In Brief
Police targeted
Youths firebomb station; cars wrecked but no one hurt A group of around 10 hooded youths on motorcycles staged a drive-by attack on a police station in Perama, west of the main port of Piraeus, early yesterday morning, using dozens of improvised explosive devices to wreck five patrol cars and six motorcycles. Firemen were dispatched to douse fires caused by the explosions which did not cause any injuries. There had been no claim of responsibility for the attack by yesterday afternoon, according to police who made no arrests. Private colleges Bill submitted in Parliament Draft legislation that aims to subject private colleges in Greece to stricter regulation was submitted in Parliament yesterday. According to the bill, each college will have to submit a letter of credit for 500,000 euros to state authorities before being granted an operating license. The colleges, some of which operate as franchises of British or American institutions, have so far been under the supervision of the Development Ministry. Under the new bill, the colleges will be regulated by the Education Ministry but degrees will not be recognized as equivalent to diplomas from universities. The new bill is opposed by the European Union, which wants degrees from private colleges and state universities to be considered equal. Migrants found More than 100 illegal immigrants from Asia were being detained in the northern city of Komotini yesterday after police found them in a cemetery near the border with Turkey, Agence France-Presse cited police as saying. The migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, had hidden in the cemetery at Tryfilli village after crossing the Evros River in an inflatable dinghy, AFP said. Border guards also caught one of three traffickers believed to have helped them cross from Turkey to Greece by boat via the Evros River, the agency said. Explosive haul Police in Halkidiki were yesterday questioning a 55-year-old man after finding more than 60 kilos of dynamite in his possession along with a range of guns and other weapons. Officers found 60 kilos of explosives in a warehouse belonging to the suspect as well as a rifle, three shotguns, four knives and a further 1.5 kilos of explosives at his home. The 55-year-old refused to reveal the origin of the arms and explosives. Meanwhile police on Crete seized at least 30 assault rifles and arrested one man in a raid on a northern village, Reuters reported. The raid on the house at Geropotamos is believed to have been carried out as part of a crackdown on cannabis cultivation on the island. Dead farmer Rescue workers yesterday recovered the body of a 76-year-old farmer from the bottom of a 50-meter ravine near Anthohori, near the municipality of Mouzaki in central Greece. The farmer is believed to have slipped and fallen into the ravine while trying to gather his flock of animals that he had taken out to graze.
