Agios Eleftherios

The Athens municipal authority will be opening up air-conditioned spaces, providing medical advice and support, and increasing fire patrols in the capital's big parks and woods as a new heatwave grips the country, pushing temperatures on Tuesday to the 40-Celsius mark.

Police on the island of Spetses, in southern Greece, is investigating the deaths of four stray cats in the area of Agios Eleftherios on Saturday.

As the Avgi storm brings a cold front and heavy rainfall throughout Attica, Athens authorities have been placed on high alert to deal with emergencies.

Specifically, homeless shelters throughout the capital are expecting increased traffic through to the 31st.

The operational plan of the Hellenic Police (ELAS) was finalized at the weekend for the security measures on Monday, the day of the funeral of the former king Constantine. 

Police officers of all specialties were already on duty on Sunday in the center of the capital as the first representatives of royal families arrived in Athens to attend the Monday service. 

Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos will also represent the government at the funeral of Greece's former King Constantine II, it was announced Friday.

This follows an earlier announcement which declared that the government would only be represented by Culture Minister Lina Mednoni.

The funeral service for Greece's former King Constantine will be held at 12 noon on Monday at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens while his body will lie in the adjacent chapel of Agios Eleftherios from 6. a.m. to 10 a.m and will be open to members of the public to pay their respects.

The body of the former King will then be transferred to the royal tombs in Tatoi.

The mayor of the northern Athens suburb of Maroussi, Giorgos Patoulis, has accused Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou of "lies and inaccuracy" after she accused the municipality of not taking the necessary preventive measures before last week's floods.

The Greek National Meteorological Services (EMY) has issued an extraordinary bulletin for a new heatwave over the next days. The reports warns that the temperature will gradually rise, peaking at 40-41 on Thursday, July 12.

The fifth Open Walk Athens (OWA), an initiative by the urban group atenistas, is focused on lesser known parts of Athens. This time, the focus is on Byzantine Athens, with free admission to a number of Byzantine monuments from 11.20 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.