In Brief
STRIKES
Two days of problems for commuters as taxis, trains stop Commuters will experience difficulty getting around the city today and tomorrow due to multiple transport strikes. Athens’s taxis are off the roads from 5 a.m. today until 5.a.m. Friday. The Kifissias-Piraeus urban railway line (ISAP) will not be operating tomorrow due to a 24-hour strike. And Athens Metro staff are holding a four-hour work stoppage from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m. Although the staff union for the blue buses (ETHEL) has not declared any strike action, schedules are likely to be disrupted, as some of the company’s staff are likely to join in the strike or the demonstration. Taxi drivers demand higher fares and the right to drive in bus lanes. Other unions are protesting at the government’s social security reform proposals. JERUSALEM Greece satisfied at Israeli recognition of patriarch The government expressed satisfaction yesterday over the Israeli government’s decision to recognize the election of Eirinaios as the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Patriarch Eirinaios was elected last August. Government spokesman Christos Protopappas said the conclusion of this pending issue would enhance the Church’s ability «to contribute toward strengthening the consciences of those calling for an end to the bloodshed in the Middle East.» Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, both of which fall within the jurisdiction of his Patriarchate, had given their approval shortly after Eirinaios was elected. NEIGHBORS Most Turks expect war with Greece Most Turks believe that there will be a war between their country and Greece, according to a poll published in the Turkish daily Milliyet yesterday. It found that 72 percent of those polled believe there will be such a war, with only 11 percent ruling out such an event. Also, 50 percent said they did not believe Turkey would ever join the European Union. On another issue, 53 percent believe the economy will get worse and 68 percent expect inflation to rise. Soldier’s death The death of a soldier who collapsed on a routine march on the island of Crete on Monday was due to a prior heart condition, the island’s coroner announced yesterday. Giorgos Fonazakis, 20, was flown by Super Puma helicopter to Hania after developing a high fever and spasms during a march in mountainous terrain on Monday afternoon. Though he was given first aid by the unit nurse and a civilian doctor nearby, Fonazakis died during the flight to the hospital early yesterday morning. His case was being compared yesterday with that of two women who died in Crete recently with myocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the heart. Coroner Manolis Frangoulis said that further tests were being done to detect any virus. Kifissias blues Traffic on the new Kifissias-Attiki Odos interchange was flowing more smoothly yesterday following Monday’s chaos, one day after the interchange opened to traffic. Congestion did develop during the morning rush hour but, according to Kifissia traffic police, the situation should improve further by the end of the week, when Heimarras Street is to open to traffic. Close call The driver of a school bus with 27 children aboard managed to stop the vehicle after its brakes failed on a road on the island of Icaria yesterday. He crashed the bus into a fence and a parked car. Two children sustained slight injuries and the driver, Stavros Kouloumbis, was being treated for shock. Police Chief Paraskevas Massouras told Kathimerini that the bus was on a steep downhill curve when the brakes snapped, and that it was only due to the driver’s skill that prevented the bus from turning over. Drugs Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee yesterday expressed reservations over a proposal by deputies Maria Damanaki, Spyros Vouyias, Petros Tatoulis, Fotis Kouvelis and Stavros Benos for the State to decriminalize possession of very small quantities of drugs, differentiate between soft and hard drugs in prosecuting drug offenses and offer free drugs to long-term users. PASOK rapporteur Leonidas Grigorakos said he feared the proposals would lead to the «management» rather than resolution of the problem, and suggested focusing instead on «real prevention.» Media laws Thirty parliamentary deputies from all parties, except the Left Coalition, called for rapid completion of a legal framework for the media, pointing out the dangers to democracy if the media did not abide by the constitution and laws.
