In Brief
FORGED EUROS
Seminar to train Bulgarian police to crack down on currency counterfeiters A three-day seminar designed to train Bulgarian police officers in tracing forged euro notes and coins begins in Sofia tomorrow. The seminar, which will provide officers with the scientific and technical know-how to recognize forged currency, has been organized by the Greek Public Order Ministry with the aim of boosting bilateral cooperation in cracking down on the smuggling of forged euros from Bulgaria into Greece and elsewhere in the European Union. Seminar speakers will include criminology experts from the Greek police, Thessaloniki and Attica police forces and from Interpol. Bulgaria is the main source for forged euros found in Greece. MOSQUE FIRE Muslim politician links Xanthi blaze with ultranationalists A mosque near the northern town of Xanthi was damaged by fire in the early hours yesterday in what local police believe could have been a politically motivated arson attack, the Associated Press reported yesterday. A local candidate for Parliament, the Socialist Burhan Buran, said he believed the fire may have been started by a local ultranationalist group which he claims attacked his political office during the election campaign, AP said. The mosque was closed for repairs. RAILWAY DISRUPTIONS Ano Patissia station closed for works Trains on the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) will not be stopping at Ano Patissia station from tomorrow – in either direction – due to ongoing reconstruction along the railway route, ISAP said yesterday. It was not clear when the station was due to reopen. Embezzling The Council of State yesterday upheld a disciplinary committee’s dismissal of two Social Security Foundation (IKA) employees found guilty of embezzling thousands of euros in foundation cash. The two women, who were based at IKA branches in the Athenian district of Halandri and the central town of Larissa, allegedly swindled 8,510 euros and 76,302 euros respectively by issuing forged benefit disbursement orders. The Larissa employee claimed she had been authorized to collect cash on behalf of individuals with IKA insurance. The court rejected appeals by both women and ruled that the council’s decisions had been justified. Hospital drug death A young man was found dead yesterday in the toilets of the Hadzikosta general hospital in the northwestern town of Ioannina with a used syringe beside him. A coroner has not confirmed what caused the death of the Greek man, whose name and age were not made public, but police are attributing it to drug abuse. Fatal fire A 62-year-old Thessaloniki man who tried to extinguish a fire which had started on covered benches outside his nephew’s greengrocer store early yesterday morning died of a heart attack in the process, police said. Ilias Papadopoulos was among a group of neighbors in the city’s Ambelokipi district who rushed to help contain the blaze whose cause was not known yesterday. Rio-Antirio unrest Ferry workers working on the Rio-Antirio crossing, which links the northern Peloponnese with the mainland, yesterday afternoon called off a series of two-hour work stoppages their union had announced that morning after apparently reaching a compromise with the ferry owners. In a letter to Patras Port Authority, unionists said they had suspended their action to discuss workers’ salary demands with the ferry owners. Roadworks Athens-bound traffic on the Athens-Lamia national road will be disrupted between the 28th and 23rd kilometer from today due to road resurfacing works, traffic police said yesterday. The sporadic daily disruptions will continue for about two months, police said. Armed robberies Two groups of armed robbers made off with unidentified sums following raids on post offices in the Athenian district of Kallithea and the coastal suburb of Glyfada yesterday afternoon. Three hooded robbers were behind the Kallithea robbery, which occurred shortly after 1 p.m. and a helmet-clad duo behind the Glyfada raid a while later, police said.
