In Brief
GAY PRIDE
First march in Athens Participants in the first large-scale gay pride parade in Athens unfolded a banner on Saturday in front of Parliament in Syntagma Square as they called for greater tolerance toward gays, lesbians and transsexuals. Hundreds of people took part in the parade, the first for the Greek capital. About 500 people carried banners reading «Love and Life Deserve Respect.» Athens has a number of gay bars, and summer island resorts, such as Myconos, draw thousands of gay tourists annually but public displays of affection by same-sex couples are still widely frowned upon. Seaside drugs Eight people were arrested at a beachside club in Athens early yesterday morning after a police raid found cocaine, ecstasy pills and cannabis at the night spot. Among those arrested was a Lebanese national, who police said appeared to have supplied the drugs, and one woman who was in charge of the club. Police were also trying to locate the owners of the nightclub. Forest fire Firefighters put out a blaze yesterday in a forest in northern Athens using six planes, two helicopters and 60 firefighters, authorities said. The fire, close to the Grammatiko suburb, covered 125 acres of land and was difficult to extinguish due to strong winds, authorities added. No one was hurt and no houses were evacuated. Car bomb A car was damaged early yesterday when a homemade explosive device was placed under the vehicle on Mesogeion Avenue outside a car dealership. Youth questioned Police were questioning a 16-year-old in connection to a recent attack on a bus in Thessaloniki in which youths pelted the vehicle carrying more than 30 passengers with rocks. The stones smashed the bus’s front and side windows. Thessaloniki death A 79-year-old man was found dead yesterday in his home in Thessaloniki with multiple head wounds after probably being attacked, police said. Train derailment A train traveling from Athens to Argos, central Greece, with 44 passengers aboard derailed early yesterday but no one was hurt. An old rubber car tire had been placed on the train tracks, causing the derailment. Authorities said that similar derailments had been reported in recent years.
