In Brief
ROAD DEATHS
Report blames drink-driving, failure to wear seatbelts, helmets Excessive alcohol consumption and failure to wear seatbelts or crash helmets are the two principal threats to Greek drivers’ lives, according to two-year-old statistics compiled by the Accident Prevention Department of the National First Aid Center and made public yesterday. Only 34 percent of car drivers, 21.7 percent of motorcyclists and 9.4 percent of scooter drivers in accidents in 1999 were wearing seatbelts or crash helmets, while 59 percent of car drivers, 63 percent of bikers and 85 percent of scooter drivers were found to have consumed excessive alcohol. FARMERS’ PROTESTS Road chaos as union leaders demand meeting with PM Protesting cotton farmers in northern Greece yesterday caused road chaos as they blocked crucial road junctions while unionists promised further action tomorrow. Farmers from the northern prefecture of Evros blocked border crossings and the Alexandroupolis-Orestiada road at Didymoteicho, demanding that the state should buy up 11 tons of cotton deemed sub-standard. Farmers from the Rodhope prefecture blocked local highway junctions, while tractors briefly closed off the center of Yiannitsa and the Thessaloniki-Veria road at Loudia. Meanwhile, unionists meeting in Larissa yesterday decided to block roads again tomorrow and demanded to meet Premier Costas Simitis. MIDDLE EAST Cyprus urges adoption of UN resolutions Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides expressed sorrow over the worsening Israeli-Palestinian conflict yesterday and urged the parties to implement the latest UN Security Council resolution. «The issue cannot be resolved through violence by Israel or counter-violence from the Palestinians,» Clerides said of the escalated fighting and suicide bombings. «There must be compliance with the resolution of the Security Council,» he said. The council voted on Saturday for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian towns, including Ramallah where Israeli forces have taken control of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s headquarters. (AP) 2004 mascot The Athens 2004 organising committee is to present the official Olympic Games mascot at the Athens Zappeion Mansion before an audience of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and journalists on Thursday evening, it was announced yesterday. IOC President Jacques Rogge is expected to attend. An IOC inspection team will arrive in Athens this evening for a four-day visit to assess progress in preparations for the 2004 Games. University strike University teachers, on strike since yesterday, are to meet Education Ministry officials today to discuss their demands, which include the incorporation of bonuses into their basic wage as well as higher pay. Universities are closed until the end of the week due to the teachers’ extended strike action. Court inspection The government’s failure to reduce long delays in civil cases reaching court was described as a «denial of justice» by opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis during his surprise visit to the Athens lower civil court offices on Omonia Square yesterday. Karamanlis also accused the government of smearing judges and prosecutors who were just trying to do their job in «shabby» courtrooms. Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos reacted by accusing the opposition leader of ignorance. End of term Senior high-school students will finish their lessons on May 16 and junior-high school students on May 20, it was announced yesterday. End-of-term exams and school-leaving exams will take place between May 20 and June 18. Library wing The construction of a new wing to the Gennadius Library in Kolonaki is to go ahead as planned after a temporary ban on building works was lifted by the Council of State, court sources said yesterday. The court decided to remove the ban after the construction permit was amended, scrapping plans to build a car park next to the library and committing constructors to replace trees felled with new saplings. Walking target A tobacconist on his way to make a major deposit at his local bank branch in the Piraeus district of Nikaia yesterday was robbed by two youths of a bag containing 188, 000 euros. Two relatives of the victim, 28-year-old Robert Kentikelenis, have fallen victim to similar attacks. Salonica flights The controversial suspension of three Olympic Airways (OA) flights from Thessaloniki to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam is only temporary and the ailing state carrier will soon reconnect Greece’s second largest city with the major European cities, Minister for Macedonia and Thrace Georgios Paschalides said yesterday, responding to complaints by Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos and local businessmen. OA’s decision must be considered in the context of the September 11 fallout, Paschalides said. Drive-by shooting A 34-year-old man was hospitalized with bullet wounds to his face and stomach following a drive-by shooting outside his Glyfada home in southern Athens early yesterday morning. Costas Mathras, 34, was in his car outside his house when a car with five people in it sped past and several shots were fired at him. Police are seeking to identify the assailants who disappeared after the attack. Inheritance fight The Supreme court has upheld an appeals court ruling that the equal division of the assets of the late business tycoon Nikos Vardinoyiannis among his four children was right and proper, court sources said yesterday. Two of the tycoon’s children, Ioanna and Pyrros, had disputed the distribution of their father’s wealth equally among them and their two other siblings, claiming that they were entitled to a greater share. Their father died in 1973.
