In Brief
TEMPE SHUT
Section of highway to close again for next four weeks The Vale of Tempe section of the Athens-Thessaloniki highway in central Greece, which had opened temporarily over Easter, will close again today for further work. The stretch of road was out of use after a massive rockfall in December but opened for a few days to help with the increased traffic over Easter. Drivers will have to use a diversion through Agiokambos for the next four weeks until the road is ready to reopen fully. ILLEGAL CIGARETTES Over 1 million packets on ship A cargo ship carrying more than 1 million packets of contraband cigarettes was seized in the Thermaic Gulf off Thessaloniki, authorities said on Saturday. The Ukrainian-flagged Svesa was intercepted by coast guard vessels early on Saturday and led to Thessaloniki port. According to the ship’s documents, it was carrying 1,012,000 cigarette packets. The seven crew members were detained. Charred remains A burned body was found yesterday afternoon on a plot of land in the Patima area of Halandri, northeastern Athens. The body was discovered by firefighters when residents reported a small fire. The identity of the dead person was not immediately known. Halki options Opening a seminary in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, or another area of the country close to Istanbul, and recourse to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, are some of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s options if the Theological School in Halki is not reopened, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios said on Saturday in reply to Turkish reporters’ questions. Skiathos murder Police on the island of Skiathos in the Sporades were yesterday looking for a 17-year-old hotel worker suspected of killing a 58-year-old woman and injuring her husband and daughter, who were all guests at the hotel. Officers said that the suspect used a farming tool to strike the woman, then attacked her 63-year-old husband and 20-year-old daughter. The man suffered serious injuries but the young woman was not badly hurt and informed police of the identity of the attacker. Officers said it appears that the 17-year-old had a financial dispute with the woman but did not gave any other details. Officer arrested A police officer from Attica was suspended yesterday after being linked to a human-trafficking ring uncovered by his colleagues. Police said the officer has been charged with aiding criminals and being part of a gang after evidence suggested that he had been tipping off human traffickers about the force’s work. Over the weekend, officers arrested four Greeks aged between 44 and 47 and a 31-year-old Albanian thought to have procured women in Attica. Two Albanian women, aged 20 and 23, have also been arrested on suspicion of working as prostitutes. Church thieves Two men thought to have broken into at least two churches on Crete to steal cash from the collection boxes were caught red-handed while trying to steal from a church in the village of Atsalenio, near Iraklio. Police said on Saturday that the two men, aged 23 and 27, were apprehended breaking into the church.
