In Brief
TURKISH TIES
Ankara’s casus belli stance is a ‘dead-end policy,’ ministry says Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos yesterday dismissed as a «dead-end policy» the Turkish military’s alleged reiteration of its casus belli stance against Greece in the Aegean. «A policy of clinging to anachronisms has no place in today’s world,» Koumoutsakos said. Earlier yesterday, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, who today begins a US visit, called on Turkey to satisfy EU-related obligations. «If (Turkey) wants to get closer to the EU, it must fulfill the promises it has made,» she said. (Page 2) OA TALKS Government spokesman withholds comment on ‘delicate procedure’ Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos yesterday avoided commenting on developments concerning government plans to replace Olympic Airlines (OA) with a new, stripped-down company called Pantheon Airways. «This is a delicate procedure, and I would not want to have a public discussion on a procedure which is not yet complete,» he said. Roussopoulos repeated government assurances that OA employees will not lose their jobs. COURT VERDICT Three convicted over girl’s drowning Three British employees of a vacation tour operator were convicted of negligent manslaughter yesterday in the drowning of a girl in Greece and were given 18-month suspended sentences, judicial officials said. Laura Morgan, 11, from a town near Nottingham, England, drowned after a dinghy she was riding in capsized at the Paleros resort on the island of Lefkada three years ago. In a statement, [British-based firm] Sunsail said it was disappointed with the verdict and would appeal. (AP) Food fines The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) fined 18 food companies 76,000 euros for breaching health regulations, it said yesterday. The businesses fined included supermarkets, restaurants, snack bars and sweet shops across the country. Additionally, the Piraeus prefectural authorities yesterday shut down a local bakery after it failed to improve hygiene conditions according to instructions from officials. Athens helpline A new phone number which Athenians can ring to register their complaints will be inaugurated today by the city’s prefect Yiannis Sgouros. Athenians will be able to dial 1539 to get more information about the services that the Prefecture of Athens offers as well as venting their frustration about problems with those services. The line will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every weekday. Antique arrests Police in Athens have arrested a 58-year-old man and 37-year-old woman who own antique shops in Kolonaki and Halandri, respectively, on suspicion that they were illegally selling antiquities. Officers said yesterday that they had seized a number of artifacts from the post-Byzantine period and wood carvings from the 18th century. The two suspects are expected to be charged today. Man strangled A 64-year-old man was found dead with a telephone cord tied around his neck in his apartment in Patissia, central Athens, police said yesterday. Officers suspect the man was killed during a robbery. His body was found late Monday night. Anti-racism day Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Church of Greece, and Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos were among the high-profile personalities who condemned racism yesterday to mark International Day against Racism. «The need to strengthen respect for every type of right of minorities living and working in our country is constantly greater,» Pavlopoulos said. The minister added that some 100,000 migrants had obtained residence permits under the latest legalization drive. Drug deaths Authorities in Thessaloniki said yesterday that three drug addicts had been found dead in the city within the previous 24 hours. The users, aged between 31 and 37, were found in the Depo and Faliron areas of the city. A coroner discovered that all three had been long-term users of narcotics.
