Bank robbers exchanged gunfire with police in a suburb of Thessaloniki yesterday morning before making a getaway. The two robbers opened fire after leaving a branch of National Bank in the district of Kordelios. The pair stole 7,200 euros in cash. Officers in a patrol car witnessed the heist and confronted the robbers as they exited the building. It was unclear how many shots were fired but nobody was injured. The two thieves fled on foot.

Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis yesterday said an agreement on Kosovo’s status was still possible and that talk about Kosovo’s independence was premature. “It is still too early to talk about possible recognition of Kosovo’s independence,” Bakoyannis reportedly told the Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti. The fact that the latest round of talks failed to yield a compromise does not mean a solution will not be found, she said. “Discussion about (Kosovo’s) status remains open,” she added.

EU summit on Kosovo...

Foreign Ministry Secretary General Theodoros Skylakakis has told Kathimerini English Edition that the Greek delegation in Bali has taken part in several high-level meetings at the UN Climate Conference this week but local environmental groups are hoping for more action at home.

Greek presence in Bali...

Archbishop Christodoulos is in a critical but stable condition, doctors said yesterday. The medics said they were moderating the treatment being administered to the 68-year-old archbishop, who has liver cancer, to avoid further side effects.

Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) MP Fotis Kouvelis said yesterday that he will stand as candidate for the party’s leadership, following the decision of current president Alekos Alavanos not to seek re-election for personal reasons. Kouvelis, 59, is a lawyer and has represented the party in Parliament since 1989.

Police in northern Greece yesterday confiscated 144 kilos of cannabis in two separate incidents, one in Thesprotia and the other in Ioannina. Two Albanians were arrested after refusing to stop for a police check. Officers seized 79 kilos of cannabis. Another car chase near Delvinaki, Ioannina, led to the seizure of 65 kilos of cannabis. The driver eluded arrest. In a related development, a 17-year-old foreign girl arrested at Athens airport with 60 grams of khat, a stimulant, is being questioned.

An 18-year-old Greek man has been accused of using a bank customer’s credit card details to purchase nearly 1,000 euros worth of goods over the Internet. Police, who are also seeking a foreign national believed to have been the suspect’s accomplice, were notified by bank officials who said their customer had queried the purchases charged to the card. Officers arrested the 18-year-old at an Athens address where he had requested delivery of his purchases. He faces charges of Internet fraud.

The past, present and future of the business of luxury. A special report from the International Herald Tribune’s “Supreme Luxury” conference recently held in Moscow. (Page 6)

A new code of ethics in luxury...

A 13-year-old was yesterday arrested at Megara, west of Athens, on suspicion of trying to steal a motorbike. Police caught the youngster outside Megara train station but four other teenagers managed to evade arrest. The youngster is suspected of stealing 19 motorcycles since the start of the year. His 34-year-old mother has also been arrested for neglecting a minor.

A traffic policeman was injured yesterday morning after being hit by a car while he was directing traffic at the junction of Kifissias and Katehaki avenues. The officer was not seriously hurt. Meanwhile, a driver was killed early yesterday when he drove his car into a ditch in Neo Faliron, southern Athens.