In Brief
CHRYSOSTOMOS SNUB
Cypriot archbishop slams Ankara for denying him visa to visit patriarch Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus yesterday condemned Ankara for refusing to issue him a visa so that he may conduct a planned visit to Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios later this week. «Although I believed that Turkey had wanted to show Europe, which it aims to join, and the rest of the world that it is a democratic and liberal country, it has thrown off its mask,» Chrysostomos said. European Union members should be aware that the candidate state «does not respect human rights,» he added. The archbishop said he believed Ankara’s move was provoked by its opposition to Nicosia’s plans to explore for oil in the eastern Mediterranean. SEA DIAMOND Santorini relaunches efforts to get sunken ship removed from crater Santorini authorities and residents have resumed their lobbying for a sunken passenger ship to be removed from the island’s half-submerged crater after the peak of the summer tourist season. According to the local authority’s legal representative Sofia Kitsou, locals aim to collect signatures for a petition and organize events to boost awareness about the environmental impact of the submerged passenger ship, which sank off the island nearly four months ago. AWAITING WATER Oinofyta residents threaten action Residents of Oinofyta, north of Attica, are expecting to learn today whether the Athens Water Company will agree to supply the area with clean water until a new treatment plant is built there. Oinofyta gets its drinking water from the Asopos River, which has recently been found to contain high levels of depleted chromium. Oinofyta Mayor Giorgos Theodoropoulos told Kathimerini that residents might block the national road if they are not guaranteed clean water. Theodoropoulos said that the Interior Ministry has pledged funds to build a new treatment center, which could be ready within 6-12 months. Crete vendetta Police on Crete know the identity of the 35-year-old man who shot a 19-year-old army conscript on the island on Sunday, injuring the teenager, but the victim’s family has refused to identify the suspect, sources told Kathimerini yesterday. Officers are fearful that a vendetta between the two families may be brewing. They believe the suspect shot his victim in the thigh because the pair had argued at a bar around a month earlier. It is believed that the families of the two men are engaged in a long-running dispute over property rights. One-way delay The Municipality of Piraeus said yesterday that work to make a number of roads in the area one-way will not be completed this month, as had been planned, but is likely to be delayed for another month. The local authority blamed the Public Works and Environment Ministry for the holdup. The municipality is looking to create an integrated one-way system in the center of Piraeus to help the flow of traffic in the area. Grigoriou Lambraki Avenue, for instance, will be made into a one-way road for cars exiting the port. Vassileos Georgiou Avenue will also be converted so that only vehicles headed toward the port can use it. Oil row Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Markoullis yesterday warned Ankara that its aggressive stance toward Nicosia’s plans to begin oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean would have a negative impact on Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. Nicosia’s plans are «fully in line with the framework of international law and with the law of the sea,» Markoullis said, adding that Ankara has not signed the relevant United Nations treaty granting it the same rights. The Cyprus FM said Nicosia would refer to the matter in detail in the European Commission’s progress report on Ankara’s EU bid. Chocolate drink A soya-based chocolate drink made by the German company Natumi has been withdrawn from the market in Greece because traces of dioxins were found in the product, the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) said yesterday. The food watchdog said the product was being distributed in Greece by Allatini and Biohealth, which have been asked to recall the product. Armed robbery Two armed men held up a branch of National Bank in Thessaloniki yesterday and made off with 11,900 euros in cash, police said.
