A large blaze that broke out in a branch of the clothing retailer Sprider in Lykovrisi, north of Athens, late on Saturday appears to have been arson, police said yesterday. Residents said they heard two large blasts just before midnight. Police, who found gas canisters at the scene, said the explosions had probably been triggered by homemade bombs of the type usually employed by anarchists. The store sustained serious damage but there were no injuries.

The pilot of a Cessna light aircraft forced to conduct an emergency landing in the sea south of Crete early yesterday was unharmed. The pilot, a Hungarian national, was forced to crash land in the sea after the aircraft suffered mechanical failure. The pilot managed to abandon the plane without suffering any injury and swim to shore.

A Spaniard and a Greek clinched the top two places in yesterday's Mount Olympus Marathon, the only international long-distance cross-mountain event which is organized by Skai. Jessed Gispert Hernandez of Spain set a new record for the event, in its fifth year, with a time of 4 hours, 33 minutes and 39 seconds. He was followed by Nikos Kalofyris who secured second place for Greece with a time of 4 hours, 45 minutes and 28 seconds. The course covers about 44 kilometers, starting at the ancient site of Dion and crossing several other sites before ending at Litohoro, on the other side of Mt Olympus.

Police in Halkidiki were yesterday questioning a 37-year-old man believed to be behind five burglaries on hotel rooms in the region. The suspect is believed to have used a razor to cut through the mosquito screens on the doors of hotel apartments. He is alleged to have netted some 3,200 euros in cash and jewelry worth another 3,000 euros.

A 56-year-old Greek hiker was found dead in the mountains of Pentalofo, near Kozani in northern Greece. The rescuers who recovered his body said it seems he slipped off a precipice. Meanwhile, two Polish teachers, aged 31 and 45, missing since early Friday after embarking on a walking trip in the Cretan region of Hania, were found safe on Saturday. The pair had been part of a group of around 25 Poles but had wandered off on their own.