In Brief
BANK STRIKE
DIAS interbank system out of action on Sunday Consumers will only be able to access cash from ATMs belonging to their own banks from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow, as the inter-banking system DIAS will be out of service. And banks will be closed on April 19 due to a 24-hour strike, unionists said yesterday, after negotiations with management representatives for a collective work contract failed to bear fruit. ANTIQUITY THEFT Professor returns stolen Acropolis fragment after 30 years A US fine arts professor who returned a stolen marble fragment from a sculpture on the Acropolis to Aegean Minister Nikos Sifounakis in Sydney yesterday said his «significant gesture» set a precedent for the return to Athens of the Elgin Collection of marbles. Californian Jim Bertholm admitted to having stolen the fragment as an anti-junta protest in 1972, when he led a group of students to the Acropolis. PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY Humanitarian aid, concert Greece will give the Palestinian Authority 586,000 euros in humanitarian aid to help deal with the repercussions of the latest escalation of violence in the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos said yesterday. A Palestinian solidarity concert will take place at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday at Syntagma Square, unions and human rights groups organizing the event said yesterday. Synaspismos Left Coalition Euro MP Alekos Alavanos was one of five MEPs who took part in a pro-Arafat demonstration in Ramallah yesterday. Free museums Entry to museums all over the country – including the National Archaeological Museum and the museums at the Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia and Iraklion – will be free of charge this Sunday as part of the European «Springtime for Museums» initiative, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. Farmers Cotton farmers seeking more subsidies yesterday blocked the main highway linking northern and southern Greece at Almyros in Thessaly, while roadblocks were set up in other parts of northern and central Greece. Weather problems Snow and rain fell across northern Greece yesterday, causing transport problems. There were traffic jams in Thessaloniki due to heavy rain and sleet, while drivers traveling between the towns of Florina and Kastoria, and Kozani and Ioannina had to use anti-skid chains. Temperatures dropped to freezing in western Macedonia where snow continued to fall in the prefectures of Imathia, Florina, Kozani, Kastoria and Grevena. Olympic discord Marathon villagers yesterday made a fresh appeal to the Council of State against plans to widen the Marathon race route to Aghia Paraskevi which have resulted in their properties being expropriated. Citizens of the southern municipality of Alimos also appealed yesterday against the continuation of works along the southern coastal Poseidonas Avenue. Zakynthos quake The intensity of an undersea quake, which occurred off the northeastern coast of the Ionian island of Zakynthos yesterday morning, remains unknown after seismologists announced different readings. Experts in Athens and Thessaloniki agreed the quake measured 5 on the Richter scale while their peers in Patras said it had a 4.7 magnitude. No damage or injuries were reported. ATM blast A small homemade bomb which exploded outside a bank in the Athens district of Galatsi early yesterday morning was carried out in solidarity with the Palestinians, according to an anonymous caller who contacted newspapers to claim responsibility without naming any organization. The gas canister bomb caused slight damage to the ATM of the Eurobank branch. Cypriot donor A 20-year-old Cypriot man from Nicosia saved the life of a Turkish woman suffering from leukemia by donating her his bone marrow, the Turkish daily Hurriyet said yesterday. The 28-year-old woman from Istanbul has made a speedy recovery since February. Panathinaikos The Association of Professional Football Clubs yesterday granted Panathinaikos an unprecedented request to postpone today’s league match with Ionikos so it could concentrate on Tuesday’s second-leg, quarter-final Champions League match against Barcelona.
