In Brief
Mayoral debate?
Kaklamanis suggests TV showdown with contender Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis yesterday welcomed PASOK’s decision to nominate former Ombudsman Giorgos Kaminis as its candidate for the municipality in the November 7 local election and said that he would be willing to participate in a televised debate with the law professor. Kaklamanis also acknowledged that his rival for City Hall has an «unknown quantity» that might attract voters. Rounded up Three of 7 escapees caught Three of the seven suspects who escaped from a holding cell at the Omonia police station in central Athens on Saturday were arrested early yesterday. Police said that the three men, two Palestinians and one Iraqi, were found in the city center. Four more escapees are still being sought. Smoking hotline A telephone hotline offering information to the public about a new ban that prohibits smoking in enclosed public places has received more than 22,000 calls in the first five days of its operation, it emerged yesterday. Of a total of 22,206 calls, 240 were complaints about alleged violations of the ban. Beach thieves Police in Hania, Crete, yesterday arrested two Algerians, aged 20 and 30, believed to have been stealing purses and other valuables from beaches in the area. Officers caught the suspects following a complaint lodged by a 54-year-old Danish tourist who said he was robbed while swimming in the sea. The Dane had cash and valuables amounting to 1,100 euros in his beach bag. Salmonella risk The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) yesterday ordered the withdrawal from supermarkets of a mozzarella cheese trading under the name Linessa Mozzarella Light after tests on samples revealed traces of salmonella. The product was being retailed at the Lidl discount chain. Lost at sea Rescue teams were still searching in the Aegean yesterday for a missing Ukrainian sailor who appears to have fallen from the cargo ship on which he worked. The sailor is thought to have fallen off the Blue Mariner somewhere between Paros and Syros. Publisher closing Employees at the Ellinika Grammata publishing house issued a statement yesterday saying that they would oppose a move by Lambrakis Press (DOL) to shut the company down. The employees, who number close to 100, said that they had been given notice that they would all be fired in 10 days. Ellinika Grammata, established in 1957, is one of Greece’s best-known publishing houses. Kos awards «The Genius and the Boys,» Bosse Lindquist’s documentary on Nobel Prize-winning doctor D. Carleton Gajdusek, who was convicted of sexually abusing his foster son, won the jury’s top award for a feature-length film at the 2nd International Health Film Festival on Kos which wrapped up yesterday. Michael Schaap picked up the first prize in the medium-length film category for «The Erectionman» while Mike Attie’s «Famous 4A» was chosen as the best short film. The audience award went to «The Horse Boy» by Michel Orion Scott, which follows a family’s fascinating crusade to help their autistic son.
