In Brief
Serial robber
Police catch half of duo linked to string of armed raids A 29-year-old Albanian national believed to be behind a series of armed robberies in the wider area of Thessaloniki was in custody yesterday, police said. Officers brought the suspect in for questioning after stopping him for a routine inspection in the area of Prasinada, Imathia prefecture. The 29-year-old had been in a car being driven by a 32-year-old compatriot who was detained as he had no driving license. According to police, the 29-year-old netted over 34,000 euros in armed raids on banks, supermarkets and convenience stores with the help of an accomplice, who is being sought. Elders summit FM seeks insights on Cyprus Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis is to chair a meeting in Athens today bringing together members of the so-called «Elders Initiative» to discuss ideas for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. Bakoyannis is due to meet with veteran United Nations adviser Lakhdar Brahimi and former Norwegian Premier Gro Harlem Brundtland among others. The Elders Initiative, led by former South African President Nelson Mandela and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu aims to «infuse wisdom into global policy and conflict resolution.» Archaeologist’s horde A 36-year-old woman, employed as an archaeologist at the site of Ancient Olympia has been arrested for illegal possession of a small collection of antiquities, police in Pyrgos said yesterday. The woman took the collection, reportedly of minor value, to a police station on Sunday night following the announcement of an apparently unconnected theft of a 6th-century-BC column capital from the ancient site. The woman reportedly suffers from psychological problems. Mail raid Kalamata police are looking for a man who robbed a post office on the outskirts of Thouria on the Kalamata-Tripoli national highway yesterday. The man, who had been wearing a motorcycle helmet, threatened two post office workers with a pistol. He fled with about 2,000 euros, the workers said. Racist attacks The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) yesterday issued a statement alleging that groups linked to the extreme right-wing Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) have been attacking immigrants in the Aghios Panteleimonas district of central Athens over the past week. According to SYRIZA, the groups have been patrolling the area at night and have attacked immigrants with sticks and iron bars. Thessaloniki mugging A female gasoline station owner was mugged shortly after midnight Monday by two men in the Thessaloniki district of Ambelokipi. The 32-year-old woman reportedly told police that one of the men threatened her with a gun while the second grabbed her bag which, she said, contained the day’s takings of about 2,000 euros. Hoops success Greece notched up its second win in as many matches at the Eurobasket in Poland, defeating Croatia 76-68 yesterday to secure the top spot in its group with one more game to play. Greece’s next match is tonight against winless Israel.
