Two new wildfires ignited near the Greek capital on Saturday afternoon with fire-fighters rushing to put them out as strong winds fanned the flames The first blaze was in the area of Katsimidi located on the northwestern outskirts of Athens Authorities send an emergency message to local residents to be on alert in case they need to evacuate with support from five helicopters and two water bombers Several volunteers and hiking teams are also assisting in the operation To facilitate the fire service and protect the public police has diverted traffic in Malakasa and Mercuriou Road one foot team and two vehicles are in the area An 112 emergency alert message was sent at 2.30 p.m. instructing residents in New Zoi to evacuate toward Aspropyrgos Police are diverting cars at the junction of NATO and Aghia Sofia streets Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page .css-105lg8x{display:grid;grid-auto-flow:row;grid-column-gap:var(--mb-responsive-grid-gutter);grid-row-gap:3rem;grid-auto-columns:1fr;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;max-width:89.5rem;overflow:hidden;position:relative;}@media (min-width: 22.5rem){.css-105lg8x{grid-template:auto/repeat(6 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 52.125rem){.css-105lg8x{grid-template:auto/repeat(9 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 89rem){.css-105lg8x{grid-template:auto/repeat(12 var(--mb-colour-greyscale-london-5));font-family:var(--mb-typeface-sans);font-size:var(--mb-typestyle-body-3-size);font-style:normal;font-weight:var(--mb-font-weight-light);line-height:var(--mb-typestyle-body-3-leading);font-variant:var(--mb-typestyle-body-3-figures);text-wrap:balance;}Migration drug-smuggling and nationalism – a continent’s problems reverberate through one small Greek town 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 52.125rem){.css-1uuz26i{grid-template:auto/repeat(9 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 89rem){.css-1uuz26i{grid-template:auto/repeat(12 One night last April Konstantinos Potouridis disappeared from his home in Aspropyrgos his uncle Kostas received a phone call from his abductors “They said my nephew was still alive,” Kostas explains “but they wanted €1,500 for his return.” Kostas didn’t contact the authorities His mother had been killed in a hit-and-run accident a few years previously but the police had called him a liar and refused to consider his case “Never trust the police in Aspropyrgos,” he says “They lie to get promoted.” So late that night he found himself waiting by the side of the highway A man in a black sports car pulled up next to him Kostas handed over the money and the car peeled swiftly away the police called Kostas and told him that his nephew had been found – handcuffed pumped with bullets and chained to a bag of stones at the bottom of the Mornos Channel in the hills above the town “My nephew got too flashy with his money,” Kostas says Ousting Assad may turn out to have been easier than rebuilding the country A lawyer struggles with their conscience. New colleagues are watching  In the Central African Republic locals are learning Russian while mercenaries knock back lager The Inuit on Little Diomede are watched over by Russian soldiers. But that’s not their biggest problem in these icy badlands the Moscow Patriarchate carried out its threat through the Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of the Russian Tradition in Western Europe which joined recently the Moscow Patriarchate after having been disbanded by the Ecumenical Patriarchate According to the official website of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe it established a metochion in the Aspropyrgos area the metochion is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and its Head is Archimandrite Melchizedek he is known as “Archbishop of Romania” Artemis Sorras is the leader of a political organisation called “Ellinon Synelefsis” (Assembly of the Greeks) and became known during the financial crisis in Greece because he was claiming that he was able to buy off the Greek debt He has been sentenced to six years in prison without parole for attempting to commit fraud against the Greek state had been making people take an oath and delivering a patriotic speech He distanced himself from the “Sorras movement” a few months later because he did not agree with their anti-Christian beliefs It is questionable whether the Moscow Patriarchate is aware of his actions it is not clear whether that move was really part of a strategy or whether the former Exarchate was trying to show that it owned a large number of parishes and was appointing anyone The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate approved on October 4th the canonization of Eldress Sophia Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled by air to Antalya the Patriarchate of Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women... Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Theotokos.. it was announced that two Roman Catholic institutions in Bavaria have decided to jointly.. (function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [] cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt callback: cb } ); } } }})(); © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. 