In Brief
ARREST WARRANTS
Two more ‘thieves in black’ are being sought over bloody robbery A prosecutor issued arrest warrants yesterday for two more suspects in connection with the bloody attempted robbery of a branch of the National Bank of Greece in central Athens last month. Officers said that they were looking for Grigoris Tsironis, 28, and Marios Seisidis, 25, who were allegedly members of the five-man gang dubbed the «thieves in black.» An arrest warrant was issued last month for Seisidis’s 30-year-old brother, Simeon, but he is still at large. Technical college student and suspected robber Yiannis Dimitrakis, 28, who was injured during the raid remains in police custody. The gang is thought to have stolen some 740,000 euros over the last three years. ANGELAKOS RESIGNS Head of Greek police steps down The head of the country’s police force, Giorgos Angelakos, tendered his resignation late yesterday, government sources said without clarifying the reasons behind his decision. Recently appointed Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras is thought to have requested a change to the top police position. Angelakos’s replacement is expected to be appointed on Tuesday. Bird flu Six more dead swans infected with bird flu have been found in Greece, the Agricultural Development Ministry said yesterday. Two of the swans were found in the prefecture of Xanthi, three were from the Evros Delta and one was from the Imathia prefecture. Samples from the birds have been sent to an EU laboratory in England, which will confirm whether the birds were carrying the deadly H5N1 virus. So far, 16 birds have been discovered in Greece with the fatal form of the disease. Illegal immigrants Police detained 69 illegal immigrants yesterday in Didymoteicho on the Greek-Turkish border after the migrants were discovered hidden in a truck transporting refrigerated goods. The immigrants, most of whom were Somalian or Palestinian, were aged between 20 and 40. The owner of the truck has been arrested and was taken to a prosecutor as authorities conduct a manhunt for the driver. Mayor sworn in Theodoros Behrakis was sworn in as the interim mayor of Athens yesterday and called for unity in the municipal council. «The fact that we are essentially in a pre-election period should not affect the functioning of the City of Athens,» said Behrakis, who will be mayor until the end of the year, when he will be replaced by the candidate who wins the October mayoral election. Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, whom Behrakis replaced, said she was confident that «Athens is in safe hands.» Philippines aid Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis gave a check for 300,000 euros to the Philippines Embassy in Athens yesterday to help with emergency relief after a landslide in the center of the country killed more than a thousand people late last week. Power protest Some 200 farmers used tractors to block the national road between Thessaloniki and Moudania for three hours yesterday. The farmers were protesting fines of up to 47,000 euros from the Public Power Corporation (PPC). PPC said the farmers had used more electricity than they had been allocated under a cut-price scheme but the farmers claimed the power company changed the terms of the deal without informing them. Pothole problems Heavy rainfall caused three partial cave-ins of major roads in Athens yesterday, police said. The cave-ins created potholes a few meters wide in each case. The problems occurred in Sepolia and on Pireos Street in Athens and in the northern suburb of Lykovryssi, disrupting traffic for hours.
