In Brief
CYPRUS TALKS
Papadopoulos says he would not snub a ‘social meeting’ with Talat Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told a local radio station yesterday that he would not block a possible «social meeting» with Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, the Athens News Agency said. He said that if reunification matters were on the agenda, then the meeting should be held under the auspices of the UN. MURDER CASE Mother of four beaten to death A prosecutor in Patras, western Greece, yesterday charged 34-year-old Costas Robotis with the murder of a 30-year-old mother of four a few hours after the two met in a bar in the city. Police said they did not know each other previously. Robotis was charged with beating the unnamed woman to death after the pair drove to a beach and then began arguing. Her four children have been taken in by their grandparents. Peloponnese station Built 118 years ago, the station in central Athens servicing trains to and from the Peloponnese was shut yesterday due to renovation work on part of the track which is likely to take a few months, the railway company said. Trains to the Peloponnese, including those to Ancient Olympia and Patras, will now run from the station in Aghioi Anargyroi in northwestern Athens. There are 11 bus lines in Athens which passengers can use to travel to and from the northern station. These include buses running from the center of the city to Ano Liosia and Ilion. Woman strangled Police found the body of a 53-year-old Armenian woman yesterday in an apartment in Pangrati, central Athens, after she had apparently been strangled to death. The woman’s neighbors notified police of a bad smell coming from her ground-floor apartment. She was found with two electrical cables wrapped around her neck and police believe that the woman was killed about three days ago. Road blocked Tens of farmers used tractors to block off the Yiannitsa-Edessa highway in northern Greece just after midday yesterday calling for better prices for their peach produce. Peach producers have been in a tug-of-war with canning companies the last few weeks over the prices paid for their fruit. Mazda recall Mazda dealerships are recalling the RX-8 model which rolled off the production line between July 28, 2003 and the start of July this year, the Development Ministry said yesterday. Some of the cars may have problems with excessive heating of the fuel tank or steering faults. Local dealer Elma AEVEA told the ministry that it has informed its customers and its network of partners of the recall. Shipshape In the wake of a number of delays and cancellations of passenger ferries in recent days, the Merchant Marine Ministry and operators said yesterday they have put more vessels into action to cover an expected increase in demand over the August 15 holiday weekend. A new high-speed ferry, with a capacity for some 800 passengers and 200 vehicles, has begun sailing to the Cycladic Islands, while four navy vessels are transporting trucks daily with basic goods and food to a number of islands. Cruise diversion Two cruise ships from Israel carrying 1,600 passengers to Turkey were diverted to Cyprus yesterday due to security fears in the second such incident in four days. Since Friday, 6,100 passengers on four cruises to Turkey from Israel have been diverted because of what a top Israeli counterterrorism official said was «very worrying» information of possible Al Qaeda attacks on global tourist spots. (Reuters)
