In Brief
SCHOOLGIRLS HURT
Youngsters hospitalized after accident on Kifissias Avenue Two schoolgirls, aged 15 and 11, were hospitalized with serious injuries yesterday after being hit by a car on Kifissias Avenue at the Aghia Varvara junction. According to witnesses, the sisters had been trying to cross the busy highway shortly before 8 a.m when the motorist hit them. The motorist reportedly remained at the scene of the accident and telephoned for an ambulance. Traffic police denied that he had ignored a red light. Doctors said yesterday that the girls’ injuries were serious but not life-threatening. The two girls are reported to be the daughters of an employee at the Russian Embassy. BOMB THREATS Syntagma shut after hoax calls Two anonymous telephone calls to private television channel Alter early yesterday afternoon, warning that a bomb was due to explode in central Syntagma Square, turned out to be hoaxes after bomb disposal experts failed to find any suspect devices. The first call, made at 12.30 p.m., warned that a bomb would go off near Syntagma Square but did not give details of location or timing. Half an hour later a second call warned that a bomb would explode in 20 minutes. Police cordoned off roads around Syntagma Square as a precaution but nothing suspicious was found. Tram disruption Athens tram services will be suspended between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today as tram workers stage a work stoppage over pay and benefits. Some Proastiakos suburban railway trains will be canceled from tomorrow until Saturday because of engineering work. The work is due to take place between 12.15 a.m. and 5.15 a.m. Passengers can call 1110 for more information. Online revenge Police in Thessaloniki yesterday were questioning a 28-year-old Greek man alleged to have uploaded onto the Internet revealing photographs of his 29-year-old Romanian girlfriend with whom he is reportedly in a legal battle over the custody of their 5-month-old child. The suspect is alleged to have created a profile for his girlfriend on the social networking site Facebook and to have included her personal telephone numbers on the site, along with the nude photographs. Police traced the 28-year-old after the woman alerted them to the site. The suspect faces trial on charges of violating personal privacy rights. Fatal fallout A 46-year-old man shot his 35-year-old estranged wife in the head before turning the gun on himself yesterday at his home in the northeastern city of Alexandroupoli, police said. The man died instantly while his wife was transferred to hospital where she was said to be in critical condition last night. According to police, the shooting occurred at the apartment being rented by the 35-year-old following the couple’s separation. The couple have three children, aged 6 to 13. Judge remains Greece’s Vassilios Skouris will serve another term as the president of the European Court of Justice, it was decided yesterday. Skouris, who has been in the post since 2003, will preside over the court until October 2012 following his re-election. Skouris was previously a judge at the court and had served as interior minister between 1989 and 1996.
