Thessaloniki

A post on the website of the Italian Embassy in Athens announcing the sale of a property owned by the Italian state in the northern port city of Thessaloniki is a reminder of hope in one of the darkest chapters in the country's history.

Albanian conductor Kostika Collaku leads the Contradition Ensemble choir in a recital of both a capella and cantata works by Byrd, Ramsey, Allegri, Purcell, Bach, Mozart, Rheinberger, Rachmaninoff, Szymanowski, Faure, Poulenc, Schnittke and Part in Thessaloniki on Thursday, April 18. The performance will take place at the 15th century Alaca Imaret Mosque, starting at 9 p.m.

Award-winning Polish pianist Anna Miernik, hailed as one of the country's greatest young talents right now, has been invited to perform at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall's tribute to Frederic Chopin on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the French composer's death. Apart from Chopin pieces, the program also includes a selection of works by Polish composers he inspired.

The sports ministers and representatives of the football federations of Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Serbia held a working meeting in Thessaloniki, to which they signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the four governments.

The Motum dance festival is taking place at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall on April 13 and 14.

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt was in the northern Greek region of Serres on Friday, where he met with local officials and visited the family home of late statesman Constantinos Karamanlis.

The groups representing food delivery workers in Athens and Thessaloniki on Wednesday called on workers to join a 24-hour strike on Thursday to demand better working conditions.

With the slogan "Don't order in today, cook some spaghetti," the unions are appealing to consumers to back their cause.

Hundreds of migrants Friday occupied the capital's central Larissis railway station, leading to the suspension of services, as they sought to board trains to Thessaloniki to join hundreds more migrants planning to travel north amid rumors that the border would be opening.

Dozens of migrants and refugees who had staged a sit-in protest at the Larissis Street train station in Athens and prevented rail services from being carried out departed by Friday evening.

New clashes erupted between riot police and migrants outside the Diavata reception camp near Thessaloniki on Friday, after dozens of women tried to break through the police cordon and were pushed back.
A local news website seleo.gr reported that traffic on Symmahiki Odos on the section near the camp is blocked.