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All rights reserved You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed a subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) has successfully completed the site acceptance test (SAT) for the cable system of the Crete-Attica electrical interconnection at the Koumoundouros Converter Station (Aspropyrgos) Ariadne engineers charged the two poles of the cable system from one end of the interconnection to the other (Koumoundouros Converter Station-Damasta Converter Station) verifying that the cable is functioning properly along its entire length The construction phase of the project was completed in December and its launch is expected in the spring A 29-year-old police officer died in a pursuit on the Athens to Corinth road The crash was caused when the suspect vehicle’s driver made a dangerous brake The photos reveal the severity of the crash  According to Proto Thema the pursuit started at about 3:30 in the morning after a vehicle was stolen in Nikaia The police who rushed to the area found that there were two suspicious vehicles but the other sped off with the driver trying to escape the driver of the suspect vehicle made a dangerous maneuver resulting in patrol car that was following it to brake and fall off the motorcycle One of the two police officers riding the motorcycle was seriously injured and was taken to the Thriasio hospital where he unfortunately died a short time later was initially transferred to the same hospital but then transferred to the 401 military hospital The police managed to arrest a person who was riding in the suspicious vehicle while for some time due to the traffic accident a section of the Athens-Corinth National Highway remained closed READ MORE: Greek Surrogate Nightmare Ends for Some Aussie Parents, But Others Remain in Limbo After the outrage caused after the publication of orthodoxia.info which indicated that the Moscow Patriarchate was preparing to intrude on the canonical territory of the Autocephalous Church of Greece through the “Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe,” as it is called today by establishing a “metochion” in Aspropyrgos every reference to this structure and “Abbot Archimandrite Melchizedek” has been deleted Nine more brotherhoods under Greek Archimandrite Dionysios Kalampokas which had joined the Russian Church has been deleted Besides the “metochion” in Aspropyrgos which are under the spiritual guidance of Greek Archimandrite Dionysios Kalampokas who has been facing charges under Greek canon law has been removed from the list of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches These are brotherhoods to which foreigners belong who are under the spiritual guidance of the Greek Archimandrite According to the Metropolis of Thessaliotis he belongs to the Metropolis whereas others refer that he belongs to the Metropolis of Zakynthos There are even references that he belongs to some of the Ancient Patriarchates Dionysios Kalampokas was not mentioned to be part of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in the relevant posts As you can see in the two screenshots, on the left are all these monasteries, including the “metochion” in Aspropyrgos. On the right, you can see the list as posted today on the same website without these monasteries and the Aspropyrgos “metochion” They canonized Ioannis Kapodistrias and dedicated an icon and a monastery to him A monastery in Switzerland is at the top of the modified list which has become an odd phenomenon: It is called “Monastère Saint-Jean-Capodistrias” and it is dedicated to Saint Ioannis Kapodistrias It is a former Benedictine monastery dating back to the 11th century It has been housing since January two Orthodox monasteries one men’s monastery dedicated to Saint Ioannis Kapodistrias and one women’s monastery dedicated to the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple the Catholic website cath.ch published a feature on the two Orthodox monasteries with statements made by members of the brotherhoods and sisterhoods talking about their spiritual father who is the head of 21 monasteries around the world The monastery of Saint Ioannis Kapodistrias also appears to be an association but according to the reportage and photos published in the feature story it is a monastery which seems to be mixed since the two communities “The association ‘Saint Monastery John Capodistrias of Beinwil’ has its spiritual seat in a monastery on the Greek island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea. This is also where the spiritual father of the community, Archimandrite Dionysios, also lives, who is linked to the Patriarchate of Antioch, based in Damascus.” (The feature is available here in French) While the nuns told cath.ch in April that their spiritual father belonged to the Patriarchate of Antioch but was based on Zakynthos, on another website called orthodoxie.ch, the monastery appears to be under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of the Moscow Patriarchate which appear in a timetable of the monastery published by the same website speak clearly of the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate there is an icon of the “saint of politics” as Ioannis Kapodistrias is called who has a halo and