In Brief
TRIATHLON TRAINING
Traffic disruptions in Vouliagmeni A practice session for the cycling and running races for the Olympic triathlon will cause traffic disruptions in the coastal suburb of Vouliagmeni today. A traffic ban – to be enforced from 9 a.m. until noon – will affect Sounion-bound traffic on coastal Poseidonos Avenue from the Vari-Koropi junction to the Varkiza delta, Athens-bound traffic on Poseidonos, from the Varkiza delta to the Kavouriou Street junction, and surrounding roads. The actual triathlon is to take place on Wednesday and Thursday when a similar traffic ban will be enforced. Powell visit US Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheduled to arrive in Athens on Saturday for a two-day trip during which he will attend Sunday’s closing ceremony for the Olympic Games, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Powell is also scheduled to have talks with his Greek counterpart, Petros Molyviatis, as well as Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, the ministry said. He will be the first US government member to visit Athens for the Olympics. Journalists attacked Two Greeks, both aged 24, were arrested in the early hours of Saturday after allegedly attacking a group of Spanish state television journalists who had been filming in Monastiraki Square, central Athens. The journalists sustained minor injuries, according to police. It was unclear what provoked the attack. Theodorakis Composer Mikis Theodorakis was yesterday in a stable condition after being readmitted to the Athens Evangelismos Hospital on Saturday with stomach pains. The 79-year-old must remain under medical supervision for the next few days as there have been some complications following the gall bladder operation he underwent last Wednesday, doctors said. Greek-Dutch ties Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday received his Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende at the Maximos Mansion for talks. Balkenende, who is also president of the European Council, told Karamanlis he had been impressed with the Olympics opening ceremony and the smooth organization of the Games. Road fatalities A 36-year-old man and his 2-year-old daughter were killed in a road accident outside the northern Cretan town of Iraklion yesterday. Constantinos Kalyvianakis and his unbaptized daughter died instantly in the head-on collision. Kalyvianakis’s wife Maria Lyroni, 32, was seriously injured. On Saturday, a 2-year-old boy was killed in Ano Liosia after being hit by a truck while playing in the road with his friends. Truckdriver Panayiotis Theodoropolos, 32, was arrested. Russian arrested A 31-year-old Russian was arrested yesterday after trying to enter the Olympic Village using accreditation belonging to a fellow Russian who had left Greece, the Athens News Agency reported. The man, an employee of a Russian manufacturer of sports goods, was to face a prosecutor yesterday along with another two Russians who had been arrested on Saturday, the ANA said, without giving further details about the other two. Greek-Bulgarian ties Greek and Bulgarian ministers on Saturday agreed to accelerate the development of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, the Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas and Bulgarian Regional Development Minister Valentin Tserovski discussed the promotion of Greek-Bulgarian ties in general, the ministry said. Serb caught A 42-year-old Serbian national being sought by Austrian authorities for fraud and embezzlement was arrested on Saturday while trying to enter Greece at the Evzones border crossing. The man, identified only as I.K., told border guards that he had wanted to visit Greece for his holidays. He allegedly committed the crimes four years ago.
