In Brief
VANDAL RAMPAGE
Hooded youths smash bank, stockbrokerage and cafe A group of between 10 and 15 hooded youths ran amok at various spots in central Athens yesterday. Using sledgehammers and iron bars to smash the facade of a branch of Piraeus Bank on George Street, a stockbroker’s office on Klisovis Street and a branch of the US coffee franchise Starbucks on Academias Street. There were no reports of any injuries nor arrests. Diplomatic contacts PM meets with Medvedev Apart from holding brief talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Berlin on Monday, it emerged yesterday that Prime Minister George Papandreou also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Reports also indicated that the US secretary of state told Papandreou she would try to attend the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial council, which will be held in Athens on December 1 and 2. Tunnel closed The tunnel at the Artemisio Pass on the Corinth-Tripoli highway will be closed between 1 and 5 a.m. this Thursday due to maintenance work. A diversion along the old Argos-Tripoli national road will be in place. Missing fisherman Strong winds hampered rescue efforts off the northern Aegean island of Thasos yesterday as authorities searched for a missing fisherman. The Egyptian national, who was not named, was one of the crew on the Kapetan Lakis fishing boat that left the port of Kavala on Monday afternoon. He fell overboard south of Thasos a few hours later. Gender inequality Women take home salaries some 20 percent lower than men, according to a report by the Ombudsman, whose findings were made public yesterday. The Ombudsman said it received 230 complaints between May 2008 and April 2009 regarding sexual discrimination. Of these, 77 percent were submitted by women, with 83 percent citing unfair treatment in the workplace. PPC fine Prefectural authorities in Kozani, northern Greece, yesterday imposed a fine of 10,000 euros on the Public Power Corporation (PPC) due to the large quantities of toxic ash being dumped in front of a large power station near the village of Aghios Dimitrios. Residents of the village and two other adjacent communities have complained for years about poor air quality, and subsequent breathing problems, noting that the piles of toxic ash dumped around the power station site are not covered and end up being blown into the air. Wind damage Strong winds buffeted trees in Thessaloniki in the early hours of yesterday morning, causing large branches to break off and damage at least four parked cars. There were no reports of any injuries.
