Firms, organizations and even state bodies intending to set up closed-circuit television camera networks should inform the Data Protection Authority which will first decide whether such a process would be legal, the authority said yesterday. The authority made the announcement after determining that certain individuals, firms and state bodies had set up CCTV cameras without notifying it. In cases where setting up CCTV cameras could violate personal privacy, a license would need to be obtained from the authority. Violations will be subject to penalties, the authority said.

The National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF) yesterday advised all patients taking Vioxx and Peroxx — both pain relief treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis — to stop treatment after the manufacturer of the drugs withdrew them from circulation. Merck & Co withdrew the products on Thursday after tests showed that long-term users are exposed to a greater risk of thrombosis, heart problems and strokes. EOF advised that patients consult their doctors about alternative therapies.

Six formations of Turkish fighter jets yesterday entered the Athens Flight Information Region seven times and violated Greek national air space eight times in the areas between Chios and Psara and between Lemnos and Lesvos, military sources said. The 12 Turkish jets were chased off by as many Greek aircraft and there were six simulated dogfights, the officials said.

Athens 2004 Organizing Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki yesterday briefed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on the successful organization of the Paralympics and an overall financial review by ATHOC. The meeting had originally been scheduled for September 27 but was postponed due to the fatal bus accident at Asproneri, in which seven schoolchildren died. It was agreed that ATHOC would aim to submit the review to the government by next March.

The accomplished stage actress Eleni Hadziargyri died of cancer yesterday at the age of 79. Hadziargyri, whose stage career spanned more than half a century, also taught at several drama colleges for more than 30 years.

A speed limit of 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour will be enforced on sections of Liosion and Pireos streets until December 15, Athens traffic police said as roadwork got under way yesterday. The restrictions will apply to the section of Liosion between the Marni St junction and Attiki Square and on the section of Pireos between Socratous St and Omonia Square. Work beginning on Monday on the Stavros-Lavrion Avenue will affect traffic in the municipalities of Glyka Nera and Pallini for the next three months, the Public Works Ministry said yesterday.

The coach of weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, who won a bronze medal in the Olympics but then lost it after testing positive for high levels of testosterone, yesterday told Athens prosecutors that he had never provided his athletes with anabolic steroids. National weightlifting coach Christos Iakovou testified before prosecutors Spyros Mouzakitis and Athina Theodoropoulou, who are also probing the case of disgraced sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou.

Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) train drivers yesterday asked the government and judicial authorities to intervene, maintaining that they are being forced to work excessive hours without a break. Drivers claimed that they were often obliged to work up to 16 hours without a break and as many as 20 consecutive days due to staff shortages.

A 9-year-old Cretan boy was in critical condition yesterday after being accidentally shot by two men who had been handling or cleaning a gun in the village of Vianno in Iraklion, police said. The unnamed boy underwent surgery after the shot damaged vital organs.