In Brief
RAILWAY ACCIDENT
Women killed, man injured after train hits car in northern Athens A 35-year-old woman was killed yesterday when the car she was traveling in with her husband drove through the barrier at a level crossing in the northwestern Athens district of Menidi and was hit by an oncoming train en route to Halkida. Fotoula Bali was killed instantly in the collision that occurred at about 3.15 p.m. Her husband Antonios Balis, 60, was hospitalized yesterday, although the extent of his injuries was not determined. AEGEAN INCURSIONS Turkish jets violate Greek air space 47 times ‘due to low visibility’ Two formations of Turkish fighter jets yesterday violated the Athens Flight Information Region twice and violated Greek national air space in the central Aegean 47 times, military officials said. Officials attributed the particularly high number of violations to low visibility above the islands of Agathonisi, Fournoi and Farmakonisi which resulted in the Turkish aircraft veering into Greek air space during maneuvers. The six Turkish jets were chased off by as many Greek aircraft and there was one simulated dogfight, the officials said MOLOTOV ATTACK Vandals target Salonica supermarket Unidentified vandals hurled two Molotov cocktails into a supermarket in Thessaloniki’s Triandria district in the early hours of yesterday morning after smashing the store’s glass facade with stones. A fire provoked by the explosions extinguished itself, according to police who did not determine the extent of the damage. Ancient trove A total of 12 ancient terracotta artifacts were recovered on the seabed just off the main port of Rhodes on Monday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The antiquities were found by a professional diver working for Rhodes’s Port Authority about 7 meters away from the pier, the ministry said, adding that the finds had been handed over to local antiquity authorities. Last September, a group of 12 ancient amphorae were discovered in the same area during an underwater search for a missing motorist, who was later found safe. Robbery spree Unidentified armed robbers carried out five raids on a range of businesses in Athens between Monday night and yesterday afternoon, according to police. On Monday night, four foreigners made off with 700 euros after threatening the employee of a Petralona pharmacy at knifepoint. Also on Monday, two youngsters stole 120 euros from the employee of a gas station in Keratsini. Meanwhile, a sole armed robber netted the contents of three cash registers in a bank raid in Zografou. Yesterday, two lone individuals robbed a post office bank in Papagou and a supermarket in Glyfada. Sloppy officer The third section of the Council of State yesterday rejected an appeal by a former policeman against his dismissal from the force for failing to turn up for guard duty outside the home of New Democracy MP Miltiades Evert in June 1998. The unnamed officer claimed his shift had been changed without him being informed. But the court ruled that the disciplinary council’s decision was justified. The officer has been fined 33 times for violations, including inappropriate appearance and dereliction of duty and was temporarily suspended from the force in 1996. Serres quake An earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale occurred between the villages of Proti and Rodolivos, in the northern prefecture of Serres, just before 9.30 a.m. yesterday. The quake, whose epicenter was located 92 kilometers (57 miles) northeast of Thessaloniki, was no cause for concern, an Athens-based seismologist said, noting that the most recent major earthquake in the area occurred in 52 BC. Airport nerves Greeks from Cyprus who had visited Greece to vote last Sunday argued yesterday with staff at Thessaloniki’s international airport and threatened to take over the building after being told that there was no space for them on the charter flights on which they had booked their return journeys. The voters, all PASOK supporters, were due to board two flights, to Paphos and Larnaca, late last night.
