MATI

Supreme Court prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou on Tuesday back-pedalled on her request to delay the completion of a report on the deadly blaze in east Attica until the General Inspector of Public Administration has sent her separate findings, after facing intense criticism.

Residents of the coastal settlements of Mati and Neos Voutzas, which bore the brunt of July's disastrous wildfires, are up in arms over the government's backtracking on pledges to relieve them of paying the unified property tax (ENFIA). 

Police on Sunday arrested a man suspected of multiple acts of arson in the municipality of Ancient Olympia in the Peloponnese, the fire service said in a press release.

The 44-year-old man is accused of setting three fires in land plots in the areas of Vasilaki, Louvro and Kamena between August 21 and September 1.

As the toll from last month's wildfires in east Attica Thursday climbed to 98 with the death of an 83-year-old woman at an Athens hospital, residents at the seaside town of Mati, which suffered the biggest losses, continue to face significant challenges.

Standing in the burnt-out shell of what used to be his home and business, Theodoros Kouris waits for Greek government inspectors to decide the building's fate.

It has been one month since Greece's deadliest wildfire ravaged the now deserted seaside town of Mati, killing 96 people, and life here is still far from normal.

A wildfire in a pine forest near the Aghia Paraskevi area on the Kassandra leg of northern Greece's Halkidiki peninsula was brought under control on Saturday, the fire service said.

The fire led to the deployment of 40 firemen, two water-dropping aircraft and 10 fire engines, authorities said.

Survivors of last month's deadly blazes on the outskirts of Attica are struggling to cope while experts are warning of the public health risks posed by toxic ash in the afflicted areas, Kathimerini has learned. 

Prime ministers in Greece often fall victim to a unique type of egotism.

The plot of land where 26 people tried to flee the flames that ravaged the coastal town of Mati last week is state property that has been encroached on, Alternate Environment Minister Sokratis Famellos said in a joint press conference with government ministers on Wednesday.

Police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of multiple acts of arson in the municipality of Marathonas, in east Attica, the fire service said in a press release.

The 35-year-old man is accused of setting five fires in land plots in the area of Rizari between July 26 and 31 and for disobedience towards authorities.