Greece became an official member of the International Organization of Francophone Countries at the body’s 10th summit in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, west Africa, which was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. Andorra, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Armenia and Georgia were also accepted as members of the organization.

Protesters stage a mock funeral along pedestrianized Adrianou Street in Athens’s central Monastiraki district yesterday, expressing their opposition to the “death” of aesthetics in parts of the city where cafes are invading street space.

Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis, in an interview with yesterday’s Vima newspaper, claimed unspecified business interests — which he likened to “piranhas” — have infested the health sector, particularly in matters regarding state procurements and medicine policy. “There is a great likelihood that these piranhas will eat me,” he said.

Iranian Mohsen Amiryousefi’s “Bitter Dream” won the Golden Alexander and a 37,000-euro purse at the 45th Thessaloniki International Film Festival yesterday. The Silver Alexander, carrying a 22,000-euro cash prize, was shared by “The Harvest Time” by Russia’s Marina Razbezhkina and “One or the Other” by Argentina’s Alejo Taube.

Iran’s Mohsen Amiryousefi walks away with the Golden Alexander for ‘Bitter Dream’

Police in the southern Athens suburb of Alimos yesterday seized over 10,000 counterfeit luxury leather goods during a warehouse raid. One man was arrested.