Dozens of fishermen and residents on Saturday blocked the port of Ouranoupolis – the gateway to Mount Athos on the peninsula of Halkidiki – to protest government plans to restrict activity in the European Union-protected zone. Protesters lined up 30 boats along the dock to obstruct vessels taking monks to and from Mount Athos, complaining that the planned measures would put local fishermen out of business. Locals also allege that the monastic community has encroached upon public land.

Turkey’s armed forces chief said yesterday that some 40,000 Turkish troops will remain on Cyprus despite a new peace deal between Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders. “There is no such thing as pulling troops out tomorrow if there is a peace deal today,” said Yasar Buyukanit, wrapping up a four-day visit to the island’s Turkish-occupied north. “The army needs to observe and be fully convinced on how safe Turkish Cypriots are,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.

A 78-year-old motorist was burnt to death in his car yesterday after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) crashed into his automobile on a highway near Lamia in central Greece. The elderly man had stopped his car at the side of the highway shortly after noon when the SUV hurtled into it. The SUV driver managed to clamber out of his car before it exploded. The elderly man was unable to escape.

A 17-year-old boy was in serious condition after being hospitalized in Patras suffering from meningitis, doctors said yesterday. The teenager was receiving treatment at the Rio hospital, which offers a special unit for the disease.

Police in Thessaloniki said yesterday they have arrested five youths, aged from 14 to 17, for allegedly attacking peers and stealing their mobile phones. The suspects are believed to have stolen mobile phones from six other teens during March after physically attacking their victims.