Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted yesterday that Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will go ahead with his planned visit to Ankara next month. Speaking to CNN Turk, Erdogan said that he fully expected Karamanlis to visit Ankara by the end of the year. Greek government sources said on Friday that a trip this month that had been planned but not officially arranged was definitely off. The possibility of a December visit was not ruled out. Meanwhile, Albanian Premier Sali Berisha said he was expecting Karamanlis in Tirana at the end of the month despite the recent diplomatic spat between the two countries.

The front of the Bank of Cyprus branch on Academias Street in central Athens suffered damage in excess of 100,000 euros after petrol bombs were thrown at it late on Saturday night. Authorities said that a fire broke out in the bank immediately after the attack but firefighters quickly got it under control.

Port authorities in Thessaloniki arrested a Greek member of the crew on the Panama-flagged oil tanker Triton after discovering that his captain’s license was fake. Officers said the man was a pensioner but did not give anymore details. Another Greek crew member, aged 34, was also arrested after he was found to be in possession of 5 grams of heroin, authorities said.

Police have arrested seven men between the ages of 20 and 26 who are alleged to have been members of a gang responsible for 39 robberies around Attica since October 2004, officers said on Saturday. The men are thought to have broken into homes, schools, shops, cars and kiosks during their spree. Officers found the suspects in possession of 62 mobile phones and a range of other electrical goods.