In Brief
FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS
Domestic services may be affected from backlog of yesterday’s strike Flights from airports across the country may be subject to delays today as airlines try to accommodate passengers who were unable to fly yesterday due to a 24-hour strike by Civil Aviation Authority staff. More than 100 domestic flights, mostly those of Olympic Airlines (OA), were canceled yesterday. Passengers can telephone 210.966.6666 for details about OA flights. Unionists have threatened further strike action next week unless workers receive unpaid wages from last year. TAX EVADERS Variance found between declared income and spending Electronic inspections have revealed serious discrepancies between the declared income and expenditures of 7,486 taxpayers for 2002, the Economy Ministry said yesterday. This is the first year that figures for citizens’ annual income have been electronically cross-checked against corresponding figures for expenditure as part of a broader crackdown on tax evasion, the ministry said. DANGEROUS IRONS Consumers warned on faulty goods Consumers in possession of a 1,800-Watt Perla electric steam iron (model: CIR 2038C) should immediately return it to the store where they purchased it as it may be dangerous, the Development Ministry said yesterday. Of 816 such products that were distributed to stores, 478 have been withdrawn but the remaining 338 have been bought up, the ministry said. It was unclear exactly what risk the product posed. Draft dodging A total of 45 exemptions from military service, issued between 1997 and 2004 on the alleged grounds of ill health, are forgeries, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. The 45 draft dodgers, who allegedly used details from existing exemption orders, must register for military service next month and will have to serve an extra six months, the ministry said. An investigation has been launched to determine which military officials were involved in the scam. Attiki Odos An Athens prosecutor yesterday shelved an investigation into press reports about the allegedly exorbitant construction costs of the Attiki Odos. The probe did not reveal any evidence that any transgressions had occurred, Eleni Touloupaki said, adding that the conditions of the contract had been respected to the letter. Jewel raid No one was injured when four armed robbers raided a jewelry store in Glyfada shortly after 8 p.m. yesterday. The robbers fled on motorcycles having netted a large quantity of jewelry whose value had not been determined. May Day May Day celebrations are to be shifted to May 11 from May 1, which falls on Easter Monday, Deputy Interior Minister Apostolos Andreoulakos said yesterday. May 11 is not a public holiday, Andreoulakos added. Trial-fixing probe Three lawyers yesterday testified before a Supreme Court prosecutor about their alleged links to a trial-fixing ring. Giorgos Nikolakopoulos, Sakis Kehayioglou and Nikos Emmanouilidis all denied any connection to the ring. Today, Court of First Instance judge Antonia Ilia is to testify. Illegal immigrants A wooden fishing boat carrying 46 illegal immigrants toward Chios was yesterday escorted to the nearby uninhabited islet of Panayia, the island’s coast guard said. The migrants are to be transferred to Chios today. A Turkish suspected smuggler was detained. Easter museums The country’s state-run archaeological sites and museums will be shut until midday on Good Friday (April 29), the Culture Ministry said yesterday. Most sites close at 3 p.m. Fireworks crackdown Two Greek men, aged 55 and 56, faced an Athens prosecutor yesterday after police confiscated more than 60,000 firecrackers, flares and other fireworks in their possession. It is the largest haul yet in a crackdown on the illegal manufacture, trade and use of fireworks ahead of Orthodox Easter.
