In Brief
SAMARAS-PAPOULIAS
ND leader confirms his party will support Greek president New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said it was «a given» that his party would back current Greek President Karolos Papoulias for a second term in office rather than oppose his re-election and force early general elections. «It is a given that New Democracy’s commitment to a second term as president for Mr Papoulias is still valid,» said Samaras, who held brief talks with the Greek president for the first time since he was elected ND leader. Samaras also appointed five secretaries for various party committees yesterday. They were: Vassilis Michaloliakos, Maximos Harakopoulos, Costas Gioulekas, Yiannis Manolis and Manolis Aggelakas. KERATSINI SQUAT Suspects released from custody The 22 people who were arrested at a squat in Keratsini, near Piraeus, on Saturday on suspicion of preparing petrol bombs for use in rioting last weekend were released from custody late on Monday. Half of the suspects were bailed and have been prohibited from leaving the country, while the others were released without any restrictions. Three people were arrested on Athinon Avenue yesterday during a protest by high school students after oranges and rocks were thrown at a police department that issues passports. The pupils were marking the first anniversary of the killing of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos. Cunning robbery Two robbers who held up a branch of Emporiki Bank in the town of Stylida in central Greece yesterday made of with some 200,000 euros in cash, police said. The pair threatened the three cashiers and the female manager of the bank at about 2 a.m. and then sped off with the money on a motorcycle. Police said that a patrol car had been stationed outside the bank but 10 minutes before the robbery, authorities received a call that there had been a car crash in the village of Avlaki, 6 kilometers away. The patrol car was sent to the scene of the accident but found no sign of a crash. Piraeus body An unidentified man’s body was recovered from the sea at the port of Piraeus yesterday morning, authorities said. The corpse was taken to the Tzanneio Hospital where an autopsy was due to be carried out to establish the cause of death and to help identify the body. Arms cache Three handguns, a revolver and some 550 bullets were found in a metal box next to a dumpster in the area of Thymari, some 55 kilometers southeast of Athens, on the road to Sounio. Police said an initial examination suggests that the guns have not been used in any terrorist activity. Chilling discovery A 15-year-old boy was admitted to hospital in a serious condition yesterday after the driver of a refrigerated truck discovered the teenager in his vehicle when he stopped on the Athens-Lamia national road. Swine flu Two more people, a 71-year-old woman and a 72-year-old woman, who had contracted the H1N1 virus died yesterday. Authorities said both women had suffered underlying health problems. By Monday evening, almost 240,000 people in Greece had received the jab against swine flu. Anyone interested in being vaccinated can call 1135 for more details.
