In Brief
GAS LEAK
Area of Thessaloniki evacuated after workers drill into pipe A primary school in Thessaloniki had to be evacuated and traffic on a busy road was diverted yesterday morning when engineers working on the construction of the city’s metro network drilled into a natural gas pipe. The incident occurred near the city’s railway station, where 20 firefighters and eight fire engines arrived to pour water over the escaping gas to ensure it did not ignite. Pedestrians were also prevented from crossing through the area until the gas company had cut the supply to the pipe. The puncture was repaired in the afternoon and the gas was turned back on. DIPLOMATIC TALKS Bakoyannis travels to UN meeting with full agenda of discussions Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis is due to meet United Nations General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon in New York today on the sidelines of the UN general assembly and is expected to raise the «Macedonia» name issue with him following Canada’s decision to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) by its constitutional name. Bakoyannis is due to meet UN special envoy Matthew Nimetz tomorrow and US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns on Monday. Bakoyannis is also set to meet tomorrow for the first time with Turkey’s new Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. CAR-FREE DAY No charge for public transport today All forms of public transport will be free for commuters today as Athens marks European Car-Free Day, which is the culmination of European Mobility week. The move follows a decision by new Transport Minister Costis Hatzidakis. A recent survey by the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) found that around four in 10 Athenians use public transport on a daily basis. Coffee time The man who threw a cup of coffee over PASOK leadership hopeful Evangelos Venizelos on Thursday is to stand trial on Monday for the attack after his lawyer requested extra time to prepare Dimitris Rellos’s defense. «I am not a member of any party and who I vote for is my own business,» said Rellos, who denied that anyone had incited him to attack Venizelos. Rellos has in the past thrown objects at other politicians and celebrities. Pedestrian killed A 35-year-old man died near Hania, Crete, late on Thursday after being run over by a bus on the Hania-Rethymnon national road. Authorities said the local man was trying to cross the highway at a point where the road is not lit. Street lights were installed on this section of the road 15 months ago but they have not yet been connected to the electricity grid, said Souda Mayor Yiannis Perakis. Migrants detained Greek authorities have arrested 47 illegal immigrants in three boats trying to reach the country’s eastern islands, port officials said yesterday. Twenty illegal immigrants and a foreign skipper were arrested near Leros island as their rudderless boat was taking on water, a statement by Greece’s Merchant Marine Ministry said. Another 17 people aboard a speedboat were stopped off the island of Lesvos, while 10 more people, including four children, were arrested on Samos after reaching land in an inflatable boat from Turkey. (AP) Pinned down Two men have been arrested in Katerini, northern Greece, on suspicion of stealing bank customers’ personal identification numbers, or PINs, and making withdrawals from their accounts. Police said yesterday that they are also looking for another two men in connection with the alleged crime. The four suspects placed devices at ATMs that copied the customers’ card details, which were then transferred to blank cards used by the gang to withdraw cash. Police did not reveal how much money the suspects had withdrawn from banks using this method. The two men that have been arrested are foreign nationals aged 20 and 27. Drugs couple A 50-year-old sailor and his wife have been arrested in Volos, central Greece, after officers found 2.5 kilos of hashish and a cannabis plant at their home, police said yesterday. Neither of the suspects was named.
