In Brief
Plane-spotters – British, Dutch enthusiasts held pending report A group of 14 British and Dutch plane-spotters charged with espionage for taking pictures of Greek military airports was remanded in prison yesterday pending the outcome of an intelligence report into their activities. Eleven British and two Dutch men were taken to the Nafplion prison in the northeastern Peloponnese, while a British woman was remanded at the Korydallos jail in Athens. The group was arrested at the Kalamata airport when it was open to visitors on November 8 – Air Force Day. The results of an investigation by secret service officials into whether the photographs included classified material are expected on Monday. Road rage Taxi driver injures mother and infant An Athenian taxi driver who struck a woman pedestrian and slightly injured her infant gave himself up after fleeing the scene, it was reported yesterday. Giorgios Priftis, 59, got into an argument with Maria Tsafonia, 22, who was crossing a street in Vyronas, eastern Athens, got out of his taxi, insulted her and punched her in the face. Priftis then kicked her baby carriage, knocking it over, and drove off. The baby fell out of the pram and was slightly injured. Tsafonia reported the incident at the local police station, where Priftis later presented himself and was remanded for trial. Dove caught US-flagged yacht with 89 migrants A coast guard vessel off the island of Evia yesterday apprehended a US-flagged yacht carrying 89 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Iraq. The Dove was escorted to the port of Kymi, where the crew of two – Russian Valery Nosov, 38, and Ukrainian Alexander Petrov, 35 – were arrested. The immigrants reportedly told harbor authorities that they had boarded the Dove at the Turkish port of Izmir, and paid 2,500 dollars each for their clandestine trip to the West. Hit-and-run death. Police are seeking the driver of a car that struck and caused the death of a 15-year-old pedestrian in Thessaloniki yesterday. Dimos Smilakis, who was thrown by the impact into the path of an oncoming car, died shortly afterward in hospital while undergoing surgery for multiple injuries. Medical aid. Over 400 Albanian women were treated over the past two days in Gjirokaster by 15 doctors from the gynecological clinic at Ioannina university hospital, on the initiative of Professor Dimitris Lolis in cooperation with the University of Tirana and local parliamentary deputy Vangelis Tavos. Prison tales. Two visitors were arrested at Korydallos prison yesterday for trying to smuggle drugs to inmates. Anastasios Christoforidis hid small quantities of heroin and hashish in the heels of a pair of shoes, destined for his brother Alexis. Athanasia Kalegia, 24, found a more inventive way to smuggle in drugs to her relative Giorgos Kyriazis, by lacing fried potatoes with heroin. In a separate incident yesterday morning, the fire brigade was called to the prison’s hospital wing when an inmate, US national Daniel Perel, who is HIV positive and emotionally disturbed, set fire to his sheets and his mattress. The fire was quickly extinguished. Perel is serving a nine-year sentence for drug offenses. Rescue crews. Ship crews responsible for helping passengers in an emergency will from now on be required to wear an orange fluorescent stripe on their uniform, following a presidential decree signed yesterday by Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Anomeritis. Thyroid pill. The National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF) has banned the sale of all batches of Unifarma’s product T4, after the drug was found to have a reduced therapeutic effect by the Greek Endocrinological Association, several doctors, hospitals and patients. Patients taking the thyroid medication are advised to seek their doctor’s advice. Azerbaijan visit. Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Magriotis arrives tomorrow in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for a three-day working visit, followed by one day in Istanbul. Magriotis will meet Azerbaijan’s leadership for talks on bilateral political, economic and cultural relations, including cooperation between universities, humanitarian aid from Greece and Azerbaijan’s relations with the European Union. Magriotis will open the Greek Embassy building and the new Greek community building.
