NEWS

In Brief

RAILWAY PROBLEMS

Service to be disrupted today as workers join 24-hour strike Train schedules are due to be disrupted today as employees of the Hellenic Railway Organization (OSE) join a 24-hour strike, despite a court ruling yesterday deeming the action excessive. Workers are protesting plans to change the structure of the organization, including the alleged projected dismissal of 7,250 employees. ELA TRIAL Hearings postponed until Thursday An Athens court trying six people in connection with bombings linked to the Revolutionary Popular Struggle (ELA) terrorist group yesterday postponed hearings until next Thursday after rejecting an appeal by two defense lawyers to step down. Lawyers Angelos Varoutsis and Efstathios Vlantis had asked to be relieved of representing Agapiou after he refused to be represented by them, saying he would thus be endorsing an abuse of power. CPI Greece’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 4 percent last month compared to January 2004, according to figures released by the National Statistics Service yesterday. This compares to a 2.9 percent CPI hike in January 2004 from January 2003. Samina trial The trial of the 10 people charged in connection with the Express Samina shipwreck off Paros, which caused 82 deaths in September 2000, is to be held at an appeals court in Piraeus and not, as originally planned, on Syros, so as to maintain order, according to a Supreme Court decision made public yesterday. Internet problems Around 10,000 Internet users in Attica who rely on ADSL high-speed connections were unable to get online from 3 p.m. yesterday following a malfunction in the processor of a Broadband Remote Access Server in central Athens. Technicians, who were still trying to solve the problem late last night, said they could not determine when the service could resume. KKE congress Communist Party (KKE) leader Aleka Papariga addressed the opening of the party’s 17th congress in the Athenian district of Perissos yesterday. The party secretaries of New Democracy and PASOK, Evangelos Meimarakis and Michalis Chrysochoidis, respectively, also addressed the congress. Taking the Pis Deputy Culture Minister Petros Tatoulis yesterday complained to Brussels airport for displaying a mobile telephony advertisement showing the ancient Erechtheion temple with one of the caryatids replaced by the symbol of Brussels, a urinating boy known as Mannekin Pis. The use of the monument in the advert is «unacceptable and provocative,» Tatoulis said. The airport director has reportedly agreed to remove the advert. Cyprus appeal The leader of Cyprus’s opposition Democratic Rally party (DISY) Nikos Anastassiadis yesterday called for reconciliation between Cyprus and Turkey during a visit to Istanbul. Anastassiadis is the first Cypriot political leader to visit Turkey since the 1974 invasion. Pregnant rights Synaspismos Left Coalition Deputy Fotis Kouvelis yesterday asked Labor Minister Panos Panayiotopoulos how the government would react to alleged plans by the state Manpower Organization (OAED) to remove pregnant women from the unemployment register. OAED has justified the measure by maintaining that pregnant women «are not available for work,» Kouvelis cited the Ombudsman’s report as stating. Teenage suicide A 17-year-old high school student was yesterday found hanging from a tree behind his school building in Kavala.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.