Greece: blasts outside Swiss, Russian embassies

Greek police have said that they have detonated a suspicious package outside the Bulgarian embassy in Athens after blasts outside Parliament and at the Swiss Embassy. No injuries or damage were reported from Tuesday’s three small explosions. Police say far-left domestic groups are suspected.
On Monday, four mail bomb failed to reach their targets – French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the embassies of Mexico, the Netherlands and Belgium. Two Greek men were arrested on suspicion of plotting the attacks.
The bombs were found after one of the devices exploded at a delivery service in central Athens, lightly wounding a worker at the delivery company.

Greek PM meets Turkish counterpart

ATHENS: The prime ministers of longtime rivals Greece and Turkey met on Friday to ease tensions and discuss cuts in defence spending, a crucial step for Athens as it struggles with a debt crisis that is shaking the euro.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Athens with 10 ministers and about 80 businessmen to begin what both sides hope will be a new era in ties between the two NATO members.

Israel restricts access to Al-Aqsa mosque

JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday restricted access to Jerusalem”s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound amid concerns of fresh violence at the flashpoint site as Jews celebrate the week-long Passover holiday.

Police said that Muslim men under the age of 50 and all non-Muslims will be barred from entering the compound which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Police did not say when the restrictions would be lifted.

Authorities have also tightened restrictions on access to Israel from the occupied West Bank until April 6.

Avatar dominates Britain”s Empire Awards

LONDON: James Cameron”s Avatar ruled Britain”s Empire Film Awards on Sunday night, taking home three of the top trophies.

The sci-fi epic won the coveted Best Film honour and Cameron landed the Best Director award, while Zoe Saldana was named the Best Actress at the ceremony in London.

Inglourious Basterds star Christoph Waltz won the Best Actor award for his role in Quentin Tarantino”s movie, while Aaron Johnson won the Best Newcomer honour for his portrayal of a young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy.

Guy Ritchie”s Sherlock Holmes landed the Best Thriller film award and Star Trek won Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy film.

British actor Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Andy Serkis and Sir Ian MCKellen all won special awards for their contribution to film, with the X-Men star being named Empire Icon, the evening”s top honour.

He says, “I”ve played iconic parts – I think that”s the point. I played Gandalf the Grey and the White and Magneto. So their lustre rubs off on me rather than the other way round.”

The list of winners is as follows:

Best Film: Avatar

Best Director: James Cameron (Avatar)

Best Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Actress: Zoe Saldana (Avatar)

Best Newcomer: Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy)

Best Thriller: Sherlock Holmes

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Star Trek

Best Horror: Let The Right One In

Best Comedy: In The Loop

Best British Film: Harry Brown

Outstanding Contribution To British Film: Ray Winstone

Empire Hero: Jude Law

Inspiration award: Andy Serkis

Empire Icon: Sir Ian MCKellen.

"How To Train Your Dragon" tops box office

LOS ANGELES: About one fourth of the movie houses showing are using 3-D technology, and a 3-D film has topped the box-office chart for nine out of the 13 weekends of 2010 so far, authorities said.

Ranking in second place is Disney”s “Alice In Wonderland” remake, which fetched an estimated 17.3 million dollars in ticket sales. That brings its four-week running total to 293.1 million dollars.

“Hot Tub Time Machine” opened in third place, with an estimated 13.7 million dollars in weekend estimated sales for MGM. A ribald fantasy-comedy starring John Cusack, it stands out with its title and flashback to the still hip 1980s decade.

It relates four guy friends who are bored with their adult lives travel back to their respective 80s heydays thanks to a time-bending hot tub.

France condemns ”barbaric” attack in Moscow

PARIS: France condemned Monday what it said was a “barbaric” attack on the Moscow metro that left dozens dead and wounded, and promised Russia its total support.

“I address all my condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said, after Russian officials blamed Monday”s twin blasts on a pair of female suicide bombers.

“France firmly condemns these terrorist attacks and assures Russia of its total solidarity in the face of this tragic ordeal,” he continued.

“We would like to see everything possible done so that the authors of these barbaric acts are arrested and answer for their crimes before justice.”

Kouchner said he would convey these wishes in person to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later in the day at a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Gatineau, Canada.

Bomb explodes in Greece; one dead

ATHENS: A bomb exploded in a residential district of central Athens, killing one person and wounding a child, authorities said.

The bomb exploded shortly before midnight yesterday in the central district of Patissia, and had not been preceded by any warning call, police said.

One man was killed in the blast, while a girl aged about 10 who had been passing by with her mother was lightly wounded.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear what the target of the bomb was, and were examining whether the man who was killed might have been carrying the explosives.

Radical left-wing and anarchist groups often carry out bombings in Athens, but most are small and cause no injuries.

However, some groups have been escalating attacks.

Last week, three bombings targeted the offices of an ultra right-wing party, a police immigration centre and a Pakistani immigrant leader”s home.

Greece faces EU grilling

TrendPK.com Greek officials are bracing for a European Union next week grilling over faulty national statistics as the country awaits approval of a national crisis plan on its debt-hit economy.
European finance Ministers on Tuesday are to tell Athens to clean up its accounting practices and improve the administration of key institutions, according [...]

Vic Chesnutt Dead

TrendPK.com Vic Chesnutt Dead:After this article was originally published, Billboard magazine published their own report saying Chesnutt had passed. At this point, there are still no official statements.
Update at 11:30 pm PST: Within the past half hour, both Billboard and Athens Blur have removed their articles reporting Chesnutt’s death. We’ve updated our [...]

Firefighters Control over Wildfire In Athens Inferno

ATHENS: Firefighters claimed victory on Tuesday over a devastating, wind-swept wildfire that ravaged the outskirts of Athens over four days, enabling them to redeploy waterbombers to other blazes in Greece.

“The situation has greatly improved, we currently have no active fronts in greater Athens,” a fire department spokeswoman said. “Firefighting forces remain on location to watch out for possible areas of resurgence.”

Waterbombers were diverted to Mount Kithaironas, west of Athens, and to Karystos on the island of Evia to tackle fires in both places that did not, however, pose a threat to inhabited areas.

More than 500 firefighters — joined by counterparts from Austria, Cyprus, France, Italy and Turkey — battled the wildfire northeast of Athens that scorched more than 20,000 hectares and destroyed scores of homes.

The public works ministry said around 150 homes had been “damaged,” according to a first estimate, but it was widely agreed that scores of properties were completely destroyed.

The late summer inferno came exactly two years after similar wildfires killed 77 people in various parts of Greece, prompting strong criticism of the authorities.

---

Firefighters Control over Wildfire In Athens Inferno was first posted on August 25, 2009 at 3:49 pm.