Athens

Greece has agreed to repay its debt to the International Monetary Fund by April 9, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said after a meeting with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

There was speculation ahead of the visit that Athens might fail to meet the 460-million-euro ($501-million) IMF installment if forced to choose between the IMF and paying government workers.    

An incendiary device exploded outside the Athens offices of software giant Microsoft early on Monday.

Police said the device was made from two cooking gas canisters. The blast, which was not immediately claimed, caused damage to the building?s entrance. Nobody was injured.

By Anna Yukhananov

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Sunday that Greece «intends to meet all obligations to all its creditors, ad infinitum,» seeking to quell default fears ahead of a big loan payment Athens owes the IMF later this week.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis confirmed to International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde on Sunday that Athens will meet the 450-million-euro debt repayment to the Fund on April 9.

The Atheist Union of Greece have called for the abolition of the transport of the Holy Light from Jerusalem to Athens. The light flown to Greece comes from the Holy Fire that miraculously appears every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Sunday. The miracle of the light delights believers and non-believers alike.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

By Stathis Kousounis

Bookings for the upcoming Orthodox Easter weekend are showing a mixed picture, with numbers differing from one destination to another.

Greek pillow fighting enthusiasts gathered at Klafthmonos Square, Athens, and Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki, braving the cloudy weather to take part in a huge pillow fight against violence and abuse of women and children on the occasion of International Pillow Fight Day 2015, with pillow fights taking place around the world.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had telephone contact with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades late on Saturday. Government sources state that the two men discussed the latest political and economic developments.

The Cypriot President is set to visit Athens on April 17 to brief Athens on the planned talks he is having with U.N. Special Adviser on the Cyprus issue Espen Eide.

As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepared for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow on April 8-9, designed to boost bilateral ties, high-ranking European officials voiced concerns that the trip might play Russia against the European Union during negotiations with the Greek government.