In Brief
POLICE SUICIDE?
Head of Patras anti-narcotics unit found on beach with gunshot wound The head of Patras police’s anti-narcotics division was yesterday afternoon found dead on one of the port city’s beaches, officers said yesterday. The unnamed officer had shot himself in the heart with his service revolver, according to a regional police spokesman. Colleagues of the victim said he had come to work in the morning as usual but had later disappeared. A jogger discovered his body later in the day. By late yesterday, a coroner’s report had not been issued to corroborate the spokesman’s assertion. PUPILS TARGETED No one injured after homemade bomb thrown at school in Papagou A homemade fire bomb was thrown at a senior high school in Papagou, northeast Athens, causing minor damage, police said yesterday. No one was hurt in the incident. The principal’s second-story office was damaged in the blaze caused by the Molotov cocktail thrown late on Thursday. Separately, a fire in a roadside dumpster in Holargos, northeast Athens, damaged nine cars early yesterday after it spread to a vehicle containing two oxygen tanks. The two oxygen tanks, being transported to a cake shop, exploded after the car caught on fire, damaging the other eight vehicles parked nearby. There were no reports of injuries. ABBAS VISIT Palestinian chief due in Athens today The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is due in Athens today for talks with government officials on the latest leg of a European tour aimed at seeking an end to the isolation of the Palestinian Authority. It marks the start of a Greek diplomatic effort in the Middle East as Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis is due to visit the region in June. Diplomatic sources said that Athens will try to become a reliable mediator between the Palestinians and the European Union. ADEDY strike The Civil Servants’ Union (ADEDY) said yesterday that its members will stage a 24-hour strike on May 15 to demand the return of money that has allegedly been lost by pension funds on high-priced bonds. Greece’s other largest union, the Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE), will join ADEDY in staging a nationwide strike on May 15. The heads of the two unions are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue of pension fund investments. Disarmed guard High-ranking police sources suggested yesterday that authorities have discovered vital clues that might lead them to the two assailants who disarmed the guard outside the home of Supreme Court President Romylos Kedikoglou on Tuesday night. It is thought that CCTV cameras in the area may have recorded footage of the suspects. Illegal immigrants A Turkish national faced a prosecutor yesterday on Samos following his arrest while helping 15 illegal immigrants, mostly Somalians, to disembark from a vessel believed to have reached the island from neighboring Turkey. Meanwhile, another two Turks, charged with human trafficking following their arrest on Thursday, were jailed. One was given six years in jail and fined 25,000 euros. The other was remanded in custody pending his appearance before a local magistrate. Emergency landing A Bulgarian passenger plane yesterday made an emergency landing at Athens International Airport without any of the 72 passengers and crew aboard being injured. The Hemus Air flight contacted the Athens airport control tower after one of its engines suffered a technical problem. The airport assumed «total alert» status with all rescue services on standby but there were no further problems and the plane landed safely. Chased and caught Police arrested a suspect in Kallithea, southern Athens, yesterday shortly after he allegedly robbed a betting agency. The man is believed to have held up the betting agency at gunpoint and escaped with the store’s cash after hitting the female employee with the butt of his gun. However, passers-by chased the man and with the help of police managed to catch the thief.
