Mati

Escapist tendencies are perfectly understandable in anyone who is involved in public life in Greece, and especially if they are in a post that entails serious responsibilities. To put it bluntly, this is not an easy country. The state is riddled with people like the stationmaster in Larissa involved in the Tempe crash and the Fire Service officials on duty during the deadly Mati wildfire.

Thirteen collective requests for the annulment of the presidential decree concerning urban planning in the 2018 fire-affected regions of Eastern Attica, such as Mati, Rafina and Marathonas are being deliberated by the Council of State. 

Tempe must not become another Mati. The probe into this national trauma must not drag on. Parliament has proven ineffective in its role as an investigator.

The people who cause devastating and sometimes even deadly wildfires every year are effectively not treated like criminals. This is not only because the punishments foreseen in the law are utterly disproportionate to the consequences of their actions.

An expert testifying on behalf of the families of the victims of the deadly fire in Mati, east Attica, in the summer of 2018 is expected to testify for a second day on Monday, after delivering a scathing assessment of the authorities' response on Friday.

Turkish provocations and the Cyprus problem are expected to be at the heart of the contacts during Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades' visit to Athens on Wednesday. 

According to Nicosia, Turkey's behavior is not consistent with a constructive attitude that could allow for a sincere discussion on a solution to the Cyprus problem. 

Matic pointed out that this was unequivocally proven by the trial, which ended yesterday in the first instance verdict of members of the State Security Service (SDB).
"On the same day he was killed, it was clear that the state was behind it because it had been destroying his newspaper for months prior to that. Curuvija was its target", Matic told TV Prva.

"I am 110% Greek," Tom Hanks said some time ago and now it is official

Upon the initiative of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had met him in the past, Hanks and his family will receive honorary citizenship and the decision was signed today by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

It is considered a particular and rare honour in most countries.