In Brief
ANTI-WMD UNIT
NATO force arrives in Greece A NATO unit which is to provide protection against a possible nuclear or biochemical attack during the Olympic Games has arrived in Greece, military officials said yesterday. The main bulk of the force will be based in Halkida along with a state-of-the-art mobile laboratory, while other units will be on standby around the capital, the officials said. The unit is composed of experts from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Belgium. August exodus The first wave of the traditional August exodus began over the weekend as tens of thousands of Athenians abandoned the capital by car and boat. Traffic jams were crawling past the Elefsina toll gates from early Saturday morning. Nemean Games Hundreds of people gathered at the ancient stadium of Nemea in the Peloponnese on Saturday to participate in the re-enactment of the games that were held there in ancient times. Men and women from around 36 countries donned white tunics and participated in a 100-meter barefoot sprint and a 7.5-kilometer (4.6-mile) run. Spiritual Games Archbishop Christodoulos yesterday stressed the importance of the role of the Greek Church in providing spiritual support to athletes. He also said that it was the role of the Church to embrace foreign visitors and to reject racism. Stone thrower Police have arrrested a 23-year-old Pakistani who was caught throwing stones at motorists on the Athens-Corinth National Road on Saturday night. Mohammed Avzal caused damage to five cars, but no injuries, after attacking Corinth-bound motorists from the median strip at the Mandras junction, police said. Officers were questioning him about similar attacks in Faliron and Gerakas over the past two years.
