In Brief
SEA DIAMOND
Ministry vows to fund survey on environmental protection The Merchant Marine Ministry will finance a new survey aimed at curbing the environmental damage wreaked by a sunken cruise ship off Santorini, the ministry’s general secretary, Yiannis Tzoannos, said yesterday. An international specialist firm will be appointed to conduct the survey, Tzoannos said, adding that the ministry would also offer financial support for attempts by local authorities on Santorini to complete the necessary preparations before the sunken wreck can be removed. «The ministry will not approve any plan that fails to satisfy the demands of the people of Santorini,» Tzoannos added. RAPE CONVICTION Father jailed for 19.5 years for long-term abuse of daughter A 54-year-old Kos resident was yesterday sentenced to 19-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of systematically raping his daughter for seven years. The prosecutor in the trial described the 54-year-old as a «hard, unabashed and cold criminal» and also blamed local authorities on the island who allegedly knew about the crime but failed to report it. The father, who was not named, denied the charges, claiming that he had been set up. RHODES PROTEST Residents block power plant Residents of the island of Rhodes blocked access to a local power plant late on Sunday in a bid to stop the addition of new machinery at the plant which they argue will add to pollution. Public Power Corporation (PPC) officials say the extra equipment is necessary to boost the plant’s power capacity during the hotter summer months. Thirteen trucks carrying equipment have been sent back to the island’s port after being stopped from entering the plant. Senior PPC officials are meeting with municipal representatives and local residents in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. Three earthquakes Three earthquakes shook parts of northern and western Greece but there were no reports of injuries or damage, according to authorities. Two quakes measuring 4.4 and 4.6 on the Richter scale shook the Ionian island of Lefkada, western Greece, at 9.34 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. Earlier a tremor measuring 4.4 Richter rattled the northern city of Serres. The earthquakes follow a 4.3 Richter tremor that hit the area of Evia, central Greece, yesterday. Driver killed A 75-year-old driver was killed when his truck slammed into another truck in Thessaloniki yesterday, police said. Officers said they have launched an investigation into the accident and gave no further details of the incident. Drownings Rescue workers retrieved the drowned bodies of an elderly man and woman off the coast of Epanomi, Thessaloniki prefecture, Port Authority officials said yesterday. The body of the man, aged around 85, was found at 10.30 a.m. and the body of the women, aged about 73, at noon, officials said. Separately, rescue workers on Mount Taygetos, near Tripolis, discovered the body of a drowned farmer from Kalamata who had been missing since Saturday. The 48-year-old farmer was found in river ditch about 1 meter deep. He had visited the area with friends on the weekend. Moscow visit Greece’s armed forces chief Panayiotis Hinofotis is due to arrive in Moscow today for a two-day official visit. Hinofitis is to meet with his Russian counterpart Yuri Baluyevsky with whom he is to discuss matters of mutual military interest and boosting bilateral cooperation in defense. Cannabis haul A 32-year-old man, a foreign national, has been arrested in Alexandria, northern Greece, after being found in possession of 30 kilos of cannabis. Police said they found the narcotics, which had been packed in 30 separate packages and hidden in the suspect’s car, after acting on a tip-off.
