Motorcycle riders got together in central Athens on Saturday to protest against government policies on motorcycles. Meanwhile, three motorcycle riders were killed in Athens yesterday. A 25-year-old policewoman, Sofia Tsoukala, was killed on Kifissos Avenue when she was thrown from a motorcycle, police said. A motorcycle rider was also killed in Glyka Nera, northeastern Athens, after he collided with a car. Another rider was killed in similar circumstances in Acharnes, northwestern Athens. Names were not released for the last two accidents.

Labor Minister Savvas Tsitouridis said yesterday he was optimistic that planned talks between unions and workers’ groups today on pay hikes will reach a final agreement. The Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) is expected to meet with the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) to discuss the 2006 collective wage agreement. The minister said he believed that there was a cooperative spirit between the two and that a mutually profitable agreement for both parties would be reached.

A 47-year-old woman was seriously injured yesterday when climbing on Mount Olympus, in central Greece, authorities said. The woman, who was in a party of four climbers, slipped at a height of 2,100 meters and fell against a tree. She suffered serious head and spinal injuries. She was flown by a Super Puma rescue helicopter to a hospital in Larissa.

The Coast Guard yesterday detained 19 illegal immigrants off the eastern Aegean island of Kos, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The illegal immigrants, all men, were entering Greece aboard a speedboat which was intercepted north of the island. Authorities arrested a 21-year-old man, a foreign national, believed to be responsible for the trafficking operation.

Prison guards on Crete confiscated a parcel containing clothes that had been sent to a prisoner after drugs were found hidden in the package, authorities said on Saturday. An inspection of the package uncovered 35 grams of heroin that had been sewed into the lining of a pair of trousers, police said.