In Brief

EXPRESS SAMINA

First mate to be freed on bail after nearly 18 months in jail The first mate of the Express Samina ferry, which sank off Paros in September 2000 with the loss of 80 lives, will be released on bail from a Chios jail where he has been detained pending trial since just after the tragedy, an investigating magistrate decided yesterday in a Syros court. Anastasios Psychogios can go free if he pays 35,216 euros (12 million drachmas). The legal pretrial detention limit is 18 months. Meanwhile, Costas Klironomos, the former chairman of Minoan Flying Dolphins which owns the Samina, is to defend himself in court today against charges including endangering human life and urging staff to make false statements. OLYMPICS British, Greek security officials conduct theoretical 2004 test British security officials, working with the Olympic Games Security Directorate, conducted a seminar on Monday and Tuesday for 130 Greek officials from the police, armed forces, coast guard, fire brigade, and from the ministries of Health, Transport, Interior and Public Works, on British strategies for dealing with radioactive, chemical and nuclear terrorism. The British explained what training, organization and materiel were needed to deal with such threats. On the second day, participants staged a theoretical exercise in which they dealt successfully with an attempted bio-terrorist attack at the Olympic Games. CREMATION Church, government discuss issue The Church of Greece remains absolutely opposed to cremation and will discuss witholding religious ceremonies for anyone who opts to be cremated, Archbishop Christodoulos told Interior Minister Costas Skandalidis yesterday when the two men discussed new draft legislation that would allow members of other religions to burn their dead. Skandalidis stressed that the bill does not apply to Orthodox believers. Supplements warning Consumers are advised to avoid the natural food supplements SPEC and PC SPEC which have become a health risk following their contamination by drugs which are illegal in Greece, said the National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF) yesterday. Consumption of the supplements, produced by the firm Botanic Labs, could provoke serious adverse reactions, as they contain the anti-stress drug alprazolam and the anti-coagulant warfarin, said EOF. Coalition-friendly? PASOK General Secretary Costas Laliotis yesterday sought to prop up his campaign for an electoral alliance between the ruling Socialists and left-wing parties with the findings of a poll, according to which 59.2 percent of respondents favor coalition governments. The survey, carried out on February 20-21 by Kappa Research pollsters on behalf of state NET television, found that 37.8 percent of respondents were against coalition governments. Train timetables Rail commuters are advised to check before planning any intercity journeys today following yesterday’s announcement by the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) that train schedules will be affected by a 24-hour public workers’ strike in the central prefecture of Fthiotida. For details, commuters can call 010.529.7777, OSE travel offices or their local railway station. Quake spat A leading seismologist yesterday admitted that he had submitted a confidential report recommending monitoring of the Ioannina area for fear of a future earthquake to the state Committee for the Assessment of Earthquake Danger, but denied leaking the report to the media. Patras University Professor Akis Tselentis said his report noted indications of a possible 5.5-6 Richter earthquake, but denied that it was a prediction. On Tuesday, seismologists exchanged heated words over the leak, which resulted in stories on Alpha TV and in the Espresso tabloid. Daughter charged A 19-year-old woman who killed her father on Monday after allegedly suffering five years of sexual abuse at his hands appeared before a Thessaloniki prosecutor yesterday charged with homicide. Natalia Kechiopoulou turned herself in to police on Monday evening after fatally stabbing her father Giorgos, 41. Bosnia Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Tuesday said Greece would support Bosnia’s efforts to forge closer ties with the European Union, during a meeting with visiting Bosnian Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija.