Latest News in Crete and Greece Archive 5

New Deadline for Road Taxes
29 Dec 2006

The Ministry of Economy and Finance gave car owners until January 10 to pay for the 2007 road taxes.
The Ministry had to step up this measure to facilitate people who have been queuing over the last days
at the Revenues Offices to pay for their road taxes
www.ert.gr

Cretan crimes
29th December 2006
www.ekathimerini.com

Seventeen murders and 13 attempted homicides took place on Crete in 2006, 28 of which were solved,
Vassilis Lourakis, the chief of police in Crete, said yesterday.

NIGHTMARE VACATION
Greeks stranded in Vienna after agency fails to pay airline for return
28th December 2006 www.ekathimerini.com

More than 200 Greek tourists who spent their Christmas break in Vienna were stranded after the travel
agency that sold them their holiday package failed to pay for the return flights. After the intervention of
the Greek Embassy in Vienna, two Olympic Airlines planes were chartered to bring back the 212
travelers yesterday. The tourists had been scheduled to return to Athens on Tuesday. Authorities have
launched an investigation into the Sun Mediterranean travel agency that sold the holiday package and
said that it has probably been operating without a license. The owner of the travel agency could not be
found, authorities added

Air rescue for stranded men
28th December 2006   www.ekathimerini.com

Eight sailors who had been stranded on an isolated point on the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, were
airlifted to safety late yesterday in windy conditions, the Merchant Marine Ministry said.
The eight men were all crew members of the Albanian-flagged “Cyprus” vessel that had run aground off
the shore of Gavdos late on Tuesday.
The men, Albanian nationals, then swam to safety but were stranded as a Puma helicopter could not
pick them at first due to winds at speeds of up to 9 Beaufort in the area.
Ministry sources said that the rescue workers dropped supplies to the sailors as the airlift attempt
continued.
Meanwhile, six illegal immigrants who had called for help from a mobile phone as they tried to row to
the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos were found safe on the island

INTRUDER SHOT
Farmer, 90, arrested after shooting suspected robber in Cretan home
27th December 2006 www.ekathimerini.com

A 90-year-old farmer was arrested in the village of Kalamitsi, near Hania in Crete, yesterday after
shooting a 25-year-old man who allegedly broke into his home to rob him, police said. The younger
man, a Moldovan national, had worked for the farmer for the past two years. He was hospitalized after
sustaining serious injuries from being shot in the stomach. Police said the younger man broke into the
farmer’s home while the elderly man was asleep. The farmer will remain in custody while authorities
investigate the shooting.

Greek police detain British woman for allegedly stealing baby
Associated Press 16 December 2006

ATHENS, Greece: Greek police have detained a British woman for allegedly stealing a baby from a 16-
year-old Romanian girl in Athens as she attempted to buy it from the teenager, authorities said
Saturday.
The woman — not identified because of Greek privacy laws — was detained on the western island of
Kefalonia Friday after returning the infant to a local clinic, saying she was unable to take care of it
because of psychological problems, police said in a statement.
The Romanian teenager told police her baby had been stolen from her in central Athens on Tuesday
while negotiating to sell it for €14,000 (US$18,000), the statement said. The buyer allegedly snatched
the baby without paying.
The infant was not harmed. It was not immediately clear if the Romanian teen would face charges
because she is a minor.
The British woman is expected to appear before a public prosecutor in Athens Sunday on charges of
stealing an infant, police said.

Inmate dead in Hania
16th December 2006 ekathimerini.com

A 35-year-old male inmate from Syria was found dead in his cell in Hania, Crete, yesterday, police said.
An autopsy is expected to be conducted on the body today but police ruled out any foul play, saying
that the inmate had been linked to drug-related incidents without giving any further details.

Memories of tragic loss in Hania
8th December 2006

The 8th December marks 40 years since the tragic sinking of the ferry “Iraklio” and the loss of 240 lives.
The ferry was travelling from Hania to Piraeus on 8th December 1966 when it sank in gale force winds
mid-journey. There were just 46 survivors. The ‘Hand Monument’ just west of the Naval Museum in
Hania Harbour is a memorial to those who drowned.

Three years later, to the day, on the 8th December 1969 there was a second tragedy for Haniots,
when an Olympic Airways flight traveling from Hania to Athens crashed in Kerateas, Attiki with the loss
of all 85 passengers and 5 crew on board.

Cell phones banned in schools
8th December 2006
The Education Ministry banned yesterday the use of mobile phones by primary and secondary school
students after a number of reported cases of students using the devices to film sexually explicit and
violent behavior.
The footage, aired by commercial television stations in recent months, has raised concerns about
student behavior and the need for mobile phones at schools.
The ministry yesterday started mailing circulars to teachers informing them that cell phones are no
longer permitted.

“Students are not allowed to have mobile phones in their possession while on school grounds. In the
event that the child is found with a cell phone, he will be required to switch it off and keep it in his bag,”
the circular said.

Primary school students who are caught with cell phones in class or on school grounds will be warned
not to bring the phone to school again and their parents will also be informed about the matter. But
secondary school pupils could face expulsion for repeatedly violating the “no cell phone” rule.

In the past few weeks, teachers and psychologists have been arguing that the videotaping of unruly
behavior encourages further disorder, with some pupils competing to create increasingly shocking
footage.

The move comes a month after an alleged rape case at a school in Amarynthos on the island of Evia,
northeast of Athens, that was reportedly recorded by pupils using a cell phone video camera.

For the ban to work, teachers must lead by example, the Education Ministry said.

“During teaching hours, educators should switch off their phones. An oversight of this amounts to a
punishable act,” the ministry said.

According to a recent study prepared by the Athens University of Economics and Business, 74 percent
of children between the ages of 12 to 14 own a mobile phone, while nearly 100 percent of youths aged
between 15 to 18 had a cell phone.
ekathimerini.com

Independent Airline starts direct flights from Hania to Rhodes, Mykonos and Santorini
6th December 2006 Haniotika Nea

Flights will start on the 17th December from Hania to Rhodes with the independent airline, Sky Express
and will run twice a week.
Sky Express was formed 18 months ago in Heraklion and they own two 18 seater planes, as well as a
747, which will be used on an international route next summer.

The Hania to Rhodes flight takes 55 minutes and tickets cost 86 euros each way.

From the end of May 2007 to 15th September 2007 Sky Express will also run direct flights from Hania
to Mykonos and Santorini.

HUNTER KILLINGS
Farmer charged with murder
1st December 2006   ekathimerini.com

A prosecutor in the city of Agrinion, central Greece, has now charged 37-year-old livestock farmer
Dionysis Foukas with the murder of five hunters and accused his 73-year-old father Lysimachos of being
an accessory to the killings.
The two men were taken to the prosecutor yesterday amid tight security as police fear possible
reprisals from the families of the five men who were shot dead in a field in the area of Kalyvia, west of
Agrinion, on Saturday.
Based on the statements given to the police by the two men, during which each man said he was
responsible for shooting the hunters, the prosecutor decided that the 73-year-old had not been
actively involved in the alleged murders but was taking the blame to protect his son.
The two suspects were given until today to testify and have been remanded in custody at police
headquarters in Agrinion.
The coroner from Patras, Angeliki Tziola, who examined the bodies of the five hunters, was called in
yesterday to look at a wound on the chest of Dionysis Foukas. The farmer told police that one of the
hunters shot at him after Foukas had already shot three of his victims.
Foukas said the shotgun pellet grazed the right side of his chest. Tziola was asked to confirm that the
injury was consistent with the younger Foukas’s claims.
The main suspect confessed to police that he shot the five men after they argued with his father, who
was upset that the hunters were trespassing on his land and scaring his sheep.
Police sources told Kathimerini yesterday that officers agreed with the prosecutor that there was no
need to reconstruct the incident. Sources said that the police feared that such a move would generate
unwelcome media interest and may cause unnecessary grief to the local community.
Officers said that they would continue to discreetly monitor the family of the two suspects but there has
not been any indication that the victims’ relatives were intent on exacting revenge for the alleged crime.

BULLDOZER HEIST
Suspects out on bail after tests show guns were not used in Cretan raid
30th November 2006 ekathimerini.com

Seven of the eight suspects arrested in connection to an audacious bank robbery in Crete on
September 4 using a bulldozer were granted bail yesterday. The seven were arrested on suspicion of
being part of a gang that allegedly stole some 200,000 euros using a bulldozer to smash through the
front of a bank. Giorgos Perakis, a lawyer representing one of the suspects, said that they were
released after ballistic tests confirmed that the guns owned by the seven were not used during the
robbery. The eighth suspect arrested for the robbery has allegedly confessed to taking part in the heist.

Bike mugger shoots victim
30th November 2006   ekathimerini.com

A 27-year-old woman was yesterday hospitalized after being shot by a motorcycle-borne thief who
snatched her bag in northern Athens.
The woman had just left a bank Nea Philadelphia shortly after 11 a.m. when two men on a motorcycle
pulled up beside her and grabbed her bag, which contained 2,000 euros. When the woman refused to
let go and started screaming, the passenger pulled out a gun and shot at her three times.
One bullet grazed the woman’s shoulder, while the other two pierced the material of her coat. The
woman also sustained a light cranial fracture, believed to have been caused by the butt of the gun.
Police, who expressed their surprise at the violent reaction of the thief, said the duo had probably been
observing bank customers and realized the 27-year-old was carrying a large sum of money

Police Find Bodies of Five Hunters
November 26th 2006 . phantis.gr

Police have launched a murder investigation after discovering the bodies of five hunters in a rural area
of central Greece.
All the men, aged between 17 and 33, had shotgun wounds, police said.
The bodies were found late on Saturday in the region of Kalyvia, close to the central Greek city of
Agrinio, about 175 miles north-west of Athens.
Police said one of the victims made a desperate call from his mobile phone to his father but could only
utter the word "father" before the connection was cut off.
The father discovered the bodies after searching the area, and notified the police.

The victims, who were all related, were identified as Christos and Vassilis Nikolopoulos, Lambros
Antressas, Ilias Pipas and Alexis Nikolopoulos,

The deaths caused shock in a country with one of the lowest murder rates in Europe.

"This was an unprecedented criminal act, I've never experienced anything like this," said the regional
governor of southern Greece, Vasilis Tsiatouras.

Violence against children rises
Ekathimerini.com 25th November 2006

The number of reported cases of physically abused children rose significantly in 2006 as data released
on family violence yesterday also show that most abused women are highly educated.
Research prepared by children rights watchdog the Child’s Smile shows that there were 446 cases of
reported child abuse between January to October, up 52 percent on the whole of last year.
Only 25 percent of adults who witness child abuse will report the incident, while 72 percent of victims
are below the age of 12, the watchdog added.
People are reluctant to report the incidents to the relevant state bodies because they cannot do so
anonymously, according to Chrysoula Mavrakis, a psychologist for the Child’s Smile.
Data show that most of the children were abused by members of their immediate family.
About 60 percent of reported cases involved parents neglecting their children while 30 percent of
incidents related to cases of physical beatings.
The watchdog also called for the creation of networks in local communities that can help take care of
abused children.
Meanwhile, data released yesterday by the Interior Ministry’s General Secretariat for Gender Equality
show that only 16 percent of physically abused women who sought help were foreign nationals.
Figures gathered between 2002 and October 2005 show that seven in 10 women beaten were
secondary school or university graduates.
“The myth that abused women normally have a low level of education is not confirmed,” the Interior
Ministry report said, marking the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against
Women.

Drug threat keeps growing
24th November 2006 ekathimerini.com
Greece is one of the European countries where drug use is on the rise and the number of drug-related
deaths in the country has reached alarming levels, according to a report by the European Union drug
agency which was made public yesterday.

The number of deaths in Greece in 2003-2004 from drug use reached 80 people per 1 million
inhabitants, which is double the EU average and seventh highest in the 25-nation bloc.

The report by the European Monitoring Center for Drug Addiction found that increased demand and
falling prices are fueling drug use in the EU. Cannabis remains the most widely used drug, with some 20
percent of Europeans saying they have tried it at least once.

The use of amphetamines is also on the rise, the survey found. Ecstasy is the second most popular
drug in Europe, despite the large difference in its price across the EU. An ecstasy pill in Greece costs 15-
25 euros compared to just 3 euros in Poland, according to the report

Farmer shot
22 November 2006

A 45-year-old farmer, identified as Ilias Papasifakis, was found dead on his stock farm close to Hania,
Crete, with three gunshot wounds, police said yesterday. Numerous officers are involved in the
investigation, authorities added. Police said that it is the seventh murder recorded in the prefecture so
far this year.
Ekathimerini.com

Rape suspect
21 November 2006

A 36-year-old foreign national was remanded in custody in Hania, Crete, yesterday, suspected of two
counts of attempted rape, police said. A number of women were attacked in the Agios Apostolis area of
Hania throughout the summer during the evening hours. The suspect has been identified by two of his
alleged victims, who told police they were abused by the man, who apparently threatened them with a
screwdriver. However the suspect maintains that he is innocent. Police did not identify the foreign
national, who testified before a magistrate yesterday.

Arson attack
21 November 2006   ekathimerini.com

Four motorcycles and a car were destroyed in a fire in front of a driving school in Iraklion, Crete, early
yesterday. Police said that the fire broke out after arsonists set fire to one of the motorcycles. It was
not immediately clear what provoked the attack.

Police ‘beating’ under scrutiny
21st November 2006 Ekathimerini

A prosecutor in Thessaloniki has ordered an urgent investigation into whether undercover police
officers beat a 24-year-old student after a march in the city on Friday night to mark the 33rd
anniversary of a bloody student uprising against the military dictatorship.
Video footage of the apparent beating of Avgoustinos Dimitriou was aired on national TV channels over
the weekend and first instance prosecutor Vassilis Floridis wants a probe into the matter to be
concluded by Friday.
Five lecturers at Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, who claim to have witnessed the alleged assault by
a group of officers, also filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office yesterday.
Thessaloniki police have launched an internal investigation but said in a statement that the student
was trying to dodge officers who tried to check his identity as he left the university.
The police said that the 24-year-old Cypriot national sustained his injuries when he tripped and fell
against a scooter and a large flower pot. But footage appears to show that officers hit and kicked the
student when he was on the ground.
Dimitriou was arrested and then taken to the hospital so his injuries could be treated.
The student involved in the incident was one of eight people arrested on Friday night after students
threw rocks at riot police outside the university grounds. The suspects have been charged with
disturbing the peace, causing damage, attempted grievous bodily harm, possession of illegal weapons
and resisting authority. They will be tried on November 30.

Former Getty curator charged with Greek art theft
By Karolos Grohmann -ATHENS (Reuters)

A Greek prosecutor on Tuesday charged a former curator of the American J. Paul Getty Museum with
knowingly buying an ancient artifact which had been illegally dug up and smuggled out of Greece 13
years ago.
The accusation that former antiquities curator Marion True illegally obtained a 4th-century BC golden
wreath is the latest controversy surrounding acquisitions she made for the wealthy Los Angeles-based
museum.
True resigned from her post in a whirlwind of publicity last year when Italian authorities charged her
with conspiring to receive stolen antiquities.
In the Greek investigation, police raided her Aegean island villa earlier this year and retrieved what
authorities say are dozens of unregistered ancient objects.
"True as well as two Greeks and two other foreigners have been charged with removing, accepting and
distributing products resulting from criminal actions," a police source told Reuters.
"They are charged in connection with the golden wreath which was sold to a Getty representative in
1993 for $1.15 million."
The source said police believe an ancient Macedonian tomb was excavated some time between 1990-2
and it was then that the wreath was found and illegally removed.
Greece has disputed at least three other items in the Getty collection, two of which were returned in
August as part of an agreement. In return, the Getty, among the world's richest art institutions, will
receive other Greek antiquities on long-term loan and will be invited to co-host exhibitions of ancient
Greek art.
Greece has pledged to crack down on the illegal trading of ancient artifacts. To ease museums'
concerns, it has said it will only seek the return of objects proven to have been obtained through
criminal actions.

Anti-American sentiment up sharply in Greece-survey
Thu 16 Nov 2006 Reuters
-Anti-American sentiment, rooted in Greece since Washington backed a military dictatorship there
almost 40 years ago, has risen sharply in the past two years, an international survey showed on
Thursday.

The survey conducted by TNS ICAP jointly with the Gallup International Association in 63 countries from
five continents showed Greece, a NATO and European Union member, was the most anti-American
nation polled.

According to the survey, almost 9 out of 10 Greeks consider the United States a negative force in
maintaining world peace, a rise of more than 7 percentage points from 2004. Also 76 percent, up by 8
percentage points, believe it is not a positive contributor to the war against terrorism.

