A military C-130 transport aircraft on Saturday took off from Elefsina airport with 11.5 tons of humanitarian aid for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka, Phuket, Bangkok and Jakarta, the head of the Church of Greece’s non-governmental organization Allilengyis (Solidarity) said yesterday. The group’s aid effort with continue until the end of March, Dimitris Fourlemadis said, noting that a Greek ship bearing 600 tons of aid was to set sail on January 17.

A pileup involving 10 cars at the entrance to Attiki Odos disrupted Athens-bound traffic yesterday afternoon but there were no injuries, traffic police said. Cranes removed the cars from the scene of the incident.

Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis has expressed his interest in becoming the next mayor of Athens in an interview with yesterday’s Eleftherotypia. Kaklamanis said he would be interested in running for the post if current Mayor Dora Bakoyannis, whose term expires at the end of 2006, is not a candidate. Quizzed about his possible interest in the post, Kaklamanis said, “Whoever says they are not interested in something like that is probably lying.”

Around 9,500 employees of public utilities in Cyprus are due to join a 24-hour strike today after talks between unionists and government officials collapsed over the weekend. The electricity and water boards, the telecommunications authority, the radio foundation and the state carrier Cypriot Airlines are among the organizations that will be affected.

A homemade explosive device planted outside of the home of Halkidiki’s forest warden in Polygyros early yesterday morning was neutralized by police. The device, which comprised six gas canisters connected to a timer, had been planted on the balcony. Police believe the attempted attack was the work of individuals illegally occupying forestland.

Work is to begin today to destroy landmines in the area southwest of Nicosia, the Cypriot government said on Saturday. The systematic destruction of landmines around the buffer zone, which started on November 18, has removed more than 1,200 mines from the area, the government said.