In Brief
PREFECT INNOCENT
Kouris cleared over role in Markopoulo quarry operation Eastern Attica Prefect Leonidas Kouris has been cleared of dereliction of duty regarding the ongoing operation of a quarry in Markopoulo that had been ordered to close down. A misdemeanors court accepted that Kouris had not interfered with a court decision to shut down the quarry in August 2007. The prefect had allowed part of the firm’s operations to continue but they were not located within the quarry. TRAGIC ACCIDENT Driver hangs himself after crash A 42-year-old man from Lamia, central Greece, hanged himself after apparently thinking that he had knocked over and killed a motorcycle rider who actually only suffered minor injuries in the crash. Police said that the unnamed man was found hanging in an olive grove less than 100 meters from where the accident occurred. The driver allegedly knocked over a Pakistani man on a motorbike and then abandoned him, fearing that he was dead. The motorcycle rider, however, was taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Tourist injured A 24-year-old British tourist was being treated in a hospital in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, yesterday after falling from a fourth-floor hotel balcony. The woman, who was not named, is reported to have suffered multiple bruising and head injuries. Authorities said that she had spent time at the hotel bar with a group of fellow travelers before returning to her room. Corinthia wildfire A wildfire that had scorched almost 2 hectares of land in the Athikia area of Corinthia, west of Athens, continued to burn last night. The blaze began in a ravine but six firefighting airplanes were soon called in to tackle it. Some 50 firefighters were also involved in the effort to bring the fire under control. Cyprus talks UN-sponsored talks to end the 36-year division of Cyprus are likely to resume on May 26, the new hardline leader of the Turkish Cypriots said yesterday after a meeting with a UN envoy. «The negotiations will very probably begin on May 26,» Dervis Eroglu told reporters after a meeting with Alexander Downer, the UN’s special envoy to Cyprus. Teenager burned A teenager was being treated for burns in Nikaia hospital in southwestern Athens yesterday after an apparently unprovoked attack. The 16-year-old said that he was walking along a road in Drapetsona when two men on a scooter pulled up next to him and doused him in a flammable liquid. The teenager was not clear about how the liquid then caught fire. Soccer riot Seven riot policemen suffered minor injuries in clashes with PAOK fans on Sunday night following a match for the Super League playoffs. The supporters threw petrol bombs, rocks and bottles at the officers. Two of the policemen were hit by a car. No arrests were made. Hospital supplies An employee at the General Hospital in Serres, northern Greece, has been arrested on suspicion of stealing food from her place of work. Police said that they found tins of olive oil at her home that were the same as those at the hospital. The employee, who has not been named, will face a prosecutor on Thursday.