"The majority of Greeks believe that the role of the United States is negative in all issues polled," TNS
ICAP said in a statement.

The study showed 80 percent of Greeks believe the United States is doing little to battle global poverty
while 78 percent think Washington is a negative force in protecting the environment.

Greece has rarely seen eye to eye with Washington over major foreign policy issues in recent years.

It has refused to send troops to Iraq and has only contributed a small number of non-fighting troops to
the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

Greeks have viewed Washington with suspicion ever since it supported a military junta that seized
power in 1967 before collapsing seven years later.

The survey was conducted in 63 countries between the months of July and September. In Greece, some
1,000 people from across the country were polled in telephone interviews, TNS ICAP said.

Soccer fans fight
13th November 2006

A police officer was hurt and a patrol car damaged on Saturday when rival fans from Olympiakos and
Panathinaikos soccer teams clashed in Piraeus, authorities said.
A group of more than 80 Panathinaikos fans had arrived in the port to catch a ferry to Crete where their
team played Ergotelis yesterday. Police were escorting the fans to the port area in a bid to avoid them
clashing with local Olympiakos fans.
However, trouble broke out when a group of about 50 Olympiakos supporters approached the rival
group and attacked them - and nearby law enforcement officers - by throwing a variety of projectiles,
including Molotov cocktails. Police broke up the Olympiakos supporters and detained 62 Panathinaikos
fans after finding in their possession weapons and small quantities of cannabis. It was not clear
whether any arrests were made.
Soccer violence has been prominent in recent weeks. On Friday, police identified nine suspected
hooligans after AEK Athens provided video footage of fan violence as part of a crackdown on violence in
local soccer.
ekathimerini.com

Government hopes sale of OTE will be completed within six months’ time
10th November 2006

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece will pick three advisers for its plan to divest its 38 percent current holding
in OTE telecom, part of the government’s privatization plan next year, Finance Minister Giorgos
Alogoskoufis said.
The sale of OTE’s stake is part of Greece’s ambitious privatization agenda, aimed at paying down debt,
one of the biggest in the eurozone as a percentage of GDP.
“We have had a lot of interest from all the major international banks and all the major Greek banks as
well and we will select two advisers with considerable telecoms experience from international banks
and one Greek bank, so there will be a group of three,”
Alogoskoufis said he would like OTE’s privatization process to be finished by June 2007.

Cretan Heist
Forensic evidence from bulldozer raid ‘does not incriminate’ 8 suspects
8th November 2006

Evidence gathered from the scene of a daring bank heist in the Cretan prefecture of Hania in
September does not incriminate eight people who have already been charged in connection with the
raid, sources have told Kathimerini. Fingerprints lifted from the scene of the robbery in the village of
Kalives, where a bulldozer was used to smash down the entrance to a bank, do not match any of those
of the eight suspects, the sources said. Also an analysis of the mobile phone calls made by the eight
individuals after the time of the robbery does not indicate any collaboration.

Police threat to strike over refusal to pay bonus
Officers will only do basic tasks
8th November 2006

The pressure on the government from striking primary school teachers may have eased temporarily but
the ruling conservatives could soon be facing the wrath of police officers over bonus payments.
Police officers said yesterday that if talks on Friday between Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos
Alogoskoufis and Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras fail to lead to an agreement on extra monthly
allowances for law enforcers, they will begin industrial action.
The law prohibits police officers from going on strike but the head of the Panhellenic Confederation of
Police Employees (POASY), Dimitris Kyriazidis, said that officers would refuse to take on any tasks
beyond their basic duties.
«We are determined to block sideline tasks - jobs which have been dumped on the police but are not
exclusively the duty of the force,» said POASY's general secretary, Antonis Botaitis.
These tasks may include the authentication of signatures and issuing of new identity cards and
passports.
«Policing will not stop and we will still respond to calls from citizens and emergency situations,» added
Botaitis.
Officers are also considering using their patrol cars to advertise their cause, possibly by displaying
banners, sources said.
The policemen want the ruling conservatives to live up to pre-election pledges to increase bonus
payments to the police. The officers want the government to grant members of the police force a
monthly bonus payment of 8 percent of their basic salary.
Alogoskoufis has so far appeared reluctant to agree to the bonus, arguing that Greece's public finances
cannot afford the extra burden - the same reasoning that the government has used to support its
refusal to increase teachers' wages.
Polydoras has threatened to resign if the bonuses are not paid. Government spokesman Theodoros
Roussopoulos yesterday played down the rift. «All ministers approach problems which are their
responsibility with the same vigor,» he said.
ekathimerini.com

