Haris Doukas

The Athens municipal authority has approved the construction license that gives the green light for work to begin on a new soccer stadium for the Greek capital's biggest club, Panathinaikos.

A bold yet simple proposal for radically improving the quality of life in downtown Athens has been on Athens Mayor Haris Doukas' desk for the past few days, awaiting his perusal. What it suggests, in short, is to partially rid central Syntagma Square from the bane of traffic.

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas, a candidate for the leadership of socialist PASOK, said individual members of leftist SYRIZA, including former PASOK officials "who haven't mocked or derided the party," would be welcomed into the party. "Otherwise, we will be stuck at about 13%," he said.

But, on the contrary, he strongly opposes an electoral coalition with main opposition SYRIZA.

A 60-year-old garbage truck driver tragically lost his life at the Fyli landfill in western Athens when, under unclear circumstances, he fell under the vehicle.

According to public broadcaster ERT, the man had finished his work at the Fyli landfill when the accident occurred. He was rushed to Thriasio Hospital but succumbed to his severe injuries.

PASOK MP Milena Apostolaki has withdrawn from the socialist party's leadership race, according to an announcement made late Wednesday.

Doukas criticizes Costas Bakoyannis and other government figures who have opposed his decision to run for PASOK leadership while serving as Athens’ mayor. He accuses Bakoyannis of being fixated on him, suggesting that Bakoyannis might desire authority over Athens.

Haris Doukas and the Deputy Mayor of Municipal Police and Public Spaces, Thomas Georgiadis, had a meeting today at the town hall with the President of GSEVEE, Giorgos Kavvathas, and the President of EEA, Yannis Hatzitheodosiou.

The discussion was initiated by party officials citing Article 38 of the party’s constitution, which outlines incompatibilities for single-person positions such as president and secretary for those holding salaried roles in the state or local government.

Haris Doukas reiterated on Thursday that he intends to remain Mayor of Athens if he is elected leader of socialist PASOK in an October contest.

"I have explained the dual role. It is a complementary role, these are communicating vessels even though it has never been implemented in Greece," Doukas told Skai television.

PASOK MP Nadia Giannakopoulou has announced her candidacy for the party leadership race.

In a statement on Wednesday, the 46-year-old lawyer said her goal is to bring about a "new change… with a different model of governance."