In Brief
YOTOPOULOS
Suspected N17 chief calls alleged instructions to members ‘fabrications’ Reports in yesterday’s papers that police possess instructions for November 17 terrorists written by Alexandros Yotopoulos are «fabrications,» according to a statement by the group’s alleged mastermind. Yotopoulos claims the documents – to be used as evidence in his forthcoming trial – are a hotch-potch of old texts from anti-dictatorship groups and recently forged material, according to the jailed suspect’s lawyer who made the statement public. «After five months of investigations, not one serious piece of evidence of my participation in even one of N17’s 100 or so attacks has been presented,» the statement read. MOTORCYCLISTS PROTEST Hundreds in Athens rally today against ‘pedantic’ traffic demands Hundreds of motorcyclists are expected to participate in a procession in protest at traffic police demands that they obey driving and parking regulations to the letter, starting at the Panathenaic Stadium in central Athens at noon today and finishing at Parliament where protesters will submit a petition with their demands. Motorcyclists have said they will drive in single file and attempt to park as cars do in order to emphasize that the demands are excessive and unreasonable. Kallirois and Syngrou avenues will be affected. GARBAGE CHAMPIONS Southern Aegean dumps most trash The southern Aegean has the highest volume of annual per capita garbage among all EU tourist destinations, with each resident dumping an average 1,034 kilos of waste, according to data made public yesterday by the European statistical service Eurostat. Residents of the Cote d’Azur come second with 714 kilos of trash. Soccer fines European football’s governing body yesterday imposed steep fines on Greek and Turkish soccer clubs Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce for the conduct of their fans at a second-round UEFA Cup tie in Istanbul at the end of last month. Panathinaikos – who won 5-2 on aggregate – must pay 47,000 euros and Fenerbahce 50,000 euros after the fans of both teams threw objects onto the pitch. Base theft Police were yesterday investigating the theft of 50,000 dollars from an office safe at the Elefsina air force base earlier this week. The safe appeared to have been opened using its combination as there was no sign of force having been used, police said. The theft was discovered on Wednesday. Violation claim The Turkish Army General Staff yesterday accused Greek jets of violating Turkish air space on Wednesday and Thursday. Two Greek F-16s were said to have conducted two violations in the Aegean, and a Dornier-28 was blamed for a third transgression south of the Turkish port of Datca, north of Symi. Roadworks Traffic heading toward the Athens-Lamia highway on the Attiki Odos – on the section between the Metamorfosi and Kymi junctions – will be disrupted on Monday and Tuesday between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. due to roadworks. Funds for Albania The Greek ambassador in Tirana yesterday approved a program pledging 1.5 million euros for investment in the infrastructure of southern Albania. The program is to begin in January. Robbery Three armed robbers stole 13,000 euros from a bank in the Athens district of Vyronas yesterday. It was the 121st bank raid this year. There were 64 bank raids in 2000 and 57 in 2001. Captain Testosterone National soccer team captain Theo Zagorakis has said the high levels of testosterone in his body are natural and not the result of taking a performance-enhancing substance, his club said yesterday. The 31-year-old AEK midfielder failed a urine test conducted on November 3. He failed a similar test last year but was cleared after a sports judge accepted claims that Zagorakis’s body overproduced the hormone. Ancient farms An exhibition on ancient farmhouses found during construction work for the Egnatia Highway in northern Greece opens in Salonica tomorrow.
