In Brief
NO PALESTINIAN AID
Rescue mission suspended after Israel denies access A government-backed humanitarian mission – due to take a team of rescue workers and first-aid experts to the West Bank yesterday to seek out survivors of Israeli attacks – was suspended after Israeli authorities said the team would not have access to Nablus and Jenin, the government said yesterday. A C-130 military transport plane had been due to take rescue workers and equipment to the West Bank cities which were ravaged by recent Israeli army attacks. PROSTITUTION Tougher penalties for sexual exploitation, child pornography A draft law intended to crack down on the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children in Greece, and on child pornography, was presented yesterday by Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos. Offenders will face up to 10 years in jail under the new law which will offer legal and financial aid to victims, said Petsalnikos. PLANESPOTTERS Trial adjourned for today The trial of a group of 12 British and two Dutch planespotters – charged with spying last November after allegedly taking photos during an air show at a military base in Kalamata – was adjourned for today by a court in the southwestern town yesterday. The defendants now face reduced misdemeanor charges. Bad roads A motorcyclist who was permanently disabled after foundering in a ditch dug during roadworks in Pyrgos in the western Peloponnese must receive 5,869 euros in compensation from the Pyrgos municipality, according to a court ruling made public yesterday. Meanwhile, an Athens prosecutor yesterday launched proceedings against the Public Works Ministry for the alleged poor construction of a slip road on the Athens-Lamia highway – at Peristeri – where eight fatal accidents occurred last June. Residents protest More than 150 residents of the southern Athens suburb of Aghios Cosmas, near the old airport at Hellenikon, yesterday protested at the site of a planned Olympics sailing center. Protesters, who chained themselves to heavy earth-moving equipment to halt construction, say they are opposed to the post-Olympic Games use of the site, which they claim will be turned into a commercial marina and closed off to swimmers. Roadworks Works on creating a bus lane on Vassilisis Sofias Avenue in central Athens began yesterday and will continue daily from 10:30 p. m. until 6.30 a. m. until next Friday, May 3, the Public Works Ministry said yesterday. Reflective «cats’ eyes» and street signs will be used to mark out the section of the road between Academias and Mesogeion avenues. Armenians protest Dozens of Armenians demonstrated yesterday outside the Turkish Embassy in central Athens to mark the 87 years since the genocide by Turkey of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. A similar protest took place in Thessaloniki. Chute accident A conscript whose parachute failed to open fully following a midair collision with a fellow trooper during a training jump yesterday fractured his lower vertebrae and legs on landing, the army said yesterday. Ioannis Spyropoulos was in stable condition in hospital yesterday. Weston visit US Special Envoy for Cyprus Thomas Weston is to meet Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis in Athens today following a meeting with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ugur Ziyal in Istanbul yesterday. The real thing A bell-shaped ancient Boeotian figurine – used as a model for the 2004 Olympics mascots – will be presented at 2.30 p. m. today at the National Archaeological Museum by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos. Benaki Museum Athens’s Benaki Museum will be closed today due to strike action by staff seeking higher pay.
