Skepticism

A police patrol on Thursday stopped a car carrying four passengers who had sledge-hammers and gas masks in the trunk of the vehicle. The car was stopped on the northbound lane of the national highway from Athens to Thessaloniki, which is hosting the annual international fair starting this weekend.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras meets Friday in Thessaloniki with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, banking on the American official's endorsement of the Greek economy.

Ross is due to represent the United States at the annual Thessaloniki Trade Fair (TIF) which begins Saturday and where the US will be the honored country.

The government views the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) that begins this weekend as an opportunity to get the message out that it can now draft policy without the external constraints imposed by the country's bailout programs.

The Supreme Labor Council's (ASE) plenary approved on Friday the extension of the first four sector labor contracts.

Authorities are this week to continue knocking down homes that were destroyed in last month's Attica wildfires, as notifications start going out to owners of properties deemed to have been illegally built on forestland or coastlines ahead of demolitions slated to begin in the middle of September.

Greece is in pre-election mode. You can smell it in the air. The gears of the state's machinery, which have never been fast anyway, are grinding to a halt, along with the decision-making system.

It was only natural for a prime minister who likes to treat politics as an exercise in spin. Particularly in light of the devastating incompetence displayed by his leftist-led government and the state apparatus during the July wildfires, which Maximos Mansion tried to cover up with public relations stunts and staged interviews.

The mayor of Myconos, Constantinos Koukas, on Wednesday took legal action against former citizens' protection minister Nikos Toskas over a spike in crime on the popular holiday island. 

Vision is needed to tackle the increasing threat that fires pose for the world, the director of the Global Fire Observation Center has told Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

World-renowned pianist Fazıl Say has announced that he "extends his hand for dialogue and reconciliation" with Turkish officials who imposed "almost a ban" targeting him.