In Brief
BATTLE OF CRETE
Red Arrows take to sky ahead of memorial service Britain’s Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, entertained crowds on Crete on Saturday ahead of a service yesterday to remember the Allied soldiers and locals who were killed during the Battle of Crete 68 years ago. More than 3,500 people died trying to prevent the Nazi invasion of the island in 1941. Deputy Defense Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis, who attended the memorial service, said the sacrifices made by the Cretans during the battle was «one of the most glorious pages of modern Greek history.» Swine Flu First local patient discharged The 19-year-old Greek-American who had been hospitalized in Athens last week after testing positive for swine flu was discharged from the Sismanogleio Hospital in northern Athens yesterday. Doctors said the music student, who was admitted on May 18, was given a clean bill of health. Thessaloniki quake An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale struck 70 kilometers north of Thessaloniki at 5.29 p.m. yesterday. Earlier, residents in the area felt smaller tremors. No injuries or damage were reported. Hotel fire Two people were injured during a fire at the Makedonia Palace Hotel in Thessaloniki on Saturday. The seafront hotel had to be evacuated after a fire broke out in the kitchen a little before 7 a.m. A chef suffered burns to his face and right arm from burning oil, while a woman had to be taken to the hospital after complaining of breathing problems. It was not clear if she was a member of the staff or a guest. Mets pickpockets A suspected pickpocket was arrested yesterday following a chase in the central Athens neighborhood of Mets during which a policeman fired a warning shot into the air. The unnamed suspect was one of two men chased by members of the police’s high-powered motorcycle-riding Z force after a woman claimed that someone had attempted to snatch her bag on Ardittou Street. The other suspect was still being sought. Sea taxi A fishing boat collided with a sea taxi near the island of Hydra in the Saronic Gulf yesterday. The sea taxi’s captain had to be taken to a medical center on Hydra as a result of injuries he sustained in the accident. Nobody else was injured. The sea taxi suffered serious damage and had to be towed to Metochi in the eastern Peloponnese for repairs. Border smuggler A 35-year-old Albanian man was arrested near Florina in northern Greece yesterday after 20 illegal immigrants were found in the vehicle he was driving along the Florina-Edessa highway. Two other suspects, driving cars ahead of the 35-year-old, were also arrested. Gun stolen Robbers stole a 9 mm pistol from a policeman’s house near Karditsa, central Greece, on Saturday. Police said that the men who entered the officer’s home also took 50 bullets and jewelry.
