Greece

By Marco Bertacche & Eleni Chrepa

Greek anti-austerity SYRIZA party leader Alexis Tsipras isn?t ?frightened? by possible market turmoil in case of victory at the January 25 general election.

Aris Siliotopoulos (photo), a former New Democracy minister and MP who gave up his seat in Parliament to run in May's local elections for Athens mayor, said on Friday that he will not be running on the conservative ticket in the January 25 general elections.

A 51-year-old woman has been arrested in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, for running up debts to the state in excess of 2.3 million euros, the Greek Police said on Friday.

The 51-year-old, who is the manager of a furniture wholesaler, is accused of failing to make payments to the state worth a total of 2,365,610 euros owed in the period between September 2013 and March 2014.

A Romanian man who is suspected of taking part in the December 5 murder of acclaimed Greek novelist Menis Koumandareas, 83, in his Athens home, has turned himself into the prosecutor investigating the case, according to reports on Friday.

By Nikos Chrysoloras, Jenny Paris & Antonis Galanopoulos

A Greek political party founded less than a year ago that might end up deciding the makeup of the next government won?t lend support to any coalition willing to gamble with the country?s place in the euro, its leader said.

The former head of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), Yiannis Diotis, is to be tried for breach of faith in connection with the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, according to a ruling by the Council of Athens Appeals Court Judges issued Thursday.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras promised Thursday that if he is re-elected he will not cut pensions or wages further and will give back more in the way of tax cuts and salary increases.

Speaking in Maroussi, northern Athens, Samaras focused on the fact that Greece?s public finances are back on track and that this would soon lead to a better standard of living for Greeks.

A coroner?s report concerning the death of a 70-year-old woman whose body was found on Thursday in her home in the municipality of Alistrati in Nea Zichni near the northern city of Serres has suggested that the victim was probably murdered.

The 70-year-old, who was not named, appears to have died of suffocation, according to the coroner?s report.

Opinion polls show that Greek oppositional party SYRIZA is firmly in the lead before the early parliamentary elections that are to take place on January 25.

The ruling party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras New Democracy comes second in the polls, Ekathimerini daily reports.