A 54-year-old man was arrested in Viotia, north of Athens, yesterday on suspicion of raping at least five women in the capital. The suspect allegedly preyed on drug addicts in Omonia, central Athens, offering them rides home. Instead he would take them to a forest in Viotia where he would rape and then abandon them. One of his victims, a 21-year-old woman, reported the attack to the police and officers placed the man under surveillance before arresting him.

The government yesterday received a letter from the European Commission warning of legal action unless measures are taken to ensure that a landfill at Fyli, western Athens, meets European standards. The letter, drafted by European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, was sent following inspections at the site of the landfill, which was opened earlier this year after Attica’s main landfill at Ano Liosia reached saturation. According to Dimas, the new landfill does not comply with European legislation governing waste management, is inadequate in its design and is being overloaded.

Athens Prefect Yiannis Sgouros yesterday accused the Environment and Public Works Ministry of not giving local authorities “even one euro” for the last three years to construct more storm drains and improve anti-flood works. Sgouros made the comments during a visit to the northern suburb of Vrilissia where he inspected the construction of storm drains. The neighborhood’s roads are easily flooded and a project to construct 7.5 kilometers of drains is due to be completed next summer. So far, some 4 kilometers have been built.

Police yesterday arrested a 33-year-old computer technician employed at the Public Order Ministry who is believed to have swindled 8,000 euros from a bank using the details of customers. The unnamed employee is alleged to have exploited his access to the account details of bank customers, telephoning to cancel credit cards before ordering new ones to arrive at a different address. He is then alleged to have used the new cards to make purchases. Officers who raided his home seized several photocopies of police identity cards and an air gun.

Adverse weather conditions yesterday caused minor problems in some villages at the foot of Mount Taygetos in the Peloponnese, which had been ravaged by forest fires in August. Heavy rain caused subsidence on parts of the local road network. Kalamata Mayor Panayiotis Nikas said that municipal officials had been sent to repair the damage, adding that “the situation was completely under control.” In Ileia, the prefecture worst hit by the fires, there were reports of some landslides. But local officials said the problems were no worse than those experienced after less serious fires.

The managing director of Apofasi daily newspaper Constantinos Triantafyllakis was given a suspended prison sentence yesterday for the company’s failure to pay 43 employees their wages for three months. The employees had sued the newspaper, which is no longer in circulation, over the money they were not paid in June, July and August of 2005. The court handed Triantafyllakis a sentence of three years and eight months, which was suspended for three years.

Piraeus prefecture officials yesterday blocked the import of 40 tons of almonds into the country after finding them unfit for human consumption. The almonds, imported from the USA, were found to contain a large number of dead insects, officials added.

Police arrested three men in Thessaloniki yesterday for possessing 3 kilos of cannabis and small quantities of cocaine. The three suspects, aged 24 to 35, were charged with drug trafficking after being arrested in the Thermi area.