In Brief
1973 UPRISING
PM lays flowers at memorial ahead of protest march today Prime Minister George Papandreou placed flowers yesterday at the memorial to the students killed in the November 17, 1973 uprising against the military junta, stressing that fighting for a cause is «always relevant.» The gates of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), or Athens Polytechnic as it was formerly known, will be closed this afternoon so the annual remembrance service can take place. This will be followed by the traditional march toward the US Embassy. Some 6,000 policemen will be on duty in a bid to prevent any trouble but the NTUA grounds will be guarded by teaching staff and students. INTRUDER CRUSHED Robber dies at Kiato factory A 24-year-old man who tried to break into an aluminum-processing factory in Kiato, near Corinth, early yesterday, was crushed to death after trying to squeeze through a metal fence, police said. Officers found the body of the man trapped between two bars in the fence, not far from the smashed glass facade of the site’s main entrance. The would-be robber is believed to have suffocated. Blast claimed The Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire terrorist group yesterday claimed responsibility for a bloodless bomb blast outside the Athens home of a ruling PASOK MP last Friday. In a statement posted on the Internet, the group claimed that Mimis Androulakis was «a television-friendly yes-man to those in power.» Fatal fire Fire service workers in the Cretan prefecture of Iraklio yesterday removed the charred corpses of two Pakistani nationals from a derelict house where they had been living in the area. According to a coroner, the migrants had probably died of suffocation after inhaling toxic fumes from the fire. Violent raids The owner of a street kiosk was hospitalized yesterday after being shot in the stomach by one of the two assailants that robbed his kiosk in Peristeri, eastern Athens. The assailants fled with an undetermined sum. Later in the day another two robbers held up a convenience store in Menidi, northern Athens. One shot the store owner when he hesitated to hand over the cash and the pair fled with his takings. Meanwhile in Korydallos, near Piraeus, two suspected drug addicts threatened a taxi driver, brandishing a syringe at him. They netted 20 euros. Arson attack Unidentified assailants staged an arson attack against the entrance to an apartment block in Nikaia, near Piraeus, shortly after 3 a.m. yesterday, destroying five cars and two motorcycles but causing no injuries. The fire that ensued from the blast caused a panic in the block, where most of the residents had been asleep, but was quickly extinguished by firemen who were called to the scene. Police officers said it was likely that the attackers had doused the vehicles with petrol before setting them alight. There was no indication of any motive.