points his finger to the sky © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website Four incendiary devices and 53 Molotov cocktails were seized from the Attica Security Directorate on Wednesday in Aspropyrgos as part of an investigation into Saturday’s incidents The explosives were found at an Open Care Center for the elderly in Aspropyrgos a group of about 30 people stopped a city bus and caused extensive damage to the vehicle They then attacked the police forces who arrived at the scene with Molotov cocktails and other objects violence against officials and judicial persons as well as violation of the legislation on weapons is carried out by the State Security Department of the Security Sub-Directorate of Western Attica Residents around a burning waste management facility in Aspropyrgos have been told by the authorities to stay indoors and close the windows on Wednesday as the area has been shrouded by dense smoke According to a statement by the Hellenic Fire Service there are 13 vehicles and 30 firefighters operating on scene The local logistics industry is a magnet for acquisitions and mergers so the concentration process continues in this particular market Kathimerini understands that the EOS Capital Partners fund of Apostolos Tamvakakis are in talks with the Med Frigo group for the acquisition of it and its subsidiary “There are discussions that have not yet led to a definitive agreement,” noted sources following the ongoing processes between the two sides with managing director Sotiris Brakatselos was founded in 1991 and offers temperature-controlled logistics and transport services it reported turnover of 40.6 million euros and profits before taxes of €6.4 million where the company’s headquarters are located last year recorded turnover of €18.3 million and pre-tax profits of €952,000 will constitute the second investment in the logistics industry for EOS Capital which has assets under management of €150 million acquired last June 49% of an international transport company based in Zurich which is estimated to be completed in the near future concerns the acquisition of 80% of Orphee Beinoglou by US fund HIG Capital Advisors The other 20% will remain in the Beinoglou family Katsadakis (nephew of the current president and great-grandson of the founder) currently occupying the position of vice president of the company It is worth noting that the deal between Orphee Beinoglou and HIG Capital appears to have been in progress since the winter of 2021 with the heads of the transport company maintaining silence about the discussions on both sides also controls 70% of “Olympia – Kandyli,” seeking to increase its share of the Greek warehouse market to approximately 18% HIG is also launching the development of a storage and distribution center in Aspropyrgos The Ministerial Committee for Strategic Investments on Tuesday approved the investment plan for the “Hull Logistics Park” by Streem Development that concerns the creation of an ultramodern supply chain and transit complex at Aspropyrgos The total budget of the project comes to 244,164,841 euros creating 3,900 jobs during construction and 1,238 jobs in full operation “After four years of hard work and close cooperation of the Development Ministry with HIV Capital and other parties involved the project is now entering the final stage of realization at the old plant of Hellenic Halyvourgia,” said Minister Adonis Georgiadis Join our newsletter to receive regular updates on our stories Orbis Terra Media GmbH will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide Newsletter updates Please let us know all the ways you would like to hear from us: You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us or by contacting us at info@tharawat-magazine.com We will treat your information with respect For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms Pavlos Mamalos of Greece reacts as he competes in the Men's -90 kg Powerlifting event Rio 2016 gold medallist Pavlos Mamalos will be honoured at the Pan-Hellenic Para Powerlifting Championships 16 powerlifters will compete at what will be the last opportunity for most of them to achieve the qualification standards for the World Para Powerlifting Championships set to take place in Mexico City from 30 September-6 October Both Mamalos and Rio 2016 bronze medallist Dimitrios Bakochristos will be in attendance “I hope many spectators will come watch us,” said Mamalos This event is a small test before the World Championships and a good opportunity for new young athletes to test themselves on a national level “I wish all the athletes the best and want to thank both the National Federation our sponsors and the Municipality of Aspropyrgos for their support.” Real estate investment companies Trastor and BriQ Properties are launching new investments in the logistics sector as they are keen to expand their presence in the Aspropyrgos area of western Attica the two companies have acquired new plots of land in areas where they are already present with the aim of creating complexes of modern logistics facilities “With our new investment at the Melissia location of Aspropyrgos we will have logistics totaling 100,000 square meters in the wider area while within the next 18 months we plan to increase this size even