US Ambassador Charles Ries downplayed yesterday suggestions that Washington is concerned about the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline because it increased Russia’s influence in the energy market. After a meeting with Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, Ries said the pipeline would “contribute to the diversification of energy sources.” He said that American companies might take part in the project “depending on Russia’s terms.” The two diplomats met ahead of Bakoyannis’s trip to Washington next week for talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There were six arson attacks in Athens in the space of 10 minutes early yesterday, police said. Between 2.55 a.m. and 3.05 a.m., attackers set fire to two Eurobank ATMs, placed homemade explosive devices outside a branch of the National Bank and the IKA social security foundation and threw Molotov cocktails at local offices of New Democracy in Dafni, southeastern Athens, and Zografou, eastern Athens. All the buildings sustained minor damage but there were no reports of injuries.

Foreigners who live in Greece and have an expired residence permit will be allowed to leave the country to visit their homeland after March 25 as long as they return before April 25, the Public Order Ministry said yesterday. The ministry said that this measure only applies to foreigners who have submitted an application to renew their work or residence permit in Greece.

Greece has allowed 16 migrants who stowed away on a ship to seek asylum, the UN refugee agency said yesterday. The migrants slipped onto a ship in Turkey but were discovered when the vessel reached Piraeus last week. They had been banned from leaving the ship until officials decided whether to allow the migrants, most of whom are Iraqis, to disembark.

Police said yesterday they arrested a 25-year-old man for multiple counts of purse snatching in the Voula area, southeastern Athens, that were allegedly committed in the last year. Police said they are searching for a second man, believed to be the suspect’s accomplice.