In Brief
EPP SUMMIT
European leaders in Athens, with Karamanlis Opposition New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis is today due to welcome a host of European leaders – including the prime ministers of Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta – at a summit of the European People’s Party (EPP) at the Byzantine Estate on the outskirts of Athens today. The summit, an initiative of Karamanlis and EPP President Wilfried Martens, is to focus on the future of a European constitution and forthcoming elections in Europe. POLITICAL COVERAGE DIKKI leader sues TV channels and polling firms for alleged bias Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) leader Dimitris Tsovolas yesterday filed suit against television channels for allegedly failing to present the views of all political parties represented in Parliament. Tsovolas took issue with state broadcaster ERT, Mega, Star, Antenna and Alter, claiming that they were breaking the law by not offering comprehensive coverage and noting that they had given his party no coverage whatsoever. The DIKKI leader also took action against polling firms, which he accused of doctoring results under the influence of the media organization they work for. LETHAL FIRE Halandri girl dies in flat blaze A 13-year-old girl, hospitalized with serious burns and breathing problems following a fire in her home in Halandri, died of her injuries yesterday. Theodora Nikoledaki had been playing next to the fireplace of the third-floor apartment when she knocked a burning log onto the wooden floor, igniting the blaze which quickly spread. The girl’s 28-year-old uncle jumped from the balcony after the blaze engulfed the apartment, breaking his leg, while the girl’s mother called for help. Eleni Kazantzaki Eleni Kazantzaki, the widow of the writer Nikos Kazantzakis, died in Athens yesterday at the age of 101. Kazantzaki worked on the manuscripts of the author of «Zorba the Greek,» but also chronicled the author’s life, notably in the biography «Nikos Kazantzakis, the Uncompromising.» «Eleni Kazantzaki lived her days a loyal guardian… of the works of Nikos Kazantzakis, always the most recognized name in Greek literature internationally,» Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said. The ministry will arrange for Kazantzaki to be buried next to her husband in Iraklion, his birthplace. It was unclear when the funeral would take place. Garbage cleanup Municipal garbage collectors yesterday started clearing up some of the trash that has piled up across Attica over the last few days since the Ano Liosia landfill closed on Friday following heavy snowfall. But authorities said the capital’s only landfill was still not operating normally and the risk of landslides remained. Actress death The acclaimed stage and cinema actress Despo Diamantidou died in Athens yesterday at the age of 88. With appearances in more than 40 movies, Diamantidou gained international recognition in 1960 in Jules Dassin’s «Never on Sunday» – in which she starred alongside her friend Melina Mercouri. She also performed on Broadway and played alongside Woody Allen in «Love and Death.» Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos called Diamantidou «a great lady of the theater and cinema.» The ministry is to arrange her funeral, details of which were not made public. Military exercise Greece is one of 11 NATO member states which will be participating in an anti-submarine warfare exercise starting today in the Ionian Sea, east of Sicily. The exercise, code-named Dogfish, is to run until March 3. NATO visit Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis is to meet NATO’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop in Athens tonight.
