Nikos Pappas

An Athens prosecutor on Friday ordered a preliminary investigation into reports that a close associate of a government minister had tried to intervene so that a company owned by disgraced businessman Lavrentis Lavrentiadis could get out of paying more than 120 million euros in debts to the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA).

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and members of his cabinet are in Belgrade on Friday for the second Greek-Serbian High-Level Cooperation Council and the sixth High Council of Cooperation between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia.

Media Minister Nikos Pappas on Tuesday labeled the bombing attack against the headquarters of Skai television and Kathimerini newspaper on Athens's southern coast the previous day as an "abhorrent and despicable act."

What did the bombers who targeted Kathimerini and Skai ultimately accomplish? Sure, they caused damage, which will be repaired, at a time when every euro counts. But beyond that? Did they think that they would terrorize the journalists into silence, make them stop talking and writing? As if we would. We will not weep or be intimidated.

In a statement on Friday, Stelios Pappas, the head of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) described the burglary of his home on Thursday night as an attempt to hamper efforts to liquidate the company.

The burglary, during which only a laptop was stolen, was "a targeted intervention," Pappas said in a statement.

Panathinaikos beat Olympiakos for the second time in 10 days, this time for the Basket League, to remain on top of the table, along with fellow unbeaten Peristeri after six league games.

Opposition New Democracy has announced that its MPs will no longer make appearances on TV panels on state-run ERT.

The conservative party said the decision was made in response to offensive remarks by a panelist on a political talk show on Monday about the speech by ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki Trade Fair on Saturday.

Katerina Papacosta, a former conservative minister, recently attacked ruling SYRIZA during a speech in Parliament saying, "you are not serious, you are irresponsible, get over your leftist delusions." She sounded different on Friday.

With the Greek government eager to push the reset button and reverse its slide in the polls, senior officials hinted again Thursday that pre-agreed pension cuts in January could be scrapped.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was in Thessaloniki on Friday, where he met with the northern port city's mayor, Yiannis Boutaris, less that a week after the latter was attacked by a mob of far-right nationalists during an event marking a historical anniversary.