News in Crete and Greece. July August September 2009

Kidnappers remanded
30th September 2009 ekathimerini

Two foreigners and a Greek national charged in connection with the kidnapping
and murder of a 50-year-old Cretan businessman in May were remanded in custody
yesterday after several hours of testimony before an investigating magistrate on
the island. According to sources, the 27-year-old Syrian suspect has denied any
involvement in either the abduction or the killing of Yiannis Kypriotakis. The other
Syrian suspect, aged 25, and the Greek reportedly admit to involvement in the
kidnapping but not the murder.

Fire service lacked coordination - Investigation into last month’s fire in Attica
reveals breakdown in communication at all levels
29th September 2009 ekathimerini

A failure to communicate between senior fire service officers, the lack of up-to-date
technology to track wildfires and absence of some basic equipment for firefighters
are some of the main reasons that some 17,000 hectares of land went up in flames
northeast of Athens last month, according to a report into the blaze.
The probe was carried out at the government’s request by Leandros Rakintzis, the
general inspector for public administration. He has submitted his findings to the
prosecutor who is investigating whether criminal charges should be brought
against anyone involved.
Sunday’s Kathimerini has seen a copy of the report, which outlines how there was
a complete breakdown in communication between the head of the fire service
Athanassios Kontocostas and his deputy Stelios Stefanidis, who was monitoring
the blaze from up close. According to Rakintzis, the pair did not exchange a single
phone call during the effort to put out one of the biggest wildfires ever seen in
Attica.
The report also suggested that the chief of the Attica fire service, Apostolos
Gerokostas, failed to communicate with Stefanidis on the ground and in fact by
passed him completely and instead spoke to Kontocostas to provide instructions on
where water-bombing airplanes were needed.
Rakintzis also underlined that there were some crucial delays in putting out the fire
when it first broke out as the fire engines had trouble finding the location because
they were not fitted with global positioning systems (GPS).

Forged cash
29th September 2009 ekathimerini
Two men were arrested in Kilkis, northern Greece, yesterday after allegedly trying
to sell undercover officers 50,000 euros’ worth of forged banknotes. The officers
agreed to buy the 20-euro notes in return for 3.50 euros for each banknote. As
soon as the two suspects, aged 37 and 39, accepted 8,250 euros in marked
banknotes from the undercover officers, they were arrested. Police said that,
during questioning, the men revealed that the forged banknotes had been
produced in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Four charged in Greece over bombing attacks
26th September 2009 IOL

A Greek prosecutor on Friday charged four people with carrying out bomb attacks
including one against the shadow finance minister's home this week, a justice
source said.

The group, three men and a woman aged 20 and 21, were charged with
participation in a criminal organisation, possession of explosives and causing a
series of explosions, the source said.

They were detained ahead of a scheduled court appearance next Tuesday and will
be prosecuted under the terms of Greece's anti-terrorism laws which carry a
maximum lifetime sentence.

Arrest warrants were also issued for another six suspects including a woman.

Firing guidelines
26th September 2009 ekathimerini

The Supreme Court yesterday issued a ruling that private companies that sack
employees must do so based on objective criteria, as it annulled the firing by a
publishing firm of a woman who had an indefinite contract. The court said that
companies have to take into account the number of years served by an employee,
their age, financial situation, productivity and how difficult it will be for them to find
another job. The court also ruled that companies have to offer employees facing
dismissal the option of working in a more junior position.

Greeks opt for studies abroad
26th September 2009 ekathimerini

The number of Greek students who choose to attend university abroad is the
largest in the world as a proportion of the country’s population, a report by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revealed.
According to the OECD’s report for 2009, a total of 51,000 Greeks are currently
studying abroad. With 4,784 Greeks at foreign universities per 1 million of its
population, Greece is “exporting” the most students proportionally. Four in 10
Greeks who choose to study abroad opt for a course at a university in Britain, with
16 percent matriculating in Germany, 13 percent staying closer to home in Italy and
5.3 percent relocating to the USA. Another 5 percent choose courses in France,
while 2.3 percent go to Turkey.
At the same time, according to the OECD, Greece has seen limited success in
attracting foreign students to study at its universities, a fact linked to the relative
lack of postgraduate courses offered in the English language.

Murder of abducted Cretan businessman solved
25th September 2009 ANA-MPA

Security police in Heraklion, Crete, on Thursday announced they had solved the
case of the abduction and murder of businessman Yiannis Kypriotakis on May 18,
whose charred body was found in his car two days later, after the family had paid a
155,000 euros ransom.

The perpetrators of this unprecedented, for Greece, crime are two Syrian nationals
aged 25 and 26 and a 33-year-old local Greek housepainter. The two foreign
nationals were working for the businessman, while the 33-year-old had worked for
him a year ago.
Police had traced the crime to the three approximately two months ago, but were
waiting for the appropriate moment in order to make the three arrests
simultaneously.
The 26-year-old Syrian was arrested on Wednesday night at the Nikos Kazantzakis
airport as he was returning from Syria, while the other two were also arrested in a
simultaneous operation.
Both cell phones used for negotiating the ransom with the victim's wife were found
in the detainees' possession, as well as several marked bills of 50 and 100 euro
denominations from the ransom money.
According to police, the 25-year-old Syrian and the Greek housepainter have
confessed the crime, but not the 26-year-old. he detainees will be led later in the
day before the local public prosecutor.
The body of the 50-year-old businessman found dead in the trunk of his car two
days after his abduction, although the family had paid the ransom demanded by
the kidnappers.
Kypriotakis, the owner of a paint factory in the Heraklion Industrial Zone and the
father of three children, had been abducted in the Vasilies district of Heraklion,
where he had been lured to by a telephone call from an unidentified person posing
as a prospective customer in order to supposedly undertake the painting of a
building.
All traces of the businessmen disappeared after he went to the appointment, and
his family reported Kypriotakis as missing after a search by his wife and relatives
failed to find him. The family was later contacted by the abductors, who asked for a
ransom.
The businessman was allowed to contact his wife, asking that she not involve the
police in the case.
The abductors later asked for a larger sum of money, but after negotiations the
sum agreed was 155,000 euros, which was dropped off the day after the
abduction by the wife, accompanied by relatives, at a remote spot in the Gouves
area. The abductors then contacted the family again, saying that they would find
the businessman two hours later at a remote spot in Potamies, Heraklion.
Shortly afterwards, the local fire department and police were informed that a jeep
was on fire in the Potamies area, where they found the businessman's charred
body in the trunk of the vehicle, which belonged to Kypriotakis himself.

Two-jab driver
24th September 2009 ekathimerini

A driver in Hania, Crete, who was asked yesterday to move his car after double
parking on a main road responded to the demand by punching the municipal police
officer who made it. The officer was taken for treatment to the local hospital but
was soon discharged, after which he filed a suit against his attacker, who was still
at large last night.

Unpaid teachers
24th September 2009 ekathimerini

Hundreds of teachers rallied in central Athens yesterday, demanding the
disbursement of several months of unpaid salaries. A total of 5,000 teachers say
they have not been paid since last September. A representative for the Athens
regional education authority said yesterday that the teachers would receive the
first installment of their outstanding wages over the next few days.

