In Brief
LANDFILL PROTESTS
Ano Liosia residents and officials to step up protests Residents and local authorities in Ano Liosia, the site of Athens’s main landfill, decided yesterday to step up their protests against the government’s policy on garbage disposal and its decision to dump treated sewage there. The Municipality of Ano Liosia called on residents and officials to close off the road to the landfill on Monday. A march to the dump has also been organized for Wednesday evening, while on Friday locals will gather at the site where they allege authorities are illegally expanding the landfill. SREBRENICA ADMISSION Greeks may have been involved Justice Minister Anastassis Papaligouras accepted yesterday that it was possible that Greek volunteer fighters who joined Serb forces in Bosnia took part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre when some 7,000 Muslim men are thought to have been killed. Papaligouras said Athens prosecutors were investigating the claims but clarified that no members of the Greek armed forces were involved in the massacre. His comments came after questions from independent MP Andreas Andrianopoulos. Illegal Immigrants Police detained 57 illegal immigrants yesterday and the 40-year-old Turkish man who attempted to bring them into Greece in the back of his truck at the northern town of Didimoteicho on the Greek-Turkish border. Police firebombing A group of about 20 youths threw more than 10 firebombs at riot police in Kaningos Square, in central Athens, during the early hours of yesterday morning. Nobody was injured in the attack and there was no damage caused. The youths made off into surrounding streets before police could make any arrests. Cardin tree Fashion designer Pierre Cardin symbolically planted an olive tree outside the City of Athens cultural center on Academias Street in central Athens yesterday. Cardin presented a retrospective of his designs for theater and film in a fashion show on Thursday which was a charity event for AIDS victims organized by the City of Athens’ Cultural Organization and the United Nations. Burning bed A 74-year-old woman burned to death yesterday morning in her apartment in Pangrati after her bed caught fire, the fire brigade said. A neighbor tried to save her when he noticed the fire at around 8 a.m. but discovered that the woman had already died. A coroner ruled out the possibility of arson and forensic experts from the fire service said that the woman had been smoking and may have set her mattress alight by mistake. Listeria salad The country’s food safety watchdog, EFET, said yesterday that Primo Budapest Salad is being recalled from the market due to the bacteria listeria being found in the product. Meanwhile, Greek authorities are still assessing the details of an investigation into how at least one Athens resident died last month from listeria, thought to be as a result of eating Primo bacon. Cheating driver A 20-year-old man sitting for a driving test in Athens tried to pull the wool over the eyes of examiners yesterday when he appeared at the written test with his head all bandaged up. Underneath the bandages he had attached his mobile phone’s earpiece. The candidate will not be allowed to sit the test again for another six months. Pipeline deal Greece and Turkey will start the construction of a natural gas pipeline linking the two countries at the beginning of next month, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas said yesterday. The 300-kilometer pipeline will run from Bursa in Turkey to the northeastern Greek town of Komotini, transporting natural gas to European countries via Italy. Greece and Italy signed a protocol agreement on the pipeline yesterday.
