In Brief
JERUSALEM BRAWL
Patriarch says Armenians to blame for Sunday’s violence The head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Theophilos III, on Monday blamed Armenian monks for the widely publicized fist fight with Greek clergy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher a day earlier. «The Armenians are constantly provoking us,» he told NET TV. «They claim additional rights and seek to equate their privileges with ours, which date back centuries.» Two monks, one from each side, were arrested when Israeli riot police moved in to break up the fight. FLARE INJURY Soccer fan appears in court An 18-year-old man appeared in court yesterday charged with firing a flare that injured a fellow soccer fan during Sunday night’s game between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. There were no Olympiakos supporters at the match. The teenager, an Albanian national, allegedly fired a flare from one section of the ground which hit the head of a 40-year-old man in another part of the stadium, seriously injuring him. Teen wedding A 16-year-old boy and four friends were detained yesterday after kidnapping a 13-year-old girl from her home in the village of Sofades, near Karditsa, in central Greece so that the teenager could marry her. The six youngsters were found half an hour after the abduction in a local Gypsy camp. The girl was returned to her parents and the five boys, all Gypsies, were taken into custody. Bad medicine Athens and Piraeus pharmacists said yesterday that on November 17 they would stop giving prescription medicines to people that are insured with public sector funds due to outstanding debts. The pharmacists say they have not been paid since April by the social security funds even though the agreement signed by both sides requires pharmacies to be paid within 45 days. Home burgled Police in Athens were yesterday seeking two burglars believed to have broken into a home in the affluent northern suburb of Nea Erythraia and forced the residents at gun-point to empty their safe of 25,000 euros and jewelry. The thieves are believed to be Albanians. Cabbie attacked A 27-year-old taxi driver was in the hospital yesterday after two passengers reportedly beat him up and robbed him in the Athens district of Kallithea. According to the cabbie, the two men, both foreigners, started punching him in the face after a dispute about the fare. They then robbed him before fleeing. Suburban railway Services on the suburban railway will be disrupted until November 25 as work gets under way on the network, the management company revealed yesterday. Commuters should telephone 1110 for details. Highway robbery Two robbers, one driving a car and the second a truck, cornered a 28-year-old businessman in the Athens district of Zografou early yesterday while he was in his car and robbed him. One of the two robbers allegedly threatened the 28-year-old into handing over a bag containing 50,000 euros, the profits from a chain of stores he runs.