Authorities revoke licences of five insurance companies
21 Sep 2009 Phantis.com
Greece's insurance market watchdog on Monday announced it was permanently
revoking the operating licenses of five insurance companies, Aspis Group, Aspis Life
Insurance, Aspis General Insurance, General Union, General Trust and G.H. Skourtis
Insurance, after the five companies failed to cover the necessary credibility margins.
The watchdog said in a statement that it reached this decision after the companies
failed to meet their financial obligations towards their customers and workers. The
watchdog also said that Pavlos Psomiadis, chairman and chief executive of Aspis
Insurance Group presented a letter of guarantee, worth 550 million euros, by HSBC
which proved to be fake.
The Private Insurance Supervisory Commission said that according to Greek law, a
supplementary fund to offer cover to all five insurance companies� customers for
30 days, while a Supervisor of Life Insurance Portfolio will take over the
management of Aspis Life Insurance to ensure that customers maintained their
contract rights and money saved.

Greek police find pot plants in high-way median
19th September 2009 AP

A man has been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly growing marijuana in the
median strip of the country's main, um, highway.
The pot plants weren't little seedlings, either, nor were they well-concealed. Police
say the 35-year-old was caught Thursday in the middle of a six-lane highway
linking Athens with Thessaloniki, harvesting 42 marijuana plants up to 5.9 feet (1.8
meters) tall.
A small quantity of dried pot was found in his home, as well.
Police said the marijuana had been planted in a 1-meter-wide wide median near
the town of Katerini, 43 miles (70 kilometers) south of Thessaloniki.

Girl, 11, forced to have sex with relatives and ‘clients’
19th Sep 2009 ekathimerini

A 30-year-old man alleged to have been raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter for
the past nine months was in police custody in the Cretan port of Hania yesterday.
Police said they were also seeking the girl’s 42-year-old uncle and an 85-year-old
man alleged to have paid to have sex with the girl. The 11-year-old arrived on
Crete two years ago from a Balkan country, police said without providing further
details.

Professors planning college suit
18th September 2009 ekathimerini

The two unions representing university teachers and technical college professors
have joined forces and are planning legal action to block the recognition of private
colleges that have received permits to operate in Greece as franchises of foreign
universities, it was revealed yesterday.
The appeal, prepared by the Hellenic Federation of University Teachers’
Associations (POSDEP) and the Federation of Technical College Professors (OSEP),
reportedly calls for the revocation of permits granted by the Education Ministry to
41 different colleges.
In their appeal, the academics reportedly focus on a legislative provision that
allows Greek private colleges to negotiate contracts with European universities,
meaning that inspections and evaluations can only be carried out by the “mother”
university and not by the Greek ministry.

Flood barriers go up in burnt areas
18th September 2009 ekathimerini

Just hours before heavy rain fell across Attica yesterday, Public Works Minister
Giorgos Souflias visited some of the sites that were razed by last month’s
devastating wildfires northeast of Athens to inspect the anti-flood works taking
place there.
During his visit, the minister also revealed the true extent of the damage done by
the blaze, which tore through 18,300 hectares of land, much of which was
forested, or at least wooded.
Some areas were almost completely destroyed by the fire. For instance, some 72
percent of the Marathon basin was scorched in August.
But Souflias was principally there to check on the progress of work to prevent soil
erosion from the charred areas and the creation of flood barriers.
He said that the work to stop soil being washed away is due to be completed by
the end of the month. About 240 specialist forest workers have been working on
this project. They began work at the beginning of this month and have already
constructed some 180 kilometers of natural barriers using felled tree trunks and
branches.
Souflias also told journalists that older forests would be allowed to regenerate
naturally, whereas areas where the trees are much younger, because they have
been replanted following fires in the past, will be replanted once again.

Bomb farce
Athens MacDonald’s evacuated

17th September 2009 ekathimerini
Police evacuated a branch of MacDonald’s in central Syntagma Square and
cordoned off the surrounding area yesterday after an anonymous telephone caller
told police that a bomb was due to explode outside the fast-food branch just after
noon. The call, which was made at 11.30 a.m., said that a bomb would go off in 40
minutes. But a police search of the evacuated area did not locate any suspect
device.

Armed heist
17th September 2009 ekathimerini

Police on Crete yesterday were seeking an armed robber who fled with 150,000
euros after holding up a branch of the Pancretan Cooperative Bank in the small
town of Patelles near the port of Iraklio. No one was injured in the raid.
Swine Flu Kills French National in Greece
16th September 2009 express.gr
A French tourist, 29, who was infected with the swine flu while enjoying his
summer vacations in Greece, breathed his last in the early hours of Tuesday at the
Sismanoglio Hospital. After his being infected with the swine flu, the patient
developed pneumonia and acute respiratory insufficiency and finally died of multi-
organ failure.
It is the first death recorded in Greece, since the French tourist did not suffer from
any other disease, as was the case with a 23-year-old male who suffered from a
cardiovascular disease.
In the meantime, news from the USA is rather alarming, as two new studies
released Tuesday suggested that some people we were infected with the H1N1
virus could be carrying it even eight days after the fever, longer than experts
thought.

Father drags son after car to discipline him
14th September 2009 ekathimerini

A house painter from Larissa, central Greece, was arrested on Saturday after tying
his 14-year-old son to the back of his car and dragging him along the road in order
to discipline him.
Police said they arrested the man, a foreign national who was not named, after
neighbors alerted them to the incident, which is said to have taken place after the
suspect had been drinking heavily.
According to officers, the painter looped a piece of rope around his son’s shoulders
and then tied him to his car. The father drove off, forcing his son to run behind the
vehicle. But when the teenager fell, his father continued driving, dragging the boy
for dozens of meters along the road.
Police said that during questioning, the boy’s father insisted that he had done
nothing wrong and had only been trying to teach his son a lesson.

Policeman drowns in flood on Greek island
12th September 2009

A police officer died as flash floods engulfed homes and cut off roads on the Greek
island of Evia, officials said today.
Police said the officer’s car was swept off a flooded road and into a nearby river.
The body of the 39-year-old man was recovered early today.
Local authorities in Evia said dozens of homes and businesses had been flooded,
several main roads were cut off, and a bridge was destroyed following heavy
overnight rain.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/eycwgbauojey/rss2/#ixzz0QtEJrwNY

Hania sees its tourism suffer loss
11 September 2009 ekathimerini

Foreign arrivals at the airport of Hania in western Crete showed a 9.3 yearly drop
in the March-August period this year, according to a survey by the Economic and
Business Administration Department of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of
Hania and the Financial Engineering Laboratory of Crete Polytechnic.
The survey, which focused on the impact of the international economic crisis on
Hania tourism, found that arrivals dropped from 437,358 last year to 402,911 this
year.
It also found that one-third of tourists (33.3 percent) reduced their spending during
their stay in Hania prefecture due to the financial crisis. As for the purchase of local
traditional products, some 21.1 percent of foreign tourists reported that they had
reduced their spending in that direction, with 57.9 percent of British tourists in
particular cutting this expenditure.
There was also a decline in the use of rented cars and taxis by just over 20
percent, the survey found.

