In Brief
CAR-FREE DAY
Minister calls on citizens, state bodies to use public transport from next week Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias yesterday called upon citizens to use Athens’s upgraded public transport system rather than their cars on European Car-Free Day on September 22. «This is our chance to exploit the heritage of the Olympic Games, but also to develop new solutions for the benefit of the whole country, to upgrade our quality of life and protect the environment,» Souflias said. He also called upon ministries and state organizations to encourage their staff to opt for public transport next Wednesday but also on a more permanent basis. DOPING PROBE Sprinters’ coach gets more time to prepare testimony after lawyer death Athens prosecutors investigating a doping scandal involving Greece’s two top sprinters yesterday postponed until next Monday the deposition of Christos Tzekos, who had coached the two athletes, following the death of Tzekos’s lawyer in a helicopter crash on Saturday. Tzekos, who has already been granted one postponement, faces questioning about illegal «food supplements» allegedly found in his possession, his alleged obstruction of a doping test the athletes had been due to attend and a motorcycle accident the sprinters claim to have been involved in. POWER CUT Central Salonica without electricity Many parts of central Thessaloniki were left without electricity for two-and-a-half hours yesterday due to a malfunction in the power network supplying the northern city. The power cut occurred at 3.30 p.m. following an electrical short circuit in underground networks, regional Public Power Cooperation (PPC) officials said. Power was restored just before 6 p.m. Child porn A 27-year-old man, who allegedly secretly photographed naked children in school locker rooms and summer camps and made money by posting the pictures on the Internet, was arrested yesterday. Police raided his Athens home. and confiscated dozens of photos of children, aged 6 to 14, as well as computers, computer drives and digital cameras. Officers from Attica’s electronic crime unit tracked down the man, who was not identified, by monitoring his movements on the Internet. Arson attack Firemen who extinguished a blaze at the Transport Ministry’s offices in the northern suburb of Aghia Paraskevi at 2 a.m. yesterday said they had found the remains of a homemade explosive device. The fire, which destroyed computer equipment, documents and furniture, was extinguished before it could spread beyond the first-floor offices. Fatal brawl A 21-year-old man died and his 17-year-old friend was seriously injured yesterday in a brawl outside a coffee shop in the village of Kamares, south-central Crete. Police arrested Stylianos Dyspyrakis, 55, who is alleged to have fired shots at Emmanouil Frangiadakis and his younger friend Fanouris Leontarakis after being struck with a walking stick. It is unclear what provoked the brawl, which started in the early afternoon and involved the use of crooks, sticks, stones and crowbars, police said. The suspect sustained minor head injuries. Road fatalities Two children, aged 6 and 10, were killed when a car they were traveling in with their mother crashed into a tree near the village of Nea Moudania in Halkidiki yesterday afternoon. The mother lost control of the vehicle which hit a tree by the roadside, according to police. The woman was hospitalized in a serious condition. Police did not reveal the identities of the children nor the mother, who they said was foreign. Ferry baptism A woman from Samothrace yesterday christened her son on the same ferry on which she gave birth to him three months ago, the Athens News Agency reported. Dimitra Kalpaka gave birth to her son, whom she has christened Eleftherios, on the Nissos Lemnos while en route to Samothrace on June 13. Yesterday’s baptism was attended by dozens of relatives, friends and residents of Samothrace, the ANA said. Tram collision A tram and a passenger car collided at the junction of Metaxa and Lambraki streets in the coastal suburb of Glyfada shortly before 4 a.m. yesterday. There were no injuries.
