In Brief
MIDAIR DISPUTE
Athens describes as ‘groundless’ Ankara’s intention to seek damages The Greek government believes that Turkey’s intention to seek damages from Athens over a collision between F-16 jets is «groundless,» alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros said yesterday. Ankara has said it will ask for compensation if its military investigation concludes that the Turkish pilot was not responsible for the crash in which the Greek pilot was killed and the two planes destroyed. Antonaros said that initial indications from the Greek air force investigation suggested that «dangerous» or «inexperienced» maneuvers by the Turkish pilot were to blame for the crash. TURKISH CENSORSHIP? Writer facing jail sentence says military has too much influence Prominent Turkish writer and columnist Perihan Magden, who faces three years in jail after proposing alternatives to military service, has criticized Turkey’s army for wielding too much influence and the government for not wielding enough. In an interview with Kathimerini English Edition, Magden described the contradictions and constraints of a Muslim state dominated by a secular military. (Page 3) EX-BISHOP TRIAL Panteleimon to be sentenced Monday The trial of the former bishop of Attica, Panteleimon, ended yesterday at an appeals court in Athens with the three judges expected to issue their ruling on Monday, court sources said. Panteleimon allegedly siphoned off some 280,000 euros’ worth of funds from the collection boxes of the convent of Ossios Ephraim in Nea Makri, northeastern Attica, between 1995 and 1998. He was fired from his post last summer. Panteleimon could be jailed if he is found guilty. Summer sales The summer retail sales period is scheduled to start on July 17 and run through to the end of August, the Development Ministry said yesterday. Deputy Development Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou said that officials will be conducting checks on stores as of tomorrow to determine whether retailers are starting sales earlier than allowed. Spot checks Inspectors from the Athens-Piraeus Prefecture have imposed more than 80,000 euros in fines on a range of businesses and referred 37 cases to prosecutors since the beginning of May, officials said yesterday. The checks were carried out on supermarkets, retail stores, children’s nurseries and retirement homes. During this time, inspectors also confiscated almost 3 tons of unsuitable products. Culture redesign Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis unveiled yesterday a new logo for his ministry based on the Caryatid which is on display at the British Museum in London. He said the ministry had decided to replace its logo after a survey suggested that Greeks did not connect with the previous image of an ancient column. Voulgarakis added that the new logo would help make Greek culture more recognizable. Food confiscated Piraeus Prefecture authorities confiscated yesterday 1.2 tons of frozen seafood from a store in Keratsini after determining that some had gone off while other quantities were not labeled correctly. Additionally, authorities confiscated 369 kilos of cheese from a store in Piraeus that had been incorrectly marked. Smuggler arrested A 46-year-old foreign national was arrested off the island of Lesvos yesterday accused of smuggling into the country five illegal immigrants. The coast guard intercepted the suspect in a boat off the Aegean island. Authorities found three of the illegal immigrants on the island and were searching for the other two. Biker gang Police said yesterday that three Greeks and a Japanese man were part of a ring that sold motorcycles stolen in Japan and shipped to Greece with forged papers. Officers said they had given a brief to a prosecutor with details about how the men, aged between 28 and 55, imported the stolen motorcycles through a company based in Trikala, central Greece. Police seized 85 motorcycles and said that the ring had been in operation for some five years.