Greek socialists increase poll lead over ruling conservatives
11th September 2009 DPA Earthtimes

With nearly three weeks to go before Greece's general election, the opposition
Socialists (PASOK) have consolidated their position as front-runners, according to a
poll published in Greek media Friday. Under their leader Giorgos Papandreou, the
Socialist Party has increased its lead to 41 per cent, according to the survey.
The centre-right Nea Dimokratia (ND), led by Greek Prime Minister Kostas
Karamanlis, polled 35.5 per cent.
If the survey proves correct, the Socialists would have a narrow majority of 151 in
the 300 seat parliament.
Karamanlis set the October 4 election at the beginning of September. In the face of
the international economic crisis, he said his government needed "a fresh
mandate."
The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) could overcome the three per cent hurdle to
win seats in the parliament with 8.5 per cent, according to the poll.
The religious, ultra-conservative People's Orthodox Alarm (LAOS) also managed 7
per cent.
By contrast, two smaller parties, the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and the
Ecologist Greens Party, may struggle to win enough votes.
The poll was conducted by polling company Public Issue.

Schools start year under flu watch
12th September 2009 ekathimerini

Both Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and main opposition PASOK leader George
Papandreou visited primary schools yesterday, the former in Athens and the latter
in Thessaloniki, to express their support for teachers and pupils who are starting
the new academic year amid fears of a possible swine flu pandemic.
In schools across the country , children and parents were given leaflets with
guidelines on minimizing the risks of contracting swine flu. School staff have been
asked to provide regional authorities with regular updates on pupils displaying
symptoms of swine flu and absences. Parents can call a telephone hot line on 1150
for more information.

Minor quake
11th September 2009 ekathimerini

An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was recorded off the coast of
Evia early yesterday but there were no reports of injuries or damage. According to
Athens Observatory’s Geodynamic Institute, the tremor struck just after 9 a.m. It
was felt in parts of Athens.

Beach construction ‘killing’ baby turtles
9th September 2009 ekathimerini

A construction boom in the Gulf of Kyparissia, in the Peloponnese, has caused the
deaths of dozens of newborn loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the area,
which is theoretically protected by the European Union, conservationists say.
The lights on a new road linking the beach of Agiannaki to the central road and in
new homes springing up in the area disorient the baby turtles, which usually follow
the reflection of the moon on the sea, according to a spokesperson for the sea
turtle protection society, Archelon. “These baby turtles, of which we have found
dozens dead, are confused by the lights and head toward them instead of the
sea,” said Niki Diogou of Archelon. A majority of the turtles were found squashed
on the road. Some 50,000 of the endangered species are born in the Gulf of
Kyparissia every year but only about 1,000 survive into adulthood.

Migrants rescued - Burst dinghy leaves 17 at sea
8th September 2009 Earthtimes

Greek coastguard officials rescued 17 illegal immigrants after the boat in which they
were travelling capsized off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos
Monday. The immigrants, all males, told officials they had departed from the
eastern shores of Turkey before their inflatable boat capsized, throwing them into
the rough waters of the Aegean.

Overall, officials said more than 100 illegal immigrants, among them 25 children,
were also caught sneaking into the country after arriving on the islands of Lesvos
and Samos.

In a separate incident, more than 25 illegal immigrants were detained on the
eastern Aegean island of Agothonisi after arriving from Turkey.

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants attempt to sneak into European Union
member Greece from neighboring Turkey, mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan and
Somalia.

Athens police bust human trafficking ring
4th September 2009 ANA.gr

The Attica Aliens department on Friday announced the bust of a ring of human
traffickers that had kept nine illegal immigrants imprisoned in an underground
garage in Menidi for five months in order to force their families to pay additional
money for bringing them to Greece.
The unlucky victims, eight from Pakistan and one from Bangladesh, were subjected
to daily beatings, sexual abuse and threats that they would be killed unless their
families paid at least 2,000-4,000 euros more than the original sum of 7,000 euros
that had been agreed on.
The case was uncovered on Thursday afternoon when Attica police arrested five
members of the ring, while another four are still being sought.
The suspects placed under arrest include four Greek nationals, two men aged 57
and 36 years old, respectively, and two women aged 55 and 33 years old, and a
28-year-old Iraqi. Along with the four now sought by police, the ring picked up
illegal immigrants arriving by boat from Turkey and shut them up in various houses
around Attica, demanding money for their release.

Greek PM calls snap election for October 4th
3rd September 2009 Reuters

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who is grappling with an economic crisis,
scandals and low poll ratings, on Wednesday called a snap election which he will
struggle to win.
Karamanlis said he needed a fresh mandate to deal with the economic downturn.
But his conservative New Democracy government trails the main opposition PASOK
socialists by about 6 percentage points, indicating he is set to lose the Oct 4 vote.
Analysts said, however, that he might face a more embarrassing defeat six months
down the road.
PASOK may not gather enough votes in this snap vote to form a government alone,
which would plunge Greece into political uncertainty as it struggles to cope with the
global slowdown.
On the day that a large bomb exploded outside the Athens stock exchange,
causing heavy damage and wounding one woman, Karamanlis ended weeks of
speculation on his intentions as his party kept dropping in opinion
Elections were not due before 2011 but PASOK had said it would force one by
March, when parliament elects a new president, pushing Karamanlis to pick a
moment. His four-year term would normally end in 2011.
The socialists, themselves burdened with scandals during decades in government,
advocate a "green growth" economic model.

Metro link to airport reopens
3rd September 2009 ekathimerini

Athens metro services to and from Athens International Airport resumed yesterday
as a brand-new station was opened that is destined to become a major transport
hub for the greater area of the capital.
Metro services linking Athens and the airport had been suspended since February
to allow construction of new stations, the first of which – Nomismatokopeio – was
inaugurated yesterday by Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias.
The station takes its name from the adjacent national mint in the northeastern
suburb of Kato Halandri.
In two weeks, the bus terminuses presently operating at Ethniki Amyna and
Katehaki will be moved to the Nomismatokopeio location, effectively turning it into a
busy transport hub for the city and its environs.
Souflias said an estimated 30,000 commuters will use the Nomismatokopeio station
daily, traveling to central Athens in just 10 minutes, as opposed to at least 40
minutes by car.

Bombs explode in two Greek cities
2nd September 2009 Aljazeera.net

Two bombs have exploded in separate attacks in Greece, one outside the Athens
stock exchange and another outside a government building in the northern city of
Thessaloniki.
The attack in Athens, Greece's capital, exploded outside the city's stock exchange,
causing serious damage to the building and nearby cars, and left one woman with
minor injuries.
"The blast caused extensive damage, to the stock exchange building itself
and to nearby cars, five of which were completely destroyed," Panayiotis Stathis, a
police spokesman said.
He added that the "methodology" of the blast pointed to the Revolutionary
Struggle, a far-left group, although no one has yet claimed responsibility.
The second bomb, hidden in a cooking pot, exploded near a government building in
Thessaloniki, causing some damage but no injuries.
Phone warnings to Greek media were made before both blasts, in what appears to
be a series of attacks against financial insitutions and government buildings.

