News archive of January 2019

Bank stocks on Wednesday built on Tuesday's momentum to jump more than 5 percent on a day with a more respectable turnover at the local stock market. This was the fifth straight day of advance for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, a record unseen in the last eight months.

Greek authorities have broken a drugs ring importing narcotics into the country as dehydrated 'superfood' berries implanted with cocaine, police said on Wednesday.

Police in Athens said they had confiscated 36 kg (79 lb) of acai berries, which could have as much as 18 kg (39 lb) of cocaine extracted from them in a rehydration process.

A state hospital doctor in Thessaloniki who was arrested on Monday for receiving a bribe from a patient to move her up on a surgery waiting list was released on Wednesday on a 10,000 euro bail.

Dozens of people lost their lives in road accidents around the country during the holiday season, according to data released by the Greek Traffic Police.

More specifically, 407 road accidents, leading to 35 deaths, were registered from December 21 until January 8.

In the corresponding period the year before, 36 people died in 407 road accidents.

Unemployment in the eurozone unexpectedly fell in November to its lowest rate in more than 10 years, official estimates released on Wednesday showed.

The EU statistics office Eurostat said unemployment in the 19-country currency bloc dropped to 7.9 percent in November, the lowest level since October 2008, and below economists' forecasts of an 8.1 percent rate.

Workathlon is organizing its second annual Interactive Hospitality Talent Fairs in four cities across Greece, starting on January 17 in Thessaloniki.

The northern port city will be followed on January 22 by Iraklio, Crete, on February 7 by Rhodes and on February 14 by Athens.

Turkey plans to start drilling for hydrocarbons around Cyprus, the country's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a briefing of a Turkish parliamentary committee on Wednesday, according to the Independent Balkan News Agency (IBNA).

The importance of Romania and Poland continuing their dialogue based on the Strategic Partnership was a central subject of the talks during this Wednesday meeting at the Victoria Palace of Government between Premier Viorica Dancila and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.

Turkey aims to ensure a healthy, balanced and sustainable economic growth, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has vowed.

Municipal authorities in Istanbul have given the go-ahead for the construction of the first Orthodox church in the city since 1923, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Wednesday.