Three Greeks who have been tested for the radioactive substance polonium-210, which killed Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, have shown no sign of being poisoned, the Greek Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) said yesterday. The three unnamed Greeks are thought to have visited the London hotel or restaurant where the spy was allegedly poisoned. GAEC said that the urine samples it had received so far showed no contamination by polonium-210.

A prosecutor in Athens who is investigating the purchase of the C4I security system for the Athens Olympics yesterday asked Greece to request of German and Swiss authorities details of their probes into alleged slush funds used by Siemens. German weekly Der Spiegel alleged last week that the electronics giant had used up to 10 million euros to pay bribes to Greek officials involved in the decision to purchase the security system, which was sold by a consortium that included Siemens.

Competition Commission official Panayiotis Adamopoulos and customs officer Panayiotis Anagnostopoulos who have been linked to the Mevgal blackmail allegations were released from custody yesterday. A magistrate decided that neither of the suspects were flight risks but banned them from leaving Greece. The two men have been accused of being involved in a plot to blackmail Mevgal by asking it to pay 2.5 million euros so the dairy giant could avert a 25-million-euro fine.

Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos submitted to Parliament yesterday a bill proposing a new code for civil servants. Among the changes the draft law would bring about is the introduction of job interviews for people applying for high-ranking positions in the civil service. The bill also aims at bringing in tougher disciplinary measures for a range of offenses, including accepting bribes.

Necessary changes to civil service...

Greece was Europe's worst violator of housing rights this year and the world's third worst offender, after Nigeria and the Philippines, a human rights group said yesterday. Greece was criticized for its treatment of Roma (or Gypsy) communities which, according to the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) faced segregation, discrimination in accessing housing services and forced evictions by local authorities. «The conditions in which these communities live are dehumanizing and constitute a grave human rights violation,» COHRE said.

Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday heralded a new draft law aimed at cracking down on firms that supply the country's hospitals with overpriced medical supplies. The minister's announcement followed a ministry investigation which revealed several instances of overpriced medical equipment, such as pacemakers and bone graft substitutes, being sold to Greek hospitals.

A 20-year-old woman suffered a serious shoulder injury late on Monday in Thessaloniki after she was shot while sitting in a parked car with her companion. The woman, who was not identified, told police that she was parked in the car when an unknown man approached the vehicle and shot her once. Her companion, aged 22, notified police and the woman was taken to a local hospital where she underwent surgery.

Arsonists set alight and destroyed a CCTV camera in Palaio Faliron, southern Athens, early yesterday, police said. Meanwhile, arsonists also set on fire two parked cars in Kallithea, southern Athens. A third car was slightly damaged in the incident. Nobody was injured an no arrests were made.