In Brief
OLYMPIC SITES
More tenders for Athens Games facilities are on the way Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said yesterday that a second international tender for the leasing of sites used during the Athens Olympics is to be launched in August, and that the third round will come in late September. In July, the government invited offers for the canoe-kayak site in Hellenikon, the Goudi badminton court, and for a section of the International Broadcasting Center. DEPORTATION TURNAROUND Minister helps out Pakistani woman Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told Parliament yesterday that he had intervened to stop the deportation of a Pakistani woman who had been living in Greece without a residence permit for the last 25 years. Azia Avana Mohammed was to be deported with her daughter but after the matter was raised during a debate on the immigration bill, the minister said that she would be allowed to remain in the country on humanitarian grounds. MPs will vote on the government’s proposed changes to immigration rules today. Brother surrenders A 25-year-old man who allegedly shot his sister’s husband only hours after the couple was married on the weekend gave himself up late on Tuesday, police said yesterday. A naval court prosecutor charged the man, a coast guard official, with manslaughter and the illegal possession and use of weapons. Sources said that the man claimed he committed the murder in a blind rage. However, authorities have yet to disclose the reasons behind the crime. Ship accident A ferry transporting 38 trucks was listing yesterday after it rammed into a dock in Keratsini as it departed on its trip to the Aegean. The Aghios Efstathios was then tied to the pier, enabling divers to begin repair work as it started to take in water. The 25 crew members and 10 passengers traveling along with the trucks were all safe. The accident, however, is likely to cause problems on the islands of Chios, Lesvos and Lemnos as the trucks were transporting water, food and fruit to those destinations. Bus row The Panhellenic Federation of Tourist Enterprises (POET) wrote to Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday to complain about the introduction of a sightseeing bus in central Athens by the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA). POET said that the 90-minute ride encroached on their territory. Electricity demand Electricity demand hit a new record high yesterday, with usage of the system reaching 9,665 megawatts around 2 p.m. The previous record, set on Tuesday, stood at 9,510 megawatts. Officials said the system was able to withstand the extra demand after repairs were made to two electricity production units as well as the boost received from increased imports from Italy and other countries. Bar brawl Police arrested a 20-year-old man yesterday for allegedly trying to murder a 32-year-old nightclub owner in Athens on three occasions, authorities said. Officers caught the unnamed man outside the nightclub in the suburb of Menidi, northwest Athens, with a gun in his possession. Police said the suspect was in love with a 26-year-old Russian woman who worked at the bar and tried to kill the owner another two times with a faulty hand grenade after discovering that the woman was having an affair with him. Strike off Strike action called by employees at the Civil Aviation Authority (YPA), scheduled to start tomorrow and run through to Sunday, was called off yesterday after an Athens court deemed the action illegal. Employees are seeking increased staff levels, arguing that this will improve flight safety standards.
