The Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works Ministry has changed the law to allow the owners of the Papadimitriou Hospital to build on forest land in Melissia, northern Athens, according to Skai TV and Radio. The ministry allegedly issued a presidential decree in July that allows construction to take place on 4 of some 11 hectares of forest land. Melissia Mayor Manolis Grafakos denied the claims and said that it was “absurd” to claim that the land would be built on.

An 82-year-old French woman was found drowned off the coast of Samos in the eastern Aegean yesterday, the coast guard said. The body of the elderly tourist was found floating in the sea near Psili Ammos beach. The coast guard was awaiting the results of an autopsy last night.

Panos Tsoupidis has resigned as president of the state-controlled Postal Savings Bank (TT) for personal reasons, it was revealed on Saturday. His resignation was accepted by Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis, who thanked Tsoupidis for his service during a period that saw TT listed on the stock market.

Residents of Karpathos were jolted early yesterday when the Dodecanese island was struck by a 5.6 Richter earthquake at 3.56 a.m. The epicenter of the tremor was in the sea, west of the island. No damage or injuries were reported.

A 46-year-old man has been arrested in Hania, Crete, on suspicion of stealing a number of expensive clothes and watches in the city. The Serb national was caught leaving a clothing store with 3,500 euros worth of items he had allegedly stolen from the shop. When police checked his rental car and lodgings, they found goods worth another 9,600 euros.