There was a 22.8 pct increase in the number of forest fires that broke out in 2016 compared with the previous year and they had a more devastating effect, with the area of burnt land rising by 124.5 pct. There was also a sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases of arson discovered by investigators, making intentional arson the top causal factor for wildfires in the year.

The streets of Athens were filled with more than 50,000 runners taking part in the 34th Athens Authentic Marathon this Sunday, which was dedicated to the memory of Grigoris Lambrakis. 
Spotted among them were many politicians and MPs attempting the shorter 5km run, including Potami Party leader Stavros Theodorakis, Democratic Alliance MP and former minister Andreas Loverdos and New Democracy MP and former minister Adonis Georgiadis.

European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis appeared positive over strong growth rates in Greece in 2017, meeting deficit and primary surplus targets in questions posed by European parliament vice president Dimitris Papadimoulis during the Economic and Monetary Policy Committee of the European parliament meeting on Friday.