In Brief
SWIMMING WARNING
Coroner says drowned boy, 6, dived into pool on full stomach A coroner on Crete said yesterday that a 6-year-old Austrian boy who died after diving into a pool had been swimming on a full stomach. The unnamed boy dived into the pool soon after his family had checked into the apartment complex. The coroner, Stamatis Belivanis, warned parents to keep a close watch on their children and prevent them from swimming just after they have eaten. FAULTY CARS Batch of 4,500, mostly Daewoo, being recalled for safety reasons The general secretary for consumer affairs, Thanassis Skordas, said yesterday that some 4,500 cars of three different makes were being recalled for safety reasons. Most of the cars are made by Daewoo, whose Greek representative Chevellas has recalled some Nexia and Espero models because of possible problems with the seat belts. A precautionary recall was issued yesterday by Toyota for owners of Lexus RX300 and RX400h cars as it discovered that the mat under the driver’s feet may slip and affect the gas pedal. Some 900 Toyota Corolla Verso cars are also being recalled because of problems with their air bags. In all cases, the owners will be notified in writing by the manufacturer. HASH HAUL Albanians caught with 90 kilos Two Albanian men found with more than 90 kilos of cannabis in their possession are probably members of a larger drug-smuggling ring, police in Trikala said yesterday. Border guards and drug squad officers caught the duo, aged 23 and 31, following a stop-and-search operation on the Trikala-Ioannina national road on Sunday. They had been acting on a tip-off regarding an organized smuggling ring in the region. The car the two Albanians had allegedly used to transport the drugs had been stolen from Athens, police said. Samos migrants Coast guards yesterday detained 25 illegal immigrants on the eastern Aegean island of Samos. They found the migrants in the Tsamadou area of the island after they had sailed to Samos in a boat which they sank when they reached the shore. Coast guards said the migrants, including two children, were from Afghanistan and Somalia. Authorities said that 12 more Afghans and two Iranians were also picked up by officers on Samos on Saturday. Egg raid A young couple was arrested early yesterday because they allegedly threw eggs at a police station in Perama, southwestern Athens, officers said. The unnamed couple and two friends allegedly drove by the station on motorcycles and pelted the building with the eggs in the early hours of the morning. Officers said they know the identity of the two other suspects and will arrest them as well. Postal holdup Two armed men held up a post office in Zografou, near central Athens, yesterday, and made off with an unspecified amount of cash, officer said. The two men were wearing baseball caps and had covered their faces with bandanas. They sped off on a motorcycle, according to police. New nurses Some 250 nurses will be hired on open-ended contracts to cover urgent shortfalls at hospitals, Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said yesterday after a meeting with Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis. The ministers said that hospital staff would also be hired on permanent contracts later this year and that there would be more hirings next year, bringing the total number of new staff over the period to some 5,000. Companies rapped Seven firms have been fined a total of 76,000 euros for breaching consumer rights, Deputy Development Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou said yesterday. The firms, all based in Attica, were found guilty of offenses which ranged from selling unlicensed goods to providing customers with products which did not have instructions in Greek.