Largest Greek tourism project will be in Crete - Cavo Sidero
7th November 2006
By Giorgos Lialios - Kathimerini

The government said yesterday it had approved the environmental effects study for the biggest ever
tourism development project in the country.
The 1.2-billion-euro project concerns the construction, on a concession basis, of six tourist villages on
2,500 hectares belonging to the Toplou monastery on the Cavo Sidero peninsula of northeastern Crete.
The development, which will create about 3,000 jobs in the area, is being implemented by the Minoan
Group (formerly Loyalward Group) and will basically comprise five hotel complexes, totaling a capacity of
7,000 beds. It will also include three golf courses, a sports center with soccer, basketball and volleyball
facilities, and a conference center capable of hosting 1,200 participants.
Minoan’s chief financial officer, Aristos Vassiliadis, told Kathimerini the investment will be implemented in
two phases; the approval of the environmental effects study will be followed by approval of the
architectural design by the Greek National Tourism Organization and the issuing of the building license.
The first of five hotels will open for business 18 months after the commencement of construction work.
According to the concession agreement, which has a duration of 40 years and may be extended for 40
more, the Toplou monastery will receive 10 percent of annual revenue. The concessionaire will construct
all necessary infrastructure for the protection of the local environment, such as waste treatment,
desalination and recycling plants.
The initial plan, submitted in 1994, met with strong reactions by local interest groups which especially
feared the effects of the high water requirements of golf courses on the local environment.
Besides the monastery, the attractions of the locality include the Minoan ruins at Itanos and the famous
Vai beach, the site of Europe’s only indigenous palm forest. The site will be a 30-minute drive from the
nearest airport, at Siteia.

Corruption Index
Experts still perceive Greece to have serious problems with graft
6th November

Greece is more corrupt than countries like Tunisia, Mauritius and Latvia, according to the annual
Corruption Perceptions Index released yesterday by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International. TI
found that Greece was the 54th least corrupt country out of 163 states surveyed. Finland, Iceland and
New Zealand are the least corrupt. Last year, Greece was the 47th least corrupt out 159 countries. The
index score relates to the degree of corruption perceived by business people and analysts who mark
countries between 0 (highly corrupt) and 10 (very clean). Greece was given 4.4 this year.

Murder suspect
2nd November 2006
A 41-year-old farmer accused of murdering his cousin, aged 44, in Hania, Crete, was remanded in
custody yesterday, police said. The suspect, Nektarios Vestakis, told police that he was acting in self-
defense and that the victim, Yiannis Vestakis, had threatened to harm him and his livestock. The
suspect’s attorney presented to authorities the names of 40 people that he claims were attacked by
the victim.

Storm Rescuers find body of missing Briton
20th October 2006

The body of David Westwell was found in the harbour of Almirida, near Hania in Crete, yesterday
afternoon. David Westwell was a permanent resident on Crete and had been missing since Wednesday
morning. His empty vehicle was found later that day.

Authorities said that Westwell tried to cross a stream which had swelled because of the rainfall, and
was swept away. His body was found some three kilometers away.

Two British holiday makers died on Wednesday after being swept away by high waves on a beach on
the holiday island of Rhodes. They were identified as Keiron Conlon, 47, and his wife Frances, 46, of
London. They drowned after attempting to swim in the sea despite 2-meter-high waves that had been
whipped up by gale-force winds.

Further Storms Wreak Havoc
18th October 2006

Storms across Crete yesterday caused extensive damage and heavy flooding across the island. The
Hania area was hit particularly hard, and as road turned into rivers there were closures across the
prefecture. Part of the National Road between Hania and Rethymnon was also closed for several hours.
Dozens of homes and hotels were flooded and the fire department received hundreds of calls to pump
out flood waters. Heraklion airport closed for a short time, while Hania airport was closed throughout
most of the day due to the gale-force winds and heavy rain. Charter flights from the UK were diverted
to Athens, Rhodes and Heraklion.

In Almirida fourteen parked cars were swept away into the sea as a surge of flood water gushed down
the hillside and down the street, into the sea. There are reports of a British resident missing in the
area; his empty car was found in a ravine.

Flood Damage Across Crete and Greece
13th Oct 2006

Bad weather and storms which hit Crete yesterday caused significant problems across the island.
In the Hania prefecture the worst hit areas were Akrotiri and Platanias to Voukolies, with flooded roads
and homes. A lightning strike caused serious damage to the DEH electricity lines in Akrotiri and the
area was without electricity overnight and until late today. Hania airport was closed yesterday evening
as 143mm of rain fell in five hours (the average yearly rainfall is 600mm), and 3 flights were unable to
land. … an Olympic Airways flight returned to Athens, and two charter flights diverted to Heraklion to
land.

On mainland Greece flood damage wreaked havoc on the national road and railway network. A
landslide temporarily shut down the national road linking Athens to Thessaloniki near the port of Aghios
Constantinos, in Fthiotida, causing severe delays for motorists. The precarious conditions provoked by
the bad weather caused two near disasters yesterday. A motorist, swept away in his car by flood
waters on the Lamia-Livadia national road, was rescued by a bulldozer. Meanwhile, a large rock that
fell into a street in Nea Makri, eastern Attica, after becoming dislodged from Mt Pendeli, did not cause
any injuries.

Haniotika Nea & Ekathimerini.com

STRIKE EXTENDED
Classrooms to remain shut for fifth week over pay dispute
13th Oct 2006

The Greek Primary School Teachers’ Federation (DOE) agreed yesterday to extend its strike action for a
fifth week as of Monday. Preschool and primary school teachers are striking over pay demands.
Synaspismos Left Coalition leader Alekos Alavanos yesterday proposed a parliamentary debate on
education. In a request submitted to Parliament Speaker Anna Psarouda-Benaki, Alavanos said that
there has been turmoil in all levels of education in Greece since the start of the academic year.
Meanwhile, about half of the students that had held sit-in protests at 494 schools in Greece started
vacating buildings yesterday, allowing them to be used for Sunday’s municipal elections.
www.ekathimerini.com

Murder charge in balcony fall
11th Oct 2006

A British tourist was charged by a prosecutor in Iraklion, Crete, with attempted murder yesterday as his
girlfriend fought for her life in a hospital after allegedly being pushed from a balcony and landing on an
iron railing spike.
The unnamed 40-year-old allegedly shoved his 34-year-old girlfriend from the first floor balcony of their
hotel room in the popular resort of Malia at around 1.45 a.m. after the pair had an argument.
The woman suffered a punctured lung after landing on the spike and was rushed to the hospital in
Iraklion for surgery. Doctors said that she remained in a critical condition in intensive care last night.
Sources said the railing passed through her chest and stopped just short of piercing her heart.
Firefighters had to cut the women loose so she could be treated.
Authorities said the couple had been on holiday in Crete with the man’s 5-year-old son from a previous
marriage.
www.ekathimerini.com

Migrants at Sea
Group of 57 washed up on Aegean islet, another 40 feared to have drowned
11th Oct 2006

Greek rescue workers yesterday rescued 57 illegal immigrants from an islet off the southern
Peloponnese and were searching for another 40 believed to be lost at sea. According to the would-be
migrants found on Antikythera, their smuggling boat foundered in high seas near the islet and not all of
them managed to reach the shore. The migrants, mostly Afghans, claimed that another 40 had been
aboard the vessel.
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Hijack of Turkish plane flying over Greece ends peacefully
4th October

A Turkish man who hijacked a Turkish Airlines flight in Greek air space yesterday afternoon forced the
plane to land in Italy and then surrendered to police last night, asking for political asylum. The plane
had been traveling from Tirana in Albania to Istanbul with 113 passengers and crew on board when it
was hijacked over Greece. Four Greek F16s escorted the plane to the Albanian border, where two
Italian fighter jets took over the task of shadowing the airliner. The two men forced the plane to land in
Brindisi . There were no reports of injuries.
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Icon theft suspect arrested
23rd September

