OTE telecom is expected to enter into negotiations with German electronics giant Siemens over the next few days in a bid to claim damages with respect to contracts it awarded to the company’s Greek branch which were allegedly secured thanks to bribes. OTE is demanding several million euros in compensation. The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported yesterday that OTE has asked a Munich court to order Siemens to reveal details of an internal inquiry into its activities in Greece.

The deadline for property owners to submit their paperwork for Greece’s first comprehensive land register is set to be extended, sources said this weekend. The deadline is currently set for September 30 but could be moved back to December 31, as the number of people submitting their documents so their property can be included on the cadaster has been lower than expected. The process began in June.

A suspected burglar was found dead yesterday at an apartment block in Pangrati, eastern Athens, after apparently falling from a second-floor balcony. The unidentified man tried to jump from a stairwell window onto a balcony but slipped and fell, according to officers. He had gloves, a screwdriver and four keys in his possession.

A prosecutor is investigating claims by a shipowner that he paid former Aegean and Islands Policy Minister Aristoteles Pavlidis 1 million euros a year in bribes to secure state subsidies for routes to remote islands, sources said on Saturday. Prosecutor Isidoros Doyiakos is looking into the claims made by the owner of the SOAS ferry firm Fotis Manousis, who claims that he has evidence that shows he bribed the ex-minister. Pavlidis denies the claims and has filed a counter-suit against Manousis.

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale struck between the Sporades Islands and Halkidiki early yesterday morning but caused no damage or injuries. The tremor was recorded some 50 kilometers north of the island of Alonissos and some 140 kilometers southeast of Thessaloniki. Several smaller aftershocks followed the main quake. A 3.8-Richter quake was also recorded in the small town of Ermioni in the Peloponnese, about 70 kilometers south of Athens, yesterday.

Two men suspected of dealing drugs have been arrested in a holiday complex in Halkidiki, police said on Saturday. The suspects, aged 20 and 26, have not been identified but officers said they found 90 grams of cocaine and 75 grams of cannabis in their room. Neither of the suspects was identified.

A 67-year-old woman was arrested in the Thessaloniki district of Kalamaria late on Saturday after allegedly hitting a child with her car and then failing to stop. The young girl only suffered slight injuries. The woman was not named.