In Brief
VODAFONE COMPENSATION
Subscribers to get money back for last week’s service interruption Mobile phone operator Vodafone yesterday said it would compensate its subscribers following a technical problem last Wednesday which rendered subscribers’ phones useless for several hours. Subscribers with contracts will receive 1/30th of the value of their fixed monthly charge and those using pre-paid cards will receive 1/30th of the value of the cards they have purchased this month, Vodafone said. Last week’s service interruption was attributed to a problem at Vodafone’s transmission center in Pallini. All subscribers will have been compensated by September 7, the firm said. For further details, subscribers should call 210.670.2336. AEGEAN VIOLATIONS Turkish jets back in Greek air space after 11-day absence Turkish military aircraft violated Greek air space in the Aegean five times yesterday, defense sources said. The jets, four of which were armed, were all chased off by Greek planes, the sources said. Yesterday’s violations followed an 11-day absence of Turkish planes from Greek air space. MIGRANTS INTERCEPTED Border guards stop 134 in Evros Border guards in Evros have detained a total of 134 illegal immigrants and their three suspected smugglers in the past 24 hours, police said yesterday. Guards arrested a 50-year-old Greek and 20 would-be migrants following an inspection in Nea Orestiada. Later yesterday, police intercepted another 114 illegal immigrants and two Turks believed to be their smugglers near the village of Kastanea. Ferry delay The 594 passengers of the Taxiarachos ferry, which departed from Chios at midnight on Saturday, finally sailed into Piraeus 35 hours later shortly before 10 a.m. yesterday. Passengers, who had been expecting a 12-hour journey, had been taken back to the island after a mechanical failure was detected in the vessel and obliged to wait several hours while the problem was rectified. Ardas river Prefectural officials in Evros yesterday lifted safety measures which had been implemented following the recent rise in the Ardas River’s water level. The decision was taken after measurements showed the river below the standby level of 4.05 meters. Tsunami aid A check for 3.84 million euros from state broadcaster ERT was yesterday paid into the Bank of Greece’s special account for victims of last December’s fatal tsunami in southeast Asia, the Foreign Ministry said. Greece has already donated more than 20 million euros to tsunami victims, the ministry said. Mystery shooting A police car traveling through the mountainous area of Sfakia in Crete with four officers in it was fired upon on Saturday, police said yesterday. No one was injured. Police said they have launched an investigation into the shot fired from a machine gun which they have yet to identify. The car suffered minor damage. Methadone treatment The state Organization Against Drugs (OKANA) will open a new unit in Thessaloniki offering methadone treatment to drug users, OKANA President Christos Giannakis said yesterday. The new unit, scheduled to begin operating within the next month, will initially have a 200-person capacity and will aim to cut waiting lists, which currently stand at 500 patients. In 2004 the number of drug-related deaths in Greece stood at 256, a sharp rise in comparison to previous years, Giannakis said. Car recall Local Renault dealer, Mava Emporoviomichaniki SA, is recalling its Clio II and Modus models, the Development Ministry said yesterday. Some 3,891 Clio cars manufactured from May 8, 2003 through to November 18, 2004 are being recalled due to a possible problem with the model’s electronic system. Another 596 Modus cars are being recalled, those produced up until April 5, 2005, due to a likely problem with steering. Drivers can contact Renault dealers for further details.
