In Brief
Crete shootings
Four men shot in a Rethymnon nightclub suffer minor injuries Four men, aged 22 to 27, were hospitalized on Saturday after being shot and slightly injured by unidentified assailants in a nightclub in the Cretan port of Rethymnon. It is unclear what provoked the shootings, which occured shortly before 5 a.m. Police were still looking for the perpetrators late yesterday. Meanwhile, specially trained officers continued their investigation in and around Zoniana for the gunmen who opened fire on a police convoy outside the village earlier this month. Caches of assault rifles and sacks of cannabis have so far been discovered in farms and caves. Ship fire Three sailors hurt, one seriously A fire that broke out on a motorship moored at the port of Paros on Saturday morning led to three crew members being injured. One of the three sailors, who suffered serious burns, was transferred to Athens for hospital treatment while the other two were treated for minor burns and respiratory problems on the island. According to the Merchant Marine Ministry, the fire broke out in the kitchen of the Dimitrios F, before spreading to the sailors’ quarters. The exact cause of the fire was unclear. Family business? A brother and sister, aged 34 and 21 respectively, have been arrested for suspected drug dealing after large quantities of cannabis and cocaine were found in their Thessaloniki home and in a car belonging to the woman. A search of the home of the pair, who are of foreign origin, uncovered more than 85 grams of cocaine in 85 separate packets, over 70 grams of cannabis and a pair of scales. A further 20 grams of narcotics were found in the car. Papadopoulos leads Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos holds a lead over his two main challengers in February’s election but could still lose if he faces his main Communist rival in a runoff, a poll showed yesterday. Papadopoulos, seeking a second five-year term, is in the lead with 33 percent, compared with 33.2 percent in an October survey, according to the RAI/Gnora survey for the newspaper Fileleftheros. Communist challenger Demetris Christofias followed with 28.5 percent, with independent Ioannis Cassoulides climbing two percentage points to 27.8 percent. (Reuters)
