In Brief
Christodoulos health
Archbishop back home after hospital visit for minor surgery Archbishop Christodoulos was back home yesterday afternoon after visiting hospital to undergo X-rays and a minor surgical procedure to drain liquid from his lungs. The 68-year-old archbishop, who was diagnosed with cancer in summer, was said to be feeling better yesterday. Doctors said they were considering altering his therapy to avoid further side effects. Aides expressed concern about the archbishop’s health complications but no public statements were made. Disabled rights Unions seek job search support, minister pledges transport changes The confederation of associations representing disabled people in Greece yesterday submitted a petition to Parliament calling for a new law to help them overcome obstacles in their search for employment. Marking International Day of Disabled Persons yesterday, Transport Minister Costis Hatzidakis pledged to make Greek airports and public transport networks more accessible to disabled citizens. Racist attack? Pakistani critical after apartment raid A Pakistani man was yesterday in a critical condition in hospital after he and a further seven compatriots were attacked in their rented apartment in Aegaleo by a large group of assailants. The attackers, believed to be Greeks, broke into the apartment and allegedly started beating the Pakistanis with batons and slashing them with knives. All were injured, one seriously. The raid is being treated as a racist attack, the fourth on immigrant homes in the past four months. A lawyer representing the Pakistanis said the attack was part of an organized series of hits, not an isolated incident. Price checks Development Ministry and Athens Prefecture officials visited the Rendi wholesale food market yesterday and said that authorities will be keeping an eye out for meat and fresh fruit producers charging exorbitant prices in the lead up to Christmas. Government inspectors noted that orders had not yet been placed for the festive season and there is an ample supply of food products in the market. Murder suspect Police are searching for a 23-year-old Albanian national in Stoupa, near Kalamata in southern Greece, after he allegedly stabbed to death a man, aged 29, over what police described as personal differences. The victim, also an Albanian national, died after being taken to a local medical clinic for treatment. Cocaine haul A 55-year-old man faced a prosecutor yesterday on charges of cocaine possession after Athens police found more than 30 grams of the drug in a search of his home in the Kolonos district on Sunday. It is unclear whether the suspect will be charged with dealing or possession for personal use. Stethoscopes down Hospital doctors are today expected to begin a three-day strike over pay demands and calls to increase medical staff numbers. Their peers in Thessaloniki started a five-day strike as of yesterday. The doctors will also participate in the general strike to be held across Greece on December 12. Immigrant protection The European Union must help protect its southeastern borders in Greece and Cyprus from the influx of illegal migrants, Greece’s interior minister said yesterday. «Illegal immigration is a European problem, and I say it yet again that our borders are Europe’s borders, which Europe must protect,» Prokopis Pavlopoulos said in Nicosia after talks with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos. Pavlopoulos said Greece and Cyprus would raise the issue in Brussels at a forum on illegal immigration Thursday. (AP) Drug charges Two men were arrested in Thessaloniki on charges of drug trafficking after a car chase through the northern city, police said yesterday. The suspects, aged 51 and 32, threw a small quantity of heroin out of the car as they attempted to escape arrest, police said. Separately, authorities arrested a 35-year-old man in Thessaloniki after finding him in posession of a small quantity of heroin and cannabis.
