NEWS

In Brief

EARTHQUAKE

Strong quake shakes Rhodes An undersea quake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale occurred off the east coast of Rhodes, about 460 kilometers southeast of Athens, just before 5.30 a. m. on Saturday. No injuries or damage were reported. PIRAEUS CAFE Fire destroys shop in city center A team of 40 firefighters and 14 fire engines yesterday took three hours to extinguish a fire which ravaged a cafe in central Piraeus and threatened to spread to neighboring shops. The blaze, thought to have started in the kitchen, destroyed the old Brazilia cafe but left nearby stores unscathed. Damages An Athens court has ordered the Aghia Sofia children’s hospital to pay 191,000 euros in compensation to the parents of an infant who died four hours after arriving at the hospital with severe breathing problems, the Athens News Agency reported Saturday. Doctors ignored an urgent case, the court ruled. Aegean medics Citizens of Icaria in the eastern Aegean flocked to the island’s medical center on Saturday for a free examination by visiting specialists. The Aegean Volunteer Squad has been running such clinics for eight years, offering specialist diagnoses unavailable locally. The islands of Fournoi, Thymaina, Leipsoi and Agathonissi are next in line. Climbing death Giorgos Zombolas, 26, died on Saturday after falling more than 30 meters while climbing the cliffs of Meteora in central Greece. Zombolas, an Athenian doing his military service, was climbing with two friends. Auctions The Thessaloniki branch of the Social Security Foundation (IKA) has auctioned 275 properties over the last 16 months to recoup debts it is owed by hundreds of citizens, according to official data made public by the daily Angelioforos yesterday. Triplet tragedy A 26-year-old woman, pregnant with triplets, died in Thessaloniki’s Ippokrateio hospital on Saturday after giving birth to two infants following a caesarean operation conducted by doctors to remove them after the third embryo was found dead inside her. A coroner attributed the death of the woman to an embolism. Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao arrives in Athens on an official two-day visit for talks with Prime Minister Costas Simitis and other top government officials. To Friday.

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