more to 150,000 sq.m. which will make us the largest logistics owner in this particular area,” Trastor CEO Tassos Kazinos tells Kathimerini Trastor has obtained three new plots of land These properties are adjacent to other company properties The aim is to develop a new modern facility covering an area of 8,000 square meters will amount to approximately 6.5 million euros In the same area the company is currently completing the construction of a 22,000 sq.m a company active in the field of drug storage and trading involved in the supply of logistics services BriQ Properties is also planning a new warehouse at its existing facility at Imeros Topos The company has acquired two new plots of land totaling 11,000 sq.m now creating a single plot of 114,000 sq.m “this purchase will allow us to increase the area of the new logistics facility we were planning we will create a new warehouse of 19,000 sq.m.” The additional cost is estimated at around €5 million which means that this new investment will exceed €15 million Violence has erupted between groups of Roma and police with an escalation in unrest on Thursday evening when a group of 25 men opened fire against police special forces in the western Athenian suburb of Aspropyrgos the assailants are said to have used rifles Further west of Aspropyrgos outside the town of Megara a vehicle was set alight and attending firefighters dodged thrown stones as they responded to the incident A Roma man was shot dead late Thursday night after a fight in a camp near Megara The full account hasn’t yet been released but the murder appears to be unrelated to the tensions between the Roma community and police resulting from Monday’s police-involved shooting Witness reports allege the perpetrator and victim had a physical altercation ahead of the shooting The victim was taken to the Megara hospital and pronounced dead on arrival The shooter has supposedly been identified but no arrest has been made at this time Traffic has been suspended on the old Athens-Corinth highway over a 3-kilometre stretch; it has also been halted in the Aegaleo ring road near Aspropyrgos a young Roma man set fire to rubbish skips and tyres police raided Roma camps at four locations arresting seven and detaining a further four The detained persons have been charged with drug possession 25 houses were searched during the operation which continued into Friday’s early hours Four fires burning in Elefsina and Aspropyrgos as fire in Varnavas rages A 14-year-old is accused of starting a fire on Sunday night at a primary school in Serres The fire cause extensive damage to the roof of the building Charges were filed against the minor for the crime of arson while his parents were also arrested for neglecting the supervision of a minor Hellenic Petroleum SA has decided to bring forward major planned maintenance at its 100,000-b/d Elefsina refinery in Elefsis following an unexpected shutdown of the plant’s hydrogen production unit in early July Planned maintenance works at all of the refinery’s units originally scheduled to take place from late-September 2017 through March 2018 will now be carried out during the current shutdown period the company plans to complete maintenance activities and resume full operations at Elefsina sometime in September Hellenic’s 148,000-b/d refinery in Aspropyrgos and 93,000-b/d refinery at Thessaloniki will cover supply needs of Greece’s domestic market as well as the company’s own international subsidiaries While Hellinic confirmed an unidentified technical incident forced the July 10 closure of Elefsina’s hydrogen production unit the company has yet to reveal further details surrounding the event Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected] With a growing number of smokers switching to IQOS a tobacco-heating device which delivers a nicotine hit without actually burning the tobacco the Papastratos production facility in Aspropyrgos is playing a significant role in turning the country into a major export center for Philip Morris International the chief executive officer of US multinational Philip Morris International (PMI) who was born and raised in the southern Greek city of Pyrgos Calantzopoulos is the driving force behind the 6-billion-dollar transformation of the US multinational tobacco company toward a smoke-free future with the aim of cigarettes ultimately being replaced by products that produce no smoke he has turned PMI’s Greek subsidiary Papastratos into a producer of IQOS heat sticks through an investment of 300 million euros which has also boosted employment in Aspropyrgos Calantzopoulos sees great development potential as well as the need for regulatory work internationally saying that it is no secret that Greece is not an easy place to do business it is a fact that we usually work things out,” he notes if a company does not constantly improve itself another will come along and render its business model obsolete.” How important is Greece for you and how important is the Papastratos factory in Aspropyrgos Is there any room for further development there the decisions concerning the factories are not reached based on their geographical location alone – they’re also based on geopolitical and regulatory factors from a global point of view – I believe that we will