A 27-year-old homeowner and a 53-year-old alleged thief were yesterday being treated in a hospital in Katerini, northern Greece, after falling from a first-floor balcony. The younger man allegedly confronted the would-be thief in his home and began fighting with him, which led to both men falling and being taken to the hospital. No details of their injuries were made public. Police said that the 56-year-old was being kept under police guard at the hospital in Katerini.

Olympic Airlines denied yesterday that it had favored any of the political parties by handing out free airline tickets to people so they could travel to their constituency to vote. The airline said that a cross-party committee had agreed that some 32,000 vacant seats on OA flights would be given to voters. The seats were handed out according to the percentage of votes the parliamentary parties garnered in the 2004 poll, according to the airline.

A Thessaloniki court yesterday indicted 13 people, including five minors, in connection with the brutal killing of two teenagers at a basketball court near the northern city’s railway station last May. The charges faced include murder, illegal weapon possession and causing grievous bodily harm. A 17-year-old Georgian and an 18-year-old Albanian died in a brawl involving dozens of youths. The fracas began after an argument over possession of the ball during a game of basketball and escalated as youths drew knives, crowbars and other weapons, according to police.

Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and Deputy Athens Mayor Alexia Evert yesterday signed an agreement for the establishment of a rehabilitation clinic for drug addicts in the capital that is due to open early next year. The center, which is to receive 30 million euros in funding over the next five years, aims to treat 100 new cases every year. The center, to be set up between the Sotiria and Geniko Kratiko hospitals, will be a “dry” clinic in the sense that it will not issue patients substitute drugs such as methadone.

A 42-year-old man has been found dead in Xanthi, northeastern Greece, from a suspected drug overdose. His body was found at the side of a road by a passer-by. A used needle was found next to his body. The man was not named.

Police arrested three men, aged between 42 to 51, in Thessaloniki yesterday, accused of selling drugs after police found in their possession two kilos of heroin. Officers came across the drugs when one of the suspects attempted to sell to an undercover officer 3.7 grams of heroin for 200 euros. A search of one of the suspect’s homes uncovered the narcotics hidden in an outdoor area and lead to the arrests of the other two men. Police said there was an outstanding arrest warrant for one of the suspects, aged 42, for drug trade.

Border guards arrested 53 illegal immigrants along the Turkish border as well as their Pakistani smuggler, police said yesterday. The illegal immigrants were to board a tractor trailer after just having swum across the Evros River separating Greece from Turkey. Separately, 19 illegal immigrants, including two children, were arrested on the Aegean island of Samos. The illegal immigrants reached the island from Turkey on two small boats which they claim to have destroyed after arriving. They were taken for medical checks before being led to a local detention center.

A landfill planned to be built in Keratea, east of Athens, looks set to be delayed as the decision on its legality will be reviewed by the Council of State after strong opposition from local residents. Government ministers had said construction of the landfill will be completed by the end of next year.