In Brief
AIR FM DECISION
Council to rule today on status of foreign-language radio station The National Council for Radio and Television is to rule today on the status of Athens International Radio, the foreign-language radio program of City Hall’s Athina 98.4 station, which has been off the air since last Thursday, when a prosecutor confiscated the station’s transmitter, claiming its license was not valid. Staff at AIR FM, which is still broadcasting on the Internet at www.air1044fm.gr, have called on central and local government authorities to «state their position on the underlying motives behind the abrupt closure of a station that provides a public service for citizens, without commercial objectives.» JOBLESS SIT-IN Protest held at OAED HQ A large group of former employees of recently privatized state carrier Olympic Air staged a protest yesterday morning outside the headquarters of the Manpower Organization (OAED) in Alimos, southeast of Athens. The protesters, who went on to enter the building and stage a sit-in, claim that they are owed several months of overdue unemployment benefits. Hospital chaos A young man ran amok in the emergency room of Iraklio’s University Hospital on Crete yesterday, breaking objects and attacking a guard from Alikarnassos Prison who was escorting a prisoner undergoing treatment. The 27-year-old, who was not named, was charged with destruction of public property, disturbing the peace and causing bodily harm. Wayward yacht Coast guard officers in Rethymno, Crete, who were called in on Sunday morning to help a yacht that was taking on water found the vessel to have been stolen from the Attica port of Rafina in late August. After towing the ship to safety into the port of Souda Bay yesterday, officers questioned the four Turkish crew who were on the vessel, following their discovery that it had been reported stolen. The four men claimed to have purchased the vessel from a compatriot in Turkey and told officers that they were on their way to Tunisia when they experienced engine trouble. Antiquities haul A 61-year-old retired employee of the Archaeological Service in Ancient Corinth was released from police custody yesterday as investigations continue into the provenance of a number of antiquities found in his possession. Police arrested the man last Thursday after a search of his home revealed 31 objects dating to the Classical and post-Byzantine eras. The man claims to have found the objects, which have been sent for expert evaluation, in a nearby field. Train stoppages Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) employees, who are protesting government privatization plans, yesterday announced the times of upcoming work stoppages. According to an announcement from the union of railway employees, railway services will cease on Wednesday for five hours starting at noon, on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on September 27 from 6-9 a.m., 2-5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight, as well as on September 29 from noon to 5 p.m. Workers on the Proastiakos suburban railway, which also serves Athens International Airport, will also be participating in Thursday’s five-hour stoppage.
