In Brief
H1N1 VIRUS
Paraplegic man becomes latest victim of swine flu in Greece A 34-year-old paraplegic who was also suffering from liver problems became the latest person in Greece to die from complications brought on by the H1N1 flu virus. The National Health Operations Center confirmed yesterday that the man, who was not named, was suffering from swine flu and had died of multiple organ failure. He had been admitted to an intensive-care unit last Wednesday. A mass innoculation program to protect Greeks against the virus is expected to begin in a couple of weeks. Health hirings More than 6,000 new employees Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou yesterday made a commitment to hire more than 6,000 new employees at state hospitals this year and next. The minister met with hospital worker representatives and said she would push through the hiring of 6,100 nursing and other staff by the end of 2010. Almost half of the new hirings will be nurses while some 1,400 staff will be recruited to replace personnel that are retiring. Xenogiannakopoulou also said there would be a marginal rise in government spending on health next year. Infant drowns A 2-year-old boy drowned yesterday after falling into a cistern in Koutsopodi, in the Peloponnesian prefecture of Argolis, police said. The boy fell into the concrete tank, whose function is to collect rainwater, after straying from his parents, according to police who did not give details about the circumstances of the accident. Kalashnikov find Forensic experts yesterday were examining a Kalashnikov assault rifle found in a car abandoned in the Athens district of Vyronas following a police chase on Sunday night. Police pursued the car after regarding it as suspect but the driver and an undetermined number of passengers managed to shake officers of their trail and escape after abandoning the vehicle. Armed raids Police reported several armed raids across the country yesterday. In the northern suburb of Kifissia, unidentified thieves dug a hole through the wall of a jewelry workshop late on Sunday and netted a large quantity of valuables. In the village of Livanates, in the central prefecture of Fthiotida, two gunmen burst into a branch of ATEbank and netted some 20,000 euros. Another raid on a Hellenic Post (ELTA) branch in the small town of Geraki, in the Peloponnesian prefecture of Laconia, resulted in loot of 50,000 euros for another two gunmen. Rape claim A 65-year-old woman claims that a 55-year-old acquaintance he kept her hostage in her home for three days and repeatedly raped her, police in the northern city of Serres said yesterday. Officers said they were contacted on Sunday by a female friend of the alleged victim and visited the woman’s home where they found her and the 55-year-old who faces the charges. The suspect is to appear before a prosecutor on Thursday. Gun-loving pensioner A 74-year-old Cretan was in police custody yesterday after a search of his home in the prefecture of Hania turned up a large cache of weapons, including various rifles and pistols and dozens of rounds of ammunition.
