The Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement condemning an Israeli air strike in Qana, southern Lebanon, that has killed at least 50 people, including some 30 children, and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire. «The tragedy in Qana has left us all dumbfounded, filled with disgust and deep sorrow. Nothing justifies such a mass slaughter of civilians,» ministry spokesperson Giorgos Koumoutsakos said in a statement. «We condemn these activities which have added yet another bloody episode to the vicious circle of violence in Lebanon,» the statement added.

One million euros has been secured to conduct seismic inspections on school buildings in the prefecture of Achaia and to remove toxic asbestos from certain structures, Education Minister Marietta Giannakou said on Saturday. The sum is part of a 25-million-euro nationwide program the ministry is implementing with the help of local authorities, Giannakou said.

A forensic surgeon submitted to police in Thessaloniki on Saturday his report on the life-threatening injuries suffered by a 7-year-old boy, allegedly caused by his parents. The report will form part of the legal case against the parents, both Albanian nationals, who are due to appear before a judge in Thessaloniki today. The unnamed boy remains at the hospital and is being kept alive by a life-support machine.

Natela Ichuadze, the mother of missing 11-year-old Alex Meshivili, was discharged from the hospital yesterday after having taken an overdose of sedatives on Wednesday. Doctors described Ichuadze's health as not in any danger.

A C-130 military plane was scheduled to fly from Elefsina, west of Athens, to Larnaca, Cyprus, yesterday transporting humanitarian aid for Lebanon as part of a European Union relief effort. The food, blankets and tents were expected to be dropped off in the Cypriot city where they would then be transported by military ship to Beirut. It is the fifth shipment of humanitarian aid that Greece is sending to Lebanon since the conflict with Israel began.

Five illegal immigrants were detained on Saturday in Didymoteicho, northeastern Greece, while traveling on board a bus. Police also arrested a sixth person on the bus, accused of helping the group sneak into the country from Turkey. No further details were available.

Crowds of worshippers, dignitaries and members of the church gathered in Iraklion to pay their last respects to the late Archbishop Timotheos of Crete, who was buried on the island on Saturday. Timotheos had served as Crete's archbishop for 28 years.

An earthquake measuring 4.4 Richter shook Iraklion, Crete, early yesterday morning without causing any injuries or damage. The quake struck at 3.40 a.m. and its epicenter was in the sea 19 kilometers north of the city, at a depth of 20 kilometers.

Two alleged drug dealers were arrested on the island of Rhodes on Saturday, police said, after one of the suspects was caught red-handed selling heroin and cocaine. A search of the unnamed 24-year-old's house yielded almost half a kilo of heroin and a small amount of cocaine. The 24-year-old said that he had been supplied the drugs by an Albanian man who lived on Rhodes and officers promptly arrested him as well.