NEWS

In Brief

Taxi strike

No cabs today as drivers stage protest at tax reforms There will be no taxis serving the capital today following a decision by the Association of Attica Taxi Drivers (SATA) to stage a 24-hour strike from 5 a.m. Cabbies in other cities are expected to follow suit, joining the protest against the impact of new tax reforms announced by the government. A written statement by SATA denounced the proposed measures, saying that they they «would create a series of new problems and make our occupation more difficult, if not impossible.» Taxi drivers are considering further strike action next week. Detainee escape Supervising officer suspended The supervising officer of the main police precinct on Rhodes was suspended yesterday after two immigrant detainees being held at the facility managed to escape on Tuesday night. The two migrants, aged 20 and 28, reportedly escaped by prying open the bars on a window in the precinct toilet. The two men, whose nationality was not clear, had been in temporary detention at the island’s prison after receiving jail terms for theft and forming a criminal gang. The pair had been awaiting transfer to jail. Long Walls Two sections of the Long Walls that connected ancient Athens with its port, Piraeus, have been uncovered during engineering work on the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) between Kallithea and Moschato. The Culture Ministry said that a section of wall 38 meters long and 2.07 meters high has been discovered. Another section, 34 meters long and 6.10 meters high was found in Neo Faliro. Archaeologists believe that this section of the Long Walls was built in 394 BC. The walls were constructed in the mid-5th century BC to provide Athenians with safe passage to Piraeus even when the city was under siege. The Central Archaeological Council is due to discuss what to do with the finds but it is likely that they will be covered so that the engineering work on the line, which is due to be completed by April 1, can continue. Hospital robbers Unidentified robbers fled with several hundred euros after breaking open a collection box under a religious icon hanging in the entrance to the main state hospital of Serres, northern Greece, police said. Hospital staff discovered a large hole in the collection box early yesterday morning. Of the estimated 1,000 euros in the box, less than half was taken, the employees said. Sharp resistance The owner of a clothes shop in Peristeri, western Athens, fought off a robber who threatened her with a knife, police said. The man entered her store on Tuesday night but the woman grabbed his knife and stabbed him in the leg. The robber still managed to take 200 euros in cash from the till, two leather jackets and a laptop before getting into a car where an accomplice was waiting for him. Stolen monitors Police in the Peloponnesian city of Kalamata said yesterday that six local Roma children are to be charged in connection with the theft of computer monitors from the city’s technical college. The theft occurred on January 31 and police said that three of the six suspects have been linked to other thefts in the area.

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