In Brief
STRIKE DISRUPTION
Civil servants’ action to affect flights and hospital services A 24-hour strike today by the civil servants’ union ADEDY today will cause flight disruptions and provoke problems at state hospitals, already crippled by protesting doctors’ rolling strike action. Air-traffic controllers joining ADEDY’s strike action with a three-hour work stoppage starting at 10 a.m. will cause disruptions to scheduled flights until at least 1 p.m. Doctors joining the strike will put a further strain on state hospitals, many of which are struggling to carry out scheduled operations due to equipment shortages provoked by a suppliers’ embargo. Civil servants are protesting low salaries and pension reforms. NIGHTCLUB BOMBER Man arrested for 2008 blasts Police revealed yesterday that they have in custody a 48-year-old man suspected of planting explosive devices at two nightclubs. Police believe that the 48-year-old, who was not named, made and planted the bomb that went off outside the Mouses nightclub on Syngrou Avenue last March, causing serious damage to the building but no injuries. He is also suspected of being responsible for the bomb that exploded at the Boss cafeteria in Elefsina, west of Athens, last April, which damaged 15 cars and several buildings as well as injuring a police officer. Baby recovering A 3-month-old baby suffering from infant botulism has recovered significantly from the critical condition it was in last week and is scheduled to be discharged from a hospital in Rio, near Patras, doctors said. A special drug that was flown in from the USA was administered to the baby last week. Metro traffic The total number of people using the Athens metro last year rose by 2.43 percent compared to 2007, according to figures made public yesterday. The modest rise has been attributed to a number of factors, including the unrest in central Athens last December, which was one of the lowest months in terms of passenger traffic, with numbers dropping to a daily average of 645,240 compared to a high of 737,790 in March. The busiest day for traveling on average is Thursday, while there is a 40 percent drop in passenger numbers on Saturday and more than 50 percent on Sunday. The most congested station is at Syntagma Square, where almost 10 percent of all passengers catch their trains. Killers caught? Police in Nafplion yesterday were questioning two Albanian nationals believed to be behind the murder of a 25-year-old fellow national in the Peloponnesian port last Tuesday. The two suspects are alleged to have had personal differences with the victim. Bad fish Prefectural officials in Piraeus said yesterday that they had confiscated from local fishmongers some 700 kilograms of frozen seafood believed to be unfit for human consumption. The checks are being carried out ahead of Lent when the consumption of seafood increases as Orthodox believers cut out meat from their diets. Epirus gang A gang that has been breaking into municipal offices in Epirus, northwestern Greece, has raided the mayor’s office in the village of Filiates, police said yesterday. According to officers, 78,500 euros in cash was stolen from a safe in the office.
