In Brief
LOCAL ELECTIONS
Minister says everything ready for Sunday ballot; voter hotline set up Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said yesterday that the state services are fully prepared for Sunday’s municipal elections. Athens voters interested in finding out where they vote can call 1539. Other voters can find out more about their voting center at Citizen’s Information Centers (KEP). Meanwhile, OASA, the Athens Urban Transport Association, said yesterday that there will be changes to its normal timetables from Sunday to October 22 due to the elections. Passengers can call 185 for further details. BABY MILK Watchdog recalls Sanilac 1 product because of dangerous bacteria The National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF) announced yesterday the recall of infant milk Sanilac 1 due to traces of enterobacter sakazakii found in the product. E. sakazakii is a microorganism that is linked to outbreaks meningitis or enteritis. EOF said that the product should not be used by consumers for precautionary reasons. ILLEGAL ANTIQUITIES Expert says Greek law must change Leading British archaeologist Colin Renfrew told Kathimerini English Edition that Greece’s laws policing the trade in illicit antiquities should focus more on deterring looting. Renfrew also said that governments need to put more pressure on museums to have strict policies about the antiquities they buy. Turkish safety The Foreign Ministry yesterday condemned the destruction by arsonists on Tuesday of a car belonging to the Turkish Embassy and said that Greece would do all it could to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats. The statement by spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos came after the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it wanted security for its diplomats in Athens to be stepped up. The ministry said that another of the embassy’s cars was attacked in June. Robber caught An armed robber was arrested in Aegaleo, western Athens, yesterday shortly after he held up a bank, but his accomplice got away, police said. The two men raided a branch of Eurobank just after noon and tried to make off on a motorcycle with 23,000 euros. However, they were chased by policemen who had quickly arrived on the scene. The man arrested is an Albanian national. His accomplice is being sought. Migrants detained Authorities yesterday detained 37 illegal immigrants on the Aegean island of Samos who had crossed over from Turkey. Eleven of the immigrants were from Lebanon while the rest said they hailed from Afghanistan. A Turkish man believed to have smuggled the immigrants into Greece escaped arrest, police added. Separately, police in Komotini, northeastern Greece, arrested a Greek man suspected of human trafficking and detained 50 illegal immigrants hidden on board a trailer truck. The 34-year-old driver was arrested near the Turkish border. TB cases A senior high school student from Alexandroupolis, northeastern Greece, has contracted tuberculosis, authorities said yesterday. The unnamed girl was admitted to the city’s hospital some 20 days ago and is in a stable condition. Parents and schoolchildren were immediately notified of her condition. Doctors said that the number of tuberculosis cases had risen by 15 percent over the last decade. Three Somali migrants are currently being treated for the disease in Alexandroupolis, doctors said. Fuel checks Inspection teams will step up checks on petrol stations selling heating oil to stamp out tax evasion in the sector and the illegal diluting of fuel, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. Heating fuel will start to be sold as of tomorrow for winter. On-the-spot chemical tests will be conducted in an effort to catch distributors that dilute heating oil with cheaper fuel sources. Policeman suspected A 37-year-old policemen was released yesterday after being questioned by a magistrate in Thessaloniki in connection with allegations that he raped a 35-year-old woman. The unnamed officer denied the charges and said the woman was making up the claims because he had refused to marry her. A forensic scientist said the woman showed signs of having been abused but not raped.
