Left-wing politics

The government and the main opposition on Tuesday continued their clash over the education bill, which, notably, provides for the introduction of a police corps into universities.

Wednesday's final vote on the bill will coincide with a protest staged by teachers' associations of all education levels, as well as university students' and parents' associations.

Antonios Tzanakopoulos, brother of former SYRIZA minister Dimitris, is an associate professor at Oxford University. He recently posted a few photos on social media accompanied by a sarcastic comment: "Here, you can see the university police on patrol at Oxford. Oh, you can't see them? It's because they do not exist," he said.

Convicted terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas announced Friday he is starting a hunger strike.

The reason is his transfer from a rural prison into a regular one. The transfer to a rural prison was made possible by the previous leftist Syriza government.

As 2020 draws to a close, another Greek startup has been bought out, joining this year's long list. Adveos Microelectronic Systems, based in Aigio in the Peloponnese, has just been acquired by Chinese technology firm Beken Corporation for an amount said to reach $7.5 million (about 6.12 million euros).

The government dismissed claims on Wednesday by opposition SYRIZA that it was censoring the media that are critical of it and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

"The government does not interfere in the media or in the work of journalists. It fully respects their independence," government spokesman Stelios Petsas said in a statement.

A total of 33 security operations, including nine large scale and 24 medium scale, were carried out domestically and abroad, and 68 "terrorists were neutralized," the Defense Ministry said on Dec.13.

The fines imposed on nine women activists who were detained on November 25 for violating the public health protection measures by gathering in front of Parliament in Athens to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women have been erased, Deputy Citizens' Protection Minister Lefteris Oikonomou said on Friday.

Parliament's Ethics Committee has ruled in favor of lifting the immunity from prosecution of SYRIZA MP and former alternate health minister Pavlos Polakis, with a vote in a House plenary session expected on the issue, most likely next week.

After accusing the conservatives last week of disregarding recommendations from the expert committee advising the government on the pandemic for reasons of political expediency, the main SYRIZA opposition will this week intensify its attacks in a bid to deconstruct the administration's success story in the first phase of the health crisis, Kathimerini understands.

At least 641 PKK/KCK terror suspects have been nabbed during two-day operations across Turkey, the Interior Ministry announced on Nov. 28.

The suspects were detained in 42 provinces in operations conducted in coordination with the Chief Prosecutor's offices, the ministry said in a written statement.