NEWS

In Brief

OLD FOR NEW

Incentives being mulled for drivers to trade in their cars The government is considering introducing an incentive scheme for drivers to trade their old cars which have been on the road for 15 years or more for new ones. Sources said yesterday that the Transport Ministry is looking at the program used in Cyprus, which offers several levels of incentives. People simply taking their car out of circulation receive a cash payment of between 172 and 516 euros. Those trading it for a new car receive a bonus of 1,290 to 1,720 euros. The scheme costs the Cypriot government 8.6 million euros a year. The most recent figures in Greece show that some 1.5 million of the 5.4 million cars in circulation are more than 15 years old. DRUG OFFENSES More than 500 arrests this year Officers have arrested 572 people in connection to drug offenses since the start of the year, the police said yesterday. Almost 70 kilos of heroin, 20 kilos of cocaine and 210 kilos of cannabis have also been seized, while more than 350,000 euros have been confiscated. Kiosk raid A group of 11 youths yesterday raided a kiosk on Vassilissis Sofias Street, directly outside Parliament, making off with various snacks and a small sum of money, according to a report on the website of Antenna television channel. The police officer who had been on duty outside Parliament saw the raid and the youths, nine of whom were foreigners, were arrested, ANT1 said on its site. Water aid Greek ships have been dispatched to start delivering some 8 million cubic meters of water to drought-stricken Cyprus, Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias said yesterday. Souflias, who yesterday signed an agreement with Cypriot Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis, said that Greece’s own water supplies are not running low at the moment but also called on consumers not to waste water. Fraudsters caught Police were yesterday questioning two Romanians, aged 33 and 37, who are believed to be members of a major ring of fraudsters that allegedly swindled thousands of euros from an Icelandic bank after tapping an ATM in central Athens. The ring is believed to have planted a device on the ATM to copy credit card details and to have subsequently forged clone cards used by members to make thousands of transactions. Police found on the two suspects a forged credit card and 24,000 euros in cash, believed to be just «a tiny fraction» of the amount the ring stole. Beach rage A 63-year-old man has been arrested on Cyprus on suspicion of killing a man and his dog following a row about the animal swimming in the sea. Eyewitnesses told police the two men had a loud argument on a beach near the village of Neo Horio in the west of the island. The 63-year-old, who was not named, is then alleged to have got in his car and driven over the 50-year-old and his dog. Earthquake An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale struck near Kamena Vourla, some 120 kilometers north of Athens, just before midnight on Wednesday. The quake did not cause any damage or injuries.

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