In Brief
STAY COOL
Athenians urged to avoid using air conditioning for too long Power company PPC has urged households to limit air-conditioner use during high temperatures in order to avoid a possible power cut in Athens and other parts of the country. The City of Athens will offer 25 indoor air-conditioned areas where Athenians can cool off. From 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., Athenians can seek refuge from the heat, which is expected to reach as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102F) today. Authorities recommend caution during the hot weather, especially for senior citizens and those with heart conditions. BRITISH BASES Cyprus rules against total control The Cypriot Parliament passed a resolution yesterday ruling that Britain does not have absolute control over the land on which its military bases on the island are located. EU laws fully apply to these areas, which Britain may use only for specific military purposes. Hunger strike ends Kurd Zulkuf Murat Bora ended, late on Wednesday, a 44-day hunger strike he had begun in an attempt to secure political asylum in Greece. Bora’s cause was at the center of a peaceful three-hour siege of Thessaloniki’s White Tower on Tuesday as 150 of his supporters hung a huge banner requesting that he be granted asylum. The Kurdish refugee is wanted in Turkey as an alleged member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Not guilty Eleven former board members of energy company PPC were found innocent by a court yesterday on charges of breach of faith in connection with the tender of a construction of a new power plant in Lavrion, south of Athens. Independence Day The US Embassy in Athens, its consulate in Thessaloniki and other US public services operating in Greece will be closed on Monday due to the Independence Day holiday. Recognition Azerbaijan said yesterday that it would start accepting Turkish-Cypriot passports, becoming only the second state after Turkey to give a degree of recognition to residents from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stopped short of offering Turkish Cypriots full recognition, but promised to help them emerge from international isolation. Brazilian magic Brazil soccer captain Ronaldinho signs autographs after arriving in Athens yesterday to conduct the soccer league draw for next season as a guest of league organizer EPAE. His attendance has caused widespread media comments with reports that the Barcelona striker will receive 300,000 euros for the draw and 500,000 euros in total for his two-day visit. EPAE responded by saying that sponsors will cover the expenses. Quarry death A 65-year-old man was crushed to death at a quarry in Crete yesterday after the truck he was driving overturned and the rocks he was transporting fell onto the truck’s cab. Cannabis found Police arrested a 40-year-old man in Marathon, close to Athens, after finding seven cannabis plants growing in his garden. Two machine guns and additional small quantities of cannabis were found when police searched the man’s house.