have factories that will produce only IQOS products and factories that will produce both products the production of cigarettes will gradually decrease as both our group and smokers themselves will gradually abandon conventional means of smoking We don’t need new production facilities everywhere but we don’t want to lay people off either we want to keep employment levels as high as possible have been transformed into facilities that exclusively produce heat sticks (HEETS) and we will do the same with others as well the good news is that this new product needs more people than the traditional cigarette-making facilities Given that the international uncertainty caused by trade wars is a threat – and the return of protectionism that that entails – we can say that at least the European market will remain important for us in any event – at least for as long as the European Union continues functioning as it does today and Greece continues being a member of it we see nothing on the horizon that could threaten our production business in the country Aspropyrgos will clearly have an important role to play as the penetration of IQOS among smokers increases there will be new needs for increased production And of course we don’t want to go and build new factories when we already have capacity available How easy has the whole process of investing in the Papastratos factory been do you think that Greece is a business-friendly environment To answer your question both generally and specifically we could say that it is known that Greece has historically not been the most business-friendly environment it is a fact that we usually work things out And that is why we have always supported Papastratos it is reasonable to say that there have been both good and bad moments on that front What I would like to stress at this point is that I would like the country to acquire the appropriate regulatory framework for the said product will gradually become a major export center for us and the product will gain an increasingly important share in the market health ministries are usually slow to take action You have already invested 6 billion dollars in IQOS and 300 million euros in transforming the Aspropyrgos facilities What are your aims and what will come next if it doesn’t improve its products and services another one will come along and render its business model obsolete we must always ensure that we constantly lead the way we will certainly continue investing both in reducing the risks entailed by its take-up for the smokers as well as in its usability for the consumers since this product has been designed with an emphasis on user comfort when a smoker is convinced and makes the shift from smoking cigarettes to heated tobacco they will use that product every day – they will live with it the closer its connection to the users will be I generally expect that we will invest in the improvement of the heated tobacco device once a year and in the radical improvement of the system as a whole once every two to three years even though they will probably not be so capital-intensive as previously A great part of the funds you have mentioned were spent on the pre-clinical and clinical trials and assessments of the IQOS system this was a period of research and development that is typically front-loaded in terms of investment costs Another major part of the funds was spent on infrastructure it can continue using them for increasingly higher volumes if we proceed with our entry into the market of conventional vapes we will start doing gradually at the end of the next year in various international markets – we will be able to do so through our infrastructure and our greater organization that has already been evolved and knows how to do that through IQOS The initial cost of entry to the market will be much lower for us IQOS is profitable in any market where it is present And it becomes profitable in any market within a year to 18 months of its launch Why are the heat sticks cheaper in some markets than in others no country has classified the product as a cigarette this product either creates a new category on its own or falls within another category of tobacco products that are usually subject to less tax than cigarettes The ideal scenario would be that all heated (not combustion) tobacco products fell within a new category which would accordingly be subject to different tax rates – of course lower ones we still need to have the category of non-smoke tobacco products determined according to international takes place nationally and with great differences must make a comprehensive effort toward that direction The Environment Ministry has approved a special urban planning scheme necessary for the relocation of Korydallos Prison – Greece’s largest maximum-security penitentiary – in the Piraeus region to a new complex in Aspropyrgos The project involves constructing a new judicial and correctional facility in a public-private partnership The new site includes 9.2 hectares of the former American Base with the facility designed to hold 2,000 inmates and 650 staff The relocation has been a long-standing request from Korydallos residents since the 1980s The project’s budget is around €620 million with construction expected to take four years the future of