NEWS

In Brief

STRIKE ACTION

Public transport disruptions and flight cancellations due today A workers’ strike today will ground aircraft between noon and 4 p.m. and cause significant disruptions to public transport in the capital. The Athens tram, intercity rail routes and the suburban railway will not operate at all today as staff join the 24-hour strike called by civil servants’ union ADEDY and labor union GSEE. The Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway and the metro will run between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. while buses and trolley buses will run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Teachers, hospital workers and journalists will also join the strike. PIRATES THWARTED Greek frigate rescues cargo ship A Hellenic Navy frigate thwarted an attempt by pirates to hijack a Norwegian-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Somalia. The frigate Psara intervened after sailors aboard the Sigloo Tor issued a distress call. Five Somalis were subsequently detained. The Psara averted another hijacking on Sunday when a gang of seven Somali pirates tried to board a German oil tanker south of Yemen. Diaspora vote The government yesterday accused PASOK of trying to undermine its attempt to pass through Parliament a bill that would allow Greeks living abroad to vote in Greece’s general elections in their countries of residence. The ruling conservatives need 200 of the 300 MPs in Parliament to vote in favor of the draft law. However, PASOK made it clear that it would not support the motion. Socialist MP Evangelos Venizelos called the bill «a monstrosity.» PASOK wanted provision to be made for a postal ballot and for constituencies to be created for Greeks abroad so that they can directly elect MPs to Parliament. WWII bomb Experts yesterday were inspecting what is believed to be a 240-kilo World War II bomb that was discovered in a field in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens. Although the bomb was found in a sparsely populated area, residents reportedly evacuated their homes. The bomb was to be destroyed in a controlled explosion yesterday. Unholy discovery Police in Tripoli yesterday were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 41-year-old Serbian national whose body was discovered in the basement storeroom of a church in the village of Inachos. The man had been a resident of the village for several years, police said. Violent mugging A 45-year-old man was in hospital yesterday after being shot in the arm by a mugger in the central Athens district of Petralona at around 2 p.m. The mugger opened the passenger door of the victim’s car while he was waiting at traffic lights and grabbed the man’s bag. When the motorist tried to pull back the bag, the mugger shot him in the arm.

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