Aristides Baltas

Aristides Baltas, a former minister of culture, has announced his departure from the main opposition SYRIZA party. 

Baltas announced his decision in an op-ed published in Efimerida ton Syntakton on Wednesday in which he also accused new SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis of transforming the party into "a personal instrument of his unchecked ambition." 

After eight years of being dragged through the courts, spending who knows how much money and having his reputation dragged through the mud, the former artistic director of what today is called Hellenic Festival SA - the company that organizes the Athens & Epidaurus Festival - was acquitted of all charges of financial mismanagement by an Athens court of appeals this week.

The former director of Greece's biggest annual cultural event was cleared on Tuesday of financial mismanagement charges by an appeals court in Athens.

Giorgos Loukos, who served as head of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival from 2006 until he was ousted in 2015, had been accused of over-charging the Greek state some 2.7 million euros between 2013 and 2014.

In a self-critical mood, three senior members of leftist SYRIZA have authored a review of the party's four-and-a-half years in power which will be presented for approval to its Central Committee this weekend. 

Refugees and migrants arrive on a passenger ferry from the island of Samos, at the port of Elefsina near Athens, on Tuesday. [Costas Baltas/Reuters]

Kurds living in Greece march outside the Parliament building during a demonstration against Turkey's military action in northeastern Syria, in Athens, Wednesday. [Costas Baltas/Reuters]

Stavros Polychronidis, 53, arranges church candles at a factory in Lavrio, near Athens. Monday marked the start of Holy Week, leading to Greek Orthodox Easter on Sunday. With Monday's public holiday coming just before Labor Day on May 1 (Wednesday), a lot of Greek workers have arranged to take time off for vacations, as schools will remain closed until May 6 too.

Greek school teachers take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building against government plans to change hiring procedures in the public sector in Athens, Monday. [Costas Baltas/Reuters]

A member of the Greek Presidential guard wears a traditional winter cape to protect from low temperatures, following a snowfall in Athens, Tuesday. [Costas Baltas/Reuters]

Directed by conductor Alkis Baltas, the annual Festival of Religious Music of Patmos is taking place from August 20 to September 3 this year, at the eastern Aegean island's Cave of the Apocalypse, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The roster starts with the Saint Sion Choir from the island of Lesvos in Greek music written in praise of the Virgin Mary.