Authorities arrested a Romanian national in Iraklion, Crete, yesterday who is thought to be the head of
a gang that allegedly stole a priceless icon from a monastery in Leonidio, in the eastern Peloponnese.
In August, a 700-year-old icon, which is said to have the power to work miracles, was stolen from the
cliff-side Elona Monastery.
Police said that they found jewelry and other items that had been placed on the icon as votive offerings
at the home of the 28-year-old suspect in Crete.
Additionally, footage of the monastery was also found on the suspect’s video camera.
The icon was not located but investigations are continuing in Athens where it may have been taken in
order to be sold.
Two other Romanian nationals were also questioned in connection to the theft yesterday in Tripolis, in
the Peloponnese, and Kavala, northern Greece.
Police have also alerted their Romanian counterparts to be on the lookout for the icon which may
already have been smuggled out of the country.
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Crete police under investigation
6th September 2006

Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras yesterday ordered police chiefs to conduct an internal
investigation into the theft of 200,000 euros in cash from a bank near Hania on Monday morning, as
sources indicated that only one trainee officer was on duty in the area at the time of the robbery.

The head of the Greek Police (ELAS), Anastassios Dimoschakis, initiated a probe into possible
negligence on behalf of officers in Crete after robbers used a bulldozer to smash their way into a
branch of ATEbank in the village of Kalives and stole a safe containing the cash.

The incident, which took place at 4.30 a.m., has proved embarrassing for the police, who appeared
unprepared and understaffed to prevent the raid or chase the robbers.

A patrol car that had its tires shot out by the thieves as it approached the bank was the only resistance
provided by authorities. Sources told Kathimerini that the officer driving the vehicle was a trainee who
did not have any backup.

High-ranking officers and officials at the Public Order Ministry are also concerned by the apparent rise in
crime in western Crete, which the police seems unable to combat.

Dimoschakis has assigned the probe to the general inspector for southern Greece, Vassilis Tsiatouras,
who flew to Crete yesterday. In a statement, the Public Order Ministry said that he would be
investigating the “organizational planning” by officers on the island to fight crime and the “level of
operational readiness and effectiveness” in reacting to Monday’s theft.

Police sources said that at least 10 people were probably involved in the heist but officers said that
CCTV footage from the bank is not likely to be helpful in tracking down any of the thieves as the
suspects destroyed the camera when they broke into the bank.

Officers discovered yesterday that the small truck used by the robbers to flee the scene had been
stolen from a used-car dealership near Rethymnon.

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Bank Robbery in Kalives
Thieves Smash into Bank with a Bulldozer
4th September 2006

Thieves smashed into the ATE bank in Kalives in the early hours of the morning with a bulldozer, getting
away with a safe filled with 200,000 euros in cash, and up to 130,000 euros from the ATM cash
machine. A number of cement trucks were stolen and placed by the entrance and exits to the village of
Kalives, effectively sealing off the village while the bank was bulldozed, and thieves fired warning gun
shots in the air to keep residents away. The safe was lifted onto the back of a pick up truck by the
bulldozer and then sped away. Police believe up to 10 people were involved in the highly organised
raid. The burnt out shell of the pick up truck used in the getaway was found later in the day near
Rethymnon.

Fugitive convict profited by swindling house hunters.
2nd September. 2006

A 51-year-old fugitive from Alikarnassos jail in Crete, who is believed to have swindled dozens of house
hunters, was arrested on Thursday, police said yesterday. According to police, the convict would pose
as a potential tenant in order to obtain the keys to apartments, which he would then show to house
hunters, posing as the owner in order to pocket purchase deposits. It was unclear how much money he
allegedly amassed in this way. The 51-year-old had been serving a sentence for multiple cases of fraud
and forgery.
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Migrants detained in Hania
2nd September 2006

Authorities detained 119 illegal immigrants on a beach close to Hania, Crete, yesterday when the boat
they were traveling in ran aground close to the shore, resulting in the death of one migrant.
The immigrants, all males aged between 25-40, told authorities that they were from Pakistan and were
headed for a port in Italy.
They had started their journey from Alexandria, Egypt, on Tuesday.
However, rough weather caused their 12-meter wooden boat to run onto rocks close to Hania at about
4 a.m. yesterday.
Most of them managed to reach the shore but one man drowned.
Police said that they had launched a search using a helicopter for three more immigrants believed to be
missing.
The men, generally in good health, were taken to a boarding school in Hania, where they received
medical treatment.
Authorities said that they were searching for the boat’s captain and one of its crew, who may be
among the detained immigrants.
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