Greece seeks investors for 1 bln euro Crete airport
1st September 2009 Reuters
Greece said on Tuesday it is inviting would-be investors to bid for a concession to
build and manage a 1 billion euro airport on the resort island of Crete.
The Greek government will contribute 220 million euros ($315.9 million) towards
construction of the new facility at Kastelli (Heraklion) which will replace the existing
airport at Heraklion, Crete's biggest city, Environment Minister George Souflias said
in a statement.
The government will hold a 55 percent stake in the new airport's operating
company. The winning bidder, which will provide the bulk of the funding, will have
the remaining 45 percent and operate the airport for 35 years.
The new airport will have a capacity to handle between 5.5 and 10 million
passengers per year and is projected to start operations in 2015, Souflias said.
Greece, one of Europe's biggest tourism destinations, is seeking private investment
to help improve its infrastructure and attract more visitors.
Concession contracts have financed infrastructure projects in Greece, as the
government is faced with chronic budget shortfalls and a high public debt. Athens
airport, the country's biggest, is managed under a concession held by German
engineering firm Hochtief .
Investors must submit bids for Kastelli airport by Feb. 9, 2010. The government
expects to pick the winning bid in the first half of next year, Souflias said.

Belgian man held for hotel thefts in Hania
1st September 2009 ekathimerini

A 33-year-old Belgian man has been arrested on Crete on suspicion of stealing
18,000 euros in cash, jewelry and mobile phones, along with an accomplice, from
several rooms in a hotel in Hania where he had been staying. Police said that the
man, who was not named, is suspected of breaking into the rooms of five guests,
either by climbing onto their balconies or forcing the door open in a way that did
not leave any marks. The name of the hotel was not made public. Officers are also
looking for a 33-year-old Frenchman who was staying in the hotel along with the
Belgian.

Man with shotgun lets fly in Crete pharmacy
31st August 2009 ekathimerini

A pharmacist was injured in the face and hand in the Cretan city of Hania on
Saturday when a robber armed with a shotgun opened fire in his store.
Police said that the pharmacist, who was not named, was in the shop with an
employee on Saturday evening when the robber walked in and demanded cash
from the register.
The pharmacist approached the armed man in an attempt to disarm him, at which
point he fired his shotgun. The shot missed the pharmacist but he was injured by
shards of glass that were sent flying when the pellets hit the store’s computer.
The gunman fled immediately and the victim was taken to the local hospital where
he was treated for his injuries. Police arrested a suspect soon after the incident
took place.

Greek fire-fighting plane crashes, pilot killed
28th August 2009 Reuters

A Greek fire-fighting plane crashed Thursday while battling a blaze on the Ionian
Sea island of Kefalonia on Thursday, killing the pilot, authorities said.
The accident happened three days after fire fighters managed to bring under
control a wildfire that destroyed 150 homes and thousands of hectares of forest
and farmland near Athens.

The 1983, Polish-made PZL plane crashed nine minutes after taking off from the
Kefalonia airport to fight a forest fire, officials said. Nobody else was on board.
The 55-year-old father of two had thousands of hours of flight experience on
several types of aircraft.
"I'd like to express my devastation, our grief and my condolences for the loss of the
pilot, who died while doing his duty selflessly," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis
said.

Cretan Mr Fix-it ‘doing well’ after 4-story fall
28th August 2009 ekathimerini
A 50-year-old man who fell off the roof of a four-story building near the Cretan port
of Hania was in the intensive-care unit of a local hospital yesterday but reportedly
in surprisingly good health.
The 50-year-old is believed to have climbed onto the roof of the apartment building
to fix a television antenna and to have subsequently slipped and fallen.
According to witnesses, the man landed on the hood of an agricultural vehicle that
had been parked next to the building. Local residents and store owners who saw
his spectacular plunge called an ambulance which arrived quickly and transferred
him to Hania’s general hospital.
According to a doctor at the hospital, the 50-year-old had been conscious and in “a
relatively good condition” when ambulance workers collected him from the scene of
the fall.

Schools to open under swine flu watch
27th August 2009 ekathimerini
Authorities said yesterday that schools would open as scheduled on September 11
despite fears of a swine flu pandemic but would remain under strict supervision by
means of daily briefings with school staff.
The Health and Education Ministries and the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention will be kept abreast of these briefings and will have the right to
intervene and suspend the operation of any schools where suspect cases of
infection with the H1N1 virus appear, it was revealed.
“According to international guidelines, schools are reservoirs for the propagation of
the virus,” a Health Ministry statement said yesterday. The statement added that
the chief aim of authorities was “to delay as much as possible the development of
a pandemic... as we are not yet aware when the World Health Organization will
authorize the administering of vaccines.” Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said
yesterday that the first batch of vaccines is due to arrive in Greece on September
15. Meanwhile authorities said that 208 new cases of swine flu had been
confirmed, bringing the total in Greece to 1,839.
Earlier this week a 23-year-old man with serious heart problems died from
complications related to swine flu. The man had been moved to the intensive-care
unit of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center last Friday after being diagnosed with
the H1N1 virus. A statement issued by the ministry at the time said the man’s
death “could not technically qualify as a swine flu fatality according to international
scientific principles as the virus was contracted within the previous 48 hours.”

Greeks shocked by Athens fires
25th August 2009 Euronews
With the fires now being damped down and extinguished, Greeks are measuring
the extent of the damage.

Athens has seen its future through the clouds of smoke, and it will be a barren one
for years say the experts, with worse air quality and higher temperatures for the
capital’s four and a half million people.

The equivalent of 20 000 football fields of forest has been lost from around a city
that already has few green spaces, and anger is mounting that developers may be
to blame.

“Burn to build” has been used for years to declassify forest for residential
development, often on the coast. Some areas have been burnt-out for the fourth
time in 15. Desertification becomes a possibility under this sort of stress.

There is also anger that despite the loss of 77 lives and a quarter-million football
fields two summers ago in southern Greece, promises to reform the system have
not been followed up.

For example, authorities have not joined some new buildings to infrastructures –
the result? No water for the firefighters if they arrive.

Ferry upheaval
25th August 2009 ekathimerini
Some 800 passengers were trapped for hours on a high-speed ferry sailing into
the port of Aghios Constantinos, central Greece, late on Sunday after the vessel's
ramp got stuck. Ferry workers eventually managed to open a passenger door for
travelers to disembark. Yesterday morning another 195 passengers were delayed
when a high-speed ferry en route to Piraeus from Hydra suffered engine failure.
The vessel was towed to Poros where passengers boarded buses to Piraeus.

Fires reach Athens suburbs, thousands evacuated
23rd August 2009 AP

A massive wildfire tore through outlying suburbs north of Athens early Sunday,
destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee in dramatic overnight evacuations,
Fire Service and local officials said.
The fires near the capital raged for a third day, blackening thousands of hectares of
rugged land covered by pine forest or thick bushes. Anti-aircraft missiles at a
nearby base were removed as flames approached, the army said.
"The situation is tragic. Fires are out of control on many fronts," greater Athens
local governor Yiannis Sgouros said.
A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens, in the worst destruction
seen here since massive fires struck southern Greece in 2007 and killed more than
70 people.
After daybreak, planes and helicopters resumed water drops following an eight-
hour pause that allowed the wildfire to spread across parts of Mount Penteli and
reach suburban homes. Clouds of black smoke filled the capital's skyline and
obscured the sun.
Authorities evacuated two large children's hospitals, camp sites, and homes in
villages and outlying suburban areas threatened by blazes that scattered ash on
streets across the city.
Deputy Fire Chief Stelios Stefanidis said no casualties had been reported by early
Sunday, despite the overnight evacuations of hundreds of hillside homes on the
outskirts of the city.
The fires, which started late Friday, were reported in an area more than 25 miles
(40 kilometers) wide.
Residents were seen fleeing the fires on foot, by motorbike and in cars, amid
blackouts and water supply cuts.
Winds of up to 50 kilometers per hour (30 miles per hour) were forecast Sunday,
while Stefanidis said the thick smoke was hampering water drops.

