In Brief
TRANSPORT DISRUPTIONS
Stoppages on trolleys and buses three times this week There will be no buses or trolley buses between 11 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. today as the labor unions representing workers on those modes of public transport have decided to protest the government’s imminent reforms to the sector. They have also planned to hold identical work stoppages on Wednesday and Thursday. Employees on the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) will walk off the job tomorrow between noon and 4 p.m. Metro and tram workers have so far decided to refrain from further action, pending talks with the government. Pharmacists decide Protest against bill expected Athens pharmacists are due to meet today to discuss holding a strike after rejecting on Friday the government’s terms for the liberalization of their profession. Pharmacists in Piraeus have already decided to keep their stores shut today and tomorrow in protest at the decision of Health Minister Andreas Loverdos to submit a bill to Parliament tomorrow that would make it much easier for someone to open a pharmacy. Goals galore In a high-scoring weekend of soccer action, Olympiakos maintained its comfortable lead at the top of the Super League table with a 4-2 home win over Panserraikos on Saturday. Panathinaikos’s 4-2 win over Kavala on Sunday meant that the gap between the two rivals remained at five points. PAOK’s 3-0 victory at Olympiakos Volou on Saturday was overshadowed by clashes between visiting supporters and riot police before the game. Other results saw Atromitos beat Kerkyra 4-2, Iraklis lose 2-1 at Larissa, Aris succumb to a 2-0 home defeat to Panionios, AEK thrash Asteras Tripolis 3-0 away from home and Xanthi lose 1-0 to Ergotelis. Gambling den A total of 24 people were arrested in a cafe in Iraklio, Crete, for taking part in illegal gambling, police said on Saturday. Officers raided the cafe and arrested 20 people for playing card games on which they had staked money and another four suspects for playing online slot machines. The 24 suspects were aged between 21 and 70. Police also seized 7,310 euros and chips they believe to be worth 17,643 euros. Illegal smokes A 55-year-old man has been arrested in Volos, central Greece, after trying to sell 56 packs of contraband cigarettes to undercover officers, police said on Saturday. The suspect, who was not named, was arrested after accepting marked banknotes for the cigarettes. According to the charges against him, he was cheating the state out of almost 3,700 euros in taxes. Trio of blasts An incendiary device went off outside a branch of Proton Bank in Vyronas, eastern Athens, in the early hours of Saturday, causing minor damage and no injuries. At about the same time, a similar device caused damage to an office formerly used by PASOK in Moschato, southern Athens. Also in a pre-dawn incident on Saturday, a homemade bomb went off outside the offices of a construction company in Halandri, northeastern Athens. Police did not say if the three incidents were linked.
