Wednesday.