the existing Korydallos prison site remains unclear with plans for a study on its redevelopment as green space The project’s next steps involve a competition for contractors with financial offers expected by April 2025 Environmental impact studies will also be submitted in the coming months Greek tobacco giant Papastratos’s new production plant was officially launched on Wednesday at Aspropyrgos in western Attica by the chief executive officer of Philip Morris International and Papastratos chairman and CEO Christos Harpantidis The 300-million-euro investment is the second unit in the world exclusively destined for the manufacture of PMI’s new IQOS heated tobacco products The 400 new jobs will increase the Greek firm’s personnel by 50 percent as the company demonstrates its swing toward innovation through a new generation of products is heading for a third enlargement to deal with overflowing waste as the construction of new facilities to alleviate the problem are reportedly not expected to be ready before 2021-22 to the chagrin of Athens’s municipal authorities the Regional Authority of Attica Thursday ruled out the possibility of building a waste incineration plant in the area of Aspropyrgos to take the pressure off the Fyli landfill Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou said Thursday that the “plan stipulates the creation of two waste processing units east and west of Athens to serve its needs.” She added that the Municipality of Aspropyrgos will be served by the recycling plant in Ano Liosia and that an application will be submitted to the European Union for funds for its upgrade After 90 years of producing conventional cigarettes Greek tobacco firm Papastratos is planning to turn its plant in Aspropyrgos over to the production of the IQOS heat-not-burn tobacco product the Aspropyrgos unit will be producing 20 billion IQOS units a year The 300-million-euro investment is part of a commitment made by parent company Philip Morris International (PMI) and Papastratos to promote smoke-free tobacco products Papastratos vice-president Iakovos Kargarotos says that in the brief time the IQOS has been in the Greek market it has already attracted a loyal following and so far enjoys a market share of 2 percent in Athens and more than 2.5 percent nationwide through specialized outlets The IQOS is a rechargeable electronic unit that heats tobacco to create a smoking experience by releasing flavor and nicotine without burning it PMI has invested 3 billion dollars since 2008 to developing reduced-harm products This particular technology was developed by PMI’s R&D center in Switzerland and is already circulating in more than 20 countries with a target of 30-35 countries by the end of this year PMI applied for approval of the IQOS as a reduced-harm product from the American Food and Drug Administration last December Filling In Student’s Individual Health Cards in schools of Attica: the scientific team of the “Global Health-Disaster Medicine” postgraduate studies programme of the School of Medicine of the NKUA was by the students’ side to provide paediatric assessment and fill in the Student’s Individual Health Cards so that all students will be able to participate in the PE course and integrate smoothly into school life the scientific team of the “Global Health-Disaster Medicine” postgraduate studies programme visited the 11th Kindergarten of Acharnes to fill in the Individual Health Cards of Roma students There the paediatrician Mr Terzidis examined 17 children (15 Roma children and 2 non-Roma children) several children were insufficiently vaccinated and lacked regular paediatric check-ups the scientific team of the “Global Health-Disaster Medicine” postgraduate studies programme visited the 16th Primary school of Acharnes and discussed the needs of the students with the school’s principal A total of 38 children from all the classes 34 out of 38 children were found able to participate in the PE course a meeting with the children’s parents should be arranged so that the children’s complete medical history can be recorded the principal of the 7th Primary school of Aspropyrgos welcomed the scientific team of the “Global Health-Disaster Medicine” postgraduate studies programme and helped them coordinate the children’s medical assessment She informed them that the students of the 2nd due to the construction work that was carried out at the school and a recent bout of flu A total of 69 children were examined (from the 1st to the 4th grade of Primary school) and 3 children from the 1st grade of the 3rd Junior High School of Aspropyrgos who have siblings in the primary school and came to be examined accompanied by their guardians All the children examined were insufficiently vaccinated but physically fit to take part in the PE course 8 children were found in need of special medical attention and regular check-ups Provision of health support in Karditsa (Mavrikas settlement) two representatives of the “Global Health-Disaster Medicine” postgraduate studies programme travelled to Karditsa to offer health support to the residents of the Mavrikas Roma settlement which was recently affected by the severe weather phenomenon so a lot of families are roomed either in other houses or in the town’s stadium The partners