In Brief
FATAL CRASH
Two people killed, two injured in collision on Maliakos Gulf highway Two people were killed and another two injured yesterday in a car crash on one of country’s most notorious stretches of road – along the the Maliakos Gulf in central Greece. Police said the accident occurred when a car being driven by 56-year-old Christos Yiannakos veered into oncoming traffic on the Athens-Lamia national road and collided with a car being driven by 66-year-old Constantinos Baroutas. Yiannakos and his wife, who was a passenger, were killed in the crash. Police did not release the woman’s name. Baroutas and his wife were seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Officers said that one of the rear tires on Yiannakos’s car blew out, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. FYROM FRICTION FM: Greece won’t back EU and NATO bids unless name issue is resolved Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis yesterday stressed that Greece could not support the bids of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to join the European Union and NATO if the country insists on referring to itself as the «Republic of Macedonia.» «The Greek Parliament cannot approve the accession of (FYROM) to the EU and NATO unless the name issue is solved,» Bakoyannis said in response to comments by officials of FYROM’s new government. Meanwhile, FYROM’s new prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, asked for China’s support in the name dispute. FACTORY BOMB Extremists claim Athens blast The Revolutionary Brigade extremist group claimed responsibility on Monday night for bombing an underwear factory in western Athens, causing minor damage. A homemade device went off at 10.04 p.m., police said yesterday, outside the Sex Form factory in Ilion. Nobody was injured. The bomb had been placed next to a dumpster outside the factory. A man had called the Eleftherotypia newspaper minutes earlier to warn of the explosion. Cyprus deal The United Nations Security Council yesterday called for a swift and full implementation of the UN-brokered deal for Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders to resolve the day-to-day differences between the two communities. The two sides agreed to the deal in July. The 15-member council issued the statement after hearing a briefing from UN Undersecretary-General Ibrahim Gambari who visited Cyprus last month. News blackout Journalists in Cyprus said yesterday that they would not cover news involving officials in the occupied part of the island to protest the arrest of two colleagues by Turkish-Cypriot authorities. Media employees and owners said they would complain to the UN and EU. The two men, a cameraman and a reporter, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly filming military installations. They were released on Monday after being fined 400 Turkish lira (212 euros) by a Turkish-Cypriot court. Highway exit The Lamia exit on the Attiki Odos for cars traveling from Elefsina will open at 6.30 a.m. tomorrow, authorities said yesterday. The exit had been closed for roadwork but will reopen a day earlier than planned. Armed robbery Two armed men walked away with almost 5,000 euros yesterday after holding up a branch of Piraeus Bank in Vyronas, eastern Athens, police said. Both men were wearing hoods, according to officers Minor quake An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale shook the Ionian island of Cephalonia early yesterday, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. There were no reports of injuries or damage. Athens muggings Two men, aged 27 and 30, were beaten and mugged in Galatsi, northern Athens, yesterday by a group of five men, police said. Separately, a taxi driver was robbed by two men in Aghias Varvaras, western Athens. Police arrested one of the suspects.
