Police closed Vassilisis Sofias Avenue to traffic in both directions on Thursday, between the Hilton hotel and Syntagma Square, as protesting miners marched through Athens to reach the government's headquarters at the Maximos Mansion.

The contribution of tourism to the Greek economy totaled 18.63 pct a survey conducted by Grant Thornton for the Hellenic Chambers of Hotels said, adding that according to 2016 data, hotels contributed around 10 pct of GDP and 6.5 pct of employment in the country.

Hellas Gold will continue operating its gold mines in Halkidiki after the company on Thursday announced a temporary postponment of a work suspension decision due to be valid from Friday, 22 September.

During his speech at the 12th Annual Greek Roadshow of the Athens Stock Exchange in London under the title "Greece on its way to growth", the Minister of Economy and Development Mr. Dimitris Papadimitriou argued that Greece is on the road to recovery and this is recognized by the markets, resulting in the fall of bonds and the start of large investment projects.