Archbishop Christodoulos is due to fly into Athens today after more than two months in Miami where he had been awaiting a liver transplant operation, called off after doctors found his cancer had spread. The archbishop is due to arrive at Athens International Airport at 1.30 p.m. aboard a private jet. He is to be received by a delegation of clerics who will escort him to his home in Psychico. The archbishop, 68, wants to attend a service at Athens Cathedral on Sunday to mark the Ochi Day national holiday, if doctors deem that his health permits.

Culture Minister Michalis Liapis yesterday expressed his “extreme satisfaction” with the progress of restoration works at the site of Ancient Olympia, which was ravaged by fire in August. Liapis said the site will be ready by March, in time for a torch-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. “Soon we will hand back a fully restored Ancient Olympia to the international community,” he said, adding that “the money is there, there is political will, so there is no excuse for delays.” The works will not just restore the site but “further highlight this monument and symbol of our cultural heritage,” the minister added.

Clocks will be turned back one hour at 4 a.m. on Sunday to mark the end of daylight-saving time and the start of local standard time.

A Thessaloniki court yesterday sentenced to life in jail a 36-year-old man found guilty of murdering his uncle after allegedly embezzling thousands of euros from the latter’s bank accounts. The 36-year-old is alleged to have stolen the victim’s identity card and used his details to access the accounts of the 62-year-old, who had been on a visit to the USA. When the latter returned and reported the looted accounts to police, the 36-year-old panicked, fearing he would be found out, and stabbed his uncle to death, the court heard.

The conversion of a run-down refugee housing complex on Alexandras Avenue, central Athens, into a hostel for cancer patients and their relatives is under discussion, Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told Parliament yesterday. The proposal is being considered by the Public Real Estate Corporation, Avramopoulos said following a question submitted by Communist Party deputy Liana Kanneli.

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale shook the northwestern town of Ioannina yesterday morning but no damage or injuries were reported. The epicenter of the quake was near the village of Kalpaki, northwest of Ioannina, but was felt in the wider area.

Police in Thessaloniki yesterday arrested a 35-year-old foreign man and a 27-year-old Greek woman for allegedly smuggling cocaine into the country, in egg-shaped capsules in their stomachs. The woman was caught in the act of selling 50 grams of cocaine to two men for 1,650 euros. The man was found to be in possession of 116 grams of the drug.

Two armed robbers made off with more than 73,000 euros yesterday after raiding a bank in Thessaloniki’s Ionia district. The pair fled on a motorcycle after the holdup in which no one was injured.

An Athens prosecutor yesterday launched a preliminary investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the City of Athens’s cleaning department, sources said. The details of the probe were not made public but the investigation was launched following an official complaint to the Supreme Court by Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis.