In Brief
HOTEL STRIKE
Staff in Attica stage sixth protest as owners complain of ‘coercive action’ Staff at hotels across Attica are to stage their sixth strike in the past month today, pressing demands for salary hikes and the payment of a bonus for their heavier workload during the August 13-29 Olympics. The employees’ «coercive» action «will only succeed in creating negative publicity at a time when Attica is the focus of international interest,» the Association of Attica Hoteliers said in a statement yesterday. Hotel employees have not ruled out the possibility of walkouts later this month when the Games are under way. DODECANESE QUAKES Three tremors, including a 5.1 Richter, strike near Kos; no injuries, damage A series of undersea quakes, measuring 4.6, 4.5 and 5.1 on the Richter scale, struck the area of Kos in the Dodecanese yesterday but no injuries or damage were reported. The quakes, which occurred at 8.34 a.m., 12.40 p.m. and 4.14 p.m., were felt on Kos, Kalymnos and Rhodes. The strongest quake was also felt on Nisyros, Symi and Leros. Seismologists said they were monitoring the area as several aftershocks followed the morning quake. HIGHWAY ROADWORKS Disruptions expected until Friday Works to remove the dividing barriers from a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) stretch of the Athens-bound lane of the Athens-Corinth National Road at Kakia Skala, a notoriously narrow stretch, are to cause disruptions on a 24-hour basis until Friday, the Public Works Ministry said yesterday. Following the completion of the works, there will be three lanes of traffic for Athens-bound motorists, with the fourth lane reserved for emergency vehicles, the ministry said. Piraeus disruption The central port of Piraeus will be closed from 10 until 11.30 a.m. today as a navy minesweeping vessel searches the area around the harbor for mines. EKAB action Ambulance workers, paramedics and other National First Aid Center (EKAB) employees launched a series of rolling 24-hour strikes yesterday, pressing demands for the payment of an Olympic bonus promised to police and other security services staff. Attica EKAB workers have rejected the Health Ministry’s offer of a monthly «readiness» bonus of 40 euros. Corinth Canal The Corinth Canal is due to be closed all day today due to a strike by tugboat workers. Upgrading phones The Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) yesterday warned customers in Kifissia that they might experience connection problems this morning as upgrading work resumes at OTE’s center in the northern suburb from 1 a.m. Numbers beginning with 21062, 21080 and 21081 were most likely to be affected, OTE said. Health guide An Olympic health guide, prepared by the Health Ministry, to advise visitors on the whereabouts of «Olympic hospitals» and first-aid centers, came into distribution yesterday. The guide, which is also available in English, French, German and Spanish, can be picked up at most major hospitals, Athens Airport and offices of the Athens Municipality. Robbers traced Three men who stole 650,000 euros’ worth of cigarettes after hijacking a truck on the Athens-Lamia National Road last September have been arrested, police said yesterday. Giorgos Masmanidis, 31, had been in detention in Korydallos Prison since March for another alleged crime, while Efstathios Theodoridis, 38, and Constantinos Tataridis, 33, were arrested in Menidi on Monday. Police traced them after finding some of the cigarettes in stores in Kifissia. Dima Tsetsikov, a Russian, is also being sought. Migrants detained A group of 35 illegal immigrants were being detained in the Thracian town of Alexandroupolis yesterday after border guards located them in a truck on the Egnatia Highway. The would-be migrants, mostly Pakistanis, had been smuggled into Greece over the Evros River in a plastic rowboat by a Greek and a Turk, according to police. The 30-year-old driver of the truck was arrested.
