In Brief
EASTER MESSAGE
Orthodox Church leaders highlight significance of Christ’s resurrection The leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church focused their traditional Easter messages on the significance of Christ’s resurrection as a symbol of life being stronger than death. «Death is no longer the ruler of life. It is not the inevitable end of our existence,» said Patriarch Vartholomaios, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians. Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Church of Greece, said that death may appear to be a «stereotypical certainty» but said that the Church did not have to convince anyone of Christ’s resurrection. BASKETBALL WIN Panathinaikos makes it to Final Four thanks to victory in Moscow Panathinaikos became the first team to qualify for basketball’s Euroleague Final Four after beating Dynamo Moscow 65-73 in Moscow last night. In the best-of-three quarterfinal round, Panathinaikos took a decisive 2-0 lead, thanks to a commanding performance which saw the Athens club lead comfortably at the end of each quarter. Lithuanian forward Ramunas Siskauskas was the top scorer for Panathinaikos with 19 points. The Greens had beat Dynamo Moscow 80-58 in the first game in Athens on Tuesday. TILOS BLOCKADE Residents want better ferry service Residents of Tilos in the Dodecanese shut down the small island’s port for the eighth consecutive day yesterday to demand a regular and fast ferry service to nearby Rhodes. The island’s Mayor Anastassis Aliferis told Kathimerini that residents are concerned that the island will be abandoned and that business which depends on tourism will be forced to close down unless the Aegean and Island Policy Ministry takes action to provide better connections for Tilos. Environmental plan The European Union is waiting for Greece to develop a national plan to tackle climate change, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said yesterday after meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in Athens. «The EU targets were announced a month ago, so all countries will have to draw up the relevant programs on how they will help tackle the problem,» said Dimas. The two men discussed how Greece could contribute to the ambitious carbon emission cuts that the EU has agreed upon. Flag burners A Greek teenager is one of three students at Yale University in Connecticut, USA, who were charged with burning an American flag on a porch, authorities said yesterday. The three students were arrested on Tuesday after police officers spotted the burning flag. Nikolaos Angelopoulos, 19, and two other men, one American and one British national, were charged with reckless endangerment and other crimes. Police spokeswoman Bonnie Posick said the three have admitted that «it was a stupid thing to do.» Angelopoulos was forced to turn over his passport and post $25,000 bail. Confusing meat Thessaloniki prefecture authorities yesterday confiscated 420 slaughtered lambs and goats from a meat truck in Thessaloniki that bore unclear markings regarding its country of origin. The meat was imported from Romania but this was not clearly indicated on the animals, authorities said. Crew safe A Turkish-flagged bulk-carrier vessel ran aground off the Aegean island of Chios yesterday but all 23 crew members on board the ship were safe, authorities said yesterday. The Tahir Kiran was traveling from Egypt’s Alexandria to Istanbul when it ran aground. Fireworks confiscated A 63-year-old man was arrested in Piraeus, southern Athens, yesterday after police found in his possession more than 3,000 fireworks and three flare guns.
