In Brief
MEDIA LAW
Cabinet examines draft bill that aims at consolidating sector The Inner Cabinet yesterday discussed a draft bill regulating the country’s media business and aimed at restructuring and consolidating the sector. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said the draft law is the result of talks which began in December with opposition parties and about 50 representatives from the field. The draft bill, which is expected to head to Parliament before summer, will dictate how television and radio station licenses are issued and offer incentives for mergers. FATAL CRASHES Supreme Court says only close relatives can claim compensation The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the in-laws of a person killed in a car accident are not entitled to compensation, reversing a previous ruling that gave them the right to claim monetary damages. The court said that only a victim’s blood relatives can claim damages for suffering due to the loss of a family member. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 47 detained on Aegean islands Coast guards detained on Monday 43 illegal immigrants, including 12 children, on the islet of Lamberousa, close to Evia in central Greece, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The immigrants said they arrived in Greece on board an inflatable boat after leaving Turkey on Saturday. They were all in good health, authorities added. In a separate incident, four illegal immigrants were detained on the island of Lesvos on Monday. The immigrants, aged 18, 17 and 15, told authorities they had slipped into Greece on an inflatable boat. Seamen strike The Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO) said yesterday that its members will hold a four-hour work stoppage on Monday, on the occasion of the May Day worker celebrations. The seamen will stay off the job from 8 a.m. to noon. Bombing condolences Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday sent a letter of condolence to his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Mohamed Nazif after a triple bomb attack on Monday at the Sinai beach resort of Dahab killed at least 24 people and injured more than 80, many of them foreigners. Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos also condemned the attack, calling it «a criminal act of blind violence.» Drugs courier A prosecutor in Igoumenitsa, northwestern Greece, yesterday charged an Albanian national with trying to smuggle some 107 kilos of cannabis into Greece. The man had allegedly hidden the drug in 108 packets in his car. Drugs squad officers said he had picked up the drugs at the Greek-Albanian border and was intending to take the shipment to Athens. Police are looking for other suspects in Albania and Athens who may have been involved in the operation. Houses destroyed Three homes on a narrow road on the eastern Aegean island of Samos were burned to the ground after fire engines were unable to reach them, authorities said yesterday. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the Ano Vatheos part of the island, after the houses, which were very close to each other, caught fire. It is not clear what caused the blaze but all three properties were constructed with a substantial amount of wood so the fire spread quickly. The road was too narrow for the fire trucks, which hampered the firefighters in their efforts to put out the blaze, despite help from locals. Sea accident A 37-year-old man was killed off the coast of Mesolongi on Monday when the inflatable boat in which he was fishing was hit by a speed boat, authorities said yesterday. A fellow passenger, aged 34, suffered head injuries while a third passenger was not hurt. The man operating the speed boat, aged 25, was also unharmed. Port officials said the accident likely happened because the boat owners were not well informed about sea trafficking rules. An investigation into the incident is continuing.s
