In Brief
ELECTRIC RAILWAY
Attiki-Monastiraki section will not open on time due to artifacts The opening of the Attiki-Monastiraki section of the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP), which was due to take place at the beginning of next year, will be delayed due to the discovery of archaeological artifacts. ISAP said yesterday that antiquities had been found during engineering works at Thiseio station. The company said that it did not know when the line, which has been subject to closures and delays for more than a year, would be fully functional again. BUILDING LAW Extension for imiypaithrioi The deadline for homeowners to declare areas of homes which were originally planned as balconies, garages or basements but have since been turned into living space, known as «imiypaithrioi» (semi-open) in Greek, has been extended until December 28, the Environment Ministry said yesterday. It added that homeowners would be able to pay their fees in up to 10 installments. Vima scales back To Vima newspaper said yesterday that it would no longer publish a daily edition due to declining sales. To Vima will continue to be published on Sundays and aims to launch a new electronic newspaper in January. The newspaper, part of Lambrakis Press, had been published as a daily since 1999. Dimaras quitting Rebel PASOK MP Yiannis Dimaras said yesterday that he would stick to his pledge to relinquish on January 1 his parliamentary seat, which will go to a PASOK member. Dimaras made the promise after coming third in the first round of voting for Attica governor in which he campaigned against Greece’s emergency loan agreement. Abduction trial The elderly shipping magnate Pericles Panagopoulos, who was abducted in January 2009 for eight days before his family paid 30 million euros for his release, yesterday told a court hearing the trial of his kidnappers that he had no hard feelings. «I hope that the cash helped to improve their lives and make them better people,» he said. Rank tagliatelle The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) yesterday called for the withdrawal of packets of tagliatelle trading under the name Melissa Kikizas following complaints by consumers in Thessaly that the product had an unpleasant smell. Piraeus trash Local officials in Piraeus have started spraying with disinfectant the piles of trash that have accumulated due to a strike by municipal workers in a bid to avert potential risks to public health. Robbery ring Two Albanian men, aged 23 and 21, were being questioned yesterday in connection to a string of armed robberies on hotels, gas stations, betting shops and brothels in the area of northeastern Attica. Police are seeking another two suspected members of the ring, one of whom is a woman. Fatal stabbing A 19-year-old Somali man was fatally injured yesterday after being stabbed in the back in Kato Patissia, near central Athens, following a dispute with three immigrants. One of the assailants was seen grabbing the victim’s cell phone.
