In Brief
BOURBOULIA RETURN
Antonaros says Greece doing all it can to secure ex-judge’s extradition Alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros insisted yesterday that the Justice Ministry was doing all that it could to secure the return of former judge Constantina Bourboulia to Greece. A court in Paris is due to decide next Wednesday whether to extradite Bourboulia. The appeals prosecutor’s office yesterday sent the two rulings against the former judge to French authorities. PASOK BLAST Gas canisters explode outside PASOK office in Nea Smyrni, nobody injured A homemade explosive device made of gas canisters exploded early yesterday morning outside the office of main opposition party PASOK in the Athenian neighborhood of Nea Smyrni. The device went off at 1 a.m., causing damage to the entrance of the office but no injuries, police said. CONSCRIPT SUICIDE Soldier shoots himself at army camp A 22-year-old military conscript from Crete committed suicide in front of fellow soldiers at his camp on the island of Rhodes, the army said yesterday. The unnamed soldier shot himself in his barracks on Wednesday afternoon, officers said. A coroner confirmed yesterday that the conscript committed suicide. A suicide note was found on the soldier. Smoky bandit Police in Thessaloniki said yesterday that they had arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with the biggest illegal cigarette-trading ring in Greece, which was uncovered last September. Raids on the illegal operation near Thessaloniki had unearthed more than 80 tons of tobacco and 2.3 million packs of contraband cigarettes, most bearing the forged logo of a well-known Greek brand. The man arrested was responsible for the factory’s machinery. A 35-year-old man was arrested on site at the time of the raid. Blank votes Parliament voted in favor yesterday of a motion by Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos that blank ballot papers not be counted after elections. This amendment reverses a previous court ruling which said that blank votes should be included in the count. Of the 300 MPs in Parliament, 267 voted in favor of yesterday’s motion. Train derailed Three carriages of a train traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki derailed early yesterday but no one was hurt in the incident, police said. The accident took place at Menidi, northwestern Athens, at 2.45 a.m. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Fire appeal The family of a 38-year-old woman who died last summer after a fire broke out in a warehouse at the gift firm where she worked near Thessaloniki sued the company yesterday. The woman, who was an accountant for the firm, died on July 20 after becoming trapped in the store’s warehouse when the fire started. The 38-year-old’s relatives filed a lawsuit with a Thessaloniki prosecutor, claiming that the firm’s owner should have taken fire safety precautions. Bird fines Prefectural authorities in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, yesterday imposed a fine of 3,000 euros on each of four poultry breeders for not keeping their birds in closed areas, as dictated by new regulations laid down to avert a possible outbreak of bird flu. The violations were recorded in the town of Ioannina and in the municipal districts of Longades, Kastritsa and Pamvotida. Dead dolphin A 2.5-meter dolphin was found dead yesterday after it washed up onto rocks at a beach close to Hania in Crete, authorities said. The mammal, which weighed about 300 kilos, could only be moved with the help of a boat, authorities added. Officials believe that the dolphin was thrown onto the rocks during the bad weather that has hit the area in the last few days. Rhodes arrests Police said yesterday that they had broken a drug-selling ring on the island of Rhodes. After monitoring the three-member gang for several hours, police made arrests and found that one man had 827 grams of hashish in his possession.
