In Brief
TRAFFIC DISRUPTION
Students to block central Athens from noon today in assessment protest University students objecting to government plans for university assessment plan to block major roads in central Athens between noon and 1 p.m. today, which is likely to cause severe traffic disruption. The roads to will be affected include Syngrou, Solonos, Patission, Kavalas and Papagou. Students are planning further protests on Thursday. GARBAGE WOES Ano Liosia landfill to close for 24 hours Ano Liosia Mayor Nikos Papadimas said yesterday that the capital’s only landfill would be closing for 24 hours from this morning in protest at plans for it to accommodate hundreds of tons of sludge from the islet of Psyttaleia. Meanwhile, the European Commission said yesterday that Greece produced a total of 428 kilos of garbage per citizen in 2003 as compared to 306 kilos per citizen in 1995. Of the total garbage Greece produces, 91.8 percent ends up in landfills, the EC said. Turkish violations There were more than 830 violations of Greek air space by Turkish jets in the first five months of this year – more than double the 345 transgressions recorded during the same period in 2004, according to air force figures released yesterday. However, this year’s transgressions were nearly half of the 1,625 recorded during the first five months of 2003, according to air force data. Yesterday, 42 Turkish aircraft violated Greek air space eight times in the northern and central Aegean, military sources said. Bank strike Unionists representing the country’s bank employees yesterday called a 48-hour strike for June 7 and 8 in protest at imminent pension reforms that fail to fulfill their demands for a single supplementary pension fund. Miss Universe Greece’s hopeful for the Miss Universe contest, Evangelia Aravani, poses alongside her Dutch rival Sharita Sopacua during a rehearsal for the beauty pageant in Bangkok yesterday. The final vote will be today. The competition is being held in Thailand five months after a tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in the region, around 5,400 in Thailand. Organizers said there would be «moment of respect» for the tsunami victims. Dangerous pacifier? The Development Ministry yesterday called upon all firms importing children’s goods to withdraw all pacifiers without instructions in Greek within the next 20 days, following reports that Spanish authorities had detected a Chinese-made product that poses a health risk. The clasp attached to the Saro brand pacifier poses a risk to children, who may swallow it as it has insufficient air-holes, the ministry said. Hospital rosters A pilot scheme of rotating duty rosters at state hospitals, credited with improving efficiency at hospitals in Attica since its launch last December, has now been implemented in Thessaloniki, regional health unit directors said yesterday. Incest arrest A Rhodes prosecutor yesterday brought charges against a 67-year-old man alleged to have sexually molested his 9-year-old granddaughter. The girl’s parents reported the alleged abuse last week after their daughter complained to them. Police have been unable to locate the 67-year-old. Robber thwarted A 37-year-old man who netted 7,100 euros in a raid on a bank in the Athenian district of Koukaki yesterday told police he needed the money for scooter fuel. The man was caught shortly after the raid, which he carried out using a fake gun, after a bank clerk who followed him saw him coming out of a spare parts store. Police said the man, who had mental problems, had netted 13,000 euros in a Neos Cosmos bank raid last September.
