In Brief
RETURNING MIGRANTS
Reentry deadline extended until Feb. 2 for nationals of Southeast Asia Immigrants living in Greece who returned to India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand over the Christmas holiday period may re-enter the country up until February 2 without any problems, the Public Order Ministry said yesterday. The original deadline for re-entry of January 15 still applies for immigrants returning from other countries. SARONIC QUAKE 4.9-level tremor felt in Attica, no reports of injuries or damage A moderate quake, measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale, struck the Saronic Gulf shortly before midnight on Monday, but no injuries or damage were reported. The quake was felt in some parts of Attica. A quake struck the same area on December 6. TSUNAMI VICTIMS Three-minute silence at noon today Employees of public offices and private firms are to join their counterparts across Europe in observing a three-minute silence at midday today for the more than 144,000 people killed by last month’s tsunamis in Southeast Asia. Flags on state buildings will fly at half-mast throughout the day. Traders on the Athens Stock Exchange will fall silent an hour later at 1 p.m., joining other European stock exchanges for three minutes of silence. Street trade Certain provisions of a draft presidential decree restricting the activities of authorized street vendors were yesterday deemed illegal by the fifth division of the Council of State. Among the provisions struck down was the one dictating that street vendors ply their wares at least 400 meters from established street markets and at least 200 meters from stores selling similar products. It was proposed that such matters be regulated by the municipal and local authorities. Fuel prices The price of unleaded gasoline in Greece has increased by a total of 2.46 percent since the beginning of last year, reaching 0.749 euros per liter on December 30, according to Development Ministry figures released yesterday. Greece continues to boast the lowest retail price for unleaded gasoline in the European Union – 26.9 percent below the EU average, according to the ministry. The average price of heating fuel in Greece was 0.423 euros per liter on December 30, the ministry said. Migrants detained Coast guard officials on Lesvos have detained a total of 15 illegal immigrants on the island since Monday. A group of nine would-be migrants, who had reached the island from neighboring Turkey in a speedboat, were found near the airport yesterday. And six immigrants, who had traveled from Turkey in an inflatable rowboat, were found near the port of Mytilene on Monday. No details of the migrants’ ethnic origin were made available. Traffic disruption Works on Marathonos Avenue are to disrupt traffic in both directions on the stretch between the ninth and 24th kilometer near Nea Makri. The works, to be carried out between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m, are set to continue until the end of the month. Academy appointment Emmanouil Roukounas, an expert in international law and professor emeritus at the University of Athens, is to be appointed as the new president of the Athens Academy during an official ceremony tomorrow evening. Roukounas has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague since 2002. He replaces Spyros Iakovidis. Fuel fines Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas yesterday signed 11 decisions imposing a total of 718,259 euros in fines on gas stations after fuel samples tested by state inspectors failed to meet specifications. A total of 1.72 million euros in fines has been imposed on gas stations since the beginning of October, the ministry said.
