NEWS

In Briefs

BURNING DOLPHIN

Passengers safely evacuated from hydrofoil after fire breaks out Twenty-one passengers were safely evacuated from a hydrofoil which caught fire yesterday near the eastern Aegean island of Kalymnos, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The ministry said that passengers from the Kalymnos Dolphin were transferred to nearby boats and coast guard vessels and taken to the island’s port. «All the passengers are well. Efforts are being made to put out the fire and tug the boat to port,» the ministry said. Authorities launched an investigation into the causes of the fire on the boat that was towed to Kalymnos. HEAT WAVE VICTIMS Death toll from recent hot weather rises to 15, Health Ministry says The number of people killed in Greece as a result of the heat wave that ended last week reached 15, the Health Ministry said yesterday. The latest three deaths related to the hot spell were reported over the weekend. Two men, aged 80 and 95, died after being hospitalized in Athens and on the island of Naxos. A third woman died in Iraklion, Crete, from the heat and excessive alcohol consumption, according to doctors. ARCHBISHOP TREATMENT Doctors look abroad for advice Doctors at the Aretaio Hospital, where Archbishop Christodoulos is being treated for cancer, said yesterday that they have begun contacting specialized centers abroad to «exchange opinions» on the best treatment for the head of the Church of Greece. Doctors removed fluid from Christodoulos’s digestive tract yesterday but said that there had been no significant change in his condition and that Christodoulos continues to receive medication. The archbishop spent a few hours in the intensive-care unit as a result of the procedure. Cyprus missing The United Nations committee that has the task of tracing people who disappeared on Cyprus after the 1974 Turkish invasion said yesterday that it has positively identified 28 bodies found in unmarked graves on the island. «The families concerned, with whom all the arrangements will be made regarding the eventual return of the remains of their loved ones, will be personally notified,» the Committee for Missing Persons (CMP) said in a statement. It did not say whether the identified bodies were those of Greek or Turkish Cypriots. ND explosion A small improvised explosive device went off early yesterday outside a New Democracy party office in the Triandria area of Thessaloniki causing minor damage but no injuries, police said. The device, consisting of cooking gas canisters, caused windows to break and some furniture to catch fire. No arrests were made. Kalamaki vandal Residents of the southern Athens suburb of Kalamaki woke up yesterday to find that at least 50 cars in the neighborhood had been vandalized overnight. Police said that an unidentified assailant has poured a caustic substance over the cars, damaging their paint and bodywork. The vehicles were all parked on four streets in Kalamaki. Glyfada bus A new bus line will begin serving commuters in the southern suburbs and give them better access to the metro, Transport Minister Michalis Liapis said after talks with local officials in Glyfada yesterday. The 210 bus will begin its cyclical route at Karaiskaki Square in Ano Glyfada and then travel to Terpsithea, Hellenikon and Aghios Dimitrios before returning to Ano Glyfada. The bus will depart every 20 minutes during peak hours. Liapis said that the B1 route between Piraeus and Ano Glyfada was being altered to cut down on the journey time. Prisoner recaptured Authorities said yesterday they had recaptured a 21-year-old prisoner who escaped from police custody, just four hours after his escape. The prisoner was being taken by police to an investigating prosecutor in Athens when he managed to escape from his guards. The prisoner has been sentenced to two years in a youth detention center for repeated counts of theft.

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