In Brief
TRUCKERS TALKING
Border blockades lifted but action continues at Patras port Long-haul truck drivers yesterday lifted blockades at several border crossings in northern Greece as unionists representing them reportedly made headway in talks with Transport Ministry officials in Athens. However truck drivers continued with a blockade of the central port of Patras, calling on authorities to intensify inspections on unlicensed transport companies and crack down on illegal immigrants sneaking onto their vehicles. The unionists are today to continue talks with Deputy Economy Minister Antonis Bezas. GRENADE BLAST Warehouse and cars damaged A hand grenade exploded in the Analipsi neighborhood of Thessaloniki in northern Greece at 4.05 a.m. yesterday, causing some damage but no injuries. Police said the defensive grenade exploded outside a warehouse containing electrical materials, which was housed on the ground floor of a block of flats. The blast caused minor damage to the warehouse’s entrance and eight parked cars. Police said the reason for the attack was not immediately clear. Signed, delivered Public Works and Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias yesterday signed a joint-ministerial decision that will ban trucks from delivering goods to supermarkets in the center of Athens and on certain main roads during specific hours of the morning in order to avoid a buildup of pollution. According to the new regulation, lorries with a payload of more than 1.5 tons will not be able to deliver goods between 7 and 10.30 a.m. until the end of the year, in a bid to keep emissions down. Supermarkets on Acharnon, Mesogeion, Vouliagmenis, Thivon and Iera Odos will be affected by the regulation. Cafe unrest Unidentified arsonists targeted a cafe in the central Athens district of Aghios Panteleimonas early yesterday, causing widespread damage but no injuries. The perpetrators smashed the facade of the cafe, doused the premises with flammable liquid and torched it, according to police who said the attack might have been a settling of accounts. In Paphos, southern Cyprus, two men were arrested and a third was being sought by police after opening fire in a restaurant following a dispute about the size of the bill. The trio reportedly threatened to burn the place down after receiving a 93-euro bill. Migrants detained Coast guard officials on Patmos yesterday detained 28 illegal immigrants believed to have reached the shores of the northernmost Dodecanese island from neighboring Turkey. Last summer authorities on the island had announced a blockade on incoming migrants, claiming that the island had been swamped. The move resulted in the nearby, smaller island of Agathonisi bearing the brunt of illegal arrivals. Kiato break-ins A Romanian national has been arrested in Kiato, near Corinth, on suspicion of carrying out several robberies, police said yesterday. Officers lay in wait for the suspect outside a store in the town early on Sunday morning after receiving a tip-off. Police said that the robber, who was not named, had also broken into another shop earlier in the day. He is also suspected of robbing another five stores in Kiato.
