In Briefs
MILK SCARE
Watchdog says no Chinese dairy products in Greece The country’s food safety watchdog said yesterday that no milk or dairy products had been imported from China, which has been rocked by the discovery of tainted baby formula. More than 50,000 children have been treated in Chinese hospitals after being fed milk from powder contaminated with melamine. But the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) sought to allay fears that any contaminated products had reached Greece. «No milk or dairy products have been imported into to Greece from China,» EFET said in a statement, adding that the European Union does not allow such imports. FILOTHEI MURDER Music teacher, 36, charged A 36-year-old music teacher was yesterday charged with murdering his wife and burying her in a park in the northern Athens suburb of Filothei. Police revealed that the man, who has not been named, claimed he accidentally killed his wife during a row on September 15. The 36-year-old allegedly dumped his wife’s body at a landfill outside Athens but then went back to pick it up the next day after digging a hole in the Pikioni Park in Filothei where he then buried her. Police said that the husband had been their prime suspect. He suffers from mental problems but stopped taking medication two years ago. The couple had two children aged 15 months and 5 months. Transfusions cleared The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) said yesterday that a 70-year-old woman thought to have contracted HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, at a hospital on Rhodes did not become infected with the virus during a blood transfusion. Scientists said that all the batches of blood used were tested and none showed traces of HIV. They did not provide any further information about how the woman may have contracted the virus, citing medical confidentiality. Dirty business Environmental inspectors recommended yesterday that 22 businesses in various parts of the country should face a total of 1.41 million euros in fines for polluting the environment. The worst offender was Aluminium of Greece, which was fined 300,000 euros for not disposing of its waste properly. Court napping There will be long delays at the country’s courthouses from today as employees begin a series of work stoppages that will run until Thursday, October 2. The stoppages will take place between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Hooligan trial The trial of 27 people accused of being involved in the murder of Panathinaikos fan Michalis Filopoulos during a mass brawl with rival Olympiakos fans last year continued yesterday, as one of the witnesses contradicted his earlier testimony. The unnamed man had originally said that he went to the site of the clash, east of Athens, with Filopoulos and that they were armed as they expected trouble. However, in court yesterday, he said they were caught up in the trouble on the way to a volleyball game. He went on to claim that he lost Filopoulos in the crowd and only learned he had been killed when he got home. The trial was adjourned and the judge asked the witness to clear up the contradictions in his testimony