of the programme met with 7 families most of whom were children aged from 0 to 16 years old they examined the children and provided them with medicines as well as instructions for their use they recorded their needs for future interventions The mediator of the Karditsa-Mavrikas Roma Community Center offered his invaluable assistance during the intervention He informed the partners of the programme about the current situation and needs and led them to meet with the families Τhe programme “Health care interventions for Roma children: prevention access to the NHS” will continue its work in October By the end of 2026 to early 2027, the Suburban Railway of western Attica will be opened to traffic connecting all coastal areas from Elefsina to Nea Peramos and Megara with the existing suburban railway network to Athens and the airport The network includes eight stop stations: HELPE Aspropyrgos it is the upgrading of the existing Suburban Railway of Western Attica namely the section Ano Losia – New Megara Station – P.S with the contractor being Metlen Group’s METKA company financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) and will connect Western Attica with Athens Piraeus and the rest of the railway network The project involves the construction of a new suburban railway branch from Ano Losia to Megara within the existing railway corridor of the old railway line to the Peloponnese the scope of the project concerns the construction of a single 36km-long line in the west of Athens from Ano Losia to the old railway station of Megara on the axis of the old metric line of the SPAP serving the densely populated areas of Aspropyrgos the project concerns the renovation of the superstructure of the Railway Line with new materials and its certification to the Interoperability Principles and includes the installation of a 25kV overhead contact line system the installation of a signalling and telecommand system with ETCS L1 with all station information systems telecommunication systems and E/M installations at the stations.The final project will be interconnected with the High Speed Railway Line (HST) at the Ano Liosia railway station The project budget also includes the branch line to the old Megara station the construction of which is an option that is activated with the approval of the environmental conditions for this section the Western Attica Suburban Railway will not only serve areas with a population employed in industries in the wider region but a large number of logistics centers are currently being organized along it while at the same time the load of heavy vehicles circulating on the PATHE axis will be reduced.” It is noted that one freight train is equal to the traffic of 15 – 20 heavy vehicles on the road axes Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr The first case of plague in Attica was detected in Aspropyrgos as confirmed by the Deputy Minister of Rural Development According to the information, the case was detected after a targeted control, following tracing, which means that the animals had not shown any symptoms referring to the disease At the same time, according to other protothema.gr sources, there are reasonable suspicions that the initial case of plague in Greece entered the country with a herd of animals from Romania based on the information and data that the Greek authorities have so far new tracing and new targeted controls are expected to follow in this way the herd in which a case was detected in Corinthia and the one in Aspropyrgos were also checked in a targeted manner Immediate were the reflexes of the Region of Attica in the appearance of the first case of African sheep and goat plague in a livestock unit in Aspropyrgos as the Attica Region Governor Nikos Hardalias had already put all the competent services on alert the specialized staff of the Local Centers for Disease Control (LDC) of the Region of Attica had quarantined two livestock farms that had legally purchased live lambs from Romania After the owners of a unit in Aspropyrgos were notified of suspicious symptoms in their animals the Region’s veterinarians carried out blood samples the strict protocols of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food were implemented providing for the mass killing and sanitary burial of the unit’s lambs the veterinary services of the Region will carry out continuous and meticulous inspections of the livestock farms in the area to identify and immediately respond to possible cases and a wide-ranging meeting will be convened to develop a holistic strategy to combat the epidemic It is recalled that by personal order of the Attica Region Governor and after consultation with the Minister of Interior Theodore Livanios teams of the Attica Region were in Thessaly to assist the local authorities Nikos Hardalias had already provided for the strengthening of the mechanisms of the Region approved an expenditure of 40,000 euros for the supply of appropriate additional equipment and services for health services Movements of sheep and goats across the country have been banned It is noted that the ban on the movement of goat and sheep movements for breeding fattening and slaughter throughout the Greek territory was decided by the Minister of Rural Development and Food The decision