In Brief
VATOPEDI DEAL
Head of public real estate firm out on bail after questioning The former head of the Hellenic Public Real Estate Corporation (KED), Petros Papageorgiou, was released on 50,000 euros bail yesterday after being questioned in connection to the Vatopedi property swap. Papageorgiou faced investigating magistrate Eirini Kalou and denied charges of making false declarations and of being the moral instigator of the deal. Papaeorgiou insisted that KED was carrying out the instructions of its political superiors and denied that monks from the Vatopedi Monastery had regularly visited the corporation’s offices. Searches continue Italian, Frenchwoman missing Efforts to locate a French tourist who was last seen on Mount Olympus at the beginning of October continued yesterday. Rescue forces, the armed forces and police have been taking part in the search but have found no traces of the 37-year-old woman. Meanwhile, authorities revealed that they have not been able to find a 48-year-old Italian salesman who went missing in the Pteleos area of Magnesia, central Greece, in mid-October. Fatal stabbing A Bangladeshi man lost his life after being stabbed outside a bar on Fylis Street near central Athens late on Saturday night. Police said the man was with his brother when they were attacked. The victim suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital but succumbed to his wounds. Cyprus talks United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to meet with President of Cyprus Dimitris Christofias and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in New York later this month. A UN statement on Saturday said that the meeting, which seeks to augment reunification talks that have been going on for the last two years, is due to take place on November 18. Pirate hijacking There are three Greeks among the 24 member crew of a cargo ship seized by Somali pirates off the African country’s northeastern coast on Saturday, authorities said. According to the European Union’s anti-piracy naval force, the vessel was the MV Polar, which is Liberian-owned. The majority of the crew is from the Philippines. The identities of the Greek sailors were not made public. Explosions An explosion at a nightclub on Petrou Ralli Street in Athens yesterday caused shards of glass to fly some 50 meters, police said. Nobody was injured in the blast, which occurred at a time when the club was closed. There was also an explosion at about 2.30 a.m. yesterday at an apartment block in Maroussi, northern Athens. The entrance was damaged in the blast and the windows of a parked car were smashed. Nobody was injured. Derby arrests Twelve people were arrested at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Saturday before the match between soccer rivals Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. All those taken into custody were Panathinaikos fans. Olympiakos supporters were barred from the game. Two riot policemen suffered minor injuries during the game when they scuffled with fans. Police in Hania arrested 20 people on Crete, when local Panathinaikos and Olympiakos fans clashed at the end of the game.
