A few hours remain before 2024 leaves us and we welcome 2025, and protothema.gr presents the stories that you, its readers who have brought it to the top position, chose to read the most.

As every year, protothema.gr was present on the front lines of developments, with combative and revealing reporting, covering current affairs and recording every small and major event in Greece and the world, politics, sports, showbiz, technology, and culture minute by minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Over the past 12 months, the greatest interest was drawn by topics ranging from Vladimir Putin’s threatening rhetoric, Marinella’s health ordeal, the great fire in Attica, and Alexis Kougias’s confession, to the $500 million scandal for upgrading five P-3B Orion naval cooperation aircraft of the Navy, public debtors, the story of the largest collection agency, and pensioners who declared incomes of €10,000 but had expenses of €200,000. Also on the list are human dramas like the sudden death of Panathinaikos footballer George Baldock and former MasterChef contestant Demi Georgiou, as well as stories that spread through social media, such as Marigona who became famous after her photo at SEF and Christina Bomba who faced an issue with her lips during her trip to Bolivia.

The 13 most popular topics on protothema.gr for 2024

1. Putin: “They hit us with long-range missiles.”

On November 21, Vladimir Putin addressed the camera in a speech watched by the entire planet with bated breath following the attack by Ukraine with American and British ballistic missiles. The Russian president spoke of a “global-scale” war, depicting the new geopolitical reality.

2. Marinella collapsed on the stage of Herodion.

Those who attended Herodion on the evening of September 25 for another great concert by Marinella did not expect to witness one of the most tragic and shocking moments, seeing the great singer collapse on stage.

3. Fires in Attica: 24 hours of battling the flames.

August 11 was one of the hardest days of the summer for Attica. For hours, residents of areas like Stamata, Penteli, and Vrilissia joined firefighters to contain a major fire front. Protothema.gr captured shocking images and testimonies from the battle with the flames.

4. Alexis Kougias: Pispirigou and Korkoneas, the greatest defeats of my career – I underwent chemotherapy while attending court.

In a personal confession to protothema.gr’s First Word and Antonis Sroiter, the well-known lawyer spoke of two great “defeats,” as he called them, in his career, concerning the Pispirigou and Korkoneas cases. He also discussed politics, law, his media-active colleagues, his passions, his divorce from Evi Vatidou, and his battle with cancer.

5. Kammenos and Apostolakis before the prosecutor for the $500 million “junk” deal after 9 years.

The $500 million scandal involving the upgrade of five P-3B Orion naval cooperation aircraft, starring ANEL president and then Minister of National Defense Panos Kammenos, revealed by Proto Thema in 2015, has now reached the judiciary with prosecutors investigating possible crimes, including money laundering.

6. AADE: Pensioners with incomes below €10,000 spent over €200,000.

While discussions on applying tax criteria intensified, protothema.gr revealed information about at least 1,500 salaried and retired individuals caught by AADE audits for declaring minimal incomes but living lavishly. These taxpayers reported family incomes below €10,000 but were found to have annual expenses exceeding €30,000 or even €200,000.

7. Demi Georgiou from MasterChef passed away.

On the morning of Monday, July 22, no one could believe the news that at just 39 years old, former MasterChef contestant Demi Georgiou had passed away due to septic shock caused by a severe infection while in Paros, where she worked.

8. Panathinaikos footballer Baldock found dead in his Glyfada home pool.

Equally shocking was the news on the evening of October 9 about the unexpected death of Panathinaikos and Greece national footballer George Baldock, who was found dead in the pool of his Glyfada home.

9. Georgiadis: Giannis Kallianos called me 50 times, but his father didn’t get an ICU bed as it wasn’t available.

In late April, Giannis Kallianos lost his father, Dimitris, after hospitalization at “Attikon” hospital. The ND MP protested the delayed ICU admission, with the Health Minister responding publicly, explaining that an ICU bed wasn’t available and noting that Kallianos had called him 50 times, demonstrating the fairness of the public health system.

10. Life’s revenge – The largest collection agency goes under the hammer.

Proto Thema recounts the story of Pano Finance owner Giorgos Panopoulos, who established the country’s largest collection agency in a small village in Achaia-Hleia about 15 years ago. Once a powerful figure controlling a local football team and envisioning a tourism transformation, his plans fell apart. Pano Finance shut down, luxury hotel plans remained unfinished, and the former relentless “hunter” of bank debtors now faces a storm of auctions.

11. Major public debtors: Prominent names, ghosts, and skeletons of the past owe €123 billion to the Tax Office.

In late July, AADE announced a list of major public debtors, and protothema.gr highlighted the most striking cases among the 29,000 tax IDs that owe over €150,000 to the Tax Office and social security funds.

12. Marigona gave an interview to an Albanian channel: “I’m very proud to be from Kosovo.”

In early December, a photo of a beautiful Olympiacos fan at a SEF game went viral. Marigona, 24, from Kosovo, quickly became the talk of the town. She even gave an interview to an Albanian channel, discussing her origins, life in Greece with her partner, and professional offers she’s received.

13. Christina Bomba: “My lips have tripled in size,” she said from her trip to Bolivia.

Christina Bomba traveled to Bolivia with her husband, Sakis Tanimanidis, for The Reunion show filming. She didn’t expect to wake up one morning with a health issue causing her lips to swell suddenly. She shared her anxiety on Instagram, and everyone wanted to see her condition.