Vassilis Kikilias

Prison guards on Friday warned of extended action unless their union is granted a meeting with recently appointed Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias to voice its concerns about working conditions and plans to build maximum-security cells at Domokos Prison in central Greece.

 On tour of Lesvos center, minister tells commissioner gov’t needs more support

Greece needs more funding from the European Union to deal with the increased flow of undocumented immigrants in the eastern Aegean, Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in an interview with Sunday’s Kathimerini.

According to the minister, there has been an 800 percent increase in the number of irregular migrants reaching Greece via boat from Turkey over the last two years.

Police were Thursday trying to close in on the six or seven people that they suspect were working with Nikos Maziotis, the leader of the Revolutionary Struggle urban guerrilla group, who was arrested following a shootout in central Athens on Wednesday.

The arrest of one of Greece’s most wanted men in central Athens on Wednesday was not a chance event according to Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias.

More that 5 billion euros are played a year in illegal bets in Greece, the general secretary for transparency, Giorgos Sourlas, told newly appointed Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias during a meeting in Athens on Tuesday.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet at the Presidential Palace in central Athens shortly after 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, following a reshuffle announced by the coalition government on Monday which saw several key ministers, including for Finance, being replaced.

The ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Ieronymos.