Lieutenant General Vassilis Tsiatouras was yesterday appointed as the new chief of the Greek Police (ELAS), replacing Anastassios Dimoschakis. The appointment was agreed upon during a meeting of the Government Council on Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA). Tsiatouras, 55, has served as head of the police’s homicide squad for the last 15 years. He was also appointed head of the internal affairs department in 1999 and is known for his “hands-on” approach to policing.

Former Education Minister Marietta Giannakou underwent an operation yesterday at the Henry Dunant Hospital in Athens after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week. Giannakou underwent angioplasty and doctors inserted a stent, or wire mesh tube, to help open a blocked artery. The former minister remains in intensive care. Surgeons amputated Giannakou’s right leg below the knee two weeks ago to avert the risk of an infection that developed in her leg following a fracture that had failed to heal.

Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias is today expected to announce before Parliament the makeup of his Cabinet following talks last night with the leaders of the political parties that backed him. According to sources, the center-right DIKO party of outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos is insisting on having the final word on the allocation of portfolios to ministers. The president has executive powers in Cyprus, in contrast to Greece where the role is chiefly ceremonial.

Athens municipal authorities yesterday appealed to citizens to avoid dumping their trash on the streets of the capital today as garbage collectors are planning to stage a 24-hour strike. The employees are protesting planned pension reforms that would merge their fund with those of other workers.

A street vendor peddling his wares in the small town of Neohori, in Thesprotia, northwestern Greece, was hospitalized yesterday after being shot by a resident, police said. The resident is said to have come out onto his balcony and fired at the salesman with a shotgun, for which he has no license. The vendor’s injuries were not life-threatening, doctors said, without giving any further details. The suspect faced a prosecutor yesterday.

A 30-year-old man was killed in Derveni, close to Thessaloniki, late on Tuesday and a second male, aged 42, was seriously injured when they were hit by a bus, police said yesterday. The two men, both Albanian nationals, were walking down a street that police described as being remote when they were struck by the bus. The injured pedestrian is being treated at a Thessaloniki hospital.

Residents of Skopelos, Skiathos and Alonnissos yesterday complained that their islands have not been served by ferries for several weeks, resulting in dwindling supplies in supermarkets and logistical problems. Schoolchildren who attend lessons in Volos, on the nearby mainland, have been unable to attend lessons, according to protesters.

A quarter of the population feels extremely anxious about air travel, while one in 10 will not even board an airplane unless absolutely necessary, a neurologist and aviation medicine expert has told Kathimerini. Fear of flying can be combated with basic techniques such as breathing exercises and distractions like listening to music and reading, while wearing comfortable clothes also make a big difference, Ioannis Markou said ahead of an aviation medicine conference due to take place in Athens.