Administrative regions of Greece

A big fire at a plastics factory in the northern Athens suburb of Metamorfossi has shut down the highway to Thessaloniki, as well as the Attiki Odos ring road, near its junction with the highway.

Early in the afternoon, the direction to the north was opened to traffic.

Tolls on the Attiki Odos open segment to the airport are free.

Hotels may be losing serious money, as the coronavirus pandemic is spiking again, but old investments had to be completed; hence the latest addition to Athens' boutique hotels, which opens Friday.

Thursday's session on the Athens Stock Exchange was even more subdued than recent days, if that is possible.

In the end, the general index, which had been showing mild losses throughout, tipped over into positive territory, closing at 637.27 points, a gain of 0.36%. Late gains in OTE Telecom were the main reason.

Turnover was €23.61 million on volume of 16,373,894 shares.

Recitals at archaeological sites throughout Greece continue on Thursday at the Roman Agora of ancient Delphi with the participation of soloists from the Greek National Opera. Thursday's performance will include nine distinguished soloists in famous arias from operas and operettas and classical cantatas with subjects drawn from ancient Greek mythology and Greek literature.

I first caught a glimpse of it through a window at the entrance to the Astir resort's beach club in Vouliagmeni, on Athens' southern coast. That's why the window was there: to allow the public to admire the ancient temple without trying to talk their way into the resort for free on the premise of being archaeology buffs.

Nikos Tahiaos, a city councillor for the municipality of Thessaloniki, announced on Tuesday that he had submitted his resignation, accusing municipal authorities of pursuing personal goals and "political patronage."

A protest rally by healthcare workers and ongoing public works in central Athens created long bottlenecks in main streets on Tuesday morning.

Greece reopened to more international flights on Monday as the tourist season formally got under way, with the aim to strike what government spokesman Stelios Petsas described as a delicate balance between an "authentic" travel experience and the safety of visitors.

Five nightclubs in Attica were ordered to close over the weekend after raids on Friday night conducted by units of the Hellenic Police and the Development Ministry's General Secretariat for Trade and Consumer Protection established that the businesses had violated hygiene protocols aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, notably by permitting excessive overcrowding.

Small store owners and the owners of car parks in the centre of Athens have expressed their disagreement with a municipal plan to create a large traffic-free zone in the capital, saying it would ruin their business.

The plan, dubbed the Grand Walk of Athens, which aims to encourage on-foot exploration by tourists, will be pilot-tested on Thursday.