In Brief
WAGES DISPUTE
Prosecutor asks that ferry owner Agoudimos be arrested A warrant for the arrest of the owner of the GA Ferries firm, Gerasimos Agoudimos, was issued yesterday. A Piraeus prosecutor asked authorities to apprehend Agoudimos after 11 employees filed suits against him for his alleged failure to pay their normal December wages as well as their Christmas bonus. Police were last night looking for Agoudimos and GA Ferries executive Manolis Lambrinos, for whom an arrest warrant was also issued. OUTSTANDING DEBTS Hospitals to pay suppliers State hospitals will pay suppliers – some of whom have been owed money since 2005 – 1.2 billion euros by the end of this year, a joint committee from the Finance and Health ministries decided yesterday. Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou said that any other outstanding money would be paid to the suppliers by March 2010. Mysterious shootings Police were yesterday investigating two apparently unprovoked shootings in Athens. Both incidents occurred on Monday night. In Votanikos, central Athens, a Bulgarian man was shot in the leg as he was riding a bicycle. The victim said that a black SUV was passing at the time. Also, in the southern suburb of Moschato, a 57-year-old man was shot in the stomach as he was walking along the street. Police said there is no connection between the two incidents. Charity impostors The Smile of the Child NGO warned yesterday that someone is pretending to represent the organization in order to gather donations. It said that two men aged 30 to 35 had been asking for donations at stores in Thessaloniki over the past few days. Smile of the Child said donations can only be made directly into the charity’s bank account or at its premises. Citizens have been asked to report any suspicious incidents to police or the NGO on 1056. University break-in Several laptops belonging to the Geology Department at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki were reported stolen yesterday. Police said that the thieves had climbed up scaffolding on the building’s exterior and smashed windows to get into the first-floor laboratory. University authorities are in the process of installing burglar alarms throughout the campus. Load of cannabis A truck carrying 681 kilos of cannabis was stopped in Thesprotia, northwestern Greece, and its driver arrested yesterday. An Albanian man was driving the vehicle. The drug was found hidden in 409 bales that had been stored inside 23 travel bags. Police are trying to find out who the driver’s contacts in Greece are. Cars smashed A group of up to 15 people damaged nine parked cars in the Thessaloniki district of Evosmos early yesterday. Police said the assailants smashed the vehicles’ windshields in the pre-dawn attack. IKEA recall Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA said that it is recalling all its Leopard child seats due to a safety problem. IKEA said that it has sold almost 5,500 chairs worldwide since October. It is not known how many of these were sold in Greece.
