In Brief
EARTHQUAKE HELP
Nine-member Greek team to set off with supplies for Pakistan The Foreign Ministry is scheduled to send to Pakistan today a C-130 military plane with a nine-member team of medical experts along with supplies for the country’s earthquake victims. An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck northern Pakistan, India and Afghanistan on Saturday, resulting in more than 20,000 confirmed deaths. The mission will consist of doctors and nursing staff who will have with them medical supplies, blankets and beds. GRUESOME DISCOVERY Part of a child’s body found in the sea off the coast of Halkidiki Part of the dismembered body of a child was found by coast guards off the coast of Olympiada in Halkidiki, northern Greece, authorities said yesterday. The child, thought to be aged between 5 and 6, had been wearing two pairs of trousers and size 19 sports shoes. Tests were being run yesterday to establish whether the child drowned or was murdered. The time of the child’s death and its nationality was not immediately clear. THESSALONIKI RIOTS Five men found guilty of violence Five people, including a Spaniard, were found guilty yesterday by a Thessaloniki court of taking part in anti-globalization riots in the city in June 2003, which coincided with a European Union summit in Halkidiki. The riots led to an estimated 1 million euros’ worth of damage. All five men were given suspended sentences, ranging from 10 to 26 months in prison. Fuel checks Twenty-two Attica gas station owners have been fined and indicted to appear before a prosecutor after their fuel pumps were found to be displaying larger quantities of gas than was actually being dispensed to customers, the Development Ministry said yesterday. The businesses caught accounted for almost one-tenth of the 267 gas stations subjected to inspections. Meanwhile, the Federation of Gas Station Owners said it would stage a rally outside the ministry at noon tomorrow to protest the illegal trade in fuel and the taxation of their sector. Migrant contribution Around 13 percent of Greece’s work force comprises immigrants, the head of the Immigration Policy Institute, Alexandros Zavos, told a conference on immigration yesterday. He added that one in six pupils in Attica schools was born to migrant parents, although 90 percent of the children were born in Greece. Sergeant killed A 26-year-old air force sergeant was killed in an accident yesterday outside a military base on Parnitha, north of Athens, when he was crushed to death by a truck. Sources said that the sergeant, Vassilis Georgiou, was trying to tow another vehicle that had broken down when the truck he had been driving rolled down the hill on which it was parked and killed him. A second sergeant suffered mild injuries. ‘Rapist’ caught A 52-year-old man yesterday faced a prosecutor charged with the repeated rape of four girls, aged between 10 and 14 and said to be the children of family friends. The unnamed father of two, who was arrested in the district of Holargos on Sunday, is accused of sexually abusing and raping the girls since 2000, police in Athens said. The man reportedly denied the charges. Medical tests were to be conducted on the girls to determine whether they had indeed been raped. Burnt corpse Police yesterday were investigating the discovery of the burnt corpse of a young man near the port of Salamina. The body of the man, believed to be aged between 25-35, was bound with tape, police said. Couple robbed An elderly couple were handcuffed, beaten and robbed in their home in Nea Philadelphia, northern Athens, early yesterday, police said. The couple were handcuffed by three men who broke into their second-floor apartment after smashing down the front door while they were sleeping. The men stole 600 euros and jewelry. Tax registration All immigrants applying for a tax registration number (AFM) at their local tax offices will need a valid passport and residence permit, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.
