In Brief
MUSEUM DAY
Museums all over Greece will be open free of charge Entry to museums all over the country – apart from those closed for refurbishment ahead of the Olympics such as the National Archaeological Museum in Athens – will be free today to mark International Museum Day. This year, the Evgenidio Foundation on 387, Syngrou Avenue, will form the focus of celebrations, hosting a round-table discussion on museums and cultural heritage. HIGH GROWTH GDP up 4.1 percent in first quarter, NSS says Greece’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.1 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to data made public by the National Statistics Service (NSS) yesterday. Investments increased by 6.1 percent for the same period, NSS added. ATHENS TRAFFIC DISRUPTIONS Works on Poseidonos, Kifissias Traffic on coastal Poseidonos Avenue will be disrupted between Evryalis Street in Hellenikon and Yiannarou Street in Alimos after road-resurfacing works began yesterday, the Public Works Ministry said. The works, to be carried out between 11 p.m. and 6.30 a.m. daily, are scheduled to continue until June 30, the ministry said. Meanwhile, there will be traffic disruptions on the section of Kifissias Avenue between Adrianou and Papanastasiou streets from today as works get underway to set up street signs at the new Pharos interchange at Psychico. The works will be carried out from 10.30 p.m. until 6.30 a.m. daily, until June 12. Taverna ruling A series of illegally constructed taverna extensions in the small bay of Mikrolimano, Piraeus, must be demolished, under a Council of State ruling made public yesterday, which rejected appeals against the demolitions lodged by restaurant owners. The owners’ assertions – that the demolitions would mean they could no longer operate their businesses – are groundless because the sections destined for demolition do not comprise the main premises of the establishments in question, the court ruled. Museum closed Thessaloniki’s Archaeological Museum will be closed to the public from Thursday to enable the transfer of the «Gold of the Macedonians» exhibition to a newly renovated hall in the museum, the Culture Ministry said yesterday. The ministry did not say when the museum would be reopening. Drug haul Officers from the Serres drugs squad yesterday arrested six people after confiscating more than 550 ecstasy pills, 300 grams of cannabis and three cannabis plants. Police in the northern Greek town, who believe the drugs were smuggled into Greece from Bulgaria, posed as potential buyers in order to catch the alleged middlemen in the act of selling the drugs. The detainees refused to reveal the identities of their suppliers, police said. Soccer arrests A fan and a part-time employee of the AEK soccer team were arrested on Sunday after trying to smuggle fireworks into the soccer stadium in the Athenian district of Kallithea where the team was playing the Cretan club of OFI, police said yesterday. The two were arrested shortly before kickoff after officers confiscated 11 fireworks, 20 flares and 30 smoke bombs hidden in a box containing promotional leaflets for AEK. Imvros fire A 73-year-old resident of Imvros, one of the few ethnic Greeks still resident on the island off the mouth of the Dardenelles, was yesterday found dead following a fire on his farm. It is unclear what caused the blaze which killed Spiridon Thomas and destroyed his farm near the village of Aghioi Theodoroi. Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios, who was visiting his native Imvros yesterday, conducted a memorial service. Imvros came under Turkish control in 1923 after Greece and Turkey signed the Treaty of Lausanne. Ship blaze Firemen yesterday extinguished a blaze which broke out in a Panama-flagged cargo ship moored at the Piraeus Port Authority’s dry docks. It was unclear how the blaze started and how much damage it caused. One worker aboard the Arion fainted after inhaling toxic fumes.
