In Brief
HEAT ALERT
Warning issued as temperature set to rise to 40C in some parts today Authorities issued a severe weather warning yesterday, as temperatures in some parts of the country are expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104F) today. In Athens, the temperature is forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100F). The weather is expected to cool down slightly toward the end of the week. WATER WOES Complaints over Aposelmi Dam aired Environmental campaigners and local officials in Crete yesterday voiced their opposition to the construction of the Aposelmi Dam, currently being built on the island, which is designed to supply water to the municipalities of Aghios Nikolaos and Iraklion. «It is a nightmarish prospect and a huge scandal without any proper research,» said the mayor of Hersonissos Spyros Danelis of the 125-million-euro project. Donation relief Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis yesterday called for a change to the system of taxing private donations given by individuals to good causes, particularly if they have to do with health. He said that VAT and up to 20 percent of the value of the donation in taxes were deducted from the amount that eventually reached the recipients. He made the comments during a joint press conference with Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas. Good sports Anyone involved in running a sports club will soon have to submit a declaration of assets form («pothen esches»), Deputy Culture Minister Giorgos Orfanos said yesterday. In a radical departure, he also added that the presidents and managing directors of clubs, including soccer and basketball, as well as the heads of sporting associations, would have to undergo background checks on their private finances. Cyprus shooting A hooded gunman shot dead a Cypriot civil servant as he arrived at work at the government’s press and information office in the capital yesterday, witnesses said. The victim, Kyriacos Kyriacou, 55, was taken to Nicosia General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. He had been shot twice with a pistol, assistant police chief Nicos Stelikos said, adding that the motive for the attack did not appear to be related to Kyriacou’s job. (AFP) Explosive swim A swimmer in Legraina, southeast of Athens, surprised local authorities yesterday when he emerged from his summer dip holding a hand grenade that he found while swimming. The hand grenade was taken a few hundred meters away from the beach where authorities carried out a controlled explosion of the device. Officers searched the swimming area for more military equipment but failed to find anything. Officer stung A police lieutenant was yesterday charged with accepting a bribe after being arrested in the early hours in a cafe in the central Athenian district of Plaka after a sting operation, authorities said. The unnamed officer allegedly received 3,500 euros from the owner as part of a 5,000-euro payment he had demanded in return for helping the businessman obtain an operating license. Run over An 81-year-old man died on the Aegean island of Samos yesterday, hours after being hit by a fire engine, authorities said. The unnamed man was run over as the vehicle was rushing to a fire in the area of Stefana. The pensioner was taken to the hospital but died of his injuries shortly afterward. Cigarette haul Port authorities yesterday discovered 33,630 packs of cigarettes hidden aboard a caravan that was about to board a ship heading out of Greece from the port of Igoumenitsa, western Greece. The 34-year-old driver was arrested. No further details were available.
