In Brief
FINAL TOUCHES
PM prepares for speech to ND’s central committee Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis locked himself away at his home yesterday afternoon to pore over the speech he is due to give before New Democracy’s central committee today. The conservatives are looking for a lift after some poor poll results that came on the back of a series of scandals. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos, who has recently been the subject of criticism about his and his wife’s property ownership, yesterday denied that he was poised to resign from his post. CAFETERIA BLAST Four kilos of dynamite explode One person was slightly injured when a large bomb went off outside a cafe in Perama, west of Piraeus, early yesterday. Police said the blast caused widespread damage. Witnesses report seeing two men leaving a black bag at the entrance to the building. There were 4 kilos of dynamite inside, according to officers. The owner’s son was in the cafe at the time of the explosion but was not injured. A waitress suffered minor cuts and bruises. Five stores and several apartments and cars had their windows smashed and suffered other damage. Police said the cafe is owned by the brother of a policeman. The motives behind the attack were not immediately clear. Social proposals The leader of Synaspismos, the main group in the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), Alexis Tsipras, proposed yesterday that the minimum monthly wage should be 1,300 euros as opposed to the current 676 euros and that the tax-free ceiling should be raised to 15,000 euros from 12,000. These were two of the 12 suggestions put forward by the young politician who said they were aimed at tackling the problems of the so-called 700-euro generation. Illegal immigrants Police arrested two Greeks, aged 51 and 65, after finding 34 illegal immigrants hidden in their van on the Sounion-Athens coastal road at Palaia Fokaia yesterday. The immigrants (one woman, 17 men and 16 children) are from Somalia and Afghanistan. Hospital stays closed The Aghios Andreas state hospital in Patras is to remain closed for another four to six months pending further work budgeted at 2 million euros to repair damage incurred in an earthquake last June. Interior repairs have been completed but a survey by the National Technical University found the building at risk of further damage in the event of another quake due to structural faults. The hospital units have been moved to another hospital in nearby Rio and the Patras military hospital. Fake nuns Two women aged 45 and 37 have been arrested in Central Macedonia for impersonating nuns and trying to sell «miracle-working» items to shopkeepers and passers-by. Murder foiled A Pakistani man, 31, has been arrested for trying to set fire to his Greek wife in their car in Peristeri, western Athens, Wednesday. During a fight in the car, the man poured gasoline over his spouse, got out of the car and tried to set it alight with a cigarette lighter, but was prevented by bystanders. He escaped but was arrested later outside the couple’s home.
