Athens  - Greek firefighters battled Thursday to contain a large forest fire that was blazing out of control on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes.

Athens - Greece's health ministry is pushing to implement a ban outlawing smoking in all public places, including restaurants, bars and offices by the summer - a half year earlier than required by law.

The new law does not require implementation until January 1, 2010. But Greek Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos announced in parliament that the ban would be pushed up by six months, to take effect July 1, 2009.

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 2 - Dimitrio Ioannides, a member of the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974, is seeking release from prison on the grounds of age and ill health.

Lawyers for the 86-year-old acknowledge he does not have the medical problems specified in a law that allows inmates 80 or older who suffer from severe disability, senility or cirrhosis to be freed, Kathimerini reported. But they say Ioannides does have other health problems that would justify clemency.

Ioannides was arrested in 1975, a few months after the downfall of the junta. He was convicted of high treason, rebellion and conspiracy to manslaughter and given a death sentence that was commuted to life in prison.

Athens - Police in Cyprus have detained the president of Anorthosis Famagusta, Andreas Panteli, in an embezzlement investigation, it was reported Saturday.

The investigation has followed accusations by seven fellow board members of the club, which is competing in this season's Champions League for the first time, the Cypriot newspaper Politis reported.

Reports put the sum concerned at 1.5 million euros (1.9 million dollars).

In a statement Friday, Panteli denied any financial impropriety and said the allegations were without foundation.

Athens - Somali pirates released Friday a Greek bulk carrier with 26 crew members on board which they hijacked more than two months ago, reports said.

The ship, MV Centauri, carrying salt, was en route from Ethiopia to Kenya when it was attacked by five pirates on September 18 off Somalia before it was due to discharge
17,000 tons of bulk salt.

The ship was reportedly released and is now sailing towards Mombasa port.

The details of the ransom paid to Somali pirates was not known.

Athens- Greece is violating international law in its treatment of asylum seekers attempting to enter the country, New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

In a report titled, "Stuck in a revolving door," Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims Greek coast guard officials push migrants out of Greek territorial waters and sometimes puncture inflatable boats and disable their vessels.

Greek authorities routinely round-up would-be migrants, detains them in dirty and inhumane conditions, and then expels them to neighbouring Turkey, the group said.