Toll charges for motorists using the Attiki Odos highway go up 25 percent to 2.50 euros from 2 euros today. Toll charges for motorcycle and scooter drivers go up to 1.20 euros from 1 euro, while charges for small to medium-sized and large trucks increase to 6.20 euros from 5 euros, and to 10 euros from 8 euros, respectively.

Passenger ferries serving the western Cyclades, Samos and Icaria will be departing from the Aghios Spyridon jetty in Piraeus harbor once again from today. For most of August, passenger ferry activity for the western Cyclades and the Samos-Icaria route had been transferred to the Tzelepi and Ietionos jetties as the Aghios Spyridon jetty had been accommodating eight Olympic cruise ships.

A 40-year-old policeman has been charged with the murder of a 30-year-old petrol garage worker whose body was discovered on Monday in a field outside the village of Aridaia, near Pella, police said yesterday. Vassilis Kalambalikis told police that he shot Anastassios Tsechelidis in the head last Friday in self-defense after the latter allegedly pulled a gun on him following an argument over a loan. Police said the officer admitted to burying Tsechelidis’s body and led his colleagues to the place he had hidden the murder weapon, which he claims to have given to Tsechelidis in the past.

The government’s ongoing compehensive review of public finances has shown a further climb of the projected public deficit for 2004 to 5.3 percent of GDP, sources said yesterday. (Page 5)

Public deficit seen still higher but falling below EU limits in 2005

Olympic traffic lanes, demarcated in orange paint for exclusive use by accredited vehicles during the Olympics, will be open to all traffic as of this morning.

A large part of Thessaloniki was without water yesterday afternoon due to a rupture in the central pipe which supplies the northern city. Water board officials said the water supply should be fully restored by early this afternoon.

Nicosia yesterday asked the United Nations to assess the risk to Greek-Cypriot Orthodox pilgrims preparing to cross today and tomorrow to visit the church of Aghios Mamas in Turkish-occupied Morphou, for the first-ever service after the 1974 invasion. A bomb exploded outside the church last week, causing minor damage and no injuries.

The Greek national soccer team is to receive a 4-million-euro state bonus for winning the Euro 2004 championship, according to a decision by Deputy Culture Minister, Giorgos Orfanos, who is responsible for sports, which was made public yesterday. The 4 million euros is to be divided among the international team members, Orfanos said.

The number of asylum applications to Greece has risen by 73 percent over the past three months, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which were made public yesterday.

A 25-year-old worker was yesterday fatally injured on the site of a mine run by the Public Power Corporation (PPC) when the jeep he was driving was squashed by a heavy earth-moving truck. Yiannis Tsianakas was trying to overtake the 85-ton capacity vehicle from the right when he crashed into the truck, PPC said.

A 58-year-old Cretan, who died after drinking a “contrast” liquid in preparation for a CAT scan at an Iraklion clinic, suffered an allergic reaction in his throat, the Athens News Agency yesterday quoted a local coroner as saying. Yiannis Manouras died in an ambulance on the way to Iraklion’s university hospital, according to the ANA. A final coroner’s report will be issued following the completion of toxicological and histological tests, the agency added.