In Brief
ARCHBISHOP ELECTION
Two of the favorites begin talks with supporters ahead of Thursday poll Two of the candidates vying to become then next archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church had contact with supporters yesterday ahead of the Holy Synod vote on Thursday as one bishop said he would not vote in the election. Efstathios, bishop of Sparta, and Anthimos, bishop of Thessaloniki, met with their respective supporters yesterday as reports emerged that Bishop Spyridonas of Lagadas said he was not well enough to attend Thursday’s meeting of the Holy Synod, prompting rumors on whether he had been put under pressure not to attend. FISHY BUSINESS Greek aquaculture will keep on expanding, industry expert says In what is evolving into one of the country’s strongest industries, fish farming is expected to continue expanding in Greece due to rising demand for its products, said Nireus CEO Aristidis Belles. In an interview with Kathimerini English Edition, Belles talks about the company’s future plans, including options to continue expanding through acquisitions. Nireus’s CEO also describes how the company is taking steps to protect the ecosystem in line with the regulatory framework. SUPER TUESDAY Americans in Greece prepare to vote As 24 states in the USA prepare to vote for their preferred Democrat or Republican presidential candidate today, Americans in Greece tell Kathimerini English Edition about the issues deciding how they cast their votes. Cab strike Taxi drivers in Athens and the rest of Greece are due to stage a 24-hour strike tomorrow to demand the right to increase their fares. The cabbies want to hike their prices by more than the rate of inflation as they feel they have been unfairly hit by the rising price of fuel. The Transport Ministry has not approved the fare increases yet. Late trains The planned extension of the metro and electric railway (ISAP) timetables to run between midnight and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays will go ahead despite workers’ protests against the initiative, Transport Minister Costis Hatzidakis said yesterday. Meanwhile, the president of the metro drivers’ union, Christos Koukis, charged that the move would cost 300,00 euros per month to realize and said it would not benefit all Athenians. Copy cards Two men suspected of installing electronic devices at ATMs in Athens to copy bank customers’ cards have been arrested, police said yesterday. The pair is thought to have netted 74,000 euros by copying the bank cards. The thieves, a 37-year-old and a 40-year-old, both from Bulgaria, also installed microcameras at the cash machines to copy people’s PIN numbers. They would then send the card details to associates in Bulgaria and Italy who would use the information to make purchases. The two men were arrested while trying to use a copied card to make a cash withdrawal. Worksite death A 39-year-old worker was killed in an accident at the Public Power Corporation’s (PPC) plant in Megalopolis, in the Peloponnese, the PPC said yesterday. It was unclear what caused the death of the assistant technician who had been worked at the site’s lignite-processing system. Migrants detained Patras port authorities detained a total of 45 illegal immigrants on Sunday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. First officials detained a group of 15 migrants, and their two suspected smugglers, following an inspection of a truck that had been due to leave Patras for Italy. A second inspection on a truck being driven by a 45-year-old foreigner led to the discovery of the other 30 migrants hidden in a specially made compartment. Antiquities trading Police in Kalambaka, central Greece, yesterday arrested two people after an inspection of the car in which they were traveling unearthed two ancient artifacts and deposit books for five different bank accounts. A subsequent search on the homes of the two suspects – a 56-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman – revealed several more artifacts from the Classical and Roman periods.
