Latest News from Greece

Donations flood in for J. Jukes' Greek holiday

People were moved by the sad story of pensioner John Jukes, aged 70, who was mugged and robbed of money he was saving for a trip to Greece as a break from chemotherapy. The cancer battler/survivor received a flood of donations to help make his dream come true. People not only donated to help get John and his wife to Mykonos and Santorini but also left kind words.

Majority vote approves Greek Parliament com’t to probe memoranda

A majority of Parliament deputies, 156 out of 300 MPs, voted to establish a Parliamentary committee of inquiry to investigate exactly how and under what circumstances Greece entered the bailout memorandums since 2010.

The vote came just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning following a marathon session.

Party leaders clash over bid for Parl't probe into memorandums

A debate in Parliament on creating a committee to determine the circumstances that led to Greece signing its loan programs on Monday gave party leaders another opportunity to clash on the root causes of the country?s crisis.

Plans for cooperation with China

Greece proposed a three-year cooperation plan to Beijing involving ports, ship building and repair, credit, supply chain and culture during Greek Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis?s recent visit to China, according to the Chinese government.

Hundreds of bankruptcies seen this year

By Evgenia Tzortzi

Greece remains in the high-risk zone as far as corporate bankruptcies are concerned, being among the global leaders in insolvency cases in recent years.

Fish-farming firms in flux as banks are reluctant to get involved

By Dimitra Manifava

Greece?s fish-farming sector is expecting significant developments in the coming months as the deal between Nireus and its creditor banks, the completion of the restructuring process at Selonda and a possible agreement for Dias?s debt restructuring suggest that the sector will only have a future in Greece if that also includes mergers and acquisitions.

Long-term leasing scheme envisioned for some privatizations

Privatizations, at least some, will reportedly proceed but in the form of long-term leasing schemes, with the prime candidates being a majority stake of the Piraeus Port Authority and the online horse-racking concession.

The port privatization is considered a "big-ticket" item, as it involves the country's largest such facility, while figures over the latter are sketchy, at best.

FT: 'SYRIZA administration is running out of cheap money, good ideas'

Financial Times' offers a gloomier outlook this week on the so-called "Greek issue", with a headline of "Greece falling short of debt deal", and with the sub-hed adding: "SYRIZA administration is running out of cheap money and good ideas"!

According to the influential FT:

Athens mayor heralds city revamp

Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis on Monday presented a ?growth program? for the city that aims to gentrify the capital?s commercial center in a bid to capitalize on an upturn in tourism while also attracting investments.

Kammenos defends deal to upgrade surveillance planes

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos Monday defended a decision to sign a 500-million-euro contract for the upgrade of five P-3B Orion aircraft, saying that the move, which he claimed was key to Greece?s participation in NATO surveillance missions, had been rubber-stamped by two separate inner-cabinet meetings.

Security dispute unsettles government

A new wave of tension threatens to undermine the government after a group of SYRIZA MPs submitted a proposal to scrap legislation that applies stiffer sentences to people found guilty of committing offenses while having their faces covered, the so-called hoodies law, and making it harder for authorities to obtain DNA samples from suspects.