Greece’s armed forces are on standby to avert possible fresh violations by Turkish fighter jets in the Aegean, sources said yesterday following a minor incident involving six Turkish F-16s. The Turkish jets violated Greek air space over Lemnos and Lesvos several times, defense officials said. The next couple of days are expected to determine whether there will be an escalation of tension in the Aegean. Meanwhile, occasional skirmishes between Greek and Turkish fishermen are expected to stop when the sea bream fishing season ends on January 20.

PASOK is expected to request in Parliament next week that a preliminary judicial inquiry be launched to investigate the Vatopedi Monastery land scandal. Based on the report it compiled during a recent parliamentary investigation, PASOK feels that a more intensive probe should look into whether five former New Democracy ministers committed criminal offenses. The move by PASOK, which is unlikely to be approved as it would need the support of some ND deputies, is seen as a bid to halt any political momentum the government may have gained from this week’s reshuffle. Meanwhile, seven employees of the Public Real Estate Corporation (KED) were yesterday asked to appear before two appeals court prosecutors who are carrying out a judicial investigation into the land exchange.

A 72-year-old man who was out on a hunting trip yesterday with his grandson in woods near Kalambaka, central Greece, shot the younger man in the foot after mistaking him for a wild boar. The 28-year-old man was taken to hospital and, after a short operation, doctors said that he was not in any danger. Police said that the man’s grandfather was extremely shaken by the incident.

Sources in the armed forces denied yesterday that there are plans to use soldiers to prevent public rallies from turning violent in the future. Alekos Alavanos, the head of the parliamentary group of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) asked in Parliament whether the government has plans to use the army to police protest marches. Alavanos put his question after claiming that the army has placed orders for body armor, clubs, stun grenades and tear gas. Army sources said that the military needs this equipment for Greek soldiers to use in NATO peacekeeping missions that require crowd control

Three people were killed yesterday when two cars collided on a country road in Aitoloacarnania in the Peloponnese. Another crash yesterday, involving a fuel truck and a train in Thessaloniki, did not result in any deaths or injuries. The collision occurred when the truck driver violated a level crossing as the train was approaching. The truck spun off the tracks, hitting two parked cars and causing damage but no injuries.