Reprieved at last!

a sum of us $4.73 million! This is the total fine Greece paid for running an illegal waste dump. The European Commission, which had been fining the country since July 2000, stopped doing so after the dump was closed recently. "I am satisfied that the illegal dumping has been stopped by the Greek authorities. But there is still a big clean-up job to be done," said Margot Wallstrm, environment commissioner of the European Union. The waste dump in Kouroupitos on the island of Crete had been used for household and industrial waste including some hazardous materials like batteries. The European Court of Justice had warned the Greek authorities to close the dump, but the officials failed to comply with the ruling. Therefore, the court took the landmark decision of imposing the fine.