In Brief
Great Greeks
Ancient warrior Alexander wins Skai’s television poll The ancient warrior king Alexander the Great was heralded the «greatest Greek» of all time late on Monday when the results of Skai’s three-month television poll were revealed. Of some 700,000 viewers who cast votes, 127,011 voted for Alexander, followed by 103,661 for eminent research scientist Georgios Papanicolaou, inventor of the Pap test, and 84,007 for revolutionary war hero Theodoros Kolokotronis. Cell death Inmate dead in Ioannina jail A Greek inmate at the main prison for the northwestern prefecture of Ioannina, found unconscious in his cell early yesterday, was pronounced dead by doctors upon arrival at the hospital. Police said they had ruled out foul play but a coroner had not determined the cause of death of the man, whose personal details had not revealed by late last night. Landfill closed Workers at Attica’s main landfill at Fyli, northwest of Athens, said yesterday that they would close the site today in protest at the failure by authorities to implement a comprehensive solution for the effective management of the prefecture’s waste. Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis, who is also the head of the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE), said he supported the workers, blaming the government for delaying the implementation of a regional plan for waste management. Drug haul A 25-year-old Bulgarian national who arrived in Athens on a flight from Ecuador via Madrid on Friday faced a prosecutor yesterday on drug-smuggling charges after doctors pumped more than 300 grams of cocaine from his stomach. The suspect had swallowed the drugs, which had been wrapped up in 28 small packets, police said. Ferry damaged A passenger ferry sailing into port at the Aegean island of Lemnos yesterday morning sustained a 30-centimeter gash while it was docking but none of the 165 passengers aboard were injured. The ferry was due for repair once strong winds in the area eased. Bomb hoax A police search of the premises of the Athens Appeals Court on Alexandras Avenue failed to turn up any suspect devices following an anonymous telephone call to authorities warning that two bombs had been planted at the building. Bank raids Armed robbers held up branches of Hellenic Post (ELTA) and Emporiki Bank in the central Athens districts of Zografou and Kypseli, respectively, yesterday. The raids are believed to have been carried out by separate assailants as they occurred just minutes apart. It was unclear how much was netted. Fire out A fire that broke out on the slopes of Mount Athos, home to a large monastic community, after a bolt of lightning struck yesterday afternoon, was extinguished early yesterday. Firemen remained on standby to avert a possible rekindling yesterday, as winds remained strong. There was no damage to the monasteries.
