In Brief
RAILWAY STOPPAGES
Three days of workers’ action against sell-off begins today Train services will be disrupted today, tomorrow and on Wednesday due to the latest work stoppages by employees of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), who are protesting plans to privatize the company. Today and tomorrow, the workers will walk off the job between 6 and 9 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and midnight. On Wednesday, they will not work between noon and 5 p.m. The action also means that there will be no service on the Proastiakos suburban railway and on the section of the metro between Doukissis Plakentias and Athens International Airport. SHIP HIJACKED Somali pirates nab cargo vessel A Greek-operated cargo ship was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia on Saturday, the European Union NAVFOR command said. The Lugela, which is Panama-flagged and has 12 Ukrainian crew members, was about 900 nautical miles off the Somali coast and was just exiting the Gulf of Aden when it sent out a distress signal. There has been no contact with the vessel since then. Somali pirates are currently holding about 20 ships. Tragedy averted Members of the police’s electronic crimes department said yesterday that they prevented a youngster’s intended suicide. Officers said the child, whose identity was not made public, fled home after thinking he had lost 17,000 euros in an online gambling game and not realizing he had been staking virtual money. The child left a suicide note but officers were able to trace his whereabouts electronically and, with the help of a psychologist, convinced him to return home. Iron man A 32-year-old man has been arrested in northern Greece after attempting to steal 32 tons of iron from a Public Power Corporation worksite near Kozani. The unnamed man had loaded the iron onto a truck that was not displaying any license plates, said police yesterday. ISAP suspension Service on the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) is suspended between the stations of Ano Patissia and Eirini until October 5 to allow for engineering works. Passengers can use the X15 bus for this section. Rain problems Heavy overnight rain in Thessaloniki on Saturday led to the fire service being called out 14 times to pump water from basements. Meanwhile, the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital (EKPAZ) on the island of Aegina also suffered damage on Saturday to a downpour that also led to the flooding of 20 houses. Supermarket raid Two armed robbers made off with about 50,000 euros in cash on Saturday after holding up a supermarket in the southern Athens neighborhood of Palaio Faliro. The robbery took place at about 1.30 p.m., when the suspects forced security guards, who were transferring a sack containing the cash to a waiting truck, to hand over the money at gunpoint. Stamped out A police special guard working at the center for prisoners’ transfer in Attica has been suspended after being accused of removing two official stamps from his superior’s office, it was revealed on Saturday.