Ferry Investigation - Cancelled sailings prompt probe
22nd August 2009 ekathimerini

An investigation has been launched into why the Seajet ferry company has
canceled some of its sailings to Piraeus from August 5, the Merchant Marine Ministry
said yesterday. This has created problems for hundreds of passengers who had
bought tickets in advance. Meanwhile, the sailings of the Superjet, Seajet and
Highspeed 3 ferries were canceled yesterday for the second day in a row due to
strong winds in the Aegean.

Greece brings forest fires under control
21st August 2009 RIA Novosti

Greek firefighters have brought under control a series of forest fires that hit the
country earlier this week, national media reported on Friday.

Wildfires hit the country on Thursday afternoon, with the first outbreak registered
in the town of Magoula, some 25 km (15.5 miles) west of the country's capital,
Athens. The fire broke out near a cement plant, destroying some storehouses and
trucks, national newspapers said. No casualties were reported

Large fires were also successfully tackled overnight in the Ionian Sea's island of
Kefalonia, in the western region of Etolia and Akarnania, and in Greece's central
region of Thesprotia.

The total number of fires registered over the past 24 hours, both on the mainland
and in the islands, exceeded 100, the Naftemporiki newspaper said, adding that
eighty-six of them were quickly extinguished.

Greek pilots see red from laser pen pranks
20th August 2009 AFP

Greece's civil aviation pilots on Wednesday called for a crackdown on laser pen
pranksters who have endangered a growing number of plane landings around the
country.
The pilots' association raised the alarm after a spate of incidents where teenagers
flashed laser pens at incoming plane cockpits.
"This has been going on for around two years, apparently it's become fashionable
among certain youngsters and the incidents are increasing in frequency,"
association chairman Grigoris Constantellos told AFP.
Around 30 laser pranks have been recorded this year, and the situation is more
dangerous in summer when pilots need to be particularly careful due to seasonal
high winds, Constantellos said.
"Having the pilot blinded for three or four seconds during landing can really create
a difficult situation," he said.
The two last incidents occurred on the islands of Rhodes and Crete, two of
Greece's main travel destinations which thousands of tourists visit every year.
Police arrested two teenagers on Rhodes over the weekend after they forced a
domestic flight to abandon its first landing approach.
Another teenager in Iraklio, Crete, was placed under judicial supervision earlier this
month.
Incidents have also been reported on the island of Corfu -- another major travel
destination -- and in the northern city of Thessaloniki, where in June the local
prosecutor ordered police to step up patrols around Makedonia Airport.

Displaying symptoms of swine flu.. aboard Ocean Village 2
19th August 2009 ekathimerini

The British cruise ship Ocean Village 2 docked in Piraeus yesterday and the first
people on board were doctors appointed by the prefecture to check passengers
and crew members that were displaying symptoms of swine flu. Authorities said
that 10 people on board were confirmed as having contracted the virus and that
another 13 had been placed in isolation because they were also showing signs of
the disease. It was also revealed yesterday that a 53-year-old Frenchman has
been admitted to an intensive-care unit in a hospital in Rio, the Peloponnese, after
developing swine flu while on holiday in Greece.

Torched British tourist's trial postponed
18th August 2009 AFP
The trial of a Greek woman who allegedly set a British tourist on fire for sexual
harassment on the island of Crete has been postponed by nine months, a local
court source said on Tuesday.

Guns a’blazing
17th August 2009 ekathimerini
Two men were admitted to hospital on Crete with gunshot wounds on Sunday
after an argument outside a bar in the village of Kavro, near Hania. It is not clear
what sparked the row but witnesses said both men, aged 27 and 33, pulled out
handguns and fired at each other. One was shot in the stomach, the other in the
arm. In Athens, a 25-year-old man was admitted to hospital after being shot in the
chest during an argument over a woman in the northern suburb of Acharnes.

Body of teenager found in Crete
13th August 2009 BBC

A British teenager has been found dead in Crete after a night out, the Foreign
Office said. The body of 17-year-old Andre Young, from Saffron Walden, Essex, was
discovered on Wednesday morning in Malia. It is understood his parents have
flown to Crete to identify their son, who was found with serious head injuries. A
Foreign Office spokesman said the teenager had been reported missing on the
Greek holiday island on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the police in Crete said they were not treating the death as
suspicious and it was believed the 17-year-old had fallen and hit his head.
His death was not being treated as suspicious.More than 200 people have joined a
group set up in tribute to Andre on the social networking site Facebook.

Drug haul
12th August 2009 ekathimerini

Five men have been arrested in Athens after a shipment of 143 kilos of hashish
was found hidden in the trailer of a truck on the island of Corfu. The drug was
concealed in 128 airtight packs. Police said that two of the men arrested are
Greeks aged 25 and 34 and that the others are a Belgian, an Albanian and a
Romanian.

Aegean Airlines to switch link to Heathrow
11th August 2009 TTG

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines is to switch its twice-daily London-Athens service from
Stansted to Heathrow on October 25.
Outbound flights will depart Heathrow at 1245 and 1720 with inbound flights
leaving the Greek capital at 0910 and 2020.

Airline bosses said they believed the departure times would suit both business and
leisure travellers and would allow for connections to domestic destinations in
Greece.
Flights to Heathrow will be operated by a new Airbus A321 offering a full meal and
inflight entertainment system.
Business-class passengers will have a larger and more comfortable seat, a choice
of meals and coffees.
Aegean expects to become a member of the Star Alliance airline consortium by June
next year.

Delay in torched tourist case
11th August 2009 ekathimerini

The trial of a Greek woman accused of setting fire to a British tourist who allegedly
made lewd advances toward her in a bar in the Malia resort of Crete was
yesterday adjourned after the Briton returned to the UK in apparent fear for his
safety.

Marina Fanouraki, 26, is accused of throwing an alcoholic drink over 20-year-old
Stuart Feltham in the Electra bar along the busy Malia strip, and then setting fire to
him.
Fanouraki denies setting Feltham, a plumber from Swindon in Wiltshire alight, but
accepts that she threw her sambuca drink over him after he allegedly fondled her.
The 26-year-old’s reaction has gained some support in Crete, where many locals
are fed up with the behavior of some British tourists, and Feltham’s father
suggested yesterday this was why his son, who suffered second-degree burns to
his chest and stomach, flew back to England.

