Politics of Greece

Police in Thessaloniki have arrested a 60-year-old man who, after paying a 28-year-old man to have sex with him, allegedly threatened the younger man with a hunting rifle and demanded his money back after the act.

The incident occurred in the Giannitson Street area of the city.

The 60 year old is expected to be led before a prosecutor.

A 43-year-old man from Yemen was handcuffed by officers of the Security Department of the Thessaloniki State Airport Police Directorate

The man was located and arrested, as he had a European Arrest Warrant pending against him because he was accused of kidnapping his minor children.

A brief clash between protesters and police in Syntagma Square early Saturday afternoon resulted in 33 people being detained, police said. 

The Single-Member Plenary Court of Thessaloniki imposed a total sentence of eight months in prison, suspended for three years, on a 60-year-old man who was arrested at Macedonia airport for carrying two suitcases filled with cigarettes that did not have the required tax bands.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, governor of Central Macedonia, met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Maximos Mansion on Thursday following his nomination as EU commissioner.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has welcomed the "clear commitment" by all NATO member states to commit to spending at least 2% of GDP on defense spending, adding that European countries cannot "just rely" on the US for their defense.

Greece has once again warned North Macedonia that failing to respect the name deal between the two countries will jeopardize the Balkan state's path to European Union membership.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of North Macedonia expressed doubts about the certainty of starting EU membership negotiations even if Bulgarians are included in the country's Constitution, according to reports from local media.

EU ambassador in Skopje, David Geer, urged the Macedonian government to fulfill its obligation to include Bulgarians in the Constitution, stressing that the EU's negotiating framework will not change, BGNES reported.

Bulgaria has initiated diplomatic efforts among EU member states to address what it deems as "inadmissible behavior" from prominent political figures in North Macedonia. Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dimitar Glavchev underscored this during a parliamentary hearing focused on relations with North Macedonia.