In Brief
ELA INVESTIGATION
Fresh charges brought against four alleged left-wing terrorists Examining judge Leonidas Zervobeakos yesterday brought fresh charges against four suspected members of the Revolutionary Popular Struggle (ELA) terrorist group held in pre-trial detention in Korydallos Prison. Costas Agapiou, Angeletos Kanas, Christos Tsigaridas and Irene Athanassaki all asked for a few days’ time to prepare their defense in response to the additional charges which relate to the killing of senior police officer Apostolos Velios during a 1994 bomb attack in the Athenian suburb of Perissos, as well as various alleged attempted killings and bomb attacks between 1988 and 1995, when the group apparently disbanded. ANTIQUITIES HAUL Three Thessaloniki men arrested with hoard of ancient coins, jewelry Three men have been arrested in Thessaloniki in possession of thousands of ancient gold, silver and copper coins, jewelry and other artefacts, police said yesterday. During raids on Tuesday, officers confiscated a total of 5,716 (mostly copper) coins, several pieces of jewelry and other items, including two bronze anchors from the homes of Apostolos Randos, 39, and brothers Ioannis and Emmanouil Papacharalambou, 48 and 50, respectively. Under Greek law, all antiquities belong to the state, and possession of ancient artefacts is strictly punished. The only exception is made for officially registered collectors. SOUDA BAY Authorities seek closure of US base Hania’s prefectural council yesterday published a resolution requesting the closure of the American naval base at Souda Bay, western Crete, and reiterated charges that the US military is generating large quantities of toxic waste on the premises. Meanwhile, the Greek navy issued a statement saying that biological treatment plants were in place to process waste. The statement added that no evidence of radioactivity had been detected by underground equipment installed to monitor radioactivity levels. FYROM pact A stabilization pact signed between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the European Union in April 2001 has been submitted to Parliament for ratification, Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos said yesterday before departing for a three-day visit to Azerbaijan. Greece is one of five EU member states which have yet to sign the pact. Treating Iraqis Twenty-one PASOK and opposition New Democracy deputies yesterday tabled a question to Health Minister Constantinos Stefanis proposing that injured Iraqis should be brought for treatment in Greek hospitals as Baghdad hospitals are inadequately equipped to conduct surgery. Also yesterday, Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis approved a parliamentary donation of 100,000 euros in humanitarian aid for Iraq. The money is to be spent on medicine (chiefly antibiotics and painkillers) and medical equipment. Braques exhibition The work of the Cubist artist Georges Braques is to be the focus of this summer’s exhibition by the Goulandris Museum of Modern Art on Andros, museum officials said yesterday. The exhibition will open on June 29 and run for three months. Sacred flame The sacred flame from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, with which Orthodox priests light churchgoers’ candles during the Easter Resurrection service, is due to arrive in Athens at 6 p.m. on Easter Saturday aboard an Olympic Airways airplane, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Spy story A Kavala prosecutor yesterday ordered a preliminary investigation into published claims by Kavala businessman Andreas Chtenas – currently in detention in Komotini for his alleged role in two bank heists near the northern city last October and four mafia-style executions – that he had links to the secret services of both Greece and Turkey. Car rally The second Historic Acropolis Rally is to take place on April 18-20 this year. The championship circuit car race – which follows the historic Acropolis-Meteora-Athens route – is to feature veteran vehicles, including the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III and the Jaguar XK-120 and E-Type.