“The local people are stirring things up so much,” said Ian Feltham. “She’s a martyr.
I think it does cause a dangerous situation.”
However, the plumber’s lawyer suggested his client returned home for other
reasons.
“I asked for the postponement of the case as Mr Feltham had to return home for
medical issues and to gather more evidence with the help of his father,” said
Giorgos Koundourakis.

The trial has been postponed until August 17 but Koundourakis suggested that
there could be a further delay so he can gather more witness statements. Feltham
claims the attack was “completely unprovoked” and denies making any advances
or speaking to Fanouraki before the incident. However, the 26-year-old yesterday
decided to press charges of sexual assault, molestation and using insulting
language against the British tourist.

CRETE CRASH - Man killed, woman loses baby
11th August 2009 ekathimerini

One person was killed and a pregnant woman lost her baby in a six-car pile up on
the Rethymno-Iraklio highway late on Sunday. The deceased was identified as a 64-
year-old man from Rethymno but he was not named. Traffic police said that the 64-
year-old lost control of his car and crashed into oncoming traffic. Officers said it was
not clear what caused the man to swerve. The pregnant woman was one of six
people injured. She suffered a miscarriage on her way to the hospital. An Italian
tourist was also slightly injured in the crash.

Hidden cannabis
7th August 2009 ekathimerini

Two men have been arrested on Crete after police discovered that they had been
hiding a suitcase full of drugs on a plot of land containing orange trees. The two
suspects, both Albanian nationals, aged 26 and 27, had allegedly placed the
suitcase, which contained 2 kilos of unrefined cannabis, next to a chicken coop on
some land they were renting in the Kyrtomados area in Therisos Municipality. Police
said that they acted following a tip-off.

Scouts Critical - Two boys and one girl remain in Iraklio hospital after accident
5th August 2009 ekathimerini

Three members of a scouts group from Crete two boys and one girl, aged 11 to 13
were in critical condition in an Iraklio hospital yesterday after sustaining serious
injuries when a motorist crashed into them, and several other children, at a bus
stop near Ierapetra. The girl’s condition is of particular concern, as she sustained
serious head injuries, while the boys have multiple fractures. Police are questioning
the 20-year-old foreigner who was driving the car. It is believed that he had been
trying to overtake a motorcycle when he lost control of the vehicle. Another 11
children who were hit sustained less serious injuries.

Missing Czechs
5th August 2009 ekathimerini

Two Czech tourists, both aged 28, who had gone missing in Crete’s White
Mountains last Saturday were found on Sunday afternoon by a team of rescuers.
The two had to be carried out of rugged gorge on the backs of rescuers, but were
in good health.

Greek tourism holding up in global downturn: minister
4th August 2009 AFP

Greece's vital tourism industry is holding up in "satisfactory fashion" against fears
of serious losses due to the global economic downturn, the Greek tourism minister
said on Monday.
"Despite the economic situation things are proceeding in satisfactory fashion... the
disaster scenarios fortunately have not been fulfilled," Tourism Minister Costas
Markopoulos told reporters after briefing Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.
Economic slowdown and job losses in the United States, Britain and Germany,
which generate the bulk of Greece's tourism income, had alarmed local operators
with one prominent association warning in April that the industry stood to lose five
billion euros (7.1 billion dollars) this year and thousands of jobs.
At the time, the association of Greek tourism enterprises (SETE) said early bookings
indicated a 20-percent drop in arrivals and cruise ship demand.
Markopoulos on Monday said the latest figures pointed to a drop "between one
and two digits."
The Bank of Greece recently reported that tourism proceeds in the first five months
of the year fell 17.9 percent -- or 1.7 billion euros -- compared with the same period
last year.
The country's main source of income after shipping, tourism makes up 18 percent of
the Greek economy and employs over 850,000 people directly or indirectly,
according to the tourism ministry.

Drug haul
3rd August 2009 ekathimerini

Police in Crete on Saturday arrested two Albanian nationals in the act of hiding a
package of drugs, presumably for collection by a prospective customer, after
several days of monitoring the suspects. Spotting the two men, aged 23 and 27,
leaving their apartment in Akrotiri, police followed the car, which stopped in a
remote spot off the Hania-Rethymno national road. The pair were then seen hiding
a package, which turned out to contain drugs, under a shrub. A subsequent raid by
police on their home turned up 1.4 kilos of cannabis, a smaller quantity of cocaine
and three sets of scales.

Greece to vaccinate entire population for new flu
31st July 2009 Reuters

Greece will vaccinate its entire population of 12 million against the H1N1 swine flu
pandemic which has swept around the world in weeks, killing hundreds of people,
the country's health minister said on Friday.

The Mediterranean country, which receives about 15 million tourists every year, has
confirmed more than 700 swine flu cases and no deaths, but world health experts
say the true number of cases globally is far higher as only a few patients get
tested.

"We decided that the entire population, all citizens and residents, without any
exception, will be vaccinated against the flu," Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos
said after a ministerial meeting.

Greece has already earmarked 40 million euros for vaccines and has placed orders
with Novartis, Glaxo and Sanofi for 8 million vaccine doses, to be received gradually
by January.

Vaccine experts say people will likely need two doses of vaccine to be protected
from H1N1 swine flu, so Greece would need a total of 24 million doses to vaccinate
its entire population. Other countries are taking similar steps.

"Greece will order 16 million more doses from the same companies in the future," a
health ministry official who declined to be named told Reuters. "We are only waiting
for the European Union's approval to start vaccinating everyone."

The European Medicines Agency has begun reviewing pandemic flu vaccines under
development, aiming to get them approved before the flu season starts, sometime
in September.

The health ministry official said children, the elderly and ailing would be the first to
be vaccinated.

Tourists rescued near Sougia
30th July 2009 ekathimerini

Two Spanish women, aged 25 and 26, were in good health yesterday after being
rescued by Cretan firemen from an inaccessible spot near Sougia, in the island’s
west, where they had become trapped during a mountain hike. According to
Haralambos Koukianakis, the head of civil protection for Sougia prefecture, the
women had telephoned the European emergency number 112 for help from one of
their cell phones but their directions had been vague and rescue workers needed
several hours to find them. When they located them, the women had run out of
water and their cell phone batteries had died. Koukianakis appealed to tourists to
take all necessary precautionary measures when going on expeditions.

No flights to Northern Cyprus
30th July 2009 ekathimerini

The British High Court yesterday overruled an appeal by Cyprus Turkish Airlines and
tour operator CTA Holidays against a ban on conducting flights between Great
Britain and the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus. Cypriot Minister for
Communications and Works Nicos Nicolaides welcomed the decision, saying it
showed that Turkey’s occupation did not eradicate the legal rights of the Republic
of Cyprus.

Baptism of fire
27th July 2009 ekathimerini

Four men were arrested and three policemen slightly injured in the area of
Mylopotamos, near the Cretan city of Rethymno, on Saturday when a party to
celebrate the forthcoming baptism of a child got out of hand. More than 20
policemen arrived at the party after some of the guests began firing guns in the air.
A brawl ensued and officers made the arrests. However, one of the men who were
arrested was later released as he was the grandfather of the child that was to be
baptized.

