A 5.7 Richter earthquake shook the Ionian island of Zakynthos early yesterday but there were no reports of injuries or damage. The earthquake, which struck at 1.05 a.m., had an epicenter in an undersea region east of the island. Seismologists would not rule out further seismic activity in the area. “Unfortunately, we are not in a position to say whether it was the main earthquake,” seismologist Gerasimos Houliaras told the Athens News Agency. On Monday, a 4.7 Richter tremor hit the area.

An Albanian court yesterday sentenced three men up to 23 years in prison after finding them guilty of trafficking babies into Greece. The defendants had recruited pregnant Albanian women and provided them with falsified documents before confining them to private clinics in Thessaloniki and Yiannitsa, the court heard. The three, Nazmi Kreka, Hymer Kreka and Ziko Lena, were jailed for 23, 21 and 15 years respectively. Witnesses questioned during the trial had accused Greek doctors in Yiannitsa of being involved in the trafficking network that put the babies up for adoption. (AFP)

The Capital Market Commission (CMC) yesterday imposed a 2.47-million-euro fine on Technical Olympic, the biggest construction firm listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. The fine was handed down to the company’s president, Constantinos Steggos, three other executives and two chartered auditors. The CMC said it was imposing the penalty because the firm had provided misleading financial data in its 1999 and 2000 accounts.

Work began yesterday on the construction of a drainage system in Lagada, east of Thessaloniki, which is part of a wider project to save Lake Koroneia from pollution. The network will cost some 11 million euros and will help prevent effluents from being poured into the lake. Hundreds of birds died at Koroneia in September 2004 after an onslaught by bacteria. Experts said that heavy pollution in the lake meant the bacteria multiplied much faster than usual. Work on the drainage system is due to be completed in two years. The local mayor said it was an “historic day” for the area.

The Agriculture Ministry confiscated more than 217 tons of imported food in the last three weeks that were not fit for consumption, it said yesterday. The food included large quantities of potatoes, nuts, frozen fish and corned beef. Separately, Thessaloniki prefectural authorities said they found 234 kilos of beans that had spoiled.

Athens said it was pleased with the outcome yesterday of an informal meeting of diplomats from the Balkans, the USA and Russia, held in Vouliagmeni, southern Athens, to discuss the future of Kosovo. The talks were held as part of Greece’s presidency of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). “It is very important that the voice of the region is heard by those who are playing a leading role in determining Kosovo’s future,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis. The UN administrator in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, called on Belgrade not undermine efforts to build ethnic harmony in the province.

Chief prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos yesterday asked journalist Aristea Bougatsou to provide him with all the documents she submitted to the Communications Privacy Protection Authority (ADAE) on Tuesday, alleging that secret agents had monitored the communications of 24 journalists. Papangelopoulos said he wanted to assess whether the matter merited further investigation. Meanwhile, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said he did not know how the list, allegedly from the National Intelligence Agency (EYP), was made public.

A man was arrested yesterday in Kastoria in connection with an earlier armed holdup of a pension fund office, police said. The suspect is accused of threatening an employee at knifepoint before making away with 70 euros and an ATM card, with which he withdrew another 280 euros.