In Brief
SCHOOL’S OUT
Prefects react to cold weather and give schoolchildren an extra day off Schools in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki will be closed today due to the bad weather, the local prefects said yesterday. Schools in Athens closed at noon yesterday after local authorities decided it was too risky for students to commute to and from school. Courts around Greece will also be closed today due to the adverse weather conditions. FATAL STABBING Larissa pensioner murders his house cleaner and then kills himself A 76-year-old man committed suicide in Larissa, central Greece, after he apparently stabbed to death his 52-year-old cleaning lady, Evdoxia Paliyianni, on Monday night, police said yesterday. The retired farmer, Antonis Kakavanakis, shot himself with a hunting rifle after he stabbed Paliyianni 20 times. Police said that she had been working as his house cleaner for the last few years. HISTORIC TRIP Israeli president to visit Greece President Moshe Katzav will make the first visit of an Israeli head of state to Greece in February, the office of the Greek president announced yesterday. Katzav will begin his sojourn with a stay in Athens, where he will be received by his counterpart Karolos Papoulias, before continuing the next day to the northern port city of Thessaloniki. The exact dates of Katzav’s trip have not yet been announced. (AFP) Dimitrakis delay Magistrates granted an extension yesterday to Yiannis Dimitrakis, suspected of being one of the five robbers who held up a bank in central Athens on January 16, ahead of his testimony. Dimitrakis, 28, is under police guard in a hospital and was meant to answer questions yesterday but has been given until tomorrow to testify. Captain dies The captain of a tugboat was killed on Monday night while trying to repair his vessel on the eastern Aegean island of Icaria. The unnamed man was attempting to climb onto a crane in the harbor when he slipped and fell into the sea. A crew member who tried to help the victim was also seriously injured. Doctor guilty A court in Thessaloniki yesterday gave a gynecologist a two-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence after finding him guilty of manslaughter by neglect following the death of a 33-year-old woman who gave birth while in his care in 2001. The doctor, whose initials were given as A.P., worked at a private clinic in the northern city. The unnamed woman died from hemorrhaging three hours after giving birth to a baby boy. The anesthetist was cleared of all charges. Stray dogs A City of Athens program to protect stray animals has led to the inoculation of 1,334 dogs over the last three years and the adoption of another 214, Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis said yesterday. She said that dedicated municipal units are rounding up the stray animals and that the City of Athens is working with 16 veterinary clinics to treat and neuter or spay the animals. Metro fans Consumer group INKA said yesterday that 98 percent of Athenians prefer the metro to the tram, according to a survey conducted January 16-20. INKA reported that only 13 of the 700 people questioned said they prefer to travel by tram. Cannabis arrest A 29-year-old Albanian national was arrested on the island of Kos yesterday for having three kilos of cannabis in his possession. The suspect told police that he was about to hand over the cannabis to an unknown man for 500 euros. Investigations are continuing. Homeless shelter Thessaloniki Prefecture said yesterday it will provide 100 of the city’s homeless people with shelter in storage areas belonging to the Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH). Doctors and nursing staff will be on hand to provide any medical assistance required as temperatures in Thessaloniki fall below freezing.
