In Brief
NEW YEAR’S EVE
Public transport to stop running earlier than usual on December 31 Public transport will be operating on a reduced schedule on New Year’s Eve. Buses and trolley buses will begin their final journeys at 10 p.m, except for the routes that operate on a 24-hour basis, which will continue to run as normal. The last metro trains from Syntagma will leave at 11 p.m., while the trains from the other terminal stations will leave a little earlier – Doukissis Plakentias, 10.39 p.m.; Aghios Dimitrios, 10.45 p.m.; Aghios Antonios 10.46 p.m. and Monastiraki at 10.55 p.m. The last electric railway train from Kifissia to Piraeus and vice-versa will leave at 10.45 p.m. The last trains from Omonia to Kifissia and Omonia to Piraeus will leave at 11 p.m. Passengers can contact the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) on 185 or at www.oasa.gr. Casino sackings Police detain managing director after dispute with employees Police detained yesterday the managing director of Rhodes Casino, Enrico Aidan, after six ex-employees took legal action against him for unfair dismissal. Aidan was arrested at the airport on his way to Athens. He was given a trial date of February 3 and then allowed to leave. The Tourism Development Ministry said it will investigate the sackings of the employees, while the workers responded by agreeing to 48-hour rolling strikes starting in February. OSE CANCELLATIONS Some New Year’s trains will not run The Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) said yesterday that some of its trains would not be running tomorrow and on New Year’s Day. The lines affected will be Athens to Halkida, Thessaloniki to Edessa, and Thessaloniki to Serres. Passengers are advised to call OSE on 1110 for more information. Grenade explosion A hand grenade exploded outside an optical store in Holargos, northeastern Athens, early yesterday, causing damage to the shop front and a parked car, police said. An investigation has been launched into the attack, which police say is probably due to personal differences with the shopowner. Shooting suspect Police in Athens were yesterday looking for a man aged between 25 and 30 who fired on officers as they attempted to stop him from riding off on a stolen motorcycle in the western suburb of Nea Halkidona. When he was challenged by officers, he fired three shots at them and then ran off. Nobody was hurt in the incident. PASOK shake-up PASOK leader George Papandreou yesterday appointed Pavlos Geroulanos, a close associate from his time as foreign minister, as the director of his political office. In a small reshuffle of party officials, Papandreou also appointed MP Theodoros Pangalos to head up his party’s review of the constitution. No loot Two armed robbers who held up a branch of ATEBank in Thessaloniki yesterday left empty-handed after failing to find any money in the cash tills, police said. The suspects burst into the bank in the Neapolis neighborhood at 9.30 a.m. but they sped off on a motorbike soon afterward having failed to find any cash. Toxic fumes A 65-year-old woman was in critical condition yesterday after breathing carbon monoxide fumes generated by her home’s heating unit. Vassiliki Ponidi was flown to an Athens hospital from Kastoria, northern Greece, after inhaling the fumes along with her daughter and son-in-law, who were in stable condition. Her husband, 71-year-old Vassilis Ponidis, died from the poisonous smoke earlier this week. Deadly beating Police began an investigation yesterday into the murder of a 40-year-old man in Thessaloniki who died from head wounds on Wednesday night, caused by a heavy metal object, police said.
