Athens  - Pirates seized a Greek-owned cargo ship off the coast of Somalia late Thursday, Greece's merchant marine ministry said.

The Saint-Vincent-flagged cargo ship Titan, with 24 crew, was loaded with steel and was reportedly sailing from the Black Sea when pirates seized the ship off Somalia.

Three of the crew are of Greek nationality, officials said.

Athens  - A strong explosion shook central Athens after a car bomb went off Thursday on a busy avenue, causing serious damage but no injuries, the state news agency said.

The car bomb exploded outside the building of the State Property Company, a short distance from Athens' central police headquarters and Greece's supreme court, damaging nearby cars and buildings.

There was no warning prior to the explosion and no group claimed responsibility for it.

Athens  - A strong explosion shook cent

Athens  - The tiny Greek island of Agios Efstratios located in the Aegean Sea would soon become the country's first "green" island, entirely powered by renewable energy sources, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said Thursday.

The island's 250 residents would use only solar- and wind- generated energy and move around the 43.3-square-kilometre island, located north-west of Limnos on bicycles and in electric cars.

According to Hatzidakis, the 10-million-euro (13-million-dollar) project would go into effect by 2010 and serve as an international model.

Athens - The Greek government on Wednesday froze the salaries of public sector employees earning more than 1,700 euros (2,208 dollars) per month in an effort to rein in public spending.

"The decisions we announce today are difficult," Finance Minister Yannis Papathanassiou said.

Athens  - The Greek government is considering punishing demonstrators who wear hoods or masks as part of its effort to battle the ongoing wave of violence that has plagued the country since the police shooting of a teenager in December, officials said Tuesday.

"The Greek citizen does not hide and is not afraid of showing his face, especially when he is protesting," said Justice Minister Nikos Dendias.