In Brief
OFF-DUTY ATTACK
Police officer stabs man in fight over parking space An off-duty police officer stabbed a 35-year-old man in a fight over a parking space, it was revealed yesterday. The two men had tried to park in the same space when taking their families to a concert in Xylokastro in the Peloponnese on Monday. The unnamed officer said that the 35-year-old pushed his wife to the ground. At that point, the policeman took an 11-centimeter blade from his car with which he stabbed the other man. The victim was treated in the hospital for his wounds but was later discharged. The two men have sued each other but no arrests have been made, pending a prosecutor’s investigation. TURKISH FIRE Cloud of smoke reaches Attica A cloud of smoke, believed to be coming from a fire in neighboring Turkey, engulfed northeastern Attica briefly yesterday evening. The smoke, visible in satellite pictures, appeared to be coming from a spot near the Dardanelles strait. It was unclear yesterday what had provoked the large fire.. Weight problems Only 9 percent of parents think that their children (aged 3 to 6 years old) have a weight problem, whereas a new survey shows that 31 percent of children in this age group are overweight or obese. The study was carried out by the non-governmental Aristides Daskalopoulos Foundation. It also found that more teenagers (34 percent) think there is a problem with their weight compared to the actual figure (17 percent) of those who fall into the overweight or obese categories. Almost 2,000 children in urban and rural areas were questioned. Piraeus strike Unions based in Piraeus have called a 24-hour strike today to protest the deaths of eight workers in an explosion at the Perama dockyards last week. The Civil Servants’ Union (ADEDY) said that all of its Piraeus-based members would take part in the action. Moldy pasta The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) said yesterday that it was withdrawing a batch of pasta manufactured by Misko because mold had been detected. The watchdog said that the product concerned was the tortellini with meat, which has an expiry date of March 26, 2009, and batch number 64868X. Consumers are advised that they should not consume the pasta, as it is dangerous to their health. Cephalonia quake A moderately strong undersea quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale occurred off Cephalonia shortly after 8 a.m. yesterday but no injuries or damage were reported. The epicenter of the quake was located off the southeast coast of the Ionian island. Seismologists said the quake, which was followed by a 3.7-magnitude tremor, was no cause for concern. Air-space violations A total of 16 Turkish fighter jets, flying in four formations, carried out 11 violations of Greek air space over the Aegean Sea yesterday, Defense Ministry sources said. The jets came within 800 feet of Farmakonisi and Agathonisi, the sources said, adding that the Turkish aircraft were chased off by Greek planes.
