In Brief
TURKISH VIOLATIONS
Aerial jousting in the Aegean for the fourth time in a week Five formations of Turkish fighter jets yesterday entered the Athens Flight Information Region five times and violated Greek national air space three times in the area west of Lesvos, military sources said. The 12 Turkish jets were chased off by as many Greek aircraft and there were three simulated dogfights, the officials said. Four of the Turkish aircraft were F4 photo reconnaissance planes, they said. Yesterday’s transgressions were the fourth in the last week. SEA RESCUE Fifteen sailors air-lifted to safety after ship tilts dangerously in high winds Two Super Puma helicopters yesterday rescued the 15-strong crew of a North Korean-flagged ship in distress off the Dodecanese island of Kassos and carried them to nearby Karpathos, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The captain of the Ostria, which had been bound for Albania with a cargo of marble from Port Said, issued a distress call after the vessel listed 25 degrees in winds of 7 to 8 Beaufort, the ministry said. The last report of the ship was that it was drifting south. ANTIQUITIES THEFT Ancient hoard recovered, 2 arrested Two people have been arrested on the Dodecanese island of Kalymnos after a total of 871 ancient artifacts – including a bronze head of the messenger god Hermes and a Cycladic marble statuette of a woman – were discovered in their possession, police said yesterday. The haul included silver, gold, marble and clay artifacts dating from the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. Robbery arrests Two brothers, aged 35 and 38, allegedly used two family vehicles to flee after robbing a bank in Paeania on September 3, police said yesterday after arresting the younger man on Thursday. Constantinos Farmakis, who is still at large, borrowed a relative’s motorcycle (falsely reported to be stolen) to go to the bank where he stole about 10,000 euros at gunpoint, while his brother, Athanassios, waited in his car, according to police. Constantinos fled on the bike, which he abandoned before joining his brother in the car, police said. The robbers were later forced to abandon the car too. Kifissia killing Police were yesterday investigating the fatal stabbing of a 30-year-old man whose body was found in his Nea Kifissia home in the early hours. Ioannis Pantazis had been stabbed in the neck with a knife which was discovered in a trash can near his home, according to police. Forensic experts were checking the knife for fingerprints. Suburban railway Trains will be running every 15 minutes on the suburban railway linking Athens and Eleftherios Venizelos Airport from Monday, the firm operating the route said yesterday. The journey now takes 38 minutes, the firm said. The first and last daily trains from Nerantziotissa station depart at 4.26 a.m. and 12.06 a.m. respectively. And the first and last trains from the airport depart at 5.05 a.m. and at 1.20 a.m. respectively. Diving record The 25-year-old Greek diver Thanae Varveri yesterday broke her own world record in free diving with a 37.2-meter plunge off the island of Kalymnos. Varveri performed the dive with no aids, such as flippers or masks. The previous world record of 35 meters had been set by Varveri two years ago. US vote American citizens who will be out of the USA for November 2 elections should apply for their absentee ballots by September 15. Registration can be made by printing the application form at www.fvap.gov or www.overseasvote2004.com and then posting it. Otherwise, prospective voters can telephone the US Embassy in Athens on 210.720.2421 or visit the offices at 91 Vassilissis Sofias between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on business days. Sailor killed A member of the crew of a passenger ferry was killed on Thursday night when a cable snapped as the Paros-bound Express Poseidon was moving out of the main harbor of Naxos, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. It was unclear what exactly caused the death of the sailor, whose name and age were not revealed, the ministry said.
