Municipalities of Greece

The first big wave of food service business shutdowns has struck the market, as the sector has remained mostly inactive since early November and its return to action is not anticipated anytime soon.

Greek Olympic sailing champion Leonidas Pelekanakis died of Covid-19 on Thursday, aged 58, after an almost two-month battle with the illness.

The athlete did not have any underlying health issues and had been taking part in open sea sailing events until October 2020.

The Greek government will move swiftly with a tender for the construction of a new up-to-standard center for the reception and identification of migrants on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Bishop of Kastoria, Seraphim, died from complications caused by Covid-19 at the age of 61 on Tuesday, becoming the second senior Greek cleric to succumb to the virus.

Seraphim tested positive in early December but as his health deteriorated, he was admitted to the 424 General Military Hospital of Thessaloniki, where he was intubated on December 20.

Lamda Development is set to form two new consortiums with major domestic and international groups from the sector of real estate and institutional investments, aimed at developing two new projects at the landmark cluster of Elliniko on Athens' southern coast.

A secretary at the Turkish Consulate on Rhodes will face a magistrate this week on espionage charges after a 54-year-old galley cook allegedly admitted to being recruited by the diplomat over the summer to keep tabs on Greek ships in the southeastern Aegean.

Five Greek islands have been symbolically added to Europa Nostra's list of endangered cultural heritage sites this year due to the increased risk to landscapes posed by the excessive development of wind farms.

These islands are Amorgos, Kimolos, Sikinos, Tinos and Kythira in the southern Aegean.

A lower VAT rate introduced by the government for the five Greek islands mostly affected by migration has been extended until June 2021, the government announced on Friday.

The measure is applicable in Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos and was included in a joint ministerial decision, the migration ministry said. 

A popular act on the Greek nightclub circuit, Notis Sfakianis, is due to face a magistrate on Monday on drugs and weapons charges, following his arrest in southern Athens on Sunday night.

Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisohoidis called on the people of Patras to celebrate the city's patron saint at home on Monday and avoid social gatherings that could spread the coronavirus.