In Brief
Athens blasts
Bombs wreck two bookshops, one belonging to right-wing MP Suspected anarchists last night firebombed two central Athens bookshops, causing extensive damage but no injuries. Police say groups of youths wearing hoods and motorcycle helmets burst into the stores, hauled employees out and threw petrol bombs. There were no arrests. One bookshop belongs to right-wing LAOS party deputy Adonis Georgiadis. Both stock right-wing and nationalist publications. (AP) Transplant organs Greece to share with Israel, Cyprus due to few donations Greece, Israel and Cyprus plan to share transplant organs because of their small populations and low donation rates. Health officials from the three Mediterranean nations were in Miami yesterday, visiting the transplant institute at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. Institute director Andreas Tzakis says patients who have severe heart or liver failure have lower chances of survival because an organ transplant match is hard to find in those countries. (AP) Deadly spouse Man stabs wife in jealous rage A Ukrainian man yesterday stabbed to death his 52-year-old wife in the middle of the street in Saronida, southeast of Athens, as he believed she had been cheating on him, police said. After the alleged act the man called his boss and said he would be late for work as he had just killed his wife and was waiting for police to arrive at his home. Actor stabbing A coroner said yesterday that actor Nikos Sergianopoulos had been stabbed 21 times and not seven as had been first thought. The 56-year-old, who played in a number of television series as well as theater roles, was found dead in his apartment on Wednesday morning. Police said that they have found a number of fingerprints at the property as well as three bloody footprints. The murderer is thought to have washed the knife used to stab Sergianopoulos and put it in a drawer. Police also found a small amount of cocaine at the flat. Ship collision A Greek-registered ship collided with a Malta-flagged tanker outside the Uruguayan port of Montevideo yesterday, causing a minor fuel leak, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. None of the crew on either vessel were injured, according to the ministry which said local authorities had contained the fuel leak. OTE protests Staff at OTE telecom are to start a new round of protests next Tuesday with a 24-hour strike followed by a 48-hour walkout on June 17 and 18, their union said yesterday. Staff, who are protesting OTE’s agreement to make Deutsche Telekom a major shareholder, are to stage a rally outside Parliament on June 18. Press rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) yesterday condemned Greece for violating a newspaper’s right to freedom of expression. The case relates to an article published by national daily newspaper I Avgi concerning the politician and journalist Kyriakos Velopoulos, a member of the Popular Orthodox Rally, which promotes «Greco-Christian ideals.» The June 2000 story referred to him as a «notorious crazy nationalist,» over meetings organized by far-right associations to protest against a decision by Greece’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) not to insist on citizens’ revealing their religious affiliation on identity cards. (AFP) Irrigation initiative An initiative to channel water from the ancient river of Eridanus in order to boost the capital’s irrigation network was heralded yesterday by Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis. The project foresees the use of some 300 cubic meters of water per day to irrigate garden beds on the sidewalks of Apostolou Pavlou and Ermou streets and other patches of greenery in central Athens. Kaklamanis said the initiative was «very important in difficult times such as these when water conservation is imperative.» Milk boycott Consumer groups yesterday called on citizens to boycott pasteurized milk being sold for more than 1 euro per liter. The only way to stop profiteering is to teach the milk cartel a lesson, representatives of the groups said. Euro ambition Panathinaikos basketball star Dimitris Diamantidis said yesterday the club’s ambition is now to again win the Euroleague, after winning the domestic double with its 90-76 win over Olympiakos in the league final on Wednesday. Diamantidis scored 13 points. Panathinaikos won the final series 3-2 to clinch its sixth league title in a row and its fourth successive double. It has also won the Euroleague four times in the last 13 years.
