2010

Events

January

• January 6: Unknown arsonists set fire to the Jewish synagogue of Chania, Crete.
• January 11: Cypriot Media executive, Antis Hadjikostis, is murdered outside his house at Engomi.
• January 16: Marcos Baghdatis defeats Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) to claim the Sydney International ATP.
• January 18: Greek-owned super-tanker, Maran Centaurus, is released by Somali pirates after a ransom was paid. Its crew of nine Greeks and 19 foreigners were unharmed.
• January 19: The British Court of Appeal judges in favour of Cypriot refugee Meletis Apostolides in the case of Apostolides v Orams. Apostolides had sued Mr and Mrs Orams for illegal use of his property in Lapithos in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.
• January 19: Olympiakos FC sack coach Zico.
• January 20: Values on the Athens Stock Market drop 3.39% to 2,030. The drop is blamed on the uncertain state of the Greek economy.
• January 30: Aphrodite Skafida breaks the Greek women's indoor record in the pole vault with 4.41m.

February

• February 3: Karolos Papoulias is re-elected President of Greece.
• February 5: The Athens Stock Exchange closes at 1878.91 after losses of 3.73%.
• February 8: EDEK decide to pull out of the governing coalition of Cyprus.
• February 10: Greece is hit by a general strike of public workers in protest of PM Papandreou's announced austerity measures.
• February 15: A state of emergency is declared for Evros prefecture due to severe flooding.
• February 16: PM Giorgos Papandreou visits Moscow and has talks with President Dmitri Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin.
• February 17: Michalis Stamatoyiannis breaks the Greek shot put indoor record with 20.36 in Athens. The old record had stood for 24 years.
• February 20: Olympiakos win the Greek Basketball Cup defeating Panathinaikos 68-64. This snapped an 8-year Cup-winning streak by the Greens.
• February 22: The two largest Greek airlines - Οlympic Air and Aegean Airlines - decide to effect a merger in October.
• February 24: A general strike by the major unions of Greece paralyse the country as private and public sector workers protest the Papandreou government's austerity measures.
• February 24: Greek-Australian Lydia Lassila (née Ierodiaconou) wins gold for Australia in freestyle skiing at the Vancouver winter Olympics.
• February 25: Panathinaikos advance in the Europa Cup after a 3-2 triumph over AS Roma in Stadio Olimpico. The first game in Athens had also ended in a 3-2 victory.

March

• March 3: PM Giorgos Papandreou announces a series of new austerity measures designed to combat the country's huge economic deficit. These include increases in VAT, a 15% increase in petrol tax, freezes in pensions and a 30% cut in Easter and Christmas bonuses for civil servants.
• March 8: PM Giorgos Papandreou arrives in Washington for a programmed 3-day official visit to the USA.
• March 8: The remains of Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos, which were stolen on December 11, 2009, are found by the police after an anonymous tip.
• March 11: A general strike, called by the unions ADEDY and GSEE, cripples Greece as private and public sector workers again protest against the Papandreou government's austerity measures.
• March 11: The remains of Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos are re-interred in Deftera Cemetery.
• March 12: Karolos Papoulias is sworn in for his second term as President of Greece.
• March 19: Unknown culprits blow up the offices of "Golden Dawn" - a far-right organisation - in the city centre of Athens.
• March 22: Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus crosses into the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus to visit the monasteries of Saint Barnabas and Saint Andrew.
• March 28: A bomb goes off in Athens killing a 15-year old boy.

Deaths

January

• January 21: Apostolos Vasiliadis, footballer.
• January 27: Yiannis Marditsis, footballer.

February

• February 4: Kostas Axelos, philosopher
• February 5: Ioannis Palamiotis, athlete (triple jump)

March

• March 15: Sotiris Zakapidas, footballer