In Brief
KERATEA CLASHES
Residents attack police precincts, damage patrol cars Six police cars were damaged and two precincts attacked in Keratea, southeast of Athens, early yesterday after clashes between officers and locals who are protesting plans to construct a landfill in the area. Residents have clashed with police on an almost daily basis since last month, when machinery was moved in to begin construction of the waste processing site. A court has ordered the work be suspended until claims that the land has been illegally appropriated be examined properly. However, there was another flare-up in the early hours of yesterday morning and, according to police, this led to some 150 people throwing rocks and firebombs at the traffic police station and the police precinct in Keratea. CRETAN TRAGEDY One teen dead, another critical A 17-year-old Cretan youth was in critical condition yesterday after shooting himself in the head at his home in the prefecture of Rethymno in front of relatives and friends. After hearing the testimonies of witnesses, police said they had ruled out suicide and believe the shotgun went off by mistake while the youth had been handling the weapon. The shooting occurred after the youth, his mother and some friends had returned from a nightclub. The youth’s girlfriend reportedly reacted to the news of the shooting by drinking an unspecified amount of liquid bleach. She was also in hospital yesterday. Lucrative burglary A lone burglar netted 390,000 euros in a predawn raid early yesterday on the offices of the gas appliances retailer Technogas on the Athens-Patra national highway and threatening the daughter of the owner who had been there at the time. According to police, the intruder broke into the building after cutting off the electricity and plunging the offices into darkness. The daughter told police that the burglar forced her to open the safe by threatening her with a gun. The intruder fled with 390,000 euros in cash without harming the woman. Airport taxis A set price of 35 euros for taxi journeys between the capital and Athens International Airport is to come into effect on February 1, the Transport Ministry said on Wednesday. A fixed price of 50 euros will apply for journeys during the double-tariff period – between midnight and 5 a.m. These prices will be featured on a card that cabbies will be obliged to display in their vehicles. The aim of the initiative is to crack down on profiteering, particularly at the expense of tourists. Murder solved Police said on Wednesday that they believe they have solved the murder of a 25-year-old Albanian man who was found dead in a forest in Kallithea, Halkidiki, last April. Officers said that a 27-year-old fellow Albanian, who is currently in custody on charges of being involved in an aggravated assault, is suspected of driving the victim from Thessaloniki to Halkidiki and then shooting him in the head. Food scare The government on Wednesday ordered the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) to investigate whether any foods imported into Greece have been contaminated after tests in Germany revealed that dioxins in animal feed had led to eggs being tainted with carcinogenic substances.
