In Brief
AID BLOCK
Red Cross denied immigrant access over technicality A Red Cross team which tried to visit illegal immigrants in a holding center on the island of Samos, where overcrowding has been reported, were denied access by police due to a technicality on Tuesday. The Samos police chief told the aid team they were not allowed into the center as it is designated a «holding» rather than «reception» center and they were only allowed entrance to the latter. Local Red Cross official Yiannis Kiranis accused the local police chief of sticking to the letter of the law, adding that the Public Order Ministry allowed such visits. 2004 EVIDENCE Former auditors testify on Olympic mismanagement claims Two dismissed former auditors of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee’s finances gave evidence yesterday to the prosecutor investigating their claims of misuse of funds by the Olympic organizers. Retired judges Giorgios Kokolakis and Panayiotis Paraskevopoulos, former chairman and member, respectively, of the three-member audit committee claim they were sacked because they blew the whistle on alleged misuse of funds. EUROPEAN HERITAGE Free museums and sites Entry to museums and archaeological sites around Greece will be free this weekend as part of the celebration of European Heritage Days, the Culture Ministry announced. Entrance will also be free on Monday, due to it being World Tourism Day. Bather from hell Coast guard officers arrested a 37-year-old man yesterday after he tried to drown a boy at Voula Beach, in Athens, and then walked around naked, bothering sunbathers, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The boy’s parents said they did not want to press criminal charges against the man. Salonica quake An earthquake, measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, occurred 47 kilometers (29 miles) southeast of Thessaloniki at 6.51 a.m. yesterday but no injuries or damage were reported. The quake had its epicenter between the towns of Polygyros and Arnaia. Murder charge A 29-year-old Albanian has been arrested in connection with the murder of an OTE Telecom employee six years ago, police said yesterday. Endro Sokol was picked up by officers in Makrohori, 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Veria, on suspicion of having shot dead 45-year-old Lykourgos Latzounis on June 25, 1998, during a robbery at an OTE branch in Maroussi, Athens. Arms stash Police found four handguns, two light machine guns, 10 rifles, 337 bullets and rifle cartridges of various sizes while searching a house at the village of Grika near Paramythia, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Igoumenitsa in northwestern Greece. Offiers are looking for the owner of the house, who was not named. Grape wrath Grape producers from western Greece caused traffic jams by staging a protest drive through Patras to protest against local companies importing foreign wine and wine must. The convoy was made up of tens of tractors draped with black flags, while farmers also threw a large quantity of grapes onto the road. Worker killed A 52-year-old man was killed yesterday while stacking wood in a warehouse in Ambelokipi, Athens. Nikos Christou, an Albanian national, was accidentally buried under a pile of wood that became loose, his colleagues told police. Licence fee Police arrested a 26-year-old man after he admitted buying his truck driver’s license for roughly 1,800 euros in 2002 from Thessaloniki transport authorities, the Athens News Agency reported yesterday. Officers had stopped the driver for a routine check when he told them he had not taken driving tests. Bus changes Temporary restrictions will be placed on bus routes and traffic in Vouliagmeni, south of Athens, tomorrow, Saturday and Monday due to Paralympic cycling events taking place on those days. Bus lines E22, 114, 116, 149 and 340 will be affected. For more details, passengers are advised to call the bus company on line 185.
