In Brief

BLOODY ROBBERY

One dead, three injured in raid on Thessaloniki supermarket A robber who threw a hand grenade at police, injuring three officers, following a supermarket robbery in the Evosmos area of Thessaloniki on Friday died after being injured during a shootout. The armed man burst into the store shortly before 10 p.m. when there were only employees there. He grabbed cash from a till and ran off but police later cornered him. He threw a grenade and then tried to shoot his way out but was hit by a bullet fired by a policeman. The robber died on his way to hospital. The three officers suffered minor injuries. A woman thought to be the robber’s accomplice was arrested outside the supermarket. UK PASSPORTS No more applications locally As of May 8, the British Embassy in Athens will no longer issue UK passports. Instead, all UK passport holders who live in Greece will have to send their application to the regional UK Passport Processing Center, which is based in Madrid, Spain. The center aims to process correctly completed applications within 10 working days from date of receipt but applicants will need to apply at least four weeks before traveling. Emergency travel documents for a one-way trip to the UK can be obtained from the British Embassy in Athens and consulates in Greece. If you need urgent assistance, you should call the British Embassy Consular Section at 210.7272.600 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Doctor struck off A doctor at the Athens General Hospital, also known as the Giorgos Gennimatas, who was recently arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from patients, has been struck off the register. In a decision by Health Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou that was made public yesterday, the unnamed doctor can no longer practice medicine. Suspect escapes Two police officers who were escorting a suspect that escaped as he was being taken for trial in Athens’s main court complex, were suspended from duty yesterday. The two officers face charges of allowing the suspected robber to escape through their negligence. They will be the subject of an internal investigation. Banks torched Two banks in the southern Athens suburb of Aghios Dimitrios were attacked by arsonists early yesterday. A branch of Geniki Bank and one of Emporiki Bank were severely damaged when assailants attacked them with petrol bombs. Nobody was injured in the attacks. Counterfeiters A man and a woman have been arrested in Naousa, northern Greece, on suspicion of using forged banknotes. Following a complaint by a local storeowner, police raided the couple’s home and found the 25-year-old woman in possession of 15 forged 50-euro notes. Her 32-year-old partner had one counterfeit 50-euro note on him. Drugs arrest Police in Iraklio, Crete have arrested a 27-year-old woman after she was found in possession of 3 kilograms of heroin. Police tailed the woman, a foreign national, after she arrived on a ferry and arrested her outside her house. After searching her property, they found that she had recently wired 27,500 euros to her homeland.