Heat and wind stoke blazes
25th July 2009 ekathimerini

As temperatures soared and winds remained high across much of the country
yesterday, firefighters battled to control serious blazes in Livadia, north of Attica,
and in southern Crete.
Two water-dropping aircraft and two helicopters helped firefighters to tackle a
blaze that broke out early in the afternoon near Livadia in the prefecture of Viotia.
Fanned by strong winds, the fire spread toward the village of Davleio but had been
brought under control by late yesterday. Another fire near the popular Cretan
resort of Ierapetra also kept firemen busy for several hours but had been
contained by late afternoon.
Meanwhile, prefectural authorities in Athens closed all roads leading to Hymettus
and Pendeli mountains to protect forestland from would-be arsonists or accidental
fire starters. The Peloponnesian prefecture of Ileia, the worst hit by the
catastrophic fires of 2007, has seen 68 blazes so far this year, most believed to
have been started through negligence.

Uncivil robbery
25th July 2009 ekathimerini
Two men who held up a civil engineering office in Hania, Crete, yesterday made off
with some 25,000 euros, according to police. The two robbers, who had covered
their faces, entered the building shortly before 2 p.m. brandishing a sawn-off
shotgun. They asked all four employees and the civil engineer who owned the
office to lie facedown on the floor as they took the money. There was a large
amount of cash in the office as it was pay day for employees and suppliers. The
two suspects made off on a scooter.

Tourist deaths - Scot drowns in Zakynthos; cliff-fall victim may be British
24th July 2009 ekathimerini
A 31-year-old Scottish national drowned in a hotel swimming pool on the first day
of his holiday on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, the Scottish press reported
yesterday. According to the reports, Ryan Bain drowned on Sunday after going for
a swim in the pool of the hotel where he was staying. His 29-year-old wife Natalie
was not poolside at the time of the drowning, according to the report, which did
not give further details about the circumstances of the incident. Meanwhile a local
newspaper on Zakynthos reported that police were trying to identify a man whose
remains were discovered at the foot of a 25-meter cliff. A British passport was
found next to the body.

Illegals detained on Crete
22nd July 2009 ana.gr
Forty three of a total of 45 illegal migrants, detected in the southern coast of Hania
prefecture on Crete, are temporarily being hosted in a school building in the village
of Kountoura, while two suspected migrant smugglers have been arrested.
Late on Monday afternoon, 20 of the illegals were spotted by locals wandering
along a rocky coast and, according to their testimonies, they had reached the
island on board a sail boat, which was later intercepted.
A total of 25 illegal migrants were found on the vessel, including two women, one
of which was pregnant.
The would-be migrants had set off four days ago from Antalya, southern Turkey,
with Italy as their destination

IKA Upgrade
22nd July 2009 ekathimerini
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday heralded measures that are designed
to ensure that Greeks insured with the IKA social insurance fund get better service.
He said that, as of September, a pilot program would begin at eight IKA units
whereby those insured with the fund could get free health checkups.
He also announced that the 184 hotline, on which callers can book appointments to
see IKA doctors, would soon have its software upgraded to provide more efficient
service.

House fire in Chania
22nd July 2009 ekathimerini
Firemen who visited a house in the Cretan prefecture of Hania yesterday morning
following reports of a fire on the first floor of an apartment block discovered the
charred remains of a 49-year-old woman in her bed. The woman's husband and
son had left the house in the morning, according to local police, who said they had
found the door of the apartment locked. It is unclear what caused the blaze,
though firemen said that it was likely that the mattress caught fire, possibly from a
dropped cigarette.

Call for vigilance on swine flu symptoms
21st July 2009 ekathimerini
Health authorities yesterday called on all those with symptoms of swine flu to
remain at home, noting that the only way to avert the spread of the H1N1 virus is
for those who have contracted it to isolate themselves.

The symptoms of H1N1, many of which resemble less-threatening forms of flu, are a
high fever, sore throat, respiratory problems, vomiting, diarrhea and chills.

According to Panos Eustathiou, a spokesperson for a committee coordinating
health authorities’ response to the spread of the virus, the overwhelming majority
of those who have tested positive for swine flu in Greece have only mild symptoms.
According to Eustathiou, most of these cases are tourists whose numbers are
rising as the summer season gets into full swing.

It is unclear exactly how many cases of swine flu have been recorded in Greece, as
the authorities stopped daily announcements of the rising toll after the 300 mark,
saying that this tactic might have a counterproductive effect and actually
discourage people from taking precautions.

In a related development yesterday, the results of a report by the National School
of Public Health predicted that a swine flu pandemic in Greece could cost the
national economy up to 3 billion euros in healthcare costs and work absenteeism
over the next year.

Forest fires - Heat and wind pose major risk
20th July 2009 ekathimerini
Sweltering temperatures and strong winds resulted in several fires breaking out in
different parts of the country yesterday. One of the worst blazes was on the Ionian
island of Zakynthos. Six water-dropping aircraft helped firemen on the ground to
bring the blaze under control by yesterday evening. Local authorities are today on
standby in many parts of the country following a warning yesterday by the General
Secretariat for Civil Protection that stronger winds will pose a serious fire risk in
many parts.

Heat wave
Temperatures to hit 40 Celsius with high humidity
17th July 2009 ekathimerini
Meteorologists yesterday warned of a heat wave this weekend, noting that
temperatures on Saturday were set to rise to 39 Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit) in
Attica and 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in central Greece. Northerly winds are set to
intensify on Sunday, reaching 7 on the Beaufort scale, but high humidity levels are
expected to counteract their cooling effect. Temperatures are expected to ease off
early next week but then to rise again, probably bringing another heat wave.

EU Commission: Greece slow to incorporate EU directives
16th July 2009 express.gr
Greece and Poland are the worst performing of the 27 European Union countries in
terms of incorporating EU directives for the internal market into domestic law,
according to figures released by the European Commission on Thursday.
By May 11, Greece and Poland had missed deadlines for incorporating 2.1 percent
of Community directives into national legislation, with Greece having failed to
incorporate 34 directives out of 1,606.

Garbage truck driver beaten for ‘speeding’
16th July 2009 ekathimerini
A Cretan garbage truck driver was in hospital yesterday with five stitches in a head
wound he suffered after being set upon by a group of cafe patrons in Mouzoura, in
Hania prefecture, early in the morning.
The driver said he had been en route to the local landfill when a group of men
sitting at a table outside a cafe ran into the road in front of the truck, forcing him to
stop and accusing him of speeding. Two of them are then alleged to have dragged
him out of the vehicle and onto the road before beating him up. It was unclear
whether the irate group, one of whom is reportedly the president of the local
council, had been under the influence of alcohol.
The truck driver, whose union has lodged an official complaint over the attack, has
said he will not press charges if the assailants apologize.

Summer Sales
15th July 2009 ERT
Kicking off 15 July, summer sales will run through the end of August. Consumers
have focused their interest in price reductions, which in some case they are
expected to stand at 75 percent of the original price. The Development Ministry has
advised consumers to be cautious with misleading offers, and suggested traders to
make the best of the period to revive the market.

Bomb hoax
15th July 2009 ekathimerini
The central station of Omonia was closed down for two hours early yesterday
afternoon, disrupting services on the metro and Kifissia-Piraeus urban electric
railway (ISAP) after an anonymous caller warned that a bomb had been planted at
the station. Services between Thiseio and Attiki stations were suspended shortly
after 3 p.m. and resumed at 5 p.m. Police were alerted immediately and dispatched
bomb disposal experts who scoured the area but found no suspect device.