was taken as a precautionary measure aimed at limiting the spread and eradication of small ruminant plague According to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture are continuing the epidemiological investigation on the origin of the outbreaks and the route of possible suspected imports As it says “the detection of the case in a livestock unit in Messino in the municipality of Sikionos in Corinthia were achieved through the tracing process and the cases were detected before the symptoms were even manifested following a preventive investigation by the veterinary services of the Ministry of Veterinary Affairs in collaboration with the veterinary services of the Regions based on the route followed by animals imported from a specific country” According to confidential reports by the Greek police almost 50% of the crime in Attica originates in the Roma settlements that are under the full control of mafia groups vying for the dominance of the areas only 15 kilometres from the heart of Athens They are the “independent democracies” of Attica which in recent decades have become ‘no-go zones’ for the police and a haven for drug Although most of the inhabitants of the Roma settlements do not participate in illegal activities and try to live their lives according to law they are fearful for their lives if they decide to open their mouths A code of silence “Omerta” is the common reaction to illicit actions which led to the death by police of a young Roma who had stolen a car is indicative of the situation that prevails The vast majority of Greek Roma may be fighting for survival and abstaining from illicit actions Children and young people fall into petty crime and engage in theft 17 Hyundai Accent 1,300 cc were stolen from the wider area of ​​Renti – similar to the car that was used by the Roma victim in the bloody police pursuit- used for theft and raids by gangs in the western suburbs and were later found burned at the Schistos area Kalashnikovs and carbines are the norms for the gang members trying to enforce their rules and expand their turf influence Misunderstandings and incidents with guns and drugs in the background are almost a daily occurrence while the role of some police officers is strange and obscure The leadership of the Ministry of Civil Protection plans to break the vicious circle of lawlessness by launching operations to liberate at least five Roma camps from mafia families who enforce the unwritten law of omerta and have turned them into strongholds of illegality According to a confidential report of the Hellenic Police the dangerous no-go zones start from the Aspropyrgos camp which is used as a base by many predatory groups law enforcement officers are “forbidden” from entering and operating many of their Balkan Roma are also hiding there and involved in most of the crime since every time they are arrested they change their identity the trafficking of drugs and weapons is flourishing even children who are used by the gangs for the trafficking of drugs have been recorded There are two communities in the area: the ‘northerners’ and the ‘southerners’ beastly 4×4 vehicles roam the muddy streets while the sale of cocaine and hashish is one of the prevalent illicit activities Kalashnikovs and silence is the modus operandi as crime pervades the air and it is difficult to find a single person who is not carrying a piece In Menidi there are parts of the settlement where the gangs are in complete control and specialise in drug trafficking gangs of Greeks and foreign Roma terrorise residents and impose their unwritten laws Athenians are leaving the capital by any means for the Easter holidays resulting in a particularly heavy traffic on the highways from early morning as predicted for Good Friday and Good Saturday they leave the highways and ports by the thousands in one of the largest exits of recent years Traffic is currently heavy on the Athens-Corinthos highway the traffic jam starts from the height of Haidario until the Shipyards of Skaramanga while drivers are moving slowly from the height of Elefsina until the junction of Nea Peramos Cars are moving at a slow pace on the Attiki Odos road There are delays from the height of the Elefsina tollgate to Agioi Theodoroi as well as on Attiki Odos from Aspropyrgos to Magoula due to a traffic accident that occurred earlier after the Aspropyrgos junction on the road to Elefsina vehicles are moving at low speeds on Athinon Avenue from the height of Forest of Haidario to the refineries vehicles are moving smoothly on the Athens-Lamia highway where there are minor delays just before the Afidnon toll See Also: Former NASA engineer says he’s invented a thruster that doesn’t require propellant The traffic police estimate that the next few hours will peak and will begin to ease in the early afternoon hours Easter exodus is expected to be one of the most massive in recent years from 6 am on Maundy Thursday until 06:00 this morning more than 70,588 vehicles passed through the toll of Elefsina while in the same period 49,308 cars left Athens for the Athens-Lamia National Road the exit from the Kifissos and Liosia bus stations also peaked with very high occupancy rates for flights The buses of KTEL reach 100% occupancy for routes to areas of the Peloponnese