Doctors treating Archbishop Christodoulos, who was diagnosed with cancer in summer, were on “standby” yesterday after his condition reportedly deteriorated. Christodoulos, 68, remained at his home yesterday, without receiving visitors, and doctors suspended his chemotherapy to avoid any further side effects that could aggravate his condition further. The 68-year-old archbishop was said to have liquid in his lungs. He may be transferred to hospital for further tests.

Three people, including a police officer, died in road accidents over the weekend. A 20-year-old policeman was killed in northern Athens early Saturday when the patrol car being driven by a colleague hit a lamppost, for unknown reasons. The driver was not injured. Also early Saturday, a 25-year-old woman was killed instantly after being hit by a car while trying to cross Mesogeion Avenue. In Thessaloniki, early yesterday, a 21-year-old motorist was killed when her car veered off the road and crashed. The four girls traveling with her sustained minor injuries.

Police in northern Greece have traced a foreign national who allegedly tried to pay a hotel reservation with a 9,000-euro forged check, asking for the balance to be sent to him in an online transaction. The suspect allegedly reserved rooms for five people at a Halkidiki hotel at a cost of 1,400 euros. He then allegedly arranged for the forged check to be sent by mail from the Spanish resort of Tenerife, asking for 7,600 euros in change to be sent to him online. The hotel manager took the check to the bank where it was found to be bad.

A motorist who lost control of his vehicle on Pireos Street, central Athens, in the early hours of Saturday smashed into a truck, 10 cars and two police patrol vehicles before officers managed to stop and arrest him. No injuries were reported. The motorist first collided with a truck and then, in his effort to accelerate and flee the scene, crashed into 10 cars. A police chase ensued and he was finally cornered on Stadiou Street. In Thessaloniki, two parked cars were damaged early yesterday when unidentified assailants torched them.