In Brief
KUNEVA SUSPECT
Former cleaner released from custody after denying acid hit A 48-year-old Albanian, detained over an acid attack last December against the general secretary of the Athens cleaners’ union, was released pending trial yesterday after denying the charges. The 48-year-old reportedly claims to have known Constantina Kuneva and to have sought the help of her union to secure unpaid wages. He allegedly admitted to telephoning her after the attack, though he initially denied making the call. Meanwhile, managers at the Piraeus-Kifissia urban electric railway canceled their contract with cleaning firm Oikomet, which used to employ Kuneva, following allegations that it violated labor laws. HOSPITAL BUG Six patients ill in Thessaloniki Six patients were being treated in a special unit of Thessaloniki’s Ippocrateio Hospital yesterday after contracting a hospital bug, doctors said. The condition of the five men and one woman was unclear yesterday. But health experts said the Klebsiella bacteria is one of most dangerous bugs to have emerged in Greek hospitals. Another two patients were found to have been infected with a similar bug earlier this month. Rash dad A primary school teacher at a school in Serres, northern Greece, was yesterday hospitalized with a scratched face after being attacked by the parent of one of his pupils. The alleged incident occurred after the teacher detained the pupil, and a classmate, after they had argued. According to the teacher, the pupil then ran out into the schoolyard, where his father was waiting for him and complained. The parent is then alleged to have physically attacked the teacher. Language schools Deputy Development Minister Giorgos Vlachos said yesterday that he would give the owners of language schools and private tuition centers 15 days to reconsider imminent increases of up to 30 percent in the cost of classes. Vlachos said that if the price hikes are not altered, he would consider changing the law so that the owners of the schools would have to justify their charges based on their costs, as food companies already have to. Crete blasts Two vans parked outside the premises of a company that services air-conditioning systems in Hania, Crete, were completely destroyed in an explosion early yesterday. Police said that an explosive device, possibly containing dynamite, was placed under one of the vehicles. The firm’s windows were also damaged in the attack, as was a lawyer’s office and a house nearby. A municipal vehicle also suffered minor damage. Meanwhile in Iraklion, a blast destroyed a car and damaged two other vehicles. The windows of two homes and a shop were also smashed. Police did not comment on any possible motives for the attacks. Pirate TV Police in Thessaloniki are looking for the owner of a pirate TV station that was broadcasting adverts for phone sex lines and fortunetellers after raiding an apartment in Pylaia. The officers found broadcasting equipment, which was used to transmit the adverts, but the owner of the property was not found. The pirate station did not have a name or logo and only broadcast the adverts.
