Thessaloniki

Greek authorities have confirmed the first detection of the South African variant of the new coronavirus in the country, prompting top health officials to fly to the area where it was found for meetings on Sunday.

Greek police have seized a haul of 324 kilograms (714 pounds) of pure cocaine and arrested three people in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

They said Saturday that the suspects planned to mix the cocaine with other substances and sell it in Greece and other markets. It would have had a street value of 100 million euros.

Thousands of students and teachers held peaceful demonstrations in Greece's two biggest cities - Athens and Thessaloniki - on Thursday against proposed education reforms, even defying a weeklong ban on protests imposed as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Students and teachers take part in a rally against education reforms promoted by the conservative government - which, among other things, foresee the presence of police on university campuses - in Athens Thursday. About 4,000 people marched to Syntagma Square, while a smaller gathering took place in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

"A third strict lockdown will be catastrophic for everyone," General Secretary for Commerce Panagiotis Stampoulidis said in an interview on Skai TV on Sunday, commenting on the queues and the crowding that was observed over the weekend in the main commercial districts of Athens and Thessaloniki.

Economy airline Wizz Air is offering an unbelievable deal to those flying from Athens or Thessaloniki to Abu Dhabi

More than two weeks after the Christmas holiday, a leading indicator of coronavirus infection appears to be in a slight decline in Thessaloniki, researchers say.

For the fourth consecutive year, Workathlon, a company which offers innovative recruiting solutions for the hospitality industry, is organizing its annual Hospitality Career Days events. 

More than 5,000 tourism professionals and 60 emblematic hotels participated in last year's Career Days events, which took place in Thessaloniki, Crete and Athens.

A prosecutor in the northern port city of Thessaloniki has ordered a preliminary investigation into allegations in Greek media reports of an illegal adoption ring operating in Albania and Greece.

Musicians perform from their balconies on Alexandros Svolos Street in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, on December 30, 2020. The event, dubbed the "Inter-balcony concert in the neighborhood of Alexandros Svolos," is an initiative by local residents for the festive season, after public events were banned due to a nationwide lockdown that is currently expected to end in January 7, 2021.