In Brief
Athens traffic – Police say strict policies have reduced violations Strict policing and better public transport have helped reduce illegal parking and infringements of traffic restrictions in central Athens, according to data made public by the traffic police yesterday. Officers issued 16,255 parking tickets last month compared to 25,378 in September 2000. And violations of the restrictions on driving in the city center dipped from 2,320 last September to 1,983. Rescue Fireman pulled from gorge on Mount Olympus A seasonal fireman who fell into a gorge on Thursday while fighting a fire on Mt. Olympus, northern Greece, was recovering in hospital yesterday. The 22-year-old fireman, Thanassis Polymeros, was rescued early yesterday by firefighters from Katerini and Larissa and the Hellenic Rescue Team, with support from a Super Puma helicopter. Lesperoglou trial Officer subpoenaed An Athens court yesterday subpoenaed a police officer to testify at the trial of Avraam Lesperoglou, who is charged with involvement in the murder of public prosecutor Giorgos Theofanopoulos in 1985 and a number of terrorist acts. Officer Gretsitsas received an anonymous call shortly after the murder from a person who allegedly gave descriptions of Theofanopoulos’s killers. No taxis. The Attica taxi drivers’ union (SATA) is holding a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, October 24, to protest at the Transport Ministry’s refusal to allow them to charge higher fares. Radio licenses. The National Radio Television Council has announced the names of another 17 radio stations that will be granted broadcasting licenses in Attica, bringing the total to 35. They are Planet, Sphaira, Lampsi, En Lefko, Eva, Ciao, Sport FM, Polis, Difono, Profit, Love, Rythmos, Alpha Sport, Radio DJ, and in 15th place three stations – Diva, Peiraiki Ekklisia and Radio Gold. Cremation. The first facilities in Greece for people who wish to have their bodies cremated will open soon at the Schistos cemetery in southern Piraeus, the Mayor of Perama said during a conference this week on civil funerals and the right of choice between interment and cremation. According to yesterday’s Eleftherotypia daily, Mayor Yiannis Patsilinakos told the conference in Athens on Wednesday that the town hall has already started the bid procedure for a crematorium. He said the cemetery will also cater to atheists. Up Transport Ministry. The Council of State yesterday issued a decision allowing European Union citizens to work for the Transport Ministry in jobs previously reserved for Greeks alone, except for political posts and the press office. It also began reviewing a decree allowing EU citizens to work for the Athens Olympic committee in administration, accounting, civil engineering, among other posts. Father-and-son team. Police in the Thessaloniki suburb of Triandria yesterday arrested Giorgos Malakopoulos, 56, and his 27-year-old son Emmanouil as they were transferring 100,000 packets of contraband cigarettes from one truck to another, as well as the owner of the truck, Panayiotis Moisidis, 38. Moisidis had reported the truck stolen to Naoussa police, but had in fact had rented it to the other two to transpor Afghan aid. Doctors of the World Greece are organizing deliveries of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, funded exclusively by private donors, both individuals and organizations, the organization announced yesterday. A mission is leaving early next week with medicine, food and blankets for camps on the Iran-Afghanistan border. Donations can be made by credit card by calling 644.0300, or by payments to the following accounts: Commercial Bank account no. 001-29534144, National Bank account number 141/29611217 and Alpha Bank account number 199-00-2002-002410. Writer dies. Journalist and author Kyriakos Simopoulos died yesterday aged 81. His books include Foreign Travelers in Greece and The looting and destruction of Greek antiquities. He also translated Anton Chekhov and Simone de Beauvoir.
