Greece

Interview with George Gilson

A study has concluded that a lockdown significantly reduces air pollution from vehicles in a large city like Athens, but the benefits are temporary, as levels quickly revert to normal as soon as the measures are lifted.

Wind Hellas announced this week it has selected Ericsson for the development of its 5G network across Greece, with the Swedish company also cooperating with the Greek service provider in the sector of business support.

Greece may have topped the chart in taxing corporations and individuals over the last decade, but the latest data show that taxes have been imposed in a haphazard fashion in this country.

Greece's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the vandalism of the Holocaust Monument and the wall of the local Synagogue in the city of Larissa on Thursday, describing it as "heinous."

"This abhorrent act offends the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and is not in line with Greek culture and the values of Greek society," the ministry said in a statement.

Institutional investors are increasingly interested in properties of a "social character," an alternative investment category that is likely to grow in the domestic realty market too.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that Turkey should face consequences if it continues its "provocative actions" against Greece.

Speaking at the online Lisbon Web Summit on Friday, he said that issues between Greece and Turkey concern Europe and NATO as well, as they affect the entire Eastern Mediterranean region.

Turkey's recent moves to de-escalate a clash with Greece and Cyprus over east Mediterranean energy reserves are "unconvincing" and European Union leaders need to take action that will prompt Ankara to heed international law, Greece's foreign minister said on Friday.

Anyone arriving at Greece's land borders who test positive for the novel coronavirus will not be allowed to enter the country, Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias announced on Friday.

Speaking during a regular press briefing on the developments with the pandemic, Hardalias also said that authorities will ban visits to the monasteries of Mount Athos.

Greek health authorities announced 1,667 new SARS-CoV-2  cases on Friday, pushing the total number to 113,185.

Of the new cases, only nine were detected in Attica.

The daily death toll was also high on Friday, with the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) reporting 98 new deaths from Covid-19, raising the total number of fatalities to 2,804.