Capitals

Officers of police's DIAS motorcycle-riding unit found two kilos and 210 grams of cocaine inside a vehicle parked in Athens' southern district of Glyfada on Friday.

The drugs were divided in four packages, police said.

The car had been reported stolen and had no license plates.

The investigation has been handed over to the Attica Security's Anti-Drugs Squad. 

Ranging from the changes being planned for Panepistimiou Street to the recent revamp of Omonia Square, my discussion with Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis was focused on his plans for the "Grand Walk," as he's dubbed an ambitious overhaul of the city center. The capital's new mayor, elected in May 2019, also responded to criticism over last week's unveiling of the new fountain in Omonia.

The United States embassy in Athens has issued a health alert for its citizens with details on international flights and ferry travel amid measures imposed in Greece to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Here is some of the key information included in the embassy statement:

Direct flights between the United States and Greece are scheduled to resume in early July.

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis apologized for the crowds that gathered for the unveiling of the new fountain at Omonia Square last week. He admitted that, despite the best of intentions, the event in the middle of the coronavirus crisis, at a time when the state is trying to drive home the continued need to maintain social distancing (including with fines), was a mistake.

Greece reopened the Acropolis, museums and other major tourist attractions as the coronavirus lockdown eased in bright sunshine in Athens on Monday.

Quarantine restrictions are gradually being lifted - access to beaches was allowed on Saturday amid a heatwave and churches welcomed worshippers on Sunday.

One in four stores in Athens recorded a decline in turnover of more than 50% in the first week after the lockdown compared to the same week last year, while a total of 82.8% of stores reported worse turnover compared to a year earlier, according to a survey of 204 stores by the Athens Traders Association, most of which are in the center of Athens.

French group Leroy Merlin's new store was completed by the Aktor construction company at 60 Kifissou Avenue in Kolonos, west of the city center of Athens, within a period of just six months.
The €15 million project concerns a building of 12,000 square meters on the plot where the construction of the Academy Gardens mall was previously planned.

Startup company Kenotom is one of the success stories that stood out at the inaugural Greek-German Innovation Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in southern Athens a few months ago.

Greece's death toll from Covid-19 stood at 159 on Friday morning from 156 on Thursday evening after three patients died in intensive care in Athens in less than 24 hours.

Dozens of people cautiously gathered at downtown Omonia on Thursday night for the unveiling of its new fountain by Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, who launched a revamp of the cheerless square shortly after taking over at the municipal authority last year.