In Brief
Road accident
Two die after their car hits coach of Dutch children Two people were killed in the Peloponnese yesterday afternoon after their car hit a coach carrying a group of Dutch schoolchildren. The accident occurred near the village of Kapsia in the area of Mantineia under circumstances that have not yet been clarified. The driver and passenger of the car were still alive when freed from the vehicle by firemen but were declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. There were no details released by late yesterday about their identity. None of the 27 schoolchildren were injured and they continued their journey to the port of Nafplion on another coach. Landfill bind Gov’t blames local authorities Deputy Interior Minister Athanassios Nakos, who is heading a government drive to clean up illegal landfills around the country, yesterday blamed local authorities in eastern Attica for obstructing the launch of works to create three new sanitary landfills in their area, claiming that their foot-dragging had prompted the European Commission’s recent decision to freeze European Union funding for the projects. The prefect of eastern Attica, Leonidas Kouris, yesterday told Skai that he hoped the EC decision would spur the ministry to open a dialogue with local authorities about the projects. Animal cruelty Agricultural Development Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis yesterday heralded a draft bill that foresees heavy fines for individuals found guilty of torturing or wantonly killing animals. The minister said that the legislation would apply to the mistreatment of strays, including the deliberate poisoning of animals, but also to the abuse of animals by circus troupes. Certain provisions in the bill foresee the creation of special shelters for the temporary accommodation and vaccination of stray dogs and cats. As far as circus troupes are concerned, the bill aims to ban them from staging shows in Greece that abuse animals. Easter raid Unidentified robbers stole cell phones and other merchandise worth 25,000 euros from a store in Thessaloniki during a raid carried out over the Easter weekend, police said yesterday. The robbers accessed the store by opening a hole in its shared wall with an adjacent apartment block, officers said. Burnt warehouse A blaze that broke out in a large warehouse in the central Athens district of Rouf in the early hours of yesterday morning completely destroyed the structure but caused no injuries as no one had been on the site at the time, the fire service said. It was unclear whether the blaze was the result of an arson attack or an accident. Car targeted An unidentified assailant caused minor damage to a car belonging to a journalist employed by Skai radio and television late on Tuesday night by using a firecracker, police said. There were no injuries reported.
