In Brief
BOMBER CRASH
Jet goes down in Peloponnese, fourth such accident in two years An ageing A7 Corsair single-seater bomber crashed yesterday morning just south of the military airport near Andravida, in the northwestern Peloponnese. The pilot, Wing Commander Constantinos Mitsopoulos, managed to eject – at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 feet – and was hospitalized as a preventative measure, sources said without determining the extent of his injuries. Yesterday’s was the fourth A7 to crash in two years. A crash last month in Araxos near Patras was attributed to engine trouble. ANTIQUITIES REPATRIATED Germany sends back 13 artifacts smuggled out of the Peloponnese A set of 13 illegally excavated ancient Greek artifacts, confiscated by German authorities on the outskirts of Munich in 1999, were flown back to Greece today where they are to be displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Corinth. The clay and bronze artifacts, which date to Mycenaean and Byzantine times, were dug up by grave robbers in the Peloponnese and smuggled out of the country. Greek archaeologists who inspected the finds narrowed down their provenance to the village of Athikia, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Corinth. NAMEDAY SLAUGHTER Cretan farmer loses 112 lambs Police in southwestern Crete were yesterday seeking those responsible for the slaughter of 112 lambs on a farm near the village of Moires on Tuesday night. The animals were killed between 10 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. that night, according to Stylianos Veisakis who owned the beasts. The mass slaughter has cost Veisakis an estimated 12,000 euros, police said. Yesterday was the feast of Saint Stylianos – Veisakis’s nameday. Child abuse A 52-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old mentally retarded youth in the village of Melissa in Xanthi, police said yesterday. The man, identified only as Z.A., allegedly abducted the youth in his car and took him away to a secluded farmland area where he molested him, according to police who were contacted by the boy’s parents. Drug haul Border guards at Kakavia yesterday confiscated nearly 20 kilograms of heroin and cocaine from a young Albanian man attempting to cross into Greece from Albania in a car with Greek license plates. The drugs – concealed in 36 packages in the vehicle’s fuel tank – were discovered by sniffer dogs. The man, who works in Athens, was arrested. Firefighting drill Firemen yesterday participated in a firefighting exercise at the Elefsina oil refineries, designed to test the service’s operational readiness to tackle major blazes – particularly those provoked by petrol and other highly flammable liquids – and its ability to cooperate with other rescue services ahead of next year’s Olympics. Teachers protest Members of the state high school teachers federation (OLME) are to stage two three-hour work stoppages tomorrow – from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. – in protest at an alleged 2,000 permanent teaching vacancies across the country. Hospital waste A joint ministerial decision for the management of hospital waste was issued at the beginning of this month, Deputy Health Minister Ektoras Nasiokas told Parliament yesterday in response to a question tabled by opposition New Democracy. The decision, which puts the onus on hospitals to independently handle the disposal of their waste, currently applies to state and private hospitals and will be extended to private clinics and dental surgeries, Nasiokas said. OA protest Olympic Airways contract workers are to stage a protest march from the firm’s offices on Syngrou Avenue to Parliament at 2 p.m. next Tuesday. Protesters are demanding permanency for all staff and payment of various bonuses they say they are due.
