Police said yesterday they had arrested two men in southern Athens for the procurement of two young Moldovan women. Officers said they were tipped off by a French soccer coach who visited Greece in December for a job interview and met one of the women. The pair apparently developed an affection for each other and the unnamed Frenchman returned this week to take the Moldovan woman home with him. However, one of her alleged pimps prevented her from leaving which prompted the soccer coach to contact the police.

The man charged with murdering late IKA Chairman Yiannis Vartholomaios has been given until tomorrow to testify before a magistrate. His lawyer asked for the extension yesterday so the results of forensic tests will be known before Dimitris Vrakatselis testifies. Tests are being carried out to determine whether Vartholomaios was killed by blows to the head or whether he struck his head against the stairs or the wall. Vrakatselis has admitted to hitting Vartholomaios but denies intending to kill him.

A 15-year-old boy died in Larissa, central Greece, yesterday after falling over and hitting the back of his head during basketball practice. The youth, who swallowed his tongue in the accident, was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors confirmed his death.

A policeman who has been accused of murdering a robbery suspect who he shot dead in northern Athens on Sunday was released from custody yesterday pending trial. His lawyer submitted to a magistrate yesterday a videotape from the CCTV system at the Everest fast-food store – the scene of the robbery – which apparently shows that the thief was armed. The unnamed officer claims the suspect pulled a gun on him but no weapon was found at the scene. The policeman said that the robber’s accomplice picked it up and ran off.

The National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF) announced yesterday the recall of the Glaxosmithkline Seretide Diskus (50+250) medicine for asthma sufferers due to its faulty mouthpiece. EOF called on consumers not to use the product that bears an April 2008 expiry date.

Prefectural veterinary officials yesterday asked breeders of free-range poultry to keep their birds indoors if their farms are located within 2 kilometers of a wetland. The decision to quarantine poultry follows reported outbreaks of bird flu in the UK, Turkey and Hungary. Officials have also banned the transport and sale of poultry for breeding until the end of February.