Silence of the lambs
14th July 2009 ekathimerini
Police from Hania yesterday were seeking the perpetrators behind the slaughter of
152 sheep from a farm near the Therisos Gorge on Sunday. The local mayor
condemned the attack, believed to be an act of revenge, but stressed that it was
an “isolated incident” in an otherwise law-abiding municipality.

Swine Flu symptoms in Crete
13th July 2009 ekathimerini
A 45-year-old British woman who is on holiday on Crete is being treated for swine
flu symptoms, hospital authorities revealed yesterday as the number of people
suffering from the potentially fatal disease in Greece rose to 258 although 128 of
them have been given the all clear by doctors. Officials said that 16 new cases of
swine flu were confirmed in Greece yesterday. Ten of these cases were foreigners.

Hania cabbies in drive to improve reputation
11th July 2009 ekathimerini

In a bid to ensure that tourists are not taken for a ride, local authorities in the
popular Cretan resort of Hania have forged an unusual alliance with the island’s
taxi union, setting up signs with a list of estimated charges for common trips at key
locations in the prefecture.
“The idea is for customers to know roughly how much they are going to pay and for
us to provide better services by stopping opportunistic taxi drivers from
overcharging,” the president of the local taxi drivers’ union, Ilias Karapatakis, said.
The initiative also aims to boost the standing of Hania, and Crete in general, during
a tough time for tourism, which brings in around a fifth of the country’s gross
domestic product. “Signs are going up at taxi stands and busy tourist spots with
the aim of upgrading the tourism product,” said a spokesperson for the local
tourism sector.

Greece arrests policemen for sex trafficking ring
8th July 2009 Reuters

Greek authorities have arrested four policemen for trafficking hundreds of Eastern
European women for prostitution, police said on Wednesday.
"It is Greece's biggest trafficking case in the last 15 years," a police official said,
adding that a retired police officer, who recruited the women, was also arrested.
"All five were the masterminds of the ring," said the official, who requested
anonymity.
The ring was responsible for bringing about 300 women to several night clubs in
Athens over the past few months, he said.
In a separate case, Greece arrested another policeman for human trafficking and
drug dealing on Wednesday, the official said.
International pressure is rising on Greece to fight trafficking. A U.S. government
report released last month said Greece needs to do more to punish offenders,
whom it said often include government officials and policemen.
Despite 21 convictions last year, many offenders are released pending lengthy
appeals and courts often give them suspended sentences, the report said.
Greece is a destination and transit country for trafficking of women and children
from countries including Eastern Europe and Nigeria.

Police close down two city drug workshops
7th July 2009 ekathimerini

Five Albanians and two Iranians, believed to be key members of a drug-trading ring
churning out some 50 kilos of heroin onto the streets of the capital every month,
were in custody yesterday following a police raid on a sophisticated drug-cutting
workshop in the city center over the weekend.

Officers confiscated all the workshop equipment, nearly 6 kilos of heroin, a smaller
quantity of cocaine, three sets of scales, 10 cell phones and a car believed to have
been used to carry out drug runs.

Officers also detained a 30-year-old Albanian believed to have been running a
similar workshop from an apartment in the Athens district of Nea Smyrni. A search
of his home unearthed two Kalashnikov assault rifles, an MP5 submachine gun, a
revolver, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and about 5 kilos of explosives.

Sex sting - Cretan bar owner detained
7th July 2009 ekathimerini
Police on Crete have arrested a 55-year-old bar owner and a 22-year-old Nigerian
woman in a vice sting operation in the district of Nea Kydonia, Hania. A policeman
posing as a customer entered the bar in the early hours of Monday. The owner
introduced the officer to the Nigerian who led him to a back room where she
performed a striptease for 30 euros. The woman then offered “other services” for a
fee of 80 euros but was promptly arrested.

Police attacked again in Crete’s Zoniana
6th July 2009 ekathimerini

Police officers have been assaulted and threatened in the notorious Cretan village
of Zoniana, the scene of a botched raid two years ago, in an incident that has been
kept quiet for several weeks, sources told Sunday’s Kathimerini.

Three local police officers were allegedly beaten and threatened that they would
be killed after they followed a pickup truck that had crashed into their vehicle and
then drove off into the village.

The incident occurred on June 18 but authorities chose to keep it quiet, as there is
already a highly tense atmosphere in the area since the trial of 42 locals began
earlier this year in connection to the shooting of a police officer in November 2007.
The policeman was left paralyzed after locals opened fire on officers.

Sources said that some of those who attacked the policemen last month are
suspects in the ongoing trial.

Large bomb strikes branch of McDonald’s
4th July 2009

A time bomb that exploded outside a branch of McDonald’s in the central Athens
district of Ambelokipi early yesterday, causing extensive damage to the premises of
the fast-food outlet and to a tax office located above but no injuries, was
yesterday attributed by police to the terrorist group Revolutionary Struggle.

There had been no claim of responsibility for the blast by late yesterday but police
said the “force and methodology” of the blast pointed to the group, which bombed
a branch of the US conglomerate Citibank in March and fired a rocket-propelled
grenade at the US Embassy in January 2007, both bloodless attacks. After the
Citibank hit in the affluent northern district of Filothei, Revolutionary Struggle had
issued a proclamation, warning of more attacks using timer-controlled explosive
devices.

Yesterday’s bomb which, according to initial reports, comprised 2 kilograms of
ammonium nitrate, had been placed under a ramp for wheelchair access outside
the fast-food outlet. It detonated shortly after 4.30 a.m., half an hour after an
anonymous caller had alerted two mass-circulation newspapers about the
impending explosion. The blast destroyed a large section of the restaurant, which
had been empty at the time, and a tax office on the first floor, showering the
sidewalk with broken glass and rubble.

Police spokesman Panayiotis Stathis said it was clear that the US retail chain had
been the intended target. “The McDonald’s restaurant was definitely the target...
the warning call also named the restaurant,” Stathis said.

Officers yesterday did not rule out the possibility of the attack being planned to
coincide with America’s Independence Day on July 4. One well-informed police
source told Kathimerini that the McDonald’s bomb might have been placed to
distract police so that terrorists can plan a larger, more spectacular attack in the
near future.

Queries choke smoking hotline
2nd July 2009 ekathimerini

Health Ministry workers manning a special telephone service providing clarifications
to owners of bars and restaurants as well as other citizens regarding smoking
restrictions introduced yesterday were overwhelmed with more than 10,000 calls
between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., the ministry said.

Of the 10,086 calls made to the 1,142 telephone line, around 8,000 were
reportedly owners of establishments unclear about the precise implications of the
European Union-imposed restrictions on their businesses. A total of 44 complaints,
about alleged violations of the new regulations, were lodged on the same number.

Official inspections of establishments began on the first day of the new restrictions
though offenders were given warnings, according to the general inspector for
health matters, Michalis Sabatakakis. “We will be lenient with fines in the first
phase,” he told Kathimerini.

However Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos made it clear that the new
regulations would be enforced despite failed attempts to impose similar controls in
the past.

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