In Brief
CARNIVAL RIOTS
Fifteen charged over nocturnal rampage through center of Patras A Patras prosecutor yesterday brought criminal charges against two youths involved in riots at the close of the western city’s annual Carnival festivities early on Monday morning. Student Dimitris Triandafyllidis, 19, and civil servant Fotis Panagopoulos, also 19 face charges of arson with intent, insurrection and causing damage to private property. Another 13 youths arrested following the rampage have been indicted for alleged misdemeanors including insurrection. All 15 have been detained. SEA RESCUE Engineer dies, two crew saved after boat springs a leak off Crete A military helicopter yesterday afternoon saved two men from a fishing boat that had sprung a leak in high seas off the coast of Crete, but did not manage to save the third member of the crew whose body was retrieved by a cargo ship. Marine engineer Petros Kavouris, 58, fell into the sea before the helicopter that picked up Dionysis Karambas, 58, and an unidentified Egyptian could save him. FARE EVASION 100 new inspectors at work One hundred new ticket inspectors have started work on Athens buses, trolleys, the metro and the electric railway, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) announced yesterday. The new inspectors wear blue waistcoats and carry identity cards with their photograph. Inspectors will also be equipped to check for forged tickets, OASA said. No taxis There will be no taxis on the streets of Athens on Friday as Attica cabbies hold a 24-hour strike from 5 a.m., unionists confirmed yesterday. Protesters want more taxi ranks and access to bus lanes, and object to recent reforms toughening penalties for professional misconduct. A protest in the city center is likely to cause traffic disruption. Blast trials Three men are to face trial for allegedly planting homemade explosive devices in Thessaloniki in April 2002 and November 2001, according to a court ruling made public yesterday. Thomas Traios is charged with placing an explosive device – consisting of gas canisters tied together – outside the building housing the office of Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, while Evangelos Smyrlis and Nikolaos Lampadas are charged with planting similar devices outside a bank on Ethnikis Amynas Street and throwing petrol bombs on the annual commemoration of the 1973 pro-democracy Polytechnic student revolt. Garbage overload The capital’s main garbage dump in Ano Liosia, on the northwestern outskirts of Athens, yesterday remained shut following the collapse on Monday of a 200-meter mountain of rubbish. Officials, who met yesterday, said they hoped the dump would reopen tomorrow but workers and municipal authority officials warned that the dump would be closed down indefinitely unless staff safety on the site was ensured. Meanwhile, the Athens Municipality appealed to citizens to refrain from leaving their trash out on the streets until the problem is solved. Mail thief A Thessaloniki mailman is to face an appeals court regarding his alleged pilfering of around 22,000 euros from letters addressed to court clerks and containing fees for the delivery of legal deeds, according to a Misdemeanors Council ruling made public yesterday. Theodoros Vassileiadis, who worked in a mail distribution center in Thessaloniki’s Sfageia district, would allegedly remove money from envelopes before resealing them. He was arrested after police caught him with pre-marked bills. Illegal migrants Port Authority officials in the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa early yesterday arrested a 48-year-old trucker after finding 39 illegal immigrants hidden in his trailer. Savvas Sotiriadis had been preparing to board a ferry to the Italian port of Ancona. Roadworks Drivers on Athens’s coastal Poseidonos Ave will face disruptions for three months following the launch of works on Monday to construct an intersection between Poseidonos and Kifissou avenues. Traffic in both directions will be affected as the number of available lanes will be restricted.
